Day 2
Data Dictionary
We will learn about
What is Data Dictionary
Data Dictionary Objects
System Fields
Creating custom table
Internal Tables
Foreign Keys & Cardinality
Structures
Views
What is Data Dictionary
is a system independent
interface to the database
is a virtual database ( data
about data)
provides data for data
manipulation and data
processing
Also called as DDIC and ABAP
Dictionary
Data Dictionary Objects
SE16
Data Element
Domain
Tables
Structures
Views
Elementary Data Types
Type
Explanation
Text (Character)
Numeric text
Date (DDMMYYYY)
Time (HHMMSS)
Hexadecimal
Integer
Packed Number
Floating point number
Domain
A Domain describes the technical structure of a field that is its size and
its data types.
Domains are attached to Data Elements
Fields which refer to the same domain (with the assigned data elements),
are also changed when the domain is changed. This ensures that the
fields are consistent
Defines a value range which describes the valid data values for all the
fields which refer to this domain
Table MARA
CLNT
MATNR
Data Element
Domain
Creating a Domain
Enter a description (short text)
Enter data type and length
Creating a domain (contd.)
Enter fixed value and description.
Value table may be entered
Data Element
A data element gives the description of the field of the
Table
Examples of predefined data elements in SAP
LIFNR
KUNNR
MATNR
CLNT
Creating a Data Element
Enter a description (short text)
Enter domain name
Creating a Data Element
Maintain field labels and column headers.
Difference between Domain & Data Element
Domain
Data Element
Defines Technical Attributes such as
data type, length, allowed values, etc.
Defines semantic attributes such as
display length, short text, long text, etc
A domain can be part of several data
elements
A Data Element can point to only one
domain
Used to define data elements, restrict Used to define fields of tables and
values (using value range, value table, screens
etc)
A Holistic view
Table A
Table B
Data element
Table C
Data element
Domain
Tables
Tables are containers which stores data in the form of
record
They are a central component of the SAP R/3 Application
One or more fields form a data record (also known as tupel)
A number of data records of the same type form a table
Examples of few SAP defined tables
MARA
: Material Master
Tables Contd
The table definition contains the following components
Table fields: defines the field names and data types of
the fields contained in the table.
Foreign Keys: defines the relationships between the
table and other tables.
Technical Settings: control how the table should be
created on the database.
Indexes: speed up the selection of data from the table.
Tables Contd
Types of Tables
Transparent
ABAP
Dictionary
Cluster
Pool
ABAP
Program
Internal
Tables Contd
Creating a Transparent Table Step 1 of 6
Enter
Enterthe
theName
Nameof
ofthe
the
table
(should
begin
table (should begin
with
withZ
Zor
orY)
Y)
Press
Pressthe
theCreate
CreateButton
Button
Creating a Transparent Table Step 2 of 6
Enter a description (short text)
After
Aftermaking
makingall
allentries,
entries,
Press
the
Fields
Press the FieldsTab
Tab
Maintain delivery class
Table maintenance attribute
Creating a Transparent Table Step 3 of 6
After
Aftermaking
makingall
allentries,
entries,
Press
the
Technical
Press the Technical
Settings
SettingsButton
Button
Maintain field attributes
Maintain data elements
Creating a Transparent Table Step 4 of 6
After
Aftermaking
makingall
allentries,
entries,
Press
the
Save
Button.
Press the Save Button.
Once
OnceTechnical
TechnicalSettings
Settings
are
save,
Press
the
are save, Press the
Back
BackButton
Button(F3)
(F3)
Creating a Transparent Table Step 5 of 6
Save,
Save,Check
Checkand
and
Activate
the
Table.
Activate the Table.After
After
that
Press
the
Indexes
that Press the Indexes
Button
Buttonon
onthe
the
Application
ApplicationToolbar
Toolbar
Creating a Transparent Table Step 6 of 6
Steps to create an index
After
Afterentering
enteringthe
theIndex
Index
Fields
Fieldsand
andother
other
parameters,
parameters,save
saveand
and
activate
the
index,
activate the index,Z01
Z01
SAP Transparent Tables
Example of few SAP Transparent Tables
MARA : General Material Data
VBAK : Sales Document: Header Data
KNA1 : General Data in Customer Master
Example of SAP Cluster Table
BSEG : Accounting Document Segment
Tables Contd
Foreign Keys
Uses
Maintain data integrity
Provide help texts
Create aggregate dictionary objects
Prerequisites
The foreign key text field and primary key of the check table must
share the same domain
A value table must exist for that domain
Tables Contd
Cardinality
Cardinality defines the type of
Cardinality Types
relationship between two tables
The cardinality of a foreign key
indicates how many dependent
records a record in a check
table may have
1:1
1:C
1:N
1 : CN
System fields
SAP has a system table named syst. It stores all the
system related data
Examples of few fields in this table are
Sy-datum : System Date
Sy-langu : System Language
Sy-subrc : System check
Sy-uzeit : System time
SAP Data
Master
Data
G/L Accounts
Vendors
Materials
Stock Locations
System
Data
Transaction
Data
Metadata
Programs
Documentation
System Settings
Sales Orders
Purchase Orders
Journal Entries
Goods Receipts
Configuration
Data
Currency Codes
Order Types
Payment Terms
Field Status Codes
Structures
A structure is defined like a table in the ABAP Dictionary
and can then be accessed from within ABAP programs
Contain data temporarily during program runtime
The same data elements and domains can be used in
structures as in tables
Views
A view combines the data distributed in several tables
Views allow to gather information from fields of different
tables and present it to the users in form they require
when working in the R/3 system
