Internal Tables

Internal Tables Processing

Identifying Table Lines
Internal Table Index:
The sequential number of a table line. Created and managed automatically by the
system. Can be used with the DELETE, INSERT, MODIFY, LOOP, and READ
TABLE statements, specified either as literal or as variable. After processing a
particular line of an internal table, the SY-TABIX generally contains the index of
that line.
Internal Table Key:
Standard - by definition, the key fields of an internal table are those fields
which are not numeric (type F, I, and P) and are not internal tables. These
key fields form the standard key of an internal table. To obtain the
standard key of an internal tables with nested structures (table lines which
contain field strings as components), the system breaks down the substructures to the level of elementary fields;
Self-Defined - can be specified when reading lines from an internal table
using the READ TABLE.

ABAP Training

Page 1 of 9

Internal Tables

Filling Table
Appending Lines:
APPEND [{<wa>|INITIAL LINE} TO] <itab>.
Appends a new line to table. For tables with a header line the source area can be
omitted. After statement, the SY-TABIX contains the index of the appended line.
APPEND LINES OF <itab1> [FROM <idx1>] [TO <idx2>] TO <itab2>.
Appends lines from one table to another table. Default appends entire table. After
statement, the SY-TABIX contains the index of the last appended line. About 3 to
4 times faster than appending lines line by line in a loop.
APPEND [<wa> TO] <itab> SORTED BY <f>.
Inserts the new line so that the internal table <itab> is sorted in descending order
by the field <f>. If you use the SORTED BY option, the table can contain only the
number of lines specified in the OCCURS parameter. If you add more lines than
specified, the last line is discarded. This is useful for creating ranked lists of
limited length (e.g. "Top Ten"). For ranked lists containing more than 100 entries,
use instead the SORT for performance reasons.
Inserting Lines:
INSERT [{<wa>|INITIAL LINE} INTO] <itab> [INDEX <idx>].
Inserts a new line into table. For tables with a header line the source area can be
omitted. With INDEX option, the new line is inserted before the line which has
the index <idx>. After the insertion, the new entry has the index <idx> and the
index of the following lines is incremented by 1.
If the table consists of <idx> - 1 entries, the system appends the new entry after
the last existing table line. If the table has less than <idx> - 1 entries, the system
cannot insert the entry: SY-SUBRC = 4. If success, SY-SUBRC = 0.
Use INSERT without the INDEX option is allowed only within a LOOP ENDLOOP loop by inserting the new entry before the current line (i.e. the line
which has the index returned by SY-TABIX).
INSERT LINES OF <itab1> [FROM <idx1>] [TO <idx2>] INTO <itab2>
[INDEX <idx>].
Inserts lines from one table into another table. Default inserts entire table. Can be
up to 20 times faster than inserting lines line by line in a loop.
Collecting Lines:
COLLECT [<wa> INTO] <itab>.
If a table entry with the same standard key does not exists (all non-numeric
fields), the COLLECT has the same effect as the APPEND. If exists, the
COLLECT adds the contents of the numeric fields in the work area to the contents
of the numeric fields in the existing entry. SY-TABIX contains the index of the
processed line.

ABAP Training

Page 2 of 9

Internal Tables

Reading Table
Reading Single Lines:
READ TABLE <itab> [INTO <wa>] INDEX <idx>.
Reads the single line with index <idx> into <wa> (or into header line, if omitted).
This is the fastest method.
<idx> <= 0 : runtime error;
<idx> > table size : SY-SUBRC = 4;
<idx> found : SY-SUBRC = 0, SY-TABIX = <idx>.
READ TABLE <itab> [INTO <wa>] [BINARY SEARCH].
Reads the first line with a particular standard key, which should be placed in the
table work area (works only for internal tables with header line).
entry found : SY-SUBRC = 0, SY-TABIX = <idx>;
entry not found : SY-SUBRC <> 0;.
READ TABLE <itab> [INTO <wa>] WITH KEY <key>[BINARY
SEARCH].
Reads the first line with <key>.
entry found : SY-SUBRC = 0, SY-TABIX = <idx>;
entry not found : SY-SUBRC <> 0;.
Key definition for internal tables:
....WITH KEY <k1> = <f1> ... <kn> = <fn> ...
The self-defined key consists of the table components <k1>...<kn>. If the data
type of <fi> is not compatible to the data type of <ki>, then <fi> is converted to
the type of <ki>. You can specify an offset and length for any component you use
in the key. You can set key fields at runtime by replacing <ki> with (<ni>). The
key field is the contents of the field <ni>. If <ni> is blank at runtime, the system
ignores this key field. If <ni> contains an invalid component name, a runtime
error occurs.
....WITH KEY = <value> ...
Defines entire line as key (will be converted if necessary).
....WITH KEY <value> ...
The system compares the (left-justified) beginning of a line with <value>.
<value> cannot contain an internal table or a structure containing an internal
table. In contrast to the above two options, the comparison is processed using the
data type of <value>.
Additions:
BINARY SEARCH - performs a binary search instead of the standard
sequential search (much faster). Table must be sorted.
o SY-SUBRC = 0 : entry found, SY-TABIX = index of the found
entry;
o SY-SUBRC = 4 : entry not found, SY-TABIX = index of the next
largest entry, output area remains unchanged;
ABAP Training

Page 3 of 9

Internal Tables
SY-SUBRC = 8 : entry not found, the key is greater than last table
entry, SY-TABIX = (number of all entries + 1), output area
remains unchanged.
TRANSPORTING {<f1> ... <fn>|NO FIELDS} - only transports
selected fields to the target area.
COMPARING {<f1> ... <fn>|ALL FIELDS} - reads single line with key
or index into the target area. After reading the line, the components
specified in fields list are compared to the corresponding components of
the target area:
o SY-SUBRC = 0 : line is read and the contents of the compared
fields are the same;
o SY-SUBRC = 2 : line is read, but the contents of the compared
fields are not the same;
o SY-SUBRC = 4 : no line was read.
o

LOOP Processing:
LOOP AT <itab> [INTO <wa>] [FROM <n1>] [TO <n2>] [WHERE
<condition>].
...
ENDLOOP.
<itab> is read line by line into <wa> or into the table work area. For each line
read, processed the statement block between LOOP and ENDLOOP. Within the
statement block, SY-TABIX contains the index of the current line. The loop ends
as soon as all lines of the table have been processed. After the ENDLOOP
statement:
SY-SUBRC = 0 : at least one line was read;
SY-SUBRC = 4 : otherwise it is set to 4.
Restriction the number of lines to be processed:
FROM <n1> - the index of the first line to be read.
TO <n2> - the index of the last line to be read.
WHERE <condition> - the first operand of the logical expression must be
a component of <itab>. Cannot be used together with the control keyword
AT inside the loop.
Note. The FROM and TO options restrict the number of lines which the system
has to read. The WHERE option only prevents unnecessary filling of the work
area. With the WHERE option, the system must read all lines. To improve
performance, you should use the FROM and TO options as much as possible. It
can be also beneficial to leave the loop with the EXIT statement instead of using
the WHERE option.
Calculating Totals:
SUM.
Can be used only in LOOP - ENDLOOP block. A component of an internal table
line may not be another table. In an AT - ENDAT block, calculates totals for the
numeric fields (I, F, P) of all lines in the current line group and writes them to the

ABAP Training

Page 4 of 9

Internal Tables
corresponding fields in the work area. Outside an AT - ENDAT block - do it for
lines of the internal table in each loop pass. Therefore, SUM should be used only
in AT - ENDAT blocks.
Using Control Levels for Groups of Lines (AT ... ENDAT Events):
AT <line>.
...
ENDAT.
The <line> condition:
<line>
Meaning
FIRST

First line of the internal table

LAST

Last line of the internal table

NEW <f>

Beginning of a group of lines with the same contents in the field <f>
and in the fields left of <f>

END OF End of a group of lines with the same contents in the field <f> and in
<f>
the fields left of <f>
<f> can be:
table field name;
table field name with Offset/Length specification;
field symbol. If it does not point to a valid component, a runtime error
occurs;
(<name>) instead of <f> (See also). The <name> contains the name of the
field <f>. If <name> is empty at runtime, the system ignores the control
break criterion. If it contains an invalid component name, a runtime error
occurs.
Cannot be used together with the WHERE restriction of a LOOP.
Immediately after AT:
All default key fields [on the right of <f>] are filled with '*';
All other fields [on the right of <f>] are cleared;
If SUM used then appropriate control totals are inserted in numeric fields;
After AT the old contents of LOOP output area are restored.

ABAP Training

Page 5 of 9

Internal Tables

Modifying Table
MODIFY <itab> [FROM <wa>] [INDEX <idx>] [TRANSPORTING <f1> ... <fn>
[WHERE <condition>]].
Modifies the line in the table. For tables with a header line the source area can be
omitted. With INDEX option, will be modified the line which has the index
<idx>. In this case: SY-SUBRC = 4 if no line with <idx> exists; SY-SUBRC = 0
- success.
Use MODIFY without the INDEX option is allowed only within a LOOP ENDLOOP loop by modifying the current line (i.e. the line which has the index
returned by SY-TABIX).
With the TRANSPORTING option, the system transports only the components
<f1> ... <fn> from the work area into the internal table. Strongly recommended
suppress unnecessary transports of fields which are internal tables itself. You can
specify a component dynamically by writing (<name>). In this case, the system
reads the name of the component from field <name> at runtime. An invalid
component name leads to a runtime error.
WHERE <condition> with the TRANSPORTING option determines all the lines
of the table into which the components <f1> ... <fn> are to be transported. First
operand should be a component of the internal table's line structure. WHERE
cannot be used together with the INDEX option.
WRITE <f>[+<o1>][(<l1>)] TO <itab>[+<o2>][(<l2>)] INDEX <idx>.
Variant of WRITE TO. Overwrites the section of the line of the <itab> that has
index <idx>. Does not affect header line. Does not recognize the structure of table
lines. Return codes: SY-SUBRC = 4 - no line with <idx> exists; SY-SUBRC = 0
- success. If <idx> <= 0 - runtime error.
Deleting lines:
DELETE <itab>.
Deletes current line in LOOP - ENDLOOP (that is line which have index SYTABIX). After the first line has been deleted, the current line and its assignment
to the contents of SY-TABIX can be undefined. To process further lines within
this loop, use only statements with the INDEX option.
DELETE <itab> INDEX <idx>.
Deletes line with the index <idx>. Return codes: SY-SUBRC = 4 - no line with
<idx> exists; SY-SUBRC = 0 - success.
DELETE ADJACENT DUPLICATES FROM <itab> [COMPARING
{<f1> ... <f1>|ALL FIELDS}].
Deletes adjacent duplicates entries. Return codes: SY-SUBRC = 0 - at least one
entry was deleted; SY-SUBRC = 4 - otherwise. Without the COMPARING
option, the contents of the standard key fields must be the same.
DELETE <itab> [FROM <n1>] [TO <n2>] [WHERE <condition>].
Deletes selected entries. At least one of three criteria should be used. First
operand in WHERE should be a component of the internal table's line structure.
Return codes: SY-SUBRC = 0 - at least one entry was deleted; SY-SUBRC = 4 otherwise.
ABAP Training

Page 6 of 9

Internal Tables

Clearing Table
You can check whether an internal table is empty using logical expression:
... <itab> IS INITIAL ...
REFRESH <itab>.
Empties internal table.
CLEAR <itab>[].
Empties internal table without clearing the table work area.
CLEAR <itab>.
Empties internal table that has no table work area (header line).
Clears the table work area if the table has it.
FREE <itab>.
Empties internal table and releases reserved memory without clearing the table
work area.

ABAP Training

Page 7 of 9

Internal Tables

Other Operations With Internal Table

SORT <itab> [<order>] [AS TEXT]
[BY <f1> [<order>] [AS TEXT] ... <fn> [<order>] [AS TEXT]].
<order>: ASCENDING (default) or DESCENDING. Sorts by standard or self
-defined (if BY defined) key. The system uses the options you specify before BY
as a default for all fields specified behind BY. The options that you specify after
individual fields overwrite for these fields the options specified before BY.
<f1> ... <fn> can be:
of any type, including type P, I, and F fields, or tables;
up to 250;
(<name>) instead of <f> (See also). The <name> contains the name of the
field <f>. If <name> is empty at runtime, the system ignores it. If it
contains an invalid component name, a runtime error occurs.;
table field name with Offset/Length specification;
Without the option AS TEXT, the system sorts character fields binarily and
according to their platform-dependent internal coding. With the option AS TEXT,
the system sorts character fields alphabetically according to the current text
environment. By default, the text environment is set in the user's master record.
As an exception, you can set the text environment with the SET LOCALE
LANGUAGE. The option AS TEXT frees you from converting a character field
into a sortable format before sorting. Such a conversion is only necessary, if you
want to
sort an internal table alphabetically first and search it binarily afterwards.
The order of an internal table after alphabetical sorting differs from the
order after binary sorting.
sort an internal table several times with alphabetical keys. In this case, the
performance is better, because the conversion is processed only once;
create alphabetical indexes for database tables in your program.
AS TEXT before BY influences only the character fields in the sort key. If you
specify AS TEXT after a field name, this field must be of type C. Sorting is not
stable. This means that the old sequence of lines with the same sort key may not
necessarily be retained. If there is not enough space for sorting in the main
memory, the system writes data into a temporary external file. The name of this
file is defined in the SAP profile parameter DIR_SORTTMP.
Searching Internal Tables for Character String:
SEARCH <itab> FOR <str> [<options>].
Options and patterns like searching string for string. No type conversion is
performed also (the entire table line is treated as character string). <itab> is
always table, not header line, if even the table has header line. In addition to SYSUBRC and SY-FDPOS, SY-TABIX is set to found line index.
Logical Expressions:

ABAP Training

Page 8 of 9

Internal Tables
... <itab1> {EQ|=|NE|<>|><|GE|>=|LE|<=|GT|>|LT|<} <itab2> ...
The first criterion for comparing internal tables is the number of lines they
contain. The more lines an internal table contains, the larger it is. If two internal
tables contain the same number of lines, they are compared line by line,
component by component. If components of the table lines are themselves internal
tables, they are compared recursively. If you use operators other than the equality
operator, the system stops the comparison as soon as it finds a pair of components
which are not equal and returns the result. In the case of internal tables with a
header line, you can use square brackets ([]) after the table name to distinguish the
table body from the table work area.
Assignment Operator:
MOVE <itab1> TO <itab2>.
[COMPUTE] <itab2> = <itab1>.
Copies entire contens of internal table that has not header line.
MOVE <itab1>[] TO <itab2>[].
[COMPUTE] <itab2>[] = <itab1>[].
Copies entire contens of internal table with header line.

ABAP Training

Page 9 of 9