Internal Tables Theory

Internal Tables:
 Internal table is a temporary table that contains the records of an ABAP program while it is
being executed.
 It exists only during the execution of the program. So the records are discarded when the
program terminates.
 It is declared in an ABAP program when u need to retrieve the data from database tables.
 It stores data in the form of rows and columns.
 Individual rows are accessed by index or a key.
WorkArea:
 By default no operation can be performed on internal table so we need workarea.

 Internal table is accessed by the concept of WorkArea.
 Work area is a temporary memory space that helps in reading and modifying the data of an
internal table line by line.
 Work area must have the same structure as that of the underlying internal table.
Syntax of internal table and workarea:
DATA : <itab_name> TYPE TABLE of <DBtable name>,
<wa_name> TYPE <DBtable name>.
OR
DATA: <itab_name> TYPE TABLE of <DBtable name> OCCURS 0 WITH HEADER LINE. -no work area will
be used here so no need to create 1 exclusively. Occurs 0 means initial size of itab is 8 kb and then it
increases.
<wa_name> TYPE <DBtable name>.
OR
DATA : BEGIN OF itab_name OCCURS 0,
Var1 type I,
var2 type I
END OF itab_name.
Wa TYPE itab_name.
OR
TYPES : BEGIN OF struct_name,
Var1 type I,
var2 type I
END OF struct_name.
DATA: itab_name TYPE STANDARD TABLE OF struct_name.
DATA : wa TYPE struct_name.
OR
wa LIKE LINE OF itab_name.
Types of internal table:
Standard Sorted Hashed

By default created table. Records are automatically Used when there is large
sorted whenever new records amount of data.
are added. It does not allow
entry of unsorted records.
Uses key operation or index Uses key operation or index Use only Key operation
operation to read data operation to read data
Linear or binary search to read Only Binary search Hash algorithm to search .
records
Append can b used to append Append can b used to append
wa to itab. wa to itab.
insert wa INTO TABLE itab also insert wa INTO TABLE itab also Only insert wa INTO TABLE itab
works. works. works.
Select is only for DB tables
Read is for internal tables

Operations on Internal Table:
1. Append : Used to add 1 single record from workarea to internal table. Record is added at the
bottom.
APPEND wa INTO itab.
Loop syntax:
LOOP AT i_table INTO wa.
2. INSERT : Used to insert record from a workarea to internal table at a specified location.
INSERT wa INTO itab INDEX indexno.
insert wa1 into table stud1. (CANNOT WRITE INDEX NO here)
3. CLEAR: Used to delete the data from workarea(WA).
CLEAR wa_name.
4. REFRESH : Used to delete data from internal table.

REFRESH itab_name.
5. FREE : Used to delete data from internal and workarea.
FREE internal_tablename/wa.
CLEAR is used to clear a value in a work area or in a variable.
REFRESH is used to clear all values in an internal table.
FREE is used to clear (free) memory of an internal table or work area. We all know
whenever we declare an internal table or work area, 8kb memory will be allocated.
6. READ : 3 Ways of reading from workarea- loop , index and key(Hash tables can be read only by
key and loop).
READ TABLE stud1 into wa1 index 2.
7. DESCRIBE : Used to find the total no of records in an internal table.

DESCRIBE table itab.
sy-tfill --- no of rows and value of Iines (i)
,sy-tleng – length of the rows in bytes depending on the data type of the
variable structure
and sy-toccu.-- as filled with the value of the initial main memory requirements for the
addressed internal table. Also given to initial size value(j).
8. SORTED BY: Has to be used with initial size ONLY. Initial size has to be greater than 0. The
output will display only those many no of sorted append statements as mentioned in the initial
size. The non sorted values will get appended after the size is completed.
If Initial size is 1, sorted append statements are 3 and unsorted append statements are
2 – then it will print total 3 statements – which are-> 1st sorted value(in descending
order) and the 2 unsorted values.
If Initial size is 4, sorted append statements are 3 and unsorted append statements are
2 – then it will print total 5 statements – which are-> 3 sorted values(in descending
order) and the 2 unsorted values.
9. COLLECT: Used for inserting components of workarea into internal table by avoiding duplicates
and also in summarized way.
o First it will check in internal table for any record matching with the key in work area
data.
o COLLECT is used to summate numerical entries in an internal table
by looking all other non-numeric values. If all non-numeric values
are same it sums up numeric values and updates proper record, but
if any non-numeric field is not same it appends a new record.
o Collect statement calculates the sub total of non-character
fields(P,I,F) by taking character fields as key. In case all fields are of
only character type then it will work similar to the append
statement.
10. SUM.
The statement SUM can only be specified within a loop starting with LOOP, and is only
considered within a AT-ENDAT control structure. Prerequisites for using the statement
SUM include using the addition INTO in the LOOP statement, and that the specified
work area wa is compatible with the row type of the internal table. In addition, SUM
cannot be used when the row type of the internal table itab contains components that are
tables.
The statement SUM calculates the sums of the components with numerical data type of
all rows in the current group level and assigns the sums to the components of the work
area wa. In the control levels FIRST, LAST, and outside of an AT-ENDAT control
structure, the system calculates the sum of numeric components of all rows in the internal
table.
11. At operations
o At First…. EndAt.
o At Last …EndAt.
o At New <fieldname>… EndAt .
o At End OF <fieldname>….EndAt.
o On Change Of <fieldname>…. End on. ( LHS rule does not apply rather if the
field changes the statement gets executed.

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Internal Tables:

 By default no operation can be performed on internal table so we need workarea.

Syntax of internal table and workarea:

DATA : <itab_name> TYPE TABLE of <DBtable name>,

<wa_name> TYPE <DBtable name>.

<wa_name> TYPE <DBtable name>.

DATA : BEGIN OF itab_name OCCURS 0,

DATA: itab_name TYPE STANDARD TABLE OF struct_name.

DATA : wa TYPE struct_name.

wa LIKE LINE OF itab_name.

Types of internal table:

Standard Sorted Hashed

Select is only for DB tables

Read is for internal tables

4. REFRESH : Used to delete data from internal table.

5. FREE : Used to delete data from internal and workarea.

CLEAR is used to clear a value in a work area or in a variable.

REFRESH is used to clear all values in an internal table.

7. DESCRIBE : Used to find the total no of records in an internal table.

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