SAP CHAINED STATEMENTS - Guide
Get Example source ABAP code based on a different SAP table
Chained Statements
ABAP_BACKGROUND
Successive ABAP statements that have the same starting part can be expressed in a chained statement. A chained statement consists of the identical starting part that is specified once and that is concluded by a colon (:). Behind this colon, the remaining parts are separated by commas (,). Only the last part is concluded with a period (.). During the syntax check and the compilation, a chained statement is handled like the respective sequence of individual ABAP statements, where the shared starting part is put in front of each remaining part. The identical starting parts are not restricted to the keyword.
ABAP_RULE
Use chained statements mainly for declarations. They should always be used for related declarations of type
ABAP_DETAILS
The main motivation for using chained statements is to increase the readability of programs. Using chained statements correctly in d eclarations achieves this goal. In other statements, chained statements can actually decrease the readability or, in the worst case, result in incorrect program behavior. When using chained statements, only
In complex declarations, chained statements can be used to improve readability. (However, if local declarations are too complex, this suggests an
airplane TYPE REF TO cl_airplane,
airplane_attributes TYPE cl_airplane=>airplane_attributes.
DATA:
airport TYPE REF TO cl_airport,
airport_attributes TYPE cl_airport=>airport_attributes.
...
The grouping of declarative statements that semantically represent a composite statement is even more important. For example, the declaration of structured types and data objects in ABAP is done using individual statements, whose close relationship should be expressed by a chained statement:
BEGIN OF file,
name TYPE string,
owner TYPE sy-uname,
creation_date TYPE timestamp,
END OF file.
For structures that copy components of another structure using the