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Time Stamps in Packed Numbers In this format, time stamps are represented using packed numbers of the type p. ITOC
Representation of Time Stamps in Packed Numbers There is a short form and a long form.
In the short form, a time stamp is represented precisely to the second using a packed number with length 8 without decimal places, and the ABAP Dictionary type TIMESTAMP . The digits of the packed number show the time stamp in the format yyyymmddhhmmss, where yyyy is the year, mm is the month, dd is the day, hh is the hour, mm are the minutes, and ss are the seconds.
In the long form, a time stamp is represented precisely to 100 ns using a packed number with length 11 and seven decimal places, and the ABAP Dictionary type TIMESTAMPL The digits of the packed number show the time stamp in the format yyyymmddhhmmss.sssssss, where, in addition to the short form, the seven decimal places sssssss are the fractions of a second. The maximum time resolution that can be achieved depends on the operating system of the host computer of the current ABAP_ASINSTANCE and can be less. In its integer part, a valid time stamp must contain valid dates and times:
When specifying the date, only the values 01 to 9999 for the year, 01 to 12 for the month, and 01 to 31 for the day are valid.
When specifying the time, only the values 00 to 23 for the hours, and 00 to 59 for the minutes and seconds are valid. A time valid in the Gregorian calendar must be represented. Leap seconds are not supported.
Latest notes:
An initial packed number with the value 0 does not contain a valid time stamp.
The method NORMALIZE of class CL_ABAP_TSTMP can be used to convert invalid values in time stamps to valid values. NON_V5_HINTS ABAP_HINT_END
Accessing Time Stamps in Packed Numbers Only a few statements recognize that packed numbers of the types TIMESTAMP and TIMESTAMPL are time stamps. All other statements interpret the content of these data types as numbers and, with the exception of direct comparisons, are not suitable for handling time stamps. The statements for handling time stamps in packed numbers are as follows:
GET TIME STAMP creates a current time stamp.
CONVERT TIME STAMP converts a time stamp to a local date and a local time.
CONVERT INTO TIME STAMP converts a local date and a local time to a time stamp. Furthermore, time stamps in packed numbers are handled specifically in the following output formats:
Use of the options TIMESTAMP and TIMEZONE for embedded expressions in string templates
Use of the addition TIME ZONE of the statement WRITE $[TO$].
The domains XSDDATETIME_Z and XSDDATETIME_LONG_Z support the serialization and deserialization of ABAP time stamps in asXML and asJSON. The system class CL_ABAP_TSTMP provides methods for adding, subtracting, converting, and comparing time stamps in packed numbers.
Latest notes: Special time stamp functions can be used in ABAP SQL and the CDS DDL of the ABAP CDS for processing time stamps stored as packed numbers in database tables. NON_V5_HINTS ABAP_HINT_END
Notes on Handling Time Stamps in Packed Numbers Time stamps in packed numbers are only interpreted as such if they are accessed by the statements, methods, and functions listed above. When being assigned or converted, they behave like packed numbers of the type p, which means they are not suitable for direct calculations. Comparisons produce a meaningful result only when two time stamps are compared with each other. In programs for which the program property Fixed Point Arithmetic is not set, the corresponding rules applying to the data type p should be respected. In particular, direct comparisons of time stamps in the long form with the short form produce a meaningful result only when the program property fixed point arithmetic is set. Otherwise, the system class CL_ABAP_TSTMP must be used for comparisons as well. A time stamp in its short form is the integer part of a time stamp in its long form. When simply assigning time stamps in the long form to time stamps in the short form, the p to p conversion rule applies and hence commercial rounding takes place. Therefore, unwanted rounding effects might occur that can even lead to invalid values, e.g. when seconds are rounded to 60. To avoid unwanted rounding effects, the following should be done instead of assignments:
In order to avoid invalid values, the methods MOVE_TO_SHORT and MOVE of the system class CL_ABAP_TSTMP can be used. But these methods also round commercially.
In order to achieve the same integer part, the long time stamp must be rounded down. This can be achieved by using the built-in function round with an appropriate mode or trunc. See also the executable example Rounding Time Stamps in Packed Numbers. When time stamps in packed numbers are used in operand positions that are not specifically intended for them, no warnings are given by the syntax check BEGIN_SECTION VERSION 5 OUT or by the extended program check END_SECTION VERSION 5 OUT , not even in lossless assignments .
Examples for Time Stamps in Packed Numbers
ABAP_EXAMPLE_VX5 Direct comparison of time stamps in packed numbers with the same data type. ABEXA 01350 ABAP_EXAMPLE_END
ABAP_EXAMPLE_VX5 Conversion of a time stamp in a packed number to a date and a time field, and determination of the daylight saving time marker. ABEXA 01351 ABAP_EXAMPLE_END
ABAP_EXAMPLE_VX5 Formatting of a time stamp in a packed number in a string template in a type-friendly way. ABEXA 01352 ABAP_EXAMPLE_END
ABAP_EXAMPLE_VX5 Serialization of a time stamp in a packed number by using a special domain. ABEXA 01353 ABAP_EXAMPLE_END
ABAP_EXAMPLE_VX5 Calculation of the difference between two time stamps in packed numbers using the class CL_ABAP_TSTMP. ABEXA 01354 ABAP_EXAMPLE_END
ABAP_EXAMPLE_VX5 Direct calculation using time stamps in packed numbers. If, for example, ts1 has the value 20161004130733, adding 3600 s in ts2 produces the value 20161004140733. Since the time stamps are interpreted as numbers of type p in the calculation, the result is 10000, which would generally be unexpected. ABEXA 01355 ABAP_EXAMPLE_END
ABAP_EXAMPLE_VX5 Incorrect calculation using time stamps in packed numbers. The assumption here is that time stamps are interpreted as a number of seconds in calculations. This is not the case here. The result does not meet expectations and is generally not a valid time stamp. For example, the invalid value 20161004315506 is calculated from 20161004131906. ABEXA 01356 ABAP_EXAMPLE_END
