Create a Simple ABAP CDS View in ADT

You will learn how to create a CDS (Core Data Services) view using ABAP Development
Tools (ADT).
You will learn
 How to use the new Core Data Services (CDS) tools in ABAP Development Tools for
Eclipse (ADT).
 How to use the following ABAP and SQL elements in a CDS view:
o SELECT statement
o CASE statement
o WHERE clause

Prerequisites
 You have a valid instance of an on-premise AS ABAP server, version 7.51 or higher
(some ABAP Development Tools may not be available in earlier versions)
 You have run the transaction SEPM_DG_OIA_NEW or transaction STC01 -> tasklist
SAP_BASIS_EPM_OIA_CONFIG. (If you do not, your CDS view will display empty.)
 Tutorial: Create an ABAP Project in ABAP Development Tools (ADT)
 Tutorial: Create an ABAP Package

CDS is an extension of the ABAP Dictionary that allows you to define semantically rich data
models in the database and to use these data models in your ABAP programs. CDS is a
central part of enabling code push-down in ABAP applications.
You can find more information about CDS in the ABAP keyword documentation and the SAP
Community.

Throughout this tutorial, objects name include the suffix XXX . Always replace this with

your group number or initials.

STEP 1

Create a CDS view

1. In the context menu of your package choose New and then choose Other ABAP
Repository Object.

2. Select Data Definition, then choose Next.

3. Enter the following values, then choose Next:

 Name = Z_INVOICE_ITEMS_XXX

 Description = Invoice Items

4. Accept the default transport request (local) by simply choosing Next again.

5. Select the entry Define View, then choose Finish

STEP 2

Enter the data source

The new view appears in an editor. Ignore the error for now. In this editor, enter the
following values:

1. Enter Z_ITEMS_XXX as the SQL view name.

2. Enter the CDS view sepm_sddl_so_invoice_item as the data source for your view. You

can get proposals for the data source by entering a few characters, then using code
completion (keyboard shortcut CTRL+SPACE).

The SQL view name is the internal/technical name of the view which will be created in the

database. Z_Invoice_Items is the name of the CDS view which provides enhanced view-

building capabilities in ABAP. You should always use the CDS view name in your ABAP
applications.
STEP 3

Edit the SELECT statement

You will now insert the fields currency_code and gross_amount into the SELECT list as

follows:
1. Trigger code completion in the SELECT list (by clicking on the SELECT list and using
keyboard shortcut CTRL+SPACE), then double click on the entry Insert all elements -
template. All the elements (fields and associations) of the underlying data source are
inserted into the SELECT list.
2. Remove all the elements in the SELECT list which were inserted by the code completion

apart from currency_code and gross_amount . Remember to separate the elements in

the SELECT statement with a comma.

STEP 4

Use an existing CDS association

You will now model the relationships between data sources by using some existing CDS
associations. You can use associations in path expressions to access elements (fields and
associations) in related data sources without specifying JOIN conditions. You can now display
the element info by positioning the cursor on the data source

name sepm_sddl_so_invoice_item and choosing F2.

To see the related data sources that can be accessed using associations, scroll down.To see
details about the target data source of the association header, choose the

hyperlink sepm_sddl_so_invoice_header .

Log in to complete tutorialDone

STEP 5
Add fields from existing associations
You will now add fields of related data sources to the SELECT list of Z_Invoice_Items ,

using the associations in path expressions. Each element in the path expression must be
separated by a period.

1. Add the association header to your selection list, preferably with a comment, by adding

the following the code. do not forget to add a comma after the previous

item, gross_amount :

2. You will get an error, “Field header must be included in the selection list together with

field SEPM_SDDL_SO_INVOICE_ITEM.SALES_ORDER_INVOICE_KEY ”. Resolve this by

adding the field sepm_sddl_so_invoice_item.sales_order_invoice_key to the Select

statement.

3. Add the company_name of the business partner to the SELECT list using the

associations header and buyer in a path expression.

4. Add the payment_status from the invoice header to the SELECT list using the

association header
STEP 6

Add a CASE statement

If the invoice has been paid, you want to set the payment_status to X (true). Do this by

implementing a CASE expression, assigning the alias payment_status to the CASE

expression.

Remove the existing declaration, header.payment_status, and replace it with the following

code. Do not forget to separate payment_status and header with a comma.

You can check your code below.

Log in to complete tutorialDone

STEP 7

Add a WHERE clause

You will now filter the results so that only invoice items with currency_code = 'USD' are

retrieved.
1. Add a WHERE clause:

2. Save and activate the data definition by choosing Save ( Ctrl+S )

and Activate ( Ctrl+F3 ).

Log in to complete tutorialDone

STEP 8

Check your code and view your changes

Your CDS view code should look something like this:
Open the CDS View in the Data Preview by choosing F8. Your CDS View should look like
this:

STEP 9

Test yourself
Which of the following is<br/> not a valid association path? Choose one answer
only.

o sepm_sddl_so_invoice_item.product.changed_by

o sepm_sddl_so_invoice_item.product.dim_unit

o sepm_sddl_so_invoice_item.product.supplier

o sepm_sddl_so_invoice_item.product.storage_bins
ABAP on HANA : CDS Views
This page contains link to all the posts in the series ABAP on HANA –
CDS Views.
1. Introduction to CDS Views
2. Joins in CDS Views
3. CDS View with parameters
4. Extend a CDS View
5. Associations in CDS View
6. Currency/Unit Conversion in CDS Views
7. Expressions & Operations in CDS Views
8. CDS Table Function
9. CDS View Entity
Exploring ABAP on HANA [1] : Introduction To CDS Views
This is first post of the series Exploring ABAP on HANA which will cover ABAP on HANA
objects like CDS, AMD, ALV IDA and so on.

In this post you will learn

 What is a CDS view?
 How to create a CDS view in Eclipse?

What is a CDS View?

CDS or Core Data Services are part of SAPs Code Pushdown approach where you try to do as
much as possible at database layer than application layer. One example of Code Pushdown
can be calculating aggregates at database layer using aggregate functions in SQL rather than
bringing all data in application layer and calculating the aggregates.

CDS offers capabilities such as relationship definitions like associations, built-in functions like
currency conversion, extensions, semantic capabilities like annotations along with all SQL
enhancements.

CDS was introduced in ABAP 7.40 SP05 and additional features were added subsequently in
SP08, SP10, ABAP 7.50 SP00 and so on.

A sample and a simple CDS view looks like below.

The information we get from this is

1. The name of the view is demo_cds_spfli

2. At the top we have an annotation that tells us the name of related SQLView
– DEMO_CDS_PRJCTN

3. Another annotation says that Authorization check is not required

4. It selected the data from table spfli

5. The fields selected are carrid, connid, cityfrom and cityto with first 2 being the key
fields

It is simple to read and understand, right? With this example, we can imagine a CDS view
as a query written inside some kind of a reusable container which can be executed to get
the data.

How to create a CDS view?

CDS views can only be created from ABAP Development Tools (ADT) in Eclipse. You can not
create CDS views from SAPGUI.
To install Eclipse, check the post Install Eclipse for ABAP Development and if you are
not familiar with Eclipse, visit Working with Eclipse for ABAP development.

1. Right click on your package, New > Other ABAP Repository Object
2. Search for ‘Data Definition’, select the node Data Definition and click Next

3. Enter Name and Description, then click Next

4. Select/Create Transport Request, click Next.

5. Select the template Define View and click Finish

6. The CDS view will be created and displayed like below.

7. Enter sqlViewName, edit the data_source_name and add fields. Separate the elements
within { … } with a comma.

To use help entering the field name, use Ctrl + Space

8. Complete the CDS view like below.

9. Activate

10. To test the CDS view right click on your CDS view / Data definition and chose option
Open With > Data Preview.

11. OR, you can simply execute the CDS View with application toolbar button Run As.. and
select ABAP Application.

12. Get the output as below.

In ABAP code, the CDS view can be used similar to database views or tables.

Next post will be about Joins in CDS views.

Exploring ABAP on HANA [2] : Joins in CDS Views
In this post, you will learn to create CDS Views that contain joins. You will also learn about
Right Outer Join and Cross Join which are recent additions to joins in ABAP.
Joins covered in this post are –
 Inner Joins
 Left Outer Join
 Right Outer Join
 Cross Join

The steps to create a CDS view are covered in post Exploring ABAP on HANA [1] :
Introduction To CDS Views.

CDS View with INNER JOIN

Inner Join returns the entries meeting ON condition. The records are returned when
corresponding records exist in both tables and if the table position is switched, the result is
same.
To create a CDS View with Joins, below template can be used.
The template uses left outer join which you will need to change to inner join. Complete the
code as below.

Output Sample
CDS View with LEFT OUTER JOIN

Left Outer Join returns all entries from left table even when there is no matching entry in
right table. The fields from right table will be populated if matching entry is found, else the
fields will be kept blank.

Example

And the output

CDS View with RIGHT OUTER JOIN

Right Outer Join returns all entries from right table even when there is no matching entry
in left table. The fields from left table will be populated if matching entry is found, else the
fields will be kept blank.

The completed CDS view example is below.

Note that WHERE condition fis applied to the results set created using the join.

The output looks like below. (You might get different output based on entries in your
system)
CDS View with CROSS JOIN

Cross Join returns the Cartesian product of rows from tables in the join i.e., it will produce
rows which combine each row from the left table with each row from the right table.

Example – Imagine a table with single field Color and another table with single field Shape.
If we want to output all possible color and shape combinations – we can use cross join.
\
And the output

Before I end the post, few important points regarding joins

 Buffering should not be enabled for a CDS view with outer join.

 In nested joins, parentheses should be used explicitly to make the code readable.
Exploring ABAP on HANA [3] : CDS View with parameters
In this post, you will learn to create and consume a CDS View with a parameter.

A CDS View with a parameter is created to pass input to CDS View. You can compare this
parameter to a selection screen parameter. Multiple parameters, however there is no option
similar to select-options on selection screen.

1. Create new Data Definition using template ‘Define View with Parameters’
CDS View with parameters

Notes

 After the view name, ‘with parameters‘ key words are added

 Parameters are defined as a comma separated list

 Parameter type can be either predefined ABAP types or a data element. Predefined
ABAP types for CDS are not same as ABAP data dictionary and input help can be used
(Ctrl + Space)
 Default value can be assigned with annotation – @Environment.systemField:
#SYSTEM_DATE

 Parameters are optional only when default value is assigned. We can only use system
fields such as #SYSTEM_DATE. Possible values are as below.

 Parameters can be used in the select field list as it is or for calculation, and using alias
for such fields is mandatory

 Parameters can be used in where condition

 Parameters are addressed

as :<parameter_name>or $parameters.<parameter_name>

Output

When a view with parameter is executed, a pop up appears where parameters can be
entered. All parameters will be mandatory unless assigned with default values.
Enter parameters and click OK to get the output.

How to consume CDS with parameters from ABAP?

Pass the parameters after the CDS View name in the FROM clause in closed round brackets
with a comma separated list.
The result matches with the direct execution of CDS view using same parameter. The date
is used different than system date to demonstrate that the parameter can be written to
output as well.

That’s all for CDS views with Parameters.

Exploring ABAP on HANA [4] : Extend a CDS View
In this post, you will learn about extending a CDS View.

A CDS view extension can be compared to APPEND STRUCTURE in ABAP Dictionary Table as
we add fields to the view with extension.

Consider below CDS view which projects few fields from table SPFLI. As you can see, not all
fields are available in the list.

Now, if we want to add few more fields such as fltime and distance, we can extend the view.

Create new data definition using New > Other Repository Object … > Data Definition
Enter Name and Description.

Select a template Extend View and click Finish.

Template appears as below.

Give a name for the sqlViewAppendName, view to extend and add required fields. All the
fields should be prefixed with the data source from original CDS view.
Activate. The base view will see the enhanced / extended sign.

Execute the base view and you will get the added fields in the output.

The Extension Element List can have below

 Literals, fields, expressions, functions

 Parameters

 Path expressions from association

 Aggregates only if base view contains aggregates (as of 7.51)

Associations

 View extension can add associations

GROUP BY Clause (as of release 7.51)

 Only if target view contains a GROUP BY

 Non aggregated new elements should be added to GROUP BY

UNION(ALL) Statements (as of release 7.51)

 Same number of UNION statements are required when base view contains UNION

Restricting Extendibility

If you want to restrict what can be extended, use below annotation –

@AbapCatalog. viewEnhancementCategory: [#PROJECTION_LIST]

Possible values are as below

 #NONE – No extension

 #PROJECTION_LIST – Extensions of the SELECT list/additional associations

 #GROUP BY – Aggregated or non-aggregated elements

 #UNION – Extensions of the SELECT list of a CDS view with a UNION clause are
allowed

It is possible to create multiple extensions for a view. If you are working with custom
applications, extension might not be needed, but when you are extending standard
applications, it might be useful. However, extending standard views should be done only
after lot of consideration and it is a good idea to check with SAP before we do so.
Standard view extension looks like below.

Base View

Extension

CDS view extension can be a never ending topic as we can add associations, unions, group
by etc., more on that after we go through the basics of association etc., in next posts.
Exploring ABAP on HANA [5] : Associations in CDS View
In this post, you will learn about Associations in CDS Views.

Read earlier posts in this series at Exploring ABAP on HANA.

What is Association?

Associations define relationships between entities such as a database table or another CDS
view. Associations can also be viewed as a Join-On-Demand. This means that the
association will only be executed when the fields from associated entity are referred. Typically,
CDS associations can be compared to LEFT OUTER Joins.

Here is one example of a join between tables SCARR and SPFLI.

Left
Outer Join

Note: All the code is available at the end in text format if you need to copy it

The same can be written using Association as below.

Association

Explanation

 Left table is SCARR – we will call it a Primary table

 Right table is SPFLI – we will call it Associated table

 Instead of a join, association with cardinality [1..*] is used.

 Associated table is given alias starting with _ (underscore). This is not mandatory, just
a naming convention.

 The ON condition uses a field from Projection list which comes from the primary table
scarr.

 At the end the association i.e. _spfli is exposed.

 Selection of the key is mandatory – if key is not selected all entries from associated
table are returned when association is called.

Output of the such a CDS view shows the data from LEFT table only. Data from associated
table is shown only on demand.
Select a key, click on the triangle after the view name to see List of Associations and
chose the one to display association data.

Notice the data returned from associated table is based on key carrid = 'AA'.
Template

Template to be used while creating association is ‘Define View with Association’.

Cardinality

Cardinality denotes 1 entry from primary tables has a to b entries in associated table using
format [a..b].

 to zero-or-one : [ 0..1 ] or [ 1 ] or by not specifying anything

 to exactly-one : [ 1..1 ]

 to many : [ ] or [ * ] or [ n..* ]

Cardinality How to write Meaning

[ 0..1 ]
to zero-or- One record in primary table has zero or one
[1]
one record in associated table
don’t mention cardinality
Cardinality How to write Meaning

to exactly- One record in primary table has exactly one

[ 1..1 ]
one record in associated table

One record in primary table has many

[] records in associated table
[*] [ 0..* ] means that associated table has 0 or
to many [ n..* ] 1 or 2 or any number of records
Replace n with a number, [ 1..* ] means that associated table has 1 or
usually 0 or 1 2 or any number of records but can not have
0 records

Using CDS with Associations in ABAP code

Without association fields
With association fields

 When you are accessing the association fields, use \ followed by association name and
use an alias

 In the select field list use alias~fieldname

 Use the FIELDS clause to write fields after the FROM clause – which is easier to write
as you have already selected an alias

Why to use associations when join can give the same data?

Think of an application that needs to show the Carriers first and when user clicks on the
carrier then show the associated flights. Here, user may end up checking 4-5 carriers
sometimes just 1. With joins all the data will be selected at one go. With associations only
when user needs the data, it will be fetched.
Multiple associations

A CDS view can have multiple associations as below.

The data preview will show two associations in this case.

The real of associations can be seen while working with UI5 applications and OData
Services, which will be a series that I will start after the ABAP on HANA series.
Exploring ABAP on HANA [6] : Currency/Unit Conversion in CDS Views

In this post, you will learn,

 How to use currency conversion in CDS View
 How to use unit conversion in CDS View

Read earlier posts in this series at Exploring ABAP on HANA.

In ABAP, we use one of below or similar FM to convert amounts from one currency to
another.
1. CONVERT_AMOUNT_TO_CURRENCY
2. CONVERT_TO_LOCAL_CURRENCY

We need to do this in a loop when we need to do this for multiple records. With CDS, we
can do this while we fetch the data. Interesting, right?

Currency Conversion
Consider below table data. I have created a custom table for this demonstration. As you can
see, GROSSCOL is a column that has gross collection for the movies in the table and all
records have currency USD.
Let us convert it to a another currency, say EUR using a CDS view. The target currency can
be passed using a parameter, to make this more dynamic.

Currency Conversion in CDS View

Execute the CDS view, provide the target currency as ‘EUR’ and the conversion is done.
The conversion errors can also be handled with possible error handling values as below.

 FAIL_ON_ERROR – an error raises an exception. This is also the default if nothing is

specified.

 SET_TO_NULL – the result is reset to null value.

 KEEP_UNCONVERTED – the source value is not changed.

Error handling node is specified as below.

Unit Conversion

Unit conversion has a similar syntax but it has less parameters than Currency conversion.
Here is a standard demo view that explains Unit Conversion.
Exploring ABAP on HANA [7] : Expressions & Operations in CDS Views
In this post, you will learn about various expressions and operations in CDS view.

So far, we have looked at creating a simple CDS view, CDS view with associations, parameters
etc. Read earlier posts in this series at Exploring ABAP on HANA.

This post will focus bit more on syntax part rather than concepts as concepts here are either
self explanatory or have been covered in earlier posts.

Projection List

Fields of data source

Field can be a key field or a non-key field. Alias can be used. If alias is not used then the
field name itself becomes the final column name.
Literals

These are constants of numeric or characters type and simply put the constant value for all
rows in the output. Eg. ‘12345’, ‘CDS’. It is mandatory to specify alias name for literals in
the field list.

Session Variables

Below session variables can be used with $session.variable_name

Variable Usage

user Current user name : SY-UNAME

client Current client : SY-MANDT

system_language Current language : SY-LANGU

system_date Current system date : SY-DATUM (Available from 7.51)

Case Statement and Conditions

Simple case – Case statement on single variable similar to ABAP.

Complex / Searched case -This has multiple conditions in each case and it can have
conditions other than ‘equal to’ ( = ).

Consider below Marvels Movie table for this example..

Suppose, we want to produce Phase as First, Second, Third, Fourth instead of Phase 1,
Phase 2 and so on, we can use Simple Case statement.

Similarly, if we want to call a movie Hit, Flop etc based on the opening collection, we can
use Complex Case statement.
Projection List

Fields from projection list can be accessed using $projection. You can use this
in Associations.

Parameters
In a CDS view with a parameter, a parameter can be addressed with a colon ( : ) or
with $parameters.
Conditions

Regular Comparisons

These are really simple ones right? We also have between.

operand1 between operand2 and operand3

Pattern comparisons

This is similar to contains string or the like operation that we perform in Open SQL.

What if the data itself has % or _ which you want to search?

Then we can use Escape Character. Suppose movie name was ‘Avenger% 1’ and we want
to search with pattern Avenger%, then we can use the escape character in the pattern
string. SAP recommends to use # as escape character.
when movie like 'Avenger#%%' escape '#'

Check for null values

operand1 is null
operand2 is not null

Arithmetic Operations

We can have addition, subtraction, multiplication, division and in addition to these a

negation operator.
case indicator
when 'Credit' then amount
when 'Debit' then -amount
end as DueAmount

Aggregates Functions

Aggregate functions evaluate multiple records from the source and return aggregations such
as total, count.

MAX, MIN, AVG, SUM, COUNT are the aggregate functions available. These are pretty self
explanatory, so I am going to mention only one example.

Group By clause is mandatory when using aggregate functions. Having clause can be
added to filter data based on aggregation.
As phase 4 collection does not match the condition, it is not shown.

Type Casting

We have seen this in the currency and unit conversion post.

cast( 'EUR' as abap.cuky) as Currency

Below are the types that can be used.

Data Type Description

abap.char( len ) Character with length specification

abap.clnt[(3)] Client

abap.cuky( len ) Currency Key

abap.curr(len,decimals) CURR with length len and decimals decimal places

abap.dats[(8)] Date

abap.dec(len,decimals) DEC with length len and decimals decimal places

abap.fltp[(16,16)] Float

abap.int1[(3)] INT1

abap.int2[(5)] INT2

abap.int4[(10)] INT4

abap.int8[(19)] INT8

abap.lang[(1)] Language

abap.numc( len ) NUMC with length len

abap.quan(len,decimals) QUAN with length len with decimals decimal places

abap.raw(len) RAW

abap.sstring(len) SSTRING

abap.tims[(6)] Time

abap.unit( len ) Unit

Numeric Functions

Below numeric functions are possible.

FUNCTION OUTPUT

ABS(arg) Absolute amount

CEIL(arg) Round Up

ROUND(arg, pos) Rounding with number of decimal specification

FLOOR(arg) Round Down

DIV(arg1, arg2) Quotient

DIVISION(arg1, arg2, dec) The result is rounded to dec decimal places.

MOD(arg1, arg2) Remainder

String Functions

Operations like concatenation, Substring, replace, length, left substring, right substring
removing right or left blanks or zeros etc. are possible.
concat( char1, char2 ) as concat,
length( char1 ) as length,
left( char1, 3 ) as left,
lower( char2 ) as lower,
upper( char2 ) as upper,
right( char1, 3 ) as right,
substring( char1, 3, 3 ) as substring,
replace( char1, ',' , '.' ) as replace,
concat_with_space( char1, char2, 1 ) as concat_with_space

Decimal Shift

This can be used to get the amount as per the currencies, specially the ones which have
other than 2 decimal places.
decimal_shift( amount => amount, currency => currency ) as Amount

Date Functions

Functions like add days, add months, days between dates, and date validation can be used
in the CDS.
dats_add_days (releasedon, 14, 'INITIAL') as DateAfter2Weeks,
dats_add_months (releasedon, 3, 'NULL' ) as Dateafter3Months,
dats_days_between (releasedon, :iv_curr_date ) as DaysSinceTheRelease,
dats_is_valid (releasedon) as IsValidDate
Nesting Functions

It is also possible to use functions within functions like below which converts time from
minutes to format HH:MM.
concat( concat(lpad ( ltrim ( cast( div(fltime, 60) as abap.char( 12 ) ), '0' ), 2, '0' ), ':' ) ,
lpad ( ltrim ( cast( mod(fltime, 60) as abap.char( 12 ) ), '0'), 2, '0' ) ) as Flight_Time

This is probably a more complex example which

 gets the number of hours by dividing the time by 60

 casts the results as character

 removes leading zeros if any

 adds leading zero up to 2 places (so that 1 shows as 01)

 repeats this process for minutes, just this time uses mod to get remaining minutes

 then concatenates HH and : into say HH: and then concatenates it with MM to get
HH:MM

The point here is not to understand all this right away, but to know that such complex
expressions are possible.

I have not given examples of actual CDS code and outputs here as so far, I am sure you are
comfortable with CDS views and can try these out yourselves.

However, if you need such examples, do let me know in the comment section and I will post
dedicate article on required section.

Subscribe for more ABAP content …

– Jagdish
Exploring ABAP on HANA [11] : CDS Table Function

This post talks about

1. What is CDS Table Function?

2. How to Create CDS Table Function Definition?

3. How to Implement a CDS Table Function?

This is a post from series ABAP on HANA.

What is CDS Table Function?

ABAP CDS table functions define table functions that are implemented natively on the
database and can be called in CDS. This is as per the SAP documentation.

In simple words,

1. CDS table function combines CDS View and AMDP Method

2. It is defined similar to CDS except for data source i.e. you create a field list similar to
CDS View

3. The data fetching logic is written inside AMDP Method

If this is still confusing – let us go through the creation process and then revisit these 3
statements.

Create CDS Table Function

1. In Eclipse ABAP perspective, right click on your package and chose New > Other
Repository Object
2. Select Data Definition under Core Data Services and click Next.

3. Enter Name and Description, Click Next

4.Select a TR and Click on Next
5. Select a template Define Table Function with Parameters and click Finish

6. The template appears in the editor.

7. Complete the definition as below.

This defines a RETURN table. The output is always a table.

@EndUserText.label: 'Table Function for Flight Data'
define table function ZJP_FLIGHT_TABLE_FUNCTION
with parameters carrier : /dmo/carrier_id
returns {
key client : abap.clnt;
key carrier_id : /dmo/carrier_id;
key connection_id : /dmo/connection_id;
key flight_date : /dmo/flight_date;
@Semantics.amount.currencyCode : 'currency_code'
price : /dmo/flight_price;
@Semantics.currencyCode: true
currency_code : /dmo/currency_code;
plane_type_id : /dmo/plane_type_id;
seats_max : /dmo/plane_seats_max;
seats_occupied : /dmo/plane_seats_occupied;
}
implemented by method zjp_flight_class=>get_flights;
Notice that unlike CDS, table function definition does not have details of data source, so you
need to mention the data types for each field.

8. Save it. Do not try to activate it at this point as the method and class does not exist.

Implement the CDS Table Function

1. Create a new class zjp_flight_class and add an AMDP Marker interface.

(if_amdp_marker_hdb)
Refer Object Oriented ABAP [1] : Introduction to ABAP Class if you need help with
this.

2. Define a static method get_flights with addition FOR TABLE FUNCTION with table
function name. Add implementation for the method as below.

Save the class. Ignore the error for the moment.

CLASS zjp_flight_class IMPLEMENTATION.

METHOD get_flights BY DATABASE FUNCTION

FOR HDB LANGUAGE SQLSCRIPT
USING /dmo/flight.

RETURN SELECT * from "/DMO/FLIGHT"

WHERE carrier_id = :carrier;

ENDMETHOD.

ENDCLASS.

3.Click on Activate inactive objects. This allows you to active multiple objects at a time.
4. Select the class and table function objects and click Activate.

Important : As there is interdependency of CDS and Class on each other, we need to

activate both of them together.

If we want to be technically more accurate, the implementation is done as DATABASE

FUNCTION and not DATABASE PROCEDURE, so we probably should not call this AMDP, but
its easier for understanding.

Method Explanation

Definition

 The method gets Importing and Returning parameters automatically from CDS table
function where CDS parameters become the Importing Parameters and it has only one
table as returning parameter with fields defined in the CDS.

 FOR TABLE FUNCTION key word followed by CDS Table Function name is used to define
the method.
Implementation

 DATABASE FUNCTION is used in place of DATABASE PROCEDURE. Function returns a

single table unlike AMDP which can return multiple tables.

 The parameters defined in CDS Table Function can be directly access here
using :parameter_name

 RETURN statement is mandatory here. It can be used to pass result of query directly or
any table used in the script.

Let us Test the CDS Table Function

1. It can be tested similar to any CDS View by running as ABAP Application.

2. Provide a value to the parameter.

3. The data can be seen as below

The CDS Table Function can be used to take benefits of CDS with flexibility of SQLSCRIPT.

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Exploring ABAP on HANA [12] : CDS View Entity
In this post, we will take a look at ABAP CDS View Entity which was introduced With ABAP
release 7.55.

CDS view entities will replace the CDS views. CDS views were first released in ABAP 7.40,
SP05. These are declared using DEFINE VIEW and they create a DDIC / ABAP Dictionary
view. The annotation @AbapCatalog.sqlViewName is used to specify the DDIC view
name.
@AbapCatalog.sqlViewName: 'DEMO_CDS_PRJCTN'
@AccessControl.authorizationCheck: #NOT_REQUIRED
define view demo_cds_spfli
as select from
spfli
{
key spfli.carrid,
key spfli.connid,
spfli.cityfrom,
spfli.cityto
}
The SQL view is created/adjusted in the background during activation which impacts the
activation performance. We also need to specify additional annotations for key preservation,
client handling etc, but for me the real problem is that the CDS view name and SQL view
name must have a different name – managing this becomes difficult at times.
Hence CDS View Entities. Here is one example.
@AccessControl.authorizationCheck: #NOT_REQUIRED
define view entity DEMO_CDS_VIEW_ENTITY_KEY
as select from spfli
{
key cityfrom,
key cityto,
carrid,
connid
}
Important points to note are

 It is defined with DEFINE VIEW ENTITY

 It has similar syntax to CDS View

 SQL / DDIC view is not created for the entities

 The CDS view entity can be used in ABAP programs using ABAP SQL

 The data source can be database table, CDS view, CDS view entity, CDS table function.

Advantages of CDS View entity

 No SQL view is generated on activation – hence improved activation performance

 Automatic client handling which is also implicit – no additional annotation is required

 Strict syntax & annotation checks are applied during activation

 Simpler to extend

 New functionalities like regex replace, new operators like EXCEPT & INTERSECT are
available from 7.56

 SAP also provides a standard program RUTDDLS_MIGRATION_CANDIDATES to see if

migration of CDS View to CDS View Entity is possible and in 7.56 we also get a
program RUTDDLSV2MIGRATION that does the actual migration.

Restrictions

 SELECT * is not allowed

 Client field is not allowed in select list

 DISTINCT and UNION clause were not allowed in version 7.55 but it allowed from
version 7.56

As of now, both CDS View and CDS View entities will co-exist. However, if your ABAP
version support entities – create entities as eventually we will need to replace the views
with entities using the tools provided.

Most of the syntax remains the same so if you already understand CDS Views – you do not
need to worry much, but if you do want to learn CDS Views head over to ABAP on HANA :
CDS Views.