Data Dictionary Enhancement in SAP ABAP

Hello and welcome to Chapter two. In the previous chapter, we learned the overview of SAP enhancement. As enhancement is a way to add or change the object functionality without modifying the object itself. There are various enhancement types. And in this chapter we will discuss one of them. It is data dictionary enhancement. Data dictionary enhancement is an enhancement to SAP data dictionary object. Table or structure. We can enhance SAP standard table or structure by using two ways. Append structure and customizing include. A band structure and customizing include allow us to enhance as standard tables or structures by adding fields to them, but not part of SAP standard object or SAP object. What are the differences between append structure and customizing include? Almost all standard tables or structures can be enhanced by using a pen structure. To create an append structure. First, we create append structure as customer object. The field names in an append structure must be in customer namespace. It must begin with either Y, y, or Z. This prevents naming conflicts with the SAP standard fields. And then we attach the append structure to SAP standard table or structure definition. Whenever the SAP standard table or structure is activated, the system searches for all active append structures for that table and attaches them to the database table. An append structures may only be assigned to a single table. A table may, however, have several append structures attached to it. And then the next is customizing include. Not all standard tables or structures can be enhanced by using customizing include only the tables or structures that have customizing include statement inside it. If we want to implement the customizing include, then we double click the customizing include statement. The customizing include field names must lie in the customer namespace just like field names in append structures. These names must all begin with either y, y or Z. In contrast to a structure customizing includes can be inserted into more than one table. Okay. That's all about data dictionary enhancement. Before we end this chapter, let's take a look at the summary. First, we can enhance as a standard table or structure by using two ways a pen structure and customizing include. We can enhance table or structure by using customizing include only if the table or structure has customizing include statement one Append structure can only be used in only one table, but one table can use more than one append structure. One customizing include can be used in more than one table. Okay. We have learned the theory of data dictionary enhancement for better understanding. We will practice to create a data dictionary enhancement in the next chapter. Okay. See you again in the next chapter. Thanks.