FILTER operator for Internal Tables in ABAP 7.4

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Dear saplearners, in this blog we all are going to learn about abap internal table filtering using FILTER operator in ABAP 7.4

FILTER Operator

A new FILTER operator is available which can used on ABAP internal tables to filter the data (or) to retrieve subset of data into a new internal table. As of ABAP 7.4 this keyword is available to use in the system.

The result of FILTER operator is a new internal table with filtered data.

First of all, lets see how we can perform the internal table filtering in the system before ABAP 7.4 version. I am sure that we all end up in creating a LOOP with a WHERE condition and finally doing an APPEND to another internal table.

ABAP code snippet will look something like this

DATA: lt_flights_all TYPE STANDARD TABLE OF spfli,
      lt_flight_lh   TYPE STANDARD TABLE OF spfli.

SELECT *  FROM spfli
          INTO TABLE @lt_flights_all.
IF sy-subrc = 0.

  LOOP AT lt_flights_all INTO DATA(ls_flight) WHERE carrid = 'LH'.

    APPEND ls_flight TO lt_flight_lh.
    CLEAR: ls_flight.

  ENDLOOP.
ENDIF.

that’s hell of a coding lines written for just simple task and if the complexity of filtering logic increase we need to write more lines of ABAP code. We definitely need some change here, is it ?

So, as of ABAP 7.4 , the FILTER keyword came into our world to save us from those extra keyboard hits. Lets let get to know more about it with some examples.

FILTER with single values

Lets take the same above example and refine the internal table filtering logic with the new FILTER keyword.

DATA: lt_flights_all TYPE STANDARD TABLE OF spfli 
                     WITH NON-UNIQUE SORTED KEY carrid
                     COMPONENTS carrid,
 
      lt_flight_lh   TYPE STANDARD TABLE OF spfli.

SELECT *  FROM spfli
          INTO TABLE @lt_flights_all.
IF sy-subrc = 0.

lt_flight_lh = FILTER #( lt_flights_all USING KEY carrid 
                                        WHERE carrid = 'LH ' ).

ENDIF.

as a result, the internal table LT_FLIGHTS_ALL is filtered on WHERE condition and filtered data will be available in the internal table LT_FLIGHT_LH.

Yes, that is just a line of statement to filter the data using FILTER keyword. Cool it is..!

The above example is a basic syntax form using FILTER keyword, now look at the another syntax form with filter table

FILTER with filter table

To explain FILTER with filter table syntax form, we need two internal tables. One which contains the actual data on which filtering is applied and other is filter internal table which contains the filter values used for filtering.

In previous example we performed the filter with a single value, now add some more filter values. Sample code snippet will look like something below.

DATA: lt_flights_all TYPE STANDARD TABLE OF spfli
                     WITH NON-UNIQUE SORTED KEY carrid
                     COMPONENTS carrid,
      lt_flight_final TYPE STANDARD TABLE OF spfli.

SELECT *  FROM spfli
          INTO TABLE @lt_flights_all.

*-- Create a filter internal table with multiple values
DATA filter_tab  TYPE SORTED TABLE OF scarr-carrid
                 WITH UNIQUE KEY table_line.
filter_tab = VALUE #( ( 'AA ' ) ( 'LH ' ) ).

*-- Apply filters
lt_flight_final = FILTER #( lt_flights_all IN filter_tab
                                           WHERE carrid = table_line ).

cl_demo_output=>write_data( lt_flights_all ).
cl_demo_output=>write_data( lt_flight_final ).
cl_demo_output=>display( ).

So by using the help filter table you can apply FILTERing on internal tables. Output look like below

FILTER operator in ABAP 7.4

Notes

Below are some points to keep in mind when using the FILTER operator

  • The internal table on which FILTER operator is used must have at least one sorted key or one hash key used for access.
  • The row type of main internal table and result internal table do not need to be identical
  • The Boolean operators NOT, OR, and EQUIV cannot be used in the WHERE condition.

Conclusion

Congrats..! you have learned about FILTER operator, try this in you next ABAP program and let me know feedback. Please feel free to comment and let us know your feedback. Subscribe for more updates.

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