C_ABAPD_2309 SAP Certified Associate - Back-End Developer - ABAP Cloud Questions and Answers

The purpose of a foreign key relationship between two tables in the ABAP Dictionary is to ensure the integrity of data in the corresponding database tables. A foreign key relationship defines a logical link between a foreign key table and a check table, where the foreign key fields of the former are assigned to the primary key fields of the latter. This means that the values entered in the foreign key fields must exist in the check table, otherwise the system will reject the entry. This way, the foreign key relationship prevents the insertion of invalid or inconsistent data in the database tables.

A foreign key relationship also serves to document the relationship between the two tables in the ABAP Dictionary, but this is not its primary purpose. A foreign key relationship does not necessarily create a corresponding foreign key relationship in the database, as this depends on the database system and the settings of the ABAP Dictionary. Some database systems do not support foreign keys at all, while others require additional steps to activate them. Therefore, the foreign key relationship in the ABAP Dictionary is mainly a logical concept that is enforced by the ABAP runtime environment.

References: Foreign Keys (SAP Library - ABAP Dictionary), Foreign Keys (SAP Library - BC - ABAP Dictionary)

https://help.sap.com/doc/saphelp_snc70/7.0/en-US/cf/21ea77446011d189700000e8322d00/content.htm

A generic internal table type is a table type that does not define all the attributes of an internal table in the ABAP Dictionary; it leaves some of these attributes undefined. A table type is generic in the following cases1:

You have selected Index Table or Not Specified as the access type.

You have not specified a table key or specified an incomplete table key.

You have specified a generic secondary table key.

A generic table type can be used only for typing formal parameters or field symbols. A generic table type cannot be used for defining data objects or constants2.

Therefore, the correct answer is B. INDEX TABLE, which is a generic table type that does not specify the access type or the table key. The other options are not generic table types, because:

A. SORTED TABLE is a table type that specifies the access type as sorted and the table key as a unique or non-unique primary key3.

C. STANDARD TABLE is a table type that specifies the access type as standard and the table key as a non-unique standard key that consists of all the fields of the table row in the order in which they are defined4.

D. HASHED TABLE is a table type that specifies the access type as hashed and the table key as a unique primary key5.

References: 1: Generic Table Types - ABAP Dictionary - SAP Online Help 2: Generic ABAP Types - ABAP Keyword Documentation - SAP Online Help 3: Sorted Tables - ABAP Keyword Documentation - SAP Online Help 4: Standard Tables - ABAP Keyword Documentation - SAP Online Help 5: Hashed Tables - ABAP Keyword Documentation - SAP Online Help

The sequence priority when evaluating a logical expression is C. A C B, which means NOT, AND, OR. This is the order of precedence of the Boolean operators in ABAP, which determines how the system implicitly parenthesizes all logical expressions that are not closed by explicit parentheses. The operator with the highest priority is evaluated first, and the operator with the lowest priority is evaluated last. The order of precedence of the Boolean operators in ABAP is as follows12:

NOT: The NOT operator is a unary operator that negates the logical expression that follows it. It has the highest priority and is evaluated before any other operator. For example, in the expression NOT a AND b, the NOT operator is applied to a first, and then the AND operator is applied to the result and b.

AND: The AND operator is a binary operator that returns true if both logical expressions on its left and right are true, and false otherwise. It has the second highest priority and is evaluated before the OR and EQUIV operators. For example, in the expression a AND b OR c, the AND operator is applied to a and b first, and then the OR operator is applied to the result and c.

OR: The OR operator is a binary operator that returns true if either or both logical expressions on its left and right are true, and false otherwise. It has the third highest priority and is evaluated after the NOT and AND operators, but before the EQUIV operator. For example, in the expression a OR b EQUIV c, the OR operator is applied to a and b first, and then the EQUIV operator is applied to the result and c.

EQUIV: The EQUIV operator is a binary operator that returns true if both logical expressions on its left and right have the same truth value, and false otherwise. It has the lowest priority and is evaluated after all other operators. For example, in the expression a AND b EQUIV c OR d, the EQUIV operator is applied to a AND b and c last, after the AND and OR operators are applied.

References: 1: log_exp - Boolean Operators and Parentheses - ABAP Keyword Documentation - SAP Online Help 2: Logical Expressions (log_exp) - ABAP Keyword Documentation - SAP Online Help

 Core Data Services (CDS) are preferable to the classical approach to data modeling for several reasons, but two of them are:

They implement code pushdown. Code pushdown is the principle of moving data-intensive logic from the application server to the database server, where the data resides. This reduces the data transfer between the application server and the database server, which improves the performance and scalability of the application. CDS enable code pushdown by allowing the definition of semantic data models and business logic in the database layer, using SQL and SQL-based expressions1.

They transfer computational results to the application server. CDS allow the application server to access the data and the logic defined in the database layer by using Open SQL statements. Open SQL is a standardized and simplified subset of SQL that can be used across different database platforms. Open SQL statements are translated into native SQL statements by the ABAP runtime environment and executed on the database server. The results of the computation are then transferred to the application server, where they can be further processed or displayed2.

References: 1: ABAP - Core Data Services (ABAP CDS) - ABAP Keyword Documentation 2: Open SQL - ABAP Keyword Documentation

When processing a loop with the statement DO… ENDDO, the system variable that contains the implicit loop counter is sy-index. The loop counter is a numeric value that indicates how many times the loop has been executed. The loop counter is initialized to 1 before the first execution of the loop and is incremented by 1 after each execution. The loop counter can be used to control the number of loop iterations or to access the loop elements by index. The loop counter can also be accessed or modified within the loop body, but this is not recommended as it may cause unexpected results or errors1.

For example, the following code snippet uses the loop counter sy-index to display the numbers from 1 to 10:

DO 10 TIMES. WRITE: / sy-index. ENDDO.

The output of this code is:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

References: 1: DO - ABAP Keyword Documentation

The patterns that raise an exception are those that use the constructor operator EXACT to perform a lossless assignment or calculation, but the result cannot be converted to the target data type without data loss. The following are the explanations for each pattern:

A: This pattern raises the exception CX_SY_CONVERSION_LOST because the result of the calculation 2 * 3 is 6, which cannot be assigned to a packed number with two decimal places without losing the integer part. The operator -U is used to perform a lossless calculation with the calculation type decfloat34.

B: This pattern does not raise an exception because the result of the substring expression gco_string+5(5) is ‘6789A’, which can be assigned to a string without data loss. The operator EXACT # is used to perform a lossless assignment with the data type of the argument.

C: This pattern raises the exception CX_SY_CONVERSION_LOST because the result of the substring expression gco_string+5(6) is ‘6789AB’, which cannot be assigned to a character field with length 5 without losing the last character. The operator EXACT is used to perform a lossless assignment with the data type of the target field.

D: This pattern does not raise an exception because the result of the calculation 2 / 2 is 1, which can be assigned to a packed number with three decimal places without data loss. The operator -U is used to perform a lossless calculation with the calculation type decfloat34.

E: This pattern raises the exception CX_SY_CONVERSION_ERROR because the constant gco_date contains an invalid value ‘20331233’ for a date data type, which cannot be converted to a valid date. The operator EXACT is used to perform a lossless assignment with the data type of the target field.

References: EXACT - Lossless Operator - ABAP Keyword Documentation, Lossless Assignments - ABAP Keyword Documentation

The data type of gv_result in the assignment data (gv_result) = 1/8 will be TYPE DECFLOAT 16. This is because the assignment operator (=) in ABAP performs an implicit type conversion from the source type to the target type, according to the following rules12:

If the target type is specified explicitly, the source value is converted to the target type.

If the target type is not specified explicitly, the source type is used as the target type, unless the source type is a literal or an expression, in which case the target type is determined by the following priority order: DECFLOAT34, DECFLOAT16, P, F, I, C, N, X, STRING, XSTRING.

In this case, the target type is not specified explicitly, and the source type is an expression (1/8). Therefore, the target type is determined by the priority order, and the first matching type is DECFLOAT16, which is a decimal floating point type with 16 digits of precision12.

References: 1: ABAP Assignment Rules - ABAP Keyword Documentation - SAP Online Help 2: ABAP Data Types - ABAP Keyword Documentation - SAP Online Help

The following are the explanations for each action:

A: Renaming a field in a structure that is included in the table definition causes an indirect change to the database table, as the field name in the table is derived from the structure. This change requires a table conversion, as the existing data in the table must be copied to a new table with the new field name, and the old table must be deleted.

B: Changing the field labels of a data element that is used in the table definition does not cause an indirect change to the database table, as the field labels are only used for documentation and display purposes. This change does not require a table conversion, as the existing data in the table is not affected by the change.

C: Deleting a field from a structure that is included in the table definition causes an indirect change to the database table, as the field is removed from the table as well. This change requires a table conversion, as the existing data in the table must be copied to a new table without the deleted field, and the old table must be deleted.

D: Shortening the length of a domain used in a data element that is used in the table definition causes an indirect change to the database table, as the field length in the table is derived from the domain. This change requires a table conversion, as the existing data in the table must be checked for compatibility with the new field length, and any data that exceeds the new length must be truncated or rejected.

References: Converting Database Tables - ABAP Keyword Documentation, Adjustment of Database Structures - ABAP Keyword Documentation

The clause in the CDS View Entity Data Definition can be used to specify the data source for the view entity. The clause can accept different types of data sources, depending on the type of the view entity1.

A database table from the ABAP Dictionary: This is a valid type of data source for a CDS View Entity Data Definition. A database table from the ABAP Dictionary is a table that is defined in the ABAP Dictionary using the keyword TABLE or TABLE OF. The name of the database table must be unique within its namespace and must not contain any special characters2.

A CDS DDIC-based view: This is also a valid type of data source for a CDS View Entity Data Definition. A CDS DDIC-based view is a view that is defined in the Core Data Services using the keyword DEFINE VIEW ENTITY. The name of the CDS DDIC-based view must be unique within its namespace and must not contain any special characters3.

You cannot do any of the following:

An external view from the ABAP Dictionary: This is not a valid type of data source for a CDS View Entity Data Definition. An external view from the ABAP Dictionary is a view that is defined in an external application using any language supported by SAP, such as SQL, PL/SQL, or Java. The name of the external view must be unique within its namespace and must not contain any special characters4.

A database view from the ABAP Dictionary: This is not a valid type of data source for a CDS View Entity Data Definition. A database view from the ABAP Dictionary is a view that is defined in an external application using any language supported by SAP, such as SQL, PL/SQL, or Java. The name of the database view must be unique within its namespace and must not contain any special characters4.

References: 1: CDS DDL - DEFINE VIEW ENTITY - ABAP Keyword Documentation - SAP Online Help 2: ABAP Dictionary Tables - SAP Online Help 3: CDS DDL - DEFINE VIEW ENTITY - ABAP Keyword Documentation - SAP Online Help 4: ABAP Dictionary Views - SAP Online Help

The object that can be used to set a field to read-only in all applications of the RESTful Application Programming model (RAP) is the behaviour definition. The behaviour definition is a CDS artefact that defines the business logic and the UI behaviour of a business object. A business object is a CDS entity that represents a business entity or concept, such as a customer, an order, or a product. The behaviour definition can specify the properties of the fields of a business object, such as whether they are mandatory, read-only, or transient. These properties are valid for all applications that use the business object, such as transactional, analytical, or draft-enabled apps12. For example:

The following code snippet defines a behaviour definition for a business object ZI_PB_APPLICATION. It sets the field APPLICATION to read-only for all applications that use this business object:

define behavior for ZI_PB_APPLICATION { field ( read only ) APPLICATION; … }

You cannot do any of the following:

A. Service definition: A service definition is a CDS artefact that defines the interface and the binding of a service. A service is a CDS entity that exposes the data and the functionality of one or more business objects as OData, InA, or SQL services. A service definition can specify the properties of the fields of a service, such as whether they are filterable, sortable, or aggregatable. However, these properties are only valid for the specific service that uses the business object, not for all applications that use the business object12.

C. Projection view: A projection view is a CDS artefact that defines a view on one or more data sources, such as tables, views, or associations. A projection view can select, rename, or aggregate the fields of the data sources, but it cannot change the properties of the fields, such as whether they are read-only or not. The properties of the fields are inherited from the data sources or the behaviour definitions of the business objects12.

D. Metadata extension: A metadata extension is a CDS artefact that defines additional annotations for a CDS entity, such as a business object, a service, or a projection view. A metadata extension can specify the properties of the fields of a CDS entity for UI or analytical purposes, such as whether they are visible, editable, or hidden. However, these properties are only valid for the specific UI or analytical application that uses the metadata extension, not for all applications that use the CDS entity12.

References: 1: ABAP CDS - Data Definitions - ABAP Keyword Documentation - SAP Online Help 2: ABAP CDS - Behavior Definitions - ABAP Keyword Documentation - SAP Online Help

In RESTful Application Programming, a business object contains two main parts: a CDS view and a behavior definition1.

A. CDS view: A CDS view is a data definition that defines the structure and the data source of a business object. A CDS view can consist of one or more entities that are linked by associations or compositions. An entity is a CDS view element that represents a node or a projection of a business object. An entity can have various annotations that define the metadata and the semantics of the business object2.

B. Behavior definition: A behavior definition is a source code artifact that defines the behavior and the validation rules of a business object. A behavior definition can specify the standard CRUD (create, read, update, delete) operations, the draft handling, the authorization checks, and the side effects for a business object. A behavior definition can also define custom actions, validations, and determinations that implement the business logic of a business object3.

The following are not parts of a business object in RESTful Application Programming, because:

C. Authentication rules: Authentication rules are not part of a business object, but part of a service binding. A service binding is a configuration artifact that defines how a business object is exposed as an OData service. A service binding can specify the authentication method, the authorization scope, the protocol version, and the service options for the OData service4.

D. Process definition: Process definition is not part of a business object, but part of a workflow. A workflow is a business process that orchestrates the tasks and the events of a business object. A workflow can be defined using the Workflow Editor in the SAP Business Application Studio or the SAP Web IDE. A workflow can use the business object’s APIs to trigger or consume events, execute actions, or read or update data5.

References: 1: Business Object | SAP Help Portal 2: CDS View Entities | SAP Help Portal 3: Behavior Definition | SAP Help Portal 4: Service Binding | SAP Help Portal 5: Workflow | SAP Help Portal

The following are the explanations for each ABAP SQL statement:

A: This statement is valid. It selects the fields carrid, airpfrom, and the aggregate functions MAX(distance) and MIN(distance) from the table /dmo/connection, and groups the results by carrid and airpfrom. The aggregate functions are aliased as dist_max and dist_min. The results are stored in an internal table named It_hits, which is created using the inline declaration operator @DATA.

B: This statement is valid. It is similar to statement A, except that it does not specify the GROUP BY clause. This means that the aggregate functions are applied to the entire table, and the results are stored in an internal table named It_hits, which is created using the inline declaration operator @DATA.

C: This statement is invalid. It selects the aggregate functions MAX(distance) and MIN(distance) from the table /dmo/connection, but it does not specify any grouping or non-aggregate fields. This is not allowed in ABAP SQL, as the SELECT list must contain at least one non-aggregate field or a GROUP BY clause. The statement will cause a syntax error.

D: This statement is invalid. It selects the fields carrid and airpfrom from the table /dmo/connection, and groups the results by carrid and connid. However, the field connid is not included in the SELECT list, which is not allowed in ABAP SQL, as the GROUP BY clause must contain only fields that are also in the SELECT list. The statement will cause a syntax error.

References: SELECT - ABAP Keyword Documentation, GROUP BY - ABAP Keyword Documentation

You would use Access Controls with CDS Views for the following reasons:

A. Only the data corresponding to the user’s authorization is transferred from the database to the application layer. This is true because Access Controls allow you to define CDS roles that specify the authorization conditions for accessing a CDS view. The CDS roles are evaluated for every user at runtime and the system automatically adds the restrictions to the selection conditions of the CDS view. This ensures that only the data that the user is authorized to see is read from the database and transferred to the application layer. This improves the security and the performance of the data access1.

C. You do not have to remember to implement AUTHORITY CHECK statements. This is true because Access Controls provide a declarative and centralized way of defining the authorization logic for a CDS view. You do not have to write any procedural code or use the AUTHORITY CHECK statement to check the user’s authorization for each data source or field. The system handles the authorization check automatically and transparently for you2.

The following reasons are not valid for using Access Controls with CDS Views:

B. The system field sy-subrc is set, giving you the result of the authorization check. This is false because the system field sy-subrc is not used by Access Controls. The sy-subrc field is used by the AUTHORITY CHECK statement to indicate the result of the authorization check, but Access Controls do not use this statement. Instead, Access Controls use CDS roles to filter the data according to the user’s authorization2.

D. All of the data from the data sources is loaded into your application automatically and filtered there according to the user’s authorization. This is false because Access Controls do not load all the data from the data sources into the application layer. Access Controls filter the data at the database layer, where the data resides, and only transfer the data that the user is authorized to see to the application layer. This reduces the data transfer and the memory consumption of the application layer1.

References: 1: Access Controls | SAP Help Portal 2: ABAP CDS - Access Control - ABAP Keyword Documentation

A CDS view is a data definition that defines a data structure and a data selection from one or more data sources. A CDS view consists of several parts, but two of them are:

Extension: An extension is an optional clause that allows a CDS view to extend another CDS view by adding new elements, annotations, or associations. The extension clause has the syntax EXTEND VIEW view_name WITH view_name. The first view_name is the name of the CDS view that is being extended, and the second view_name is the name of the CDS view that is doing the extension1.

Field list: A field list is a mandatory clause that specifies the elements of the CDS view. The field list has the syntax SELECT FROM data_source { element_list }. The data_source is the name of the data source that the CDS view selects data from, and the element_list is a comma-separated list of elements that the CDS view exposes. The elements can be fields of the data source, expressions, associations, or annotations2.

The following example shows a CDS view that extends another CDS view and defines a field list:

@AbapCatalog.sqlViewName: ‘ZCDS_EXT’ define view Z_CDS_Extension extend view Z_CDS_Base with Z_CDS_Extension as select from ztable { // field list key ztable.id as ID, ztable.name as Name, ztable.age as Age, // extension @Semantics.currencyCode: true ztable.currency as Currency }

The other options are not parts of a CDS view, but rather related concepts:

Partitioning attributes: Partitioning attributes are attributes that are used to partition a table into smaller subsets of data. Partitioning attributes are defined in the ABAP Dictionary for transparent tables and can improve the performance and scalability of data access. Partitioning attributes are not part of the CDS view definition, but rather the underlying table definition3.

Semantic table attributes: Semantic table attributes are attributes that provide additional information about the meaning and usage of a table. Semantic table attributes are defined in the ABAP Dictionary for transparent tables and can be used to enhance the data modeling and consumption of the table. Semantic table attributes are not part of the CDS view definition, but rather the underlying table definition4.

References: 1: Extending CDS Views | SAP Help Portal 2: SELECT List - ABAP Keyword Documentation 3: Partitioning Attributes - ABAP Keyword Documentation 4: Semantic Table Attributes - ABAP Keyword Documentation

Both statements are valid in ABAP, but they have different effects on the program.

##NEEDED is a pragma that can be used to hide warnings from the ABAP compiler syntax check. It tells the check tools that a variable or a parameter is needed for further processing, even if it is not used in the current statement. For example, if you declare a variable without assigning any value to it, you can use ##NEEDED to suppress the warning about unused variables12.

The pragma is not checked by the syntax checker means that you can use any pragma to hide any warning from the ABAP compiler syntax check, regardless of its effect on the program logic or performance. For example, if you use ##SHADOW to hide a warning about an obscured function, you can also use it to hide a warning about an invalid character in a string12.

You cannot do any of the following:

#EC_NEEDED is not checked by the syntax checker: This is not a valid statement in ABAP. There is no pseudo-comment with #EC_NEEDED in ABAP3.

The pseudo-comment is checked by the syntax checker: This is false. Pseudo-comments are obsolete and should no longer be used in ABAP. They were replaced by pragmas since SAP NW 7.0 EhP2 (Enhancement Package)4.

References: 1: Pragmas - ABAP Keyword Documentation - SAP Online Help 2: [What are pragmas and pseudo comments in ABAP? | SAP Blogs - SAP Community] 3: ABAP Keyword Documentation - SAP Online Help 4: What are PRAGMAS and Pseudo comments in SAP ABAP

When accessing the subclass instance through go_super, you can do both of the following:

Access the inherited private components: A subclass inherits all the private attributes and methods of its superclass, unless they are explicitly overridden by the subclass. Therefore, you can access the inherited private components of the superclass through go_super, as long as they are not hidden by other attributes or methods in the subclass12.

Access the inherited public components: A subclass inherits all the public attributes and methods of its superclass, unless they are explicitly overridden by the subclass. Therefore, you can access the inherited public components of the superclass through go_super, as long as they are not hidden by other attributes or methods in the subclass12.

You cannot do any of the following:

Call a subclass specific public method: A subclass does not have any public methods that are not inherited from its superclass. Therefore, you cannot call a subclass specific public method through go_super12.

Call inherited public redefined methods: A subclass does not have any public methods that are redefined from its superclass. Therefore, you cannot call inherited public redefined methods through go_super12.

References: 1: Object Oriented - ABAP Development - Support Wiki 2: Inheritance and Instantiation - ABAP Keyword Documentation

When processing an internal table with the statement LOOP AT itab… ENDLOOP, the system variable that contains the current row number is sy-tabix. The sy-tabix variable is a predefined field of the system structure sy that holds the index or the row number of the current line in an internal table loop. The sy-tabix variable is initialized with the value 1 for the first loop pass and is incremented by 1 for each subsequent loop pass. The sy-tabix variable can be used to access or modify the current line of the internal table using the index access12.

References: 1: LOOP AT itab - ABAP Keyword Documentation - SAP Online Help 2: System Fields - ABAP Keyword Documentation - SAP Online Help

The internal table type that allows both unique and non-unique keys is the standard table. A standard table has an internal linear index that can be used to access the table entries. The key of a standard table is always non-unique, which means that the table can contain duplicate entries. However, the system does not check the uniqueness of the key when inserting new entries, so the programmer can ensure that the key is unique by using appropriate logic. A standard table can be accessed either by using the table index or the key, but the response time for key access is proportional to the table size.

The other two internal table types, sorted and hashed, do not allow non-unique keys. A sorted table is filled in sorted order according to the defined table key, which must be unique. A sorted table can be accessed either by using the table index or the key, but the response time for key access is logarithmically proportional to the table size. A hashed table can only be accessed by using a unique key, which must be specified when declaring the table. A hashed table has no index, and the response time for key access is constant, regardless of the table size.

References: Internal Tables - ABAP Keyword Documentation, SAP ABAP: Types Of Internal Table Declaration - dan852.com