SAP ABAP Operators with Examples

Welcome to the SAP ABAP Tutorial. In this tutorial, we are going to learn about SAP ABAP Operators – what they are, why they are used and how to use them. Let’s have you cosied up in using operators in ABAP.

What are Operators?

• Operators are symbols used to perform various types of functions.
• They manipulate variables and other values to produce a result.
• Operators are combined with variables, constants, and literals to produce a meaningful expression that may produce a result.
• Without operators, there is no meaning to an expression.

What are Operators in SAP ABAP?

ABAP provides a myriad of operators to be used to perform several activities. They can be categorized in the following types:

1. Arithmetic Operators
2. Logical/ Comparison Operators
3. Bitwise Operators

Let us see each type of operator in detail.

1. Arithmetic Operators in ABAP

As the name goes, arithmetic operators are used to carrying out mathematical operations. They are used similarly to how we use them in algebra.

Let us see a few arithmetic operators.

Let’s see examples on how to use Arithmetic Operators in ABAP –

REPORT ZR_SS_DATAFLAIR_SAMPLE_001.

DATA:
      A TYPE I VALUE 23,
      B TYPE I VALUE 5,
      Sum TYPE I,
      Difference TYPE I,
      Product TYPE I,
      Quotient TYPE I,
      Remainder TYPE I.

Sum =  A + B.
WRITE / Sum.

Difference =  A - B.
WRITE / Difference.

Product =  A * B.
WRITE / Product.

Quotient =  A / B.
WRITE / Quotient.

Remainder =  A MOD B.
WRITE / Remainder.

Output

2. Logical/Comparison Operators in ABAP

Logical operators are used for comparison between two values. They are usually used as tests between two variables, and return a true/false value based on the result.

Let us see a few logical operators.

Consider a = 2, b = 4, c = 0

if either one of length or data type does not match for the two variables being operated upon, ABAP will automatically convert either one or both variables. The rules of conversion are as follows – 

Let’s see examples on how to use Logical Operators in ABAP –

REPORT ZR_SS_DATAFLAIR_SAMPLE_001.
DATA:
      A TYPE I VALUE 2,
      B TYPE I VALUE 4,
      C TYPE I VALUE 0.


IF A = B.
  WRITE: / 'A is equal to B'.
ENDIF.

IF A <> B.
  WRITE: / 'A is not equal to B'.
ENDIF.

IF A < B.
  WRITE: / 'A is lesser than B'.
ENDIF.

IF A > B.
  WRITE: / 'A is greater than B'.
ENDIF.

IF A <= B.
  WRITE: / 'A is lesser than or equal to B'.
ENDIF.

IF A >= B.
  WRITE: / 'A is greater than or equal to B'.
ENDIF.

IF A BETWEEN C AND B.
  WRITE: / 'A lies between B and C'.
ENDIF.

Output

3. Bitwise Operators in ABAP

We also have bitwise operators in ABAP for boolean-level operations.

Here is an example of how the above operators work:

Let’s see examples of how to use Bitwise Operators in ABAP – 

REPORT ZR_SS_DATAFLAIR_SAMPLE_001.
DATA:
      A TYPE X VALUE '24',
      B TYPE X VALUE '12',
      RES_AND TYPE X,
      RES_OR TYPE X,
      RES_NOT TYPE X,
      RES_XOR TYPE X.

RES_AND = A BIT-AND B.
WRITE: / 'A BIT-AND B = ', RES_AND.

RES_OR = A BIT-OR B.
WRITE: / 'A BIT-OR B = ', RES_OR.

RES_XOR = A BIT-XOR B.
WRITE: / 'A BIT-XOR B = ', RES_XOR.

RES_NOT = BIT-NOT A.
WRITE: / 'BIT-NOT A = ', RES_NOT.

Output

4. Character String Operators in ABAP

As the name suggests, Character String Operators in ABAP compare characters (single character text) with strings (multiple character text) and evaluate results according to its presence or absence in the string.

To simplify, let’s see types and examples:

For the description, assume we have two strings: A & B, we perform operations on them as follows (operator is in bold) –

Let’s see examples on how to use Character String Operators in ABAP –

REPORT ZR_SS_DATAFLAIR_SAMPLE_001.
DATA:
      P(10) TYPE C VALUE 'APPLE',
      Q(10) TYPE C VALUE 'PINEAPPLE'.

IF P CA Q.
  WRITE: / 'P contains at least one character of Q'.
ENDIF.

IF P NA Q.
  WRITE: / 'P does not contain any character of Q'.
ENDIF.

IF P CO Q.
  WRITE: / 'P is solely composed of the characters in Q'.
ENDIF.

IF P CN Q.
  WRITE: / 'P contains characters that are not in Q'.
ENDIF.

IF P CS Q.
  WRITE: / 'P contains the character string Q'.
ENDIF.

IF P NS Q.
  WRITE: / 'P does not contain the character string Q'.
ENDIF.

IF P CP Q.
  WRITE: / 'P contains the pattern in Q'.
ENDIF.

IF P NP Q.
  WRITE: / 'P does not contain the pattern in Q'.
ENDIF.

Output

Summary

Today, we learnt about the various operators available in SAP ABAP. We learnt the meaning of operators, why and how they are used. We also learnt through examples – both with code and without, on how to use these operators.

Thus, these are the various types of operators present in ABAP. They are used to manipulate, compare and operate on variables and constants.