SAP ABAP Core Concepts

Interview Questions with Short Answers

1. Data Dictionary (DDIC)

1. What is a Data Dictionary in SAP ABAP?

o A central repository for database objects like tables, views, and data elements.
2. What are the different types of tables in SAP ABAP?
o Transparent, Cluster, and Pooled Tables.
3. What are Transparent, Cluster, and Pooled Tables?
o Transparent: 1:1 DB table; Cluster: Multiple logical tables stored as one; Pooled: Many small
tables stored together.
4. Explain the purpose of Domains and Data Elements.
o Domains define data types; Data Elements define field labels and semantics.
5. What is a Table Maintenance Generator (TMG)?
o A tool to create table maintenance screens for easy data entry.
6. What is the difference between Views and Table Joins?
o Views are predefined joins stored in the database; Joins occur at runtime in queries.
7. What are Foreign Keys and Check Tables?
o Foreign Keys ensure referential integrity; Check Tables validate input values.
8. How do we enhance a standard table in SAP ABAP?
o Using Append Structures or Custom Includes.
9. What are Search Helps and their types?
o Provide value selection; Types: Elementary, Collective, and Parameterized.
10. Explain Lock Objects and their usage.
o Prevent data inconsistency in parallel processes using Enqueue and Dequeue functions.

2. Internal Tables & Work Areas

11. What is an Internal Table?

o A temporary table for processing data in memory.
12. What are the different types of Internal Tables?
o Standard, Sorted, and Hashed Tables.
13. How do you define a Work Area?
o A single-row structure for handling internal table data.
14. What is the difference between Standard, Sorted, and Hashed Tables?
o Standard: Linear search; Sorted: Binary search; Hashed: Key-based search.
15. How do you read data from an Internal Table?
o Using READ TABLE, LOOP AT, or Table Expressions.
16. What is the use of the ‘APPEND’ and ‘INSERT’ statements?
o APPEND adds to the end; INSERT adds at a specific position.
17. Explain ‘COLLECT’ and its usage.
o Aggregates numeric fields of internal table entries.
18. How does ‘LOOP AT’ work in Internal Tables?
o Iterates over rows of an internal table.
19. What is the difference between ‘READ TABLE’ and ‘LOOP AT’?
o READ TABLE fetches a single row; LOOP AT processes multiple rows.
20. What are Table Expressions in New ABAP?
o Modern syntax to access internal table data without READ TABLE.
3. Modularization Techniques

21. What are Subroutines (PERFORM)?

o Modular code blocks defined in FORM...ENDFORM.
22. What are Function Modules? Explain with an example.
o Reusable procedures defined in Function Groups; Example:
‘CONVERSION_EXIT_ALPHA_INPUT’.
23. What is the difference between Function Modules and Methods?
o Function Modules: Global, stored in Function Groups; Methods: Local to Classes.
24. Explain the use of Macros in SAP ABAP.
o Short reusable code blocks defined with DEFINE...END-OF-DEFINITION.
25. What are Class-based Exceptions in ABAP?
o Exception handling using TRY...CATCH with Exception Classes.

4. Reports & ALV

26. What are the types of Reports in SAP ABAP?

o Classical, Interactive, and ALV Reports.
27. What is the difference between Classical and Interactive Reports?
o Classical: Simple list; Interactive: Drill-down capability.
28. What is an ALV Report, and why is it used?
o Advanced List Viewer; enhances report display and usability.
29. How do you create an ALV Report using Function Modules?
o Use FM: REUSE_ALV_GRID_DISPLAY.
30. What is the use of the SALV Model in ALV?
o Object-oriented approach for ALV reports.
31. What is Hotspot and Hide in Reports?
o Hotspot: Clickable fields; Hide: Stores row data for interactive reports.
32. What is a Logical Database in SAP?
o A predefined data retrieval mechanism.

5. Dialog Programming & Module Pool

33. What is a Module Pool Program?

o A program for transaction-based screens.
34. What are the Screen Elements in Dialog Programming?
o Input fields, buttons, table controls, etc.
35. Explain PBO and PAI events in Module Pool.
o PBO: Before screen display; PAI: After user input.
36. How do you handle Field Validation in Module Pool?
o Using CHAIN-ENDCHAIN and FIELD statements.
37. What is the difference between Call Screen and Set Screen?
o CALL SCREEN opens a new screen; SET SCREEN moves within the same program.
38. What is a Message Class in Dialog Programming?
o A collection of system messages.

6. BDC & LSMW

39. What is BDC in SAP ABAP?

o Batch Data Communication for data migration.
 40. What are the methods of BDC?
o Call Transaction and Session Method.
41. What is the difference between Call Transaction and Session Method?
o Call Transaction: Synchronous; Session: Asynchronous processing.
42. Explain the significance of SHDB.
o Transaction for recording BDC scripts.
43. What is LSMW, and how does it work?
o Legacy System Migration Workbench; supports data migration.
44. What are the different file formats supported in LSMW?
o CSV, Excel, and Text Files.

7. Smart Forms & SAP Scripts

45. What is the difference between Smart Forms and SAP Scripts?
o Smart Forms: Graphical interface, no programming required. SAP Scripts: Requires programming,
text-based.
46. How do you migrate SAP Scripts to Smart Forms?
o Using the transaction SMARTFORMS, migrate via the standard tool.
47. What are the main components of Smart Forms?
o Form Interface, Form Layout, and Output Program.
48. What are the events in Smart Forms?
o Initialization, Start of Form, End of Form, and Main Window processing.
49. What is the use of a Style in SAP Scripts?
o Defines font, paragraph, and character formatting.
50. What is the role of a Function Module in Smart Forms?
o Smart Forms generate a Function Module for execution.

8. Enhancements & Modifications

51. What are Enhancements in SAP ABAP?

o Methods to modify standard SAP without changing core code.
52. What are the different types of Enhancements?
o User Exits, Customer Exits, BADI, and Enhancement Spots.
53. What is the difference between User Exit and Customer Exit?
o User Exit: Includes subroutines; Customer Exit: Includes function modules.
54. What is a BADI (Business Add-In)?
o Object-oriented enhancement technique using Interfaces.
55. What is the difference between Implicit and Explicit Enhancements?
o Implicit: Available at predefined points; Explicit: Added manually.
56. How do you implement a BADI?
o Implement via SE18 (Definition) and SE19 (Implementation).
57. What is an Enhancement Spot?
o A designated place for adding custom enhancements.

9. Interfaces & RFC

58. What is an RFC (Remote Function Call)?

o A protocol to call functions in remote SAP systems.
59. What are the types of RFC?
o Synchronous, Asynchronous, Transactional, and Queued RFC.
60. What is the difference between Synchronous and Asynchronous RFC?
 o Synchronous: Immediate response; Asynchronous: Executes in the background.
61. What is an IDoc in SAP?
o Intermediate Document, used for data exchange between SAP and external systems.
62. What is an ALE in SAP?
o Application Link Enabling, used for distributed system integration.
63. What is the difference between BAPI and RFC?
o BAPI: Business APIs used for standard transactions; RFC: General remote functions.
64. What is a Web Service in SAP?
o Service for integrating SAP with external systems using XML/SOAP.
65. What is an XI/PI in SAP?
o Exchange Infrastructure / Process Integration for message exchange.

10. Object-Oriented ABAP (OOPs ABAP)

66. What is Object-Oriented ABAP?

o ABAP programming using Classes, Objects, and Inheritance.
67. What are the key features of OOPs ABAP?
o Encapsulation, Inheritance, Polymorphism, and Abstraction.
68. What is the difference between a Class and an Object?
o Class: Blueprint; Object: Instance of a class.
69. What are Instance and Static Methods?
o Instance: Works on object data; Static: Works at the class level.
70. What is Polymorphism in ABAP?
o Ability of methods to behave differently based on input or class.
71. What is Inheritance in ABAP?
o One class deriving properties and methods from another.
72. What is an Interface in ABAP?
o Defines method signatures without implementation.
73. What is the use of Abstract Classes in ABAP?
o Classes that cannot be instantiated but serve as templates.
74. What is an ALV Object-Oriented Report?
o Uses CL_SALV_TABLE for displaying ALV output.

11. Performance Optimization

75. How do you optimize SELECT queries in SAP ABAP?

o Use proper indexing, avoid SELECT *, use FOR ALL ENTRIES.
76. What is Buffering in SAP?
o Stores frequently accessed table data in memory for faster access.
77. How do you analyze performance in SAP ABAP?
o Use transaction ST05 (SQL Trace) and SE30 (Runtime Analysis).
78. What are Indexes in SAP?
o Database objects that improve search performance.
79. What is Parallel Processing in ABAP?
o Running multiple processes simultaneously to improve performance.
80. What are the different types of buffering in SAP?
o Single Record, Generic, and Full Table Buffering.
81. What is the impact of Nested Loops in ABAP?
o Causes performance issues; should be minimized.
12. Workflows & Events

82. What is a Workflow in SAP?

o Automates business processes using tasks and events.
83. What are the components of SAP Workflow?
o Workflows, Tasks, Events, and Agents.
84. What is a Business Object in Workflow?
o A representation of a business entity with methods and attributes.
85. What is an Event in SAP Workflow?
o A trigger for workflow execution.

13. CDS Views & SAP HANA

86. What are CDS Views in SAP ABAP?

o Core Data Services for defining data models in HANA.
87. What is the advantage of CDS Views over traditional Views?
o Better performance, annotations, and reusable semantics.
88. What are Annotations in CDS?
o Metadata to enhance CDS functionality.
89. What is an AMDP (ABAP Managed Database Procedure)?
o A database procedure managed directly in ABAP.
90. What is the difference between Open SQL and Native SQL?
o Open SQL: Platform-independent; Native SQL: Database-specific.

14. Miscellaneous Topics

91. What are Transaction Codes in SAP?

o Shortcuts for executing programs.
92. What is an Authorization Object?
o Defines user permissions in SAP.
93. What is a Variant in SAP?
o A saved input selection for programs.
94. What is the difference between Synchronous and Asynchronous Updates?
o Synchronous: Immediate update; Asynchronous: Background update.
95. What is the use of an Update Task in SAP?
o Ensures database consistency using CALL FUNCTION IN UPDATE TASK.
96. What is an SAP Transport Request?
o Moves changes from Development to Quality/Production.
97. What is an OSS Note in SAP?
o SAP-provided solutions for specific issues.
98. What is the use of SE80?
o Integrated development environment for ABAP.
99. What is an Enhancement Framework?
o A tool to add custom logic without modifying standard code.
100. What is a Table Type?
o Defines structure for internal tables.