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ABAP Keyword Documentation → ABAP − Reference → Processing Internal Data → Attributes of Data Objects → DESCRIBE → DESCRIBE - internal variant →
DESCRIBE FIELD INTO
This statement is for internal use only.
It must not be used in application programs.
Syntax
DESCRIBE FIELD dobj INTO td.
Effect
All characteristics of the f field, its components, subcomponents, and so on, are displayed in the td field (type description). td must be of type SYDES_DESC, which is defined in type group SYDES.
The SYDES_DESC structure has two table-like components, TYPES and NAMES:
The type description table (TYPES) not only stores information about the tree structure but also further
information about the type of f and its components. This particularly includes
all information that can be determined using the usual additions to DESCRIBE FIELD. TYPES contains the following columns:
Example
Definition of the complex data type EMPLOYEE_STRUC:
PROGRAM DESCTEST.
TYPES: BEGIN OF name_struc,
first TYPE c LENGTH 20,
last TYPE c LENGTH 20,
END OF name_struc,
BEGIN OF absence_time_struc,
day TYPE d,
from TYPE t,
to TYPE t,
END OF absence_time_struc,
phone_number TYPE n LENGTH 20,
BEGIN OF employee_struc,
id LIKE sbook-customid,
name TYPE name_struc,
BEGIN OF address,
street TYPE c LENGTH 30,
zipcode TYPE n LENGTH 4,
place TYPE c LENGTH 30,
END OF address,
salary_per_month TYPE p LENGTH 10 DECIMALS 3,
absent TYPE STANDARD TABLE OF absence_time_struc
WITH NON-UNIQUE DEFAULT KEY,
phone TYPE STANDARD TABLE OF phone_number
WITH NON-UNIQUE DEFAULT KEY,
END OF employee_struc.
You can determine the structure of the type by using type group SYDES as follows:
The following table shows a few selected columns of type description table TD-TYPES. For a better overview, the names of the columns IDX_NAME, IDX_UERR_TYPE, and IDX_EDIT_MASK have been shortened:
|FROM| TO |BACK|NAME|UTYP|EMSK|TYPE
---|----|----|----|----|----|----|----
01 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | v
02 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 4 | N
03 | 8 | 9 | 1 | 7 | 5 | 0 | u
04 | 10 | 12 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 0 | u
05 | 0 |
0 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 0 | P
06 | 13 | 13 | 1 | 11 | 0 | 0 | h
07 | 17 | 17 | 1 | 12 | 0 | 0 | h
08 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 13 | 0 | 0 | C
09 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 14 | 0 | 0 | C
10 |
0 | 0 | 4 | 15 | 0 | 0 | C
11 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 16 | 0 | 0 | N
12 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 17 | 0 | 0 | C
13 | 14 | 16 | 6 | 0 | 18 | 0 | u
14 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 20 | 0 | 0 | D
15 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 21 | 0 | 0 | T
16 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 22 | 0 | 0 | T
17 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N
Note that the entries in rows 6 and 7 represent internal tables (ABAP type h). There is always an entry for the corresponding row type (rows 13 and 17) for an internal table.
The indices in rows 5 to 7 refer to entries in name table TD-NAMES. If you look, for example, at
row 3, you find the corresponding component name in TD-NAMES from row 7 (NAME) onwards and the corresponding user type from row 5 (NAME_STRUC) onwards.
In name table TD-NAMES, you find the following entries. Note that the names SALARY_PER_MONTH and ABSENCE_TIME_STRUC are stored in two parts:
|CONTINUE|NAME |CONTINUE|NAME
---|--------|-------------- ----|--------|--------------
01 | |DESCTEST
12 | |PHONE
02 | |EMPLOYEE_STRUC 13 | |FIRST
03 | |SBOOK-CUSTOMID 14 | |LAST
04 | |==ALPHA
15 | |STREET
05 | |NAME_STRUC
16 | |ZIPCODE
06 | |ID
17 | |PLACE
07 | |NAME
18 | * |ABSENCE_TIME_ST
08 | |ADDRESS
19 | |RUC
09 | * |SALARY_PER_MONT 20 | |DAY
10 | |H
21 | |FROM
11 | |ABSENT
22 | |TO