SAP ABAP CO

The Power of the CO Operator in SAP ABAP

In the world of SAP ABAP programming, string manipulation is a fundamental skill. One of the most useful tools for comparing and analyzing strings is the CO (Contains Only) operator. Let’s delve into what it does, why it’s important, and how you can use it effectively in your ABAP code.

What is the CO Operator?

The CO operator is a logical operator that allows you to determine if one string contains only characters present in another string. Here’s the basic syntax:

ABAP

IF string1 CO string2.

  “Code to execute if string1 contains only characters from string2”

ENDIF.

Use code with caution.

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Key Points about the CO Operator

• Case-sensitive: The CO operator is case-sensitive. “HELLO” and “hello” would be considered different.
• Trailing Blanks: Trailing blanks (spaces at the end of strings) are respected in comparisons.
• SY-FDPOS: If the comparison fails, the system variable SY-FDPOS will indicate the position of the first character in string1 that’s not found in string2.

Practical Examples

1. Data Validation: Ensure a field only contains specific characters.
2. ABAP
3. DATA: user_id TYPE string,
4.        allowed_chars TYPE string VALUE ‘ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ0123456789’.
5.  
6. IF user_id CO allowed_chars.
7.   “Valid User ID”
8. ELSE.
9.   “Invalid User ID. Please use alphanumeric characters only.”
10. ENDIF.
11. Use code with caution.
12. content_copy
13. Filtering Data: Select records based on string content.
14. ABAP
15. SELECT * FROM customer 
16.        INTO TABLE @data(customers)
17.        WHERE city CO ‘NY’. “Select only customers where the city contains ‘NY'”
18. Use code with caution.
19. content_copy
20. Search Within Strings:  Combined with other techniques, the CO operator can help search within larger strings.
21. ABAP
22. DATA: text TYPE string VALUE ‘The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog’,
23.       word TYPE string VALUE ‘fox’.
24.  
25. FIND word IN text.
26. IF sy-subrc = 0.
27.   WHILE sy-fdpos + LENGTH(word) <= LENGTH(text).
28.     IF text+sy-fdpos(LENGTH(word)) CO word.
29.       “Word found!”
30.       EXIT. 
31.     ENDIF.
32.     FIND NEXT word IN text.
33.   ENDWHILE.
34. ENDIF.
35. Use code with caution.
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CO vs. Other String Operators

• CA (Contains Any): CO checks if all characters are present, while CA checks if at least one character is present.
• CN (Contains Not Only): The opposite of CO. True if string1 contains characters not in string2.

Mastering String Manipulation

The CO operator is a valuable asset for any ABAP developer. Understanding how it works, and when to use it alongside other string operators, will enhance your ability to write clean, efficient, and robust ABAP code.

Let me know if you’d like more examples, a deeper dive into string manipulation techniques, or comparisons with other operators in ABAP!