DIFFERENCE BETWEEN INTERNAL TABLE & WORK AREA

In SAP ABAP, both work areas and internal tables are used to hold and manipulate data, but they serve different purposes and have distinct characteristics. Here's the difference between a work area and an internal table:

1. Work Area:

A work area is a single record buffer that holds the data of a single row from a database table or a structure.

It is used when you need to process or manipulate one row of data at a time.

Work areas are typically declared using the TYPE statement to define the structure of the data they will hold.

Work areas are commonly used when retrieving data from a database table or for intermediate calculations.

Example of declaring and using a work area:

DATA: wa_employee TYPE ty_employee. 

SELECT * FROM zemployee INTO wa_employee WHERE emp_id = '123'. 

WRITE: / 'Employee ID:', wa_employee-emp_id, 'Name:', wa_employee-emp_name. 

2. Internal Table:

An internal table is a structured data type that can hold multiple rows of data in a tabular format, similar to a database table.

Internal tables are used when you need to work with multiple rows of data simultaneously, like in a loop or for processing results of a database query.

Internal tables can be declared using the DATA statement and the TYPE addition to define the structure of the data they will hold.

Internal tables can be of different types: standard tables, sorted tables, and hashed tables, each with its own features and performance characteristics.

Example of declaring and using an internal table:

DATA: lt_employees TYPE TABLE OF ty_employee, wa_employee TYPE ty_employee. 

SELECT * FROM zemployee INTO TABLE lt_employees WHERE salary > 50000. 

LOOP AT lt_employees INTO wa_employee.

 WRITE: / 'Employee ID:', wa_employee-emp_id, 'Name:', wa_employee-emp_name. 

ENDLOOP.

 

In summary, a work area is a single record buffer used for processing individual rows of data, while an internal table is a structured data type used for holding multiple rows of data for collective processing. The choice between using a work area and an internal table depends on the specific requirements of your ABAP program and the nature of the data you are working with.