Ways of checking if record exists in itab without loop?

Question

Is there a shortcut or should I just loop at the table and check?

I mean I am using an internal table and I want to check if a value is contained in one field of the internal table and I don't want to loop the table to find the value. Is it possible?

score 26 · Accepted Answer · edited Jan 27 '20 at 12:39

26

To check for a specific value without doing a loop or transferring values to a work area, you can use the READ statement with the addition TRANSPORTING NO FIELDS like so:

READ TABLE itab WITH KEY FIELD = 'X' TRANSPORTING NO FIELDS.
IF sy-subrc = 0.
  "Read was successful.
ENDIF.

UPDATE: From release 740 ABAP contains the predicate function LINE_EXISTS which is described in this blog post.

It's a built-in function to which you pass a table expression. Using the above example:

IF line_exists( itab[ field = 'X' ] ).
  "Do stuff
ENDIF.

Full syntax of table expression in that predicate see here: https://help.sap.com/doc/abapdocu_750_index_htm/7.50/en-US/abentable_expressions.htm

edited Jan 27 '20 at 12:39

Suncatcher

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answered Sep 13 '12 at 07:33

mydoghasworms

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Keep in mind you can (and probably should) use binary search to speed this up. – Bryan Cain Sep 13 '12 at 14:24
3

And if itab has no field names, use `[ table_line = 'X' ]` – Cold_Class Mar 06 '20 at 14:58

score 2 · Answer 2 · answered Sep 13 '12 at 06:55

2

Selam,

If you are going to use loop in your algorithm, then you can use something like this:

LOOP ITAB WHERE FIELD = 'X'.

"code sample

ENDLOOP.

If you are not going to use a loop in your code, then i don't think there is a specific way to check for a specific value in itab.

Hope its helpful.

Talha

answered Sep 13 '12 at 06:55

Mtu

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As mentioned in the other answer, this is incorrect. You can check for the existence of a record without a loop. – Bryan Cain Sep 13 '12 at 14:10
A search with a loop is slow, dont use this. – tomdemuyt Sep 13 '12 at 14:46

Ways of checking if record exists in itab without loop?

2 Answers2