SAP CDS Views: String Operations with CONCAT, TRIM, REPLACE & More

In SAP ABAP CDS Views, you can use several string functions to manipulate and process string data. These functions allow you to perform common tasks like concatenation, trimming, substring extraction, and more.

Below are some common string functions you can use in CDS views:

1. CONCATENATE

The CONCATENATE function is used to combine two or more strings into one.

Example:

define view ZCONCATENATE_EXAMPLE as select from sflight {
    key carrid,
    key connid,
    fldate,
    price,
    concat(carrid, connid) as flight_info
}

Explanation:

• The concat(carrid, connid) combines the carrid (carrier ID) and connid (connection ID) fields into one field called flight_info.

2. SUBSTRING

The substring function extracts a portion of a string, based on the starting position and length.

Example:

define view ZSUBSTRING_EXAMPLE as select from sflight {
    key carrid,
    key connid,
    fldate,
    price,
    substring(carrid, 1, 2) as short_carrid
}

Explanation:

• The substring(carrid, 1, 2) extracts the first two characters of the carrid field.

3. TRIM

The trim function removes leading and trailing spaces from a string.

Example:

define view ZTRIM_EXAMPLE as select from sflight {
    key carrid,
    key connid,
    fldate,
    price,
    trim(carrid) as trimmed_carrid
}

Explanation:

• The trim(carrid) removes any leading or trailing spaces from the carrid field.

4. UPPERCASE / LOWERCASE

The uppercase and lowercase functions are used to convert strings to uppercase or lowercase.

Example:

define view ZUPPERCASE_EXAMPLE as select from sflight {
    key carrid,
    key connid,
    fldate,
    price,
    uppercase(carrid) as upper_carrid
}

Explanation:

• The uppercase(carrid) converts the carrid field value to uppercase.

Similarly, you can use lowercase() to convert the string to lowercase.

5. REPLACE

The replace function allows you to replace all occurrences of a substring within a string.

Example:

define view ZREPLACE_EXAMPLE as select from sflight {
    key carrid,
    key connid,
    fldate,
    price,
    replace(carrid, 'LH', 'LU') as updated_carrid
}

Explanation:

• The replace(carrid, 'LH', 'LU') replaces all occurrences of LH with LU in the carrid field.

6. LENGTH

The length function returns the length of a string (the number of characters).

Example:

define view ZLENGTH_EXAMPLE as select from sflight {
    key carrid,
    key connid,
    fldate,
    price,
    length(carrid) as carrid_length
}

Explanation:

• The length(carrid) returns the length of the carrid field (i.e., the number of characters in the carrier ID).

7. LEFT / RIGHT

The left and right functions extract a specified number of characters from the left or right side of a string.

Example:

define view ZLEFT_RIGHT_EXAMPLE as select from sflight {
    key carrid,
    key connid,
    fldate,
    price,
    left(carrid, 3) as left_carrid,
    right(carrid, 3) as right_carrid
}

Explanation:

• The left(carrid, 3) extracts the first 3 characters from the left of the carrid.
• The right(carrid, 3) extracts the last 3 characters from the right of the carrid.

8. CONTAINS

The contains function checks if a string contains a particular substring.

Example:

define view ZCONTAINS_EXAMPLE as select from sflight {
    key carrid,
    key connid,
    fldate,
    price,
    contains(carrid, 'LH') as has_LH
}

Explanation:

• The contains(carrid, 'LH') returns a boolean value (true or false) indicating whether the carrid contains the substring ‘LH’.

9. POSITION

The position function returns the starting position of a substring within a string. It returns 0 if the substring is not found.

Example:

define view ZPOSITION_EXAMPLE as select from sflight {
    key carrid,
    key connid,
    fldate,
    price,
    position(carrid, 'LH') as position_of_LH
}

Explanation:

• The position(carrid, 'LH') returns the starting position of the substring ‘LH’ in the carrid field. If ‘LH’ is not found, it will return 0.

Conclusion:

In SAP ABAP CDS Views, the following string functions are available to manipulate string data:

• CONCATENATE: To combine multiple strings.
• SUBSTRING: To extract a part of a string.
• TRIM: To remove leading and trailing spaces.
• UPPERCASE / LOWERCASE: To convert strings to uppercase or lowercase.
• REPLACE: To replace substrings within a string.
• LENGTH: To get the length of a string.
• LEFT / RIGHT: To extract characters from the left or right of a string.
• CONTAINS: To check if a string contains a specific substring.
• POSITION: To find the position of a substring within a string.

These functions are useful when you need to format or manipulate data directly within the CDS view before consuming it in your ABAP programs or reports.