This document discusses the ABAP FIELD SYMBOL statement and how it allows manipulation of data. Field symbols allow referencing any field or variable dynamically by assigning a field symbol to a variable containing the field name. This allows looping through a table of field names to access the fields. The example code demonstrates using field symbols to access fields in a structure by name stored in variables.

1. ABAP FIELD SYMBOL - Techniques for manupulating data using
the FIELD-SYMBOL statement
The most useful thing a field symbol allows you to do is reference any field/variable
on the fly by just putting the name of a field into a variable and assigning a field
symbol to it. Sorry this is proving more difficult to describe than I thought it would
be but one use for this could be if you had a list of field names stored in a table, you
would be able to loop around that table and access the fields stored in it. So for the
following simple example code would contain the value ‘hello’ and would contain the
value ‘LD_FIELD2’
Data: ld_field1 type string.
Data: ld_field2 type string.
FIELD-SYMBOLS: <fs1>, <fs2>.
concatenate ‘LD_FIELD2’ into ld_field1.
Ld_field2 = ‘hello’.
ASSIGN (ld_field1) TO <fs1>.
ASSIGN ld_field1 TO <fs2>.
Below is an example executable ABAP program that uses field symbols to hopefully
should how field symbols work in more detail!
*Code to demonstrate field-symbols
REPORT
zfield_symbols
TYPES: BEGIN OF t_p0121,
pernr TYPE pa0121-pernr,
rfp01 TYPE pa0121-rfp01,
rfp02 TYPE pa0121-rfp02,
rfp03 TYPE pa0121-rfp03,
rfp04 TYPE pa0121-rfp04,
END OF t_p0121.
DATA: it_p0121 TYPE STANDARD TABLE OF t_p0121 INITIAL SIZE 0,
wa_p0121 TYPE t_p0121.
DATA: gd_index TYPE string,
.

2. gd_rfp0 TYPE string.
FIELD-SYMBOLS: <fs1>, <fs2>.
****************************************************************
*Start-of-selection.
START-OF-SELECTION.
SELECT pernr
rfp01
rfp02
rfp03
rfp04
UP TO 10 ROWS
FROM pa0121
INTO TABLE it_p0121.
****************************************************************
*End-of-selection.
END-OF-SELECTION.
WA_P0121-RFP01 = '1234'.
CONCATENATE 'WA_P0121-RFP01'
gd_index INTO gd_rfp0.
* Now watch how the values change as you loop around the table fields
LOOP AT it_p0121 INTO wa_p0121.
write:/.
write:/ wa_p0121-pernr.
CLEAR: gd_index.
DO.
gd_index = gd_index + 1.
CONCATENATE 'WA_P0121-RFP0'
gd_index INTO gd_rfp0.
* assign with brackets
ASSIGN (gd_rfp0) TO <fs1>.
"assigns the value of field name
contained in variable
* fs1 value would be the value of the field WA_P0121-RFP01..21

3. * i.e. if index 1 and WA_P0121-RFP01 = 1234 then fs1 would = 1234
* assign without brackets
ASSIGN gd_rfp0 TO <fs2>. " assigns the exact value contained in the
field
* fs1 value would literally be the same as the field WA_P0121-RFP01..21
* i.e. if index 1 then fs2 would = 'WA_P0121-RFP01'
*
index 2 then fs2 would = 'WA_P0121-RFP02' etc...
* you may also notice that once assigned any change made to the field
gd_rfp0
* is instantly reflected in the field symbol (fs2) so technically you
could perform
* the assign command once outside of the loop, but i have left it here to
aid
* readability.
write:/ <fs2>, <fs1>.
IF gd_index GE 21. "exit once last field has been read
EXIT.
ENDIF.
ENDDO.
ENDLOOP