Example
DATA NUMBER TYPE I.
DATA WA_SPFLI TYPE SPFLI.
The field NUMBER is created with type I. You can now use it in the program. In particular, you can assign numeric values to the field and use it in calculations ( ABAP number types).
The field WA_SPFLI is created using the type of the database table SPFLI from the ABAP Dictionary. This field is structured and can be used especially for working with data from database table SPFLI.
... LIKE f1
Field f is created with the same field attribtues as the data object f1, which has already been declared. Any data object (field, parameter, structure...) is allowed as long as its type has been fully specified.
f1 can be any ABAP Dictionary reference.
Example
DATA TABLE_INDEX LIKE SY-TABIX.
The field TABLE_INDEX now has the same attributes as SY-TABIX (index field for internal tables).
Note
You should use this addition whenever you can. If the type of a field to which you are referring changes, the ABAP runtime system updates all references automatically. It also stops the system from carrying out unnecessry (and maybe undesirable) type conversions.
Bluesky
