Data:

Using Predefined Types 1. DATA { {var[(len)] TYPE abap_type [DECIMALS dec]} | {var TYPE abap_type [LENGTH len] [DECIMALS dec]} } [VALUE val|{IS INITIAL}] [READ-ONLY]. Reference to Existing Types 2. DATA var { {TYPE [LINE OF] type} | {LIKE [LINE OF] dobj} } [VALUE val|{IS INITIAL}] [READ-ONLY]. Reference Variables 3. DATA ref { {TYPE REF TO type} | {LIKE REF TO dobj} } [VALUE IS INITIAL] [READ-ONLY]. Structures 4. DATA BEGIN OF struc [READ-ONLY]. ... {DATA comp ...} | {INCLUDE {TYPE|STRUCTURE} ...}. ... DATA END OF struc. Internal Tables 5. DATA itab { {TYPE tabkind OF [REF TO] type} | {LIKE tabkind OF dobj} } [WITH key] [INITIAL SIZE n] [WITH HEADER LINE] [VALUE IS INITIAL] [READ-ONLY]. Ranges Table 6. DATA rtab {TYPE RANGE OF type}|{LIKE RANGE OF dobj} [INITIAL SIZE n] [WITH HEADER LINE] [VALUE IS INITIAL] [READ-ONLY].
The statement DATA declares a variable of any data type. The declared data object is visible within the current context as of this position. Within the declaration part of a class or an interface, DATA declares an instance attribute whose validity is bound to an instance of a class. The data type of arbitrary variables var, reference variables ref , and internal tables itab, rtab, is defined either using the TYPE addition and a type specification, or using the LIKE addition and the specification of a data object. There are different syntax variants for the definition of elementary data objects, reference variables, and internal tables. If neither TYPE nor LIKE is specified, a data object with the bound data type c of length 1 is created.

For the definition of a structure struc, arbitrary data declarations are included by two DATA statements with the additions BEGIN OF and END OF. Here a struc structure is declared that contains the enclosed data objects comp as a struc-comp component. Structure definitions can be nested. For the names var, ref, struc, comp, itab, and rtab, the naming conventions apply. Notes The syntax of the DATA statement corresponds to the syntax of the TYPES statement, with the exception of two additions. In this way, a new data type can be defined during the declaration of a data object. The most important difference compared with the statement TYPES is that a data type defined using DATA - not derived from an existing type - is available only as a property of the declared data object and is not independent. This kind of data type is bound to its data object. Data objects that are declared in a program, but are not accessed there statically, cause a warning message in the enhanced program check.