ABAP_to_the_Future

Database Access 2.1
Figure 2.1 Microsoft SQL Syntax
Because it provides more options, NativeSQL is more powerful. However, if your
organization ever decides to perform a database migration, then you are in trouble;
you will almost certainly have to rewrite any NativeSQL queries you have
coded. Even though database migrations are not a walk in the park, they do happen
every so often, and in order to avoid such potential extra work you will find
people like me: I have not written one NativeSQL query in the 17 years I have
been programming in ABAP.
The good news is that in release 7.4, SAP has expanded the range of options available
to use within ABAP programs whenyou are running an OpenSQL query. You
may not have STRAIGHT JOINS and SQL_BIG_RESULTS, as in the Microsoft SQL syntax
in Figure 2.1, but there are some new useful things, and the next sections will
take a look at the two most important: CASE statements embedded into SQL queries
and performing calculations inside SQL queries.
CASE Statements Inserted into SQL Queries
One of the new features of ABAP 7.4 is the ability to insert CASE statements into
SQL queries. Listing 2.2 shows an example of this. In this example there is a field
in an internal table called SCARINESS_STRING, and it should be filled with a string
describing how scary the monster is based on the values in the database columns
SANITY and STRENGTH.
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