4 New Features in ABAP Dictionary on SAP HANA

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Dear SAPLearners, in this blog post we will learn new features in ABAP Dictionary to support SAP HANA Database

What is SAP HANA Database?

As per SAP definition

SAP HANA is a relational database management system (RDBMS). It combines OLAP and OLTP processing into a single in-memory database – eliminating disk bottlenecks and offering groundbreaking performance. This ACID-compliant, in-memory columnar database stores compressed data, offers parallel processing across multiprocessor cores, and supports single instruction multiple data (SIMD) commands.

4 New Feature in ABAP Dictionary

Below are the new features available in ABAP Dictionary to support SAP HANA Database.

1. Storage Type for tables

All tables created in Data Dictionary(DDIC) now have a new storage type to choose – Column Store (or) Row Store. This option is available under a new tab called “DB-specific Properties” in Technical Settings of the table in SE11 transaction code.

New Storage Types in DDIC for HANA Database
New Storage Types in SAP HANA DB

This storage type only applies if the current database is an SAP HANA database and is ignored by other database systems like Oracle, MSSQL, and DB2. There are three storage types to choose from.

Column Store

This creates the table in the SAP HANA column store or moves it there. This setting should be used in the following cases

  • The database table is designed for application data analyzed in SAP HANA.
  • The database table contains a very large number of rows and the storage type column store provides better compression.
  • The database table has a full text index.
  • The database table contains table fields with HANA data types that are supported only by the storage type column store.

For a more detailed explanation please refer to standard SAP documentation

Row Store

This creates the table in the SAP HANA column store or moves it there. This setting should be used in the following case

  • The database table is used mainly for frequent single row accesses.

Undefined

This is the only setting possible for pooled tables and cluster tables. As there is no point in specifying a fixed storage type.

  • This setting cannot be used for transparent tables.

Can i change the storage type after table is created?

Yes, the storage type setting can be changed after the table has been created and the table will be moved into the specified store. Use this with caution, if the table contains content, as it may involve reorganizing the table data.

2. De-pooling and De-clustering

Pool tables combine a large number of individual small tables into one database table, which addressed problems with large numbers of individual database objects.
Cluster tables combine information from several tables logically belonging together.

A new option is available on the SAP HANA database as the primary database to convert pool and cluster tables to transparent tables to support de-pooling and de-clustering.

This new option is added to the “Choose Table Category” dialog window, you can access this dialog window under “Extras >> “Change/Display Table Category”

DePooling and DeClustering in SAP HANA DB 1

Under the “Choose Table Category” dialog window, you can specify a list of databases on which pool or cluster table should be considered as transparent table.

DePooling and DeClustering in SAP HANA DB 2

3. Full Text Indexes

A new index called Full-Text Index is now available for SAP HANA Databases as a secondary table index.

A Full-Text index is created on the database at the database table as an additional column – which is not visible to the user. Text highlighting, Text Search, and Text analysis become possible with this Full-Text Index

The following conditions should be met before creating a Full-Text Index

  • A full text index can only be created for the SAP HANA database and for tables with the storage type column store.
  • A full text index can only be created for precisely one column in a database table whose built-in data type is CHAR, SHORTSTRING, STRING, or RAWSTRING.
  • The database table must have a column for the text language.
Full Text Index in SAP HANA DB 1
Full Text Index in SAP HANA DB 2
Full Text Index in SAP HANA DB 3

4. Deactivation of Secondary Indexes

Now you can activate secondary indexes selectively in the index definition dialog window

Deactivation of Secondary Index in SAP HANA DB
Deactivate Secondary Index in SAP HANA DB

Congrats!! You have successfully learned 4 new features in SAP ABAP Dictionary on HANA Database.

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