Technical Background

Maintenance dialog flow

When a maintenance dialog is called, the table/view entries are read from the database into an internal buffer and are then presented on the screen for maintenance. The read range can be restricted.

The use of internal tables means that field content changes do not immediately result in database changes. The changes are copied from the internal buffer to the database when saving.

Depending on the recording routine of table or view, delivery class, maintenance object description, and, for client-dependent objects, on the client setting, the system logs the changes in a change task when saving them.

Components of a dialog

A table maintenance dialog has view/table-specific and independent program components. The view/table-independent parts are:

• General function modules (lock/unlock all maintainable tables, DDIC analyses, and so on)

• Maintenance dialog control modules and routines

• Interface

• Messages

The view/table-specific parts of a maintenance dialog are:

• Function group (main program)

• Function modules for processing data and controlling the processing flow

• Code in form of Includes (for data declarations, databank operations, transport)

• Maintenance screens

• Maintenance screens

Transport changes

Maintenance dialog changes

The generation environment is connected to the transport system, i.e. all maintenance dialog generation activities are automatically logged in a change request. Thus, you can transport the entire maintenance dialog into other systems or clients.

Table/View contents changes

There are two conditions for the automatic recording and transport of table/view contents changes:

1. Change authorization for the tables/views

2. Change recording obligation, that is, the changed table/view entries are recorded automatically

The changes are only put in a transport request and can be transported if both conditions are fulfilled.

Change authorization and recording obligation are affected by 3 parameters:

1. Client settings

2. Recording routines (maintenance dialog definition)

3. Maintenance object description (maintenance dialog environment)

   Note

   Dialogs:

   • whose tables/views have delivery class L, or

   • which have no recording routines and no events 10, 11, and 12,

   are not transported and are not considered further.

Change authorization

Table/view contents with the following settings must not be changed (and are not put in a request):

The following combination of settings is a special case:

Changes are allowed, but they are not transported. This combination of settings is chosen when changes are to be made directly in the productive client.

Recording obligation

The following changes must be recorded:

• Client-independent tables/view changes.

• Client-dependent tables changes, if the client setting automatic change recording is set.

Call the maintenance dialog

You can call the generated maintenance dialogs in different ways:

• Call the extended table maintenance from the System menu (standard call).

  Enter the name of the table or view. When calling the Maintenance transaction you branch to the maintenance dialog. This call is possible immediately after generation.

• Call a parameter transaction (see Transaction Code) in the OK code field or from within an application.

  A parameter transaction must be defined before the call. This is useful, for example, if the table/view and the action (maintain or display) are known.

• Call via generated maintenance function modules

  You can use this call, e.g. if a special context-dependent selection is required. You can enter the dialog at various levels. Depending on the entry level, you may have to program certain activities yourself which are usually performed automatically by table maintenance.

  Note

  The maintenance dialog performs the following activities:

  • Authorization Check

  • Locks

  • Get and format Dictionary data

  • Select, process, and save the table contents

  • Restrict data selection in the subset fields dialog

  • Dynamically adapt the user interface (menus and functions)