Show TOC

 Naming Conventions for IndexesLocate this document in the navigation structure

Indexes are identified in the ABAP Dictionary via the table name and an index ID of up to three digits. Together they make up a unique index name when you create the index in the database. The possibilities for index names are as follows:

 

  • From Release 4.0, the index name is composed of the table name, a separator and an index ID. A tilde (~) is usually used as the separator. Some tables may require  an alternative index name for the upgrade. In such cases, the separator ^' is used.
    Tip

    Table name TAB456789 and the index ID "A2" make up the index name TAB456789~A2 in the database.

    Table names with a maximum of 18 digits are used. For tables with names 15 and 16 digits long, only the first two digits are relevant to the index ID, as only these are used for the index name in the database. If a name has 16 digits and a two-digit index ID, the separator is left out.

    Tip

    Table name TAB4567890123456 and the index ID "A23" therefore make up the index name TAB4567890123456A2 in the database.

  • As it is not possible to rename indexes (in most database systems), the index names are retained from older releases, to avoid having to convert the indexes. Therefore you can still find the following naming convention in a system which originates from a release upgrade:
  • A ten-digit table name followed by the one to three-digit index ID.
    Tip Shorter table names are padded to ten digits with underscores ('_').

    From the table name TAB456789 and the index ID "A2", you get the index name TAB456789_A2 in the database.

  • A ten-digit table name followed by a three-digit index ID followed by the character "X".

    Shorter table names are padded to ten digits with underscores. Likewise one-digit and two-digit index IDs are padded to three places with underscores. These alternative names are necessary for particular tables because of the upgrade procedure technology. New indexes are then only created according to this naming convention if all other indexes of the table follow this convention.

    Tip

    From the table name TAB456789 and the index ID "A2"; you get the index name TAB456789_A2_X in the database.

  • A seven-digit table name followed by a one-digit index ID.

    Longer table names are truncated to seven digits; shorter table names are padded to seven digits with underscores. This naming convention is only found for indexes that were created in the database before Release 3.0. When you delete and recreate this kind of index, it immediately follows one of the first two naming conventions. (Before Release 3.0, the index ID consisted of one digit and table names often had seven digits.)