Exam C_ABAPD_2507 Topic 2 Question 1 Discussion

Incomplete ABAP types are types that do not specify all the attributes of a data type, such as the length, the number of decimal places, or the value range. Incomplete types can only be used for the typing of field symbols and formal parameters, not for the definition of data objects or constants. Incomplete types can be either predefined or user-defined1.
The following are incomplete ABAP types:
C . C is a type for character strings with a generic length. The length of the character string has to be specified when a data object or a constant is defined with this type. For example, DATA text TYPE c LENGTH 10 defines a data object named text with a type c and a length of 10 characters2.
D . P is a type for packed numbers with a generic length and a generic number of decimal places. The length and the number of decimal places of the packed number have to be specified when a data object or a constant is defined with this type. For example, DATA amount TYPE p LENGTH 8 DECIMALS 2 defines a data object named amount with a type p, a length of 8 bytes, and 2 decimal places3.
The following are not incomplete ABAP types, because they specify all the attributes of a data type:
A . String is a type for variable-length character strings. The length of the character string is determined at runtime and can vary from 0 to 2,147,483,647 characters. The length does not have to be specified when a data object or a constant is defined with this type. For example, DATA text TYPE string defines a data object named text with a type string and a variable length4.
B . T is a type for time values in the format HHMMSS. The length of the time value is fixed at 6 characters and does not have to be specified when a data object or a constant is defined with this type. For example, DATA time TYPE t defines a data object named time with a type t and a length of 6 characters.