IMPORT - Text language rule

The rule described in this section is only relevant if structures defined in the ABAP Dictionary are imported from the database in a Unicode system, that have exported from an MDMP system, and vice versa.

Character-type data can be stored in anMDMP system encoded according to different code pages. The character set ID stored in EXPORT is therefore not sufficient. For this reason, the statement IMPORT FROM DATABASE is used as of release 6.20 for evaluating the text language of database tables or structures defined in the ABAP Dictionary.

The following hierarchy applies for assigning the text language to a structure:

1. A component that is labeled as a text language in a substructure or table-type component with a structured line type is only valid for this substructure or internal table.
2. A component labeled as a text language in a superordinate structure applies for this structure and for all other structures or table-type components nested in it, which do not have any components of their own that can be identified as a text language.
3. If a component labeled as a text language is among the freely selected components of the INDX-type database table in which the data is stored, this determines the text language for all elementary fields, structures, and internal tables in the corresponding data cluster that do not have their own language.

When importing from structures stored in the database, the text language determines the code page used to handle the character-type components of a structure as follows:

• Importing MDMP data into a Unicode system
  
  The code page of the imported data is determined using the text language from the database tables TCPOC (table of text environments) and TCP0D (localization of the database). If no text language component is available, the character set ID stored during export is used.
  
  This rule is based on the assumption that the Unicode system has resulted from the conversion of an MDMP system. If it has not, this may lead to conversion errors.

• Importing Unicode data into an MDMP system
  
  The imported data is handled according to the assignment of languages to code pages defined in the MDMP system, depending on the text language. If no text language component is available, the language of the current text environment is used.

Note

Structures and internal tables with a structured line type that is based on types defined in the ABAP program do not have a text language. The character set ID stored during export is always used for these.