Cds View Entities

CDS View Entities

Guide for building semantic data models using ABAP CDS (Core Data Services) view entities in ABAP Cloud.

Clean core context: selecting from a released SAP CDS view (I_*) is Level A. Direct read access to an SAP database table is Level C (ATC priority 2); direct write access is Level D (ATC priority 1). Where no released CDS view exists, build a wrapper CDS view on top of the non-released SAP view or table and release it for ABAP Cloud — the wrapper is Level B if the wrapped object is a classic API, otherwise Level C. Use CDS extends and CDS metadata extensions rather than modifying SAP CDS views. See the abap-cloud skill for level details.

Workflow

1. Determine the user's goal:

   • Creating a new data model (standalone or for RAP)
   • Defining relationships between entities (associations, compositions)
   • Adding annotations for UI, semantics, or analytics
   • Implementing access controls
   • Using expressions, functions, or parameters in CDS

2. Identify the context:

   • Standalone CDS view vs. RAP BO data model
   • Root entity vs. child entity vs. projection view
   • Transactional (RAP) vs. analytical vs. read-only consumption

3. Apply best practices:

   • Use CDS view entities (v2 syntax define view entity) — not legacy CDS views (define view)
   • Follow naming conventions (e.g., ZR_* for interface/BO views, ZC_* for consumption/projection views, ZI_* for reuse views)
   • Add appropriate annotations for metadata consumers (UI, OData, analytics)

CDS View Entity Syntax

Basic View Entity

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@AccessControl.authorizationCheck: #CHECK
@EndUserText.label: 'Sales Order'
define view entity ZI_SalesOrder
  as select from zsalesorder
{
  key order_id       as OrderId,
      customer_id    as CustomerId,
      order_date     as OrderDate,
      net_amount     as NetAmount,
      currency_code  as CurrencyCode,
      status         as Status,
      created_by     as CreatedBy,
      created_at     as CreatedAt,
      last_changed_at as LastChangedAt
}

Root View Entity (for RAP)

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@AccessControl.authorizationCheck: #CHECK
@EndUserText.label: 'Sales Order Root'
define root view entity ZR_SalesOrder
  as select from zsalesorder
  composition [0..*] of ZR_SalesOrderItem as _Item
{
  key order_uuid         as OrderUUID,
      order_id           as OrderId,
      customer_id        as CustomerId,
      order_date         as OrderDate,
      @Semantics.amount.currencyCode: 'CurrencyCode'
      net_amount         as NetAmount,
      currency_code      as CurrencyCode,
      status             as Status,

      @Semantics.user.createdBy: true
      created_by         as CreatedBy,
      @Semantics.systemDateTime.createdAt: true
      created_at         as CreatedAt,
      @Semantics.user.localInstanceLastChangedBy: true
      last_changed_by    as LastChangedBy,
      @Semantics.systemDateTime.localInstanceLastChangedAt: true
      last_changed_at    as LastChangedAt,
      @Semantics.systemDateTime.lastChangedAt: true
      last_changed_at    as LastChangedAt,

      _Item
}

Child View Entity

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@AccessControl.authorizationCheck: #CHECK
@EndUserText.label: 'Sales Order Item'
define view entity ZR_SalesOrderItem
  as select from zsalesorder_item
  association to parent ZR_SalesOrder as _Order
    on $projection.OrderUUID = _Order.OrderUUID
{
  key item_uuid       as ItemUUID,
      order_uuid      as OrderUUID,
      product_id      as ProductId,
      quantity         as Quantity,
      @Semantics.amount.currencyCode: 'CurrencyCode'
      unit_price       as UnitPrice,
      currency_code    as CurrencyCode,

      @Semantics.user.createdBy: true
      created_by       as CreatedBy,
      @Semantics.systemDateTime.localInstanceLastChangedAt: true
      last_changed_at  as LastChangedAt,

      _Order
}

Projection View (Consumption Layer)

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@AccessControl.authorizationCheck: #CHECK
@EndUserText.label: 'Sales Order Projection'
@Metadata.allowExtensions: true
define view entity ZC_SalesOrder
  as projection on ZR_SalesOrder
{
  key OrderUUID,
      OrderId,
      CustomerId,
      OrderDate,
      NetAmount,
      CurrencyCode,
      Status,
      CreatedBy,
      CreatedAt,
      LastChangedBy,
      LastChangedAt,

      _Item : redirected to composition child ZC_SalesOrderItem
}

Associations & Compositions

Association Types

Association Syntax

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define view entity ZI_SalesOrder
  as select from zsalesorder
  association [0..1] to ZI_Customer as _Customer
    on $projection.CustomerId = _Customer.CustomerId
  association [0..*] to ZI_SalesOrderItem as _Item
    on $projection.OrderId = _Item.OrderId
{
  key order_id    as OrderId,
      customer_id as CustomerId,

      // Expose associations — required for consumption via ABAP SQL or OData
      _Customer,
      _Item
}

Using Associations in ABAP SQL

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" Path expression — triggers LEFT OUTER JOIN by default
SELECT FROM zi_salesorder
  FIELDS OrderId,
         \_Customer-CustomerName,
         \_Item-ProductId
  WHERE OrderId = @lv_order_id
  INTO TABLE @DATA(lt_result).

" Filtering associations
SELECT FROM zi_salesorder
  FIELDS OrderId, \_Item[ ProductId = 'PROD01' ]-Quantity
  WHERE OrderId = @lv_order_id
  INTO TABLE @DATA(lt_filtered).

Expressions & Built-in Functions

Cast Expressions

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cast( amount as abap.dec(15,2) ) as ConvertedAmount,
cast( status as abap.char(10) )  as StatusText,

Case Expressions

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// Simple CASE
case status
  when 'N' then 'New'
  when 'A' then 'Approved'
  when 'R' then 'Rejected'
  else 'Unknown'
end as StatusText,

// Searched CASE
case when net_amount > 10000 then 'High'
     when net_amount > 1000  then 'Medium'
     else 'Low'
end as PriorityCategory,

Arithmetic Expressions

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quantity * unit_price as TotalPrice,
net_amount + tax_amount as GrossAmount,

String Functions

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concat( first_name, concat( ' ', last_name ) ) as FullName,
substring( postal_code, 1, 2 )                 as Region,
length( description )                          as DescLength,
upper( country_code )                          as CountryUpper,

Date & Time Functions

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dats_days_between( start_date, end_date ) as DurationDays,
dats_add_days( order_date, 30 )           as DueDate,
tstmp_current_utctimestamp()              as CurrentTimestamp,

Aggregate Expressions

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define view entity ZI_OrderSummary
  as select from zsalesorder
{
  key customer_id as CustomerId,
      count(*)                      as OrderCount,
      sum( net_amount )             as TotalAmount,
      avg( net_amount as abap.dec(15,2) ) as AvgAmount,
      min( order_date )             as FirstOrderDate,
      max( order_date )             as LastOrderDate
}
group by customer_id

Input Parameters

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define view entity ZI_SalesOrderByDate
  with parameters
    p_date : abap.dats
  as select from zsalesorder
{
  key order_id   as OrderId,
      order_date as OrderDate,
      net_amount as NetAmount
}
where order_date >= $parameters.p_date

Using in ABAP SQL:

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SELECT FROM zi_salesorderbydate( p_date = @lv_date )
  FIELDS OrderId, OrderDate, NetAmount
  INTO TABLE @DATA(lt_orders).

Session Variables

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$session.user           as CurrentUser,
$session.client         as CurrentClient,
$session.system_date    as SystemDate,
$session.system_language as SystemLanguage,

Joins

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define view entity ZI_OrderWithCustomer
  as select from zsalesorder as so
  inner join zcustomer as cust
    on so.customer_id = cust.customer_id
{
  key so.order_id      as OrderId,
      cust.customer_name as CustomerName,
      so.net_amount     as NetAmount
}

Note: Prefer associations over joins when possible — associations are lazily resolved and support path expressions.

Key Annotations

Semantics Annotations (for managed fields in RAP)

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@Semantics.user.createdBy: true
created_by as CreatedBy,

@Semantics.systemDateTime.createdAt: true
created_at as CreatedAt,

@Semantics.user.localInstanceLastChangedBy: true
last_changed_by as LastChangedBy,

@Semantics.systemDateTime.localInstanceLastChangedAt: true
local_last_changed_at as LocalLastChangedAt,

@Semantics.systemDateTime.lastChangedAt: true
last_changed_at as LastChangedAt,

Amount & Currency / Quantity & Unit

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@Semantics.amount.currencyCode: 'CurrencyCode'
net_amount as NetAmount,

currency_code as CurrencyCode,

@Semantics.quantity.unitOfMeasure: 'QuantityUnit'
quantity as Quantity,

quantity_unit as QuantityUnit,

UI Annotations (in CDS or Metadata Extensions)

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@UI.headerInfo: {
  typeName: 'Sales Order',
  typeNamePlural: 'Sales Orders',
  title: { type: #STANDARD, value: 'OrderId' }
}

@UI.lineItem: [{ position: 10 }]
@UI.identification: [{ position: 10 }]
@UI.selectionField: [{ position: 10 }]
order_id as OrderId,

Metadata Extensions (recommended for UI annotations)

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@Metadata.layer: #CUSTOMER
annotate view ZC_SalesOrder with
{
  @UI.facet: [{
    id: 'GeneralInfo',
    type: #IDENTIFICATION_REFERENCE,
    label: 'General Information',
    position: 10
  }]

  @UI.lineItem: [{ position: 10, importance: #HIGH }]
  @UI.identification: [{ position: 10 }]
  OrderId;

  @UI.lineItem: [{ position: 20 }]
  @UI.identification: [{ position: 20 }]
  @UI.selectionField: [{ position: 10 }]
  CustomerId;

  @UI.lineItem: [{ position: 30 }]
  @UI.identification: [{ position: 30 }]
  NetAmount;
}

CDS Access Control

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@EndUserText.label: 'Access Control for Sales Order'
@MappingRole: true
define role ZR_SalesOrder
{
  grant select on ZR_SalesOrder
  where ( CustomerId ) = aspect pfcg_auth ( Z_SO_AUTH, CUSTOMER_ID, ACTVT = '03' );
}

Access Control Patterns

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// Inherit from parent entity
define role ZR_SalesOrderItem {
  grant select on ZR_SalesOrderItem
  where inheriting conditions from entity ZR_SalesOrder
    association _Order;
}

// User-based restriction
define role ZR_MyOrders {
  grant select on ZR_SalesOrder
  where CreatedBy = aspect user;
}

CDS Table Entities

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define table entity ztab_salesorder {
  key client    : abap.clnt;
  key order_uuid: sysuuid_x16;
      order_id  : abap.numc(10);
      customer  : abap.char(10);
      amount    : abap.dec(15,2);
      currency  : abap.cuky(5);
}

CDS table entities can serve as alternatives to classic DDIC database tables and can be used as persistent table in RAP BDEFs.

Data Model Patterns for RAP

Typical Composition Tree

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ZR_Root (define root view entity)
├── composition [0..*] of ZR_Child1 as _Child1
└── composition [0..*] of ZR_Child2 as _Child2
    └── composition [0..*] of ZR_GrandChild as _GrandChild

ZR_Child1 (association to parent ZR_Root as _Root)
ZR_Child2 (association to parent ZR_Root as _Root)
  └── composition [0..*] of ZR_GrandChild as _GrandChild
ZR_GrandChild (association to parent ZR_Child2 as _Parent)

Admin Field Pattern (Managed RAP BO)

Every entity in a managed RAP BO should include admin fields:

Output Format

• Provide complete CDS source code when creating new views
• Include all relevant annotations
• Follow naming conventions (ZR_* for interface, ZC_* for consumption, ZI_* for reuse)
• Always expose associations used in consumption
• Include access control definitions when security is relevant

References

• SAP ABAP Cheat Sheets — CDS View Entities
• SAP Help — ABAP Data Models Guide
• SAP Help — ABAP CDS Reference
• SAP Help — CDS Annotations
• CDS Feature Matrix Blog

Clean Core Level Notes for CDS

Wrapper CDS view guidance

• If a suitable SAP CDS view exists but is not released, create a custom CDS view on top of it and release it for ABAP Cloud development
• CDS views referenced by the SAP view (association targets, value help views) may need their own wrappers
• If no suitable SAP CDS view exists at all, create the custom CDS view directly on the database table
• Retire the wrapper once SAP releases an equivalent CDS view

CDS views are classified in the Cloudification Repository under object type STOB.

Related Skills

• abap-sql-amdp: Use for advanced ABAP SQL queries and AMDP procedures
• rap: Use for building RAP business objects based on CDS data models
• authorization-iam: Use for implementing CDS access control (DCL)
• odata: Use for exposing CDS views as OData services
• abap-cloud: Use for clean core level classification and wrapper CDS view patterns
• abap-cloud-migration: Use for replacing direct table access with released CDS views