Abap Iterating and Iterator Classes
In the comments of the conversation Top 10 ABAP crimes a few of us were discussing the use of an iterators and iterator classes. Below I will add what has already been presented:
I have read about it but I had never used. What I usually do is just encapsulating an internal table inside a class and not modelling table rows as objects (I hope this was clear). In this case I'm not sure if the iterator class can be used and useful.
I have used iterators for particular complex data structures. Underneath was an internal table of references, and I used indexes to keep track. I could of course have looped through the internal table at the higher level instead of using an iterator, but due to the data complexity, I really didn't want to expose the internal table at that level.
I do in complex application (in my latest one I don't use loops except to deal with BAPIRET), because it's the way you code in C# and Java, and that way I can easily translate the code to C#. Basically for large modules I program as if I was coding in C#.
If you use Collections and HashMaps it's the only way to "loop", although I do miss the typed List<T> and HashMap<T,X>.
PS: Actually it's not the only way, there's the get_values_table or something 😊.
I use CL_OBJECT_MAP and CL_OBJECT_COLLECTION which are the equivalent to HashMap and List the problem is that these are not typed lists and so I have to rely on casts that the compiler doesn't check for correctness.
I usually write the type in the description of the return parameter of the method.
- I used Iterator classes heavily in java and C#, not in abap yet. I want to use them again. I relied heavily on array list, hash maps, lists, etc when programming in other languages.
- Restrictions...hmm, in java i can't critique, they are awesome. In abap, the primary hurdle would probably be generics. Abap does generics differently than java but I assume adding a constructor to initially set the type of object of the list would solve that. Adding a check to make sure objects of that type can only be added would be next. Iterator classes can be implemented from anywhere an object can be implement. If I run into any other hurdles i'll let you know.
- Too many, If I ever needed a place to hold multiple objects of the same type I'd use an iterator class. They provide a wide range of functionality for accessing a list of objects, and follows the object oriented design model. From what I was taught at University and experienced in the field, data structures such as link lists are essential.
What is everyone's opinion on iterator classes and the comments above?
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