Make export parameter point to an existing memory reference

[former_member665053]

Hi All,

I have an internal table with a list of generic memory references and would like to be able to retrieve them using a method. What I would like is assign the memory reference to the export parameter of my method so I would be able to change the referenced data using the parameter. How can I accomplish this behaviour? My method looks like this at the moment but the result is that the export parameter is a copy of the referenced object so changing it wont update the referenced data.

* SIGNATURE
   METHODS get_param
    IMPORTING
      iv_id_param TYPE clike
    EXPORTING
      ev_val      TYPE any.	 
* IMPL

  METHOD get_param.
    DATA: lr_ref TYPE REF TO data.

    FIELD-SYMBOLS: <fs_val> TYPE any.

    zif_cx_enh_param_map~get_param_ref(
      EXPORTING
        iv_id_param = iv_id_param
      IMPORTING
        er_ref      = lr_ref
    ).

    ASSIGN lr_ref->* TO <fs_val>.
    ev_val = <fs_val>.
  ENDMETHOD.

Thanks for any help!

[michael_piesche]

Not sure where the problem is. If you want to pass a reference to a data type, then you also need to pass it as a reference "TYPE REF TO data". In your case, you had to define a data type with separate memory assigned to it, before you even called get_param in order to receive the value for ev_val, so thats why those are two different objects in memory and only the value is copied.

If you therefore define your ev_val as "TYPE REF TO" and simply pass the references from method to another. However, then your method will be 'useless' since you could already call zif_cx_enh_param_map~get_param_ref directly.

But maybe you want to do some changes in your method, well in this case, you dereference it with the operator ->* like you did, do your changes to the field-symbol and it all happens for the same data in the memory.

* SIGNATURE
   METHODS get_param
    IMPORTING
      iv_id_param TYPE clike
    EXPORTING
      ev_val      TYPE REF TO data.

* IMPL
METHOD get_param.
    zif_cx_enh_param_map~get_param_ref(
      EXPORTING
        iv_id_param = iv_id_param
      IMPORTING
        er_ref      = ev_val
    ).
ENDMETHOD.

Does this solve your problem, or am I missing something?

[michael_piesche]

Please use comments for comments and not answers!

Regarding your problem, that can’t be done, simply because your ev_value is generic and linked to a data variable that has its own memory when it was declared. So that (outside) data variable is already assigned to your export parameter ev_value. You cannot reassign a variables memory to another variable.
you can only dereference a ref to data with ->* to a field-symbol.

[michael_piesche]

adaceroge, please follow up on your open question.

• comment answers or your question if there are still open issues.
• otherwise mark an answer as accepted if it helped you solve your problem
• or post an answer of yourself and accept it if you found another useful solution yourself
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