View source for Switch(ABAP keyword)

{{Template:MetaDesc|An explanation of how the ABAP keyword SWITCH works using an example. An example with CASE is also shown to show the advantages of conditional operator SWITCH.}}
[[category:keywords]]
Since ABAP 7.40 you can use SWITCH. In terms of syntax, this is like [[COND]] with the only difference being that it checks for equality and no condition like COND is possible.

== With SWITCH ==
<syntaxhighlight lang="abap" line start="1">
 DATA(lang) = SWITCH char02( sy-langu WHEN 'E' THEN 'EN'
                                      WHEN 'D' THEN 'DE'
                                      ELSE THROW cx_... "optional
                             ).
</syntaxhighlight>
Since "lang" is declared inline, the type char02 must be specified.

== With CASE ==
<syntaxhighlight lang="abap" line start="1">
 DATA lang TYPE char02.
 CASE sy-langu.
  WHEN 'E'.
   lang = 'EN'.
  WHEN 'D'.
   lang = 'DE'.
  WHEN OTHERS.
   RAISE EXCEPTION TYPE cx_... .
 ENDCASE.
</syntaxhighlight>