{"ref":"capability:abap-data-browsing","page":"/capabilities/abap-data-browsing","json":"/capabilities/abap-data-browsing.json","generated":"2026-10-26","drafted_with_ai":true,"entity":{"id":"abap-data-browsing","name":"Browsing table data","domain":"developer-experience","ecosystems":["abap"],"universal":false,"description":"Looking at what a system holds while developing or supporting it: the rows behind a key, the reference data a field points at, the tables that carry data for one object. Editing configuration records through maintenance screens is a different job, even where the same transaction does both.","short":"Looking at the data a system holds while developing or supporting it","core_coverage":{"state":"core-and-community","assessed_at":"2026-09-13","what_core_does":"The Data Browser (SE16) displays database tables and edits them where the table's display/maintenance attribute in ABAP Dictionary allows it; SM30 and SM31 maintain them through maintenance dialogs.","sources":[{"url":"https://help.sap.com/doc/abapdocu_751_index_htm/7.51/en-us/abenddic_database_tables_maint.htm","title":"ABAP Keyword Documentation 7.51 — Displaying and Editing Database Tables","checked":"2026-09-13","quote":"it is possible to define whether database tables are displayed or edited using the tools Data Browser (transaction SE16 )"}],"relationship":"unassessed","community_adds":"SAP GUI reports such as [abap-db-browser](artifact:devepos-abap-db-browser) sit beside SE16, [abap2UI5](artifact:abap2ui5-abap2ui5) apps such as [se16n](artifact:abap2ui5-addons-se16n) show tables in the browser, and clients outside SAP GUI such as [Hammer](artifact:andre-schaerpf-hammer) and the [ABAP remote filesystem](artifact:marcellourbani-vscode-abap-remote-fs) extension read rows over a connection to the system."},"coverage_by_flavor":{"abap-cloud":{"state":"core-only","assessed_at":"2026-09-14","what_core_does":"ABAP Development Tools' Data Preview opens on a CDS view entity from the editor and shows its rows with filtering and column selection. SAP GUI does not exist in ABAP Cloud, so the Data Browser (SE16) is not available there.","where_it_stops":"It reaches only released APIs: most SAP-delivered tables cannot be read directly, and an object without a release contract for ABAP for Cloud Development has no CDS entity to preview it through.","sources":[{"url":"https://developers.sap.com/tutorials/abap-environment-extend-cds-view.html","title":"Extend a Custom Core Data Service in ABAP Environment | SAP Tutorials","checked":"2026-09-14","quote":"Click anywhere in the editor and choose Open With > Data Preview from the context menu."},{"url":"https://github.com/SAP-samples/abap-cheat-sheets/blob/main/19_ABAP_for_Cloud_Development.md","title":"19_ABAP_for_Cloud_Development.md — SAP-samples/abap-cheat-sheets","checked":"2026-09-14","quote":"There is no access to SAP GUI (transactions SE80, SE24 etc. you may know from classic ABAP)"},{"url":"https://github.com/SAP-samples/abap-cheat-sheets/blob/main/19_ABAP_for_Cloud_Development.md","title":"19_ABAP_for_Cloud_Development.md — SAP-samples/abap-cheat-sheets","checked":"2026-09-14","quote":"most of the database tables provided by SAP cannot be read directly (although there are abstractions/CDS entities for many that can be accessed)"},{"url":"https://help.sap.com/doc/abapdocu_757_index_htm/7.57/en-US/abenabap_versions_and_apis.htm","title":"ABAP Language Versions, Release Contracts and Released APIs — ABAP Keyword Documentation","checked":"2026-09-14","quote":"Repository objects with language version ABAP for Cloud Development can access objects which are released APIs for ABAP for Cloud Development or are in the same software component."}]}},"history":[{"date":"2026-09-14","field":"coverage_by_flavor.abap-cloud","from":null,"to":"core-only","reason":"ADT's Data Preview over released CDS view entities is the ABAP Cloud replacement for SE16, which does not exist there since SAP GUI is unavailable; none of the three independent providers on this capability state abap-cloud support."},{"date":"2026-10-17","field":"description","from":"Looking at what a system holds while developing or supporting it: the rows behind a key, the check table a field points at, the tables that carry data for one object. Maintaining customising entries through maintenance views is a different job, even where the same transaction does both.","to":"Looking at what a system holds while developing or supporting it: the rows behind a key, the reference data a field points at, the tables that carry data for one object. Editing configuration records through maintenance screens is a different job, even where the same transaction does both.","reason":"Keep the default capability wording neutral; preserve the previous wording in framing_by_ecosystem.abap. Maintainer-requested scope audit."},{"date":"2026-10-26","field":"core_coverage.note, core_coverage.community_adds","from":"The community tools here are SAP GUI programs installed beside SE16, not extensions of it; how the two relate has not been assessed.","to":"community_adds: SAP GUI reports, abap2UI5 browser apps, and clients outside SAP GUI that read rows over a connection to the system.","reason":"Reassessed against the graph (check:capabilities): the note described the providers as SAP GUI programs only, and browser apps, an IDE extension and a desktop editor have arrived; the state stays core-and-community."}],"drafted_with_ai":true,"framing_by_ecosystem":{"abap":{"description":"Looking at what a system holds while developing or supporting it: the rows behind a key, the check table a field points at, the tables that carry data for one object. Maintaining customising entries through maintenance views is a different job, even where the same transaction does both."}}},"sap_delivery":{"door":"abap","all":{"built_in":[],"documented_pattern":[],"announced":[],"packages":[{"ref":"artifact:sap-adt-eclipse","name":"ABAP Development Tools for Eclipse","json":"/artifacts/sap-adt-eclipse.json"}]},"by_flavor":{"standard-abap":{"built_in":[],"documented_pattern":[],"announced":[],"packages":[{"ref":"artifact:sap-adt-eclipse","name":"ABAP Development Tools for Eclipse","json":"/artifacts/sap-adt-eclipse.json"}]},"abap-cloud":{"built_in":[],"documented_pattern":[],"announced":[],"packages":[{"ref":"artifact:sap-adt-eclipse","name":"ABAP Development Tools for Eclipse","json":"/artifacts/sap-adt-eclipse.json"}]}}},"edges":{"use_cases":[],"shared_tasks":[],"related_tasks":[],"options":[{"ref":"artifact:sap-adt-eclipse","name":"ABAP Development Tools for Eclipse","json":"/artifacts/sap-adt-eclipse.json","ecosystem":"abap","origin_ring":"sap-official"},{"ref":"artifact:marcellourbani-vscode-abap-remote-fs","name":"ABAP remote filesystem","json":"/artifacts/marcellourbani-vscode-abap-remote-fs.json","ecosystem":"abap","origin_ring":"independent"},{"ref":"artifact:furkancosgun-abap-database-manager","name":"ABAP_DATABASE_MANAGER","json":"/artifacts/furkancosgun-abap-database-manager.json","ecosystem":"abap","origin_ring":"independent"},{"ref":"artifact:devepos-abap-db-browser","name":"abap-db-browser","json":"/artifacts/devepos-abap-db-browser.json","ecosystem":"abap","origin_ring":"independent"},{"ref":"artifact:andre-schaerpf-hammer","name":"Hammer","json":"/artifacts/andre-schaerpf-hammer.json","ecosystem":"abap","origin_ring":"independent"},{"ref":"artifact:ysichov-hr-dme","name":"HR_DME","json":"/artifacts/ysichov-hr-dme.json","ecosystem":"abap","origin_ring":"independent"},{"ref":"artifact:abap2ui5-addons-sapgui","name":"sapgui","json":"/artifacts/abap2ui5-addons-sapgui.json","ecosystem":"abap","origin_ring":"independent"},{"ref":"artifact:abap2ui5-addons-se16n","name":"se16n","json":"/artifacts/abap2ui5-addons-se16n.json","ecosystem":"abap","origin_ring":"independent"},{"ref":"artifact:ysichov-simple-data-explorer","name":"Simple Data Explorer","json":"/artifacts/ysichov-simple-data-explorer.json","ecosystem":"abap","origin_ring":"independent"},{"ref":"artifact:abap2ui5-addons-sql-console","name":"sql-console","json":"/artifacts/abap2ui5-addons-sql-console.json","ecosystem":"abap","origin_ring":"independent"},{"ref":"artifact:marcellourbani-urbani-saplink","name":"urbani-saplink","json":"/artifacts/marcellourbani-urbani-saplink.json","ecosystem":"abap","origin_ring":"independent"},{"ref":"artifact:ysichov-vertex","name":"VERTEX","json":"/artifacts/ysichov-vertex.json","ecosystem":"abap","origin_ring":"independent"},{"ref":"artifact:marianfoo-ztoad","name":"ztoad","json":"/artifacts/marianfoo-ztoad.json","ecosystem":"abap","origin_ring":"independent"}],"samples":[],"explained_by":[],"normative_context":[]}}