What does it do? This statement declares an additionaltable work area *table_wa, whose data type, like that of the regular TABLES statement with its flat structured data type table_wa, is taken from the ABAP Dictionary.
The additional table work area can be used just like the the regular table work area. This applies in particular to obsolete database accesses.
Latest notes:The statement TABLES cannot be used in classes. You can use the addition TYPE to reference the data types in ABAP Dictionary and declare your own number of work areas.
Bad example
Declaration of a regular and additional table work area and their use in obsolete short forms of the SELECT statement. TABLES: scarr, *scarr.
SELECT SINGLE * FROM scarr WHERE carrid = 'LH'.
SELECT SINGLE * FROM *scarr WHERE carrid = 'UA'.
Good example
Declares two work areas using DATA and how they are used in theINTO clause of the SELECT statement. DATA: scarr1 TYPE scarr, scarr2 TYPE scarr.
SELECT SINGLE * FROM scarr INTO scarr1 WHERE carrid = 'LH'.
SELECT SINGLE * FROM scarr INTO scarr2 WHERE carrid = 'UA'.