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Introduction
ABAP developers have been using ALV (ABAP List Viewer) for decades to display tabular data in SAP GUI applications. With the introduction of SAP HANA and Fiori-based development, SAP delivered a new, optimized framework called ALV with IDA (Integrated Data Access).
Although both approaches serve the purpose of displaying data, they work very differently under the hood and are suitable for different use cases.
In this blog, I will explain the key differences between traditional ALV and ALV with IDA, how they behave on SAP HANA, and when you should choose one over the other.
SAP offers two main technologies to display tabular data in ABAP:
-
Classic ALV (REUSE_ALV, CL_GUI_ALV_GRID, CL_SALV_TABLE)
-
ALV with IDA (CL_SALV_GUI_TABLE_IDA, SAP HANA–optimized ALV)
Although both display lists/grids, the internal architecture and performance are completely different.
IDA ALV is specifically designed for SAP HANA systems, while Classic ALV works on any system.
Simple Comparison: Classic ALV vs ALV with IDA
| Where data comes from | First loads everything into an internal table | Reads directly from the database (no internal table) |
| Speed | Slow when data is large | Very fast, made for HANA |
| Big data handling | Can crash or dump | Handles millions of rows easily |
| Memory usage | Uses a lot of memory | Uses very little memory |
| Filtering & Sorting | Done in ABAP (slower) | Done in HANA (super fast) |
| Customization | Many options (buttons, colors, events) | Very few options (mostly read-only) |
| Editable? | Yes | No |
| Events (double-click, hotspot) | Many available | Very limited |
| System support | Works on any SAP system | Works only on SAP HANA / S/4HANA |
| Coding effort | More coding needed | Very simple (few lines only) |
| Best for | Interactive, colorful, editable ALVs | Fast display of very large tables |
| Not good for | Huge datasets | Custom UI features |
Example for ALV :-
REPORT ZVA_ALV_IDA.
select * from ZVA_HDR_SERVICE into table (lt_tab) up to 5 rows .
data : lv_alv type ref to cl_salv_table.
cl_salv_table=>factory(
IMPORTING
r_salv_table = lv_alv
CHANGING
t_table = lt_tab
).
lv_alv->display( ).
Output :
Example for ALV with IDA :-
REPORT ZVA_ALV_IDA.
DATA(lo_ida) = cl_salv_gui_table_ida=>create( ‘ZVA_HDR_SERVICE’ ).
lo_ida->set_maximum_number_of_rows( 5 ).
lo_ida->fullscreen( )->display( ).
Output:
Conclusion
Classic ALV
-
Best for customized, interactive, editable applications
-
Works everywhere (ECC + S/4HANA)
ALV with IDA
-
Best for high-performance, HANA-optimized, large-volume reports
-
Minimal coding, maximum performance
-
Read-only analytical UI
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