SAP ABAP: Get String Length with STRLEN (and XSTRLEN)

Finding String Length in SAP ABAP (STRLEN)

In SAP ABAP, you can determine the length of a string using different methods, depending on the data type and requirement.

1. Using STRLEN Function

The STRLEN function returns the number of characters in a string.

DATA: lv_string TYPE string VALUE 'SAP ABAP',
      lv_length TYPE i.

lv_length = STRLEN( lv_string ).

WRITE: 'Length:', lv_length.  " Output: Length: 8

• Spaces count as characters.
• Works for both STRING and CHAR data types.

2. Using XSTRLEN for Binary (XSTRING) Data

If you need the length of a binary string (XSTRING), use XSTRLEN.

DATA: lv_xstring TYPE xstring,
      lv_length  TYPE i.

lv_xstring = 'A1B2C3'X.  " Hexadecimal binary data

lv_length = XSTRLEN( lv_xstring ).

WRITE: 'Binary Length:', lv_length.  " Output: 3 (each byte counts as 1)

• Returns the number of bytes in XSTRING (not characters).
• Useful for handling binary files (PDF, images, etc.).

3. Handling Leading and Trailing Spaces (CONDENSE)

If a string has extra spaces, they affect the length. Use CONDENSE to remove them before measuring:

DATA: lv_string TYPE string VALUE '  SAP ABAP  ',
      lv_length TYPE i.

CONDENSE lv_string.
lv_length = STRLEN( lv_string ).

WRITE: 'Trimmed Length:', lv_length.  " Output: Trimmed Length: 8

• CONDENSE removes leading, trailing, and multiple spaces.

4. Finding the Length of a CHAR Field

For CHAR data types, STRLEN ignores trailing spaces.

DATA: lv_char TYPE char10 VALUE 'ABAP    ',
      lv_length TYPE i.

lv_length = STRLEN( lv_char ).

WRITE: 'Length:', lv_length.  " Output: Length: 4

• Even though lv_char is 10 characters long, STRLEN only counts actual text.

Summary