Understanding the SELECT SINGLE Statement in SAP ABAP

The "SELECT SINGLE" statement in SAP ABAP is used to retrieve only the first row that matches the specified conditions from the database table. It is primarily used when you expect only one row to be returned, and it helps to improve performance by not retrieving unnecessary data.

One key difference between the "SELECT SINGLE" and the "SELECT" statement is that the "SELECT" statement can retrieve multiple rows that meet the selection criteria, while the "SELECT SINGLE" statement retrieves only the first matching row. Additionally, the "SELECT SINGLE" statement is more efficient as it stops searching once a matching row is found, whereas the "SELECT" statement will continue searching for all matching rows.

Overall, the "SELECT SINGLE" statement is useful in situations where you need to retrieve only one specific record from a database table in SAP ABAP, ensuring faster performance and optimized data retrieval.