Explaining the Difference Between SELECT Statement and SELECT Statement with FOR ALL ENTRIES in ABAP

In SAP ABAP, a SELECT statement is used to retrieve data from database tables based on specific criteria. It allows you to fetch individual records that match the selection conditions provided in the WHERE clause.

On the other hand, a SELECT statement with FOR ALL ENTRIES is used when you need to fetch data from a database table based on multiple values provided in an internal table or another database table. This statement is particularly useful when you have a list of values and want to retrieve all records that match any of those values.

The key difference between the two lies in the way data is retrieved. While a regular SELECT statement retrieves data based on specific conditions for each record individually, the SELECT statement with FOR ALL ENTRIES fetches data based on a list of values provided in an internal table, allowing for more flexibility in the selection criteria.

Overall, understanding the difference between these two types of SELECT statements is crucial for SAP ABAP programmers to efficiently retrieve and manipulate data from database tables.