Pass by Value VS Pass by Reference in SAP ABAP

DPM125 — Thu, 31 Jul 2025 20:06:49 +0000

In SAP ABAP, pass by value and pass by reference are two methods of passing data to methods, function modules, or forms. They determine how the data is handed over and whether changes to the data affect the original variable.

Aspect	Pass by Value	Pass by Reference
Memory	More (copies data)	Less (passes reference)
Speed	Slower	Faster
Original Changed?	No	Yes
Syntax	`VALUE(...)`	Default or `REFERENCE(...)`

REPORT zrep_lclclass.

DATA: lv_val TYPE i VALUE 5,
      lv_ref TYPE i VALUE 5.

CLASS zcl_pass_test DEFINITION.
  PUBLIC SECTION.
    METHODS:
      pass_by_value IMPORTING value(iv_num) TYPE i,
      pass_by_ref   CHANGING  cv_num TYPE i.
ENDCLASS.

  CLASS zcl_pass_test IMPLEMENTATION.

  METHOD pass_by_value.
    iv_num = iv_num + 10.
    WRITE: / 'Inside pass_by_value: ', iv_num.
  ENDMETHOD.

  METHOD pass_by_ref.
    cv_num = cv_num + 10.
    WRITE: / 'Inside pass_by_ref: ', cv_num.
  ENDMETHOD.

ENDCLASS.

START-OF-SELECTION.
  DATA(lo_pass_test) = NEW zcl_pass_test( ).

  WRITE: / 'Before pass_by_value: ', lv_val.
  lo_pass_test->pass_by_value( iv_num = lv_val ).
  WRITE: / 'After pass_by_value: ', lv_val. " Unchanged

  SKIP.

  WRITE: / 'Before pass_by_ref: ', lv_ref.
  lo_pass_test->pass_by_ref( CHANGING cv_num = lv_ref ).
  WRITE: / 'After pass_by_ref: ', lv_ref. " Changed

Output:

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Pass by Value VS Pass by Reference in SAP ABAP