Lock Objects

Definition

The SAP system synchronizes several users' simultaneous access to the

same data records with a lock mechanism . When interactive transactions are
programmed, the system sets and releases locks by calling function modules
(see Function Modules for Lock Requests ). These function modules are
automatically generated from the definition of lock objects in the ABAP
Dictionary.

Structure

In a lock object, you must define the tables in which data records must be
locked with a lock request, and the key fields of these tables. When you select
the tables, you must first select the primary table. You can also add further
tables (secondary tables), using foreign key relationships (see Conditions for
Foreign Keys ). The following figure shows a primary table and its relations
with two other tables (secondary tables).
Lock Arguments

The lock argument of a table in the lock object consists of the key fields of the
table.

The lock argument fields of a lock object are used as input parameters in the
function modules for setting and removing locks generated from the lock
object definition. When these function modules are called, the table rows to be
locked or unlocked are specified by defining certain values in these fields.
These values can also be generic. The lock argument fields define which
subset of the table rows must be locked.
The simplest case of a lock object consists of exactly one table and the lock
argument of the table is the primary key of this table. You can also include
several tables in a lock object. A lock request can lock not only a record of a
table, but also an entire logical object. Such a logical object can be a
document comprising an entry in a header table and N entries in a position
table, for example. The figure below shows the locked records in an example
with three tables.
Note
 Locks can also be set from programs in other systems with the
corresponding interfaces if the lock object was defined with RFC
authorization.
  A lock mode can be assigned to each table in the lock object. This
mode defines how other users can access a locked record of the table.

Example

Table SFLIGHT in the flight model contains all the scheduled flights of a
carrier. Field SEATSMAX contains the number of seats available. Field
SEATSOCC contains the number of seats already booked. If a booking is
made for a customer (by a travel agency or sales desk), you must check
whether there are enough seats available. The number of seats booked
increases when the booking is made.

This mechanism must ensure that two sales desks do not make the same
booking at the same time and that the flight is not overbooked.

This can be done by creating lock object ESFLIGHT. Only table SFLIGHT
must be included in this lock object. The flight can then be locked (with the
function modules generated from the lock object) during the booking. If
another sales desk also wants to book seats for this flight, the lock prevents
the flight from being overbooked.