"WHERE field IN select-options" alternative

Question

I currently have a report that uses
SELECT-OPTIONS so_num FOR qmih-qmnum.
SELECT * FROM qmih INTO TABLE t_qmih
   WHERE qmnum IN so_num.
Now, this works fine unless the user selects a large number of individual items in the select options, e.g. 7,000 individual qmnums, in which case I get an ABAP error.
The dump contains the following helpful information:
How to correct the error                                                                               
The SAP Open SQL statement must be divided into several smaller units.
If the problem occurred due to the use of an excessively large table  
in an IN itab construct, you can use the addition FOR ALL ENTRIES     
instead.                                                              
When you use this addition, the statement is split into smaller units 
according to the restrictions of the database system used.                                                                               
You may able to find an interim solution to the problem               
in the SAP note system. If you have access to the note system yourself,
use the following search criteria:                                    
Could anyone give me an idea of how I could fix this?

Answer 1

Hi Chandrasekhar,
very interesting statement but not necessarily correct.
Select-options declares a range-type internal table with header line. The number of table rows is limited by the system memory storage available.
Oracle database has a fixed limit of 32KB for the length of the select statement. The open SQL database interface will resolve the range table resulting in the right number of comparison expressions.
If the user puts too many values into select-options, he will probably copy single values which are represented by SIGN = 'I' and OPTION = 'EQ'.
Try this (example):
select-options:
  s_matnr for mara-matnr.
data:
  lt_value like hashed table of s_matnr-low with unique key table_line. "avoid duplicates
fiels-symbols:
  <any> type any,
  <value> type any.
loop at s_matnr assigning <any>
  where sign = 'I' and option = 'EQ'.
  assign component 'LOW' of structure <any> to <field>.
  insert <field> into table t_value.
  delete s_matnr.
endloop.
select ...
  into table ...
  from ...
  for all entries in lt_value
  where matnr = lt_value-table_line.
if lines( s_matnr ) > 0.
select ...
  appending table ...
  from ...
  where matnr in s_matnr.
endif.
Now you've got them all.
Regards,
Clemens