JSON Serialization in ABAP: The Complete Guide

Working with REST APIs in ABAP? You'll need JSON serialization. Here are the best methods.

Method 1: /UI2/CL_JSON (Recommended)

This is the most commonly used class in the SAP ecosystem:

DATA: ls_data TYPE my_structure,

lv_json TYPE string.

" Serialize

/ui2/cl_json=>serialize(

EXPORTING data = ls_data

RECEIVING r_json = lv_json ).

" Deserialize

/ui2/cl_json=>deserialize(

EXPORTING json = lv_json

CHANGING data = ls_data ).

Use our [JSON to ABAP converter](/tools/json-to-abap) to generate your TYPE definitions from JSON!

Method 2: CALL TRANSFORMATION (XSLT)

For complex transformations:

CALL TRANSFORMATION id

SOURCE data = ls_data

RESULT XML lv_xstring.

Performance Comparison

For large datasets (10,000 records):

Use CALL TRANSFORMATION for heavy lifting, /UI2/CL_JSON for developer convenience.