What are the table types in SAP®?

SAP® has three table types. Transparent, Pool, and Cluster. The transparent tables have database fields that are readable by the Oracle® database. Pooled tables are grouped together under one Oracle® table, and their information is stored in a raw Cobol structure format, basically unusable outside of the SAP® tools and framework. Cluster tables are also pooled into one Oracle® table, with the data stored in an encrypted raw format.

The pool tables contain lookups, and lists, that are used to classify information in transparent tables. Without access to pool tables, it is hard to use Oracle® database access for anything useful. The cluster tables are used in cases where the data needs to be encrypted - payroll.

Why make a
Pool Table Viewer

Hibbard Engler, the company founder, was working on a transition of a business to SAP®, when he found out that reading from the Oracle® database directly was a "big no-no". Wanting to make SAP® compatible with his web based reporting software, and undaunted by such a statement, Hibbard looked at ways to read and present the pool table directly. After much work and time, this new product is the end result.