/IWBEP/SBOD218 - ABAP Data Type 'DATE' does not allow B.C. date, Year 00 or negative year

SAP Error Message - Details

• Message type: E = Error

• Message class: /IWBEP/SBOD -

• Message number: 218

• Message text: ABAP Data Type 'DATE' does not allow B.C. date, Year 00 or negative year

Self-Explanatory Message

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AnswerBot

• What is the cause and solution for SAP error message /IWBEP/SBOD218 - ABAP Data Type 'DATE' does not allow B.C. date, Year 00 or negative year ?

  The SAP error message /IWBEP/SBOD218 indicates that there is an issue with the ABAP data type 'DATE' when it encounters a date that is either in the B.C. (Before Christ) era, has a year of 00, or has a negative year. The ABAP data type for dates does not support these values, as it is designed to handle dates in the Gregorian calendar starting from year 1 A.D. (Anno Domini).
  Cause:
  
  
  Invalid Date Input: The error typically arises when an application or process attempts to input a date that is not valid according to the ABAP date format. This could be due to:
  
  A date being set to a year of 00 or a negative year.
  A date being incorrectly formatted or parsed from an external source.
  Data migration issues where historical dates are incorrectly represented.
  
  
  
  Data Source Issues: If the date is being pulled from an external system or database, it may contain invalid date formats that are not compatible with ABAP.
  
  
  Solution:
  
  
  Validate Input Dates: Ensure that any date inputs to your application are validated before they are processed. This includes checking that:
  
  The year is greater than 0.
  The date is in the correct format (YYYYMMDD).
  
  
  
  Data Cleansing: If the error arises from existing data, you may need to cleanse the data:
  
  Identify and correct any records that contain invalid dates.
  Replace or remove any entries with years of 00 or negative years.
  
  
  
  Error Handling: Implement error handling in your ABAP code to catch and manage invalid date inputs gracefully. This can include logging the error and providing user feedback.
  
  
  Review External Data Sources: If the dates are coming from an external source, review the data extraction and transformation processes to ensure that they are correctly handling date formats.
  
  
  Testing: After making changes, thoroughly test the application to ensure that it handles valid and invalid dates appropriately.
  
  
  Related Information:
  
  ABAP Date Format: In ABAP, the date format is typically represented as YYYYMMDD, where the year must be a positive integer starting from 1.
  Documentation: Refer to the SAP Help Portal or ABAP documentation for more details on date handling and data types.
  SAP Notes: Check for any relevant SAP Notes that may address similar issues or provide patches or updates related to date handling in your specific version of SAP.
  
  By addressing the root cause of the invalid date input and implementing proper validation and error handling, you can resolve the /IWBEP/SBOD218 error effectively.