The annotation @Environment.systemField: #LANGUAGE is used to assign the ABAP system field sy-langu to an input parameter of a CDS view or a CDS table function. This enables the implicit parameter passing in Open SQL, which means that the value of sy-langu will be automatically passed to the CDS view without explicitly specifying it in the WHERE clause. This also applies to the CDS views that use the annotated CDS view as a data source, which means that the value of sy-langu will be propagated to the nested CDS views (view on view)12. For example:
The following code snippet defines a CDS view ZI_FLIGHT_TEXTS with an input parameter p_langu that is annotated with @Environment.systemField: #LANGUAGE:
define view ZI_FLIGHT_TEXTS with parameters p_langu : syst_langu @<Environment.systemField: #LANGUAGE as select from sflight left outer join scarr on sflight.carrid = scarr.carrid left outer join stext on scarr.carrid = stext.carrid { sflight.carrid, sflight.connid, sflight.fldate, scarr.carrname, stext.text as carrtext } where stext.langu = :p_langu The following code snippet shows how to use the CDS view ZI_FLIGHT_TEXTS in ABAP without specifying the value of p_langu in the WHERE clause. The value of sy-langu will be automatically passed to the CDS view:
SELECT carrid, connid, fldate, carrname, carrtext FROM zi_flight_texts INTO TABLE @DATA(lt_flights).
The following code snippet shows how to use the CDS view ZI_FLIGHT_TEXTS in another CDS view ZI_FLIGHT_REPORT. The value of sy-langu will be automatically passed to the nested CDS view ZI_FLIGHT_TEXTS:
define view ZI_FLIGHT_REPORT with parameters p_langu : syst_langu @<Environment.systemField: #LANGUAGE as select from zi_flight_texts(p_langu) { carrid, connid, fldate, carrname, carrtext, count(*) as flight_count } group by carrid, connid, fldate, carrname, carrtext The annotation @Environment.systemField: #LANGUAGE does not prevent the possibility of overriding the default value with a value of your own. You can still specify a different value for the input parameter p_langu in the WHERE clause, either in ABAP or in another CDS view. This will override the value of sy-langu and pass the specified value to the CDS view12. For example:
The following code snippet shows how to use the CDS view ZI_FLIGHT_TEXTS in ABAP with a specified value of p_langu in the WHERE clause. The value 'E' will be passed to the CDS view instead of the value of sy-langu:
SELECT carrid, connid, fldate, carrname, carrtext FROM zi_flight_texts WHERE p_langu = 'E' INTO TABLE @DATA(lt_flights).
The following code snippet shows how to use the CDS view ZI_FLIGHT_TEXTS in another CDS view ZI_FLIGHT_REPORT with a specified value of p_langu in the WHERE clause. The value 'E' will be passed to the nested CDS view ZI_FLIGHT_TEXTS instead of the value of sy-langu:
define view ZI_FLIGHT_REPORT with parameters p_langu : syst_langu @<Environment.systemField: #LANGUAGE as select from zi_flight_texts(p_langu) { carrid, connid, fldate, carrname, carrtext, count(*) as flight_count } where p_langu = 'E' group by carrid, connid, fldate, carrname, carrtext

A projection view is a RESTful Application Programming object that contains only the fields required for a particular app. A projection view is a CDS view entity that defines a projection on an existing CDS view entity or CDS DDIC-based view. A projection view exposes a subset of the elements of the projected entity, which are relevant for a specific business service. A projection view can also define aliases, virtual elements, and annotations for the projected elements. A projection view is the top-most layer of a CDS data model and prepares data for a particular use case. A projection view can have different provider contracts depending on the type of service it supports, such as transactional query, analytical query, or transactional interface.
A database view is a CDS DDIC-based view that defines a join or union of database tables. A database view has an SQL view attached and can be accessed by Open SQL or native SQL. A database view can be used as a projected entity for a projection view, but it does not contain only the fields required for a particular app.
A metadata extension is a RESTful Application Programming object that defines additional annotations for a CDS view entity or a projection view. A metadata extension can be used to enhance the metadata of a CDS data model without changing the original definition. A metadata extension does not contain any fields, but only annotations.
A data model view is a CDS view entity that defines a data model based on database tables or other CDS view entities. A data model view can have associations, aggregations, filters, parameters, and annotations. A data model view can be used as a projected entity for a projection view, but it does not contain only the fields required for a particular app.