With what can you simulate multiple inheritance in ABAP?

In ABAP, multiple inheritance can be simulated using interfaces. This is significant because ABAP does not support multiple inheritance directly, which means a class can only inherit from a single superclass. However, by utilizing interfaces, a class can implement multiple interfaces, thereby achieving similar functionality to multiple inheritance.

When a class implements an interface, it agrees to provide concrete implementations for the methods defined in that interface. This allows for greater flexibility and reusability of code, as different classes can implement the same interface in their own way, promoting polymorphism.

Moreover, interfaces in ABAP can also define attributes (starting from ABAP 7.40), allowing a form of shared state. Regardless, the core strength of using interfaces lies in allowing multiple behaviors from different sources to be represented together in a single class, which is akin to what multiple inheritance offers in other programming languages. This ability to combine different aspects and functionalities through interfaces allows developers to create more modular and adaptable code structures.