Why are CDS Views considered a shift from classical ABAP data modeling?

Classical ABAP development typically pulled raw data from database tables into internal tables and applied business logic, calculations, and joins entirely in ABAP code on the application server — the opposite of the code-to-data pushdown principle HANA is built around. CDS Views flip that: business semantics (joins via associations, calculated fields, filtering logic) are defined once, at the data model level, and pushed down to run inside the database itself.

flowchart LR
    A[Classical ABAP] --> B[Pull raw data to app server] --> C[Business logic in ABAP loops]
    D[CDS View approach] --> E[Business semantics defined in the data model] --> F[Logic pushed down, executed in HANA]

This shift also means the same underlying CDS View can be reused consistently across many different consumers — a Fiori app, an analytical report, another CDS View built on top of it — all getting the same consistent business logic and calculated fields, rather than each consumer reimplementing similar logic separately in their own ABAP code.