Which of the following are characteristics of an external view?

An external view in the context of SAP HANA is primarily designed to provide access to information views through Open SQL. This capability allows users to leverage the power of SQL queries to interact with the underlying data structures without needing to worry about the complexities of data model specifics. By enabling access to SAP HANA information views using Open SQL, external views create a bridge between ABAP applications and the data stored in HANA, thus enabling efficient data retrieval and manipulation.

The other options represent characteristics that do not accurately describe external views. For instance, while external views integrate with ABAP, they do not serve as a data type in ABAP programs. Furthermore, external views are not classified as ABAP Dictionary object types; rather, they are linked to HANA's data modeling capabilities. Finally, while external views allow for data retrieval through SQL statements, they do not support database updates directly through Open SQL, which is a distinct function associated with different types of ABAP Dictionary objects. This differentiation highlights the specialized role that external views play in providing read access rather than full transactional capabilities.