The allocation state for an object is either allocated or not allocated. For a table instance either all objects that are part of the table instance are allocated, or none of the objects are allocated.

ABL supports three allocation states:

• Immediate allocation—Space is allocated at the time an object is created.
• Delayed allocation—Space is not allocated. Delayed allocation indicates that customizations to the storage area are required before allocation can occur, and that allocation will happen in a separate step. For example, delayed allocation is required if the tenant will be included in a group.
• Do not allocate—Space is not allocated. Do not allocate indicates that allocation is not required or not planned for this object.

OpenEdge SQL supports two allocation states:

• Allocated (default)—Allocated implies immediate allocation using the default storage area.
• Not allocated—SQL syntax NO SPACE.

A database administrator can change the allocation state from not allocated to allocated at a future point. But after space has been allocated, it is not possible to change the allocation state (without first deleting the object and the data for the object).