Allocate

Specifies the fixed-length space to be allocated for the column in each row for VARCHAR and VARGRAPHIC data types. Column values with lengths less than or equal to the allocated length are stored in the fixed-length portion of the row. Column values with lengths greater than the allocated value are stored in the variable-length portion of the row. Column values stored in the variable-length portion of the row require additional input/output operations to retrieve. The allocated value may range from 0 to the maximum length of the string.