WORK-TABLES (as opposed to TEMP-TABLES) do not "live" stored on disk. If a WORK-TABLE or a PROGRAM VARIABLE is UNDO, the data can end up in the LBI file (never the BI). But if it is NO-UNDO, it is not written to a before-image file.
If the NO-UNDO WORK-TABLE has a large amount of data and that data is sorted or preselected or queried in a manner that generates a result list, then that data ends up in the SRT file.
Please note:
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Progress uses the Local Before Image (LBI) to back out of sub transactions and variable value changes.
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Large in this context is relative to the amount of memory available for the client process (the local buffer size –l), the amount of data in the work table, the amount of data in the local buffer occupied by other variables and records and the amount and complexity of sorting involved.