New parameter in dbms_redefinition.finish_redef_table in 12c

Oracle 12c adds a potentiall very useful feature to the dbms_redefinition package, in the procedure finish_redef_table: dml_lock_timeout

It specifies a time limit in seconds for how long a DML statment waits in a DML lock queue, before the procedure terminates gracefully.

By default, this parameter is set to 0 which means no waiting at all; the procedure will simply error out if it cannot get a lock on the table.

The maximumm value is 1000000 and will cause any DML statements to wait in perpetuity to aquire a DML lock.

Here is an example of its usage, where I have set the limit to 5 minutes (300 seconds):

BEGIN
DBMS_REDEFINITION.FINISH_REDEF_TABLE(uname=>'SCOTT',
                                     orig_table=>'EMP',
                                     int_table=>'EMP_INTERIM', 
                                     dml_lock_timeout=>300);
END;
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