Dropping constraints on a table locks referenced table... why?

[Wells Oliver <wells.oliver@xxxxxxxxx>]

I have a table A which has an FK constraint referencing another table B. Dropping this FK constraint on A locks table B, as does trying to drop table A. Why is this?

Is there some more efficient way to remove FK constraints without locking the referenced table?

Thanks for clarification.

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Wells Oliver
wells.oliver@xxxxxxxxx