alter table
some_table
rename column amount_num to amount_text;
alter table some_table
drop column amount_num;
You just
renamed amount_num to amount_text so I'm not sure why you
expect the drop to succeed.
Would it have less locking than simply altering the column?
I doubt
anything will improve upon simply altering the column. You
have to perform a full table rewrite in either case which is
going to be the main resource consumer.
David J.
