update a column advise

[shresthaal]

i have to add a column to a table that is currently being used by a website to add records

i would like to know if it is ok to alter the table and add the column or if i should do it when the table is offline

there is about 3 million rows in the table

 

[cglaves]

If you are using SQL Enterprise Manager to do editing/ design, I find its no problem at all to add while online.

All existing rows wil have a <null> value for thenew column even if you specify a default value, so you might have to do a quick update.