Recovering Tables Using the Flashback Table Feature

Note:

You must be using automatic undo management to use the Flashback Table feature. It is based on undo information stored in an undo tablespace.

To understand how to configure your undo tablespace for the Flashback Table feature, see "Undo Space Data Dictionary Views".

The FLASHBACK TABLE statement enables users to recover a table to a previous point in time. It provides a fast, online solution for recovering a table that has been accidentally modified or deleted by a user or application. In many cases, this Flashback Table feature alleviates the need for you, as the administrator, to perform more complicated point in time recovery operations.

The functionality of the Flashback Table feature can be summarized as follows:

Restores all data in a specified table to a previous point in time described by a timestamp or SCN.
Performs the restore operation online.
Automatically maintains all of the table attributes, such as indexes, triggers, and constraints that are necessary for an application to function with the flashed-back table.
Maintains any remote state in a distributed environment. For example, all of the table modifications required by replication if a replicated table is flashed back.
Maintains data integrity as specified by constraints. Tables are flashed back provided none of the table constraints are violated. This includes any referential integrity constraints specified between a table included in the FLASHBACK TABLE statement and another table that is not included in the FLASHBACK TABLE statement.
Even after a flashback operation, the data in the original table is not lost. You can later revert to the original state.