In most cases. However, some changes, such as adding the column and needing to manipulate data (populate nulls, transforms, etc.) could still cause locking.
This really comes down to knowing the boundaries of what changes could cause timeouts and working around them as best you can. However, some edge cases could cause downtime.
This really comes down to knowing the boundaries of what changes could cause timeouts and working around them as best you can. However, some edge cases could cause downtime.