MariaDB starting with 10.4.2
----------------------------
The BACKUP LOCK command was introduced in MariaDB 10.4.2.

BACKUP LOCK blocks a table from DDL statements. This is mainly intended to be
used by tools like mariabackup that need to ensure there are no DDLs on a
table while the table files are opened. For example, for an Aria table that
stores data in 3 files with extensions .frm, .MAI and .MAD. Normal read/write
operations can continue as normal.

Syntax
------

To lock a table:

BACKUP LOCK table_name

To unlock a table:

BACKUP UNLOCK

Usage in a Backup Tool
----------------------

BACKUP LOCK [database.]table_name;
 - Open all files related to a table (for example, t.frm, t.MAI and t.MYD)
BACKUP UNLOCK;
- Copy data
- Close files

This ensures that all files are from the same generation, that is created at
the same time by the MariaDB server. This works, because the open files will
point to the original table files which will not be affected if there is any
ALTER TABLE while copying the files.

Privileges
----------

BACKUP LOCK requires the RELOAD privilege.

Notes
-----

* The idea is that the BACKUP LOCK should be held for as short a time as
possible by the backup tool. The time to take an uncontested lock is very
short! One can easily do 50,000 locks/unlocks per second on low end hardware.
* One should use different connections for BACKUP STAGE commands and BACKUP
LOCK.

Implementation
--------------

* Internally, BACKUP LOCK is implemented by taking an MDLSHARED_HIGH_PRIO MDL
lock on the table object, which protects the table from any DDL operations.

URL: https://mariadb.com/kb/en/backup-lock/