1. A computer-implemented method for recovering data to a point in time before pending definition changes are materialized in a relational database management system, comprising: receiving one or more definition changes to a database schema; saving and maintaining original data base schema attributes as point in time metadata in a catalog table until the one or more definition changes have been materialized; during recovery processing, determining for each object being recovered whether the object is being recovered to a point in time prior to which the one or more definition changes were materialized; in response to determining that an object is being recovered to the point in time prior to which the one or more definition changes were materialized, using the saved point in time metadata for the object in the recovery process; and in response to determining that an object is not being recovered to the point in time prior to which the one or more definition changes were materialized, using current metadata for the object in the recovery process.