ClearCase Product Overview

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Contents

• Version Control 
• Workspace Management 
• Build Management 
• Process Control 

Introduction to ClearCase

ClearCase is the premier software configuration management (SCM) product for software teams with Unix and Windows NT development environments. ClearCase provides comprehensive configuration management, including version control, workspace management, build management, and process control -- without forcing you to change your existing environment, your tools, or the way you work. 

ClearCase features both text-based and graphical interfaces. These illustrations should give you a sense of what the GUI looks like. 

Unique Advantages

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Complete transparency 

ClearCase is implemented using a virtual file system. You work the way you always have, using standard file system calls and your current tools. 

Rule-based configurations 

By specifying a few simple rules, you automatically create a complete development environment in seconds, without making and managing copies or links. 

Automatic merge and compare 

ClearCase performs graphical merges of files and directories, automatically determining common ancestors and highlighting conflicts. 

Binary sharing and parallel building 

ClearCase automatically shares and re-uses binaries across all configurations. Using standard makefiles, ClearCase builds your software in parallel on a multiprocessor host and distributes builds across multiple hosts in a network. 

Build auditing 

Advanced file-system auditing guarantees 100% accurate software rebuilds. 

Who Uses ClearCase?

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ClearCase particularly suits the needs of growing software teams working on multiple versions of software for multiple platforms across client/server networks. ClearCase addresses previously intractable problems for software development teams, such as developing and maintaining multiple products concurrently, guaranteeing the accuracy of releases, rebuilding and patching previously shipped products, producing special releases, and creating an effective development process. 

ClearCase differs from simple version-control tools and other commercial SCM systems in many ways. But fundamentally, ClearCase is unique because it combines comprehensive tools for configuration management with a transparent, non-intrusive approach.  

Version Control

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ClearCase tracks changes to every file and directory, and supports parallel development by enabling easy branching and merging. ClearCase provides reliable version-control of every type of object that evolves in the software development environment, including source code, binaries, executables, documentation, test suites, and libraries. 

ClearCase provides capabilities far beyond source control, and maintains a complete version history of your software in secure, distributed repositories. 

• Versions all file system objects 
• Versions directories, sub-directories, and file-system links 
• Checkin/checkout development model 
• Unlimited branching 
• Maintains annotated history of source changes 
• Graphical display of version evolution 
• User-definable object types 
• Interleaved delta compression for ASCII text files 
• Automatic caching for recent deltas 
• Version and branch labels 
• Graphical comparing and merging of text files and directories in editable, synchronized windows 
• Automatic merging of up to 32 contributors 
• Additive and subtractive merging 
• RCS, SCCS, DSEE, PVCS, and Unix file conversion 

Workspace Management

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ClearCase provides each developer with multiple consistent, flexible, and reproducible workspaces. ClearCase uses an innovative technique called Views to select and present the appropriate versions of each file and directory for the specific task at hand. Views helps your team work efficiently, allowing each member to strike a balance between shared work and isolation from destabilizing changes. 

• Transparent access to all versioned objects 
• Rule-based version selection 
• Dynamic updating of configurations 
• Multiple active views of configurations 
• Access from any NFS-supported platform 
• Instant reconstitution of past configurations 

Build Management

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ClearCase automatically produces configuration records that document software system builds and can completely and reliably recreate the source structure of any build. ClearCase also supports efficient building of large software systems through binary sharing and parallel execution of multiple build scripts. 

• make-compatible build facility (compliant with popular Unix and Windows make variants) 
• Automatic detection of makefile dependencies 
• Automatically generates accurate software configuration record (bill of materials) 
• Network-wide binary sharing without copies 
• Parallel builds on single hosts 
• Distributes builds to multiple hosts 
• Network and compute-resource load balancing 

Process Control

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ClearCase organizes and controls the development process without dictating particular methodologies, policies, and procedures. Its flexible, powerful tools can implement project- and site-specific policies. ClearCase routines can implement process mechanisms including development roles, promotion models, and process states. ClearCase also prevents changes by unauthorized personnel and creates permanent records of development procedures. 

• Pre- and post-event triggers execute user-defined programs or shell scripts 
• User-defined attributes attach data to any version or object 
• Hyperlinks connect diverse objects to maintain logical relationships for requirements tracking 
• Fine-grained access controls 
• Project-wide queries on meta-data 

General Features

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• User-customizable graphical user interface (Motif- and Windows-compliant) 
• Command-line interface 
• Client/server architecture 
• Fully distributed repository 
• Floating license system 
• Platform interoperability 
• Application Programmning Interface 
• ClearCase MultiSite option for geographically distributed project teams 
• On-line documentation 
• On-line help 
• CD-ROM distribution 
• File access from non-ClearCase hosts via NFS 

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• CenterLine CodeCenter and ObjectCenter 
• HP SoftBench 
• Microsoft Visual C++ 
• SGI CASEVision 

System Requirements

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Hardware Platforms 

Digital Equipment Corp. Alpha AXP 

Hewlett-Packard 9000 Series 700 and 800 

IBM RISC System/6000 family of systems 

Intel 486 and Pentium personal computers 

Silicon Graphics IRIS family of systems 

Sun Microsystems SPARCstations and SPARCsystems 

Operating Systems 

DEC OSF/1 2.0, 2.0-1 

Digital UNIX 3.0, 3.2 

HP-UX 8.0, 8.7, 9.0, 9.0-05, 10.0 

IBM AIX 3.2.5, 4.1.1-2 

Silicon Graphics IRIX 4.0.1-5, 5.1-2, 5.2-3 

SunOS 4.1.1-3, 4.1.1-4, 4.1.xJ 

Solaris 2.1-3 and 2.2-4 

Microsoft Windows NT 3.5, 3.51 

Memory / Disk Requirements 

Client systems: 16-32 MB RAM, 400 MB disk 

(* DEC Alpha AXP with Digital UNIX 3.0 clients require 32-64 MB RAM)

Server systems: 64-128 MB RAM, 1 GB disk 

Access from Other Platforms 

Access to ClearCase-controlled data from non-ClearCase hosts via NFS