Rational ClearCase Commands Referenceannotate
apropos
catcr
catcs
cc.icon
cc.magic
cd
chactivity
chbl
checkin
checkout
checkvob
chevent
chflevel
chfolder
chmaster
chpool
chproject
chstream
chtype
chview
clearaudit
clearbug
cleardescribe
cleardiffbl
cleardiff
clearexport_ccase
clearexport_cvs
clearexport_pvcs
clearexport_rcs
clearexport_sccs
clearexport_ssafe
clearfsimport
cleargetlog
clearhistory
clearimport
clearjoinproj
clearlicense
clearmake
clearmake.options
clearmrgman
clearprojexp
clearprompt
cleartool
clearviewupdate
clearvobadmin
comments
config_ccase
config_spec
cptype
credmap
creds
deliver
describe
diffbl
diffcr
diff
dospace
edcs
endview
env_ccase
events_ccase
export_mvfs
exports_ccase
file
find
findmerge
fmt_ccase
getcache
get
getlog
help
hostinfo
init_ccase
ln
lock
lsactivity
lsbl
lscheckout
lsclients
lscomp
lsdo
lsfolder
lshistory
ls
lslock
lsmaster
lspool
lsprivate
lsproject
lsregion
lsreplica
lssite
lsstgloc
lsstream
lstype
lsview
lsvob
lsvtree
makefile_aix
makefile_ccase
makefile_gnu
makefile_pmake
makefile_smake
makefile_sun
man
merge
mkactivity
mkattr
mkattype
mkbl
mkbranch
mkbrtype
mkcomp
mkdir
mkelem
mkeltype
mkfolder
mkhlink
mkhltype
mklabel
mklbtype
mkpool
mkproject
mkregion
mkstgloc
mkstream
mktag
mktrigger
mktrtype
mkview
mkvob
mount_ccase
mount
msdostext_mode
mvfslog
mvfsstorage
mvfstime
mvfsversion
mv
omake
pathnames_ccase
permissions
profile_ccase
promote_server
protect
protectvob
pwd
pwv
query_language
quit
rebase
recoverview
reformatview
reformatvob
register
relocate
rename
reqmaster
reserve
rgy_backup
rgy_check
rgy_passwd
rgy_switchover
rmactivity
rmattr
rmbl
rmbranch
rmcomp
rmdo
rmelem
rmfolder
rmhlink
rmlabel
rmmerge
rmname
rmpool
rmproject
rmregion
rmstgloc
rmstream
rmtag
rmtrigger
rmtype
rmver
rmview
rmvob
schedule
schemes
scrubber
setactivity
setcache
setcs
setplevel
setsite
setview
shell
snapshot.conf
softbench_ccase
space
startview
type_manager
umount
uncheckout
unlock
unregister
unreserve
update
version_selector
view_scrubber
vob_restore
vob_scrubber
vob_sidwalk
vob_snapshot
vob_snapshot_setup
wildcards_ccase
winkin
xclearcase
xcleardiff
xmldiffmrg
SYNOPSIS
DESCRIPTION
cleartool is the primary command-line interface to ClearCase and ClearCase LT version-control and configuration management software. It has a rich set of subcommands that create, modify, and manage the information in VOBs and views.
CLEARTOOL SUBCOMMANDS
Each cleartool subcommand is described in its own reference page, but not all subcommands are available in ClearCase LT. See the Applicability section of individual reference pages to determine whether the command is available in ClearCase LT.
GETTING HELP
cleartool provides several online help facilities for its subcommands:
- Syntax summary. To display a syntax summary for an individual subcommand, use the help subcommand or the –help option:
- Reference pages. cleartool has its
own interface to the UNIX man(1) command and Windows Help
Viewer. Enter cleartool man command-name to
display the reference page for a command.
Reference pages are also accessible from the Windows help system's main contents. On UNIX systems, type hyperhelp main.hlp to view the main contents.
See the man and hyperhelp reference pages for more information.
USAGE OVERVIEW
You can use cleartool in either single-command mode or interactive mode. A single cleartool command can be invoked from a UNIX shell or the Windows command interpreter using this syntax:
If you want to enter a series of subcommands, enter the cleartool command with no arguments. This places you at the interactive mode prompt:
You can then issue any number of subcommands (referred to as “commands” from now on), ending with quit to return to the shell or command interpreter. You can continue cleartool commands onto additional lines as follows:
Command Options
Command options may appear in any order, but all options must precede any nonoption arguments (typically, names of files, versions, branches, and so on). If an option is followed by an additional argument, such as –branch /main/bugfix, there must be white space between the option string and the argument. If the argument itself includes space characters, it must be enclosed in quotes.
If a nonoption argument begins with a hyphen (–) character, you may need to precede it with a double-hyphen argument, to prevent it from being interpreted as an option:
cleartool rmtype -lbtype -- -temporary_label-
Command Abbreviations and Aliases
Many subcommand names and option words can be abbreviated. A subcommand's syntax summary indicates all valid abbreviations. For example:
–pre·decessor
The position of the dot (· ) indicates that you can abbreviate the option to –pre, or to any intermediate spelling: –pred, –prede, and so on.
For option words, the minimal abbreviation is always three characters or fewer.
A few cleartool commands have a built-in command alias. For example, the alias for checkin is ci; the alias for checkout is co. These commands are equivalent:
ARGUMENTS IN CLEARTOOL COMMANDS
Arguments in cleartool commands specify objects, either file system objects (which may or may not be in a VOB) or non-file-system VOB objects. file system objects are elements, versions, VOB symbolic links, derived objects, view-private directories, and view-private files. file system objects also include files, UNIX symbolic links, and directories that have been loaded into a snapshot view. Examples of arguments that specify file system objects:
Non-file-system VOB objects include types (attribute, branch, element, hyperlink, label, replica, trigger), pools, hyperlinks, replicas, and VOBs. Examples of arguments that specify non-file-system VOB objects:
The sections “File System Objects” and “Non-File-System VOB Objects” more details about specifying objects.
Note: If a nonoption argument begins with a hyphen (–), you may need to precede it with a double-hyphen argument to prevent it from being interpreted as an option.
Use of Slashes and Backslashes on Windows Systems
Slashes (/) and backslashes (\) can be used interchangeably in pathnames in cleartool commands. For example, the following command is valid on a Windows host:
File System Objects
To specify a file system object as an argument, you can use either a full or relative pathname. In many cases, you can also use these variants: a view-extended pathname (full or relative) or a version-extended pathname (full or relative).
On UNIX systems, a full pathname begins with a slash. For example:
| /usr/src/project | Full pathname |
| /usr/bin/cc | Full pathname |
| /view/jpb/usr/src/project/test.c | View-extended full pathname |
| /usr/src/project@@/main/3/test.c/main/bugfix/4 | Version-extended full pathname |
On Windows systems, a full pathname begins with an optional drive letter and a backslash. For example:
Note: In general, you perform ClearCase and ClearCase LT operations on Windows in a view context, on a drive assigned with the Windows net use command, or by clicking Tools > Map Network Drive ➔ in Windows Explorer. It is rare to work directly on drive M, the default dynamic-views drive. However, it is common to use view-extended pathnames that include the M:\view-tag prefix.
On UNIX systems, a relative pathname does not begin with a slash or an implied slash (for example, ~user). For example:
| test.c | Relative pathname |
| ../lib | Relative pathname |
| motif/libX.a | Relative pathname |
| ../../beta_vu/usr/src/project | View-extended relative pathname |
| test.c@@/main/4 | Version-extended relative pathname |
On Windows systems, a relative pathname does not begin with a backslash. For example:
| test.c | Relative pathname |
| ..\lib | Relative pathname |
| tcp\libw.lib | Relative pathname |
| test.c@@\main\4 | Version-extended relative pathname |
Note: On Windows systems, pathnames relative to another drive (for example, C:\lib\util.o when C:\ is not the current drive) are not supported.
For both full and relative pathnames:
- The standard operating system pathname of an element implicitly references the version selected by the current view.
- A view-extended pathname references the version of the element selected by the specified view.
- A version-extended pathname directly references a particular version in an element's version tree.
For more information, see the version_selector and pathnames_ccase reference pages.
Note: On Windows systems, although the ClearCase MVFS uses case-insensitive lookup by default, cleartool itself is case-sensitive.
Non-File-System VOB Objects
In cleartool commands, you specify non-file-system VOB objects (VOBs, types, pools, hyperlinks, and replicas) with object selectors.
Object selectors identify non-file-system VOB objects with a single string:
[prefix:]name[@vob-selector]
where
- prefix
- Identifies the kind of object. The prefix
is optional if the context of the command implies the kind of object. For
example,
cleartool mkbrtype brtype:v3_bugfix
is equivalent to
cleartool mkbrtype v3_bugfix
If a context does not imply any particular kind of object, cleartool assumes that a name argument with no prefix is a pathname. For example, the command cleartool describe ddft describes a file system object named ddft, but cleartool describe pool:ddft describes the ddft pool.
If the name of a file system object looks like a prefix:name argument, you must use the –pname option to identify it. (In the mkhlink command, the options –fpname and –tpname serve the same function.) For example, to describe a file named lbtype:L, enter this command:
- name
- The name of the object. See the section “Object
Names” for the rules about composing
names.
- vob-selector
- VOB specifier. The default is the current working directory, unless the reference page specifies otherwise. Specify vob-selector in the form [vob:]pname-in-vob (for some commands, the vob: prefix is required; this is noted in the reference page)
Object Names
In object-creation commands, you must compose the object name according to these rules:
- It must contain only letters, digits, and the special characters underscore (_), period (.), and hyphen (-). A hyphen cannot be used as the first character of a name.
- It must not be an integer; this restriction includes octal and hexadecimal integer values. However, non-integer names are allowed.
- It must not be one of the special names “ . “, “ .. “, or “ ... “.
Although Windows imposes a limit of 260 bytes on object names, cleartool on Windows supports object names of up to 1024 bytes in length. Consult your operating system documentation for more information about the maximum length of object names; keep in mind that in a multiplatform environment, object names should conform to the rules of the most restrictive platform.
PROCESSING OF VOB SYMBOLIC LINKS
In general, cleartool commands do not traverse VOB symbolic links; rather, they operate on the link objects themselves. For example:
- You cannot check out a VOB symbolic link, even if it points to an element.
- A describe command lists information on a VOB symbolic link object, not on the object to which it points.
- A mklabel –recurse command walks the entire subtree of a directory element, but does not traverse any VOB symbolic links it encounters.
UNIX COMMAND-LINE PROCESSING
In single-command mode, the cleartool command you enter is first processed by the UNIX shell. The shell expands file name patterns and environment variables, and it interprets quotes and other special characters. cleartool processes the resulting argument list directly, without any further interpretation.
In interactive mode, cleartool itself interprets the command line similarly, but not identically, to the UNIX shells:
In interactive mode, cleartool does not expand environment variables and does not perform command substitution.
WINDOWS COMMAND-LINE PROCESSING
Single-Command Mode
In single-command mode, the cleartool command you enter is processed first by the Windows command interpreter and C run-time library, then by cleartool:
- The standard command interpreter, cmd.exe, expands environment variables, but does no special processing for file name patterns, quotes, or other special characters (including the asterisk (*) and question mark (?) characters, which are expanded by individual commands).
- The C run-time library does interpret quotes, stripping each pair and passing its contents through to cleartool as a single argument. (To pass a quote character through to cleartool, escape it with the backslash ( \ ).)
- cleartool processes the resulting argument list directly, without any further interpretation.
Some third-party shells perform additional command-line processing before passing the argument list through to cleartool. All descriptions and examples of cleartool command usage assume the standard cmd.exe interpreter.
Interactive Mode
In interactive mode, cleartool itself interprets the command line; it recognizes various special characters and constructs:
In interactive mode, cleartool does not expand environment variables.
OBJECT LOCKING
ClearCase and ClearCase LT provide temporary access control through explicit locking of individual objects with the lock command. When an object is locked, it cannot be modified by anyone (except those explicitly excluded from the lock).
cleartool command descriptions list the locks that can prevent a command from being executed, even if you have the necessary permissions. For example, the chtype command lists three locks that would prevent you from changing an element type:
This means that chtype would fail if the VOB that contains the element were locked, if the element's type were locked (such as the text_file type), or if the storage pool containing the (nondirectory) element were locked.
EXIT STATUS
If you exit cleartool by entering a quit command in interactive mode, the exit status is 0. The exit status from single-command mode depends on whether the command succeeded (zero exit status) or generated an error message (nonzero exit status).
Note that for the diff command, success means finding no differences.
SEE ALSO
comments, fmt_ccase, pathnames_ccase, permissions, profile_ccase, version_selector, wildcards_ccase, Administrator's Guide