1.7 The Base ClearCase-ClearQuest Integration

Rational ClearQuest is a change-request management system that can integrate with base ClearCase projects to provide extended features. These features enable you to associate change requests in a ClearQuest user database and versions of ClearCase elements on which you are working.

The Base ClearCase-ClearQuest Schema and User Databases

ClearQuest stores data in two databases: a schema repository and a user database. A schema defines the types of records in the database and other attributes of the database. ClearQuest stores all schemas in a schema repository. The user database stores your change-request data.

The ClearQuest schema package provides additional information in your ClearQuest records to track associations with ClearCase versioned objects. To support associations between base ClearCase and ClearQuest record types, the schema repository needs to have the schema package applied to its record types and the user database used with the integration must be updated to add the new fields provided by the package.

Your ClearQuest user database may include different record types for different purposes. The record type used by the SAMPL database supplied with the base ClearCase-ClearQuest integration is called a defect, but with the ClearCase schema package installed, any record type can be used.

ClearCase Triggers and ClearQuest Change Requests

The base ClearCase-ClearQuest integration consists of ClearCase triggers that fire when you check out a file, cancel a checkout, or check in a file. Your ClearCase administrator installs the integration triggers into each target VOB. The integration associates one or more ClearQuest change requests with one or more ClearCase versions stored in one of the target VOBs.

• A single change request may be associated with more than one version. The set of versions that implement the requested change is called the change set for that request.

• A single version may be associated with more than one change request. These change requests are called the request set for that version.

Uses of the Base ClearCase-ClearQuest Integration

The integration provides a text-based user interface for users of the cleartool command-line interface and a clearprompt pop-up window interface for users of the ClearCase GUIs such as ClearCase Explorer and Windows Explorer (on Windows computers) and ClearCase File Browser (on UNIX workstations).

The base ClearCase-ClearQuest integration has triggers on checkin, checkout, and cancel checkout operations. As a ClearCase user, you can do the following:

• Associate a version with one or more change requests when you check out or check in the element.

• List the request sets that are associated with a project over a period of time, list the change requests associated with a specific version, and see the related hyperlinks.

As a ClearQuest user, you can do the following:

• View the change set for a change request.

• See the files that fix a specific problem.

ClearCase administrators can do the following:

• Install the related triggers in a VOB and set a policy for each VOB that determines the conditions under which you are prompted to associate versions with change requests.

• Specify that you are prompted on checking out a version, checking in a version, or both.

• Specify that prompting occurs only for some VOBs, branch types, or element types. Associations of checked-in versions with change requests can be either optional or required.

A ClearQuest administrator adds the ClearCase schema package to a ClearQuest schema. The administrator sets a policy for one or more VOBs that specifies the conditions under which you are prompted to associate versions with change requests.