Team software development with ClearCase

IBM Rational ClearCase provides configuration management services that make it easy for development teams to work with resources in a shared repository. With the IBM Rational® ClearTeam Explorer™, developers can access Rational ClearCase from a variety of network connections, including broadband (WAN) and traditional local area networks (LANs). The Rational ClearTeam Explorer also supports WAN access to Rational ClearQuest user databases.

Rational ClearCase provides a secure repository and integrated configuration management tools that enable a variety of operations on repository contents. The Rational ClearTeam Explorer provides developers with access to Rational ClearCase repositories and configuration management services supported by a Rational ClearCase server called the CCRC WAN server. The Rational ClearTeam Explorer also provides access to Rational ClearQuest user databases supported by a Rational ClearQuest server.

The Rational ClearTeam Explorer is powered by Eclipse technology. Eclipse is an open source platform for the construction of powerful software development tools and rich desktop applications. For more information about Eclipse, see the Eclipse Web site at: http://www.eclipse.org

The Rational ClearTeam Explorer and Rational ClearTeam Explorer for Eclipse

The Rational ClearTeam Explorer is available in two forms:

Most Help topics for the ClearTeam Explorer also apply to the ClearTeam Explorer for Eclipse. When a ClearCase operation behaves differently in the Eclipse environment than it does in a standalone environment, the differences are noted when the behaviors are described.

Rational ClearCase development models

Rational ClearCase supports two development models:

Your project manager determines which development model your team will use.

Both the ClearTeam Explorer and ClearTeam Explorer for Eclipse support UCM and base ClearCase. To get started, see Using the Rational ClearTeam Explorer or Using the Rational ClearTeam Explorer for Eclipse.

Documentation

In addition to the Help available with the ClearTeam Explorer, you can find detailed information about developing software using either base ClearCase or UCM in the Rational ClearCase Information Center at http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/infocenter/cchelp/v8r0m0/.

Context-sensitive Help

Every view and dialog box in the ClearTeam Explorer provides context-sensitive Help. To get Help for the ClearTeam Explorer interface that has the current focus, press the platform-specific help key (such as F1 on Windows).

Accessibility features

Accessibility features help users who have a physical disability, such as restricted mobility or limited vision, to use information technology products successfully.

Note: The accessibility features mentioned here apply to the Windows operating system. Some of these features also work on Linux, but are not officially supported at this time.

These accessibility features support the following things:

For example, to set up a key binding to be able to move from the ClearCase Navigator view to the ClearCase Details view in the ClearTeam Explorer for Eclipse, select Window -> Preferences -> General ->Keys -> Show View (View: ClearTeam Details). You can associate any binding to this command (such as Alt+ Shift+ Q , D) as long as there is no conflict with an existing binding.

Screen resolution

For Linux and Unix installations, the minimum recommended screen resolution is 1280x1024. If a lower resolution is used, some dialogs may be truncated or incomplete. In the event that lower screen resolutions are used and truncation occurs, a workaround is to resize the dialog manually.


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