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About dynamic views on Windows

Question & Answer


Question

What supplemental documentation is available concerning the IBM Rational ClearCase dynamic view behavior on Microsoft Windows?

Answer







About cleartool setview being removed

Attempts to use cleartool setview to start a dynamic view from a Windows client results in the following error:

C:\>cleartool setview my_view
cleartool: Error: Unrecognized command: "setview"


The cleartool setview command was removed from ClearCase on Windows starting in ClearCase 4.0.

The above syntax is only valid for starting a view on a UNIX® or Linux® client. Review the ClearCase Command Reference Guide on the topic of setview (cleartool man setview) for more information.

Why was cleartool setview removed from ClearCase starting in version 4.0 on Windows?


The cleartool setview command was removed from ClearCase on Windows due to the way its functionality inefficiently used system resources on Windows.

The implementation of cleartool setview on Windows (to function as it does on UNIX and Linux) required multiple cleartool executions and command shells (cmd.exe) each time it was used to start a single view. There was also some background handling of the command shells that could cause unexpected behavior if CTRL-BREAK was used.

The functionality that is available for use on Windows runs within a single instance of the Windows command shell (cmd.exe).




About using equivalent setview functionality

On Windows, you can use
cleartool startview, then change directory (cd) into the view root. All dynamic views started on a Windows client are available from the local MVFS drive, which by default is the M drive.
  1. Start the view: (The results are silent and return a command prompt)

    cleartool startview my_view

  2. Verify the view started: (The asterisk, *, means that it is started)

    C:\>cleartool lsview
    * my_view          \\host\My_VOB\views\my_view.vws

  3. Change directory (cd) into the view:

    C:\> M:
    M:\> cd \my_view
    M:\my_view>




About Mapped Network Drives for Views

If the view is mapped to a network drive, then that drive letter provides direct access to the view root. After starting the view, you can map it to a network drive using the operating system command net use.

Note: The view is mapped to the drive through the MVFS drive, \\view, not through its global path.

  1. Map the view to a drive letter:
    • net use L: \\view\my_view

  2. Change to the view's drive letter:
    • C:\> L:

The mapped drive letter can be allotted by net use, rather than specifying a drive letter in the command syntax. To determine the drive letter that the view is mapped to run net use again without any parameters as seen below:

  1. Map the view to any available drive letter:
    • net use * \\view\my_view

  2. Determine what drive the view is mapped to:
    C:\>net use

    New connections will be remembered.
    Status    Local         Remote            Network
    -------------------------------------------------------------------
                  F:    \\view\my_view        ClearCase Dynamic Views
                  M:    \\view                ClearCase Dynamic Views
    The command completed successfully.


Note:
For more information about net use, run net use /help.

Disconnecting Mapped View Drives

Additional information is available in the
IBM Rational ClearCase Developing Software guide under the section About stopping a dynamic view.

IMPORTANT: Stopping a dynamic view from the GUI or command line does not disconnect the mapped network drive. You need to use the operating system commands to disconnect the mapped drive:

  • In Windows Explorer Right-click on the mapped drive and click disconnect to disconnect the drive.
  • Use the net use /delete command from the command line.

Example: The view named view1 is mapped to drive Z:

  1. Stop the view on your local host using the following command:

    C:\>cleartool endview -server view1

  2. Disconnect the mapped drive:

    Option #1 - GUI
    From Windows Explorer > Tools > Disconnect Network Drive
    or
    Right click the mapped drive and select Disconnect.





    Option #2
    - Command Line
    From command line use, C:\> net use Z: /DELETE

Note: Technote 1258201 details a known defect that can ca Use the error, An unexpected network error occurred, along with details on how to work around the problem.


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Document Information

Modified date:
16 June 2018

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swg21122505