Installation and configuration of ClearCase® Remote Client CLI

You can use the IBM Installation Manager to install the ClearCase® Remote Client command-line interface (CLI) that is part of ClearTeam Explorer package.

Before you begin

The ClearCase® Remote Client CLI is installed with the ClearTeam Explorer (CTE) package. The package is available for install through the Installation Manager.

The installation of the ClearCase® Remote Client CLI (rcleartool) requires the CCRC WAN server to be upgraded to ClearCase® version 8.0.0.3 or higher.
Note: DevOps Code ClearCase® provides two clients for software developers: local and remote. Each client supports different mechanisms for accessing source-controlled filesystem objects. Both clients provide graphical and command-line interfaces.
The following table summarizes some important characteristics of the two clients.
Table 1. Characteristics of ClearCase clients for software developers
Client Network connection type Connection to repository of source-controlled objects View types User interfaces
ClearCase® Local Client (CCLC) LAN only RPC connection to a Versioned Object Base (VOB)
  • Dynamic
  • Snapshot
  • GUI: ClearTeam Explorer (CTE)
  • CLI: cleartool
ClearCase® Remote Client (CCRC) WAN and LAN http(s) connection to a VOB through a CCRC WAN server
  • Automatic
  • Web
  • GUI: ClearTeam Explorer (CTE)
  • CLI: rcleartool

The term view, as used in this table, refers to the mechanism for accessing versions in a VOB. For example, snapshot, automatic and web views provide copy-based mechanisms, whereas the dynamic view provides a mechanism to directly access versions in real time.

Another use of the term view refers to the configuration management model that governs the development of software. The two models are called Base ClearCase® and Unified Change Management (UCM):
  • In a Base ClearCase® view, you specify the configuration explicitly by rules for version selection, branching, and so on.
  • In a UCM view, the configuration is generated by ClearCase® operations such as creating a development stream.
For more information, see the "Developing software with DevOps ClearTeam Explorer" topic.

DevOps Code ClearCase® or DevOps Code ClearCase® Remote Client

Installing either DevOps Code ClearCase® or DevOps Code ClearCase® Remote Client, installs ClearCase® Remote Client CLI. These are sample paths to the installation:
  • Windows:
    • C:\Program Files\DevOps\Code\ClearCase\RemoteClient\rcleartool.bat
    • C:\Program Files\DevOps\Code\ClearCase\RemoteClient\rcleartool.conf
  • UNIX/Linux:
    • /opt/devops/code/clearcase/RemoteClient/rcleartool
    • /opt/devops/code/clearcase/RemoteClient/rcleartool.conf

ClearTeam Explorer Extension

If ClearTeam Explorer Extension is installed into a Rational Desktop product, the rcleartool script file installs with the eclipse.exe for that product. For example, when ClearTeam Explorer is installed into Rational® Team Concert (RTC), you could find the rcleartool files here:
  • Windows:
    • C:\Program Files\IBM\TeamConcert\rcleartool.bat
    • C:\Program Files\IBM\TeamConcert\rcleartool.conf
  • UNIX/Linux:
    • /opt/ibm/TeamConcert/rcleartool
    • /opt/ibm/TeamConcert/rcleartool.conf

About this task

Adding rcleartool to your system PATH: Installing ClearCase® Remote Client CLI does not automatically add rcleartool to your PATH variable. If you want to be able to run the 'rcleartool' command from any directory, add the installed directory. See above, examples paths to rcleartool.

The file 'rcleartool.conf' is a text file that must be present in the same directory as 'rcleartool.bat' (or 'rcleartool' on UNIX/Linux). This file is used to provide any custom Java VM flags. For instance, if you want to specify a particular language, in this example Spanish, you could add a line to the file 'rcleartool.conf':
-Duser.language=es
There are no required properties to be set in this file.

Procedure

If you are installing ClearTeam Explorer from the Eclipse update site, 'rcleartool.bat' / 'rcleartool' scripts must be configured manually. Take the following steps to manually configure the rcleartool scripts.

In the following example, <ECLIPSE_HOME> refers to the location of your eclipse installation, the same directory eclipse.exe would reside.

  1. On Windows:

    The rcleartool script is included in the com.ibm.devops.ccrc.cli plugin that is added to your eclipse installation when you install ClearTeam Explorer from the ClearTeam Explorer update site. You need to look for a directory that starts with com.ibm.devops.ccrc.cli in the following locations, and then use the one with the latest version number.

    • <ECLIPSE_HOME>\plugins
    • %USERPROFILE%\.p2\pool\plugins

    In the examples that follow, <CCRC_CLI_PLUGIN_DIR> refers to the location of the latest com.ibm.devops.ccrc.cli plugin.

    1. For rcleartool.bat: Copy 'rcleartool.bat' from <CCRC_CLI_PLUGIN_DIR>\scripts\rcleartool.bat to <ECLIPSE_HOME>\rcleartool.bat

      For rcleartool.conf: Copy 'rcleartool.conf' from <CCRC_CLI_PLUGIN_DIR>\scripts\rcleartool.conf to <ECLIPSE_HOME>\rcleartool.conf

    2. Open 'rcleartool.bat' to edit the following line replacing <JAVA_EXE_PATH> with the full path to your installed version of Java 11 (or greater) JRE:
      from:
      if not defined_JAVACMD set _JAVACMD=_JAVA_CMD_PATH
      to:
      if not defined_JAVACMD set _JAVACMD=<JAVA_EXE_PATH>
      This is an example of a valid input for this line:
      if not defined _JAVACMD set _JAVACMD=C:\Program Files\Eclipse Adoptium\jre-11.0.18.10-hotspot\bin\java.exe
    3. Run 'rcleartool setup' once to configure the remaining paths automatically.

      rcleartool setup

    4. You can now add <ECLIPSE_HOME> to your system PATH variable to run rcleartool from any directory in your command window.
  2. UNIX/Linux:

    The rcleartool script is included in the com.ibm.devops.ccrc.cli plugin that is added to your eclipse installation if you install Eclipse with the Eclipse installer. You need to look for a directory that starts with com.ibm.devops.ccrc.cli in the following locations, and then use the one with the latest version number.

    • <ECLIPSE_HOME>/plugins
    • ~/.p2/pool/plugins

    In the examples that follow, <CCRC_CLI_PLUGIN_DIR> refers to the location of the latest com.ibm.devops.ccrc.cli plugin.

    1. For rcleartool: Copy 'rcleartool' from <CCRC_CLI_PLUGIN_DIR>/scripts/rcleartool to <ECLIPSE_HOME>/rcleartool

      For rcleartool.conf: Copy 'rcleartool.conf' from <CCRC_CLI_PLUGIN_DIR>/scripts/rcleartool.conf to <ECLIPSE_HOME>/rcleartool.conf

    2. Open 'rcleartool' to edit the following line replacing <JAVA_EXE_PATH> with the full path to your installed version of Java 11, or greater, JRE:
      from:
      _JAVACMD=${_JAVACMD:-_JAVA_CMD_PATH_}
      to:
      _JAVACMD=${_JAVACMD:-<JAVA_EXE_PATH>}
      This is an example of a valid input for this line: 
      _JAVACMD=${_JAVACMD:-/usr/lib/jvm/jre-11/bin/java}
    3. Add execute permission to rcleartool:

      chmod +x <ECLIPSE_HOME>/rcleartool

    4. Run 'rcleartool setup' once to configure the remaining paths automatically.

      rcleartool setup

    5. You can now add <ECLIPSE_HOME> to your system PATH variable.