ClearCase view configuration
Each ClearCase® view has a configuration specification that specifies the resources that the view accesses from the server.
The content of every ClearCase view is determined by its configuration specification (config spec). The config spec of a ClearCase view includes version selection rules, which select at most one version of each file or directory element in a VOB. If you are using UCM, config specs are defined by the UCM project and created automatically. When you use base ClearCase, you specify the version rules yourself.
Config specs for the copy-based view types (snapshot, web, and automatic) also include load rules, which specify the path names of directories and files to load from the VOB. Load rules are required for snapshot and web views. You can also use them to populate automatic views, but they are unnecessary in that case because you can implicitly load files by opening them.
About version-selection rules
Version-selection rules use metadata such as branch names, version numbers, and labels, to specify the versions of elements that are selected by the view. A config spec selects at most one version of any element. When you access an element, the config spec selects the version of the element that you will work with.
The config spec for a UCM view is defined by the UCM project with which it is associated. Config specs for UCM views can be edited only to add custom rules in the areas where they are permitted. By default, a base ClearCase view uses a config spec that selects the latest version on the main branch of each loaded element. This is known as the /main/LATEST rule.
Any time you change a config spec, all view types, except dynamic, must be explicitly updated so that they contain the selected versions. An update can result in new versions being loaded, old (no longer selected) versions being unloaded, or both. When you edit the Version Selection Rules in the Edit Configuration, dialog box, applying your changes starts the update. The UCM Rebase Stream and Deliver from Stream operations, which may change the config spec, also cause the view to be updated.
About load rules
An individual load rule can specify a file or a directory. A load rule that specifies a directory loads the directory and all its contents (files and subdirectories). A load rule that specifies a file loads only the specified file. To load all resources in a VOB or a component, create a load rule that specifies the root directory of the VOB or component.
- While you are connected to the CCRC WAN server, load rules can enhance performance by fetching resources before you need them.
- You can load resources in advance of disconnecting from the server so you can work while disconnected.
To create an explicit set of load rules, use the load rule editor in the Edit Configuration. To load a resource from the VOB and implicitly create a load rule for it, use the Load Resources dialog box. When you use the Controls in the checkout dialog box dialog box to check out a resource that is not loaded, a load rule is created for the resource, and then the resource is loaded and checked out. Regardless of how a load rule was created, you use the load rule editor in the Edit Configuration to remove it.