Using the ClearTeam® Explorer for Eclipse

You can use the IBM® ClearTeam® Explorer for Eclipse with UCM or base ClearCase®.

Before you begin

Before you can use the ClearTeam® Explorer for Eclipse, you must create a ClearCase® view. Because UCM and base ClearCase® require different types of views (in the sense of the development policies that the views specify), you must choose one or the other before you create the views that you will use. You will also need to decide what type of view (in the sense of the client type) to create: web, dynamic, automatic, or snapshot.

About this task

Note: ClearCase® and Eclipse use the term project to describe different aspects of software development. An Eclipse project defines a resource hierarchy such as a folder that contains Java source files. A ClearCase® UCM project defines how a group of people manage changes to resources, using baselines, activities, and streams. Members of a UCM project can work on one or more Eclipse projects.

Procedure

To start using the ClearTeam® Explorer for Eclipse:
  1. Decide whether to use UCM or base ClearCase®:
    1. Check with your project manager. Before you can use UCM, the project manager or another user with access to UCM tools on the ClearCase® server must create a UCM project and the components it uses.
    2. Review additional DevOps Code ClearCase® documentation about UCM and base ClearCase®.
  2. Decide whether to use a web view, dynamic view, automatic view, or snapshot view:
    1. Dynamic views require the presence of the ClearCase® native (or thick) client and are designed to be used only on Local Area Networks. Dynamic views are not supported on Wide Area Networks. Dynamic views must be mounted and started before use.
    2. Web views and automatic views are copy-based clients that require a connection to the CCRC WAN server (although a limited amount of operations are still available when you are disconnected from the server) and may be used in either a WAN or a LAN environment.
    3. Snapshot views are also copy-based and require a LAN connection to the VOB server to load copies of the resources.
  3. Create an Eclipse workspace for each ClearCase® view that you plan to create. For more information about the relationship between Eclipse workspaces and ClearCase® views, see ClearCase views and Eclipse workspaces.
  4. Open the ClearTeam Explorerr perspective. On the Eclipse menu bar, click Window > Open Perspective > Other. Select clearcase icon ClearTeam Explorer from the list of available perspectives.
    After the perspective is open, you can customize it to show specific views and toolbars and menus.
  5. If you are using UCM, click the join UCM project icon icon on the ClearCase®toolbar to start the join UCM project wizard.
    This wizard also creates UCM views.
  6. If you are using base ClearCase®, click the create view icon icon on the ClearCase® toolbar to start the view creation wizard.

What to do next

After the ClearCase® views and Eclipse workspaces have been created, you can begin using the ClearTeam® Explorer for Eclipse to share work on an Eclipse project with other members of a team:
  • If the Eclipse projects on which you will work are already under DevOps Code ClearCase® source control, you can import them into the Eclipse workspace that you created for the view.
  • Otherwise, create the Eclipse projects and then add them to source control.