About case-sensitivity

Windows® logon user names

Windows logon user names are not case-sensitive but are case-preserving. If you want to log on to Windows using the same account but with variations of the capitalization (for example, mike and MIKE), you see confusing results from DevOps Code ClearCase® operations. DevOps Code ClearCase operations record the user name as it was entered at the Windows logon prompt, and these operations are case-sensitive. Thus, a checkout by mike does not show up when you log on as MIKE and ask for "my" checkouts (cleartool lsco-me ).

For DevOps Code ClearCase

From a dynamic view or from a snapshot view on a Linux or UNIX workstation, it is possible to create two elements whose names differ only in the case of characters that make up their names. For example:

/design/func_specs/bas
/design/func_specs/Bas

On Linux or UNIX workstations, the native file system and all DevOps Code ClearCase components (the multiversion file system (MVFS), cleartool, clearmake, and cleartool subcommands) are case-sensitive. In both a dynamic view and a snapshot view on a Linux or UNIX workstation, these two elements are distinct. In a dynamic view, the MVFS uses case-sensitive file lookup and performs no automatic case conversion of any kind.

On Windows computers, the native file systems (for example, FAT and NTFS) perform file lookups that are not case-sensitive (ignoring the distinction between lowercase and uppercase characters) and generally preserve case on file creation and folder creation operations. A snapshot view on a Windows computer uses the native Windows file system, does not support case-sensitive file lookups, and does not distinguish the two elements in the previous example. If you were to load these two elements into a snapshot view on a Windows computer, only one of them would have the correct data when copied into the view; duplicate files are reported as hijacked.

By default, on Windows computers, the MVFS is set up to have dynamic views perform file lookups that are not case-sensitive and to convert to lowercase the names of new view-private files and directories and the DevOps Code ClearCase elements and versions that it creates. However, you can configure MVFS settings to perform case-sensitive file lookup and preserve the case of the names of new view-private files and directories and DevOps Code ClearCase elements and versions. All DevOps Code ClearCase applications that refer to path names in VOBs, including cleartool and clearmake, are case-sensitive regardless of how you configure MVFS settings. If MVFS is configured to preserve case, path names to MVFS objects, including view-private files and directories in the MVFS namespace, must specify the correct case.

Avoid creating elements whose names differ only in case.