ClearCase CM API clients

The ClearCase® CM API supports a client-server processing model, in which the client makes requests to a server to obtain information about resources on the server and to make changes to these resources. The client uses proxy objects to marshal data to and from the server through the API. Each proxy class defined in the API maps to a type of product resource on the server.

By defining proxies that map to resources, the client-server programming model helps to distinguish client-side processing from server-side processing. There is a well-defined naming convention for all methods to help identify methods that make calls to a server. For example, to read data from a product, a client application must first make an explicit request for the object or data to be read from the server and into a proxy before the value can be read from the proxy. Clients must call a do method (for example, Resource.doReadProperties) to request that specified values be read from a product server resource. The client application specifies the properties to be read (or written) by creating the appropriate proxy type that contains the names for each property to be read or written.

For example, if users have an application to access and work on some set of source files in ClearCase, the API can be used to create an integration between that application and ClearCase, enabling users to check out and check in their files from the application.