When
you use ClearCase® with
Functional Tester, you have a choice of snapshot or dynamic views with ClearCase.
There are advantages and disadvantages to each view.
You must purchase and install ClearCase to use the Functional Tester
integration with ClearCase. A snapshot view contains copies of ClearCase versions
and other file system objects in a directory tree on a local system. Dynamic
views use, create, and maintain a directory tree that contains versions of
VOB elements and view-private files.
Advantages and disadvantages of
snapshot views
The advantages of using a snapshot view with Functional
Tester are:
- Only the scripts that you change compile when you record or play back
a script so the performance can be faster than a dynamic view.
The disadvantages of using a snapshot view are:
- Files are not updated automatically. You must remember to get the latest
files from the VOB on a regular basis or changes that others check in can
break your script. Updating once a day is probably enough, depending on your
particular team's needs.
- A snapshot view uses a lot of disk space on your local hard disk drive
because a snapshot view copies every file in the Functional Test project to
your local hard disk drive.
Advantages and disadvantages of
dynamic views
The configuration specification that you use can affect the following
advantages and disadvantages of a dynamic view .
The advantages of using
a dynamic view with Functional Tester are:
- Files do not take a large amount of disk space on the local machine because
only the files that you check out or create exist on your local hard disk
drive.
- Files in a dynamic view are always current with the VOB. You do not have
to remember to get the latest files from the VOB as you do in a snapshot view.
The disadvantages of using a dynamic view with Functional Tester are:
- In a large team, when many users change scripts, it may take a long time
for all the changes to compile when you record or play back a script.
Functional
Tester, Java™ Scripting, compiles the project when an element
changes. If you are using a dynamic view, automatic compilation can be time
consuming, depending on the size of the project. To disable this feature,
click Window > Preferences and
clear the Build automatically check box. Functional
Test, VB.NET Scripting, does not automatically compile the project when an
element changes.
You can use the Functional Tester integration with ClearCase to
perform these tasks:
- Perform ClearCase tasks
from the Rational Functional Tester Projects view for Rational Functional Tester, Java Scripting or from the Solution Explorer
for Rational Functional Tester, VB.NET Scripting.
- Create a Rational Functional Tester project and
add it to source control from Rational Functional Tester.
- Add an existing Rational Functional Tester project
to source control after you create it in a ClearCase view.
- Add a Rational Functional Tester script to source
control.
- Remove a Rational Functional Tester script from
source control.
- Check out a Rational Functional Tester script
from source control.
- Check in a Rational Functional Tester script to
create a new version of the script with changes.
A merge operation occurs
during checkin if another user has checked in the same file. To merge is the
process of combining the contents of two or more files into a single new file.
The first user to check in the file creates a new version. The second user
to check in the file is required to merge. If ClearCase can manage combining the
multiple edits to the file, the changes are merged into a new version of the
file automatically. If the edits conflict or cannot be resolved, users must
resolve the conflicts. ClearCase starts the Diff Merge tool, in which
you can view the differences and merge two or more files, if necessary.
- Restore the previous version of a script.
- Refresh the local, snapshot view with the most current copy of a script.
This operation is necessary only with snapshot views.
- List all scripts and files checked out in the current view.
- Compare differences between the current script and its immediate predecessor.
- Manage the supporting files for each script easily when you add a script
to source control, check in or check out a script, or get the latest version
of a script, all the supporting Rational Functional Tester files
for that script are managed.
- View a history of the changes made to a script.