Functional Tester and ClearCase
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.
Related tasks
Set up ClearCase on a Windows server
Set up ClearCase on a UNIX server