I see .copyarea.db files popping up in my ClearCase snapshot directories. I understand that deleting the file may cause some problems. How can I get rid of these files safely?
All CCWeb views have a storage stored at the CCRC server (which in turn communicates with the VOB server).
That differs from classic ClearCase views, where the view storage is either on the user's computer, or in a close View Storage server.
Since the clients using CCRC cannot always directly access that view storage (on the CCRC server), it needs "local" view storage, which are defined within the CCWeb view, with the .copyarea.dat and a .copyarea.db directories.
Since you are not the first to getting rid of those directories (.db and .dat), CCRC 7.1 now allows for .dat directory to be restaured, allowing then ClearCase to reassess the status of each file, keeping relevant information in the .db storage directory.
The first google result about .copyarea.db suggests that deleting those files will confuse ClearCase, causing it to think that your files are hijacked.
The .copyarea.db is removed by ClearCase after I add all the View Private files in a snapshot directory to source control. It makes sense--ClearCase needs the .copyarea.db file to avoid interpreting the copied files as hijacked, but checking them in removes that ambiguity, so ClearCase no longer needs .copyarea.db and deletes it.
Related
When ClearCase server is offline, and I'm having a snapshot view:
where are the config spec stored?
Will I be able to view it?
The config spec is stored at the view storage directory:
An individual view's config spec is stored in its view storage directory, in two forms:
Source format. The user-visible version, config_spec, contains only the series of config spec rules.
Compiled format. A modified version, .compiled_spec, includes accounting information. This version is created and used by the view_server process.
Even if the server is offline, you can still try and access the \\shared\view\storage\myView.vws path associated to your view and read the config_spec file.
If the network is done though, and the view storage is not a local one (local to your host), then you would not be able to read it.
Check if cleartool catcs still work.
We use both ClearCase UCM and base. One of the open questions we have is, how to find out where the loaded files of snapshot views are reside, by a given path of view storage directory?
e.g. We have a view located in C:\views\myview.vws
Sometimes the equivalent loaded files are in C:\views\myview directory, but sometimes not. I'm looking for a way to find where it is.
I tried to find it out by cleartool lsview -l and cleartool desc - does not help.
The Windows registry does not provide this answer as either (AFAIK).
I confirm there is not information where a snapshot view (UCM or not) actually resides.
You need to realize that by simply copying the .view.dat (hidden) file that you can see at the root directory of any of your snapshot view, you will make the destination directory (in which you copy the .view.dat file) the root of your snapshot view.
Copy it to three different directories, and you have the same snapshot view replicated three times!
Copy it to C:\Windows\System32, and that directory becomes a snapshot view root directory!
You best bet is to search for those .view.dat (or view.dat on Windows): those files contains the uid (unique id) of the view, allowing you to reconcile that with what you see within the view storage.
While at home for personal projects i use Mercurial, at work we're using ClearCase.
I am attempting to run a few horizontal (touching lots of source files) refactorings in Visual Studio for the code base, however, for since each file is locked by ClearCase, it has to be unlocked and prompts for the actual activity that the check out is for.
In Mercurial, there's no such concept as far as i'm aware of: files are not being locked at all at any point of time!
Is there a way of doing such a refactoring, or any other operation that acts on multiple files, without having to check out each and every one manually?
In a DVCS (distributed VCS like Git or Mercurial), you simply cannot "lock" a file, since all the other repos wouldn't be aware of such a "status".
But with ClearCase and its locking mechanism (optimist with "unreserved checkout" or pessimist with "reserved checkout"), you need to make a checkout to tell ClearCase you will modify some files.
However, you could also, for large refactoring:
make and update a snapshot view
set all the files as writable (through an OS-based command, not through ClearCase "checkout")
perform your changes
search for all hijacked files and checkout/checkin those files then
My ClearCase storage location has something like viewname.tmp folders, I believe they got created for my views.
I would like to know how can I delete those .tmp folders from my storage location (eg : \\server1\views\username).
If I do with delete button then "Access denied" message is coming.
A view storage ending with .tmp (/path/to/myview.vws.tmp) is only created during a rmview, in order to make the view storage directory immediately unavailable.
It can linger on if there some sort of conflict due to:
an anti-virus software (see this technote)
a cross-platform access (windows => linux through samba, as described in this thread)
If the lsview myview states the view doesn't exist anymore, you can safely get rid of that view storage once you figured you what is blocking it from being deleted.
Or you can also simply leave it here: it won't harm the creation of new ClearCase views.
I am using eclipse clearcase remote client. Everytime i wish to check out the file, i am going into the long branch.
Is there any way to find a file directly in the root like searching?
If you are using CCRC, you are using a snapshot view, which have an config spec specifying:
what you are selecting (this is the part you need to adjust to check out the right version in the right branch)
what you are loading on your disk.
As mentioned in this comparison matrix between CCRC and other ClearCase instances,
CCRC can only search the local copy area’s database for checkouts, hijacks, view privates.
I would recommend making a second CCRC web view, and make some tests on that view (with a small set of files loaded).