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clearcasesymlinkcheckin

If I want my symbolic link to become active on a main (or dev) view, do I need to check it in?

Background

In clearcase, you can create symbolic links with a series of commands:

  1. Change directory (cd) to root of the VOB1: cd /vobs/vob1
  2. Checkout the directory in the target VOB, vob1: cleartool co -nc .
  3. Create a symbolic link from the source VOB, vob2: Note: It is always best to use a relative path to the root of the other VOB. cleartool ln -slink ../vob2 vob2
  4. List the directory to verify that the link is there: cleartool ls vob2 --> ../vob2
  5. Checkin the current directory to commit the changes: cleartool ci -nc .
  6. Test the link: cd vob2 pwd /vobs/vob1/vob2

The steps, as written on the IBM page, apply to symbolically linking source and target directories that already exist. Creating a symbolic link to a file is almost the same.

Issue

According to step 5, you must check in the target directory (vob1 in this case) for the symlink to become active globally. This is trivial since the directory already exists. However, the IBM page is silent about checking in new symbolic links to files (or directories). I know clearcase symlinks cannot be checked out, but nothing speaks about checking in new symlinks. Which leads me to my question:

Question

Do I need to check-in a newly created file symlink for the link to become active globally?

Solution

  • Do I need to check-in a newly created file symlink for the link to become active globally?

    No: the step 5 refers to the parent folder of the element you are creating (here a symlink).
    For that element (created in step 3), you would need to check in the parent folder in order for that folder to list it as its sub-elements.

    As long as the parent folder is not checked in, your new element remains visible only in your view.