Comparison between ClearCase

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SCM feature: ClearCase Add to comparison: +CVS
+AccuRev
+Aegis
+AllChange
+Arch
+Bazaar
+BitKeeper
+CM+
+CMSynergy
+Co-Op
+Darcs
+Git
+LibreSource Synchronizer
+Mercurial
+Monotone
+OpenCM
+Perforce
+PureCM
+SourceAnywhere
+Subversion
+Superversion
+Surround SCM
+svk
+Team Foundation Server
+Vesta
+Visual SourceSafe
Atomic Commits
Yes. Commits (checkins) are atomic.
Files and Directories Moves or Renames
Yes. Directories are first-class controlled entities in Clearcase. Even supports controlling of symbolic/hard links.
Intelligent Merging after Moves or Renames
Unknown. FILL IN.
File and Directories Copies
Yes, through use of hard links. (But some limitations in Windows environments)
Remote Repository Replication
Not really applicable for clearcase, but see next point.
Propagating Changes to Parent Repositories
Yes, using Clearcase Multisite.
Repository Permissions
Yes, a unix-like permissions model is used, which maps onto Windows domain-based authentication in multi-platform environments.
Changesets' Support
Not supported in this way. Extensive branching support gives similar benefits. (eg each changeset can be given a branch). Also optional UCM feature gives something like this (each changeset is a "stream").
Tracking Line-wise File History
Yes, "cleartool annotate"
Ability to Work only on One Directory of the Repository
Yes, using snapshot view load rules.
Tracking Uncommited Changes
Yes, "cleartool diff"
Per-File Commit Messages
Yes, assuming a comment on the branch is sufficient for a per-changeset message.
Documentation
Extensive online help in Windows Help / UNIX manpage format, also PDF-based documentation. However the complexity of the tool can mean a lengthy ramp-up time.
Ease of Deployment
Poor. Clearcase is very difficult to install in general. At least, setup for a new site is quite complex. Installing additional servers (eg repository servers) is less so.
Command Set
Excellent. All tools are available through the command-line. Not very compatible with CVS though.
Networking Support
Poor. Uses an *extremely* chatty RPC protocol for most clearcase operations, plus NFS or SMB for accessing the files themselves. Typically servers should be deployed locally (ie on the same LAN) as the client workstations for acceptable performance.
Portability
Medium. Available on Windows, and several selected flavours of UNIX (not including MacOS X, or any other Linux other than Red Hat).
Web Interface
Yes. Web views are supported.
Availability of Graphical User-Interfaces.
Supplied for both Windows and UNIX. GUI tools are typically not as solid as the command-line tools though.
 


Information taken from Better SCM Initiative website by Shlomi Fish (shlomif@iglu.org.il).

Reorganized for usability by Alexey Mahotkin (Version Control Blog) in 2008.

 

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