IBM Rational Solutions

Clearvision are an IBM Rational Tier One partner and have been delivering IBM Rational training, support, consultancy, products and discounted IBM Rational licences for over 10 years.

IBM Rational have an integrated and mature suite of SCCM products, these products are well regarded in the SCCM space and arguably IBM Rational is the SCCM market leader for large organisations:

IBM Rational ClearCase is a tool for version control and software configuration management (SCM) of source code and other software assets. ClearCase can handle projects with hundreds or thousands of developers. Clearvision consultants have experience in all ClearCase variations including ClearCase LT (for smaller, local projects) and ClearCase MultiSite (an option for Rational ClearCase to support geographically distributed projects).

ClearCase supports two use models, Unified Change Management (UCM), and base ClearCase. UCM provides an out-of-the-box model while base ClearCase provides a basic infrastructure (upon which UCM is built) which allows for more flexibility. Both can be configured to support a wide variety of needs.

ClearCase runs on a number of platforms including AIX, z/OS, Linux, HP-UX, Solaris and Windows. It can handle large binary files, large numbers of files, and large repository sizes. It handles branching, labelling, and versioning of directories.

IBM Rational ClearQuest is a workflow automation tool (in particular defect tracking and change management) delivering repeatable, enforceable, predictable processes. Process automation Workflows are provided out-of-the-box to jumpstart your implementation and can be easily customised to meet specific needs - Clearvision have developed comprehensive workflow systems for major global corporations incorporating ClearQuest MultiSite to support geographically distributed projects.

ClearQuest is also available in a web version, which offers all the functionality of the full version except for the ability to create queries.

ClearQuest integrates well with ClearCase but is also designed to be used with other IBM Rational Software testing tools, such as Rational Performance Tester, Rational Functional Tester and Rational Manual Tester, providing a robust environment for software quality assurance.

Rational Team Concert Open Source SCCM tools have highlighted weaknesses with traditional IBM Rational products, in particular poor performance and sensitivity to network issues. In response IBM Rational have launched Rational Team Concert.

IBM Rational Team Concert is a collaborative software delivery environment which includes integrated work item, source control and build management in addition to the improved collaboration capabilities of the Jazz environment - Rational Team Concert makes it easy to exchange information directly in the context of the work you are doing.

Jazz is IBM Rational’s technology platform for collaborative software delivery (not a product). Jazz technology enables collaboration among business stakeholders, subject matter experts, and all people that have a role to play in the delivery of software. Product offerings built on the Jazz platform will be able to leverage capabilities for team-based software development and delivery.

Rational Team Concert Standard is available with out-of-the-box integrations that enable interoperability with IBM Rational ClearCase, ClearQuest, Build Forge and Subversion.

Other IBM Rational Solutions The Clearvision team can also support other IBM Rational products including Requisite Pro, BuildForge, Portfolio Manager, Software Architect, Systems Developer, Rational Rose Technical Developer, Software Modeller, Data Architect, Rational Rose Data Modeller, Purify Plus and Test RealTime.

The Highlights of Git Include:

• Distributed development. Like many version control systems, Git allows each developer to create a local copy of an entire section of a repository including history, changes can be made (without dependency on network access or a central server) and committed from one repository to another.
• Support for non-linear development. Git supports rapid and convenient branching and merging, and includes powerful tools for visualising and navigating a non-linear development history. A core assumption in Git is that a change will be merged more often than it is written, as it is passed around various reviewers.
• Efficient handling of large projects. Git is fast and scales well against large projects or significant version history. Git uses an efficient packed format for long-term revision storage.
• Cryptographic authentication of history. The Git history is stored in such a way that the name of a particular revision (a "commit" in Git terms) depends upon the complete development history leading up to that commit.
• Toolkit design. Following the Unix tradition, Git is a collection of many small tools written in C, and a number of scripts that provide convenient wrappers. Git provides tools for both easy human usage and easy scripting to perform new clever operations.
• Besides providing a version control system, the Git project provides a generic low-level toolkit for tree history storage and directory content management. In addition to the packaged user interface several other projects (porcelains) offer compatible version control interfaces.

A Note of Caution When Considering Git

It's important to note that no solution is ideal for every organisation, Git is not a straightforward replacement for a centralised version control system like Subversion.

Useful Links

Official IBM Rational website:
http://www-01.ibm.com/software/rational/

IBM Rational Jazz Community Site:
http://jazz.net/

Global Rational User Group Community:
http://www.rational-ug.org/

Wikipedia definition of the Rational Unified Process:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM_Rational_Unified_Process

Rational Team Concert Download:
http://www-01.ibm.com/software/awdtools/rtc/