This unified, client-side Java™ API is a technical preview for IBM Rational® ClearCase®, ClearQuest®, and RequistePro® customers. The download package consists of reference documentation, tutorials, and samples of an API that is available for evaluation in IBM Rational Software Development Platform, Team Products, Releases 7.0.0 and 7.0.1. This technical preview provides access to a subset of the capabilities of ClearCase, ClearQuest, and Requisite Pro.

The ClearCase subprovider includes the following:

• authentication services
• ability to make, remove, and update Web views
• ability to check in, check out, and uncheck out elements
• ability to display and set configuration specifications
• ability to traverse UCM project hierarchies and get their properties
• ability to browse and create activities.

The ClearQuest subprovider includes the following:

• authentication services
• database schema and user repository services
• query services
• record services
• workspace services
• report and chart services.

The Requisite Pro subprovider includes the following:

• authentication services
• ability to open and modify projects
• ability to get project structure, including groups, users, document types, requirement types, and attribute definitions
• ability to get, create, modify, and remove requirements (including attributes), documents, views, and packages
• ability to get, create, modify, and remove relationships (trace and parent-child)
• ability to get revisions for projects, documents, and requirements
• queries: ability to execute, get, and set display fields and filter criteria.

This is a preview. The interface may change somewhat when the supported version is released. The authors of IBM Rational Team API encourage usage and solicit feedback that would influence the design of the final, supported version of IBM Rational Team API. Because the interface is still in preliminary form, this technical preview of IBM Rational Team API must not be used to write code that will be used in production.

How does it work?

In order to use this API, customers must have installed Version 7.0.0 or 7.0.1 of Rational ClearQuest client or ClearCase Web server. That software installs the required Rational Team API JAR files that are used by the customer's Java classes to access the respective subprovider's repositories. The Rational Team API JAR files contain implementations of the Rational Team API interfaces for each product. For ClearQuest, the Java classes call into existing Java Native Interfaces (JNIs). For ClearCase, the Java classes make HTTP calls to the ClearCase Web Server. These libraries, in turn, access each product's repository.

James Felty is the manager of ClearTeam advanced development at IBM Software Group (Rational) in Lexington, Massachusetts.

Thomas Wilcox works on advanced product design for IBM Software Group (Rational).