Using javac with clearmake

You can use the javac compiler with clearmake.

There are additional benefits of using clearmake instead of make, especially given the building behavior of javac. clearmake is better at determining when a rebuild is required than the Java tools, with or without make.

When using dynamic views, clearmake detects the following rebuild cases that javac does not:

  • Selection of an older version of a .java file. Because the rebuild decision is based on an older or newer comparison, javac does not detect that a rebuild is necessary.
    Note: Clock skew between hosts can cause similar time stamp problems outside HCL VersionVault.
  • Change of the javac command line. If the command-line options used to build a .class file have changed since the last build, clearmake rebuilds the .class file. For example, if you add the -g option to direct the compiler to rebuild with debugging information, you must invoke the compiler on all your .java files to ensure that they are rebuilt to contain the debugging information.
  • Manual winkin of a .class file that is out of sync with, but newer than, the corresponding .java source selected by the view. Because the rebuild decision is based on an older or newer comparison, javac does not detect that a rebuild is necessary.

However, some problems might occur when using HCL VersionVault build tools to perform Java builds.