Home
Managing change and releases
Learn how to manage change and release in the product.
Guide to building software on Windows
Pointers on using HCL VersionVault build tools
Learn about how to use VersionVault build tools.
clearmake build script execution and cmd.exe
By default, clearmake invokes cmd.exe to execute build scripts. It finds cmd.exe in %SYSTEMROOT%\system32; if SYSTEMROOT is not set, clearmake uses C:\winnt as the default system root directory. If it cannot find the shell, clearmake exits.

Managing change and releases
Learn how to manage change and release in the product.
- Managing software projects
- Workflow for creating projects
- Workflow for making baselines
- Workflow for recommending baselines
- Guide to building software on Linux and UNIX
- Guide to building software on Windows
  - VersionVault build concepts
    HCL VersionVault supports makefile based building of software systems and provides a software build environment closely resembling that of the make program.
  - Derived objects and configuration records
    Learn about derived objects and configuration records.
  - Pointers on using HCL VersionVault build tools
    Learn about how to use VersionVault build tools.
    - Running omake or clearmake
      Learn how to run omake or clearmake.
    - A simple clearmake build scenario
      clearmake is designed to let developers in makefile-based build environments continue working in their accustomed manner.
    - Accommodating build avoidance
      Learn about clearmake build avoidance.
    - Declaring source dependencies in makefiles
      To implement build avoidance based on time stamps, standard make variants require you to declare all the source file dependencies of each build target.
    - Build-order dependencies
    - clearmake build script execution and cmd.exe
      By default, clearmake invokes cmd.exe to execute build scripts. It finds cmd.exe in %SYSTEMROOT%\system32; if SYSTEMROOT is not set, clearmake uses C:\winnt as the default system root directory. If it cannot find the shell, clearmake exits.
    - Build scripts and the rm command
      It is common for a makefile to include a target whose build script invokes a command like rm to delete files.
    - Path names in CRs
      In a config record created on Windows, MVFS object path names begin with the VOB tag and do not include view tag prefixes.
    - Problems with forced builds
      Understand the problems with forced builds.
    - How clearmake interprets double-colon rules
      Double-colon rules are a special kind of makefile construct that allows several independent rules for one target, each with a possibly different build script.
    - Continuing to work during a build
      As your build progresses, other developers continue to work on their files and might check in new versions of elements that your build uses.
    - Using config spec time rules
      If you use a UCM view, your config spec is generated by HCL VersionVault. Do not add time rules to your config spec.
    - Build sessions, sub-sessions, and hierarchical builds
      Learn about HCL VersionVault build auditing.
    - Build auditing and background processes
      If some conditions are met, HCL VersionVault build programs audit background processes correctly.
    - Working with incremental update tools
      The design of the build auditing capability makes it ideal for use with tools that build derived objects from scratch.
    - Temporary build audit files
      By default, omake and clearmake generate temporary build audit files in the directory identified by the TMP environment variable.
    - Adding a version string or time stamp to an executable
      There are simple techniques for incorporating a version string and/or time stamp into a C-language compiled executable.
  - Working with DOs and configuration records
    You can perform operations on derived objects and configuration records.
  - clearmake makefiles and BOS files
    The HCL VersionVault build program, clearmake, can process makefiles.
  - Using clearmake compatibility modes
    clearmake is designed for compatibility with existing make programs, which minimizes the changes you need to make to your makefiles.
  - Using HCL VersionVault to build C++ programs
    Understand the guidelines and instructions to use the VersionVault build utilities, omake and clearmake, in C++ development environments such as Microsoft Visual C++. You will learn how the makefile fragment works and also present alternate possibilities for working around the problems.
  - Using HCL VersionVault build tools with Java
    The build behavior of Java tools causes various problems for clearmake and omake. Understand the problems and some possible solutions to resolve them.
  - Setting up a parallel build
    Learn the process to set up and run parallel builds.

clearmake build script execution and cmd.exe

By default, clearmake invokes cmd.exe to execute build scripts. It finds cmd.exe in %SYSTEMROOT%\system32; if SYSTEMROOT is not set, clearmake uses C:\winnt as the default system root directory. If it cannot find the shell, clearmake exits.

You can override the default shell by using a SHELL make macro (note that you must specify a full path name and include the file name extension). The following anomalies might occur if you use a different shell or if you execute a batch file from a build script:

clearmake might not recognize failed commands and continue the build with unpredictable results.
clearmake might display an extra command prompt after a build script command completes successfully.

Note: If clearmake determines that it can execute the build script directly, it does not use the shell program even if you specify one explicitly. If you use .bat files in build scripts, you must make them executable (use the cleartool protect command). To force clearmake to use the shell program, set the environment variable CCASE_SHELL_REQUIRED.