VOB data must be accessed through a view. Most VOB metadata can
be accessed directly by using Rational® ClearCase® GUIs
and cleartool commands.
A VOB is a repository for data (versioned artifacts such as files and directories)
and metadata (branches, labels, event records, and so on). VOB data can be
created by users or imported from another configuration management system.
To create, import, or access VOB data, you must use a view, and you must have
rights to access the VOB and the objects in it. VOB and view access control provides
detailed information about VOB and view access controls. Views and view administration provides
more information about views.
VOB metadata can be created in several ways:
- As an indirect result of a command that creates a VOB or an object in
a VOB. For example, commands that create VOBs also create VOB attributes and
UUIDs; the cleartool mkbranch command
creates a branch and local instance of a branch type if needed.
- As the direct result of a command that creates or manipulates a specific
type of metadata, for example the cleartool mkobjecttype commands (for example, mkeltype and mkbrtype),
which create specific type objects that are described in detail in VOB datatypes and administrative VOB hierarchies.
The cleartool describe command (and
its graphical counterpart), and commands such as lstype and lsvob provide
ways to view and, in some cases, edit VOB metadata.