Datastage and ClearCase usage for change control?

emhastr · Post by **emhastr** » Mon Apr 21, 2003 1:05 pm

Hi, all. Hope you can share experiences on this topic.

Has anybody tried using DataStage,(with or without DataStage Version Control, in conjunction with ClearCase for source control (checkin/checkout) and DS program version control? If so, could you explain how you did it and how it is working for you?

Thanks in advance.

Ed

ray.wurlod · Post by **ray.wurlod** » Mon Apr 21, 2003 4:25 pm

Admitting up front that I know nothing about ClearCase, I would imagine it would have difficulties, because DataStage is not just about code; in fact (apart from Routines) the DataStage developer does not work with code at all. Further, some code is not stored in an accessible fashion (for example Routines and Transforms are kept each in a single column in a hashed file). Job designs are stored as collections of job design objects, again in a hashed file. I would suspect that ClearCase can no access hashed files (which also argues against other source code control software).
With a little bit of management, Version Control can provide a basic level of check-out/check-in capability, if all DataStage objects are kept as read-only even in development, and only opened for update by a management process/person.

Ray Wurlod
Education and Consulting Services
ABN 57 092 448 518

WoMaWil · Post by **WoMaWil** » Tue Apr 22, 2003 7:18 am

We work since some years with PVCS. At that time no Version Control was yet integratet in DataStage at that time. For to control DataStage Elements from PVCS (for a checkin and checkout) we have used Export. Any DataStage-Ellement (Job, Routine, Transform ....) can be imported and exported into *.dsx files (nowadays even in xml-files). What we did was to write a little commandline import/export/compile-Tool. With that check-in to any DataStage Project on any Server and check-out from any DataStage Project on any Server is easily possible. (even a delete)

Ed, if you need more details please let us know.

Wolfgang

mhester · Post by **mhester** » Tue Apr 22, 2003 7:32 am

Most version control packages work from Delta's between the files that are checked in and what already exists. Most customers use, succesfully I might add, apps like PVCS and maintain version control based on the .dsx supplied. These tools do not understand how DataStage works nor should they. It should be sufficient to generate an export via Manager and then use this as an object that can be versioned. Most version control products do not care what format the file is in (dsx xml etc...) as long as they are text.

Regards,

Michael Hester

emhastr · Post by **emhastr** » Fri May 02, 2003 8:10 am

Thanks for all of your responses. Your feedback
has been valuable in helping us develop solution
options. I'll post our final solution once it is
completed and running.

Ed