Getting started
This Training page provides an overview of accessing Perforce IPLM, setting up access to the Tutorial database, and getting help with commands, settings, and the current Perforce IPLM Version.
Setting up the tutorial database
The Perforce IPLM Training Guide is based on the example Tutorial database which is provided as a part of the PiExtras package. It can be installed on a local dedicated machine with the instructions provided in the Installation Guide in the Tutorial Installation section. The Tutorial installation instructions will load the database into Perforce IPLM and set up a Perforce server with matching file level DM data. Please contact Perforce for the licenses necessary to run the tutorial.
Setting up your environment
After completing the Pi Tutorial Install instructions you will have a 'mdx.bash' containing the environment setup information to run Perforce IPLM. Source this file, or include it as part of your environment initialization.
> source /usr/share/mdx/config/mdx.bash
Users and logins
Perforce IPLM requires you to login as a user registered with the system. Information on logging in to Perforce IPLM is available on the Accessing Perforce IPLM page of the User Guide.
Perforce IPLM account types
There are two levels of accounts in Perforce IPLM, administrator accounts and regular accounts. Regular user accounts are constrained by Perforce IPLM permissions granted at the Library, IP, and Line levels, and admin accounts are not; they have full access to everything in the system. Admin status is granted to any user account by adding it to the built in 'admin' group in Perforce IPLM. Only a current Perforce IPLM admin can elevate a regular user account to admin status.
Perforce IPLM supports both internally and externally defined user and group configuration and authentication. The instructions here assume internal Perforce IPLM accounts. More information on Internal and External user accounts can be found on the Users and Groups page of the Administration Manual.
User account in the tutorial
The tutorial can either be run as an admin user, in which case permissions will not have any effect, or as a standard user, in which case permissions must be set appropriately for that user.
To add an internal Perforce IPLM user account (as an admin):
1. Add the user using pi cli > pi user add <username>
2. Fill out the template file that comes up
3. Save and exit
1. Edit the group template using pi cli > pi group edit admin 2. Edit the 'users' section of the template to include the new admin user account
If the tutorial is to be run as a standard user, run the following as an admin user (or owner of the tutorial Library):
> pi perm add u:<username>:rw tutorial. --all-ip
> pi passwd <username>
> pi login <username>
The same command can be used to switch to a new user account.
Command line
The PI command line client is 'pi' .The standard PI command format is: pi CMD SUBCMD [options]
> pi --help
Usage: pi [-h] [--picache PICACHE] [--piserver PISERVER] [--project PROJECT]
SUBCOMMAND ...
Optional arguments:
--picache PICACHE Specify the IPLM Cache server to connect to
--piserver PISERVER, -s PISERVER
Specify the PiServer to connect to
--project PROJECT Specify the Project
-h, --help Show this help message and exit
Available sub-commands:
SUBCOMMAND
alias Commands related to Aliases.
dmtype (dm) Commands related to DM Types.
group Commands related to Groups.
integrate (merge) Merge another IPV's resources into your Workspace.
ip Commands related to IP.
label Manipulate and list Labels.
library (lib) Commands related to Libraries.
license (lic) Commands related to Licenses.
login Authenticate with the Perforce IPLM server.
logout Logout from the Perforce IPLM server.
passwd Change a User password.
perm Commands related to Permissions.
property (prop) Commands related to Properties.
property-set (propset)
Commands related to Property Sets.
query Commands related to Queries.
release (rel) Make a new release.
settings Show settings of configuration variables.
snapshot (snap) Commands related to Snapshots.
subscription (sub) Commands related to Subscriptions.
update (up) Update a Workspace.
user Commands related to Users.
version Report Pi Client and Server versions.
whoami Report who you are logged in as.
workspace (ws) Commands related to Workspaces.
Getting Help:
The -h or --help flag will display help specific to the arguments
preceding their position in the command line:
pi -h Display generic help about pi (this screen)
pi ip -h Display help about the ip sub-commands
pi ip load -h Display help about the ip load sub-command
pi ip -h load Display help about the ip sub-commands, NOT the
ip load sub-command
Links to detailed overviews of all the Perforce IPLM commands can be found on the Command Cheat Sheet page in the User Guide.
Getting help
For each command or subcommand in Perforce IPLM you can type the command followed by '-h' or '–help' to get more information about how to use it.
For example
> pi ip -h
Usage: pi ip [-h] SUBCOMMAND ...
Description: Commands related to IP. These subcommands are used to add, edit,
delete and list information about IP.
Optional arguments:
-h, --help Show this help message and exit
Available sub-commands:
SUBCOMMAND
add Create a new IP.
attribute (attr) Commands related to IP, Line or IPV Attributes.
copy (cp) Create a new IP or new Line based on an existing IPV.
delete (del, remove, rm)
Delete an IP, Line or IPV.
diff Compare two IPVs.
edit Edit an existing IP.
list (ls) List all matching IP.
load Load an IP into a Workspace.
local Create a local copy of an IP.
obliterate Obliterate an existing IP.
properties (prop) Edit the IP/IPV Properties on an existing IP.
publish Publish the given IPV to a IPLM Cache.
refer Switch an IP to refer mode.
rm-from-filelist Remove a file from the filelists of IPVs on a Line.
tree Display the hierarchy of the specified IPV.
usage Report on IPV usage by other IPVs.
In the case of the 'pi ip list' sub command we see that it has an alias (ls) such that 'pi ip list' and 'pi ip ls' are the same command. The descriptive text tells us that the list subcommand can be used to list all matching IP. To get more information on the usage of the 'pi ip list' command we can type:
> pi ip list -h
Usage: pi ip list [-h] [--format {csv,json,long,table,template} | --verbose]
[--model MODEL] [--all | --max MAX] [--limit LIMIT]
[--contents] [--label LABEL [LABEL ...]]
[--match-substring MATCH_SUBSTRING | --query QUERY | --squery SQUERY]
[identifier [identifier ...]]
Description: List all matching IP. A variety of format and filtering options
are supported.
Positional arguments:
identifier Filter IP by name.
Optional arguments:
--all, -a Include all IP Versions (IPVs), equivalent to --max 0.
--contents Display a list of all files and the version of each
file for the specified IP. This can generate a LOT of
output if an IP contains a large number of files.
--format {csv,json,long,table,template}
Return the results using the specified data structure.
The template format produces files that can be used by
the pi add|edit commands with the --template option.
--limit LIMIT Limit the output to the specified number of records
--match-substring MATCH_SUBSTRING, -m MATCH_SUBSTRING
Filter by matching substring. All fields in the output
are considered
--max MAX Include at most MAX IP Versions (IPVs).
--model MODEL Use the specified report model (table report only).
--query QUERY, -q QUERY
Filter using the Perforce IPLM Query Language.
--squery SQUERY, -sq SQUERY
Filter using a Saved Perforce IPLM Query.
--verbose, -v Alias for --format long.
-h, --help Show this help message and exit
Filters:
--label LABEL [LABEL ...]
Filter by IP Label.
Examples:
# List all latest versions of all IP
pi ip list
# List all latest versions of IP foo.bar
pi ip list foo.bar
# Show five most recent foo.bar versions
pi ip list --max 5 foo.bar
# List all latest versions of all IP in library foo
pi ip list foo.
Here we see a description of the usage of the command including arguments and the various possible options. In addition we see several examples of how to use the command. Each command in the Perforce IPLM command line interface has similar detailed help available with the '-h' option.
Understanding the Perforce IPLM Configuration
Several commands are available to get more information on the current state of Perforce IPLM (also see the PiCLI Environment page of the User Guide):
Finding the Perforce IPLM version
Use the 'pi version' command to get the version of the Perforce IPLM server and client:
> pi version
PiServer version : 3.0.5
PiClient version : 3.0.5
IPLM Cache version : 1.8.3
Showing the Perforce IPLM setup
Use the 'pi settings' command to get the Perforce IPLM configuration:
> pi settings
You are logged in as 'admin'.
MDX_CONFIG_DIR Env var /usr/share/mdx/config
MDX_MAX_LIST_RECORDS_LIMIT Unset
MDX_PI_ASCII Config False
MDX_PI_COMPRESS Default False
MDX_PI_SERVER Env var http://demo2:8080
MDX_PI_TIME_FORMAT Config %Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S %z %Z
MDX_PROJECT Unset
MDX_WORKSPACE_MANAGER Config PWM
MDX_PWM_CLIENT_FORMAT Default ws:{user}:{lib_ip}:{wsid}
MDX_PWM_DEFINE_CDSLIB Config .:cds/*
MDX_PWM_INCLUDE_CDSLIB Config cds.lib
MDX_PWM_P4_SYNC_BATCHSIZE Default 2000
MDX_PWM_POST_REFERENCE_CDSLIB Config /mdx/tools/cds/IC617/share/cdssetup/dfII/cds.lib
MDX_PWM_PRE_REFERENCE_CDSLIB Unset
MDX_PWM_TEMPLATE_CLIENT Unset
MDX_PWM_UNDEFINE_CDSLIB Unset
MDX_PWM_WORKSPACE_CDSLIB Unset
MDX_PWM_WORK_LINK Config $VSC_INSTALL_DIR/config/cadence/dot_cdsinit:cds_run/.cdsinit,$VSC_INSTALL_DIR/config/cadence/cdsLibMgr.il:cds_run/cdsLibMgr.il,cds.lib:cds_run/cds.lib
MDX_PICACHE_BIC_DIR Unset
MDX_PICACHE_COMPRESSION Unset
MDX_PICACHE_DATA_WAIT_TIME Default 10
MDX_PICACHE_SERVER Env var demo2:5000
IPLM Cache Server configuration:
Root /picache-root
Server Version 1.5.0
Site demo2
Finding the currently logged in user
Use the 'pi whoami' command (or 'pi settings' - see above) to get the currently logged in Perforce IPLM user:
> pi whoami You are logged in as 'admin'