Validating imported and restored modules with checksum files

Checksum validation records are useful for comparing a copied, imported, or restored module with the original. During the comparison, you can identify changes to the text or other attribute values that are in the selected views.

About this task

The checksum comparison verifies that data is not corrupted when you move it from the source database to elsewhere in that database or to a different database. This comparison is based on one or more user-defined views. The checksum capability compares the plain text of object values in each column and determines whether the values match. Several methods can be used to move data:

Rational® DOORS® native methods
Native methods include the archive and restore, copy and paste, and partition and rejoin operations. The Paste Special operation does not reliably maintain the data integrity. Paste Special does not copy all aspects of the module, such as tables and user-defined attributes with values other than the default.
Parser-based methods
ReqIF definitions can be configured to include all or a subset of view information; therefore, these definitions are suitable for parser-based checksum comparison. Microsoft Word and the other file-based parsers support only the export and subsequent import of main column data. With Word, the export and import might divide the objects in ways that cause the checksum comparison to fail. If you use a parser-based method, you must re-create the data in the format that is expected by the checksum comparison tool.
Do not create checksum comparisons on views that contain these properties:
  • User name attribute information.
  • Calculations that are based on duration.
  • Traceability. The checksum is based only on a single module context.
  • Information that is extracted from other modules. The checksum is based only on a single module context.
  • System attributes. The checksum comparison process ignores some system attributes, such as Created On, Created By, Modified On, Modified By and ID. Other system attributes might fail as a result of export, import, copy, archive, or restore processes. To avoid these failures, remove system attributes from the source module views.
  • Discussion columns.

In a module, you can specify the attribute that is displayed in a table. This value is set on the Display tab in the Table Properties window. However, this assignment is reset to the default attribute "Object Heading & Text" if you use ReqIf to move the module to another project or repository.

Table attributes that are displayed in modules are not controlled by the columns that are displayed in the module view. For table cells, checksum is calculated and compared only for the attributes that are configured for display in the table and not for the attributes that are displayed as columns in the view.


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