working in /vobs/some/path versus /view/view-tag-name/vobs/some/path

Question

I have to use ClearCase at work and the basic workflow requires me to do something like:

cleartool setview 

view

Answer 1

what's the difference between working in /vobs/some/path in a setview shell versus working in /view/view-tag-name/vobs/some/path in a plain shell?

Do not use cleartool setview: As I explained before, the cleartool setview command opens a subshell in which commands are supposed to be run, which can be problematic.

Working in /view/view-tag-name/vobs/some/path means you remain in your main shell, with all its properties.

what is the proper term to use when referring to the /view/view-tag-name directory?

That references the full path view root folder (inside which you are mounting vobs and accessing versions based on the view config spec and its selection rules)

In /vobs/some/path, you can still see the view you are in with cleartool pwv ("path working view").

why when I do ct lsview -l -properties -ful view-tag-name I don't see any reference to the /view/view-tag-name directory?

You are seeing the property of the view, which will then be mounted in /view/view-tag-name (on Unix) or M:\view-tag-name on Windows.
Those properties make no assumption on the runtime usage of that view, they only display static metadata (like the view storage or the view type)