Guide to OpenVMS File Applications

This document, for the OpenVMS Version 7.3 release, serves as a comprehensive guide for application programmers and designers using OpenVMS RMS files. It covers:

• Foundational Concepts: File, disk, and magnetic tape concepts including structure levels (ODS-1, ODS-2, ODS-5).
• File Organization: Choosing between sequential, relative, and indexed file organizations.
• Performance Tuning: Design considerations for speed and space, file tuning, bucket and buffer management, and monitoring RMS performance.
• Creating and Populating Files: Procedures using RMS control blocks (FABs, RABs, XABs) and File Definition Language (FDL) utilities.
• File Specifications: Rules for disk file naming, parsing, and advanced usage like rooted directories.
• File Sharing and Buffering: Managing shared file access, record locking, and global/local buffering techniques.
• Record Processing: Primary operations (Find, Get, Put, Update, Delete) and secondary operations, including synchronous versus asynchronous processing.
• Maintenance: File integrity checking and reorganization.