OpenVMS Record Management Services

This reference manual describes the OpenVMS Record Management Services (OpenVMS RMS) used by programmers to manage files and their contents across OpenVMS programming languages. It covers:

• General Information: Mechanisms for argument passing and an introduction to RMS functions.
• Program Interface: Details on the RMS run-time environment, naming conventions, calling sequences, service completion scenarios, and error handling.
• Implementation: Specific guidance and C programming examples for using RMS services, including handling extended file specifications (NAML) and 64-bit record access (RAB64).
• Control Blocks: Detailed definitions of RMS control blocks, including File Access Blocks (FAB), Name Blocks (NAM/NAML), Record Access Blocks (RAB), and various Extended Attribute Blocks (XABs) like XABALL, XABDAT, XABFHC, XABKEY, and XABPRO.
• RMS Services: Comprehensive reference sections for individual RMS services (e.g., $CLOSE, $CREATE, $GET, $PUT), documenting their formats, input/output control block fields, and condition values.
• VAX MACRO: Specialized appendices providing VAX MACRO programming information, naming conventions, and code examples using RMS macros.