View source for Record Management Services

{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2023}}

'''Record Management Services''' ('''RMS''') are procedures in the [[OpenVMS|VMS]], [[RSTS/E]], [[RT-11]] and [[RSX-11M]] [[operating system]]s that [[computer program|programs]] may call to process [[Computer file|files]] and [[Database record|records]] within files.<ref name=DECRMS>{{cite manual
 |        id = AA-D031B-TE
 |     title = VAX-11 Record Management Services Reference Manual
 |      date = February 1979
 |       url = http://bitsavers.org/pdf/dec/vax/vms/1.5/3/AA-D031B-TE_VAX-11_Record_Management_Services_Reference_Manual_Feb79.pdf
 | publisher = DEC
 }}
</ref><ref name=HPRMS1>{{cite manual|url=https://support.hpe.com/hpsc/doc/public/display?docId=emr_na-c04623189|title=OpenVMS Record Management Services Reference Manual |date=June 2002 |page=23|accessdate=20 November 2017}}</ref> Its file formats and procedures are similar to of those in some IBM [[access methods]]{{efn|
Primarily
*BDAM
*BSAM
*ISAM
*QSAM
* [[Virtual Storage Access Method]] (VSAM)
}} for several of its [[mainframe computer]] operating systems{{efn|
Primarily
*[[DOS/360 and successors]] through [[z/VSE]]
*[[OS/360 and successors]] through [[z/OS]]
*[[TSS/360]] and TSS/370
}} and by other vendors for file and record management. VMS RMS is an integral part of the system software; its procedures run in executive mode.<ref name="foldoc">{{foldoc|Record+Management+Services}}</ref> (RMS was not initially integrated into RT-11 and RSTS/E, but was available as an added charge "layered product". It was later added to RSTS/E and was a part of its standard documentation set.)

RMS supports four record access methods:
* Sequential Access
* Relative Record Number Access
* Record File Address Access
* [[Indexed file|Indexed Access]]

RMS supports four record formats:
* Fixed length
* Variable length
* Variable record length with fixed-length control blocks
* Stream files (records separated by termination characters)
** STREAM: Records terminated by CRLF
** STREAM_CR: Records terminated by CR
** STREAM_LF: Records terminated by LF

Digital provided the File Definition Language (FDL) which could be used to define the structure of an RMS file.<ref>{{cite web |title=This URL has been excluded from the Wayback Machine. |url=https://www.itec.suny.edu/scsys/vms/ovmsdoc073/v73/6027/6027pro.html |date=April 2001 |access-date=2023-08-20 |website=itec.suny.edu}}{{dead link|date=November 2022|fix-attempted=yes}}</ref>

==Notes==
{{Notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://h30266.www3.hpe.com/odl/i64os/opsys/vmsos84/4506/4506PRO.HTML Guide to OpenVMS File Applications] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190712025456/http://h30266.www3.hpe.com/odl/i64os/opsys/vmsos84/4506/4506PRO.HTML |date=12 July 2019 }}
* [http://h30266.www3.hpe.com/odl/i64os/opsys/vmsos84/documentation/pdf/OVMS_731_rms.PDF OpenVMS Record Management Services Reference Manual] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190712022408/http://h30266.www3.hpe.com/odl/i64os/opsys/vmsos84/documentation/pdf/OVMS_731_rms.PDF |date=12 July 2019 }}
* [http://www3.sympatico.ca/n.rieck/demo_vms_html/openvms_demo_index.html#fileio Free BASIC demo programs showing how to use RMS]

{{Digital Equipment Corporation}}

[[Category:OpenVMS software]]
[[Category:Digital Equipment Corporation]]