OpenVMS Record Management Utilities Reference Manual

This manual describes the OpenVMS Record Management utilities and the File Definition Language (FDL) facility.

The document covers five primary utilities:

1. Analyze/RMS_File: Used to examine the internal structure of Record Management Services (RMS) files. It can check for errors, generate statistical reports on file structure and usage, provide interactive analysis, and create FDL files from data files. It also offers information on RMS Journaling.
2. Convert: Reorganizes files by copying records from one or more input files to an output file, converting them to be compatible with the output file's organization and record format. It can optimize indexed files, handle carriage control formats, and manage exception conditions (e.g., truncation, padding, creating exception files).
3. Convert/Reclaim: Specifically reclaims empty buckets in Prolog 3 indexed files to allow new records to be written, thereby optimizing processing efficiency and preserving Record File Addresses (RFAs).
4. Create/FDL: Creates new, empty data files based on specifications defined in existing FDL files, enabling optimally structured files for data processing performance.
5. Edit/FDL: An interactive editor for designing, modifying, and optimizing FDL files. It recognizes FDL syntax, helps identify errors, and assists in modeling data files to achieve the most efficient design, often using analysis data from the Analyze/RMS_File utility.

Additionally, the manual details the File Definition Language (FDL) itself, which provides a structured way to define file attributes and characteristics for efficient data management. Many of these utilities support extended file specifications for OpenVMS Alpha systems, including expanded file names and deep directory structures.