This book is designed to give you a solid basis for working with the many features and functions of Digital computer systems using the OpenVMS operating system. It does not cover specific application programs that run on Digital computers but rather concentrates on the capabilities and flexibility of OpenVMS. The book takes a hands-on approach, providing you with experiments and exercises to try at your terminal. It also provides discussions and examples that you can use as a reference when you work with OpenVMS on your own.

The book addresses users new to the OpenVMS environment as well as those with OpenVMS experience who need a reference guide. You may be in an instructor-led college class, in a company-sponsored training session, or working on your own without instructor supervision.

The OpenVMS Landscape

Formerly known as VMS (virtual memory system), OpenVMS was first conceived in 1976 as an operating system for Digital's new VAX (virtual address extension) computers. The new 32-bit, multitasking, multiprocessing virtual memory operating system was developed as the successor to Digital's RSX11M operating system for the PDP-11.

OpenVMS's official name change came with the release of V6.0 of the operating system. The change occurred primarily to ease the misimpression that OpenVMS was designed solely for the Alpha AXP computer system and to signify the high degree of support for international standards for an open systems environment. The proper names for OpenVMS on the two platforms are now OpenVMS VAX and OpenVMS Alpha, the latter having superseded