Specifications

• The section on operating system naming conventions in the Guide to Creating
OpenVMS Modular Procedures
• OpenVMS I/O User’s Reference Manual
Other useful information can be found in your processor’s hardware
documentation, as well as that in the following documents:
• OpenVMS VAX System Dump Analyzer Utility Manual
• OpenVMS System Manager’s Manual
• VAX/VMS Internals and Data Structures
• OpenVMS Delta/XDelta Debugger Manual
Conventions
In this manual, every use of OpenVMS VAX means the OpenVMS VAX operating
system.
This manual describes code transfer operations in three ways:
1. The phrase ‘‘issues a system service call’’ implies the use of a CALL
instruction.
2. The phrase ‘‘calls a routine’’ implies the use of a JSB or BSB instruction.
3. The phrase ‘‘transfers control to’’ implies the use of a BRB, BRW, or JMP
instruction.
The following conventions are also used in this manual:
. . . Horizontal ellipsis points in examples indicate one of the
following possibilities:
• Additional optional arguments in a statement have been
omitted.
• The preceding item or items can be repeated one or more
times.
• Additional parameters, values, or other information can be
entered.
.
.
.
Vertical ellipsis points indicate the omission of items from
a code example or command format; the items are omitted
because they are not important to the topic being discussed.
( ) In command format descriptions, parentheses indicate that, if
you choose more than one option, you must enclose the choices
in parentheses.
[ ] In command format descriptions, brackets indicate optional
elements. You can choose one, none, or all of the options.
(Brackets are not optional, however, in the syntax of a directory
name in an OpenVMS file specification or in the syntax of a
substring specification in an assignment statement.)
{ } In command format descriptions, braces surround a required
choice of options; you must choose one of the options listed.
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