the field being used as the link, the foreign key, will be indexed for quick lookup. While this is slower than simply storing the pointer to the related data directly in the records, it also means that changes to the physical layout of the data do not require any updating of the pointers—the entry will still be valid. ISAM is simple to understand and implement, as it primarily consists of direct access to a database file. The trade-off is that each client machine must manage its own connection to each file it accesses. This, in turn, leads to the possibility of conflicting inserts into those files, leading to an inconsistent database state. To prevent this, some ISAM implementations provide whole-file or individual record locking functionality. Locking multiple records runs the risk of deadlock unless a deadlock prevention scheme is strictly followed. The problems of locking, and deadlock are typically solved with the addition of a client-server framework which marshals client requests and maintains ordering. Full ACID transaction management systems are provided by some ISAM client-server implementations. These are the basic concepts behind a database management system (DBMS), which is a client layer over the underlying data store. ISAM was replaced at IBM with a methodology called VSAM (virtual storage access method). Still later, IBM developed SQL/DS and then Db2 which IBM promotes as their primary database management system. VSAM is the physical access method used in Db2. OpenVMS The OpenVMS operating system uses the Files-11 file system in conjunction with RMS (Record Management Services). RMS provides an additional layer between the application and the files on disk that provides a consistent method of data organization and access across multiple 3GL and 4GL languages. RMS provides four different methods of accessing data; sequential, relative record number access, record file address access, and indexed access. The indexed access method of reading or writing data only provides the desired outcome if in fact the file is organized as an ISAM file with the appropriate, previously defined keys. Access to data via the previously defined key(s) is extremely fast. Multiple keys, overlapping keys and key compression within the hash tables are supported. A utility to define/redefine keys in existing files is provided. Records can be deleted, although "garbage collection" is done via a separate utility. Design considerations IBM engineers designed the ISAM system to use a minimum amount of computer memory. The tradeoff was