desc OpenVMS usage:char_string type: character-coded text string access: write only mechanism: by descriptor Output record buffer. The desc argument is the address of a descriptor pointing to the buffer that receives the sorted or merged record. length OpenVMS usage:word_unsigned type: word (unsigned) access: write only mechanism: by reference Length of the output record. The length argument is the address of a word receiving the length of the record returned from SORT/MERGE. context OpenVMS usage:context type: longword (unsigned) access: modify mechanism: by reference Value that distinguishes between multiple, concurrent SORT/MERGE operations. The context argument is the address of a longword containing the context value. When your program makes its first call to a SORT/MERGE routine for a particular sort or merge operation, the context longword must equal zero. SORT/MERGE then stores a value in the longword to identify the operation just initiated. When you make subsequent routine calls for the same operation, you must pass the context value supplied by SORT/MERGE.