diff --git a/Include/pyerrors.h b/Include/pyerrors.h
index 868584991d7..1adc6eca6c5 100644
--- a/Include/pyerrors.h
+++ b/Include/pyerrors.h
@@ -62,6 +62,9 @@ PyAPI_DATA(PyObject *) PyExc_ZeroDivisionError;
 #ifdef MS_WINDOWS
 PyAPI_DATA(PyObject *) PyExc_WindowsError;
 #endif
+#ifdef __VMS
+extern DL_IMPORT(PyObject *) PyExc_VMSError;
+#endif
 
 PyAPI_DATA(PyObject *) PyExc_MemoryErrorInst;
 
diff --git a/Misc/ACKS b/Misc/ACKS
index 281aeb2c762..3ef4d8ae807 100644
--- a/Misc/ACKS
+++ b/Misc/ACKS
@@ -405,6 +405,7 @@ Geoff Philbrick
 Adrian Phillips
 Christopher J. Phoenix
 Neale Pickett
+Jean-François Piéronne
 Dan Pierson
 Martijn Pieters
 François Pinard
diff --git a/Misc/NEWS b/Misc/NEWS
index 91fe049d2c1..0e883bbc8eb 100644
--- a/Misc/NEWS
+++ b/Misc/NEWS
@@ -826,6 +826,8 @@ C API
 New platforms
 -------------
 
+- OpenVMS is now supported.
+
 - AtheOS is now supported.
 
 - the EMX runtime environment on OS/2 is now supported.
diff --git a/Modules/_hotshot.c b/Modules/_hotshot.c
index 37879b94ab3..53130d65a5b 100644
--- a/Modules/_hotshot.c
+++ b/Modules/_hotshot.c
@@ -947,7 +947,8 @@ calibrate(void)
         }
 #endif
     }
-#if defined(MS_WINDOWS) || defined(macintosh) || defined(PYOS_OS2)
+#if defined(MS_WINDOWS) || defined(macintosh) || defined(PYOS_OS2) || \
+    defined(__VMS)
     rusage_diff = -1;
 #else
     {
diff --git a/Modules/getbuildinfo.c b/Modules/getbuildinfo.c
index b59d9a770dd..23b57c559d9 100644
--- a/Modules/getbuildinfo.c
+++ b/Modules/getbuildinfo.c
@@ -28,12 +28,70 @@
 #define BUILD 0
 #endif
 
+#ifdef __VMS
+#  ifdef __DECC
+#    pragma extern_model save
+#    pragma extern_model strict_refdef
+extern long ctl$gl_imghdrbf;
+#    pragma extern_model restore
+#  endif
+
+#  ifdef __ALPHA
+#    define EIHD$L_IMGIDOFF 24
+#    define EIHI$Q_LINKTIME  8
+#    define _IMGIDOFF EIHD$L_IMGIDOFF
+#    define _LINKTIME EIHI$Q_LINKTIME
+#  else
+#    define IHD$W_IMGIDOFF  6
+#    define IHI$Q_LINKTIME 56
+#    define _IMGIDOFF IHD$W_IMGIDOFF
+#    define _LINKTIME IHI$Q_LINKTIME
+#  endif /* __VMS */
+
+long*
+vms__get_linktime (void)
+{
+	long* al_imghdrbf;
+	unsigned short* aw_imgidoff;
+	unsigned short	  w_imgidoff;
+	long* aq_linktime;
+	unsigned char* ab_ihi;
+
+	al_imghdrbf = &ctl$gl_imghdrbf;
+
+	al_imghdrbf = (long *)*al_imghdrbf;
+	al_imghdrbf = (long *)*al_imghdrbf;
+
+	aw_imgidoff = (unsigned short *)
+		((unsigned char *)al_imghdrbf + _IMGIDOFF);
+
+	w_imgidoff = *aw_imgidoff;
+
+	ab_ihi = (unsigned char *)al_imghdrbf + w_imgidoff;
+
+	aq_linktime = (long *) (ab_ihi + _LINKTIME);
+
+	return aq_linktime;
+} /* vms__get_linktime (void) */
+extern void vms__cvt_v2u_time (long * aq_vmstime, time_t * al_unixtime);
+			    /* input		, output */
+#endif /* __VMS */
+
 
 const char *
 Py_GetBuildInfo(void)
 {
 	static char buildinfo[50];
+#ifdef __VMS
+	time_t l_unixtime;
+
+	vms__cvt_v2u_time(vms__get_linktime (), &l_unixtime );
+
+	memset(buildinfo, 0, 40);
+	sprintf(buildinfo, "#%d, %.24s", BUILD, ctime (&l_unixtime));
+#else
 	PyOS_snprintf(buildinfo, sizeof(buildinfo),
 		      "#%d, %.20s, %.9s", BUILD, DATE, TIME);
+#endif
 	return buildinfo;
 }
diff --git a/Modules/getpath.c b/Modules/getpath.c
index 1841c76bcce..ee972713f45 100644
--- a/Modules/getpath.c
+++ b/Modules/getpath.c
@@ -92,8 +92,12 @@
  */
 
 #ifndef VERSION
+#if defined(__VMS)
+#define VERSION "2_1"
+#else
 #define VERSION "2.1"
 #endif
+#endif
 
 #ifndef VPATH
 #define VPATH "."
diff --git a/Modules/main.c b/Modules/main.c
index d480fba62ef..2005f0bb878 100644
--- a/Modules/main.c
+++ b/Modules/main.c
@@ -4,6 +4,11 @@
 #include "osdefs.h"
 #include "compile.h" /* For CO_FUTURE_DIVISION */
 
+#ifdef __VMS
+extern int PyVMS_init(int* pvi_argc, char*** pvi_argv);
+extern PyObject* pyvms_gr_empty_string;
+#endif
+
 #if defined(MS_WINDOWS) || defined(__CYGWIN__)
 #include <fcntl.h>
 #endif
@@ -98,7 +103,18 @@ usage(int exitcode, char* program)
 		fprintf(f, usage_3);
 		fprintf(f, usage_4, DELIM, DELIM, PYTHONHOMEHELP);
 	}
+#if defined(__VMS)
+	if (exitcode == 0) {
+		/* suppress 'error' message */
+		exit(1);
+	}
+	else {
+		/* STS$M_INHIB_MSG + SS$_ABORT */
+		exit(0x1000002c);
+	}
+#else
 	exit(exitcode);
+#endif
 	/*NOTREACHED*/
 }
 
@@ -145,7 +161,12 @@ Py_Main(int argc, char **argv)
 		if ((fp = fopen(filename, "r")) == NULL) {
 			fprintf(stderr, "%s: can't open file '%s'\n",
 				argv[0], filename);
+#if defined(__VMS)
+			/* STS$M_INHIB_MSG + SS$_ABORT */
+			exit(0x1000002c);
+#else
 			exit(2);
+#endif
 		}
 	}
 	/* Skip option-processing if we are an applet */
@@ -338,14 +359,50 @@ Py_Main(int argc, char **argv)
 #endif /* !MS_WINDOWS */
 		/* Leave stderr alone - it should be unbuffered anyway. */
   	}
+#ifdef __VMS
+	else {
+		setvbuf (stdout, (char *)NULL, _IOLBF, BUFSIZ);
+	}
+#endif /* __VMS */
 
 	Py_SetProgramName(argv[0]);
+#ifdef __VMS
+	PyVMS_init(&argc, &argv);
+#endif
 	Py_Initialize();
 
+#ifdef __VMS
+	/* create an empty string object */
+	pyvms_gr_empty_string = Py_BuildValue("s#", Py_None, (unsigned int)0);
+#endif
+
 	if (Py_VerboseFlag ||
 	    (command == NULL && filename == NULL && stdin_is_interactive))
+#ifndef __VMS
 		fprintf(stderr, "Python %s on %s\n%s\n",
 			Py_GetVersion(), Py_GetPlatform(), COPYRIGHT);
+#else
+		fprintf(stderr, "Python %s on %s %s (%s_float)\n%s\n",
+			Py_GetVersion(), Py_GetPlatform(),
+#  ifdef __ALPHA
+			"Alpha",
+#  else
+			"VAX",
+#  endif
+#  if __IEEE_FLOAT
+			"T",
+#  else
+#    if __D_FLOAT
+			"D",
+#    else
+#      if __G_FLOAT
+			"G",
+#      endif /* __G_FLOAT */
+#    endif /* __D_FLOAT */
+#  endif /* __IEEE_FLOAT */
+			COPYRIGHT); /* << @@ defined above in this file */
+/*			Py_GetCopyright()); */
+#endif /* __VMS */
 
 	if (command != NULL) {
 		/* Backup _PyOS_optind and force sys.argv[0] = '-c' */
diff --git a/Modules/posixmodule.c b/Modules/posixmodule.c
index fd7f69f6b1f..61fc02d2b28 100644
--- a/Modules/posixmodule.c
+++ b/Modules/posixmodule.c
@@ -16,6 +16,33 @@
 #include "Python.h"
 #include "structseq.h"
 
+#if defined(__VMS)
+#    include <ctype.h>			/* tolower() */
+#    include <descrip.h>		/* string descriptors */
+#    include <dvidef.h>			/* DVI$_name */
+#    include <file.h>			/* -> O_RDWR */
+#    include <jpidef.h>			/* JPI$_name */
+#    include <lib$routines.h>		/* LIB$name */
+#    include <ots$routines.h>		/* OTS$name */
+#    include <ssdef.h>			/* SS$_name */
+#    include <unixio.h>
+#    include <unixlib.h>
+#    include <stat.h>
+/* ----- */
+/* DECC on Alpha does redefine these already */
+#    ifndef shell$from_vms
+#        define shell$from_vms(_p1_,_p2_,_p3_) decc$from_vms(_p1_,_p2_,_p3_)
+#    endif
+#    ifndef shell$translate_vms
+#        define shell$translate_vms(_p1_) decc$translate_vms(_p1_)
+#    endif
+#    ifndef shell$to_vms
+#        define shell$to_vms(_p1_,_p2_,_p3_,_p4_,_p5_) \
+		decc$to_vms(_p1_,_p2_,_p3_,_p4_,_p5_)
+#    endif
+#    include <wait.h>			/* define wait() */
+#endif /* defined(__VMS) */
+
 PyDoc_STRVAR(posix__doc__,
 "This module provides access to operating system functionality that is\n\
 standardized by the C Standard and the POSIX standard (a thinly\n\
@@ -94,8 +121,8 @@ corresponding Unix manual entries for more information on calls.");
 #define HAVE_SYSTEM	1
 #define HAVE_CWAIT	1
 #else
-#if defined(PYOS_OS2) && defined(PYCC_GCC)
-/* Everything needed is defined in PC/os2emx/pyconfig.h */
+#if defined(PYOS_OS2) && defined(PYCC_GCC) || defined(__VMS)
+/* Everything needed is defined in PC/os2emx/pyconfig.h or vms/pyconfig.h */
 #else			/* all other compilers */
 /* Unix functions that the configure script doesn't check for */
 #define HAVE_EXECV      1
@@ -304,6 +331,198 @@ static char **environ;
 extern char **environ;
 #endif /* !_MSC_VER */
 
+#if defined(__VMS)
+static char psxmod_gt_psxpath[1026];
+
+static int 
+psxmod_from_vms_action (char *spec)
+{
+	(void)strcpy(psxmod_gt_psxpath, spec);
+	return 1;
+}
+
+/* Return a dictionary corresponding to the VMS 'environment table' */
+static char* at_home = "HOME";
+static char* at_path = "PATH";
+
+static char psxmod_t_command [] = "SYS$COMMAND";
+/* add some values to provide a similar environment like POSIX */
+void
+psmmod_add_posix_env(PyObject *d)
+{
+	/* -------------------- */
+	struct dsc$descriptor_s r_device_name;
+	long l_devbufsiz;
+	long l_tt_page;
+	long l_item_code;
+	long l_status;
+	PyObject *o;
+	struct dsc$descriptor_s r_resultant_string;
+	char t_resultant_string[13]; /* enough space for username (12)+ '\0' */
+	char *at_resultant_string;
+	short int w_resultant_length;
+
+	/* set up string descriptor */
+	r_device_name.dsc$w_length  = strlen(psxmod_t_command);
+	r_device_name.dsc$b_dtype = DSC$K_DTYPE_T;
+	r_device_name.dsc$b_class = DSC$K_CLASS_S;
+	r_device_name.dsc$a_pointer = &psxmod_t_command[0];
+
+	/* -------------------- */
+	/* COLUMNS = $getdvi("SYS$COMMAND","DEVBUFSIZ") */
+	l_item_code = DVI$_DEVBUFSIZ;	
+	l_status = lib$getdvi(&l_item_code,
+			      0,		/* [channel]	 */
+			      &r_device_name,
+			      &l_devbufsiz,	/* integer-value */
+			      0,		/* resultant_string */
+			      0);		/* resultant_length */
+	if (l_status == SS$_NORMAL) {
+		/* create a string object here to comply with POSIX */
+
+		/* set up string descriptor */
+		r_resultant_string.dsc$w_length  =
+		    (sizeof(t_resultant_string) - 1); /* ommit '\0' at end */
+		r_resultant_string.dsc$b_dtype   = DSC$K_DTYPE_T;
+		r_resultant_string.dsc$b_class   = DSC$K_CLASS_S;
+		r_resultant_string.dsc$a_pointer = &t_resultant_string[0];
+
+		/* Convert Signed Integer to Decimal Text */
+		l_status = ots$cvt_l_ti(&l_devbufsiz, &r_resultant_string, 1,
+					4, 0);
+		if (l_status == SS$_NORMAL) {
+			/* terminate string for 'C'-style */
+			t_resultant_string[sizeof(t_resultant_string)-1] = '\0';
+			/* string appears as: '      value' -- skip ' ' */
+			at_resultant_string = &t_resultant_string[0];
+			while ((*at_resultant_string == ' ' ) && 
+		       	       (*at_resultant_string != '\0')) {
+				at_resultant_string++;	/* skip prefix spaces */
+			}
+
+			o = Py_BuildValue("s", at_resultant_string);
+			if (o != NULL) {
+				(void) PyDict_SetItemString(d, "COLUMNS", o);
+				Py_DECREF(o);
+			}
+		} /* (l_status = ots$cvt_l_ti() == SS$_NORMAL) */
+	} /* (l_status = lib$getdvi(DVI$_DEVBUFSIZ) == SS$_NORMAL) */
+	/* LINES = $getdvi("SYS$COMMAND","TT_PAGE") */
+	l_item_code = DVI$_TT_PAGE;
+	l_status = lib$getdvi(&l_item_code,
+			      0,		/* [channel]	 */
+			      &r_device_name,
+		              &l_tt_page,	/* integer-value */
+			      0,		/* resultant_string */
+			      0);		/* resultant_length */
+	if (l_status == SS$_NORMAL) {
+		/* create a string object here to comply with POSIX */
+
+		/* set up string descriptor */
+		r_resultant_string.dsc$w_length  =
+		    (sizeof(t_resultant_string) - 1); /* ommit '\0' at end */
+		r_resultant_string.dsc$b_dtype   = DSC$K_DTYPE_T;
+		r_resultant_string.dsc$b_class   = DSC$K_CLASS_S;
+		r_resultant_string.dsc$a_pointer = &t_resultant_string[0];
+
+		/* Convert Signed Integer to Decimal Text */
+		l_status = ots$cvt_l_ti(&l_tt_page, &r_resultant_string,
+					1, 4, 0);
+		if (l_status == SS$_NORMAL) {
+			/* terminate string for 'C'-style */
+		    	t_resultant_string[sizeof(t_resultant_string)-1] = '\0';
+		    	/* string appears as: '      value' -- skip ' ' */
+		    	at_resultant_string = &t_resultant_string[0];
+		    	while ((*at_resultant_string == ' ' ) && 
+			       (*at_resultant_string != '\0')) {
+				at_resultant_string++; /* skip prefix spaces */
+			}
+
+		    	o = Py_BuildValue("s", at_resultant_string);
+		    	if (o != NULL) {
+				(void)PyDict_SetItemString(d, "LINES", o);
+				Py_DECREF(o);
+			}
+		} /* (l_status = ots$cvt_l_ti() == SS$_NORMAL) */
+	} /* (l_status = lib$getdvi(DVI$_TT_PAGE) == SS$_NORMAL) */
+	/* else -- ignore error */
+
+	/* LOGNAME = $getjpi(0,"USERNAME") */
+	l_item_code = JPI$_USERNAME;
+
+	/* set up string descriptor */
+	r_resultant_string.dsc$w_length  =
+		    (sizeof(t_resultant_string) - 1); /* ommit '\0' at end */
+	r_resultant_string.dsc$b_dtype   = DSC$K_DTYPE_T;
+	r_resultant_string.dsc$b_class   = DSC$K_CLASS_S;
+	r_resultant_string.dsc$a_pointer = &t_resultant_string[0];
+
+	l_status = lib$getjpi(&l_item_code, 0, 0, 0,
+			      &r_resultant_string, &w_resultant_length);
+	if (l_status == SS$_NORMAL){
+		t_resultant_string[w_resultant_length] = '\0';
+
+		/* remove any trailing spaces by replacing 1st one with '\0' */
+		at_resultant_string = &t_resultant_string[0];
+		while ((*at_resultant_string != ' ' ) &&
+		       (*at_resultant_string != '\0')) {
+			/* lowercase for compatibility with POSIX */
+			*at_resultant_string = tolower(*at_resultant_string);
+			at_resultant_string++;	/* skip non-blank */
+		}
+		*at_resultant_string = '\0';	/* terminate */
+
+		o = Py_BuildValue("s", &t_resultant_string[0]);
+		if (o != NULL) {
+			(void) PyDict_SetItemString(d, "LOGNAME", o);
+			(void) PyDict_SetItemString(d, "USERNAME", o);
+			Py_DECREF(o);
+		}
+	} /* (l_status == SS$_NORMAL) */
+
+	/* OS = "OpenVMS" */
+	o = PyString_FromString ("OpenVMS");
+	if (o != NULL) {
+		(void)PyDict_SetItemString(d, "OS", o);
+		Py_DECREF(o);
+	}
+}
+
+/* @@ posix env:
+COLUMNS=80	$ write sys$output f$getdvi("SYS$COMMAND","DEVBUFSIZ")
+LINES=47	$ write sys$output f$getdvi("SYS$COMMAND","TT_PAGE")
+LOGNAME=zessin	$ write sys$output f$edit(f$getjpi(0,"username"), -
+			"collapse,lowercase")
+OS=OpenVMS
+PS1=HERE $
+
+TZ=CET-1:00CET DST,M3.5.0/2:00,M10.5.0/3:00
+		$ write sys$output f$trnlnm("POSIX$DEFAULT_TZ")
+			"CET-1:00CET DST-2:00,M3.5.0/2:00,M10.5.0/3:00"
+		$ write sys$output f$trnlnm("UCX$TZ")
+			"MET-1MET_DST-2,M3.5.0/2,M10.5.0/3"
+PAGER=more
+TERM=vt300_series
+SHELL=/bin/sh
+HOME=/dka100/user/zessin
+_=/bin/env
+
+>>> for v in os.environ.items():
+...   print v
+...
+('HOME', '/user_here/zessin')
+('COLUMNS', '80')
+('LINES', '24')
+('PATH', '/python_disk/python/python-1_5_2/vms')
+('OS', 'OpenVMS')
+('USER', 'ZESSIN')
+('LOGNAME', 'zessin')
+('TERM', 'vt300-80')
+('USERNAME', 'zessin')
+>>>
+*/
+#endif /* __VMS */
+
 static PyObject *
 convertenviron(void)
 {
@@ -330,7 +549,19 @@ convertenviron(void)
 			PyErr_Clear();
 			continue;
 		}
+#if defined(__VMS)
+		if ((strncmp(at_home, *e, sizeof(at_home)) == 0) ||
+		    (strncmp(at_path, *e, sizeof(at_path)) == 0)) {
+			(void)shell$from_vms(p+1, psxmod_from_vms_action, 0);
+			/* 0 = no wildcard expansion */
+			v = PyString_FromString(psxmod_gt_psxpath);
+		}
+		else {
+			v = PyString_FromString(p+1);
+		}
+#else
 		v = PyString_FromString(p+1);
+#endif
 		if (v == NULL) {
 			PyErr_Clear();
 			Py_DECREF(k);
@@ -343,6 +574,9 @@ convertenviron(void)
 		Py_DECREF(k);
 		Py_DECREF(v);
 	}
+#if defined(__VMS)
+        psmmod_add_posix_env(d);
+#endif /* defined(__VMS) */
 #if defined(PYOS_OS2)
     {
         APIRET rc;
@@ -895,7 +1129,11 @@ _pystat_fromstructstat(STRUCT_STAT st)
 static PyObject *
 posix_do_stat(PyObject *self, PyObject *args, 
 	      char *format,
+#ifdef __VMS
+	      int (*statfunc)(const char *, STRUCT_STAT *, ...),
+#else
 	      int (*statfunc)(const char *, STRUCT_STAT *),
+#endif
 	      char *wformat,
 	      int (*wstatfunc)(const Py_UNICODE *, STRUCT_STAT *))
 {
@@ -1048,7 +1286,17 @@ posix_ttyname(PyObject *self, PyObject *args)
 	if (!PyArg_ParseTuple(args, "i:ttyname", &id))
 		return NULL;
 
+#if defined(__VMS)
+	/* DECC V5.0 - only about FD= 0 @@ try getname()+$getdvi(dvi$_devnam) */
+	if (id == 0) {
+		ret = ttyname();
+	}
+	else {
+		ret = NULL;
+	}
+#else
 	ret = ttyname(id);
+#endif
 	if (ret == NULL)
 		return(posix_error());
 	return(PyString_FromString(ret));
@@ -1091,9 +1339,14 @@ posix_chdir(PyObject *self, PyObject *args)
 	return posix_1str(args, "et:chdir", chdir, "U:chdir", _wchdir);
 #elif defined(PYOS_OS2) && defined(PYCC_GCC)
 	return posix_1str(args, "et:chdir", _chdir2, NULL, NULL);
+#else
+#ifdef __VMS
+	return posix_1str(args, "et:chdir", (int (*)(const char *))chdir, 
+			  NULL, NULL);
 #else
 	return posix_1str(args, "et:chdir", chdir, NULL, NULL);
 #endif
+#endif
 }
 
 #ifdef HAVE_FCHDIR
@@ -1246,8 +1499,13 @@ posix_getcwd(PyObject *self, PyObject *args)
 	Py_BEGIN_ALLOW_THREADS
 #if defined(PYOS_OS2) && defined(PYCC_GCC)
 	res = _getcwd2(buf, sizeof buf);
+#else
+#if defined(__VMS)
+	/* 0 = force Unix-style path if in the VMS DCL environment! */
+	res = getcwd(buf, sizeof buf, 0);
 #else
 	res = getcwd(buf, sizeof buf);
+#endif
 #endif
 	Py_END_ALLOW_THREADS
 	if (res == NULL)
@@ -5115,7 +5373,11 @@ posix_pipe(PyObject *self, PyObject *args)
 	if (!PyArg_ParseTuple(args, ":pipe"))
 		return NULL;
 	Py_BEGIN_ALLOW_THREADS
+#if defined(__VMS)
+	res = pipe(fds,0,2100); /* bigger mailbox quota than 512 */
+#else
 	res = pipe(fds);
+#endif
 	Py_END_ALLOW_THREADS
 	if (res != 0)
 		return posix_error();
diff --git a/Modules/pwdmodule.c b/Modules/pwdmodule.c
index 9134edc1b17..7e3c3ae170a 100644
--- a/Modules/pwdmodule.c
+++ b/Modules/pwdmodule.c
@@ -67,10 +67,18 @@ mkpwent(struct passwd *p)
 #define SETS(i,val) sets(v, i, val)
 
 	SETS(setIndex++, p->pw_name);
+#ifdef __VMS
+	SETS(setIndex++, "");
+#else
 	SETS(setIndex++, p->pw_passwd);
+#endif
 	SETI(setIndex++, p->pw_uid);
 	SETI(setIndex++, p->pw_gid);
+#ifdef __VMS
+	SETS(setIndex++, "");
+#else
 	SETS(setIndex++, p->pw_gecos);
+#endif
 	SETS(setIndex++, p->pw_dir);
 	SETS(setIndex++, p->pw_shell);
 
diff --git a/Modules/socketmodule.c b/Modules/socketmodule.c
index 2afa69769ee..71685c5144a 100644
--- a/Modules/socketmodule.c
+++ b/Modules/socketmodule.c
@@ -148,6 +148,15 @@ shutdown(how) -- shut down traffic in one or both directions\n\
 # include <ctype.h>
 #endif
 
+#if defined(__VMS) && ! defined(_SOCKADDR_LEN)
+#   ifdef getaddrinfo
+#      undef getaddrinfo
+#   endif
+#  include "TCPIP_IOCTL_ROUTINE"
+#else
+#  include <ioctl.h>
+#endif
+
 #if defined(PYOS_OS2)
 # define  INCL_DOS
 # define  INCL_DOSERRORS
@@ -270,6 +279,11 @@ const char *inet_ntop(int af, const void *src, char *dst, socklen_t size);
 #define SOCKETCLOSE close
 #endif
 
+#ifdef __VMS
+/* TCP/IP Services for VMS uses a maximum send/revc buffer length of 65535 */
+#define SEGMENT_SIZE 65535
+#endif
+
 /* XXX There's a problem here: *static* functions are not supposed to have
    a Py prefix (or use CapitalizedWords).  Later... */
 
@@ -485,7 +499,10 @@ internal_setblocking(PySocketSockObject *s, int block)
 #if defined(PYOS_OS2) && !defined(PYCC_GCC)
 	block = !block;
 	ioctl(s->sock_fd, FIONBIO, (caddr_t)&block, sizeof(block));
-#else /* !PYOS_OS2 */
+#elif defined(__VMS)
+	block = !block;
+	ioctl(s->sock_fd, FIONBIO, (char *)&block);
+#else  /* !PYOS_OS2 && !_VMS */
 	delay_flag = fcntl(s->sock_fd, F_GETFL, 0);
 	if (block)
 		delay_flag &= (~O_NONBLOCK);
@@ -1223,7 +1240,11 @@ sock_getsockopt(PySocketSockObject *s, PyObject *args)
 			return s->errorhandler();
 		return PyInt_FromLong(flag);
 	}
+#ifdef __VMS
+	if (buflen > 1024) {
+#else
 	if (buflen <= 0 || buflen > 1024) {
+#endif
 		PyErr_SetString(socket_error,
 				"getsockopt buflen out of range");
 		return NULL;
@@ -1560,9 +1581,23 @@ sock_makefile(PySocketSockObject *s, PyObject *args)
 #endif
 	FILE *fp;
 	PyObject *f;
+#ifdef __VMS
+	char *mode_r = "r";
+	char *mode_w = "w";
+#endif
 
 	if (!PyArg_ParseTuple(args, "|si:makefile", &mode, &bufsize))
 		return NULL;
+#ifdef __VMS
+	if (strcmp(mode,"rb") == 0) {
+	    mode = mode_r;
+	}
+	else {
+		if (strcmp(mode,"wb") == 0) {
+			mode = mode_w;
+		}
+	}
+#endif
 #ifdef MS_WIN32
 	if (((fd = _open_osfhandle(s->sock_fd, _O_BINARY)) < 0) ||
 	    ((fd = dup(fd)) < 0) || ((fp = fdopen(fd, mode)) == NULL))
@@ -1601,6 +1636,10 @@ sock_recv(PySocketSockObject *s, PyObject *args)
 {
 	int len, n, flags = 0;
 	PyObject *buf;
+#ifdef __VMS
+	int read_length;
+	char *read_buf;
+#endif
 
 	if (!PyArg_ParseTuple(args, "i|i:recv", &len, &flags))
 		return NULL;
@@ -1615,6 +1654,7 @@ sock_recv(PySocketSockObject *s, PyObject *args)
 	if (buf == NULL)
 		return NULL;
 
+#ifndef __VMS
 	Py_BEGIN_ALLOW_THREADS
 	internal_select(s, 0);
 	n = recv(s->sock_fd, PyString_AS_STRING(buf), len, flags);
@@ -1626,6 +1666,42 @@ sock_recv(PySocketSockObject *s, PyObject *args)
 	}
 	if (n != len)
 		_PyString_Resize(&buf, n);
+#else
+	read_buf = PyString_AsString(buf);
+	read_length = len;
+	while (read_length != 0) {
+		unsigned int segment;
+
+		segment = read_length /SEGMENT_SIZE;
+		if (segment != 0) {
+			segment = SEGMENT_SIZE;
+		}
+		else {
+			segment = read_length;
+		}
+
+		Py_BEGIN_ALLOW_THREADS
+ 	  	internal_select(s, 0);
+		n = recv(s->sock_fd, read_buf, segment, flags);
+		Py_END_ALLOW_THREADS
+
+		if (n < 0) {
+			Py_DECREF(buf);
+			return s->errorhandler();
+		}
+		if (n != read_length) {
+			read_buf += n;
+			break;
+		}
+
+		read_length -= segment;
+		read_buf += segment;
+	}
+	if (_PyString_Resize(&buf, (read_buf - PyString_AsString(buf))) < 0)
+	{
+	    return NULL;
+	}
+#endif /* !__VMS */
 	return buf;
 }
 
@@ -1707,10 +1783,14 @@ sock_send(PySocketSockObject *s, PyObject *args)
 {
 	char *buf;
 	int len, n, flags = 0;
+#ifdef __VMS
+	int send_length;
+#endif
 
 	if (!PyArg_ParseTuple(args, "s#|i:send", &buf, &len, &flags))
 		return NULL;
 
+#ifndef __VMS
 	Py_BEGIN_ALLOW_THREADS
 	internal_select(s, 1);
 	n = send(s->sock_fd, buf, len, flags);
@@ -1718,6 +1798,31 @@ sock_send(PySocketSockObject *s, PyObject *args)
 
 	if (n < 0)
 		return s->errorhandler();
+#else
+	/* Divide packet into smaller segments for	*/
+	/*  TCP/IP Services for OpenVMS			*/
+	send_length = len;
+	while (send_length != 0) {
+		unsigned int segment;
+
+		segment = send_length / SEGMENT_SIZE;
+		if (segment != 0) {
+			segment = SEGMENT_SIZE;
+		}
+		else {
+			segment = send_length;
+		}
+		Py_BEGIN_ALLOW_THREADS
+		internal_select(s, 1);
+		n = send(s->sock_fd, buf, segment, flags);
+		Py_END_ALLOW_THREADS
+		if (n < 0) {
+			return s->errorhandler();
+		}
+		send_length -= segment;
+		buf += segment;
+	} /* end while */
+#endif /* !__VMS */
 	return PyInt_FromLong((long)n);
 }
 
diff --git a/Objects/stringobject.c b/Objects/stringobject.c
index c234b0443ba..3a69aa9efa5 100644
--- a/Objects/stringobject.c
+++ b/Objects/stringobject.c
@@ -765,7 +765,11 @@ string_print(PyStringObject *op, FILE *fp, int flags)
 		return ret;
 	}
 	if (flags & Py_PRINT_RAW) {
-		fwrite(op->ob_sval, 1, (int) op->ob_size, fp);
+#ifdef __VMS
+                if (op->ob_size) fwrite(op->ob_sval, (int) op->ob_size, 1, fp);
+#else
+                fwrite(op->ob_sval, 1, (int) op->ob_size, fp);
+#endif
 		return 0;
 	}
 
diff --git a/Python/exceptions.c b/Python/exceptions.c
index 015d45a7586..16b67384cd9 100644
--- a/Python/exceptions.c
+++ b/Python/exceptions.c
@@ -67,6 +67,7 @@ Exception\n\
  |    |    +-- OSError\n\
  |    |         |\n\
  |    |         +-- WindowsError\n\
+ |    |         +-- VMSError\n\
  |    |\n\
  |    +-- EOFError\n\
  |    +-- RuntimeError\n\
@@ -643,6 +644,11 @@ PyDoc_STRVAR(OSError__doc__, "OS system call failed.");
 PyDoc_STRVAR(WindowsError__doc__, "MS-Windows OS system call failed.");
 #endif /* MS_WINDOWS */
 
+#ifdef __VMS
+static char
+VMSError__doc__[] = "OpenVMS OS system call failed.";
+#endif
+
 PyDoc_STRVAR(EOFError__doc__, "Read beyond end of file.");
 
 PyDoc_STRVAR(RuntimeError__doc__, "Unspecified run-time error.");
@@ -1599,6 +1605,9 @@ PyObject *PyExc_ZeroDivisionError;
 #ifdef MS_WINDOWS
 PyObject *PyExc_WindowsError;
 #endif
+#ifdef __VMS
+PyObject *PyExc_VMSError;
+#endif
 
 /* Pre-computed MemoryError instance.  Best to create this as early as
  * possibly and not wait until a MemoryError is actually raised!
@@ -1650,6 +1659,10 @@ static struct {
  {"WindowsError", &PyExc_WindowsError, &PyExc_OSError,
   WindowsError__doc__},
 #endif /* MS_WINDOWS */
+#ifdef __VMS
+ {"VMSError", &PyExc_VMSError, &PyExc_OSError,
+  VMSError__doc__},
+#endif
  {"EOFError",     &PyExc_EOFError,     0, EOFError__doc__},
  {"RuntimeError", &PyExc_RuntimeError, 0, RuntimeError__doc__},
  {"NotImplementedError", &PyExc_NotImplementedError,
diff --git a/Python/import.c b/Python/import.c
index 4d0cdbb9f91..d921d744053 100644
--- a/Python/import.c
+++ b/Python/import.c
@@ -693,8 +693,11 @@ open_exclusive(char *filename)
 #ifdef O_BINARY
 				|O_BINARY   /* necessary for Windows */
 #endif
-
-			, 0666);
+#ifdef __VMS
+                        , 0666, "ctxt=bin", "shr=nil");
+#else
+                        , 0666);
+#endif
 	if (fd < 0)
 		return NULL;
 	return fdopen(fd, "wb");