A generalized version is proposed for the field-antifield formalism. The
antibracket operation is defined in arbitrary field-antifield coordinates. The
antisymplectic definitions are given for first- and second-class constraints.
In the case of second-class constraints the Dirac's antibracket operation is
defined. The quantum master equation as well as the hypergauge fixing procedure
are formulated in a coordinate-invariant way. The general hypergauge functions
are shown to be antisymplectic first-class constraints whose Jacobian matrix
determinant is constant on the constraint surface. The BRST-type generalized
transformations are defined and the functional integral is shown to be
independent of the hypergauge variations admitted. In the case of reduced phase
space the Dirac's antibrackets are used instead of the ordinary ones