1.3. Logging InLogin NameWhen we log in to a UNIX system, we enter our login name, followed by our password. The system then looks up our login name in its password file, usually the file /etc/passwd. If we look at our entry in the password file we see that it's composed of seven colon-separated fields: the login name, encrypted password, numeric user ID (205), numeric group ID (105), a comment field, home directory (/home/sar), and shell program (/bin/ksh). sar:x:205:105:Stephen Rago:/home/sar:/bin/ksh All contemporary systems have moved the encrypted password to a different file. In Chapter 6, we'll look at these files and some functions to access them. Shells |