'ls -n' opens password file for rea

[flint at gistdev.UUCP]

/* Written 12:05 pm  May 22, 1989 by harald.ruc.dk!d.jba in gistdev:comp.bugs.sys5 */

What prevents you from creating usernames like that (or admin.acct.joe) ?
d.jba works fine for me.

- I want the hierarchy, not the more complex names: unfortunately, I don't
- know any good alternatives to the longer names.  If everybody belongs to
- a group, what's wrong with asking them to tell you which group it is when
- they login?  Hypothetical situtation: I would like to have 3 different
- groups of users on the machine, and I want to have one person from each of
- those groups responsible for login management of each group.  However, I
- don't want the manager of group A to be able to screw up the logins of
- people in group B.

How often do you actually have to search the passwd file?

- Try putting 5K names in your password file for a day.  Linear searches are
- a lot of fun, and you search the file more than you think.

Don't you keep a copy of passwd.old around?

- Yes, so?  When you can't login, you have to screw around in order to
- put it back.  Most importantly, this one file getting corrupted makes
- the whole system unuseable, and 100 users are sitting on their hands,
- as opposed to just 10 people from one group.

Flint Pellett, Global Information Systems Technology, Inc.
1800 Woodfield Drive, Savoy, IL  61874     (217) 352-1165
INTERNET: flint%gistdev at uxc.cso.uiuc.edu
UUCP:     {uunet,pur-ee,convex}!uiucuxc!gistdev!flint