[tech] Re: [wheel] FMS Installation

[Duncan Sargeant]

[ migrated to tech ]

Simon Fryer wrote on Sat December 11, at 22:46 +0800:
> Bingle
> 
> > A while ago Grahame Bowland tapped:
> 
> >  * how does the DU password system work? All of the manpages refer to a
> >    manual that must have been distributed with the Alpha. I can't find
> >    that book anywhere. /etc/passwd appears to be only part of the system,
> >    as removing the line for my account didn't prevent me logging in, although
> >    a DES crypt was listed.
> 
> You must have been playing with vi passwd as opposed to vipw.  vipw
> does some sanity checking of the password file before it is
> implimented and then tells the system that all is good and well and
> to start using the new password file. 
> 
> Reading the man pages for vipw would be a good place to start but I
> am assuming you have already been there. 

This sparks an evil thought on how to implement FMS on each OS - vipw is
a surprisingly (for *NIX) common interface.  To do the FMS updates, you
might code your password file updater to accept the name of the passwd
file as the first argument.  Then most clients' update scripts will just
be:

EDITOR=fmspwedit vipw

evil fneevil
,dunc
-- 
Duncan Sargeant - dunc at rcpt.to
"First, never insult the giant purple iguanas in the corner, they are assholes
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