shesafish

	Friday, February 28, 2003

 Root 101

Root 101 - this is a nice article on the concepts of root and its multiple definitions, such as

root

(1): a file system term describing the top level directory of a drive or storage volume.

root

(2), or root access: authorization within Unix-based operating systems that allows a user to make system-wide changes. This includes the ability to open and modify files that are off- limits to garden-variety users, such as system files and and files within other users' home directories.

This leads to another important definition:

super user

a user who has been given root access.

A handy reference "for many who are accustomed to single-user operating systems like Windows 98 or Mac OS 9". The article explains "what root access is, whether you need it, what you can do with it, and how you can get it." Written by David Barker.

9:19:39 AM  comment [] | Topics: UNIX