Assigning ROOT a password

[chuck adams]

On Monday 28 April 2008 13:42:14 Derek Broughton wrote:
> chuck adams wrote:
> > On Monday 28 April 2008 11:28:57 Willy Hamra wrote:
> >> > >  I believe "su" originally meant "superuser",
> >> >
> >> > Me, too, but since you can "su" to any user, I believe it's come to
> >> > mean "switch user".
> >>
> >> personally, i believe su means super user
> >
> > BZZZZZZZZZZTTTT.  Wrong answers.
> >
> > su was originally the  "substitute user" UNIX command.
> >
> > su user_id  meant to change to new user and there
> > are some flags associated with the command.  su
> > with no user_id was to change to root and thus the
> > urban legend began by those that refused to RTFM
> > that it meant "super user".
> >
> > Go back to the AT&T original UNIX manuals.
>
> Hey, I went to the Ubuntu Linux man page, and it didn't say.  That's hardly
> refusing to RTFM, so lets try not to be _too_ anal.
> --
> derek

I wasn't.  The current manuals are not the same as the old manuals.  It is
the old story of the next generation not liking what the older generation did
and changing it as it evolves.  Lots of old stuff gets lost and 
disappears.....



-- 
chuck adams, k7qo
k7qo at commspeed.net
http://www.k7qo.net