Øyvind Lode asked (about vipw and friends):
> Can anyone explain this to a newbie why it's important not to forget the
> locking thing after editing a file...
Matthew Miller wrote:
> Not after. _During_.
To clarify, in sites with more than one sysadmin, it's possible that
both of them might try editing the same file at the same time, and that
one set of changes will get lost.
It's also possible that one of them will be in the IT department, while
the other one has been called out to Amanda in accounts, who has a
weird password problem that she wants fixed now. So the sysadmin will
ssh into the server from Amanda's desk for a quick fix, not appreciating
that Sarah in IT is about to add a new user...
vipw "locks" the file so that another vipw won't start.
James.
--
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@westexe.demon.co.uk | Chancellor Kohl said it would only be wrapped over
| his dead body, so sensing an opportunity the
| Bundestag outvoted him." -- The Guardian
