I would like to set the root password for mysql databases installed on various machines connected within a network. These machines receive their mysql installation via a script that pulls the installation files from the server and starts installing. During installation I would also like to set the root password, but this password is currently held as clear text in the script. I read this post:
mysql -u root < start_script.sql
and could offer some suggestions for setting the password, in this case by reading in a file that has read access for the user under which the script is run also.

Any other ideas for obfuscating the root password for the root of mysql-server?