ultrix man page for passwd

passwd(5yp)															       passwd(5yp)

Name
       passwd - password file description with the Yellow Pages service implemented

Description
       The  file  stores  initial login information, including passwords for each user in the system.  Regardless of whether or not the system has
       the Yellow Pages service implemented, the file contains the following information:

       Name (login name, contains no uppercase)
       Encrypted password
       Numerical user ID
       Numerical group ID
       User's real name, office, extension, home phone.
       Initial working directory
       Program to use as Shell

       The name can contain an ampersand (&), meaning insert the login name.  This information is set by the command and used by the command.

       This is an ASCII file.  Each field within each user's entry is separated from the next by a colon.  Each user is separated from the next by
       a new line.  If the password field is null, no password is demanded; if the shell field is null, the system defaults to the shell.

       This  file resides in the directory.  Because of the encrypted passwords, it can and does have general read permission and can be used, for
       example, to map numerical user IDs to names.

       Appropriate precautions must be taken to lock the file against simultaneous changes if it is to be edited with a text editor.  The  command
       does the necessary locking.

       In  a Yellow Pages environment, the file can also have a line beginning with a plus (+), which means to incorporate entries from the Yellow
       Pages data base.  There are three styles of + entries: by itself, + means to insert the entire contents of the Yellow Pages  password  file
       at  that  point;  +name means to insert the entry (if any) for name from the Yellow Pages at that point; +@name means to insert the entries
       for all members of the network group name at that point.  If a + entry has a nonnull password, directory, gecos, or shell  field,  it  will
       override what is contained in the Yellow Pages.	The numerical user ID and group ID fields cannot be overridden.

Examples
       Here is a sample file:
       root:q.mJzTnu8icF.:0:10:Privileged Account:/:/bin/csh
       jcj:6k/7KCFRPNVXg:508:10:JC Javert:/usr2/jcj:/bin/csh
       +john:
       +@documentation:no-login:
       +:::Guest

       In  this  example,  there  are  specific entries for users root and jcj, in case the Yellow Pages are temporarily out of service.  Alterna-
       tively, a user may need specific login information on a given system that differs from the information contained in the	Yellow	Pages  map
       for that user.  The user, john, will have his password entry in the Yellow Pages incorporated without change.  Anyone in the netgroup docu-
       mentation will have their password field disabled, and anyone else will be able to log in with their usual password, shell, and home direc-
       tory, but with a gecos field of Guest.

Files
See Also
       chfn(1), finger(1), login(1), passwd(1), crypt(3), getpwent(3), group(5), adduser(8), vipw(8)

																       passwd(5yp)