The /etc/passwd File
The information database for the username is stored in a simple text file named /etc/passwd. This file is formatted as a number of different colon-separated fields. A small example is shown:
root:bbCsSRB7BZfM.:0:0:root:/root:/bin/sh bin:*:1:1:bin:/bin: daemon:*:2:2:daemon:/sbin: adm:*:3:4:adm:/var/adm: lp:*:4:7:lp:/var/spool/lpd: mail:*:8:12:mail:/var/spool/mail: news:*:9:13:news:/var/lib/news: uucp:*:10:14:uucp:/var/spool/uucppublic: man:*:13:15:man:/usr/man: postmaster:*:14:12:postmaster:/var/spool/mail:/bin/sh www:*:99:103:web server:/etc/httpd:/bin/sh nobody:*:-1:100:nobody:/dev/null: ftp:*:404:1::/home/ftp:/bin/sh jan:/WzbqfJwMa/pA:503:100:Jan Hassebroek:/home/jhassebr:/bin/ksh postgres:gXQrO/hNwy5IQ:506:102:Postgres ...
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