POS 355 Unix File Management
Unix File Protections
ABSTRACT
Unix is a multifunctional platform capable of handling several users accessing the same applications and files at once. It accomplishes this by setting up a permissions hierarchy and assigning users into groups. As multifunctional as it is, several problems still exist. For one, it has a command line interface. There is no graphical user interface. Second, privilege changes are made either one by one or all at once. Anything else would need to be scripted.
Programmers originally built the Unix operating system for other programmers to use. It is an extensible operating system, meaning it allows programmers to extend and change it to do anything they need it to. Essentially, it is built to multitask. It allows multiple users to use the same app or multiple users access to the same file. Although the computer cannot process all the requests at once, it does prioritize the requests to keep things orderly. If multiple people need access to one file, this is commonly done by placing the users into groups, and assigning the groups and users various levels of permission access. There is a hierarchy where groups are on top and access control lists are underneath. The groups are owner class, group class, and other class. The other privileges are read, write, and execute. When a user creates a file, they are automatically made the owner. They can grant others into the group class and other class. Directory lists have 10 spaces or bits on the left hand side. The first space on the left is either a ‘-‘ for file, or a ‘D’ for directory. Stallings (2012) stated,“ Nine of the protection bits specify read (r), write (w), and execute (x) permission for the owner of the file, other members of the group to which this file belongs, and all other users” (p.558). The first three are for owner, next three are for group and last three are for other.
ABSTRACT
Unix is a multifunctional platform capable of handling several users accessing the same applications and files at once. It accomplishes this by setting up a permissions hierarchy and assigning users into groups. As multifunctional as it is, several problems still exist. For one, it has a command line interface. There is no graphical user interface. Second, privilege changes are made either one by one or all at once. Anything else would need to be scripted.
Programmers originally built the Unix operating system for other programmers to use. It is an extensible operating system, meaning it allows programmers to extend and change it to do anything they need it to. Essentially, it is built to multitask. It allows multiple users to use the same app or multiple users access to the same file. Although the computer cannot process all the requests at once, it does prioritize the requests to keep things orderly. If multiple people need access to one file, this is commonly done by placing the users into groups, and assigning the groups and users various levels of permission access. There is a hierarchy where groups are on top and access control lists are underneath. The groups are owner class, group class, and other class. The other privileges are read, write, and execute. When a user creates a file, they are automatically made the owner. They can grant others into the group class and other class. Directory lists have 10 spaces or bits on the left hand side. The first space on the left is either a ‘-‘ for file, or a ‘D’ for directory. Stallings (2012) stated,“ Nine of the protection bits specify read (r), write (w), and execute (x) permission for the owner of the file, other members of the group to which this file belongs, and all other users” (p.558). The first three are for owner, next three are for group and last three are for other.
Cited: Stallings, W. (2012). Operating Systems: Internals and Design Principles (7th ed.). New York, New York: Prentice Hall.