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From: wls@astrovax.UUCP (William L. Sebok)
Newsgroups: net.unix-wizards
Subject: Re: group permissions and 4.2bsd
Message-ID: <181@astrovax.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 12-Dec-83 00:29:56 EST
Article-I.D.: astrovax.181
Posted: Mon Dec 12 00:29:56 1983
Date-Received: Tue, 13-Dec-83 05:52:52 EST
References: <734@ulysses.UUCP>
Organization: Princeton Univ. Astrophysics
Lines: 16

We have a 4.1 BSD kernel with hacks for accounting (no flames.. I bitterly
fought it and lost).  Each process has three id's  uid, gid and the aid
(accounting id).  The purpose of this is to separate accounting from file
permissions. A login name can charge its time to one of several "accounts",
which one selects by answering a "Charge: " question given after having
successfully given the password.  There is no awkwardness of transferring files
between accounts because the "aid" is not associated with any file permissions
or ownerships.
  When I saw the "accounting" groups in 4.2 BSD I was hoping that it was
something of the same sort.  Unfortunately it is not.  It looks like the 4.2
kernel is also going to get hacked.  I wish that a disentangling of accounting
and file permissions could be made part of the "official" Unix (whatever that
is).
-- 
Bill Sebok			Princeton University, Astrophysics
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