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From: dipto@umbc3.UUCP
Newsgroups: comp.unix.wizards
Subject: Re: login prompt not staying set
Message-ID: <623@umbc3.UMD.EDU>
Date: Fri, 4-Dec-87 22:52:08 EST
Article-I.D.: umbc3.623
Posted: Fri Dec  4 22:52:08 1987
Date-Received: Wed, 9-Dec-87 00:37:05 EST
References: <142700001@occrsh.ATT.COM> <2932@ihlpf.ATT.COM>
Reply-To: dipto@umbc3.UMD.EDU (Dipto Chakravarty)
Organization: University of Maryland, Baltimore County
Lines: 33


In article <2932@ihlpf.ATT.COM> lukas@ihlpf.UUCP (00704a-Lukas,J.) writes:

>In article <142700001@occrsh.ATT.COM> rjd@occrsh.ATT.COM writes:
>> (Lots of stuff concerning the getty - login sequence)
>
>Believe me, Im a novice at this. But it occurred to me . . .
>Does it make sense for login, after an invalid password, to exec getty
>...

When one signs on a special prog called "init" gets executed. "Init" is a
process control initialization program. "Init" creates a process for each 
terminal port where a user may log in.

Thereafter "getty" executes. It initializes a terminal line, and gets the 
userid  (this is  when the ``login: '' prompt appears).  It  subsequently
starts up the program "login" (user asked for ``passwd:'').

Upon execution, "login" performs a few critical tasks like initializing the
uid & gid, along with the environment and terminal type. Subsequently, this
"login" program executes the command interpreter sh, csh, or tcsh.

So, remember  that it is "getty" which asks for ``login:'' and not the prog
login itself; that's the reason why a passwd can't be typed in before being
prompted for it on the Unix.

Happy logging in ...


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