Origin of 'root' account
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What's the origin of root account? Where did it come from and why is it called root anyway?
(Originally asked by @lizztheblizz on Twitter.)
history root
edited Feb 24 '11 at 15:33
Michael Mrozek♦
61.8k29192212
asked Feb 24 '11 at 13:47
RadimRadim
36335
add a comment |
What's the origin of root account? Where did it come from and why is it called root anyway?
(Originally asked by @lizztheblizz on Twitter.)
history root
edited Feb 24 '11 at 15:33
Michael Mrozek♦
61.8k29192212
asked Feb 24 '11 at 13:47
RadimRadim
36335
7
I'm going with Ken Thompson's appreciation of root beer :D
– user5090
Feb 24 '11 at 20:14
I believe it to refer to 'the root of all evil' as sometimes my computer does do devilish things on its own accord.
– user142515
Nov 10 '15 at 14:15
add a comment |
What's the origin of root account? Where did it come from and why is it called root anyway?
(Originally asked by @lizztheblizz on Twitter.)
history root
edited Feb 24 '11 at 15:33
Michael Mrozek♦
61.8k29192212
asked Feb 24 '11 at 13:47
RadimRadim
36335
What's the origin of root account? Where did it come from and why is it called root anyway?
(Originally asked by @lizztheblizz on Twitter.)
history root
history root
edited Feb 24 '11 at 15:33
Michael Mrozek♦
61.8k29192212
asked Feb 24 '11 at 13:47
RadimRadim
36335
edited Feb 24 '11 at 15:33
Michael Mrozek♦
61.8k29192212
asked Feb 24 '11 at 13:47
RadimRadim
36335
edited Feb 24 '11 at 15:33
Michael Mrozek♦
61.8k29192212
edited Feb 24 '11 at 15:33
Michael Mrozek♦
61.8k29192212
edited Feb 24 '11 at 15:33
Michael Mrozek♦
61.8k29192212
61.8k29192212
asked Feb 24 '11 at 13:47
RadimRadim
36335
asked Feb 24 '11 at 13:47
RadimRadim
36335
asked Feb 24 '11 at 13:47
RadimRadim
36335
36335
7
I'm going with Ken Thompson's appreciation of root beer :D
– user5090
Feb 24 '11 at 20:14
I believe it to refer to 'the root of all evil' as sometimes my computer does do devilish things on its own accord.
– user142515
Nov 10 '15 at 14:15
add a comment |
7
I'm going with Ken Thompson's appreciation of root beer :D
– user5090
Feb 24 '11 at 20:14
I believe it to refer to 'the root of all evil' as sometimes my computer does do devilish things on its own accord.
– user142515
Nov 10 '15 at 14:15
7
7
I'm going with Ken Thompson's appreciation of root beer :D
– user5090
Feb 24 '11 at 20:14
I'm going with Ken Thompson's appreciation of root beer :D
– user5090
Feb 24 '11 at 20:14
I believe it to refer to 'the root of all evil' as sometimes my computer does do devilish things on its own accord.
– user142515
Nov 10 '15 at 14:15
I believe it to refer to 'the root of all evil' as sometimes my computer does do devilish things on its own accord.
– user142515
Nov 10 '15 at 14:15
add a comment |
2 Answers
2
active
oldest
votes
The original home directory of the root user was the root of the filesystem / (http://minnie.tuhs.org/cgi-bin/utree.pl?file=V5/etc/passwd). I think the user was indeed named after that directory. But why 'root' and not 'start' or 'origin' or something else? Well, before Ken Thompson and Dennis Ritchie wrote UNIX, they were (also at Bell Labs) developing Multics. If you take a look at Multics history, you will find that ROOT existed there too (http://web.mit.edu/multics-history/source/Multics_Internet_Server/Multics_mdds.html). So the name must come from Multics.
edited Jul 3 '12 at 22:41
Keith Thompson
14k43437
answered Feb 24 '11 at 14:35
Tom Van LooyTom Van Looy
50642
I just looked at the Multics documents you linked to. They refer to the root directory (and the root volume), but there's no reference to a root user.
– Keith Thompson
Jul 3 '12 at 22:47
1
There is a root user seen in mdd003.compout if you look at what appears to be a file list there is clearly a root user just as seen in an "ls -l" command on Unix.
– HackSlash
Jan 22 '18 at 16:48
add a comment |
According to Linux Info, the origin of the name may have come from file system layout / permissions:
The use of the term root for the all-powerful administrative user may have arisen from the fact that root is the only account having write permissions (i.e., permission to modify files) in the root directory. The root directory, in turn, takes its name from the fact that the filesystems (i.e., the entire hierarchy of directories that is used to organize files) in Unix-like operating systems have been designed with a tree-like (although inverted) structure in which all directories branch off from a single directory that is analogous to the root of a tree.
answered Feb 24 '11 at 14:24
Justin EthierJustin Ethier
10.8k83255
add a comment |
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2 Answers
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2 Answers
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The original home directory of the root user was the root of the filesystem / (http://minnie.tuhs.org/cgi-bin/utree.pl?file=V5/etc/passwd). I think the user was indeed named after that directory. But why 'root' and not 'start' or 'origin' or something else? Well, before Ken Thompson and Dennis Ritchie wrote UNIX, they were (also at Bell Labs) developing Multics. If you take a look at Multics history, you will find that ROOT existed there too (http://web.mit.edu/multics-history/source/Multics_Internet_Server/Multics_mdds.html). So the name must come from Multics.
edited Jul 3 '12 at 22:41
Keith Thompson
14k43437
answered Feb 24 '11 at 14:35
Tom Van LooyTom Van Looy
50642
I just looked at the Multics documents you linked to. They refer to the root directory (and the root volume), but there's no reference to a root user.
– Keith Thompson
Jul 3 '12 at 22:47
1
There is a root user seen in mdd003.compout if you look at what appears to be a file list there is clearly a root user just as seen in an "ls -l" command on Unix.
– HackSlash
Jan 22 '18 at 16:48
add a comment |
The original home directory of the root user was the root of the filesystem / (http://minnie.tuhs.org/cgi-bin/utree.pl?file=V5/etc/passwd). I think the user was indeed named after that directory. But why 'root' and not 'start' or 'origin' or something else? Well, before Ken Thompson and Dennis Ritchie wrote UNIX, they were (also at Bell Labs) developing Multics. If you take a look at Multics history, you will find that ROOT existed there too (http://web.mit.edu/multics-history/source/Multics_Internet_Server/Multics_mdds.html). So the name must come from Multics.
edited Jul 3 '12 at 22:41
Keith Thompson
14k43437
answered Feb 24 '11 at 14:35
Tom Van LooyTom Van Looy
50642
I just looked at the Multics documents you linked to. They refer to the root directory (and the root volume), but there's no reference to a root user.
– Keith Thompson
Jul 3 '12 at 22:47
1
There is a root user seen in mdd003.compout if you look at what appears to be a file list there is clearly a root user just as seen in an "ls -l" command on Unix.
– HackSlash
Jan 22 '18 at 16:48
add a comment |
The original home directory of the root user was the root of the filesystem / (http://minnie.tuhs.org/cgi-bin/utree.pl?file=V5/etc/passwd). I think the user was indeed named after that directory. But why 'root' and not 'start' or 'origin' or something else? Well, before Ken Thompson and Dennis Ritchie wrote UNIX, they were (also at Bell Labs) developing Multics. If you take a look at Multics history, you will find that ROOT existed there too (http://web.mit.edu/multics-history/source/Multics_Internet_Server/Multics_mdds.html). So the name must come from Multics.
edited Jul 3 '12 at 22:41
Keith Thompson
14k43437
answered Feb 24 '11 at 14:35
Tom Van LooyTom Van Looy
50642
The original home directory of the root user was the root of the filesystem / (http://minnie.tuhs.org/cgi-bin/utree.pl?file=V5/etc/passwd). I think the user was indeed named after that directory. But why 'root' and not 'start' or 'origin' or something else? Well, before Ken Thompson and Dennis Ritchie wrote UNIX, they were (also at Bell Labs) developing Multics. If you take a look at Multics history, you will find that ROOT existed there too (http://web.mit.edu/multics-history/source/Multics_Internet_Server/Multics_mdds.html). So the name must come from Multics.
edited Jul 3 '12 at 22:41
Keith Thompson
14k43437
answered Feb 24 '11 at 14:35
Tom Van LooyTom Van Looy
50642
edited Jul 3 '12 at 22:41
Keith Thompson
14k43437
edited Jul 3 '12 at 22:41
Keith Thompson
14k43437
edited Jul 3 '12 at 22:41
Keith Thompson
14k43437
14k43437
answered Feb 24 '11 at 14:35
Tom Van LooyTom Van Looy
50642
answered Feb 24 '11 at 14:35
Tom Van LooyTom Van Looy
50642
answered Feb 24 '11 at 14:35
Tom Van LooyTom Van Looy
50642
50642
I just looked at the Multics documents you linked to. They refer to the root directory (and the root volume), but there's no reference to a root user.
– Keith Thompson
Jul 3 '12 at 22:47
1
There is a root user seen in mdd003.compout if you look at what appears to be a file list there is clearly a root user just as seen in an "ls -l" command on Unix.
– HackSlash
Jan 22 '18 at 16:48
add a comment |
I just looked at the Multics documents you linked to. They refer to the root directory (and the root volume), but there's no reference to a root user.
– Keith Thompson
Jul 3 '12 at 22:47
1
There is a root user seen in mdd003.compout if you look at what appears to be a file list there is clearly a root user just as seen in an "ls -l" command on Unix.
– HackSlash
Jan 22 '18 at 16:48
I just looked at the Multics documents you linked to. They refer to the root directory (and the root volume), but there's no reference to a root user.
– Keith Thompson
Jul 3 '12 at 22:47
I just looked at the Multics documents you linked to. They refer to the root directory (and the root volume), but there's no reference to a root user.
– Keith Thompson
Jul 3 '12 at 22:47
1
1
There is a root user seen in mdd003.compout if you look at what appears to be a file list there is clearly a root user just as seen in an "ls -l" command on Unix.
– HackSlash
Jan 22 '18 at 16:48
There is a root user seen in mdd003.compout if you look at what appears to be a file list there is clearly a root user just as seen in an "ls -l" command on Unix.
– HackSlash
Jan 22 '18 at 16:48
add a comment |
According to Linux Info, the origin of the name may have come from file system layout / permissions:
The use of the term root for the all-powerful administrative user may have arisen from the fact that root is the only account having write permissions (i.e., permission to modify files) in the root directory. The root directory, in turn, takes its name from the fact that the filesystems (i.e., the entire hierarchy of directories that is used to organize files) in Unix-like operating systems have been designed with a tree-like (although inverted) structure in which all directories branch off from a single directory that is analogous to the root of a tree.
answered Feb 24 '11 at 14:24
Justin EthierJustin Ethier
10.8k83255
add a comment |
According to Linux Info, the origin of the name may have come from file system layout / permissions:
The use of the term root for the all-powerful administrative user may have arisen from the fact that root is the only account having write permissions (i.e., permission to modify files) in the root directory. The root directory, in turn, takes its name from the fact that the filesystems (i.e., the entire hierarchy of directories that is used to organize files) in Unix-like operating systems have been designed with a tree-like (although inverted) structure in which all directories branch off from a single directory that is analogous to the root of a tree.
answered Feb 24 '11 at 14:24
Justin EthierJustin Ethier
10.8k83255
add a comment |
According to Linux Info, the origin of the name may have come from file system layout / permissions:
The use of the term root for the all-powerful administrative user may have arisen from the fact that root is the only account having write permissions (i.e., permission to modify files) in the root directory. The root directory, in turn, takes its name from the fact that the filesystems (i.e., the entire hierarchy of directories that is used to organize files) in Unix-like operating systems have been designed with a tree-like (although inverted) structure in which all directories branch off from a single directory that is analogous to the root of a tree.
answered Feb 24 '11 at 14:24
Justin EthierJustin Ethier
10.8k83255
According to Linux Info, the origin of the name may have come from file system layout / permissions:
The use of the term root for the all-powerful administrative user may have arisen from the fact that root is the only account having write permissions (i.e., permission to modify files) in the root directory. The root directory, in turn, takes its name from the fact that the filesystems (i.e., the entire hierarchy of directories that is used to organize files) in Unix-like operating systems have been designed with a tree-like (although inverted) structure in which all directories branch off from a single directory that is analogous to the root of a tree.
answered Feb 24 '11 at 14:24
Justin EthierJustin Ethier
10.8k83255
answered Feb 24 '11 at 14:24
Justin EthierJustin Ethier
10.8k83255
answered Feb 24 '11 at 14:24
Justin EthierJustin Ethier
10.8k83255
answered Feb 24 '11 at 14:24
Justin EthierJustin Ethier
10.8k83255
10.8k83255
add a comment |
add a comment |
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7
I'm going with Ken Thompson's appreciation of root beer :D
– user5090
Feb 24 '11 at 20:14
I believe it to refer to 'the root of all evil' as sometimes my computer does do devilish things on its own accord.
– user142515
Nov 10 '15 at 14:15