HP 3000 computers have traditionally been designed for use
in an office setting where users work in separate
departments. All of the users in a particular department are
typically grouped together and placed in one account. Users
log on to an account and group to do their work. One or more
users can work in an account.
Users store their files in groups in accounts and are identified by a user.account string such as MANAGER.PAYROLL. The user.account associated with a job or session does not change for the life of the job or session. The user and his or her files cannot travel outside of the account boundary. Files could be copied but not renamed across account boundaries.
As of Release 4.5, MPE/iX identifies each user by a unique user ID (UID) as well as a user.account string. Users are arranged into groups and are identified by a group ID (GID). Users that share one account will share the same GID. Owners of files on MPE/iX are identified by the file creator field. Refer to the sections called "User and Group IDs" and "File Ownership" in Chapter 3 for more information.
The data associated with the user is stored in separate user and group databases. This means that on MPE/iX, users with proper security permissions can move outside of account boundaries. Users can be allowed to have more flexibility to move around to different directories within the hierarchical file system.
