# $Id: README,v 2.5 2012/08/30 15:47:53 ksb Exp $

Several tools give limited "superuser" or "transuser" privileges based
on group membership or a password:  su, newgrp, sudo, op, and this
program all take slightly different views.

Su and newgrp give you a shell at the cost of a password (and maybe
you have to be in a special group in some cases).

Sudo and op let you run a single command for the cost of a password
and/or a group membership.  This is safter than "su" because the list
of commands usually doesn't include anything that will (obviously) give
you a shell.

Installus is even more limited -- you can update files and directories.
They have to have modes we set in advance and we make a backout copy
just in case you are confused.  The at the cost of a password or group
membership (mayhap both).


Why is this "better"?
      + It can be setup to work from a Makefile w/o a password.

      + The configuration is "per" directory (unlike the others) so
	different unrelated user populations don't mess with eachother.

      + The configuration to do the same things is _huge_ using other tools
	and hard to use (or you have to build a front end process that sends
	in stuff with environment variables).

The prototype script "mkowner.ksh" builds .owners file to get you started.
Thanks to Dan Lebovitz who coded it with me.

--
ksb, Kevin Braunsdorf, Oct 1997