User Account Management

The  SYSPROG account is used to set up and maintain user accounts. This section discusses the creation and deletion of accounts and the maintenance of a system accounting history.

Creating and Deleting Accounts

The CREATE-ACCOUNT command creates a new user account. The DELETE-ACCOUNT command removes an account from the system and deletes all the files defined in that account. Both of these commands should be used from the SYSPROG account.

The CREATE-ACCOUNT command prompts you for the name of the new account, retrieval and update codes for the account, the privilege level of the account, the modulo for the Master Dictionary, and any password to be used to access the account. A new Account Definition item is then created in the SYSTEM Dictionary. Many of these specifications can be changed later on by editing the Account Definition item. For instance, update and retrieval codes can be added at a later time, or modified. The account’s password can also be changed using the PASSWORD command.

The CREATE-ACCOUNT command creates the Master Dictionary for the account by copying the NEWAC file in the SYSPROG account. Although a standard NEWAC file is shipped with each system, administrators can modify this file for a particular site. For instance, new items can be created in NEWAC to include Procs, Q-pointers to global files, and cataloged mvBASIC programs. It is also possible to remove certain items from NEWAC—commands that invoke the Editor, for instance. In this way administrators can establish the standard contents of a new account.

The DELETE-ACCOUNT command is obviously a very destructive command. It not only deletes the Account Definition item from the SYSTEM Dictionary, it also deletes the account’s Master Dictionary and all the files defined in that account. This program should be run only when all users are logged off the system.

For more information on creating and deleting accounts, see Creating and Deleting Accounts in the mvBase System Administration Manual.

Account Usage Statistics

The mvBase system keeps track of system usage for each user in the Accounting History file (ACC). (Users must have a U specified in Attribute 9 of the Account Definition item for accounting information to be stored.) The ACC file keeps track of information about users currently active on the system, such as the date and time that they logged on. It also accumulates usage statistics for all users. The ACC file can be used to keep track of system usage for either security or billing purposes.

The System Security section in the mvBase System Administration Manual discusses the ACC file in more detail.

CHARGES and CHARGE-TO Commands

The CHARGES and CHARGE-TO commands make use of the Accounting History file for keeping track of computer usage during a work session. The CHARGES command reports the charges incurred for the current work session in the account. The CHARGE-TO command allows a user to change the charge-account which is to be billed for subsequent use of the system.

The CHARGES command produces the same one-line report that you see when you log off the system. It tells you how long you have been logged on the system, the amount of CPU time (in tenths of a second), and the number of printed pages that have been generated. This information is useful for obtaining the current status of your work session without, of course, ending it. The following example shows the use of the CHARGES command:

The connect time reported is the amount of time that has elapsed since the user logged in. The CPU time reflects actual processing done by the user including activation overhead. The CHARGES command does not write this information to the Accounting History file, as is done when the user actually logs out.

The CHARGE-TO command can be used to keep separate records for different activities performed during a single session. For instance, you might have a user charge to one department while performing certain activities and to another department while performing other activities. Using the CHARGE-TO command ends the current work session, displaying the usage statistics shown above, and then begins a new work session. Using CHARGE-TO does not end the current logon session.

When you invoke this command, you should specify a single argument that is any ASCII string. It identifies the charge-account that should be billed. The name of the charge-account will be appended to the name of the account, and separated by an asterisk. The following example shows the use of the CHARGE-TO command, preceded and followed by execution of the WHO command to show the name of the account.

Entering the CHARGE-TO command without any parameter removes the charge-account identifier.

See Also

Managing Accounts

The SYSTEM Dictionary

The ERRMSG File