NAME

       viewsu - change (virtual) user ID or become (virtual) superuser

SYNOPSIS

       viewsu [options] [username]

DESCRIPTION

       The  viewsu  command  is  used to become another user during a login session. Invoked without a username,
       viewsu defaults to becoming the superuser. The optional argument - may be used to provide an  environment
       similar  to  what  the  user  would  expect had the user logged in directly.  This command is the View-OS
       counterpart of the su(1) command.  The value of $PATH is reset to  /bin:/usr/bin  for  normal  users,  or
       /sbin:/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin  for  the  superuser.  This may be changed with the ENV_PATH and ENV_SUPATH
       definitions in /etc/login.defs.

OPTIONS

       The options which apply to the viewsu command are:

       -c, --command COMMAND
           Specify a command that will be invoked by the shell using its -c.

       -, -l, --login
           Provide an environment similar to what the user would expect had the user logged in directly.

           When - is used, it must be specified as the last viewsu option. The other forms (-l and  --login)  do
           not have this restriction.

       -s, --shell SHELL
           The shell that will be invoked.

           The invoked shell is chosen from (highest priority first):

           •   The shell specified with --shell.

           •   The shell indicated in the /etc/passwd entry for the target user.

           •    /bin/sh if a shell could not be found by any above method.

SEE ALSO

       su(1), linux.defs(5)

AUTHORS

       View-OS  is  a  project  of the Computer Science Department, University of Bologna. Project Leader: Renzo
       Davoli.
       <http://www.sourceforge.net/projects/view-os>

       Howto's and further information can be found on the project wiki <wiki.virtualsquare.org>.

NOTE

       Most part of the text is taken from su(1).

VIEW-OS: a process with a view                   August 5, 2009                                       VIEW-OS(1)