!!! Overview 
[{$pagename}] is one of the [POSIX Databases] used in [POSIX] systems to represent the users.


The /etc/passwd file is a text file with one record per line, each describing a user account. Each record consists of seven fields separated by colons. The ordering of the records within the file is generally unimportant.

!! Field explanation[1]
An example record may be:
{{{
jsmith:x:1001:1000:Joe Smith,Room 1007,(234)555-8910,(234)555-0044,email:/home/jsmith:/bin/sh
}}}
The fields, in order from left to right, are:

!! [{$pagename}] and [LDAP]
||Field||LDAP Attribute||Comment
|Login name|[Uid]|The first field is the user name, i.e. the string a user would type in when logging into the operating system: the logname. Each record in the file must have a unique user name field.
|[Password Specification Entry]|N/A|The second field stores information used to validate a user's password; \\however in most modern uses this field is usually set to "x" (or some other indicator) with the actual password information being stored in a separate [ShadowAccount] password file. \\Setting this field to an asterisk "*" is the typical way to deactivate an account to prevent it being used.
|Numerical user ID|[uidNumber]|The third field is the user identifier, the number that the operating system uses for internal purposes. It does not have to be unique.
|Numerical group ID|[gidNumber]|The fourth field is the group identifier. This number identifies the primary group of the user; all files that are created by this user may initially be accessible to this group.
|User name or comment field|[gecos]|The fifth field, called the Gecos field, is commentary that describes the person or account. Typically, this is a set of comma-separated values including the user's full name and contact details.
|User home directory|[homeDirectory]|The sixth field is the path to the user's home directory.
|Optional user command interpreter|[loginShell]|The seventh field is the program that is started every time the user logs into the system. For an interactive user, this is usually one of the system's [command-line] interpreters (shells).

So from LDAP, you can think of the fields as:
{{{
loginname:password:uidNumber|defaultgidNumber:gecos:homeDirectory:loginShell
}}}

!! Some [Examples]
The "x" implies that a shadow is used.
{{{
jwilleke:x:52658:280:Jim Willeke, 213-449-7111:/home/jwilleke:/usr/bin/ksh
}}}

Below the "*" implies the entry is external to the host.
{{{
scott:*:1001:100:Aaron Scott Willeke:/home/scott:/bin/bash
}}}


!! [LDIF entries for passwd and shadow|LDIF Examples Of NIS Migrated Entries#passwd and shadow|target='_blank']
[LDIF entries for passwd and shadow|LDIF Examples Of NIS Migrated Entries#passwd and shadow|target='_blank']

!! More Information
There might be more information for this subject on one of the following:
[{ReferringPagesPlugin before='*' after='\n' }]
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* [#1] - [http://www.cyberciti.biz/faq/understanding-etcpasswd-file-format/] - Retrieved 2013-02-09