Getting Ready for your Session

While your Mandrake Linux system loads and shows you some technical information, we will introduce a fundamental concept of multiuser systems: the session.

GNU/Linux is a multiuser system. This means that more than one user can access the same machine, each one with the ability to keep his own data and configuration files private and protected from other users. To be able to do this, different user accounts must be created on the system by the system administrator. The administrator is the user named root, whose password has been set during system installation, and who has no restrictions at all on the system.

It is also important to understand the terms “to log in” and “to log out”. To log in means: to identify yourself to the computer. Think of it as a security officer validating who you are before letting you in. After logging in, the system takes a number of actions in order to give you access to the system's resources. By logging in, you start a so-called “session”.

When you log out you are telling the system you no longer need to use its resources. Your personal session is closed, you exit the graphical interface and the login screen appears once more.

Note

Although these definitions are valid within the scope of this chapter, they are oversimplified. As you read the following chapters, you will better understand these concepts, their advantages and options.