this post was submitted on 15 Apr 2024
86 points (86.4% liked)
Linux
48229 readers
968 users here now
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).
Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.
Rules
- Posts must be relevant to operating systems running the Linux kernel. GNU/Linux or otherwise.
- No misinformation
- No NSFW content
- No hate speech, bigotry, etc
Related Communities
Community icon by Alpár-Etele Méder, licensed under CC BY 3.0
founded 5 years ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
Sudo is "su do", i.e. "run as root", so it's funny to hear run as sudo because it means "run as run as root", like "chai tea" or "ATM machine".
To your question the answer is "why?". You shouldn't need that, that's one of the hardest things to get rid of, the "Windows mentality", it's like when people ask how to install a .tar.gz they downloaded from the internet, the answer is most likely "you don't need that".
This leads to an XY problem, where you're asking how to solve problem Y but that is caused by you assuming you need to do X, when in fact you don't. The main clue is that people keep asking you why do you want to do this. So, what exactly is the problem you're trying to solve? Why do you think you need this?
It may default to root but it doesn't mean run as root. Su means substitute user identity i.e. any other user (if you have the rights to it).
Both
su
andsudo
originally meant "superuser" because that was their only use. They have retroactively been changed to "switch user" because this functionality was added later.Just citing a source in case anyone wants a little history: su.