What is the purpose of the ‘/etc/passwd’ file in Linux?

The ‘/etc/passwd’ file in Linux serves a critical role in managing user account information. This file contains essential details about each user on the system, including the username, password placeholder (which is often replaced by a secure method, such as shadow passwords), user ID (UID), group ID (GID), user information (like full name or comment), home directory, and the default shell that should be used when the user logs in.

Each line in the ‘/etc/passwd’ file corresponds to a single user account, with fields separated by colons. This structure allows the system to properly authenticate users and provide them with the necessary resources and permissions when they log in. Hence, understanding the content of this file is vital for system administration, access control, and user management on a Linux system.

The other choices pertain to different aspects of system configuration and log management:

• The option about storing system configuration settings is misleading, as configuration files are typically found in other locations, such as ‘/etc’ for system-wide configurations.

• The logging of system errors and events is handled by different logging mechanisms like syslog or journald, not the ‘/etc/passwd’ file.

• User group memberships are defined in the