user account logon from python

[jepler at unpythonic.net]

"login APIs" vary widely from system to system.

Classic Unix systems use calls like getpwent and crypt to check passwords, and
then call setuid, setgid and setgroups to set the identity of the user who is
logging in.  These are all available in stock Python, check the library
reference for more details.  Other login-time activities, like writing utmp
entries, may not be directly available in stock Python modules.

Many modern Linux systems use something called 'pam' for login-related
activities, and there seems to be something called 'python-pam' out there, but
I've never used it.

Graphical login managers have their own additional requirements, such as
starting and stopping the X server, managing the X authentication information,
etc.

Jeff
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