Password Considerations and the Following Text

The text that follows was written before the password protection scheme of Lincoln Stein's user_manage package was available, which makes it obsolete.
It is better not to write one's own code, if expert code is available, and this is expert code. It requires your system manager installing it, but I think its worthwhile if you want password protection.
Speaking of password protection, in the context of computer assisted testing/homework, passwords are useless, and I dropped them completely. There is no point in using them, since in the comfort of their own rooms, students will not be constrained in their behavior by any protection scheme. We can not verify their identity, nor can we verify that they are alone, working unaided. So, forget it!
So, read on if you choose, since the material on passwords in this text is useful in learning how to read and write files, but be prepared to understand that the implementation is not worth the effort.
To skip this material, and continue on, try going to the counter material which is here.