Administrator vs root?

[switcher.mac]

Hi...I'm still new to Macs and I can't seem to wrap my head around administrator and root.

Where does root come in? What's the default root password? What's the difference between root and an administrator user? What is it asking me for when it wants a user/password for things like adding programs, etc, or when unlocking something in system preferences...Root? or an administrator.

Is there any website that can make this all clear?

TIA

 

[RiDE]

It is asking for your Admin. Password...

(Which BTW is the same as your Root Password).

The only time you will use "Root" in within the Terminal, in Unix code.

 

[Smackintosh]

here is some reading:

http://linuxboxadmin.com/articles/sudo-vs-root.php
http://www.securemac.com/macosxsecurity.php

 

[switcher.mac]

Thanks all. It's getting clearer. The root password is not set during install. I went to NetInfo to enable the root user (just as a brief experiment, knowing I'd disable root when done) and NetInfo said the root password is currently blank and to set a non-trivial password.

So, I think I have a much better handle on root/adminstrators/sudo/su

Thanks again.