Release 10.1A: OpenEdge Deployment:
Managing 4GL Applications

Determining the privileges of the blank user ID

The user has the blank user ID when you run your own startup procedure without using the SETUSERID function, the SECURITY-POLICY:SET-CLIENT() method and SET-DB-CLIENT() 4GL function, or without using the User ID (-U) and Password (-P) startup parameters. on these startup parameters and 4GL functions and methods, see OpenEdge Development: Programming Interfaces .

The user can use OpenEdge or an OpenEdge application with a blank user ID and access tables and fields in the database as long as the following conditions are all met:

The database is configured to allow blank user ID connections.
The table- and field-level permissions permit it (blank user ID).
The procedures being run are precompiled.

OpenEdge expects an application to run a login program to set the user ID to a more meaningful value.

As the security administrator, you might want to deny privileges to the blank user ID to ensure that unknown users do not gain access to the database.

To specify blank user ID privileges:

Access the Data Administration tool if you are using a graphical interface or the Data Dictionary if you are using a character interface.
Choose Admin Security Disallow Blank Userid Access. OpenEdge prompts you to verify that you want to prevent users with blank user IDs from accessing the working database.
Choose Yes. OpenEdge denies the user all security permissions and inserts an exclamation point (!) at the beginning of all the table and field permissions for the database. You can restore a blank user ID’s access to selected tables and fields by modifying the permissions.
Note: You can also restrict a blank user ID from connecting to a database by setting the Disallow Blank UserId option in the Database Options dialog box. For more information, see the online help for the Data Administration tool and OpenEdge Development: Basic Database Tools .