05-29-2008
hard lick-- used in cases when you want the link to be in the same file system. In this case the inode for both link and the file is the same. If you want to move the shardlink to another location or you want to move the original file, it does not affect either of them.
command is ln "file name" "link"
this can not be used on directories. and can be used only in the same fS and not outside file systems
Soft links: used when you want a temporary link. ths inode values are different here for link and the file.
this can be both for file and directories.
If the source file gets deleted the link will be removed at next reboot
. This can extend across file systems
command is ---ln -s "file" "link"
please reverrt if you have any qureries.
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ln(1) General Commands Manual ln(1)
Name
ln - link to a file
Syntax
ln [ -f ] [ -i ] [ -s ] name1 [name2]
ln [ -f ] [ -i ] [ -s ] name ... directory
Description
A link is a directory entry referring to a file. A file, together with its size and all its protection information may have several links
to it. There are two kinds of links: hard links and symbolic links.
By default makes hard links. A hard link to a file is indistinguishable from the original directory entry. Any changes to a file are
effective independent of the name used to reference the file. Hard links may not span file systems and may not refer to directories.
Given one or two arguments, creates a link to an existing file name1. If name2 is given, the link has that name. The name2 may also be a
directory in which to place the link. Otherwise it is placed in the current directory. If only the directory is specified, the link is
made to the last component of name1.
Given more than two arguments, makes links to all the named files in the named directory. The links made have the same name as the files
being linked to.
Options
-f Forces existing destination pathnames to be removed before linking without prompting for confirmation.
-i Write a prompt to standard output requesting information for each link that would overwrite an existing file. If the response from
standard input is affirmative, and if permissions allow, the link is done. The -i option has this effect even if the standard input is
not a terminal.
-s Creates a symbolic link.
A symbolic link contains the name of the file to which it is linked. The referenced file is used when an operation is performed on
the link. A on a symbolic link returns the linked-to file. An must be done to obtain information about the link. The call may be
used to read the contents of a symbolic link. Symbolic links may span file systems and may refer to directories.
See Also
cp(1), mv(1), rm(1), link(2), readlink(2), stat(2), symlink(2)
ln(1)