SYMLINK(3P)                                                  POSIX Programmer's Manual                                                 SYMLINK(3P)

PROLOG

       This  manual page is part of the POSIX Programmer's Manual.  The Linux implementation of this interface may differ (consult the correspond-
       ing Linux manual page for details of Linux behavior), or the interface may not be implemented on Linux.

NAME

       symlink - make a symbolic link to a file

SYNOPSIS

       #include <unistd.h>

       int symlink(const char *path1, const char *path2);

DESCRIPTION

       The symlink() function shall create a symbolic link called path2 that contains the string pointed to by path1 ( path2 is the  name  of  the
       symbolic link created, path1 is the string contained in the symbolic link).

       The string pointed to by path1 shall be treated only as a character string and shall not be validated as a pathname.

       If the symlink() function fails for any reason other than [EIO], any file named by path2 shall be unaffected.

RETURN VALUE

       Upon successful completion, symlink() shall return 0; otherwise, it shall return -1 and set errno to indicate the error.

ERRORS

       The symlink() function shall fail if:

       EACCES Write permission is denied in the directory where the symbolic link is being created, or search permission is denied for a component
              of the path prefix of path2.

       EEXIST The path2 argument names an existing file or symbolic link.

       EIO    An I/O error occurs while reading from or writing to the file system.

       ELOOP  A loop exists in symbolic links encountered during resolution of the path2 argument.

       ENAMETOOLONG
              The length of the path2 argument exceeds {PATH_MAX} or a pathname component is longer than {NAME_MAX} or the  length  of  the  path1
              argument is longer than {SYMLINK_MAX}.

       ENOENT A component of path2 does not name an existing file or path2 is an empty string.

       ENOSPC The  directory  in which the entry for the new symbolic link is being placed cannot be extended because no space is left on the file
              system containing the directory, or the new symbolic link cannot be created because no space is left on the file system which  shall
              contain the link, or the file system is out of file-allocation resources.

       ENOTDIR
              A component of the path prefix of path2 is not a directory.

       EROFS  The new symbolic link would reside on a read-only file system.

       The symlink() function may fail if:

       ELOOP  More than {SYMLOOP_MAX} symbolic links were encountered during resolution of the path2 argument.

       ENAMETOOLONG
              As  a  result  of  encountering  a  symbolic link in resolution of the path2 argument, the length of the substituted pathname string
              exceeded {PATH_MAX} bytes (including the terminating null byte), or the length of the string pointed  to  by  path1  exceeded  {SYM-
              LINK_MAX}.

       The following sections are informative.

EXAMPLES

       None.

APPLICATION USAGE

       Like  a  hard link, a symbolic link allows a file to have multiple logical names. The presence of a hard link guarantees the existence of a
       file, even after the original name has been removed.  A symbolic link provides no such assurance; in fact, the  file  named  by  the  path1
       argument need not exist when the link is created. A symbolic link can cross file system boundaries.

       Normal permission checks are made on each component of the symbolic link pathname during its resolution.

RATIONALE

       Since  IEEE Std 1003.1-2001  does not require any association of file times with symbolic links, there is no requirement that file times be
       updated by symlink().

FUTURE DIRECTIONS

       None.

SEE ALSO

       lchown(), link(), lstat(), open(), readlink(), unlink(), the Base Definitions volume of IEEE Std 1003.1-2001, <unistd.h>

COPYRIGHT

       Portions of this text are reprinted and reproduced in electronic form from IEEE Std 1003.1, 2003 Edition, Standard for Information Technol-
       ogy -- Portable Operating System Interface (POSIX), The Open Group Base Specifications Issue 6, Copyright (C) 2001-2003 by the Institute of
       Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc and The Open Group. In the event of any discrepancy between this version and  the  original  IEEE
       and  The  Open Group Standard, the original IEEE and The Open Group Standard is the referee document. The original Standard can be obtained
       online at http://www.opengroup.org/unix/online.html .

IEEE
/The Open Group                                                    2003                                                            SYMLINK(3P)