linux man page for symlink

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

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(P)