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[Solved] Symbolic links - viewing contents

 
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# 1  
Old 05-21-2012
[Solved] Symbolic links - viewing contents
Hi,

I did do a search and there are lots of threads about creating/deleting symbolic links but nothing about actually viewing the target of a link.

I have the following:

Code:
bash> ls -l /usr/bin/python
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root other 9 Apr 22 16:08 /usr/bin/python -> python2.6

Fine - but now I want to see the contents of 'python2.6' and I just can't seem to do it - tried just putting a '/' on the end (which has worked in other shells, I think) but get this error:

Code:
bash> ls -l /usr/bin/python/
/usr/bin/python/: Not a directory

Apologies for a truly room101-type question but I just don't get it...Smilie

PS: I don't seem to have 'readlink' installed/setup (despite it being part of the man pages!)


Moderator's Comments:
Mod Comment Please use code tags, thanks!
Last edited by zaxxon; 05-21-2012 at 10:00 AM.. Reason: code tags
# 2  
Old 05-21-2012
It is as it is - Not a directory. So no contents to list. That is a file, not a directory. Adding a slash to a non-directory is therefore wrong.
Last edited by zaxxon; 05-21-2012 at 10:10 AM.. Reason: misunderstanding on my side
This User Gave Thanks to zaxxon For This Post:
nelmo
# 3  
Old 05-21-2012
Quote:
Originally Posted by zaxxon
It is as it is - Not a directory. So no contents to list. That is a file, not a directory. Adding a slash to a non-directory is therefore wrong.
Gawd, how thick do I feel? Many thanks...Smilie
 
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