Unix Create a Symbolic Link
Q. How do I create links under UNIX / Linux operating systems?
A. You need to use ln command, which is a standard Unix / Linux / BSD command, used to create links to files. There are two types of links under UNIX, hard and soft link:
Hard link vs. Soft link in Linux or UNIX
[a] Hard links cannot links directories ( cannot link /tmp with /home/you/tmp)
[b] Hard links cannot cross file system boundaries ( cannot link /tmp mounted on/tmp to 2nd hard disk mounted on /harddisk2)
[c] Symbolic links refer to a symbolic path indicating the abstract location of another file
[d] Hard links, refer to the specific location of physical data.
UNIX Create Symboliclink Command
To create a symbolic link, enter
$ ln -s {/path/to/file-name} {link-name}
$ ln -s /shared/sales/data/file.txt sales.data.txt
$ vi sales.data.txt
$ ls -l sales.data.txt
To delete a link, enter
$ rm {link-name}
$ rm sales.data.txt
$ ls -l
$ ls -l /shared/sales/data/file.txt
If you delete the soft link itself (sales.data.txt) , the data file would still be there ( /shared/sales/data/file.txt ). However, if you delete /shared/sales/data/file.txt, sales.data.txt becomes a broken link and data is lost.
UNIX Create Hardlink Command
To create hard link, enter (without the -s option):
$ ln {file.txt} {hard-link}
$ ln /tmp/file link-here
You can delete hard link with rm command itself:
$ rm {hard-link}
$ rm link-here
If you delete a hard link, your data would be there. If you delete /tmp/file your data still be accessible via link-here hard link file.
See how to create a hard links in Linux / UNIX for more information.
Subscribe to our free e-mail newsletter or RSS feed to get all updates.
You can Email this page to a friend.
Related Other Helpful FAQs:
- Can I set the permissions on a symbolic link under Linux/UNIX?
- How to: Linux / UNIX create soft link with ln command
- Linux / UNIX find files with symbolic links
- Why is it possible to create symbolic links across file system boundaries?
- How to create a hard links in Linux / UNIX
Leave a Reply
We encourage your comments, and suggestions. But please stay on topic, be polite, and avoid spam. Thank you very much for stopping by our site!
Tags: create softlink, hard disk, hard links, hardlink, linux bsd, linux command, ln command, operating systems, path, softlink, symbolic link, symboliclink, system boundaries, UNIX, unix command, unix create symboliclink
Recent Comments
Today ~ 3 Comments
Today ~ 57 Comments
Yesterday ~ 9 Comments
Yesterday ~ 7 Comments
Yesterday ~ 1 Comment