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.
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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
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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



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