ln(1)                      (Essential Utilities)                      ln(1)


   NAME
         ln - link files

   SYNOPSIS
         ln [ -f ] [ -n ] [ -s ] file1 [ file2...  ] target

   DESCRIPTION
         The ln command links filen to target by creating a directory entry
         that refers to target.  By using ln with one or more file names, the
         user may create one or more links to target.

         The ln command may be used to create both hard links and symbolic
         links; by default it creates hard links.  A hard link to a file is
         indistinguishable from the original directory entry.  Any changes to
         a file are effective independent of the name used to reference the
         file.  Hard links may not span file systems and may not refer to
         directories.

         Without the -s option, ln is used to create hard links.  filen is
         linked to target.  If target is a directory, another file named filen
         is created in target and linked to the original filen.  If target is
         a file, its contents are overwritten.

         If ln determines that the mode of target forbids writing, it will
         print the mode (see chmod(2)), ask for a response, and read the
         standard input for one line.  If the line begins with y, the link
         occurs, if permissible; otherwise, the command exits.

         The following options are recognized:

         -f   ln will link files without questioning the user, even if the
              mode of target forbids writing.  Note that this is the default
              if the standard input is not a terminal,

         -n   If the linkname is an existing file, do not overwrite the
              contents of the file.  The -f option overrides this option.

         -s   ln will create a symbolic link.  A symbolic link contains the
              name of the file to which it is linked.  Symbolic links may span
              file systems and may refer to directories.

         If the -s option is used with two arguments, target may be an
         existing directory or a non-existent file.  If target already exists
         and is not a directory, an error is returned.  filen may be any path
         name and need not exist.  If it exists, it may be a file or directory
         and may reside on a different file system from target.  If target is
         an existing directory, a file is created in directory target whose
         name is filen or the last component of filen.  This file is a
         symbolic link that references filen.  If target does not exist, a
         file with name target is created and it is a symbolic link that
         references filen.


   7/91                                                                 Page 1

   ln(1)                      (Essential Utilities)                      ln(1)


         If the -s option is used with more than two arguments, target must be
         an existing directory or an error will be returned.  For each filen,
         a file is created in target whose name is filen or its last
         component; each new filen is a symbolic link to the original filen.
         The files and target may reside on different file systems.

   SEE ALSO
         chmod(1), cp(1), mv(1), rm(1), link(2), readlink(2), stat(2),
         symlink(2).












































   Page 2                                                                 7/91