NAME

symlink − make symbolic link to a file

SYNOPSIS

#include <symlink.h>

int symlink(const char *name1, const char *name2);

DESCRIPTION

symlink() creates a file name2, which is a symbolic link to name1. Either name can be an arbitrary path name. The files need not be on the same file system.

RETURN VALUE

Upon successful completion, a zero value is returned.  If an error occurs, the error code is stored in errno and a −1 value is returned. 

ERRORS

The symbolic link is made unless one or more of the following is true:

[ENOTDIR] A component of the name2 prefix is not a directory. 

[ENAMETOOLONG] A component of either path name exceeds NAME_MAX bytes while _POSIX_NO_TRUNC is in effect, or the entire length of either path name exceeds PATH_MAX bytes. 

[ENOENT] A component of the name2 prefix does not exist. 

[EACCES] A component of the name2 path prefix denies search permission. 

[EDQUOT] User’s disk quota block or inode limit has been reached for this file system. 

[ELOOP] Too many symbolic links were encountered in translating the path name. 

[EEXIST] name2 already exists. 

[EIO] An I/O error occurred while making the directory entry for name2, allocating the inode for name2, or writing out the link contents of name2.

[EROFS] The file name2 resides on a read-only file system. 

[ENOSPC] The directory in which the entry for the new symbolic link is being placed cannot be extended because there is no space left on the file system containing the directory. 

[ENOSPC] The new symbolic link cannot be created because there is no space left on the file system that will contain the symbolic link. 

[ENOSPC] There are no free inodes on the file system on which the symbolic link is being created. 

[EIO] An I/O error occurred while making the directory entry or allocating the inode. 

[EFAULT] name1 or name2 points outside the process’ allocated address space.  The reliable detection of this error is implementation dependent. 

AUTHOR

symlink() was developed by the University of California, Berkeley. 

SEE ALSO

cp(1), link(2), readlink(2), unlink(2), symlink(4). 

STANDARDS CONFORMANCE

symlink(): AES

Hewlett-Packard Company  —  HP-UX Release 9.10: April 1995