ln(1) ln(1)
NAME
ln - link files
SYNOPSIS
ln -s [-f] [-n] 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 that already exists, ln will print
an error and go onto the next filen (unless -f is specified).
There are three options to ln. If multiple options are
specified, the one with the highest priority is used and the
remainder are ignored. The options, in descending order of
priority, are:
-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 linkname exists, then do not
overwrite the contents of the file. A symbolic link's
permissions are always set to read, write, and execute
permission for owner, group, and world (777).
-f ln will link files without generating any errors, even
if the mode of the file target forbids writing. Note,
however, that if target refers to a directory that has
no write permissions, errors will still occur.
-n If the linkname is an existing file, do not overwrite
the contents of the file. The -f option overrides this
option.
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ln(1) ln(1)
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 the
name target is created and it is a symbolic link that
references filen.
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.
Files
/usr/lib/locale/locale/LC_MESSAGES/uxcore.abi
language-specific message file [see LANG on environ(5)].
REFERENCES
chmod(1), cp(1), link(2), mv(1), readlink(2), rm(1), stat(2),
symlink(2)
NOTICES
Doing operations that involve ``..'' (such as ``cd ..'') in a
directory that is symbolically linked will reference the
original directory not the target.
The -s option does not use the current working directory. In
the command
ln -s path target
path is taken literally without being evaluated against the
current working directory.
If the POSIX2 environment variable is set and exported, the
behavior of ln with no options is the same as the current ln
-n.
The -n option is for backward compatibility only. It should
not be used, since it may be removed in future releases.
Copyright 1994 Novell, Inc. Page 2
ln(1) ln(1)
Use the POSIX2 environmental variable to get POSIX.2 behavior
that is inconsistent with existing System V behavior. POSIX2
requires no prompting in case of existing target.
Copyright 1994 Novell, Inc. Page 3