LN(1)               RISC/os Reference Manual                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 direc-
     tory 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 com-
     mand 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 con-
          tains the name of the file to which it is linked.  Sym-
          bolic 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



                        Printed 11/19/92                   Page 1

LN(1)               RISC/os Reference Manual                LN(1)



     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 sym-
     bolic 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.

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








































 Page 2                 Printed 11/19/92