LN(1) LN(1) NAME ln - make links SYNOPSIS ln [ -s ] sourcename [ targetname ] ln [ -s ] sourcename1 sourcename2 [ sourcename3 ... ] targetdirectory DESCRIPTION A link is a directory entry referring to a file; the same file (together with its size, all its protection information, etc.) may have several links to it. There are two kinds of links: hard links and symbolic links. By default _l_n makes hard links. A hard link to a file is indistin‐ guishable 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. The -s option causes _l_n to create symbolic links. A symbolic link con‐ tains the name of the file to which it is linked. The referenced file is used when an _o_p_e_n(2) operation is performed on the link. A _s_t_a_t(2) on a symbolic link will return the linked-to file; an _l_s_t_a_t(2) must be done to obtain information about the link. The _r_e_a_d_l_i_n_k(2) call may be used to read the contents of a symbolic link. Symbolic links may span file systems and may refer to directories. Given one or two arguments, _l_n creates a link to an existing file _s_o_u_r_c_e_n_a_m_e. If _t_a_r_g_e_t_n_a_m_e is given, the link has that name; _t_a_r_g_e_t_n_a_m_e may also be a directory in which to place the link; otherwise it is placed in the current directory. If only the directory is specified, the link will be made to the last component of _s_o_u_r_c_e_n_a_m_e. Given more than two arguments, _l_n makes links in _t_a_r_g_e_t_d_i_r_e_c_t_o_r_y to all the named source files. The links made will have the same name as the files being linked to. SEE ALSO rm(1), cp(1), mv(1), link(2), readlink(2), stat(2), symlink(2) 4th Berkeley Distribution April 10, 1986 LN(1)