4.3BSD - /usr/man/cat1/ln.0

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 ln 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 ln 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 open(2) operation is performed on the link.  A stat(2)
       on a symbolic link will return the linked-to file; an lstat(2) must  be
       done to obtain information about the link.  The readlink(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,  ln  creates a link to an existing file
       sourcename.  If targetname is given, the link has that name; targetname
       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 sourcename.

       Given more than two arguments, ln makes links in targetdirectory 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)