LINUX SOFT LINK EXAMPLE HOW TO

The link is created by default when you create the file. Most of all the Inode will contain the reference where the actual payload (content) of the file is stored on the disk and will point to it.Įach file (content/payload) has a minimum of one hard link, which is referencing and pointing to the content of the file. That metadata will include data like creation date, file permissions, owner and more. A hard link is a file that points to an Inode.Īn Inode is a data structure which includes metadata about the files payload (content) itself, so an Inode is not the content or its original name itself. To finish the file and getting back to the prompt, press CTRL+D.īy using the ls -i command you will see that the inode number for my new file file1.txt is 921412.Īs we now know what an Inode and file is, it is simple to understand what a hard link is.

You can enter here simply your text and for new lines press enter. This command will create the file itself, when you pressing Enter, you won’t get back to the terminal prompt and instead the cursor is placed on the next line and wait for input. You can use here the cat command as follows.

LINUX SOFT LINK EXAMPLE HOW TO

To show this I will first create a simple text file quickly by using the cat command.įirst a little excursus about how to quickly create a textfile in linux. The seven standard Unix file types are regular files, directory, symbolic link, FIFO special, block special, character special, and socket as defined by POSIX.Ī file’s (link) inode number can be determined by using the ls -i command. Note that creating a hard link for a directory is not allowed! You can use a soft link for directory linking. The metadata will include data like the creation date, file permissions, owner and more.īut most of all, the Inode will contain a reference where the actual payload (content) of the file is stored on the disk and will point to it.Īs in Unix-like operating systems Everything is a file, an Inode is also a data structure with metadata and reference where it is stored on the disk for a directory, as a directory is also file. So an Inode is not the actual content or the original name of the file. In order to understand the differences between a hard link and soft link in linux or in general Unix-like operating systems, we first have to understand the concept of Inodes and what a File exactly is.įirst a file in Unix-like operating systems is basically a link to an Inode.Īn Inode however is a data structure which includes metadata about the files payload (content).

Linux soft link example