ln

This command is used to create one or more links to a file. The link is another name for the similar filename that having the similar physical storage and similar inode number. This means in which more than one file can point to the similar physical storage.

Syntax

# ln filename1 filename2

In the given syntax filename1 is the name of the file on that a link is being created, filename2 is the link created on filename1.

Consider the following

# ln newfile file1

This will make a link for newfile and the name of the link is file1. The number of links a file has can be look from the long listing of files.

For making a symbolic link, the -s option has to be used within the ln command:

Note: ln command provides more than one name to a file but the physical storage of the file is the similar. A cp command makes two files with various physical storages. The Inode numbers of all hard linked files are the similar. A symbolic link can be created even when the file on that the symbolic link is created is not present.