2.9BSD/usr/man/cat1/ln.1
LN(1) UNIX Programmer's Manual LN(1)
NAME
ln - make links
SYNOPSIS
ln [ -s ] name1 [ name2 ]
ln name ... directory
ln -f directory1 directory2
DESCRIPTION
A link is a directory entry referring to a file; the same
file (together with its size, all its protection informa-
tion, etc.) may have several links to it.
A link to a file is indistinguishable from the original
directory entry; any changes to a file are effective
independent of the name used to reference the file. Links
may not span file systems.
Given one or two arguments, _l_n creates a link to an existing
file _n_a_m_e_1. If _n_a_m_e_2 is given, the link has that name;
_n_a_m_e_2 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 _n_a_m_e_1.
Given more than two arguments, _l_n makes links to all the
named files in the named directory. The links made will
have the same name as the files being linked to.
The -_f flag may be used by the super user to link _d_i_r_e_c_t_o_r_y_1
to _d_i_r_e_c_t_o_r_y_2. _D_i_r_e_c_t_o_r_y_2 must not exist.
The -_s flag creates a symbolic link rather than a hard link.
Symbolic links are distinguishable from the original direc-
tory entry and may span file systems.
SEE ALSO
cp(1), mv(1), rm(1), link(2), readlink(2), stat(2), sym-
link(2)
Printed 8/5/83 1