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ln(1)									 ln(1)

NAME
       ln - Make a hard link or a symbolic link to a file

SYNOPSIS
       ln [-fs] sourcename [targetname]

       ln [-fs] sourcename... targetdirectory

       ln [-fns] sourcename targetname

       ln [-fns] sourcename... targetdirectory

STANDARDS
       Interfaces  documented on this reference page conform to industry stan‐
       dards as follows:

       ln:  XCU5.0

       Refer to the standards(5) reference page	 for  more  information	 about
       industry standards and associated tags.

OPTIONS
       Forces  the  removal  of	 existing  target  path	 names before linking.
       [Tru64 UNIX]  Creates symbolic  links.	[Tru64	UNIX]  If  the	target
       already	exists,	 do  not  create the link, and issue an error message.
       The -f option overrides the -n option.	To  use	 the  -n  option,  the
       CMD_ENV environment variable must be set to svr4.

OPERANDS
       Path  name  of a file to be linked.  The path name of the new directory
       entry to be created.  A path name of an existing directory in which new
       entries are to be created.

DESCRIPTION
       A  link is a directory entry that refers to a file. Usually, sourcename
       is an existing file, and targetname does not exist.   Thus,  targetname
       becomes a new name, or pseudonym for sourcename.	 A file, together with
       its size and all its protection information, can have several links  to
       it.  There are two kinds of links: hard links and symbolic links.

       [Tru64  UNIX]  By default ln makes hard links. A hard link to a file is
       indistinguishable from the original directory entry.  Changes to either
       file  affect  both files. Hard links must be made to files in the local
       file system: they cannot span file systems and cannot refer to directo‐
       ries.

       [Tru64  UNIX]  With  the	 -s  option, the command makes symbolic links,
       including Context Dependent Symbolic Links  (CDSLs).  A	symbolic  link
       contains	 the  name  of	the file to which it is linked. The referenced
       file is used when an open() operation is	 performed  on	the  link.   A
       stat()  on  a symbolic link returns the linked-to file. An lstat() must
       be done to obtain information about the link. The readlink()  call  can
       be  used	 to  read  the contents of a symbolic link. Symbolic links can
       span file systems and can refer to directories.

       Given one or two arguments, ln creates a link to an existing sourcename
       file.  If  targetname is omitted, then sourcename is used for the link,
       but it must be created in  a  different	directory  than	 that  of  the
       source  file.  If targetname is given, the link has that name. The tar‐
       getname can also be a directory in which to place the link;  otherwise,
       it is placed in the current directory.  If only the directory is speci‐
       fied, the link is made to the last component of the sourcename file.

       Given more than two arguments, ln makes	links  to  all	the  specified
       files  (sourcename)  in	the  specified targetdirectory. The links made
       have the same name as the files to which they are being linked.

       If targetname exists, the command aborts unless the -f option is used.

   SVID and System V Release 4 Conformance
       [Tru64 UNIX]  When the environment variable CMD_ENV is set to svr4, the
       behavior	 of  the base ln command is compatible with its behavior under
       System V Release 4.  There is also a version of the ln command provided
       in the System V habitat that is conformant with the SVID standard.  For
       more information on the System V habitat, see  the  Command  and	 Shell
       User's Guide.

       This  section documents the behavior of the habitat version, and of the
       base version with CMD_ENV set to svr4, insofar as the behavior  differs
       from  that  of  the  base ln command without CMD_ENV set.  This section
       discusses only hard links.

       [Tru64 UNIX]  In contrast to the base ln command without	 CMD_ENV  set,
       these versions of ln silently overwrite an existing targetname if it is
       not a directory and has write permission.   The	-n  option,  available
       only in the base command when CMD_ENV is set, prevents overwriting such
       an existing target.  Thus, for such an existing	targetname,  the  base
       command	ln  -n with CMD_ENV set behaves the same as does the base com‐
       mand ln with no options and with CMD_ENV not set.

       [Tru64 UNIX]  If the targetname exists, is not a	 directory,  and  does
       not  have  write	 permission, three possible conditions can exist, with
       each condition producing a different  behavior:	[Tru64	UNIX]  If  the
       standard	 input	is  not	 a  terminal, the command attempts to silently
       unlink targetname and link the source file to it.  [Tru64 UNIX]	If the
       standard	 input is a terminal and the command line does not include the
       -f option, the command prompts the user for permission to  unlink  tar‐
       getname.	 The  habitat command compares the user response to the system
       defined values for YESSTR and NOSTR. If the user response  matches  the
       value  for  YESSTR,  the command attempts to unlink the target file and
       link the source file to	targetname.   If  the  user  response  matches
       NOSTR,  the  command  aborts.   Similarly,  with	 the  base command and
       CMD_ENV set, the operation aborts unless the user response begins  with
       a y.  [Tru64 UNIX]  If the standard input is a terminal and the command
       line includes the -f option, the command attempts  to  silently	unlink
       targetname and link the source file to it.

NOTES
       [Tru64  UNIX]  You  cannot link files across file systems without using
       the -s option. That is, links across  file  systems  must  be  symbolic
       links.

EXIT STATUS
       The  following  exit  values are returned: All the specified files were
       linked successfully.  An error occurred.

EXAMPLES
       The following example creates a link (also called an alias) to a	 file:
       ln  chap1  intro

	      The  previous  command  links  chap1 to the intro file. If intro
	      does not already exist, the file name is created. If intro  does
	      exist  and  permissions allow, the file is replaced by a link to
	      chap1. The following command  forces  the	 link  even  if	 intro
	      exists  and permissions do not allow it to be overwritten: ln -f
	      chap1 intro

	      The previous command causes chap1 and intro to refer to the same
	      file.  Any  changes  made	 to  one file also appear in the other
	      file. If one name is deleted with the rm command,	 the  file  is
	      not  actually  deleted  because it remains under the other name.
	      The following command links a file to the same name in an exist‐
	      ing directory: ln index manual

	      The  previous  command links index to the new name manual/index.
	      The following command links several files to  names  in  another
	      directory: ln  chap2  jim/chap3  /u/manual

	      The previous command links chap2 to the new name /u/manual/chap2
	      and links jim/chap3 to /u/manual/chap3.  The  following  command
	      uses ln with pattern-matching characters: ln  manual/*  .

	      The  previous  command  links  all files in the directory manual
	      into the current directory (.), giving them the same names  they
	      have  in	manual.	 Note that you must type a space between the *
	      (asterisk) and the (dot).	 The following command creates a  link
	      to the final component of a path name: ln -s /a/b/c/d/e

	      This  creates  a	link,  e, in the current directory to the file
	      /a/b/c/d/e.  The following command creates a link	 to  a	direc‐
	      tory.   In  this	example,  t1 is a subdirectory under d1: ln -s
	      /d1/t1 /d2

	      This creates a link from /d1/t1 to /d2 as follows: # ls -lF  /d2
	      lrwxrwxrwx   1  root  system  11 Dec 13 14:00 /d2@ -> /d1/t1/

	      The path name for sourcename must be specified if the sourcename
	      differs from that of the targetdirectory. If the	path  name  is
	      not  specified, a link is created to a file, not to the intended
	      directory.  For example, if the path name was not	 specified  in
	      this  example,  ls -s t1 /d2  creates a link to a file named t1,
	      instead of the directory /d1/t1.

ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES
       The following environment variables affect the execution of ln:	[Tru64
       UNIX]  When  this  environment variable is set to svr4, the behavior of
       the ln command is compatible with its behavior under System  V  Release
       4.   The	 -n  option  requires that this environment variable be set to
       svr4.  Provides a default value for the internationalization  variables
       that  are  unset	 or  null. If LANG is unset or null, the corresponding
       value from the default locale is used.  If any of the internationaliza‐
       tion  variables	contain	 an invalid setting, the utility behaves as if
       none of the variables had been defined.	If set to a  non-empty	string
       value, overrides the values of all the other internationalization vari‐
       ables.  Determines the locale for the interpretation  of	 sequences  of
       bytes  of  text data as characters (for example, single-byte as opposed
       to multibyte characters in arguments).  Determines the locale  for  the
       format  and  contents of diagnostic messages written to standard error.
       Determines the location of message catalogues  for  the	processing  of
       LC_MESSAGES.

SEE ALSO
       Commands:  cp(1), mv(1), rm(1)

       Functions:  chmod(2),  link(2),	open(2),  readlink(2),	stat(2),  sym‐
       link(2)

       Standards:  standards(5)

       Command and Shell User's Guide

									 ln(1)
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