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+Frequently Asked Questions + |
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+1. What is the difference between a symbolic link and a hard link?
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A file in the file system is basically a link to an inode.
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A hard link, then, just creates another file with a link to the same underlying inode.
+++++A symbolic or soft link is an actual link to the original file, whereas a hard link is a mirror copy of the original file.
+++++If you delete the original file, the soft link has no value, because it points to a non-existent file.
+++++But in the case of hard link, it is entirely opposite. Even if you delete the original file, the hard link will still has the data of the original file.
+++++Because hard link acts as a mirror copy of the original file.
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+INFO: When you delete a file, it removes one link to the underlying inode. The inode is only deleted (or deletable/over-writable) when all links to the inode have been deleted.
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+| + + | ++Hard links are only valid within the same File System. Symbolic links can span file systems as they are simply the name of another file. + | +