Definition:
- Data sits on disk, the file name is a hard link to the data; and soft link points to hard link
Hard Link:
- a reference to another file of same file system, no directories
- it enables the file’s data to have more than one name in different locations in the same file system.
- Applications treat a hard link as a real file.
- If the original file is deleted after a hard link is created, all its contents will still be available in the linked file.
- This is because the inode of a hard link is the same as its target; in other words, it points to the same object on the file system.
Symbolic Link, soft link
- reference to a file or directory that can span multiple file systems.
- similar to a shortcut
- If the original file or directory is deleted after a symbolic link is created, then the original content is lost. This is because the inode of a symbolic link is different from its target; in other words, it points to a different object on the file system