![]() For example, if a program needs a library that is no longer up to date, a hard link can keep it functioning. You can also use hard links to solve special problems. This means they can be processed faster and are fully transparent for applications. Since hard links directly represent the original file, they don’t need to be dereferenced using computing processes. The software HardlinkBackup takes advantage of the positive aspects of hard linking. You get alternative access to the original file, while saving space and increasing data security. Hard links have advantages, especially when it comes to backups. So, if you’re working with hard links, you should know your system and know the basics of partitioning and formatting. However, modern Linux systems often contain various file systems located on different hard drives and partitions. And because inode numbers can only be managed within partitions, hard links can only connect files within a single partition. Hard links can usually link files, not directories or folders. However, soft links aren’t as flexible as hard links when it comes to making changes to the reference object (such as moving and deleting it). They can be used to link files and directories across file systems and partitions and on various hard drives. Soft links are usually sufficient for normal users to create links for most purposes. ![]() The remaining options for accessing the original file, which are stored in inode, are still valid. On the other hand, if only one address entry among many is deleted or if the original file is moved into another directory, nothing changes. A file isn’t really deleted from the inode system (and thus the entire system) until all entries (i.e., all references to the file) are made invalid by delete operations and an internal link counter is set to zero. ![]() Every hard link refers to an inode and is assigned a unique inode number, which is the same one assigned to the original file. Hard links are closely connected with special internal bookkeeping in Linux. It simply serves as an alternative option for access (via file path) and is not a second physical copy of the file. This is an advantage of hard links - the additional entry in memory management doesn’t use any extra memory. If the original file is deleted from “My Videos”, it is still perfectly accessible via the hard link path to the file in “My Videos Backup”. After creating a hard link, it can also be retrieved from another directory, e.g. Say there is a video file that is only accessible in the directory “My Videos”. In fact, Linux doesn’t distinguish technically or operationally between the original and a hard link generated later, meaning that all directory entries are treated the same and work independently of one another. Several hard links can point to the same file. A hard link is a mirror copy of the original file, which has its own directory entry. They’re more extensively integrated into the memory management of an operating system and the file system being used. Hard links can only be created using the command line. You can spot a soft link in Linux by the arrow symbol on the file icon. Soft links can be created in the Linux terminal and in the graphical user interface in the Linux file manager. ![]() Soft links are also called symbolic links or symlinks. On the other hand, if you delete the link, the original final link remains intact. ![]() If you move or delete the original file, there is no longer a target and the link leads to nothing. Soft links are cross references that point to a file or directory. If you want to take full advantage of the ln command, you’ll need to know the difference between soft and hard links. ![]()
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