Symbolic link

In computing, a symbolic link (a.k.a. symlink or soft link) is a file that refers to a file system item (such as a file or a directory) by storing a path to it.[1] In a POSIX-conforming system, a file is any Unix file type.

A symbolic link is an independent file that stores a file system path that, except for special situations, is treated as the file system item to which the path refers; the target. If a symbolic link is deleted, its target is not affected. If the target is moved, renamed or deleted, the symbolic link is not automatically updated or deleted. Its target path would point to nothing and might be described as broken, orphaned, dead, or dangling.

Symbolic links were introduced in 1982 in 4.1a BSD Unix.[2] POSIX defines the symbolic link as found in most Unix-like operating systems, such as FreeBSD, Linux, and macOS. Windows (starting with Windows 10) supports symbolic links.[3] CTSS on IBM 7090 supported files linked by name in 1963.[4][5][6] By 1978, some minicomputer operating systems from DEC, and Data General's RDOS, included symbolic links.

  1. ^ "Pathname resolution". POSIX.
  2. ^ Bill Joy; Sam Leffler. "Surviving with 4.1a bsd". GitHub. Retrieved 8 September 2023. It also includes a few other features which you may find useful, such as symbolic links and an improved group scheme.
  3. ^ "Windows mklink Command".
  4. ^ Walden, David; Van Vleck, Tom, eds. (2011). "Compatible Time-Sharing System (1961-1973): Fiftieth Anniversary Commemorative Overview" (PDF). IEEE Computer Society. Retrieved February 20, 2022. As CTSS developed, we provided ways for users to share their files on disk, through "common files" and "linking,"
  5. ^ Crisman, Patricia A., ed. (December 31, 1969). "The Compatible Time-Sharing System, A Programmer's Guide" (PDF). The M.I.T Computation Center. Retrieved March 10, 2022. U.F.D. entries that point to other U.F.D. entries instead of to the file itself
  6. ^ Corbato, F. J.; Daggett, M. M.; Daley, R. C.; Creasy, R. J.; Hellwig, J. D.; Orenstein, R. H.; Korn, L. K. (1963). "The Compatible Time-Sharing System A Programmer's Guide" (PDF). MIT. Retrieved November 29, 2022. Link: The format is similar to Copy. The specified file is not copied
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