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LN(1)									 LN(1)

NAME
       ln - make links

SYNOPSIS
       ln [ -s ] sourcename [ targetname ]
       ln [ -s ] sourcename1 sourcename2 [ sourcename3 ... ] targetdirectory

DESCRIPTION
       A  link	is  a  directory  entry	 referring  to	a  file; the same file
       (together with its size, all its	 protection  information,  etc.)   may
       have several links to it.  There are two kinds of links: hard links and
       symbolic links.

       By  default  ln	makes  hard  links.   A	 hard  link  to	 a   file   is
       indistinguishable  from	the original directory entry; any changes to a
       file are effective independent of the name used to reference the	 file.
       Hard links may not span file systems and may not refer to directories.

       The  -s	option	causes	ln  to create symbolic links.  A symbolic link
       contains the name of the file to which it is  linked.   The  referenced
       file  is	 used  when  an open(2) operation is performed on the link.  A
       stat(2) on a symbolic link will return the linked-to file; an  lstat(2)
       must  be	 done  to  obtain information about the link.  The readlink(2)
       call may be used to read the contents of	 a  symbolic  link.   Symbolic
       links may span file systems and may refer to directories.

       Given  one  or  two  arguments,	ln  creates a link to an existing file
       sourcename.  If targetname is given, the link has that name; targetname
       may  also  be  a	 directory in which to place the link; otherwise it is
       placed in the current directory.	 If only the directory	is  specified,
       the link will be made to the last component of sourcename.

       Given more than two arguments, ln makes links in targetdirectory to all
       the named source files.	The links made will have the same name as  the
       files being linked to.

SEE ALSO
       rm(1), cp(1), mv(1), link(2), readlink(2), stat(2), symlink(2)

4th Berkeley Distribution	April 10, 1986				 LN(1)

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