NAME

link − make a hard link to a file

SYNOPSIS

link(name1, name2)
char ∗name1, ∗name2;

DESCRIPTION

name1 points to a path name naming an existing file.  name2 points to a path name naming a new directory entry to be created.  A hard link to the first file is created; the link has the name pointed to by name2. The file named by name1 must exist. 

With hard links, both files must be on the same file system.  Unless the caller is the super-user, the file named by name1 must not be a directory.  Both the old and the new link share equal access and rights to the underlying object. 

RETURN VALUE

Upon successful completion, a value of 0 is returned.  Otherwise, a value of −1 is returned and errno is set to indicate the error. 

ERRORS

link will fail and no link will be created if one or more of the following are true:

ENOTDIR A component of the path prefix of name1 or name2 is not a directory. 

EINVAL name1 or name2 contains a byte with the high-order bit set. 

ENAMETOOLONG
The length of a component of name1 or name2 exceeds 255 characters, or the length of name1 or name2 exceeds 1023 characters. 

ENOENT A component of the path prefix of name1 or name2 does not exist. 

EACCES Search permission is denied for a component of the path prefix of name1 or name2.

EACCES The requested link requires writing in a directory for which write permission is denied. 

ELOOP Too many symbolic links were encountered in translating name1 or name2.

ENOENT The file referred to by name1 does not exist. 

EEXIST The link referred to by name2 does exist. 

EPERM The file named by name1 is a directory and the effective user ID is not super-user. 

EXDEV The link named by name2 and the file named by name1 are on different file systems. 

ENOSPC The directory in which the entry for the new link is being placed cannot be extended because there is no space left on the file system containing the directory. 

EDQUOT The directory in which the entry for the new link is being placed cannot be extended because the user’s quota of disk blocks on the file system containing the directory has been exhausted. 

EIO An I/O error occurred while reading from or writing to the file system to make the directory entry. 

EROFS The requested link requires writing in a directory on a read-only file system. 

EFAULT One of the path names specified is outside the process’s allocated address space. 

SEE ALSO

symlink(2), unlink(2)

Sun Release 3.2  —  Last change: 16 July 1986