símlink

Símlink is a term that refers to a symbolic link, also known as a soft link. It is a type of file that points to another file or directory. When a program or the operating system accesses a symbolic link, it is redirected to the target file or directory. This allows for flexibility in file organization and management.

Symbolic links are created using commands in various operating systems. For instance, in Unix-like systems, the `ln -s` command is used to create a symbolic link. The command takes two arguments: the target file or directory and the name of the symbolic link to be created.

One of the primary uses of symbolic links is to create shortcuts to files or directories that are located in different parts of the file system. This can be particularly useful for organizing large projects or for making frequently accessed files more readily available. Another common application is for managing different versions of software. A symbolic link can be used to point to the active version of a program, and updating the software simply involves changing the symbolic link to point to the new version.

Symbolic links differ from hard links. A hard link is a direct reference to the inode of a file, meaning it is essentially another name for the same file. If the original file is deleted, a hard link will still point to the data. A symbolic link, on the other hand, is a separate file that contains the path to the target. If the target file is deleted, the symbolic link becomes a broken link and will no longer work.