<s>
In	O
computing	O
,	O
a	O
symbolic	B-Application
link	I-Application
(	O
also	O
symlink	B-Application
or	O
soft	B-Application
link	I-Application
)	O
is	O
a	O
file	O
whose	O
purpose	O
is	O
to	O
point	O
to	O
a	O
file	O
or	O
directory	B-Application
(	O
called	O
the	O
"	O
target	O
"	O
)	O
by	O
specifying	O
a	O
path	B-Application
thereto	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Symbolic	B-Application
links	I-Application
are	O
supported	O
by	O
POSIX	O
and	O
by	O
most	O
Unix-like	B-Operating_System
operating	I-Operating_System
systems	I-Operating_System
,	O
such	O
as	O
FreeBSD	B-Operating_System
,	O
Linux	B-Application
,	O
and	O
macOS	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Limited	O
support	O
also	O
exists	O
in	O
Windows	B-Device
7	I-Device
and	O
Windows	B-Application
Vista	I-Application
,	O
and	O
to	O
some	O
degree	O
in	O
Windows	B-Application
2000	I-Application
and	O
Windows	B-Application
XP	I-Application
in	O
the	O
form	O
of	O
shortcut	O
files	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
CTSS	O
on	O
IBM	B-Device
7090	I-Device
had	O
files	O
linked	O
by	O
name	O
in	O
1963	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
1978	O
minicomputer	O
operating	B-General_Concept
systems	I-General_Concept
from	O
DEC	O
,	O
and	O
in	O
Data	O
General	O
's	O
RDOS	B-Operating_System
included	O
symbolic	B-Application
links	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
symbolic	B-Application
link	I-Application
contains	O
a	O
text	O
string	O
that	O
is	O
automatically	O
interpreted	O
and	O
followed	O
by	O
the	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
as	O
a	O
path	B-Application
to	O
another	O
file	O
or	O
directory	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
other	O
file	O
or	O
directory	B-Application
is	O
called	O
the	O
"	O
target	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
symbolic	B-Application
link	I-Application
is	O
a	O
second	O
file	O
that	O
exists	O
independently	O
of	O
its	O
target	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
If	O
a	O
symbolic	B-Application
link	I-Application
is	O
deleted	O
,	O
its	O
target	O
remains	O
unaffected	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
If	O
a	O
symbolic	B-Application
link	I-Application
points	O
to	O
a	O
target	O
,	O
and	O
sometime	O
later	O
that	O
target	O
is	O
moved	O
,	O
renamed	O
or	O
deleted	O
,	O
the	O
symbolic	B-Application
link	I-Application
is	O
not	O
automatically	O
updated	O
or	O
deleted	O
,	O
but	O
continues	O
to	O
exist	O
and	O
still	O
points	O
to	O
the	O
old	O
target	O
,	O
now	O
a	O
non-existing	O
location	O
or	O
file	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Symbolic	B-Application
links	I-Application
pointing	O
to	O
moved	O
or	O
non-existing	O
targets	O
are	O
sometimes	O
called	O
broken	O
,	O
orphaned	O
,	O
dead	O
,	O
or	O
dangling	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Symbolic	B-Application
links	I-Application
are	O
different	O
from	O
hard	B-Application
links	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Hard	B-Application
links	I-Application
do	O
not	O
link	O
paths	O
on	O
different	O
volumes	B-Application
or	O
file	B-Application
systems	I-Application
,	O
whereas	O
symbolic	B-Application
links	I-Application
may	O
point	O
to	O
any	O
file	O
or	O
directory	B-Application
irrespective	O
of	O
the	O
volumes	B-Application
on	O
which	O
the	O
link	O
and	O
target	O
reside	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Hard	B-Application
links	I-Application
always	O
refer	O
to	O
an	O
existing	O
file	O
,	O
whereas	O
symbolic	B-Application
links	I-Application
may	O
contain	O
an	O
arbitrary	O
path	B-Application
that	O
does	O
not	O
point	O
to	O
anything	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Symbolic	B-Application
links	I-Application
operate	O
transparently	O
for	O
many	O
operations	O
:	O
programs	O
that	O
read	O
or	O
write	O
to	O
files	O
named	O
by	O
a	O
symbolic	B-Application
link	I-Application
will	O
behave	O
as	O
if	O
operating	O
directly	O
on	O
the	O
target	O
file	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
they	O
have	O
the	O
effect	O
of	O
changing	O
an	O
otherwise	O
hierarchic	O
filesystem	B-Application
from	O
a	O
tree	O
into	O
a	O
directed	O
graph	O
,	O
which	O
can	O
have	O
consequences	O
for	O
such	O
simple	O
operations	O
as	O
determining	O
the	O
current	O
directory	B-Application
of	O
a	O
process	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Even	O
the	O
Unix	B-Application
standard	O
for	O
navigating	O
to	O
a	O
directory	B-Application
's	O
parent	B-Application
directory	I-Application
no	O
longer	O
works	O
reliably	O
in	O
the	O
face	O
of	O
symlinks	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
shells	B-Application
heuristically	O
try	O
to	O
uphold	O
the	O
illusion	O
of	O
a	O
tree-shaped	O
hierarchy	O
,	O
but	O
when	O
they	O
do	O
,	O
this	O
causes	O
them	O
to	O
produce	O
different	O
results	O
from	O
other	O
programs	O
that	O
manipulate	O
pathnames	B-Application
without	O
such	O
heuristic	B-Algorithm
,	O
relying	O
on	O
the	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
instead	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Programs	O
that	O
need	O
to	O
handle	O
symbolic	B-Application
links	I-Application
specially	O
(	O
e.g.	O
,	O
shells	B-Application
and	O
backup	O
utilities	O
)	O
thus	O
need	O
to	O
identify	O
and	O
manipulate	O
them	O
directly	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
Unix	B-Application
as	O
well	O
as	O
Linux	B-Application
distributions	O
use	O
symbolic	B-Application
links	I-Application
extensively	O
in	O
an	O
effort	O
to	O
reorder	O
the	O
file	B-Application
system	I-Application
hierarchy	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
is	O
accomplished	O
with	O
several	O
mechanisms	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
variant	O
,	O
context-dependent	O
symbolic	B-Application
links	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
offers	O
the	O
opportunity	O
to	O
create	O
a	O
more	O
intuitive	O
or	O
application-specific	O
directory	B-Application
tree	I-Application
and	O
to	O
reorganize	O
the	O
system	O
without	O
having	O
to	O
redesign	O
the	O
core	O
set	O
of	O
system	O
functions	O
and	O
utilities	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
POSIX-compliant	O
operating	B-General_Concept
systems	I-General_Concept
,	O
symbolic	B-Application
links	I-Application
are	O
created	O
with	O
the	O
symlink	B-Application
system	O
call	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
ln	B-Device
shell	O
command	O
normally	O
uses	O
the	O
link	O
system	O
call	O
,	O
which	O
creates	O
a	O
hard	B-Application
link	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
When	O
the	O
ln	B-Device
-s	O
flag	O
is	O
specified	O
,	O
the	O
symlink( )	O
system	O
call	O
is	O
used	O
instead	O
,	O
creating	O
a	O
symbolic	B-Application
link	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Symlinks	B-Application
were	O
introduced	O
in	O
4.1c.1	B-Operating_System
BSD	I-Operating_System
Unix	I-Operating_System
from	O
U.C.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
following	O
command	O
creates	O
a	O
symbolic	B-Application
link	I-Application
at	O
the	O
command-line	B-Application
interface	I-Application
(	O
shell	O
)	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
is	O
the	O
relative	O
or	O
absolute	B-Application
path	I-Application
to	O
which	O
the	O
symbolic	B-Application
link	I-Application
should	O
point	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Usually	O
the	O
target	O
will	O
exist	O
,	O
although	O
symbolic	B-Application
links	I-Application
may	O
be	O
created	O
to	O
non-existent	O
targets	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
is	O
the	O
path	B-Application
of	O
the	O
symbolic	B-Application
link	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
After	O
creating	O
the	O
symbolic	B-Application
link	I-Application
,	O
some	O
operations	O
can	O
be	O
used	O
to	O
treat	O
it	O
as	O
an	O
alias	B-Device
for	O
the	O
target	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
the	O
lstat	O
,	O
lchown	O
and	O
readlink	O
operations	O
are	O
unique	O
to	O
symbolic	B-Application
links	I-Application
and	O
do	O
not	O
apply	O
to	O
the	O
target	O
;	O
by	O
using	O
those	O
system	O
calls	O
,	O
programs	O
that	O
examine	O
the	O
file	B-Application
system	I-Application
(	O
e.g.	O
,	O
ls	B-Application
,	O
find	B-Application
)	O
can	O
report	O
on	O
symbolic	B-Application
links	I-Application
(	O
instead	O
of	O
their	O
targets	O
,	O
if	O
any	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Because	O
the	O
rename	O
and	O
unlink	B-Device
system	O
calls	O
are	O
coded	O
to	O
operate	O
directly	O
on	O
symbolic	B-Application
links	I-Application
,	O
file	B-Application
system	I-Application
management	O
commands	O
(	O
e.g.	O
,	O
rm	B-Application
,	O
mv	O
)	O
affect	O
the	O
symbolic	B-Application
link	I-Application
itself	O
(	O
instead	O
of	O
being	O
applied	O
to	O
the	O
symbolic	B-Application
link	I-Application
target	O
,	O
if	O
any	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
rm	B-Application
(	O
delete	O
file	O
)	O
command	O
removes	O
the	O
link	O
itself	O
,	O
not	O
the	O
target	O
file	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
cp	B-Application
command	O
has	O
options	O
that	O
allow	O
either	O
the	O
symbolic	B-Application
link	I-Application
or	O
the	O
target	O
to	O
be	O
copied	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
POSIX	O
directory	B-Application
listing	O
application	O
,	O
ls	B-Application
,	O
denotes	O
symbolic	B-Application
links	I-Application
with	O
an	O
arrow	O
after	O
the	O
name	O
,	O
pointing	O
to	O
the	O
name	O
of	O
the	O
target	O
file	O
(	O
see	O
following	O
example	O
)	O
,	O
when	O
the	O
long	O
directory	B-Application
list	O
is	O
requested	O
(	O
-l	O
option	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
When	O
a	O
directory	B-Application
listing	O
of	O
a	O
symbolic	B-Application
link	I-Application
that	O
points	O
to	O
a	O
directory	B-Application
is	O
requested	O
,	O
only	O
the	O
link	O
itself	O
will	O
be	O
displayed	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
order	O
to	O
obtain	O
a	O
listing	O
of	O
the	O
linked	O
directory	B-Application
,	O
the	O
path	B-Application
must	O
include	O
a	O
trailing	O
directory	B-Application
separator	I-Application
character	O
('/'	O
,	O
slash	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Note	O
:	O
In	O
the	O
example	O
below	O
do	O
not	O
create	O
"	O
three	O
"	O
directory	B-Application
before	O
creation	O
of	O
link	O
in	O
/tmp	O
directory	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Early	O
implementations	O
of	O
symbolic	B-Application
links	I-Application
stored	O
the	O
symbolic	B-Application
link	I-Application
information	O
as	O
data	O
in	O
regular	O
files	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
file	O
contained	O
the	O
textual	O
reference	O
to	O
the	O
link	O
's	O
target	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
file	O
mode	O
bits	O
indicated	O
that	O
the	O
type	O
of	O
the	O
file	O
is	O
a	O
symbolic	B-Application
link	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
method	O
was	O
slow	O
and	O
an	O
inefficient	O
use	O
of	O
disk-space	B-Device
on	O
small	O
systems	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
improvement	O
,	O
called	O
fast	O
symlinks	B-Application
,	O
allowed	O
storage	O
of	O
the	O
target	O
path	B-Application
within	O
the	O
data	B-General_Concept
structures	I-General_Concept
used	O
for	O
storing	O
file	O
information	O
on	O
disk	B-Device
(	O
inodes	B-Application
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
space	O
normally	O
stores	O
a	O
list	O
of	O
disk	B-General_Concept
block	I-General_Concept
addresses	O
allocated	O
to	O
a	O
file	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Thus	O
,	O
symlinks	B-Application
with	O
short	O
target	O
paths	O
are	O
accessed	O
quickly	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Systems	O
with	O
fast	O
symlinks	B-Application
often	O
fall	O
back	O
to	O
using	O
the	O
original	O
method	O
if	O
the	O
target	O
path	B-Application
exceeds	O
the	O
available	O
inode	B-Application
space	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
original	O
style	O
is	O
retroactively	O
termed	O
a	O
slow	O
symlink	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
also	O
used	O
for	O
disk	B-Device
compatibility	O
with	O
other	O
or	O
older	O
versions	O
of	O
operating	B-General_Concept
systems	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
storing	O
the	O
link	O
value	O
inside	O
the	O
inode	B-Application
saves	O
a	O
disk	B-General_Concept
block	I-General_Concept
and	O
a	O
disk	B-Device
read	O
,	O
the	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
still	O
needs	O
to	O
parse	O
the	O
path	B-Application
name	I-Application
in	O
the	O
link	O
,	O
which	O
always	O
requires	O
reading	O
additional	O
inodes	B-Application
and	O
generally	O
requires	O
reading	O
other	O
,	O
and	O
potentially	O
many	O
,	O
directories	B-Application
,	O
processing	O
both	O
the	O
list	O
of	O
files	O
and	O
the	O
inodes	B-Application
of	O
each	O
of	O
them	O
until	O
it	O
finds	O
a	O
match	O
with	O
the	O
link	O
's	O
path	B-Application
components	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Only	O
when	O
a	O
link	O
points	O
to	O
a	O
file	O
in	O
the	O
same	O
directory	B-Application
do	O
"	O
fast	O
symlinks	B-Application
"	O
provide	O
significantly	O
better	O
performance	O
than	O
other	O
symlinks	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
vast	O
majority	O
of	O
POSIX-compliant	O
implementations	O
use	O
fast	O
symlinks	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
the	O
POSIX	O
standard	O
does	O
not	O
require	O
the	O
entire	O
set	O
of	O
file	O
status	O
information	O
common	O
to	O
regular	O
files	O
to	O
be	O
implemented	O
for	O
symlinks	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
allows	O
implementations	O
to	O
use	O
other	O
solutions	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
storing	O
symlink	B-Application
data	O
in	O
directory	B-Application
entries	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
file	B-Application
system	I-Application
permissions	O
of	O
a	O
symbolic	B-Application
link	I-Application
are	O
not	O
used	O
;	O
the	O
access	O
modes	O
of	O
the	O
target	O
file	O
are	O
controlled	O
by	O
the	O
target	O
file	O
's	O
own	O
permissions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
operating	B-General_Concept
systems	I-General_Concept
,	O
such	O
as	O
FreeBSD	B-Operating_System
,	O
offer	O
the	O
ability	O
to	O
modify	O
file	O
permissions	O
and	O
filesystem	B-Application
attributes	O
of	O
a	O
symbolic	B-Application
link	I-Application
,	O
through	O
lchmod	O
and	O
lchflags	O
system	O
calls	O
respectively	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
reported	O
size	O
of	O
a	O
symlink	B-Application
is	O
the	O
number	O
of	O
characters	O
in	O
the	O
path	B-Application
it	O
points	O
to	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
traditional	B-Application
Unix	I-Application
filesystem	B-Application
has	O
a	O
tree	O
structure	O
,	O
however	O
symbolic	B-Application
links	I-Application
allow	O
it	O
to	O
contain	O
loops	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
NTFS	B-Application
3.1	O
introduced	O
support	O
for	O
symbolic	B-Application
links	I-Application
for	O
any	O
type	O
of	O
file	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
included	O
with	O
Windows	B-Application
XP	I-Application
,	O
but	O
was	O
only	O
enabled	O
by	O
default	O
for	O
kernel-mode	O
apps	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Windows	B-Application
Vista	I-Application
and	O
later	O
versions	O
of	O
Windows	O
enabled	O
support	O
for	O
symbolic	B-Application
links	I-Application
to	O
user-mode	O
applications	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
mklink	O
internal	O
command	O
of	O
Windows	B-Device
Command	I-Device
Prompt	I-Device
can	O
create	O
symbolic	B-Application
links	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Third-party	O
drivers	O
are	O
required	O
to	O
enable	O
support	O
for	O
NTFS	B-Application
symbolic	B-Application
links	I-Application
in	O
Windows	B-Application
XP	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Unlike	O
junction	O
points	O
,	O
a	O
symbolic	B-Application
link	I-Application
can	O
also	O
point	O
to	O
a	O
file	O
or	O
remote	O
Server	B-Operating_System
Message	I-Operating_System
Block	I-Operating_System
(	O
SMB	O
)	O
network	O
path	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Additionally	O
,	O
the	O
NTFS	B-Application
symbolic	B-Application
link	I-Application
implementation	O
provides	O
full	O
support	O
for	O
cross-filesystem	O
links	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
the	O
functionality	O
enabling	O
cross-host	O
symbolic	B-Application
links	I-Application
requires	O
that	O
the	O
remote	O
system	O
also	O
support	O
them	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Symbolic	B-Application
links	I-Application
are	O
designed	O
to	O
aid	O
in	O
migration	O
and	O
application	O
compatibility	O
with	O
POSIX	O
operating	B-General_Concept
systems	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
Microsoft	O
aimed	O
for	O
Windows	B-Application
Vista	I-Application
's	O
symbolic	B-Application
links	I-Application
to	O
"	O
function	O
just	O
like	O
UNIX	B-Application
links	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
the	O
implementation	O
differs	O
from	O
Unix	B-Application
symbolic	B-Application
links	I-Application
in	O
several	O
ways	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
example	O
,	O
Windows	B-Application
Vista	I-Application
users	O
must	O
manually	O
indicate	O
when	O
creating	O
a	O
symbolic	B-Application
link	I-Application
whether	O
it	O
is	O
a	O
file	O
or	O
a	O
directory	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Windows	B-Device
7	I-Device
and	O
Vista	B-Application
support	O
a	O
maximum	O
of	O
31	O
reparse	B-Application
points	I-Application
(	O
and	O
therefore	O
symbolic	B-Application
links	I-Application
)	O
for	O
a	O
given	O
path	B-Application
(	O
i.e.	O
</s>
<s>
any	O
given	O
path	B-Application
can	O
have	O
at	O
most	O
31	O
indirections	O
before	O
Windows	O
gives	O
up	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Only	O
users	O
with	O
the	O
new	O
Create	O
Symbolic	B-Application
Link	I-Application
privilege	O
,	O
which	O
only	O
administrators	O
have	O
by	O
default	O
,	O
can	O
create	O
symbolic	B-Application
links	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Additionally	O
,	O
NTFS	B-Application
symbolic	B-Application
links	I-Application
to	O
files	O
are	O
distinct	O
from	O
NTFS	B-Application
symbolic	B-Application
links	I-Application
to	O
directories	B-Application
and	O
therefore	O
cannot	O
be	O
used	O
interchangeably	O
,	O
unlike	O
on	O
POSIX	O
where	O
the	O
same	O
symbolic	B-Application
link	I-Application
can	O
refer	O
to	O
either	O
files	O
or	O
directories	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
Windows	B-Application
Vista	I-Application
and	O
later	O
,	O
when	O
the	O
working	O
directory	B-Application
path	I-Application
ends	O
with	O
a	O
symbolic	B-Application
link	I-Application
,	O
the	O
current	O
parent	O
path	B-Application
reference	O
,	O
,	O
will	O
refer	O
to	O
the	O
parent	B-Application
directory	I-Application
of	O
the	O
symbolic	B-Application
link	I-Application
rather	O
than	O
that	O
of	O
its	O
target	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
behavior	O
is	O
also	O
found	O
at	O
the	O
shell	O
level	O
in	O
at	O
least	O
some	O
POSIX	O
systems	O
,	O
including	O
Linux	B-Application
,	O
but	O
never	O
in	O
accessing	O
files	O
and	O
directories	B-Application
through	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
calls	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
instance	O
,	O
bash	O
builtin	O
commands	O
and	O
operate	O
on	O
the	O
current	O
logical	O
directory	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
is	O
often	O
used	O
in	O
scripts	O
to	O
determine	O
the	O
actual	O
current	O
working	O
directory	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
When	O
any	O
path	B-Application
is	O
used	O
with	O
a	O
system	O
call	O
,	O
any	O
use	O
of	O
will	O
use	O
the	O
actual	O
filesystem	B-Application
parent	O
of	O
the	O
directory	B-Application
containing	O
the	O
pseudo-directory	O
entry	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
following	O
examples	O
both	O
create	O
a	O
symbolic	B-Application
link	I-Application
called	O
"	O
Downloads	O
"	O
at	O
"	O
E:\	O
 "	O
that	O
points	O
to	O
the	O
Downloads	O
folder	O
in	O
the	O
current	O
user	O
's	O
profile	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
first	O
example	O
works	O
in	O
Windows	B-Device
Command	I-Device
Prompt	I-Device
only	O
because	O
mklink	O
is	O
an	O
internal	O
command	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
second	O
example	O
works	O
in	O
PowerShell	B-Application
only	O
because	O
New-Item	O
is	O
an	O
internal	O
cmdlet	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Windows	B-Application
2000	I-Application
version	O
of	O
NTFS	B-Application
introduced	O
reparse	B-Application
points	I-Application
,	O
which	O
enabled	O
,	O
among	O
other	O
things	O
,	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
Volume	O
Mount	O
Points	O
and	O
junction	O
points	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Junction	O
points	O
are	O
for	O
directories	B-Application
only	O
,	O
and	O
moreover	O
,	O
local	O
directories	B-Application
only	O
;	O
junction	O
points	O
to	O
remote	O
shares	O
are	O
unsupported	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Windows	B-Application
2000	I-Application
and	O
XP	B-Application
Resource	O
Kits	O
include	O
a	O
program	O
called	O
to	O
create	O
junction	O
points	O
;	O
a	O
more	O
powerful	O
one	O
named	O
Junction	O
was	O
distributed	O
by	O
Sysinternals	O
 '	O
Mark	O
Russinovich	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Not	O
all	O
standard	O
applications	O
support	O
reparse	B-Application
points	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Most	O
noticeably	O
,	O
Backup	O
suffers	O
from	O
this	O
problem	O
and	O
will	O
issue	O
an	O
error	O
message	O
0x80070003	O
when	O
the	O
folders	O
to	O
be	O
backed	O
up	O
contain	O
a	O
reparse	B-Application
point	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Shortcuts	O
,	O
which	O
are	O
supported	O
by	O
the	O
graphical	O
file	O
browsers	O
of	O
some	O
operating	B-General_Concept
systems	I-General_Concept
,	O
may	O
resemble	O
symbolic	B-Application
links	I-Application
but	O
differ	O
in	O
a	O
number	O
of	O
important	O
ways	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Symbolic	B-Application
links	I-Application
are	O
automatically	O
resolved	O
by	O
the	O
file	B-Application
system	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Any	O
software	O
program	O
,	O
upon	O
accessing	O
a	O
symbolic	B-Application
link	I-Application
,	O
will	O
see	O
the	O
target	O
instead	O
,	O
whether	O
the	O
program	O
is	O
aware	O
of	O
symbolic	B-Application
links	I-Application
or	O
not	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Shortcuts	O
are	O
treated	O
like	O
ordinary	O
files	O
by	O
the	O
file	B-Application
system	I-Application
and	O
by	O
software	O
programs	O
that	O
are	O
not	O
aware	O
of	O
them	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Only	O
software	O
programs	O
that	O
understand	O
shortcuts	O
(	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
Windows	B-Application
shell	I-Application
and	O
file	O
browsers	O
)	O
treat	O
them	O
as	O
references	O
to	O
other	O
files	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Microsoft	B-Application
Windows	I-Application
shortcuts	O
normally	O
refer	O
to	O
a	O
destination	O
by	O
an	O
absolute	B-Application
path	I-Application
(	O
starting	O
from	O
the	O
root	B-Application
directory	I-Application
)	O
,	O
whereas	O
POSIX	O
symbolic	B-Application
links	I-Application
can	O
refer	O
to	O
destinations	O
via	O
either	O
an	O
absolute	O
or	O
a	O
relative	O
path	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
latter	O
is	O
useful	O
if	O
both	O
the	O
symlink	B-Application
and	O
its	O
target	O
share	O
some	O
common	O
ancestor	O
path	B-Application
which	O
is	O
not	O
known	O
at	O
creation	O
(	O
e.g.	O
,	O
in	O
an	O
archive	B-Application
file	I-Application
that	O
can	O
be	O
unpacked	O
anywhere	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Microsoft	B-Application
Windows	I-Application
application	O
shortcuts	O
contain	O
additional	O
metadata	O
that	O
can	O
be	O
associated	O
with	O
the	O
destination	O
,	O
whereas	O
POSIX	O
symbolic	B-Application
links	I-Application
are	O
just	O
strings	O
that	O
will	O
be	O
interpreted	O
as	O
absolute	O
or	O
relative	O
pathnames	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Unlike	O
symbolic	B-Application
links	I-Application
,	O
Windows	O
shortcuts	O
maintain	O
their	O
references	O
to	O
their	O
targets	O
even	O
when	O
the	O
target	O
is	O
moved	O
or	O
renamed	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Additionally	O
,	O
in	O
Windows	O
9x	O
and	O
later	O
,	O
Windows	B-Application
shell	I-Application
tries	O
to	O
find	B-Application
the	O
target	O
of	O
a	O
broken	O
shortcut	O
before	O
proposing	O
to	O
delete	O
it	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Almost	O
like	O
shortcuts	O
,	O
but	O
transparent	O
to	O
the	O
Windows	B-Application
shell	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Folder	O
shortcuts	O
are	O
created	O
and	O
used	O
from	O
the	O
Windows	B-Application
shell	I-Application
in	O
the	O
network	O
neighborhood	O
for	O
example	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
shell	O
objects	O
or	O
shell	O
folders	O
are	O
defined	O
in	O
the	O
Windows	O
registry	O
and	O
can	O
be	O
used	O
to	O
implement	O
a	O
sort	O
of	O
symbolic	B-Application
link	I-Application
too	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Like	O
folder	O
shortcuts	O
,	O
they	O
are	O
transparent	O
to	O
the	O
Windows	B-Application
shell	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
My	O
Documents	O
folder	O
on	O
the	O
Desktop	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
the	O
Fonts	O
and	O
the	O
Administrative	O
Tools	O
folders	O
in	O
the	O
Control	O
Panel	O
are	O
examples	O
of	O
shell	O
objects	O
redirected	O
to	O
file-system	B-Application
folders	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Cygwin	B-Language
simulates	O
POSIX-compliant	O
symbolic	B-Application
links	I-Application
in	O
the	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Windows	I-Application
file	B-Application
system	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
uses	O
identical	O
programming	O
and	O
user	O
utility	O
interfaces	O
as	O
Unix	B-Application
(	O
see	O
above	O
)	O
,	O
but	O
creates	O
Windows	O
shortcuts	O
(	O
.lnk	O
files	O
)	O
with	O
additional	O
information	O
used	O
by	O
Cygwin	B-Language
at	O
the	O
time	O
of	O
symlink	B-Application
resolution	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Cygwin	B-Language
symlinks	B-Application
are	O
compliant	O
with	O
the	O
POSIX	O
standard	O
in	O
terms	O
of	O
how	O
they	O
are	O
resolved	O
,	O
and	O
with	O
Windows	O
standards	O
in	O
terms	O
of	O
their	O
on-disk	O
representation	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Additionally	O
,	O
Cygwin	B-Language
can	O
be	O
set	O
up	O
to	O
support	O
native	O
Windows	O
symbolic	B-Application
links	I-Application
which	O
can	O
be	O
used	O
out	O
of	O
Cygwin	B-Language
without	O
restrictions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Changing	O
the	O
CYGWIN	B-Language
environment	O
variable	O
to	O
contain	O
;	O
</s>
<s>
Cygwin	B-Language
has	O
no	O
way	O
to	O
specify	O
shortcut-related	O
information	O
–	O
such	O
as	O
working	O
directory	B-Application
or	O
icon	O
–	O
as	O
there	O
is	O
no	O
place	O
for	O
such	O
parameters	O
in	O
ln	B-Device
-s	O
command	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
To	O
create	O
standard	O
Microsoft	O
.lnk	O
files	O
Cygwin	B-Language
provides	O
the	O
mkshortcut	O
and	O
readshortcut	O
utilities	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Cygwin	B-Language
User	O
's	O
Guide	O
has	O
more	O
information	O
on	O
this	O
topic	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
MSYS2	O
,	O
which	O
is	O
based	O
on	O
Cygwin	B-Language
,	O
has	O
a	O
similar	O
set	O
of	O
settings	O
but	O
defaults	O
to	O
copying	O
the	O
files	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Symbolic	B-Application
link	I-Application
Junction	O
Hard	B-Application
link	I-Application
When	O
the	O
link	O
is	O
deleted	O
...	O
</s>
<s>
When	O
target	O
is	O
moved	O
...	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
link	O
becomes	O
invalid	O
The	O
link	O
becomes	O
invalid	O
The	O
link	O
remains	O
valid	O
Relative	O
path	B-Application
Can	O
be	O
on	O
a	O
different	O
volume	O
?	O
</s>
<s>
Implementations	O
of	O
features	O
similar	O
to	O
symbolic	B-Application
links	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
MIT	O
Compatible	B-Operating_System
Time-Sharing	I-Operating_System
System	I-Operating_System
c	O
.	O
1963	O
and	O
Incompatible	B-Application
Timesharing	I-Application
System	I-Application
both	O
have	O
linked	O
files	O
where	O
the	O
name	O
of	O
the	O
target	O
file	O
is	O
specified	O
in	O
a	O
directory	B-Application
entry	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
command	O
creating	O
symbolic	B-Application
links	I-Application
is	O
makelink	O
,	O
which	O
is	O
also	O
used	O
for	O
hard	B-Application
links	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Internally	O
the	O
dos.library	O
returns	O
an	O
error	O
code	O
indicating	O
that	O
a	O
target	O
is	O
a	O
soft	B-Application
link	I-Application
if	O
you	O
try	O
to	O
perform	O
actions	O
on	O
it	O
that	O
are	O
only	O
legal	O
for	O
a	O
file	O
,	O
and	O
applications	O
that	O
wish	O
to	O
follow	O
the	O
symbolic	B-Application
link	I-Application
then	O
needs	O
to	O
explicitly	O
make	O
a	O
call	O
to	O
follow	O
the	O
link	O
and	O
retry	O
the	O
operation	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
AmigaDOS	B-Operating_System
shell	O
will	O
follow	O
links	O
automatically	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
Mac	B-Application
OS	I-Application
,	O
applications	O
or	O
users	O
can	O
also	O
employ	O
aliases	B-Application
,	O
which	O
have	O
the	O
added	O
feature	O
of	O
following	O
the	O
target	O
,	O
even	O
if	O
it	O
is	O
moved	O
to	O
another	O
location	O
on	O
the	O
same	O
volume	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
is	O
not	O
to	O
be	O
confused	O
with	O
the	O
shell	O
command	O
alias	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
OS/2	B-Application
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
,	O
symbolic	B-Application
links	I-Application
somewhat	O
resemble	O
shadows	B-Device
in	O
the	O
graphical	O
Workplace	B-Device
Shell	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
shadows	B-Device
,	O
due	O
to	O
the	O
fully	O
object-oriented	O
System	O
Object	O
Model	O
,	O
are	O
considerably	O
more	O
powerful	O
and	O
robust	O
than	O
a	O
simple	O
link	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
example	O
,	O
shadows	B-Device
do	O
not	O
lose	O
their	O
capabilities	O
when	O
renamed	O
or	O
when	O
either	O
the	O
object	O
or	O
subject	O
of	O
the	O
link	O
is	O
relocated	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Symbolic	B-Application
links	I-Application
may	O
be	O
implemented	O
in	O
a	O
context-dependent	O
or	O
variable	O
fashion	O
,	O
such	O
that	O
the	O
link	O
points	O
to	O
varying	O
targets	O
depending	O
on	O
a	O
configuration	O
parameter	O
,	O
run-time	O
parameter	O
,	O
or	O
other	O
instantaneous	O
condition	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
variable	O
or	O
variant	O
symbolic	B-Application
link	I-Application
is	O
a	O
symbolic	B-Application
link	I-Application
that	O
has	O
a	O
variable	O
name	O
embedded	O
in	O
it	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
allows	O
some	O
flexibility	O
in	O
filesystem	B-Application
order	O
that	O
is	O
not	O
possible	O
with	O
a	O
standard	O
symbolic	B-Application
link	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Variables	O
embedded	O
in	O
a	O
symbolic	B-Application
link	I-Application
may	O
include	O
user	O
and	O
environment	O
specific	O
information	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Operating	B-General_Concept
systems	I-General_Concept
that	O
make	O
use	O
of	O
variant	O
symbolic	B-Application
links	I-Application
include	O
NetBSD	B-Device
,	O
DragonFly	B-Application
BSD	I-Application
,	O
Domain/OS	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Tru64	B-Operating_System
uses	O
a	O
context	O
dependent	O
symbolic	B-Application
link	I-Application
where	O
the	O
context	O
is	O
the	O
cluster	O
member	O
number	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Pyramid	O
Technology	O
's	O
OSx	O
Operating	B-General_Concept
System	I-General_Concept
implemented	O
conditional	O
symbolic	B-Application
links	I-Application
which	O
pointed	O
to	O
different	O
locations	O
depending	O
on	O
which	O
universe	B-Operating_System
a	O
program	O
was	O
running	O
in	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
universes	O
supported	O
were	O
Ts	O
's	O
SysV.3	B-Operating_System
and	O
the	O
Berkeley	B-Operating_System
Software	I-Operating_System
Distribution	I-Operating_System
(	O
BSD	B-Operating_System
4.3	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
example	O
:	O
if	O
the	O
ps	B-Application
command	O
was	O
run	O
in	O
the	O
att	O
universe	B-Operating_System
,	O
then	O
the	O
symbolic	B-Application
link	I-Application
for	O
the	O
directory	B-Application
/bin	O
would	O
point	O
to	O
/.attbin	O
and	O
the	O
program	O
/.attbin/ps	O
would	O
be	O
executed	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Whereas	O
if	O
the	O
ps	B-Application
command	O
was	O
run	O
in	O
the	O
ucb	O
universe	B-Operating_System
,	O
then	O
/bin	O
would	O
point	O
to	O
/.ucbbin	O
and	O
/.ucbbin/ps	O
would	O
be	O
executed	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Similar	O
Conditional	O
Symbolic	B-Application
Links	I-Application
were	O
also	O
created	O
for	O
other	O
directories	B-Application
such	O
as	O
/lib	O
,	O
/usr/lib	O
,	O
/usr/include	O
.	O
</s>
