Hard link & Soft link

Hard link

Creates another name that points to the same file.
Even if the original file is deleted, you can still access the file through the hard link.
Can only be created within the same file system.
Reflected in the link count of the i-node.

Hard link example

1ln original.txt hardlink.txt

After executing the command above, original.txt and hardlink.txt will

share the same i-node and point to the same file.

Creates an alias that points to the path of the original file.
It is a separate file (link) from the original file and does not share an i-node.
If the original file is deleted, the soft link will break (Broken link).
Can be created not only within the same file system but also across different file systems.

Soft link example

1ln -s original.txt softlink.txt

In this case, softlink.txt becomes a symbolic link that refers to the

path of original.txt.