What is the difference between hard links and soft links in Linux?

What is the difference between hard links and soft links in Linux?

Hard links and soft links, also known as symbolic links, are two types of links used in Linux to reference files or directories. The main difference between the two lies in how they point to the target file or directory.

Hard links:

• Hard links are direct pointers to the target file or directory's inode, which means they essentially refer to the same physical location on the disk.
• Changing the original file's name or location does not affect the hard link, as both the original file and the hard link share the same inode and data on disk.
• Hard links cannot be created for directories and only work within the same file system.

Soft links:

• Soft links are indirect pointers to the target file or directory, essentially creating a new file that points to the target's path.
• Changing the original file's name or location will break the soft link, as it only stores the path to the target file or directory, not the inode.
• Soft links can be created for directories and can also work across file systems.

Overall, hard links are strict references to the target file or directory's inode, while soft links are more flexible and can be used to create symbolic references to files or directories.