You wish you didn’t have to copy files and folders twice on your Linux web server, and consistently have to come up with a way to keep the duplicate files or directories synchronized?

A symbolic link in Linux or Unix is a virtual pointer to another directory or file. It acts in all ways as if it were the original file or folder. A symlink will appear in any directory listing (ls -al), and will indicate the original directory or file. All child directories of a symlink directory will inherit the symbolic link’s directory path when accessed through the symlink. Any changes made to the symbolically linked file or directory, will occur in the original actual file or directory, as the symbolic link just points straight to it. Continue Reading

Officer Symbolic Link says he is “not the real hero”. Rather, Officer Symbolic Link said that Linux Torvald and Solaris were “the ones who [we] should be thanking” for the saving of Mr. Linux from almost certain data corruption and death.

The incident happened in the Down Town File Systems area known to town citizens as “EXT3″. An operator for Open Source Organization wishing to remain anonymous commented that he was “glad to see Linux safe and sound with as few shards of duplicates as possible”. Linux had been running stable in EXT3 for many months until yesterday evening, shortly after Peak Network Traffic Hour had passed, when he noticed someone copying him in every bit immediately behind him. Continue Reading