Re: Making a link to a dir on another partition

• Previous message: ynotssor: "Re: Making a link to a dir on another partition"
• In reply to: Chris Mantoulidis: "Making a link to a dir on another partition"
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Date: Sun, 25 Jan 2004 09:07:29 +1100
To: comp.os.linux.questions@usenet

On 05:41 24 Jan 2004, Chris Mantoulidis <cmad_x@yahoo.com> wrote:
| I got a partition /dev/hda5 (of type vfat) and I can mount it and r/w
| to it okay (even as a user).
| When it is mounted, the destination folder is /mnt/files (I don't know
| how to explain "destination folder" better than the folder that
| receives the device data when it's mounted).

The correct term is "mount point" i.e. the point in the main filesystem where
the root of the new filesystem is mounted.

| In /mnt/files I got a directory called web.
|
| I want to have a link to that folder from my linux partition. Even
| though making links works from inside my linux partition, I got a
| problem making a link to that vfat partition.
|
| Here's what I do:
|
| $ cd ~/data
| $ link web /mnt/files/web
| link: cannot create link `web' to `/mnt/files/web': Invalid cross
| device link.

You need a symbolic link (aka a soft link).

A hard link is fundamentally a with-one-filesystem notion: it's another
name entry for a particular inode. It's entirely self contained, and
thus cannot talk about something on another filesystem.

A symbolic link is a special type of file that contains the path
to another file. It may thus talk about any item on any mounted
filesystem. It is also "weaker", in that it's go no hard tie to the
target, which may move or be deleted, and the symbolic link won't magicly
track. By contrast, a hard link is an inode reference, and an inode's
contents only get deleted when all the hard links are removed. Likewise,
moving it doesn't break it.

Cheers,

--
Cameron Simpson <cs@zip.com.au> DoD#743
http://www.cskk.ezoshosting.com/cs/
Of course no description of a Ducati engine is complete without mentioning
the sound.  That deep bass exhaust rumble along with the mechanical music of
the desmodromic valves...too bad it isn't available on compact disc.
- Sport Rider, evidently before the release of the "Ducati Passions" CD

• Previous message: ynotssor: "Re: Making a link to a dir on another partition"
• In reply to: Chris Mantoulidis: "Making a link to a dir on another partition"
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