link(1M)

NAME

link, unlink — execute link() and unlink() system calls without error checking

SYNOPSIS

/usr/sbin/link file1 file2

/usr/sbin/unlink file

DESCRIPTION

The link and unlink commands perform their respective system calls (link() or unlink()) on their arguments, abandoning most error checking.

These commands can be executed only by users who have appropriate privileges.

EXTERNAL INFLUENCES

Environment Variables

LC_MESSAGES determines the language in which messages are displayed.

If LC_MESSAGES is not specified in the environment or is set to the empty string, the value of LANG is used as a default for each unspecified or empty variable. If LANG is not specified or is set to the empty string, a default of "C" (see lang(5)) is used instead of LANG.

If any internationalization variable contains an invalid setting, link behaves as if all internationalization variables are set to "C". See environ(5).

International Code Set Support

Single- and multi-byte character code sets are supported.

RETURN VALUE

link and unlink return the following values:

0: Operation successful.
1: Input syntax error.
2: The link() or unlink() call failed.

WARNINGS

If a directory that contains files other than . and .. is unlinked, the files become orphans, unless they are also linked by some other directory.

Not all file systems permit linking to directories.

STANDARDS CONFORMANCE

link: SVID2, SVID3

unlink: SVID2, SVID3