File System Questions Medium
A file system hard link is a feature in operating systems that allows multiple file names to be associated with the same physical file on a storage device. It creates a new directory entry that points to the same inode (index node) as the original file, essentially creating multiple paths to access the same file content.
Unlike symbolic links, which are just references to file names and can point to files on different file systems, hard links are direct references to the underlying file data. This means that changes made to the file through one hard link will be reflected in all other hard links pointing to the same file.
Hard links are useful for saving storage space as they allow multiple file names to reference the same file without duplicating the actual file content. They also provide a way to create backups or versions of files, as changes made to one hard link will not affect the others until the file itself is modified.
However, hard links have some limitations. They can only be created within the same file system, as they rely on the inode structure of the file system. Additionally, hard links cannot be created for directories, only for regular files.