"Linux" file

Links and differences between hard links and soft links

We know that files have filenames and data, which are divided into two parts on Linux: User data and metadata (metadata). User data, which is the file block (data block), is where the real content of the file is recorded, while metadata is an attached property of the file, such as file size, creation time, owner, and so on. In Linux, the inode number in the metadata (the Inode is part of the file metadata but does not contain a file name, the inode number is the index node number) is the unique identifier of the file and not the filename. The file name is only for the convenience of people's memory and use, the system or program through the inode number to find the correct file data block. Figure 1 shows the process by which a program obtains the contents of a file by its filename.

Figure 1. Open File by file name

http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/cn/linux/l-cn-hardandsymb-links/

"Linux" file