The link() function of os module in Python

Overview:

A file name gives an identity to some contents present in the disk. Through file names the disk contents are organised in meaningful and logical chunks. A hard link is another reference to the disk contents(i.e.,an already existing file) similar to a file name.
Hard links have limitations that include:
- They can not point to a directory
- They can not point to files in another file system
When a hard link is created the operating system increases its link count to the file(i.e, contents).
When any of the links is deleted the link count is decreased. The file remains in the file system till all the hard links are deleted.
A soft link is a special file that points to an existing file. Soft links are popularly known as symbolic links. When the original file is deleted the soft link still points to the non-existing file.
A soft link can point to a directory. It can also point to a file or directory in another file system.
The function os.link() creates a hard link to an existing file.

Parameters:

src – The path of the file for which the hard link is to be created(i.e, source path)

dst – The path of the hard link(i.e., destination path)

src_dir_fd – If provided, the source path is considered relative to the directory specified by this descriptor

dst_dir_fd – If provided, the destination path is considered relative to the directory specified by this descriptor

follow_symlinks – When the source path points to a symbolic link, the flag follow_symlinks directs whether to resolve the actual file pointed to or to stop with the symbolic link

Example:

# Example Python program that creates a hard link
# to a file using the function os.link

import os

filePath = "./Rain.txt"
linkName = "RainLink"

# Create a hard link
os.link(filePath, linkName)

# Print the directory contents
print(os.listdir("."))

Output:

['songs', 'test', 'RainLink', 'contents.txt', 'AntAndGrasshopper.txt', 'BaaBaa.txt', 'RowYourBoat.txt', 'Copy of BaaBaa.txt', 'Rain.txt', 'Wheels.txt', 'test.txt', 'OneTwoBuckle.txt']

Outout of ls -l:

-rwxr--r-- 1 root1 wheel   148 May 5 23:21 AntAndGrasshopper.txt
-rw-r--r--@ 1 root1 wheel   170 May 4 21:06 BaaBaa.txt
-rwxr--r-- 1 root1 wheel     0 May 4 21:13 Copy of BaaBaa.txt
-rwxr--r-- 1 root1 wheel   132 May 5 23:25 OneTwoBuckle.txt
-rw-r--r--@ 2 root1 wheel    45 May 3 22:45 Rain.txt
-rw-r--r--@ 2 root1 wheel    45 May 3 22:45 RainLink
-rw-r--r--@ 1 root1 wheel   100 May 2 23:32 RowYourBoat.txt
-rw-r--r--@ 1 root1 wheel    40 May 2 20:50 Wheels.txt
-rw-r--r--@ 1 root1 wheel    38 Apr 3 19:59 contents.txt
drwxr-xr-x 9 root   wheel   288 May 6 13:42 songs