There are two types of links in Linux/UNIX systems:
You can think a hard link as an additional name for an existing file. Hard links are associating two or more file names with the same inode. You can create one or more hard links for a single file. Hard links cannot be created for directories and files on a different filesystem or partition.
A soft link is something like a shortcut in Windows. It is an indirect pointer to a file or directory. Unlike a hard link, a symbolic link can point to a file or a directory on a different filesystem or partition.
- Symbolic links are not updated.
- Hard links always refer to the source, even if moved or removed.