ln (hard and symbolic links) in Linux CLI - Practice Problems & Coding Challenges

Challenge - 5 Problems

💻 Command Output

intermediate

What is the output of this command sequence?

You create a file and then a hard link to it. What does ls -li show for the inode numbers?

Linux CLI

echo 'hello' > file1
ln file1 file2
ls -li file1 file2

A Both files have the same inode number.

B file1 has an inode number, file2 shows 'No such file or directory'.

C Both files have inode number 0.

D file1 and file2 have different inode numbers.

💡 Hint

Hard links share the same inode because they point to the same file data.

Hard links point to the same inode, so both file1 and file2 share the same inode number.

💻 Command Output

intermediate

What happens when you delete the original file of a symbolic link?

You create a symbolic link to a file, then delete the original file. What does cat symlink output?

Linux CLI

echo 'data' > original
ln -s original symlink
rm original
cat symlink

A cat: original: No such file or directory

B data

C Empty output

D cat: symlink: No such file or directory

💡 Hint

Symbolic links point to a path, not the file content directly.

After deleting the original file, the symbolic link points to a non-existent file, causing an error.

📝 Syntax

advanced

Which command correctly creates a symbolic link named link to /usr/bin/python3?

Choose the correct syntax to create a symbolic link named link pointing to /usr/bin/python3.

A ln -s link /usr/bin/python3

B ln link /usr/bin/python3 -s

C ln -s /usr/bin/python3 link

D ln /usr/bin/python3 link -s

💡 Hint

The syntax is: ln -s target link_name

The correct syntax places the target first, then the link name, with -s option before them.

🚀 Application

advanced

How to create a hard link to a file on a different filesystem?

You want to create a hard link to a file located on a different mounted filesystem. What will happen if you try?

Linux CLI

ln /mnt/usb/file.txt ./file_link

A The hard link is created successfully.

B The command fails with 'Invalid cross-device link' error.

C A symbolic link is created instead automatically.

D The original file is copied to the new location.

💡 Hint

Hard links cannot span different filesystems.

Hard links must be on the same filesystem; otherwise, the command fails with an error.

🧠 Conceptual

expert

What is the difference in inode link count after creating a symbolic link vs a hard link?

You have a file with inode link count 1. You create a symbolic link and a hard link to it. What are the inode link counts for the original file after each link creation?

A Hard link increases inode link count by 1; symbolic link does not affect inode link count.

B Both hard and symbolic links increase inode link count by 1.

C Symbolic link increases inode link count by 1; hard link does not affect inode link count.

D Neither hard nor symbolic links affect inode link count.

💡 Hint

Inode link count counts hard links only.

Hard links increase the inode's link count because they point to the same inode; symbolic links are separate files with their own inodes.