File Linking in Linux: Hard vs. Soft Links

Sure, they have their common uses, like mirroring the directory structure of the Xorg source code, or relocating configuration files under /etc.

But I like the ability to point /boot/vmlinuz to /usr/src/linux/arch/i386/boot/bzImage (which itself contains a symlink at /usr/src/linux). Since /boot isn't in its own volume, Grub's ext2 stage will merrily trace the path I provide, until it finds the kernel image. No more of this "copy to /boot, cd to /boot, erase symlinks, provide new symlinks" stuff; the only symlink to adjust is at /usr/src/linux, to point to the new source tree. Once I have the kernel built and the modules installed, I can reboot immediately to try the new kernel.

Nice trick. You can find them in my systems, which end up with 3 or 4 installs at a time using them to link storage partitions into user accounts. They get mounted in /mnt/ then linked to where ever I want them, I never have to think about it as the fstab entry stays the same for them regardless what install I'm booted into.

btw have I mentioned I despise grub2, autodetect that doesnt, and 40_custom which some distros refuse to protect so thusly gets overwritten?

@az:

If you're using Ext2/3/4, look into "chattr +i".

will do, thanks.

Anyone else have handy uses for symlinks?