LFCS Question #722: Real Exam Question with Answer & Explanation

Question

Creating a hard link to an ordinary file returns an error. What could be the reason for this?

Options

• AThe source file is hidden.
• BThe source file is read-only.
• CThe source file is a shell script.
• DThe source file is already a hard link.
• EThe source and the target are on different filesystems.

Explanation

Hard links are constrained to a single filesystem because they reference inode numbers, which are unique identifiers only within a specific filesystem partition.

Common mistakes.

• A. A file's hidden attribute does not prevent the creation of a hard link to it, as the link mechanism operates on the file's underlying inode.
• B. A read-only file can still have hard links created to it, as creating a link only adds a directory entry pointing to the existing inode, without modifying the file's content or permissions.
• C. The type of file, such as a shell script, does not impose restrictions on creating hard links to it.
• D. A file can have multiple hard links pointing to it; being an existing hard link does not prevent the creation of additional hard links.

Concept tested. Hard link limitations across filesystems

Reference. https://man7.org/linux/man-pages/man2/link.2.html

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