LFCS Question #866: Real Exam Question with Answer & Explanation

Question

After successfully creating a hard link called bar to the ordinary file foo, foo is deleted from the filesystem. Which of the following describes the resulting situation?

Options

• Afoo and bar would both be removed.
• Bfoo would be removed while bar would remain accessible.
• Cfoo would be removed. bar would still exist but would be unusable.
• DBoth foo and bar would remain accessible.
• EThe user is prompted whether bar should be removed, too.

Explanation

Deleting the original file that has a hard link only removes one directory entry; the data remains accessible through the hard link until all links to the inode are removed.

Common mistakes.

• A. Hard links mean multiple names point to the same data; deleting one name does not remove all other names or the data itself, unless it's the last link.
• C. bar would remain completely usable because it is just another name referencing the identical data blocks and inode as foo did.
• D. foo is explicitly stated as deleted, meaning its directory entry is removed from the filesystem.
• E. Deleting a file with existing hard links simply decrements the link count on the inode; there is no prompt to remove other links.

Concept tested. Hard link persistence after original file deletion

Reference. https://man7.org/linux/man-pages/man7/symlink.7.html

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