Question

There are two hard links to the "file1" say hl and h2 and a softlink sl. What happens if we deleted the "file1"?

1) We will still be able to access the file with hl and h2 but not with sl
2) We will not be able to access the file with hl and h2 but with sl
3) We will be able to access the file with any of hl, h2 and sl

Answer 1

After deleting "file1", the data remains accessible via the hard links "hl" and "h2" because they point to the file's inode. The soft link "sl" becomes invalid as it points to the file name, which no longer exists.

Step-by-step explanation:

If "file1" is deleted, you will still be able to access the data of the file using the hard links hl and h2. This is because hard links directly reference the inode of the file on disk, where the actual file data is stored. As long as there is at least one hard link to an inode, the data remains accessible and the inode is kept on the disk.

In contrast, the soft link sl will no longer be able to access the file data, since a soft link, also known as a symbolic link, is essentially a shortcut to the file name, rather than its inode. Once the original file (which the soft link points to) is deleted, the soft link becomes a 'dangling' link, pointing to a non-existent file.

Therefore, the correct answer is that we will still be able to access the file with hl and h2 but not with sl.