Hard links - How do they work

[Keith Bainbridge <keithrbau@gmail.com>]

As promised:
I said sometime in this thread that timeshift (and Back in Time) use 
hard links to create progressive copies of the system. The more I think 
about how hard links reportedly work, I reckon it can't be simply hard 
links.

So I'm starting a new thread on that topic.

My understanding is that a hard link (ln with no option) will list the 
file in another directory, but the file remains the same no matter where 
I may edit it.    I use cp -lru as a quick and dirty way to protect me 
against accident deleting a file. (Sym-link doesn't give that 
protection, but does allow me to keep my home on a separate partition so 
that a fresh install is a LOT easier; but that is another topic)

Snapshots reportedly hard link the directory/ies (generally means /  but 
not limited ). a new snapshot copies the latest set and then updates any 
new files in the base.    The more I try to visualise that process the 
more I reckon there must be more to it

Anybody care to fill me in please?

I am mindful that it is late Sunday night for many of you


--
All the best

Keith Bainbridge

keith.bainbridge.3216@gmail.com
+61 (0)447 667 468

UTC + 10:00