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From: ins845b@monu4.cc.monash.edu.au (mr  k.l. lentin)
Newsgroups: comp.os.msdos.programmer
Subject: Re: Symbolic link in MS-DOS
Message-ID: <1991May30.014244.13309@monu0.cc.monash.edu.au>
Date: 30 May 91 01:42:44 GMT
References: <1991May29.153829.8742@bullet.ecf.toronto.edu>
Sender: news@monu0.cc.monash.edu.au (Usenet system)
Organization: Monash University, Clayton, Vic 3168, Australia
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In article <1991May29.153829.8742@bullet.ecf.toronto.edu> xiaoy@bullet.ecf (XIAO  Yan) writes:
>A otherwise accident freshes my dream of symblic link of fils in MS-DOS.
>(much like under unix 'ln -s').
>
>When I used chkdsk and I was told two files were cross linked to the
>same claster.  These two files are on the same disk but in different
>directories and orginally they are different files.  After I saw this 
>message I found that, indeed, these two files contained the same 
>contents.
>
>I recalled that this happened after I used PCTOOLS to undelete one of the
>files.
>
>So I assume that it is feasible to have symbolic link on MS-DOS.  Along
>the same line, it should also be possible to have cross directory rename
>command (rather than 'copy-delete' scheme which sometimes is hard to do).
>I am no expert in FAT stuff.
>
>Any comment?
>
>Xiao

It ispossible to have such a link  as you have found out EXCEPT there are so
many things that can go wrong. When you delete one of the files, DOS will mark
the clusters as free and then later reallocate them and overwrite your other
file. So the link can exist but thats about it. Also don't run norton or
chkdsk or anything else remotely similar!

Cross directory renames are done in XTREE-GOLD (and rpevious versions) using
the move command and they onlyadjust directory entries. It does not
delete/rename. I am surprised norton hasn't given us a nr (nnorton rename)
program. Hes given us everything else.!

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