Overview: Path names and links
Path names and links determine how a process resolves a visible location to a particular file or mounted tree.
Two similar spellings can compare differently, and one unchanged pathname can expose a different tree after a mount changes. Symbolic and hard links add distinct naming relationships. These topics explain the identity behind the path the server opens, rather than only the text displayed in a file browser.
Case-sensitive paths
Case-sensitive lookup distinguishes names such as Film.mkv and film.mkv, while case preservation merely retains their spelling.Unicode file names
Unicode file names can contain visually identical text encoded as different character sequences, so normalization and filesystem comparison rules affect path matching.Mount points
A mount point attaches a file system to a pathname, so the same visible path can expose different data when the mount state or namespace changes.Symbolic links
A symbolic link stores a target pathname that is resolved when accessed, allowing indirection across directories or file systems.Hard links
Hard links give one file multiple directory names on the same file system, so changes through either name affect the same content.