30 Input/output library [input.output]

30.10 File systems [filesystems]

30.10.4 Terms and definitions [fs.definitions]

30.10.4.19 symbolic link [fs.def.symlink]

A type of file with the property that when the file is encountered during pathname resolution, a string stored by the file is used to modify the pathname resolution.
[Note
:
Symbolic links are often called symlinks.
A symbolic link can be thought of as a raw pointer to a file.
If the file pointed to does not exist, the symbolic link is said to be a “dangling” symbolic link.
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]