Comparison of Hard Link and Symbolic Link
| Item | Hard Link | Symbolic Link |
|---|---|---|
| Name resolution | Faster. A hard link contains a direct reference to the object. | Slower. A symbolic link contains a path name to the object, which must be resolved to find the object. |
| Object existence | Required. An object must exist in order to create a hard link to it. | Optional. A symbolic link can be created when the object it refers to does not exist. |
| Object deletion | Restricted. All hard links to an object must be unlinked (removed) to delete the object. | Unrestricted. An object can be deleted even if there are symbolic links referring to it. |
| Dynamic objects (attributes change) | Slower. Many of the attributes of an object are stored in each hard link. Changes to a dynamic object, therefore, are slower as the number of hard links to the object increases. | Faster. Changes to a dynamic object are not affected by symbolic links. |
| Static objects (attributes do not change) | Faster. For a static object, name resolution is the primary performance concern. Name resolution is faster when hard links are used. | Slower. Name resolution is slower when symbolic links are used. |
| Scope | Restricted. Hard links cannot cross file systems. | Unrestricted. Symbolic links can cross file systems. |
