unlink Command

Purpose

Performs an unlink subroutine.

Syntax

unlink File

Description

The unlink command performs the unlink subroutine on a specified file.

The unlink command does not issue error messages when the associated subroutine is unsuccessful; you must check the exit value to determine if the command completed normally. It returns a value of 0 if it succeeds, a value of 1 if too few or too many parameters are specified, and a value of 2 if its system call is unsuccessful.

Attention: The unlink command allows a user with root user authority to deal with unusual problems, such as moving an entire directory to a different part of the directory tree. It also permits you to create directories that cannot be reached or escaped from. Be careful to preserve the directory structure by observing the following rules:

• Be certain every directory has a . (dot) link to itself.
• Be certain every directory has a .. (dot dot) link to its parent directory.
• Be certain every directory has no more than one link to itself or its parent directory.
• Be certain every directory is accessible from the root of its file system.

An attempt to remove a file or directory that has been exported for use by the NFS version 4 server will fail with a message saying that the resource is busy. The file or directory must be unexported for NFS version 4 use before it can be removed.

Example

To remove a directory entry pointed by file2, enter:

unlink file2

Files