osln: Creating Links in the Rawfs

Syntax

osln pathname linkname


pathname 
The pathname of the rawfs directory or database that you want to point to.


linkname 
The pathname of the rawfs directory or database that is the new link. It points to pathname.

To indicate hosts, specify pathnames in the form

host::/pathname

Limitation

To access a particular database or directory in its rawfs, the Server can traverse as many as 10 same-Server links. When the Server reaches the 11th link, ObjectStore signals the error message err_too_many_links.

In a chain of links, a client can return to a Server that it contacted earlier in the chain. In this situation, the Server's count of links within its rawfs begins with one. It does not continue the count from where it left off during the previous connection. Each time a link sends the client to a Server, the Server can follow as many as 10 links within its rawfs.

These limits allow ObjectStore to catch circular links. For example, A is a link to B, and B is either directly or indirectly a link to A.

When needed

• You move a database. You can define a link so that programmers need not modify applications that use the moved database.
• You want to store all databases in one place but allow applications to refer to the databases in different ways.
• You want to set up applications so they always refer to one location and that location is a link to the actual database.

See osrm: Removing Databases and Rawfs Links.

Examples

osln web-foot::/real_db canard::/link_to_db

osln web-foot::/real_db web-foot::/link_to_db

Updated: 03/11/99 11:19:07