why links to binary in etc directory

[Mahesh S]

Hi,

I saw a lot many more soft links in /etc to the binaries like lsdev, ypbind, ping, wall etc. Can any one explain me for what reason
is these links are exist in /etc?.

thanks,
Mahesh S Rao

[Steven E. Protter]

Shalom Mahesh,

One reason is that /etc is part of the root filesystem and you don't want files on the root filesystem.

Some applications and daemons were structured as if the binaries are on the root filesystem but as we noted above we really don't want any actual files on root.

Soft links make the system think the binaries are on root(in /etc) without them actually being there.

SEP

[Pete Randall]

I think you're referring to what are called "transition links". Back in the "old" days (pre - 10.0, I think), these binaries were actually located in the /etc directory. When HP migrated to the new file system layout, they created these so-called "transition links" so customers would not have to work so hard changing old scripts and programs that referred to the binaries in the /etc directory.


Pete

[Pete Randall]

Check the man page for tlinstall, then run the tllist command which will show you all the transition links on your system. I believe that will confirm that the links you're seeing in /etc are, in fact, transition links.


Pete

[Vibhor Kumar Agarwal]

Generally the \etc is in the path.

That's programs put their executables there via link, so that no path change is required.

[Mahesh S]

Thanks a lot, Pate & Steven. I got the tllist. Transition links.

[James R. Ferguson]

Hi Mahesh:

A symbolic link with the sticky bit set is a "trasnsition" link. These were established when 10.0 was released and the HP-UX filesystem layout re-modeled after AT&T SV4.

The original paper describing the rework can be found here:

http://docs.hp.com/en/5963-8942/5963-8942.pdf

Transition links are deprecated, and many are disappearing in releases after 11.23:

http://docs.hp.com/en/5990-8153/ch10s18.html

Regards!

...JRF...