Hard Link vs. Soft Link

[Anubis69]

Please can anyone tell me what's the advantages of hard links,
what's the advantages of soft links, and wehn I would use one over the other?

Thanks

[tommcd]

For the simple (practical) answer, see:
http://www.linuxquestions.org/questions/solaris-opensolaris-20/difference-between-soft-link-and-hard-link-424007/
http://www.linuxforums.org/forum/misc/5870-hard-soft-links.html
For the more complex (technical) answer, see:
http://www.cyberciti.biz/tips/understanding-unixlinux-symbolic-soft-and-hard-links.html
http://linuxgazette.net/105/pitcher.html
So a soft link is like a short cut; and a hard link is more like a mirror copy of the file. In practice I always use soft links. I have very rarely, if ever, seen a tutorial on something that recommended hard linking. Use soft links unless you have an explicit reason for needing a hard link.

And welcome to the Ubuntu forums!