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Use PHP to Create Symbolic Links without Shell Access

[ Image: Chain Linkage ] On Unix systems, a symbolic link refers to a file that points to another file or directory. Symbolic links serve as powerful tools for web designers and developers. Using shell access, creating a symbolic link requires only one line of code:

ln -s /home/username/public_html/directory1 /home/username/public_html/directory2

Simple enough. Assuming you have access to the linux shell. Unfortunately, many shared hosting environments deny shell access. Fortunately, creating symbolic links — also called “symlinks” — remains a possibility via the PHP symlink() function. Check it out..

Symbolic Links via PHP:

Edit, copy & paste the following line of code into a PHP (.php) file and upload it to the root directory on your server (i.e., the directory that contains “public_html”):

<?php symlink('/home/username/public_html/directory1', '/home/username/public_html/directory2'); ?>

Next, trigger the function by calling the PHP file via your browser. If you see a blank page, you are good to go — the symbolic link has been created according to the specified parameters. To create another symbolic link, simply edit the parameters and repeat the process.

Jeff Starr
About the Author
Jeff Starr = Web Developer. Security Specialist. WordPress Buff.
WP Themes In Depth: Build and sell awesome WordPress themes.

2 responses to “Use PHP to Create Symbolic Links without Shell Access”

  1. Very thanks…
    this tutorial help-me a lot =D

  2. Perishable 2007/11/05 2:22 pm

    Very welcome ;)

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Perishable Press is operated by Jeff Starr, a professional web developer and book author with two decades of experience. Here you will find posts about web development, WordPress, security, and more »
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