Porting Unix code with symlink() function to Windows

Question

I'm porting C/C++ code from Unix to Windows that makes use of the symlink() function.

From what I understand, recent Windows file systems have a equivalent of symbolic links.

What would be the best / most portable way replace the symlink() function, so the same code works on both platforms ?

You can use an NTFS junction even on older Windows, Win2k I believe, possibly even NT4. — David Heffernan, Jun 24 '11 at 19:42

Anders Abel · Answer 1 · 2011-06-24T19:47:08.083

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The underlying technology on Windows is called Junction points. The Boost Filesystem Library is cross platform and can make symlinks:

http://www.boost.org/doc/libs/1_46_1/libs/filesystem/v3/doc/reference.html#create_symlink

edited Jun 24 '11 at 19:47

answered Jun 24 '11 at 19:41

Anders Abel

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@Timo Geusch: Thanks for updating the link to the latest version - I was just on the way when you made your edit. – Anders Abel Jun 24 '11 at 19:46

score 2 · Accepted Answer · answered Jun 24 '11 at 20:09

Since Windows Vista there's a function to create true symbolic links: CreateSymbolicLink

Note that Junctions as mentioned in the other answers only support directories, and even with the newer feature, windows symbolic links require you to specify whether the target is a directory or a file. So you won't necessarily be able to get a trivial "drop-in replacement" symlink() function.

score 0 · Answer 3 · edited May 23 '17 at 12:27

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Junctions seem to be the answer from similar questions .

edited May 23 '17 at 12:27

Community

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answered Jun 24 '11 at 19:42

Bradley Swain

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Porting Unix code with symlink() function to Windows

3 Answers3