Detecting a symlink in Java

java unix filesystems symlink
Matt Sheppard picture Matt Sheppard · Mar 22, 2010 · Viewed 20.1k times · Source

Given a Java 'File' object, how can I detect whether or not it refers to a symlink?

(If it helps/matters, I know the file refers to a directory, not to a file)

Answer

Bozho picture Bozho · Mar 22, 2010

File.getCanonicalPath() resolves symlinks

A canonical pathname is both absolute and unique. The precise definition of canonical form is system-dependent. This method first converts this pathname to absolute form if necessary, as if by invoking the getAbsolutePath() method, and then maps it to its unique form in a system-dependent way. This typically involves removing redundant names such as "." and ".." from the pathname, resolving symbolic links (on UNIX platforms), and converting drive letters to a standard case (on Microsoft Windows platforms).

I assume you can compare the result of getCanonicalPath() and getAbsolutePath().

Update: It appears this question has already been asked - check the answers there

Related questions

How to run Unix shell script from Java code?

It is quite simple to run a Unix command from Java. Runtime.getRuntime().exec(myCommand); But is it possible to run a Unix shell script from Java code? If yes, would it be a good practice to run a shell …

Read More
Java: Date from unix timestamp

I need to convert a unix timestamp to a date object. I tried this: java.util.Date time = new java.util.Date(timeStamp); Timestamp value is: 1280512800 The Date should be "2010/07/30 - 22:30:00" (as I get it by PHP) but instead I …

Read More
How to find a user's home directory on linux or unix?

How do I find the home directory of an arbitrary user from within Grails? On Linux it's often /home/user. However, on some OS's, like OpenSolaris for example, the path is /export/home/user.

Read More