Order-agnostic symbolic links

Order-agnostic symbolic links

I don't use symbolic links a whole bunch, but when I do use them I always forget the order of arguments in the ln command. So I wrote a function that allows you to create a symbolic link in any order so I never have to think about it again.

isym () { # Make symbolic link in any order # ➜ isym cats dogs
  [[ -e $1 ]] && ln -s $1 $2 || ln -s $2 $1
}

Here's a breakdown of what happens within this function:

• [[-e $1]]

Initially, the function checks whether $1, the first parameter, is a valid file or directory (-e). This safety check prevents creating symbolic links to non-existent files or directories.

• && ln -s $1 $2

If $1 is indeed a file or directory, the function creates a symbolic link to $1 named $2.

• || ln -s $2 $1

If the first condition fails (i.e., $1 doesn't exist), the function attempts to create a symbolic link to $2, named $1.

Usage

➜ isym <file> <link>
➜ isym <link> <file>
➜ isym /etc/asda.conf ~/asda.conf
➜ isym ~/asda.conf /etc/asda.conf

Now this can be used in any order without worrying about the order of the arguments.