Files that cannot be symlinks

Symbolic links play a major role in a GoboLinux system, but some programs don’t behave as expected when they are used. This section lists the files that cannot be symlinks.

“That is the reason why /System/Settings is not /System/Index/Settings: it does not only contain links, by definition (or, better put, by necessity)” – Hisham Muhammad

• /System/Settings/sudoers

The configuration file for sudo must be a regular file. If it is not, sudo will complain and do nothing.

• /System/Settings/passwd and friends

The settings files used by the Shadow package are quite interesting. Theoretically, they can be symlinks, but there is a caveat: utilities like useradd don’t just modify these files; they remove and recreate them as regular files. Hence, in practice, they cannot be symbolic links.