Does ArcaOS (or OS/2, in general) support symbolic links?

ArcaOS includes a robust Unix compatibility subsystem. This subsystem is built around a component known as kLIBC, which is itself a project hosted at OS/2 Netlabs. kLIBC provides rudimentary symbolic link support for applications built with the kLIBC gcc compiler. These applications are generally ported from Linux, and when built from source using the gcc compiler, become native OS/2 applications, with some added benefits, among them being symbolic link (symlink) support.

It is important to note that not all such gcc-compiled applications support use of symbolic links, although with just the base kLIBC components installed, it is possible to create symlinks for any file accessible by the operating system. While symlinks may be created, it is up to the specific application or command processor (shell) as to whether they are read and interpreted as symlinks or merely text files.

ArcaOS (and essentially, any other OS/2 distribution capable of using the libc06* DLLs) supports symbolic links, or symlinks. A symlink is implemented by creating a small text file in the directory where the link is located that contains the path to the target file, and then marking that file as a symlink file by creating a special extended attribute (EA) attached to that file. To any ordinary OS/2 program, the symlink file looks just like an ordinary text file. But to libc/kLIBC programs it is a link to a different target file. It is important to remember not to strip the SYMLINK EA off of a symlink file or you will break the symlink functionality. Without the SYMLINK EA, the file will look like a regular text file even to libc/kLIBC programs instead of linking to the target file.

See this wiki page for more information on symlinks in ArcaOS and the Unix compatibility subsystem, in general.