Exam 101-500 Topic 3 Question 139 Discussion

Explanation
The correct file permissions that belong to a symbolic link are lrwxrwxrwx. This is because a symbolic link is a special file that points to another file or directory. The first character of the file permissions indicates the file type. The letter l means that the file is a symbolic link. The other letters r, w, and x represent the read, write, and execute permissions for the owner, group, and others classes. However, the permissions of the symbolic link are not used for accessing the file or directory that it points to. The permissions of the target file or directory are used instead. Therefore, the permissions of the symbolic link are usually set to rwx for all classes, meaning that anyone can read, write, or execute the link. The other options are incorrect because they do not indicate the file type of a symbolic link. Option A is wrong because the first character - means that the file is a regular file, not a symbolic link. Option B is wrong because the first character + is not a valid file type indicator. Option D is wrong because the first character s means that the file is a socket, not a symbolic link.
References:
* symlink - Change permissions for a symbolic link - Unix & Linux Stack Exchange
* linux - How do file permissions apply to symlinks? - Super User
* Is it possible to change the permissions for the symbolic link?
* Permission through symbolic link - Unix & Linux Stack Exchange
* How to change permissions for a symbolic link under Linux/UNIX