It sounds to me like the basic idea of soft/symbolic links compared to shortcuts (on a PC) or aliases (on a Mac) are the same thing.  Am I way off?  Are they similar?
Is a symbolic/soft link similar to a shortcut/alias on a desktop?
alias;symlink
The basic idea is about the same.  A symbolic link is a special file that contains a path (relative or absolute) to another filesystem object.  In UNIX/Linux, the OS itself processes the symbolic link, resolving to the real object transparently.On Macs, an alias seems to be a special Finder construct can reference remote objects as well as local ones, but Finder resolves the reference, not the OS.  MacOS X also has symbolic links, but they are separate from aliases.The big difference is between a Windows shortcut and a symbolic link.  A  Windows shortcut cannot easily replace a program because Windows always has to have these pesky file extensions and a lnk file is not an executable when it comes to Windows.  Within the GUI, it works, but from a server standpoint, it barfs.  Same with a directory.  They are useful, but do not have anywhere near the power and flexibility of a symbolic link.