import java.nio.file.Files; 
import java.nio.file.Paths; 
import java.io.IOException; 

public class Test { 
        public static void main(String[] args) throws IOException { 
                java.nio.file.Files.createDirectories(Paths.get("/tmp/emptyDirectory")); 
                java.nio.file.Files.createSymbolicLink(Paths.get("/tmp/symlink"), Paths.get("/tmp/emptyDirectory")); 
                // following line errors, but should work 
                java.nio.file.Files.createDirectories(Paths.get("/tmp/symlink")); 
        } 
}