Archive file format(ar)

   The Unix archive format (commonly created by the ar archiver) is a general-purpose format which is used almost exclusively for object files to be read by the link editor ld. The ar format has never been stan- dardised. There are two common variants: the GNU format derived from SVR4, and the BSD format, which first appeared in 4.4BSD. WinTar provides read and write support for both variants.

Related file formats

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•  archive file formats

•  CAB archive format

•  Zip archive format

•  Tar archive format

•  Pax archive format