    ARCHIVE(V)                   9/10/73                   ARCHIVE(V)

    NAME
         ar - archive (library) file format

    DESCRIPTION
         The archive command ar is used to combine several files into
         one.  Archives are used mainly as libraries to  be  searched
         by the link-editor ld.

         A  file produced by ar has a magic number at the start, fol-
         lowed by the constituent files,  each  preceded  by  a  file
         header.   The magic number is 177555(8) (it was chosen to be
         unlikely to occur anywhere else).  The header of  each  file
         is 16 bytes long:

              0-7     file name, null padded on the right
              8-11    modification time of the file
              12      user ID of file owner
              13      file mode
              14-15   file size

         Each file begins on a word boundary; a null byte is inserted
         between files if necessary.  Nevertheless the size give  re-
         flects the actual size of the file exclusive of padding.

         Notice  there  is no provision for empty areas in an archive
         file.

    SEE ALSO
         ar(I), ld(I)

    BUGS
         Names are only 8 characters, not 14.  More important,  there
         isn't enough room to store the proper mode, so ar always ex-
         tracts in mode 666.

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