Proper way to link a static library using GCC

Question

Why is it that some static libraries (lib*.a) can be linked in the same way that shared libraries (lib*.so) are linked (ld -l switch), but some can not?

I had always

Answer 1

Have you cared to indicate to GCC the path of your library (using -L) ? By using -l solely, GCC will only be able to link libraries available in standard directories.

-L[path] -l[lib]