Which format does static library (*.lib) files use? Where can I find “Official” specifications of *.LIB file structure/format?

Question

Just now I found that static libraries in *nix systems, in other words *.a libraries are nothing but archives of relocatables(*.o files) in ar fromat.

1. What

Answer 1

mingw's ar works just fine on *.lib files - even ones created under VisualStudio.

We've actually used it in the past to pull out parts of a library we needed when it contained some other stuff we couldn't link with (due to conflicts with other libraries). Kinda hacky, but it works.

Answer 2

I found that *.LIB file uses the ar file format.

Official Specifications: Section 7. "Archive (Library) File Format" of Microsoft Portable Executable and Common Object File Format Specification describes this format.