Editing Ar (Unix) (section)

{{Short description|Unix archiver command}}
{{lowercase title|title=ar (Unix)}}
{{Infobox software
| name                   = ar
| logo                   = 
| screenshot             = 
| screenshot size        = 
| caption                = 
| author                 = [[Ken Thompson]],<br />[[Dennis Ritchie]]<br />([[AT&T Bell Laboratories]])
| developer              = Various [[open-source software|open-source]] and [[commercial software|commercial]] developers
| released               = {{Start date and age|1971|11|3}}
| latest release version = 
| latest release date    = 
| programming language   = [[C (programming language)|C]]
| operating system       = [[Unix]], [[Unix-like]], [[V (operating system)|V]], [[Plan 9 from Bell Labs|Plan 9]], [[Inferno (operating system)|Inferno]]
| platform               = [[Cross-platform]]
| genre                  = [[Command (computing)|Command]]
| license                = Plan 9: [[MIT License]]
| website                = 
}}
{{Infobox file format
| name                   = archiver format
| icon                   =
| logo                   =
| screenshot             =
| caption                =
| extension              = {{tt|.a}}, {{tt|.lib}}, {{tt|.ar}}<ref name="x-archive" />
| mime                   = application/x-archive<ref name="x-archive">{{cite web|url=https://reposcope.com/mimetype/application/x-archive|title=application/x-archive|access-date=2019-03-11|archive-date=2019-12-08|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191208113015/https://reposcope.com/mimetype/application/x-archive|url-status=dead}}</ref>
| type code              =
| uniform type           =
| magic                  = {{tt|!<arch>}}
| owner                  =
| released               = <!-- {{Start date|YYYY|mm|dd|df=yes}} -->
| latest release version =
| latest release date    = <!-- {{Start date and age|YYYY|mm|dd|df=yes}} -->
| genre                  = [[archive format]]
| container for          = usually [[object files]] ({{tt|.o}})
| contained by           =
| extended from          =
| extended to            =
| standard               = Not standardized, several variants exist
| open                   = Yes<ref name="ar(1) – Linux man page"/>
| url                    =
}}
'''<code>ar</code>''', short for '''archiver''', is a [[shell (computing)|shell]] [[command (computing)|command]] for maintaining multiple [[computer file|files]] as a single [[archive file]]. Originally developed for [[Unix]], it is widely available on Unix-based systems, and similar commands are available on other platforms. Today, <code>ar</code> is generally used only to create and update [[static library]] files that the link editor or [[Linker (computing)|linker]] uses and for generating .deb packages for the [[Debian]] family; it can be used to create archives for any purpose, but has been largely replaced by <code>[[Tar (computing)|tar]]</code> for purposes other than static libraries.<ref name="Static Libraries">{{cite web|title=Static Libraries|url=http://tldp.org/HOWTO/Program-Library-HOWTO/static-libraries.html|publisher=TLDP|access-date=3 October 2013}}</ref>  An implementation of <code>ar</code> is included as one of the [[GNU Binutils]].<ref name="ar(1) – Linux man page">{{cite web|title=ar(1) – Linux man page|url=http://linux.die.net/man/1/ar|access-date=3 October 2013}}</ref>

In the [[Linux Standard Base]] (LSB), <code>ar</code> has been deprecated and is expected to disappear in a future release of that standard. The rationale provided was that "the LSB does not include software development utilities nor does it specify .o and .a file formats."<ref>Linux Standard Base Core Specification, version 4.1, Chapter 15. Commands and Utilities > [http://refspecs.linuxfoundation.org/LSB_4.1.0/LSB-Core-generic/LSB-Core-generic/ar.html ar]</ref>