index is not updated, even if it already existed; you can use @samp{ar s} or
@code{ranlib} explicitly to update the symbol table index.
-However, too many different system assume quick append rebuilds the
-index, so GNU ar treats @code{q} to same way its treats @code{r}.
+However, too many different systems assume quick append rebuilds the
+index, so GNU ar implements @code{q} as a synonym for @code{r}.
@item r
@cindex replacement in archive
flag either with any operation, or alone. Running @samp{ar s} on an
archive is equivalent to running @samp{ranlib} on it.
+@item S
+@cindex not writing archive index
+Do not generate an archive symbol table. This can speed up building a
+large library in several steps. The resulting archive can not be used
+with the linker. In order to build a symbol table, you must omit the
+@samp{S} modifier on the last execution of @samp{ar}, or you must run
+@samp{ranlib} on the archive.
+
@item u
@cindex updating an archive
Normally, @samp{ar r}@dots{} inserts all files
@samp{-a -f -h -r -t}.
@item -w
-@item --wide
+@itemx --wide
@cindex wide output, printing
Format some lines for output devices that have more than 80 columns.
@end table
@item --help
Print a summary of the program usage on the standard output and exit.
-@itemx -@var{min-len}
-@item -n @var{min-len}
+@item -@var{min-len}
+@itemx -n @var{min-len}
@itemx --bytes=@var{min-len}
Print sequences of characters that are at least @var{min-len} characters
long, instead of the default 4.