How to create a shared object file from static library

Question

How to create a shared object file from a static library? I am using Cygwin.

Is the following syntax correct?

gcc -shared -o libexample.so libexample         


        

Answer 1

gcc -shared -o libexample.so -Wl,--whole-archive libexample.a

Pay attention that often you'll want the objects combined in your .so to be compiled as PIC, something you don't often want for a static library.

Answer 2

It might not work but you can always try:

ar -x libexample.a
gcc -shared *.o -o libexample.so

If it complains about -fPIC, then it probably won't work.