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+@section Archives
+
+
+@strong{Description}@*
+An archive (or library) is just another BFD.  It has a symbol
+table, although there's not much a user program will do with it.
+
+The big difference between an archive BFD and an ordinary BFD
+is that the archive doesn't have sections.  Instead it has a
+chain of BFDs that are considered its contents.  These BFDs can
+be manipulated like any other.  The BFDs contained in an
+archive opened for reading will all be opened for reading.  You
+may put either input or output BFDs into an archive opened for
+output; they will be handled correctly when the archive is closed.
+
+Use @code{bfd_openr_next_archived_file} to step through
+the contents of an archive opened for input.  You don't
+have to read the entire archive if you don't want
+to!  Read it until you find what you want.
+
+Archive contents of output BFDs are chained through the
+@code{next} pointer in a BFD.  The first one is findable through
+the @code{archive_head} slot of the archive.  Set it with
+@code{bfd_set_archive_head} (q.v.).  A given BFD may be in only one
+open output archive at a time.
+
+As expected, the BFD archive code is more general than the
+archive code of any given environment.  BFD archives may
+contain files of different formats (e.g., a.out and coff) and
+even different architectures.  You may even place archives
+recursively into archives!
+
+This can cause unexpected confusion, since some archive
+formats are more expressive than others.  For instance, Intel
+COFF archives can preserve long filenames; SunOS a.out archives
+cannot.  If you move a file from the first to the second
+format and back again, the filename may be truncated.
+Likewise, different a.out environments have different
+conventions as to how they truncate filenames, whether they
+preserve directory names in filenames, etc.  When
+interoperating with native tools, be sure your files are
+homogeneous.
+
+Beware: most of these formats do not react well to the
+presence of spaces in filenames.  We do the best we can, but
+can't always handle this case due to restrictions in the format of
+archives.  Many Unix utilities are braindead in regards to
+spaces and such in filenames anyway, so this shouldn't be much
+of a restriction.
+
+Archives are supported in BFD in @code{archive.c}.
+
+@subsection Archive functions
+
+
+@findex bfd_get_next_mapent
+@subsubsection @code{bfd_get_next_mapent}
+@strong{Synopsis}
+@example
+symindex bfd_get_next_mapent
+   (bfd *abfd, symindex previous, carsym **sym);
+@end example
+@strong{Description}@*
+Step through archive @var{abfd}'s symbol table (if it
+has one).  Successively update @var{sym} with the next symbol's
+information, returning that symbol's (internal) index into the
+symbol table.
+
+Supply @code{BFD_NO_MORE_SYMBOLS} as the @var{previous} entry to get
+the first one; returns @code{BFD_NO_MORE_SYMBOLS} when you've already
+got the last one.
+
+A @code{carsym} is a canonical archive symbol.  The only
+user-visible element is its name, a null-terminated string.
+
+@findex bfd_set_archive_head
+@subsubsection @code{bfd_set_archive_head}
+@strong{Synopsis}
+@example
+bfd_boolean bfd_set_archive_head (bfd *output, bfd *new_head);
+@end example
+@strong{Description}@*
+Set the head of the chain of
+BFDs contained in the archive @var{output} to @var{new_head}.
+
+@findex bfd_openr_next_archived_file
+@subsubsection @code{bfd_openr_next_archived_file}
+@strong{Synopsis}
+@example
+bfd *bfd_openr_next_archived_file (bfd *archive, bfd *previous);
+@end example
+@strong{Description}@*
+Provided a BFD, @var{archive}, containing an archive and NULL, open
+an input BFD on the first contained element and returns that.
+Subsequent calls should pass
+the archive and the previous return value to return a created
+BFD to the next contained element. NULL is returned when there
+are no more.
+