ranlib
E299169
ranlib is a Unix command-line utility that generates or updates an index (symbol table) for archive libraries to speed up linking.
All labels observed (1)
| Label | Occurrences |
|---|---|
| ranlib canonical | 2 |
How this entity was disambiguated
This entity first appeared as the object of triple T2792336 — resolving that mention is where its identity was fixed. The disambiguator weighed these candidate entities and picked the highlighted one (or “None”, minting a new entity). This is how homonymy is resolved: the same surface form can point to different entities.
NED1
Entity disambiguation (via context triple)
gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07
Target entity: ranlib Context triple: [GNU Binutils, contains, ranlib]
-
A.
RAD
RAD is a radiation assessment detector aboard NASA's Curiosity rover that measures high-energy particles on Mars’ surface to evaluate the planet’s radiation environment and its implications for future human exploration.
-
B.
RB
RB is the abbreviation for CERN’s Research Board, the committee responsible for overseeing and approving the laboratory’s scientific research program.
-
C.
RAN
The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the naval branch of the Australian Defence Force, responsible for conducting maritime military operations and protecting Australia's maritime interests.
-
D.
RAN
RAN is the 3GPP working group responsible for specifying the radio access network technologies used in mobile communication systems such as LTE and 5G.
-
E.
Spinrad
Spinrad is the surname of Norman Spinrad, an American science fiction author known for his provocative and politically charged works.
- F. None of above. chosen
- G. Unsure - the case is ambiguous/there is not enough information to decide.
NED2
Entity disambiguation (via description)
gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07
Target entity: ranlib Target entity description: ranlib is a Unix command-line utility that generates or updates an index (symbol table) for archive libraries to speed up linking.
-
A.
RAD
RAD is a radiation assessment detector aboard NASA's Curiosity rover that measures high-energy particles on Mars’ surface to evaluate the planet’s radiation environment and its implications for future human exploration.
-
B.
RB
RB is the abbreviation for CERN’s Research Board, the committee responsible for overseeing and approving the laboratory’s scientific research program.
-
C.
RAN
The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the naval branch of the Australian Defence Force, responsible for conducting maritime military operations and protecting Australia's maritime interests.
-
D.
RAN
RAN is the 3GPP working group responsible for specifying the radio access network technologies used in mobile communication systems such as LTE and 5G.
-
E.
Spinrad
Spinrad is the surname of Norman Spinrad, an American science fiction author known for his provocative and politically charged works.
- F. None of above. chosen
Statements (35)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
Unix command-line utility
ⓘ
program ⓘ |
| benefit | faster symbol lookup during static linking ⓘ |
| category |
binary utilities
ⓘ
software development tool ⓘ |
| distribution | GNU Binutils package ⓘ |
| domain |
systems programming
ⓘ
toolchain ⓘ |
| effect | creates or updates symbol index in archive ⓘ |
| historicalRole | originally separate from ar on some Unix systems ⓘ |
| implementation | GNU Binutils ⓘ |
| inputFileExtension | .a ⓘ |
| inputFileType | static library archive ⓘ |
| invocationForm | ranlib [options] archive ⓘ |
| license | GNU General Public License ⓘ |
| maintainedBy | GNU Project ⓘ |
| modernUsage | often implemented as a wrapper or alias around ar ⓘ |
| operatingSystemFamily |
Unix
ⓘ
Unix-like operating systems ⓘ |
| output | updated archive with symbol index ⓘ |
| platform |
BSD Unix
ⓘ
linked to:
BSD
Linux ⓘ macOS ⓘ |
| primaryFunction |
generate index for archive libraries
ⓘ
update index for archive libraries ⓘ |
| purpose | speed up linking of programs ⓘ |
| relatedTo |
ar
ⓘ
ld ⓘ linker ⓘ |
| requires | existing archive file ⓘ |
| typicalUsage | ranlib libfoo.a ⓘ |
| typicalUser | software developers ⓘ |
| usedBy |
Makefiles
ⓘ
software build systems ⓘ |
| usesDataStructure | symbol table ⓘ |
How these facts were elicited
The pipeline generated the facts above by prompting gpt-5.1 with this entity's name + description and the instruction below.
Instruction
You are a knowledge base construction expert. Given a subject entity and a description of it, return factual statements that you know for the subject as a JSON list of dictionaries(triples), where keys must be "subject", "predicate" and "object". The number of facts may be very high, between 25 to 50 or more, for very popular subjects. For less popular subjects, the number of facts can be very low, like 5 or 10. # Requirements - If you don't know the subject at all, return an empty list. - If the subject is not a named entity, return an empty list. - Include at least one triple where predicate is "instanceOf". - Do not get too wordy. - Separate several objects into multiple triples with one object.
Input
Subject: ranlib Description of subject: ranlib is a Unix command-line utility that generates or updates an index (symbol table) for archive libraries to speed up linking.
Referenced by (2)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.