more/getting_started/detail/library-naming.rst

In order to choose the right binary for your build configuration you need to know how Boost binaries are named. Each library filename is composed of a common sequence of elements that describe how it was built. For example, libboost_regex-vc71-mt-d-1_34.lib can be broken down into the following elements:

lib

Prefix: except on Microsoft Windows, every Boost library name begins with this string. On Windows, only ordinary static libraries use the lib prefix; import libraries and DLLs do not.

boost_regex

Library name: all boost library filenames begin with boost_.

-vc71

Toolset tag: identifies the toolset and version used to build the binary.

-mt

Threading tag: indicates that the library was built with multithreading support enabled. Libraries built without multithreading support can be identified by the absence of -mt.

-d

ABI tag: encodes details that affect the library's interoperability with other compiled code. For each such feature, a single letter is added to the tag:

Key	Use this library when:
s	linking statically to the C++ standard library and compiler runtime support libraries.
g	using debug versions of the standard and runtime support libraries.
y	using a special debug build of Python.
d	building a debug version of your code.
p	using the STLPort standard library rather than the default one supplied with your compiler.
n	using STLPort's deprecated “native iostreams” feature.

For example, if you build a debug version of your code for use with debug versions of the static runtime library and the STLPort standard library in “native iostreams” mode, the tag would be: -sgdpn. If none of the above apply, the ABI tag is ommitted.

-1_34

Version tag: the full Boost release number, with periods replaced by underscores. For example, version 1.31.1 would be tagged as "-1_31_1".

.lib

Extension: determined according to the operating system's usual convention. On most unix-style platforms the extensions are .a and .so for static libraries (archives) and shared libraries, respectively. On Windows, .dll indicates a shared library and (except for static libraries built by the gcc toolset, whose names always end in .a) .lib indicates a static or import library. Where supported by toolsets on unix variants, a full version extension is added (e.g. ".so.1.34") and a symbolic link to the library file, named without the trailing version number, will also be created.