ELF archiver string table

[Rohit Arul Raj]

Hi,

 I am working on archiver to work with ELF object files on windows.
Some where i read that the archive string table member, for longer
names i.e. "//", in windows COFF or ELF archives, should be the third
member in the archive.

Can somebody help me on these things
1. Why there is a restriction that string table member should be the
third member on windows?
2. Can I place the string table member just after the symbol directory entry?

Advance thanks for your help.

Regards,
Ramana