<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<PRONOM-Report xmlns="http://pronom.nationalarchives.gov.uk">
  <report_format_detail>
    <FileFormat>
      <FormatID>2429</FormatID>
      <FormatName>Type Library</FormatName>
      <FormatVersion>Type 2</FormatVersion>
      <FormatAliases>
      </FormatAliases>
      <FormatFamilies>
      </FormatFamilies>
      <FormatTypes>
      </FormatTypes>
      <FormatDisclosure>
      </FormatDisclosure>
      <FormatDescription>This record describes Type Library Type 2 file format, files which mostly belong to Borland Type Library by Borland Software Corporation. A type library (.tlb) is a binary file that stores information about a COM or DCOM object's properties and methods in a form that is accessible to other applications at runtime. Type libraries provide a language-neutral mechanism for defining types such as interfaces, methods, classes, and other COM elements that are defined and used by a server and called on by a client. Type libraries are saved as binary files with a .tlb extension or can be contained within the binary file representing the server ( *.dll , *.ocx , *.exe , *.olb ). 

Using a type library, an application or browser can determine which interfaces an object supports, and invoke an object's interface methods. This can occur even if the object and client applications were written in different programming languages. The COM/DCOM run-time environment can also use a type library to provide automatic cross-apartment, cross-process, and cross-machine marshaling for interfaces described in type libraries.</FormatDescription>
      <BinaryFileFormat>
      </BinaryFileFormat>
      <ByteOrders>
      </ByteOrders>
      <ReleaseDate>
      </ReleaseDate>
      <WithdrawnDate>
      </WithdrawnDate>
      <ProvenanceSourceID>180</ProvenanceSourceID>
      <ProvenanceName>The National Archives and Records Administration / The National Archives and Records Administration</ProvenanceName>
      <ProvenanceSourceDate>21 Jan 2022</ProvenanceSourceDate>
      <ProvenanceDescription>
      </ProvenanceDescription>
      <LastUpdatedDate>21 Jan 2022</LastUpdatedDate>
      <FormatNote>https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/midl/com-dcom-and-type-libraries

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/com/type-library-viewers-and-conversion-tools

https://filext.com/file-extension/TLB

https://flylib.com/books/en/3.264.1.146/1/</FormatNote>
      <FormatRisk>
      </FormatRisk>
      <TechnicalEnvironment>
      </TechnicalEnvironment>
      <FileFormatIdentifier>
        <Identifier>fmt/1602</Identifier>
        <IdentifierType>PUID</IdentifierType>
      </FileFormatIdentifier>
      <ExternalSignature>
        <ExternalSignatureID>2888</ExternalSignatureID>
        <Signature>tlb</Signature>
        <SignatureType>File extension</SignatureType>
      </ExternalSignature>
      <InternalSignature>
        <SignatureID>1937</SignatureID>
        <SignatureName>Type Library Type 2</SignatureName>
        <SignatureNote>BOF; Offset: 0; Magic Bytes: 'MSFT...'</SignatureNote>
        <ByteSequence>
          <ByteSequenceID>2244</ByteSequenceID>
          <PositionType>Absolute from BOF</PositionType>
          <Offset>0</Offset>
          <MaxOffset>0</MaxOffset>
          <IndirectOffsetLocation>
          </IndirectOffsetLocation>
          <IndirectOffsetLength>
          </IndirectOffsetLength>
          <Endianness>
          </Endianness>
          <ByteSequenceValue>4D53465402000100</ByteSequenceValue>
        </ByteSequence>
      </InternalSignature>
    </FileFormat>
    <SearchCriteria>Criteria</SearchCriteria>
  </report_format_detail>
</PRONOM-Report>
