diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 2d3e5ed73..ae1f865b7 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -35,13 +35,14 @@ Next up, you'll want to write a build script like so:
 extern crate gcc;
 
 fn main() {
-    gcc::compile_library("libfoo.a", &["foo.c", "bar.c"]);
+    gcc::compile_library("foo", &["foo.c", "bar.c"]);
 }
 ```
 
 And that's it! Running `cargo build` should take care of the rest and your Rust
-application will now have the C files `foo.c` and `bar.c` compiled into it. You
-can call the functions in Rust by declaring functions in your Rust code like so:
+application will now have the C files `foo.c` and `bar.c` compiled into a file
+named libfoo.a. You can call the functions in Rust by declaring functions in
+your Rust code like so:
 
 ```
 extern {
diff --git a/src/lib.rs b/src/lib.rs
index d156fe0ed..5f72db8e8 100644
--- a/src/lib.rs
+++ b/src/lib.rs
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
 //! extern crate gcc;
 //!
 //! fn main() {
-//!     gcc::compile_library("libfoo.a", &["src/foo.c"]);
+//!     gcc::compile_library("foo", &["src/foo.c"]);
 //! }
 //! ```
 //!
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@
 //!                 .file("src/foo.c")
 //!                 .define("FOO", Some("bar"))
 //!                 .include("src")
-//!                 .compile("libfoo.a");
+//!                 .compile("foo");
 //! }
 //! ```
 
@@ -168,7 +168,7 @@ impl ToolFamily {
 /// # Example
 ///
 /// ```no_run
-/// gcc::compile_library("libfoo.a", &["foo.c", "bar.c"]);
+/// gcc::compile_library("foo", &["foo.c", "bar.c"]);
 /// ```
 pub fn compile_library(output: &str, files: &[&str]) {
     let mut c = Config::new();
@@ -221,7 +221,7 @@ impl Config {
     ///             .file("src/foo.c")
     ///             .include(library_path)
     ///             .include("src")
-    ///             .compile("libfoo.a");
+    ///             .compile("foo");
     /// ```
     pub fn include<P: AsRef<Path>>(&mut self, dir: P) -> &mut Config {
         self.include_directories.push(dir.as_ref().to_path_buf());
@@ -237,7 +237,7 @@ impl Config {
     ///             .file("src/foo.c")
     ///             .define("FOO", Some("BAR"))
     ///             .define("BAZ", None)
-    ///             .compile("libfoo.a");
+    ///             .compile("foo");
     /// ```
     pub fn define(&mut self, var: &str, val: Option<&str>) -> &mut Config {
         self.definitions.push((var.to_string(), val.map(|s| s.to_string())));
@@ -258,7 +258,7 @@ impl Config {
     /// gcc::Config::new()
     ///             .file("src/foo.c")
     ///             .flag("-ffunction-sections")
-    ///             .compile("libfoo.a");
+    ///             .compile("foo");
     /// ```
     pub fn flag(&mut self, flag: &str) -> &mut Config {
         self.flags.push(flag.to_string());
@@ -296,7 +296,7 @@ impl Config {
     ///             .file("src/foo.c")
     ///             .shared_flag(true)
     ///             .static_flag(true)
-    ///             .compile("libfoo.so");
+    ///             .compile("foo");
     /// ```
     pub fn static_flag(&mut self, static_flag: bool) -> &mut Config {
         self.static_flag = Some(static_flag);
@@ -381,7 +381,7 @@ impl Config {
     /// gcc::Config::new()
     ///             .file("src/foo.c")
     ///             .target("aarch64-linux-android")
-    ///             .compile("libfoo.so");
+    ///             .compile("foo");
     /// ```
     pub fn target(&mut self, target: &str) -> &mut Config {
         self.target = Some(target.to_string());
@@ -392,14 +392,14 @@ impl Config {
     ///
     /// This option is automatically scraped from the `HOST` environment
     /// variable by build scripts, so it's not required to call this function.
-    /// 
+    ///
     /// # Example
     ///
     /// ```no_run
     /// gcc::Config::new()
     ///             .file("src/foo.c")
     ///             .host("arm-linux-gnueabihf")
-    ///             .compile("libfoo.so");
+    ///             .compile("foo");
     /// ```
     pub fn host(&mut self, host: &str) -> &mut Config {
         self.host = Some(host.to_string());
@@ -500,11 +500,14 @@ impl Config {
 
     /// Run the compiler, generating the file `output`
     ///
-    /// The name `output` must begin with `lib` and end with `.a`
+    /// The name `output` should be the name of the library.  For backwards compatibility,
+    /// the `output` may start with `lib` and end with `.a`.  The Rust compilier will create
+    /// the assembly with the lib prefix and .a extension.  MSVC will create a file without prefix,
+    /// ending with `.lib`.
     pub fn compile(&self, output: &str) {
-        assert!(output.starts_with("lib"));
-        assert!(output.ends_with(".a"));
-        let lib_name = &output[3..output.len() - 2];
+        let name_start = if output.starts_with("lib") { 3 } else { 0 };
+        let name_end = if output.ends_with(".a") { output.len() - 2 } else { output.len() };
+        let lib_name = &output[name_start..name_end];
         let dst = self.get_out_dir();
 
         let mut objects = Vec::new();