If a variable is declared as static in a function's scope it is only initialized once and retains its value between function calls. What exactly is its lifetime? When do its constructor and destructor get called?
void foo()
{
static string plonk = "When will I die?";
}
FWIW, Codegear C++Builder doesn't destruct in the expected order according to the standard.
C:\> sample.exe 1 2
Created in foo
Created in if
Destroyed in foo
Destroyed in if
... which is another reason not to rely on the destruction order!
Motti is right about the order, but there are some other things to consider:
Compilers typically use a hidden flag variable to indicate if the local statics have already been initialized, and this flag is checked on every entry to the function. Obviously this is a small performance hit, but what's more of a concern is that this flag is not guaranteed to be thread-safe.
If you have a local static as above, and foo is called from multiple threads, you may have race conditions causing plonk to be initialized incorrectly or even multiple times. Also, in this case plonk may get destructed by a different thread than the one which constructed it.
Despite what the standard says, I'd be very wary of the actual order of local static destruction, because it's possible that you may unwittingly rely on a static being still valid after it's been destructed, and this is really difficult to track down.
Motti is right about the order, but there are some other things to consider:
Compilers typically use a hidden flag variable to indicate if the local statics have already been initialized, and this flag is checked on every entry to the function. Obviously this is a small performance hit, but what's more of a concern is that this flag is not guaranteed to be thread-safe.
If you have a local static as above, and foo is called from multiple threads, you may have race conditions causing plonk to be initialized incorrectly or even multiple times. Also, in this case plonk may get destructed by a different thread than the one which constructed it.
Despite what the standard says, I'd be very wary of the actual order of local static destruction, because it's possible that you may unwittingly rely on a static being still valid after it's been destructed, and this is really difficult to track down.
FWIW, Codegear C++Builder doesn't destruct in the expected order according to the standard.
C:\> sample.exe 1 2
Created in foo
Created in if
Destroyed in foo
Destroyed in if
... which is another reason not to rely on the destruction order!
The Static variables are come into play once the program execution starts and it remain available till the program execution ends.
The Static variables are created in the Data Segment of the Memory.
The existing explanations aren't really complete without the actual rule from the Standard, found in 6.7:
The zero-initialization of all block-scope variables with static storage duration or thread storage duration is performed before any other initialization takes place. Constant initialization of a block-scope entity with static storage duration, if applicable, is performed before its block is first entered. An implementation is permitted to perform early initialization of other block-scope variables with static or thread storage duration under the same conditions that an implementation is permitted to statically initialize a variable with static or thread storage duration in namespace scope. Otherwise such a variable is initialized the first time control passes through its declaration; such a variable is considered initialized upon the completion of its initialization. If the initialization exits by throwing an exception, the initialization is not complete, so it will be tried again the next time control enters the declaration. If control enters the declaration concurrently while the variable is being initialized, the concurrent execution shall wait for completion of the initialization. If control re-enters the declaration recursively while the variable is being initialized, the behavior is undefined.
FWIW, Codegear C++Builder doesn't destruct in the expected order according to the standard.
C:\> sample.exe 1 2
Created in foo
Created in if
Destroyed in foo
Destroyed in if
... which is another reason not to rely on the destruction order!
The existing explanations aren't really complete without the actual rule from the Standard, found in 6.7:
The zero-initialization of all block-scope variables with static storage duration or thread storage duration is performed before any other initialization takes place. Constant initialization of a block-scope entity with static storage duration, if applicable, is performed before its block is first entered. An implementation is permitted to perform early initialization of other block-scope variables with static or thread storage duration under the same conditions that an implementation is permitted to statically initialize a variable with static or thread storage duration in namespace scope. Otherwise such a variable is initialized the first time control passes through its declaration; such a variable is considered initialized upon the completion of its initialization. If the initialization exits by throwing an exception, the initialization is not complete, so it will be tried again the next time control enters the declaration. If control enters the declaration concurrently while the variable is being initialized, the concurrent execution shall wait for completion of the initialization. If control re-enters the declaration recursively while the variable is being initialized, the behavior is undefined.
Motti is right about the order, but there are some other things to consider:
Compilers typically use a hidden flag variable to indicate if the local statics have already been initialized, and this flag is checked on every entry to the function. Obviously this is a small performance hit, but what's more of a concern is that this flag is not guaranteed to be thread-safe.
If you have a local static as above, and foo is called from multiple threads, you may have race conditions causing plonk to be initialized incorrectly or even multiple times. Also, in this case plonk may get destructed by a different thread than the one which constructed it.
Despite what the standard says, I'd be very wary of the actual order of local static destruction, because it's possible that you may unwittingly rely on a static being still valid after it's been destructed, and this is really difficult to track down.
Source: Stackoverflow.com