C++ – Static member initialization in a class template

cstatictemplates

I'd like to do this:

template <typename T>
struct S
{
    ...
    static double something_relevant = 1.5;
};

but I can't since something_relevant is not of integral type. It doesn't depend on T, but existing code depends on it being a static member of S.

Since S is template, I cannot put the definition inside a compiled file. How do I solve this problem ?

Best Answer

Just define it in the header:

template <typename T>
struct S
{
    static double something_relevant;
};

template <typename T>
double S<T>::something_relevant = 1.5;

Since it is part of a template, as with all templates the compiler will make sure it's only defined once.

Related Solutions

Python – Are static class variables possible in Python

Variables declared inside the class definition, but not inside a method are class or static variables:

>>> class MyClass:
...     i = 3
...
>>> MyClass.i
3

As @millerdev points out, this creates a class-level i variable, but this is distinct from any instance-level i variable, so you could have

>>> m = MyClass()
>>> m.i = 4
>>> MyClass.i, m.i
>>> (3, 4)

This is different from C++ and Java, but not so different from C#, where a static member can't be accessed using a reference to an instance.

See what the Python tutorial has to say on the subject of classes and class objects.

@Steve Johnson has already answered regarding static methods, also documented under "Built-in Functions" in the Python Library Reference.

class C:
    @staticmethod
    def f(arg1, arg2, ...): ...

@beidy recommends classmethods over staticmethod, as the method then receives the class type as the first argument, but I'm still a little fuzzy on the advantages of this approach over staticmethod. If you are too, then it probably doesn't matter.

Difference between static class and singleton pattern

What makes you say that either a singleton or a static method isn't thread-safe? Usually both should be implemented to be thread-safe.

The big difference between a singleton and a bunch of static methods is that singletons can implement interfaces (or derive from useful base classes, although that's less common, in my experience), so you can pass around the singleton as if it were "just another" implementation.

Best Answer

Related Solutions

Python – Are static class variables possible in Python

Difference between static class and singleton pattern

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