What is the difference between static const and const?

c static constants
Lior picture Lior · Nov 1, 2012 · Viewed 91k times · Source

What is the difference between static const and const? For example:

static const int a=5;
const int i=5;

Is there any difference between them? When would you use one over the other?

Answer

Joe picture Joe · Nov 1, 2012

static determines visibility outside of a function or a variables lifespan inside. So it has nothing to do with const per se.

const means that you're not changing the value after it has been initialised.

static inside a function means the variable will exist before and after the function has ended.

static outside of a function means that the scope of the symbol marked static is limited to that .c file and cannot be seen outside of it.

Technically (if you want to look this up), static is a storage specifier and const is a type qualifier.

Related questions

What is the difference between a static and const variable?

Can someone explain the difference between a static and const variable?

Read More
Variably modified array at file scope

I want to create a constant static array to be used throughout my Objective-C implementation file similar to something like this at the top level of my ".m" file: static const int NUM_TYPES = 4; static int types[NUM_TYPES] = { 1, 2, 3, 4 }; I …

Read More
How to initialize static pointer with malloc in C?

I'm trying to initiate a static variable (inside a function) with malloc in C, but I'm getting the "initializer not constant error". I know that I can't initiate a static with non constants in C, but can anyone think of …

Read More