26. Static class member

Static data member are class members that are declared using static keyword A static member has certain special characteristics These are:

• Only one copy of that member is created for the entire class and is shared by all the objects of that class , no matter how many objects are created.
• It is initialized to zero when the first object of its class is created .No other initialization is permitted. 
• It is visible only within the class,but its lifetime is the entire program.
• We can’t put it in the class definition but it can be initialized outside the class as done in the following example by redeclaring the static variable, using the scope resolution operator :: to identify which class it belongs to.

Let us try the following example to understand the concept of static data members −

Example

#include <iostream>
using namespace std;

class Box {
   public:
      static int objectCount;
      
      // Constructor definition
      Box(double l = 2.0, double b = 2.0, double h = 2.0) {
         cout <<"Constructor called." << endl;
         length = l;
         breadth = b;
         height = h;
         
         // Increase every time object is created
         objectCount++;
      }
      double Volume() {
         return length * breadth * height;
      }
      
   private:
      double length;     // Length of a box
      double breadth;    // Breadth of a box
      double height;     // Height of a box
};

// Initialize static member of class Box
int Box::objectCount = 0;

int main(void) {
   Box Box1(3.3, 1.2, 1.5);    // Declare box1
   Box Box2(8.5, 6.0, 2.0);    // Declare box2

   // Print total number of objects.
   cout << "Total objects: " << Box::objectCount << endl;

   return 0;
}

When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result −

Constructor called.
Constructor called.
Total objects: 2

Static Function Members

By declaring a functioning member as static, you make it independent of any particular object of the class. A static member function can be called even if no objects of the class exist and the static functions are accessed using only the class name and the scope resolution operator ::.

A static member function can only access static data members, other static member functions, and any other functions from outside the class.

Static member functions have a class scope and they do not have access to the this pointer of the class. You could use a static member function to determine whether some objects of the class have been created or not.

Let us try the following example to understand the concept of static function members −

Example

#include <iostream>
using namespace std;

class Box {
   public:
      static int objectCount;
      
      // Constructor definition
      Box(double l = 2.0, double b = 2.0, double h = 2.0) {
         cout <<"Constructor called." << endl;
         length = l;
         breadth = b;
         height = h;

         // Increase every time object is created
         objectCount++;
      }
      double Volume() {
         return length * breadth * height;
      }
      static int getCount() {
         return objectCount;
      }
      
   private:
      double length;     // Length of a box
      double breadth;    // Breadth of a box
      double height;     // Height of a box
};

// Initialize static member of class Box
int Box::objectCount = 0;

int main(void) {
   // Print total number of objects before creating object.
   cout << "Inital Stage Count: " << Box::getCount() << endl;

   Box Box1(3.3, 1.2, 1.5);    // Declare box1
   Box Box2(8.5, 6.0, 2.0);    // Declare box2

   // Print total number of objects after creating object.
   cout << "Final Stage Count: " << Box::getCount() << endl;

   return 0;
}

When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result −

Inital Stage Count: 0
Constructor called.
Constructor called.
Final Stage Count: 2