Redefining static variables to be used in Functions - Is there a better way?

Question

I've been writing C++ (Mostly C++98) for a while and whenever I have a class using a static variable that is being accessed by a static function I must (re?)define it.

Example:

Test.h

class Test
{
    static bool m_Foo;

    static void Bar();
}

Test.cpp

bool Test::m_Foo; // This is what im trying to get rid of

void Test::Bar()
{
    m_Foo != m_Foo;
}

Now with bigger classes this becomes really messy and confusing, is there a better way to handle this? Im thinking that C11 or C17 would have a more modern way to do this. My google research only really shows solutions for functions.

What you are looking for is `inlined variable` (since c++17). See https://en.cppreference.com/w/cpp/language/inline for more details. — ph3rin, Aug 20 '19 at 00:28
Possible duplicate of [Why static data members must be defined in C++?](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/57387460/why-static-data-members-must-be-defined-in-c) — Justin, Aug 20 '19 at 01:12
If you have so many statics that this becomes messy and confusing, it might be time to refactor. — molbdnilo, Aug 20 '19 at 01:42

score 1 · Answer 1 · edited Aug 20 '19 at 06:39

1

static bool m_Foo; in Class Test, is a declaration while bool Test::m_Foo; is its definition, so you can't skip this.

How do I improve it? I'm not quite sure what is the better way to handle it and look forward to see other answers.

edited Aug 20 '19 at 06:39

Axois

1,961
2
11
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answered Aug 20 '19 at 00:27

wei

11
1

score 0 · Accepted Answer · answered Aug 23 '19 at 00:26

Using VS2017 you have to explicitly state to use C++17 on all builds. Rookie mistake I know ...
After switching to C++17 (Not C++14) using inline worked straight away.

The Class now looks like this:

class Test
{
    static inline bool m_Foo;

    static void Bar();
}

Redefining static variables to be used in Functions - Is there a better way?

2 Answers2