How is it that a static method in a class can be run without an object (as we know that a class does not have any memory allocated to it) in c++?

Question

So using static keyword below we can call MyMethod without creating an object of the class MyClass, my question is how is it even possible as a class is not allocated memory when the code is compiled?

static int MyMethod( int * a, int * b );

int one = 1;
int two = 2;

MyClass::MyMethod( &two, &one );

The functions do not exist in the same place that a class's variables are. — ChrisMM, May 22 '21 at 17:14
How does a non-member function work when some object doesn't exist? Simple: it doesn't care about that object. Neither do static members. — Nicol Bolas, May 22 '21 at 17:15
`one` and `two` don't have any allocated memory at compile time either. — user4581301, May 22 '21 at 17:18

score 0 · Answer 1 · answered May 22 '21 at 17:20

It seems you have a bit of a misunderstanding. There is no memory allocated for a class's methods every time it is made. Class methods are generally separate from their classes. I guess you could call the "Memory allocated to the member functions" the space that the opcodes take up. But yes, this is separate from the objects. It is just a language requirement that a member function that isn't static must be called by an instance of the class. Static functions intentionally don't care about this, and can be called even when it is not called by an object.

How is it that a static method in a class can be run without an object (as we know that a class does not have any memory allocated to it) in c++?

1 Answers1