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From: tiemann@arkesden.ebay.sun.com (Michael Tiemann)
Newsgroups: gnu.g++.bug
Subject: `const' and space allocation
Message-ID: <8910212054.AA09169@arkesden.sun.com>
Date: 21 Oct 89 20:54:12 GMT
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    Date: Tue, 17 Oct 89 12:21:14 -0600
    From: grunwald@foobar.colorado.edu (Dirk Grunwald)
    To: bug-g++@prep.ai.mit.edu
    Subject: static const vs. const
    Reply-To: grunwald@foobar.colorado.edu
    Office: 6-1 EECR (303) 492-0452


    I'm not certain if this is a bug or feature;
    before, when I have the file:

    ----------foo.cc----------
    const int notStatic = -1;
    static const int isStatic = -1;
    --------------------------

    compiling & using nm would show that notStatic has space allocated;
    this is useful if refer to it in other files as ``extern const int notStatic''.

    the current version of g++ doesn't allocate a variable for either from.

    if this is the intended action, than I would think that referring to
    ``extern const int notStatic'' should generate an error.

    Dirk Grunwald -- Univ. of Colorado at Boulder	(grunwald@foobar.colorado.edu)

I have change GNU C++ so that `const' by itself will not cause space
to be allocated.  If you want space allocated, the specifying `static'
will get you space if you take the address of the const thing, and
specifying `extern' will allocate space and make the const thing
public, so that others can use it (for value or address).

Michael