The static keyword and its various uses in C++

Question

The keyword static is one which has several meanings in C++ that I find very confusing and I can never bend my mind around how its actually supposed to work.

Answer 1

Static storage duration means that the variable resides in the same place in memory through the lifetime of the program.

Linkage is orthogonal to this.

I think this is the most important distinction you can make. Understand this and the rest, as well as remembering it, should come easy (not addressing @Tony directly, but whoever might read this in the future).

The keyword static can be used to denote internal linkage and static storage, but in essence these are different.

What does it mean with local variable? Is that a function local variable?

Yes. Regardless of when the variable is initialized (on first call to the function and when execution path reaches the declaration point), it will reside in the same place in memory for the life of the program. In this case, static gives it static storage.

Now what about the case with static and file scope? Are all global variables considered to have static storage duration by default?

Yes, all globals have by definition static storage duration (now that we cleared up what that means). But namespace scoped variables aren't declared with static, because that would give them internal linkage, so a variable per translation unit.

How does static relate to the linkage of a variable?

It gives namespace-scoped variables internal linkage. It gives members and local variables static storage duration.

Let's expand on all this:

//

static int x; //internal linkage
              //non-static storage - each translation unit will have its own copy of x
              //NOT A TRUE GLOBAL!

int y;        //static storage duration (can be used with extern)
              //actual global
              //external linkage
struct X
{
   static int x;     //static storage duration - shared between class instances 
};

void foo()
{
   static int x;     //static storage duration - shared between calls
}

This whole static keyword is downright confusing

Definitely, unless you're familiar with it. :) Trying to avoid adding new keywords to the language, the committee re-used this one, IMO, to this effect - confusion. It's used to signify different things (might I say, probably opposing things).