Finding C++ static initialization order problems

Question

We\'ve run into some problems with the static initialization order fiasco, and I\'m looking for ways to comb through a whole lot of code to find possible occurrences. Any s

Answer 1

The first thing you need to do is make a list of all static objects that have non-trivial constructors.

Given that, you either need to plug through them one at a time, or simply replace them all with singleton-pattern objects.

The singleton pattern comes in for a lot of criticism, but the lazy "as-required" construction is a fairly easy way to fix the majority of the problems now and in the future.

old...

MyObject myObject

new...

MyObject &myObject()
{
  static MyObject myActualObject;
  return myActualObject;
}

Of course, if your application is multi-threaded, this can cause you more problems than you had in the first place...