How to declare a static const char* in your header file?

Question

I\'d like to define a constant char* in my header file for my .cpp file to use. So I\'ve tried this:

private:
    static const char *SOMETHING = \"sommething\";         


        

Answer 1

You need to define static variables in a translation unit, unless they are of integral types.

In your header:

private:
    static const char *SOMETHING;
    static const int MyInt = 8; // would be ok

In the .cpp file:

const char *YourClass::SOMETHING = "something";

C++ standard, 9.4.2/4:

If a static data member is of const integral or const enumeration type, its declaration in the class definition can specify a constant-initializer which shall be an integral constant expression. In that case, the member can appear in integral constant expressions within its scope. The member shall still be defined in a namespace scope if it is used in the program and the namespace scope definition shall not contain an initializer.