I do not understand why the qualifier static applied to x here?

Question

In case of declaration;

const int *p;

specifier const is applied to int i.e, the object p points to.
while regarding the statement(JUNE 1998, EMBEDDED SYSTEMS PROGRAMMING);

Some declaration specifiers do not contribute to the type of the declarator-id.Rather, they specify other semantic information that applies directly to the declarator-id. For example, in:

static unsigned long int *x[N];

the keyword static does not apply to the unsigned long int objects that the pointers in x point to. Rather, it applies to x itself:

 ---------------------------   
/    \                    / \ 
static unsigned long int * x [N];

This declares that x is a static object of type “array of N elements of pointer to unsigned long int.”

I do not understand why static applied to x?

Can you imagine to apply `static` to `unsigned long int*` but not to `x`? If answer is "no" then order doesn't matter because `static` and `const` are two different things. In the case of `const` it's different: `const int* p` is not the same as `int* const p`. — Adriano Repetti, Jul 18 '13 at 21:09
The variable `x` has array type (this is the `unsigned long *[n]` part, more precisely it is an array of `n` pointers to unsigned long. However `static` has nothing to do with types: it denotes the *storage class* of `x` (others are `extern`, `auto` and `register`). You may want to read other books if you find this one unclear (it seems unclear to me too), see eg. http://stackoverflow.com/questions/562303/the-definitive-c-book-guide-and-list — Alexandre C., Jul 18 '13 at 21:17
@AlexandreC. Yes you are right. Sorry for asking such a stupid question. — haccks, Jul 18 '13 at 21:19
@AlexandreC.; Ya. That's why I was confused. But now it is clear. — haccks, Jul 18 '13 at 21:21

score 1 · Accepted Answer · answered Jul 18 '13 at 21:10

1

static doesn't make sense to apply to the type. static applies to the storage location / visibility of x ( depending where its declared )

answered Jul 18 '13 at 21:10

Keith Nicholas

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score 1 · Answer 2 · answered Jul 18 '13 at 21:11

Storage-class specifiers and type qualifiers are completely different things. The type qualifier (const, volatile, or restrict) is part of the type, whereas storage-class specifiers (typedef, extern, static, auto, or register) are part of the declaration.

If you're referring to C99, see 6.7.1 Storage-class specifiers and 6.7.3 Type qualifiers.

I do not understand why the qualifier static applied to x here?

2 Answers2