What are the possible advantages of using the "static" directive outside of a class?

Question

I've been doing some experimenting with function libraries and namespaces. I noticed that you can declare a function in a namespace as static, although it is not within a class declaration:

hpp:

ANameSpace
{

    static void aFunc();

};

cpp:

ANameSpace
{

    static void aFunc()
    {
        std::cout<<"Static function called"<<std::endl;
    }

};

I understand the concept of static class members and how they can be very useful, but are there any particular advantages to using static outside a class?

Note: I cast the final vote to close this question (can't delete because there is an answer) because the reference cited as dup, although it is much broader in scope, contains a detailed discussion of static. But I'm not sure if it exactly answers the question as I have rephrased it now.

See http://stackoverflow.com/a/22541240/1382251 for a detailed description of the usage of `static`. — barak manos, Apr 26 '14 at 10:36
Or see [cppreference.com](http://en.cppreference.com/w/cpp/language/storage_duration) — Daniel Frey, Apr 26 '14 at 10:36

score 2 · Accepted Answer · edited May 23 '17 at 11:43

2

A static global function is visible only in the scope of the file. This is probably due to C compatibility, where this was also possible.

This sums up every possible use of static pretty well.

edited May 23 '17 at 11:43

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answered Apr 26 '14 at 10:41

Theolodis

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What are the possible advantages of using the "static" directive outside of a class?

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