Statics are a feature introduced in C and then expanded in C++. C introduced static local variables, which are allocated on the global heap but can only be accessed by one function. C++ then introduced static member data, which is also allocated on the global heap and even has to be declared separately of the class declaration, as well as static methods, which are not passed the "this" pointer but otherwise are the same as normal methods.

general definition: unchanging, constant. a contrasting meaning of static is representative of noise as in telephone line noise, wireless communication such as analog cellular telephones and radio transmission interference by frequency modulation or amplitude modulation.

The static keyword has a slightly different meaning in Java than in C or C++. Since Java is a purely Object-Oriented Language, static variables are always members of a class, and never local variables of a method. Static objects are still created on the global heap and are not associated with any particular instance of the class.

You can also define a static block of code that will initialize your static objects the first time the class is instantiated. This can save some typing if you have several constructors.

Static means stagnation, unchanging, or not moving.

It is also a form of electricity which we are frequently reminded of during cold weather; upon reaching for a grounded metal object, we can experience several thousand volts of static electricity (fortunately the amperage is too low to do any damage).

Static friction is the friction which must be overcome to put an object into initial motion. Static friction (such as that on a book lying flat on a table) makes the initial movment of the object require more energy than what is required to overcome the object's dynamic friction (after the book is already in motion).

static type definitions in C serve 2 somewhat different purposes. In all cases, they define an item of data which is global in the sense that only one copy exists for the entire runtime of the program. It can be viewed as setting a peculiar "local" scope for a global variable or function.

The scope of an object defined static follows the usual scoping rules for C: for a variable, till the end of the block (typically the function) in which it is defined, or till the end of the file, if defined outside any functions; for a function, merely till the end of the file (in C, functions cannot be defined inside functions). This aspect of staticness refers to the visibility of the object. For a function definition (or declaration), this is the only effect -- functions don't have storage types.

The storage type of a variable defined static is global, even in an inner block scope rather than file scope. This means that the variable retains its value between calls to the function. This behaviour is very different from the default automatic status of variables defined in a block, which only exist inside the block. In particular, you may freely return a pointer to (or into) a static variable's storage from a function, but you cannot do so for an automatic variable.

Stat"ic (?), Stat"ic*al (?), a. [Gr. causing to stand, skilled in weighing, fr. to cause to stand: cf. F. statique. See Stand, and cf. Stage.]

1.

Resting; acting by mere weight without motion; as, statical pressure; static objects.

2.

Pertaining to bodies at rest or in equilibrium.

Statical electricity. See Note under Electricity, 1. -- Statical moment. See under Moment.

 

© Webster 1913.