static objects vs. stack
I came across the following definition:
A static object is one that exists from the time it is constructed and created until the end of the program. Stack- and Heap- based objects are thus excluded. Static objects are destroyed when the program exits, ie their destructors are called when main finishes executing.
Why are stack- and heap- based objects excluded???
Here is what I know about stacks and heaps: The stack is the part of the system memory where all the variables are stored before run-time. The heap is the part of the system memory where all the variables are stored during run-time, eg dynamically allocated memory. This means that if I declare an integer variable i in my code and assign the value of say 123 to it, then that will be stored in my stack, because the compiler knows the value during the compile time (before run-time). But if I define a pointer variable and want to initialize it somewhere else, then that will be stored in my heap, since it is unknown to the compiler at the compile time.
In general, a static object is "created" by the compiler at compile time. Its behavior as to program exit is likely to be different across languages. For example, in C, there is no special handling at all (and AFAIK that's also true for Objective-C). Often these objects "live" in a read-only memory area that the compiler created and "attached" to the program. When the program is loaded into memory this read-only area is mapped into the program's memory which is a very fast operation. For example, all the static strings (as in printf("I'm a static string."); ) in C are treated that way.
Then there's the stack, aka call stack, and a stack. A stack in general is just a data structure, aka LIFO (last-in-first-out). The call stack is indeed created by the OS and is normally limited in size. It stores all the information that are necessary for function call. That mean for each function call, its arguments and other info is "pushed" to the stack (put on top of the stack) and a little space for the function variables is reserved. Once the function returns, all this stuff is removed and only the return value is left (though even this is not always true, often the return value is passed in a CPU register).
You can store values to the stack, and languages like C++ even allow you to store objects on the stack. They "automatically" get cleaned once its enclosing function returns.
You can store also store a pointer to such an object living in the stack in another variable as well. But what you probably mean is that normally you create an object in the heap (eg via new in Java, C++, C#, etc. or alloc in Objective-C) and you get a pointer to that object in return.
Back to the start: static objects are known to the compiler at compile time, but everything that has to do with heap and stack is by definition only known at run time.
There are several storage durations:
delete ) "A static object is one that exists from the time it is constructed and created until the end of the program. Stack- and Heap- based objects are thus excluded."
Why are stack- and heap- based objects excluded???
They are "excluded" because they do not exist from the time it is constructed and created until the end of the program.
None of this contradicts what you wrote / understand in your 2nd paragraph, though there may be nuances depending on the programming language that you are talking about.
What you've found is a poorly worded definition of static . Nothing more, nothing less.
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