From -655324479456604236 X-Google-Thread: f78e5,84b1489db50fe20d X-Google-Attributes: gidf78e5,public,usenet X-Google-Language: ENGLISH,ASCII-7-bit Path: g2news1.google.com!news1.google.com!newsfeed2.dallas1.level3.net!news.level3.com!newsfeed-00.mathworks.com!peer-uk.news.demon.net!kibo.news.demon.net!mutlu.news.demon.net!news.demon.co.uk!demon!stump.algebra.com!devnull From: tazmaster@rocketmail.com ("Jim Langston") Newsgroups: comp.std.c++ Subject: Re: static member function and const Date: Tue, 13 Nov 2007 17:01:54 GMT Lines: 32 Sender: mail2news@demon.net Approved: fjh@cs.mu.oz.au (Fergus Henderson , moderator of comp.std.c++) Message-ID: References: <1194932017.215138.261760@e9g2000prf.googlegroups.com> NNTP-Posting-Host: news.news.demon.net X-Trace: news.demon.co.uk 1194973318 19960 158.152.254.254 (13 Nov 2007 17:01:58 GMT) X-Complaints-To: abuse@demon.net NNTP-Posting-Date: Tue, 13 Nov 2007 17:01:58 +0000 (UTC) X-Original-To: std-c++@mailman.ucar.edu X-Robomod: STUMP, ichudov@algebra.com (Igor Chudov) X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.00.2900.3198 X-Priority: 3 X-RFC2646: Format=Flowed; Original X-Virus-Scanned: amavisd-new at csse.unimelb.edu.au X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Received: (from fjh@localhost) by mulga.csse.unimelb.edu.au (8.13.8+Sun/8.13.8/Submit) id lADH1s9x011531; Wed, 14 Nov 2007 04:01:54 +1100 (EST) X-Path: comp-std-cpp-robomod!not-for-mail X-NNTP-Posting-Date: Tue, 13 Nov 2007 01:29:14 MST X-Delivered-To: std-c++@mailman.ucar.edu X-Authentication-Warning: mulga.csse.unimelb.edu.au: fjh set sender to devnull@stump.algebra.com using -f X-SMTP-Auth: no X-Newsreader: Microsoft Outlook Express 6.00.2900.3138 X-Newsgroups: comp.std.c++ Xref: g2news1.google.com comp.std.c++:9605 wrote in message news:1194932017.215138.261760@e9g2000prf.googlegroups.com... > why can't a static member function be declared as const ? > We can declare a non-static member function as const, > to indicate that it does not modify the non-mutable data > members of a class. In the same way, is there a provision > to indicate that a static member function does not modify > the static data members but only uses their values ? > > Kindly explain. Didn't you ask this already? the const for a member function declares that the hiddent this paramater is constant. Since a static member function does not have the hidden this parameter, then the const is meaningless. That is, if the this was not hidden but had to be declared such as: void foo::bar( foo* this, int a ) and we wanted to make it constant we would do void foo::bar( const foo* this, int a ) but since we can't do that, because it's hidden, we put the const at the end void foo::bar( int a ) const that const just states that the this pointer is constant. Since a static function has no this pointer to make constant, then there is no need to add const at the end. --- [ comp.std.c++ is moderated. To submit articles, try just posting with ] [ your news-reader. If that fails, use mailto:std-c++@ncar.ucar.edu ] [ --- Please see the FAQ before posting. --- ] [ FAQ: http://www.comeaucomputing.com/csc/faq.html ]