Persistence with Static Variables

Snippet

Persistence with Static Variables

Static variables within a function scope are initialized only once and persist their value between function calls. This provides a way to maintain state without polluting the global namespace.

snippet.c
c
#include <stdio.h>
 
int get_next_id() {
    static int counter = 0;
    return ++counter;
}
 
int main() {
    printf("%d\n", get_next_id()); // 1
    printf("%d\n", get_next_id()); // 2
    return 0;
}

Breakdown

static int counter = 0;

Declares a variable that retains its value across multiple function executions.

return ++counter;

Increments the persistent value and returns it to the caller.

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Persistence with Static Variables

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