Question

In C# 4.0 and later, is it (strictly) defined (in any possible compiler?) when static variables of a class are created, namely their memory allocated? Can I be sure that before entering the constructor of any created instance, a static variable of that class has already been allocated?

Please see the following example:

class X
{
static Vector2 v = new Vector2();

public X()
  {
  v.Set(1,1); // Can I be sure that memory for v is allocated here ? Always ??
  }
}

Is this considered good programming practice?

Answer 1

Yes, you can be sure about that. You can refer to this link. I don’t see the purpose of setting that vector that way, though. Maybe you’d prefer a static constructor, such as:

static X()
{
   v.Set(1, 1);
}