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Asked: 2026-05-11T08:09:11+00:00

The question was about plain c functions, not c++ static methods, as clarified in

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The question was about plain functions, not static methods, as clarified in comments.

I understand what a static variable is, but what is a static function?

And why is it that if I declare a function, let’s say void print_matrix, in let’s say a.c (WITHOUT a.h) and include 'a.c' – I get 'print_matrix@@....) already defined in a.obj', BUT if I declare it as static void print_matrix then it compiles?

UPDATE Just to clear things up – I know that including .c is bad, as many of you pointed out. I just do it to temporarily clear space in main.c until I have a better idea of how to group all those functions into proper .h and .c files. Just a temporary, quick solution.

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  1. static functions are functions that are only visible to other functions in the same file (more precisely the same translation unit).

    EDIT: For those who thought, that the author of the questions meant a ‘class method’: As the question is tagged C he means a plain old C function. For (C++/Java/…) class methods, static means that this method can be called on the class itself, no instance of that class necessary.

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