Question

this code compiles and runs without errors:

class foo{
  static foo *ref;
  foo(){}
  public:
    static foo *getRef(){
      return ref;
    }
    void bar(){}
};

foo* foo::ref = new foo; // the construcrtor is private!

int main(int argc, const char *argv[])
{
  foo* f = foo::getRef();
  f->bar();
  return 0;
}

could somebody explain why can the constructor be called?

Answer 1

That scope isn’t global – static members are at class scope, and so their initialization expression is also at class scope.