Question

What’s the diference between use:

static Foo foo;
// ...
foo.func();

And:

Foo& GetFoo(void) 
{
    static Foo foo;
    return foo;
}

// ...

GetFoo().func();

Which is better?

Answer 1

The principal difference is when construction occurs. In the first case, it occurs sometime before main() begins. In the second case, it occurs during the first call to GetFoo().

It is possible, in the first case, for code to (illegally) use foo prior to its initialization. That is not possible in the second case.