Question

Why can I call TheFakeStaticClass.FooConst , like it’s static, when it’s not declared static?

Are const fields converted to static fields at compile time? (I understand that you can’t change a const and hence you only need “one instance”. I’ve used many const’s before like Math.PI but never thought about before, and now I do and now I am curious.

namespace ConstTest
{
    class Program
    {
        class TheFakeStaticClass
        {
            public const string FooConst = "IAmAConst";
        }

        class TheRealStaticClass
        {
            public static string FooStatic = "IAmStatic";
        }

        static void Main()
        {
            var fc = TheFakeStaticClass.FooConst; // No error at compile time!
            var fs = TheRealStaticClass.FooStatic;
            var p = new Program();
            p.TestInANoneStaticMethod();
        }

        private void TestInANoneStaticMethod()
        {
            var fc = TheFakeStaticClass.FooConst;
            var fs = TheRealStaticClass.FooStatic;
        }
    }
}

Answer 1

From Jon Skeet – Why can’t I use static and const together

All constants declarations are implicitly static, and the C#
specification states that the (redundant) inclusion of the static
modifier is prohibited.