Can I access static variables inside a function from outside

Question

C/C++: Can I access static variables inside a function from outside? For example:

#include <iostream>
using namespace std;

void f()
{
    static int count = 3;
    cout << count << endl;
}

int main(int argc, char** argv)
{
    f::count = 5;   // apparently this is an invalid syntax.
    f();

    return 0;
}

Answer 1

No, you can't, neither in C nor in C++.

If you want to maintain state associated with a function, define a class with the appropriate state and a member function. (In C++. You've also tagged the question with C; the same technique works but you need to do all the groundwork yourself.)

Although they have their uses, most of the time non-const static locals are a bad idea. They make your function thread-unsafe, and they often make it "call-once".

Answer 2

Variables inside a function scope cannot be accessed externally by name, but you can return a pointer or reference to it