when not in a class definition, 'static' means that the name should not be visible outside the compiled module. This is an older style and has been 'deprecated' by the standards committee, but people still use it all the time.

Here's an example:

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// file A
void ExportedRoutine()
{
}
 
static void NonExportedRoutine()
{
}

// file A void ExportedRoutine() { } static void NonExportedRoutine() { }

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C++ Syntax (Toggle Plain Text)

// File B
    // this asks the linker to find ExportedRoutine defined in some other file
extern void ExportedRoutine(); 
 
    // this won't work because the routine is 'static' and therefore not available
    // to the linker to be found...
extern void NonExportedRoutine(); // will generate a linker error

// File B // this asks the linker to find ExportedRoutine defined in some other file extern void ExportedRoutine(); // this won't work because the routine is 'static' and therefore not available // to the linker to be found... extern void NonExportedRoutine(); // will generate a linker error

Same applies for any declared variable:

static int foo;
int bar; // this could be found by the linker from another obj file.