Article ID: 241569 - Last Review: June 2, 2005 - Revision: 3.0

Error C2258 and error C2252 occur if you try to perform in-place initialization of static const integral member data in Visual C++

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This article was previously published under Q241569
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SYMPTOMS

You may get the following error message if you try to perform in-place initialization of static const integral member data.
error C2258: illegal pure syntax, must be '= 0'
error C2252: 'x' : pure specifier can only be specified for functions
Please refer to the sample in the "More Information" section for details.
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CAUSE

The compiler does not support in-place initialization of static const integral member data as specified in the C++ standard (section 9.2) quoted in the following:

4 - A member-declarator can contain a constant-initializer only if it declares a static member of integral or enumeration type.
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WORKAROUND

Use one of the following workarounds:
  • Use enum instead of static const int: 
    enum{x = 3};
  • Instantiate the member outside the class: 
    const int A::x=3;
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STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a bug in the Microsoft products that are listed at the beginning of this article.
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MORE INFORMATION

Steps to Reproduce Behavior

The following example demonstrates the error. 
//test.cpp
// compiler option needed: none

class A 
{ 
	const static int x = 3; 
};
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APPLIES TO
  • Microsoft Visual C++ 5.0 Enterprise Edition
  • Microsoft Visual C++ 6.0 Enterprise Edition
  • Microsoft Visual C++ 5.0 Professional Edition
  • Microsoft Visual C++ 6.0 Professional Edition
  • Microsoft Visual C++, 32-bit Learning Edition 6.0
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Keywords: 
kberrmsg kbtshoot kbprb kbcpponly kbpending kbcompiler KB241569
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