Help and Support

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++

View products that this article applies to.
This article was previously published under Q241569
Expand all | Collapse all

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.
Back to the top

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.
Back to the top

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;
Back to the top

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a bug in the Microsoft products that are listed at the beginning of this article.
Back to the top

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; 
};
Back to the top
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
Back to the top
Keywords: 
kberrmsg kbtshoot kbprb kbcpponly kbpending kbcompiler KB241569
Back to the top

Get Help Now

Contact a support professional by E-mail, Online, or Phone

Article Translations