Comments on Programming and Debugging (in my Underhøøsen): Static ctors in D.NET (Part 2)

I think that there is a small confusion here: what...

2009-04-27T09:38:00.000-07:00

I think that there is a small confusion here: what I said about static constructors being called only when there is a reference applies to CLASSES.

The static constructor of a MODULE is always executed. Your example will work without the need for a static module dtor.

I have a few project in mind where a static constr...

2009-04-25T13:17:00.000-07:00

I have a few project in mind where a static constructor is used to inject code into the main program. That way the nothing needs be done except link the a module to effect somthing:

module main;

void function(Context)[char[]] actions;

void main(char[][] args)
{
Context cx;
foreach(arg; args[1..$])
if(auto dg = arg in actions)
(*dg)(cx);
}

/////
module plugin;
import main;

static this()
{
actions["-plugin"] = function void(Context cx){somthing();};
}

static ~this(){} // just to make things work???

The static ctors are called if a) the class also h...

2009-04-24T14:48:00.000-07:00

The static ctors are called if a) the class also has a static dtor or b) the class is referenced (either by invoking any of its methods, or accessing its static members).

The fact that the static ctors of a class that is never actually used are not invoked comes as an optimization. The only reason I would want to do what you are suggesting is to ensure 100% compatibility with the native compiler, but I do not see any benefits in that.

Am I reading that correctly in that I can only be ...

2009-04-24T14:12:00.000-07:00

Am I reading that correctly in that I can only be sure that static constructors will be called if the class also has a static destructor?

If that is the case, how about make that non-member .cctor touch any class with a static constructor even if it has no destructor. Then they run no mater what.