What’s the difference between static inline, extern inline and a normal inline function?

by

A function definition with static inline defines an inline function with internal linkage. Such function works “as expected” from the “usual” properties of these qualifiers: static gives it internal linkage and inline makes it inline. So, this function is “local” to a translation unit and inline in it.

A function definition with just inline defines an inline function with external linkage. However, such definition is referred to as inline definition and it does not work as external definition for that function. That means that even though this function has external linkage, it will be seen as undefined from other translation units, unless you provide a separate external definition for it somewhere.

A function definition with extern inline defines an inline function with external linkage and at the same time this definition serves as external definition for this function. It is possible to call such function from other translation units.

The last two paragraphs mean that you have a choice of providing a single extern inline definition for an inline function with external linkage, or providing two separate definitions for it: one inline and other extern. In the latter case, when you call the function the compiler is allowed to chose either of the two definitions.

More Related Contents:

  1. Global variables in C are static or not?
  2. Why won’t extern link to a static variable?
  3. C | Static array: why does writing out-of-bounds not result in exception? [duplicate]
  4. How do I use extern to share variables between source files?
  5. What does “static” mean in C?
  6. What is the purpose of static keyword in array parameter of function like “char s[static 10]”?
  7. What does extern inline do?
  8. What is a “static” function in C?
  9. How to deal with symbol collisions between statically linked libraries?
  10. Static variable inside of a function in C
  11. Variably modified array at file scope
  12. The initialization of static variables in C
  13. static and extern global variables in C and C++
  14. Is returning a pointer to a static local variable safe?
  15. Can I mix static and shared-object libraries when linking?
  16. Creating static Mac OS X C build
  17. When to use static keyword before global variables?
  18. Can local and register variables be declared extern?
  19. Static vs global
  20. variably modified array at file scope in C
  21. Why can’t the size of a static array be made variable?
  22. Advantage of using extern in a header file
  23. How are static variables with the same name in different functions identified by the System?
  24. static function in C
  25. What is the difference between static const and const?
  26. What does static mean in ANSI-C [duplicate]
  27. When to put static function definitions in header files in C?
  28. Is it possible to declare multiple static variables with same name in a single C file?
  29. How to assign a hexadecimal value to an unsigned char variable in a C program [closed]
  30. Is un-initialized integer always default to 0 in c?

Leave a Comment