Storage duration
Storage duration is the C property that determines how long an object exists during program execution and how its storage is managed.
Modern C, Third Edition
Storage duration is the lifetime category that determines when a C object is created, exists, and is initialized or destroyed.
- How it is used
- Distinguishes an object's lifetime from identifier visibility when reasoning about local, file-scope, and dynamically allocated storage.
- How deep it goes
- Compares declaration properties and initialization rules, with worked shadowing examples and a storage-class table.
- Examples
- Traces shadowed local and `extern` declarations, then uses allocated rational-number objects to illustrate initialization functions.
- What you can do after
- Diagnose/debug with it by separating name visibility from object lifetime and choosing initialization appropriate to storage duration.
Read how Modern C, Third Edition explains storage duration →
Modern C
Storage duration is the C property that specifies how long an object exists during program execution and how its storage is managed.
- How it is used
- Distinguishes how long an object's storage persists from where its identifier is visible, guiding initialization and dynamic-allocation choices.
- How deep it goes
- Works through shadowing and extern declarations, compares storage categories, and develops initialization rules; defers finer object-lifetime and machine-stack details.
- Examples
- Uses shadowed local variables, an extern declaration that selects a file-scope object, and initialization functions for allocated data.
- What you can do after
- Diagnose/debug with it by separating identifier shadowing from object identity and deciding which objects require explicit initialization.
Related concepts
- public visibilitycontrasts with · Public visibility is an access level that allows a declaration or resource to be accessed beyond its defining scope or boundary, subject to the applicable access rules.
- initializationconfigures · Initialization is the process of establishing initial values or a starting state for a program entity, component, resource, or computation before subsequent operation.
- lifetimeconfigures · A lifetime is the interval during which a program entity exists and remains valid or accessible under the applicable language rules.
- static storageincludes · Static storage duration is the storage duration of an object whose lifetime extends throughout program execution.
- thread storage durationincludes · Thread storage duration is a C object storage duration in which an object’s lifetime is associated with a particular thread of execution.
- allocated storage durationincludes · Allocated storage duration is the C storage duration of dynamically allocated storage, ending when it is deallocated, reallocated, or the program terminates.
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