On Thu, 13 May 2004 07:57:30 -0700 in comp.lang.c++, "qWake"
<ma**@qWake.com> wrote,
The C++ language standard stipulates at section 9.4.1 that "[...] A static
member function shall not be declared const [...]"
The question is: what problem(s) could possibly exist in allowing static
member functions to be 'const' with the implication that they could not
modify static data members?
The problem would be yet another inconsistency in the C++ language.
No member function can be declared to not modify static data members.
That's not what a const member function means; it means that it cannot
modify the object (*this) and that it can be called on (*this) objects
that are const.
Also, sorry, I don't immediately see any great value to declaring that
the function cannot modify static members.