// At file scope
static const int a=5; // internal linkage
const int i=5; // external linkage
If the i object is not used outside the translation unit where it is defined, you should declare it with the static specifier.
This enables the compiler to (potentially) perform further optimizations and informs the reader that the object is not used outside its translation unit.
It depends on whether these definitions are inside of a function or not. The answer for the case outside a function is given by ouah, above. Inside of a function the effect is different, illustrated by the example below:
#include <stdlib.h>
void my_function() {
const int foo = rand(); // Perfectly OK!
static const int bar = rand(); // Compile time error.
}
If you want a local variable to be "really constant," you have to define it not just "const" but "static const".
i value you can modify by using a pointer if i is defined and declared locally,
if it is static const int a=5; or const int i=5; globally , you can not modify since it is stored in RO memory in Data Segment.
#include <stdio.h>
//const int a=10; /* can not modify */
int main(void) {
// your code goes here
//static const int const a=10; /* can not modify */
const int a=10;
int *const ptr=&a;
*ptr=18;
printf("The val a is %d",a);
return 0;
}