Static dynamic memory: oxymoronic or just plain moronic?

[DannyBoy]

Is it possible to perform a static dynamic memory allocation? My problem is that I need to create a static array, but that I don't know a priori the size of that array. So, for example, does the following code make any sense whatsoever:

Code: Select all

static double *C=new double[N_CELLS];


Is there a better alternative? How do I go about deallocating the memory? Would a static smart pointer make more sense? As always, any advice, comments, or mocking of my ignorance is welcome.

[exomo]

Whether or not this makes sense depends on the place where you want to put this code and the time you know N_CELLS.
I would prefer to not use static variables with dynamically allocated memory because you don't know when to free the memory, but you could do this if you don't want to ever free the memory. I'm not sure if smart pointers would help you here.

You could just make C a global variable (or a static class member) and make an initialization and deallocation function. Call the initialization as soon as you know the value of N_CELLS and call the deallocation somewhere at the end of the main function. If you have a possibility to do it without globals or statics it would be even better, but sometimes it's not possible.

[DannyBoy]

Thanks for your thoughts, exomo! What I ended up doing was declaring a static vector, which seems to have done the trick.