Initialization of static template member in CRTP - c++

Question

I try to initialize a static member of a CRTP base class. The base class holds a static template member of the derived class, while the derived class defines other data members. I want to statically initialize this variable. In code, a minimal example would be the following:
template<typename DERIVED>
class base {
public:
static DERIVED x;
};
class derived : public base<derived>
{
public:
int a;
};
int base<derived>::x {0};
int main()
{}
However, the above does not compile, but gives the error message error: specializing member 'base<derived>::x' requires 'template<>' syntax.
How can I get the static initialization to work?

Answer 1

The correct syntax is:
template <class T>
class base {
public:
static T x;
};
template <class T>
T base<T>::x{};
Note that you can't initialize x to a specific integer value, since then your base class won't compile when DERIVED is e.g. an std::string.
You probably also want your inheritance to be explicitly public or private. I.e.:
class derived : public base<derived> {
public:
int a;
};
Edit: To specialize x and it's initialization for specific types T, you have to specialize base itself. I.e.:
class A;
template <>
class base<A> {
public:
static int x;
};
// Note missing "template <>" here.
int base<A>::x{ 5 };
class A : public base<A> { };
This seems rather cumbersome, since you need to already forward declare A in this case before declaring the specialization. To me it feels you might want to rethink your design. Is this really required or is there a simpler way to accomplish what you want?

Answer 2

I have found the static initializer trick, which works in the above setting, too. It was described here and here. In the above context, it would be as follows:
#include <iostream>
template<typename DERIVED>
class base {
public:
static inline DERIVED x;
};
class derived : public base<derived>
{
public:
int a;
struct static_initializer {
static_initializer()
{
derived::x.a = 1;
}
};
static inline static_initializer static_initializer_;
};
int main()
{
std::cout << derived::x.a << "\n";
}
The above output the value 1.
Note: this works with C++17.