How to use public static variables in C++ - c++

Question

There doesn't seem to be a clear, concise example of real word use of a public static variable in C++ from multiple files on StackOverflow.
There are many examples showing how to use static variables in a single C++ translation unit, and many questions about the precise nature of the various uses of the static keyword, but as a programmer more experienced with C# I found it hard to scrape together what I needed to simply "have a static variable on a class and use it elsewhere" like you would in C# or Java.
Here I will try to demonstrate what I discovered in the most straightforward way. I hope that others will then improve on the answer and give more technical details for those that are interested.
SomeClass.h
In the header file for the class where we want to have a static variable, we just declare it static like we would in C# or Java. Don't try to initialise the variable here; C++ doesn't like that.
class SomeClass
{
public:
static bool some_flag;
};
SomeClass.cpp
In the cpp file for the class, we create the storage for the static variable, just like we would provide the implementation for a member function. Here we can initialise the variable. So far, this is going swimmingly!
#include "SomeClass.h"
bool SomeClass::some_flag = true;
SomeOtherClass.cpp
Here is where I ran into problems. If we try to just access SomeClass::some_flag from elsewhere (which, let's face it, is probably the reason you wanted a public static variable in the first place), the linker will complain that it doesn't know where it lives. We've told the compiler that the static variable exists, so the compiler is happy. The problem is that in this other translation unit we've never specified where that static variable is stored. You may be tempted to try redeclaring the storage, and hoping the linker resolves them both as "the some_flag I declared in SomeClass.h", but it won't. It will complain that you've given the variable two homes, which of course is not what you meant.
What we need to do is to tell the linker that the storage for some_flag lives elsewhere, and that it will be found once we try to put all the translation units together at link time. We use the extern keyword for this.
#include "SomeOtherClass.h"
#include "SomeClass.h"
extern bool SomeClass::some_flag;
void SomeOtherClass::SomeOtherFunction()
{
SomeClass::some_flag = true;
};
Voila! The compiler is happy, the linker is happy, and hopefully the programmer is also happy.
I now leave this open for a discussion on how I should not have used a public variable, could have just passed an instance of SomeClass through the 87 layers of code that's between it and the usage, should have used some feature coming in C++23, should have used boost::obscurething etc. etc.
I do however welcome any alternative approaches to this fundamental problem that are true to the usage I've demonstrated here.

Answer 1

Here is where I ran into problems. If we try to just access SomeClass::some_flag from elsewhere [...], the linker will complain that it doesn't know where it lives.
The linker won't complain, as long as you link with the translation unit that defines the variable (SomeClass.cpp).
extern bool SomeClass::some_flag;
This declaration is neither allowed, nor is it necessary. The class definition that contains the variable declaration is sufficient for the compiler, and the variable definition in SomeClass.cpp is sufficient for the linker. Demo
Don't try to initialise the variable here; C++ doesn't like that.
I do however welcome any alternative approaches to this fundamental problem
You could simply use an inline variable (since C++17):
class SomeClass
{
public:
inline static bool some_flag = true;

Answer 2

The answer, in summary form, for people who just want the code so they can get back to work:
SomeClass.h
#pragma once
class SomeClass
{
public:
static bool some_flag;
};
SomeClass.cpp
#include "SomeClass.h"
bool SomeClass::some_flag = true;
SomeOtherClass.cpp
#include "SomeOtherClass.h"
#include "SomeClass.h"
extern bool SomeClass::some_flag;
void SomeOtherClass::SomeOtherFunction()
{
SomeClass::some_flag = true;
}