In object-oriented programming with classes, a class variable is a variable defined in a class (i.e. a member variable) of which a single copy exists, regardless of how many instances of the class exist.
A class variable is not an instance variable. It is a special type of class attribute (or class property, field, or data member).
In Java, C#, and C++, class variables are declared with the keyword static
, and may therefore be referred to as static member variables.
The same dichotomy between instance and class members applies to methods ("member functions") as well; a class may have both instance methods and class methods. Again, Java, C#, and C++ use the keyword static
to indicate that a method is a class method ("static member function").
Read more about Class Variable: Example
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