CA1810: Initialize reference type static fields inline

Cause

A reference type declares an explicit static constructor.

Rule Description

When a type declares an explicit static constructor, the just-in-time (JIT) compiler adds a check to each static method and instance constructor of the type to make sure that the static constructor was previously called. Static initialization is triggered when any static member is accessed or when an instance of the type is created. However, static initialization is not triggered if you declare a variable of the type but do not use it, which can be important if the initialization changes global state.

When all static data is initialized inline and an explicit static constructor is not declared, Microsoft intermediate language (MSIL) compilers add the beforefieldinit flag and an implicit static constructor, which initializes the static data, to the MSIL type definition. When the JIT compiler encounters the beforefieldinit flag, most of the time the static constructor checks are not added. Static initialization is guaranteed to occur at some time before any static fields are accessed but not before a static method or instance constructor is invoked. Note that static initialization can occur at any time after a variable of the type is declared.

Static constructor checks can decrease performance. Often a static constructor is used only to initialize static fields, in which case you must only make sure that static initialization occurs before the first access of a static field. The beforefieldinit behavior is appropriate for these and most other types. It is only inappropriate when static initialization affects global state and one of the following is true:

• The effect on global state is expensive and is not required if the type is not used.

• The global state effects can be accessed without accessing any static fields of the type.

How to Fix Violations

To fix a violation of this rule, initialize all static data when it is declared and remove the static constructor.

When to Suppress Warnings

It is safe to suppress a warning from this rule if performance is not a concern; or if global state changes that are caused by static initialization are expensive or must be guaranteed to occur before a static method of the type is called or an instance of the type is created.

Example

The following example shows a type, StaticConstructor, that violates the rule and a type, NoStaticConstructor, that replaces the static constructor with inline initialization to satisfy the rule.

using System;
using System.Reflection;
using System.Resources;

namespace PerformanceLibrary
{
   public class StaticConstructor
   {
      static int someInteger;
      static string resourceString;

      static StaticConstructor()
      {
         someInteger = 3;
         ResourceManager stringManager = 
            new ResourceManager("strings", Assembly.GetExecutingAssembly());
         resourceString = stringManager.GetString("string");
      }
   }

   public class NoStaticConstructor
   {
      static int someInteger = 3;
      static string resourceString = InitializeResourceString();

      static string InitializeResourceString()
      {
         ResourceManager stringManager = 
            new ResourceManager("strings", Assembly.GetExecutingAssembly());
         return stringManager.GetString("string");
      }
   }
}

Imports System
Imports System.Resources

Namespace PerformanceLibrary

   Public Class StaticConstructor

      Shared someInteger As Integer
      Shared resourceString As String 

      Shared Sub New()

         someInteger = 3
         Dim stringManager As New ResourceManager("strings", _
            System.Reflection.Assembly.GetExecutingAssembly())
         resourceString = stringManager.GetString("string")

      End Sub

   End Class


   Public Class NoStaticConstructor

      Shared someInteger As Integer = 3
      Shared resourceString As String = InitializeResourceString()

      Shared Private Function InitializeResourceString()

         Dim stringManager As New ResourceManager("strings", _
            System.Reflection.Assembly.GetExecutingAssembly())
         Return stringManager.GetString("string")

      End Function

   End Class

End Namespace

Note the addition of the beforefieldinit flag on the MSIL definition for the NoStaticConstructor class.

.class public auto ansi StaticConstructor extends [mscorlib]System.Object { } // end of class StaticConstructor .class public auto ansi beforefieldinit NoStaticConstructor extends [mscorlib]System.Object { } // end of class NoStaticConstructor

Related Rules

CA2207: Initialize value type static fields inline