Static Lifetimes

A static variable is a memory resource created at compile-time that exists through a program start to finish. They must have their types explicitly specified.

A static lifetime is a memory resource that lasts indefinitely to the end of a program. Note that by this definition some static lifetime resources can be created at runtime.

Resources with static lifetimes have a special lifetime specifier 'static.

'static resources will never drop.

If static lifetime resources contain references they must all be 'static (anything less would not live long enough).

Memory detail:

• Modifying static variables is inherently dangerous because they are globally accessible to be read from by anyone introducing the possibility of a data race. We'll talk about the challenges of global data later.
• Rust allows the use of unsafe { ... } blocks to perform some operations that the compiler cannot make memory guarantees about. The R̸͉̟͈͔̄͛̾̇͜U̶͓͖͋̅Ṡ̴͉͇̃̉̀T̵̻̻͔̟͉́͆Ơ̷̥̟̳̓͝N̶̨̼̹̲͛Ö̵̝͉̖̏̾̔M̶̡̠̺̠̐͜Î̷̛͓̣̃̐̏C̸̥̤̭̏͛̎͜O̶̧͚͖͔̊͗̇͠N̸͇̰̏̏̽̃ should not be talked about casually.