Is it possible to forward declare a static array
<p>I need to put a static array into a .cpp file. This array is only used in this .cpp so I want to declare it static. The array definition is quite big, so naturally I want to forward declare it.</p>

<pre><code>static int bigIntArray[5000];

/* other code using bitIntArray */

static int bigIntArray[5000] = {
  0x00, 0x9900, 0xffee,
  ...
};
</code></pre>

<p>VC 9.0 gives an error: error C2086: 'int bigIntArray[5000]' : redefinition</p>

<p>If I change 'static' to 'extern', the problem goes away but I do not like this solution.</p>

<p>Why I can not forward declare a static variable? Is this required by the C++ standard?</p>
