How does the following work? #include <limits> int main() { const int* const foo = &std::numeric_limits<int> ::digits; } I was under the impression that in order to take an address of a static const-ant member we had to physically define it in some translation unit in order to please the linker. That said, after looking at the preprocessed code for this TU, I couldn't find an external definition for the digits member (or any other relevant members). I tested this on two compilers (VC++ 10 and g++ 4.2.4) and got identical results (i.e., it works). Does the linker auto-magically link against an object file where this stuff is defined, or am I missing something obvious here?