c++ - Class with static members vs singleton

Question

Isn’t a class with only static members a kind of singleton design pattern? Is there any disadvantage of having such a class? A detailed explanation would help.

Answer 1

This kind of class is known as a monostate - it is somewhat different from a singleton.

Why use a monostate rather than a singleton? In their original paper on the pattern, Bell & Crawford suggest three reasonns (paraphrased by me):

• More natural access syntax
• singleton lacks a name
• easier to inherit from

I must admit, I don't find any of these particularly compelling. On the other hand, the monostate is definitely no worse than the singleton.