c++ static method output using cout is always 1

Question

So i have a piece of code with a class like that:

#include<iostream>
#include<cstring>

class stu
{
    static int proba;
public:
    stu();
    static int no(){
        return proba;
    }
};

int stu::proba=0;

stu::stu()
{
    proba=proba+1;
}

int main()
{
    std::cout<< stu::no << std::endl;
}

The output is 1. It does so even if i change stu::no so that it would be only {return 12;} Why does it happen? How do I fix it??

Answer 1

Change it to std::cout<< stu::no() << std::endl;

Without the (), I believe it's evaluating as a pointer, and not doing what you're expecting.

Edit: As pointed out by @Loomchild, using g++ -Wall will provide further insight as to why it's always 1. The pointer to the static function is always evaluated as true in this context, hence the value being printed.