<?xml version="1.0"?>
<clause number="8.7.10" title="Static constructors" informative="true">
  <paragraph>A static constructor is a member that implements the actions required to initialize a class. Static constructors cannot have parameters, they cannot have accessibility modifiers, and they cannot be called explicitly. The static constructor for a class is called automatically. </paragraph>
  <paragraph>The example <code_example><![CDATA[
using Personnel.Data;  
class Employee  
{  
   private static DataSet ds;  
   static Employee() {  
      ds = new DataSet(...);  
   }  
   public string Name;  
   public decimal Salary;  
   ...  
}  
]]></code_example>shows an Employee class with a static constructor that initializes a static field. </paragraph>
</clause>