title: Static members in VB.NET
body: <p>I used to write this:</p>
  
  <pre><code>Private Sub Example()
  Static CachedPeople As List(Of MyApp.Person)
  If CachedPeople Is Nothing Then
      CachedPeople = New List(Of MyApp.Person)
  End If
  ...rest of code...
  End Sub
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>But then wondered if I could reduce this to:</p>
  
  <pre><code>Private Sub Example()
  Static CachedPeople As New List(Of MyApp.Person)
  ...rest of code...
  End Sub
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>The question is, will the "New" bit only be executed once when the function is first executed but in the next call, it will already exist.</p>
  
  <p>Cheers, Rob.</p>