Race condition: One thread creates static object, another thread uses it before it is finished initializing. How to handle?
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I have several places in my code where a function static object is created once, and then used (copied) any time that function is called. One of these functions can be called from any thread. The function doesn't access any shared state other than this static object.

When thread 1 calls the function for the first time, the object is created and initialized. However, (by a stroke of luck) I have a repeatable case where the program switches to thread 2 and calls the same function before initialization is finished. The object is assigned, and used, with bad data!

I'm not sure how to handle this. I'm using critical sections in the initialization code, but that's not even the problem. This object is being used before being initialized in the first place.

I tried making this thread local using  __declspec(thread), but that doesn't work for objects, apparently.

I could just surround the whole thing with a critical section, and maybe that's the best solution, but I'm concerned about problems like this cropping up in other parts of the code- it'd be nice to have a general solution.