Why Do C and C Differ in Their Treatment of Namespace-Scope `const` Objects?

Internal Linkage with Const in C vs. C

It's a known fact that declaring a const object at namespace scope in C results in internal linkage, contrary to the behavior observed in C.

The rationale behind this distinction is explained in Appendix C of the C 11 standard (section C.1.2). It states that file-scope const objects are limited to internal linkage, even without an explicit extern declaration. This change serves two purposes:

1. Encouraging Explicit Initializers: By restricting the linkage of const objects within the file, programmers are encouraged to explicitly specify initial values during declaration.
2. Header File Inclusion: This feature enables the placement of const objects in header files that are included across multiple compilation units.

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