Fwd: Linking public: static const members in lib*.a's

["Steven T. Hatton" <hattons@globalsymmetry.com>]

I've posted the following to a few different newsgroups and mailing lists.  
The best explanation I've seen so far is that I'm asking the linker to 
evaluate the static initialization in an external library, and it doesn't 
know how to do that.  I believe the code is valid C++, and I believe I am 
using the language as it was intended to be used.  What exactly is the 
problem with what I'm trying to do in the following?

 Sorry about the big code dump.  I tried to get it down to the minimum
 required to demonstrate the problem.  On the following I run 
 aclocal
 autoheader
 autoconf
 automake -a -c --gnits
 ./configure
 make
 
 with the results shown at the end of the code listing.  The problem seems to
 be related to my using static const class members.  Other similarly
 configured programs work OK.  Can someone tell me what I'm doing wrong
 here?
 
 ./configure.ac
 #                                               -*- Autoconf -*-
 # Process this file with autoconf to produce a configure script.
 
 AC_PREREQ(2.59)
 AC_INIT(testlibs, 0.1, hattons@here.com)
 AC_CONFIG_SRCDIR([main.cpp])
 AC_CONFIG_HEADER([config.h])
 
 AM_INIT_AUTOMAKE
 # Checks for programs.
 AC_PROG_CXX
 AC_PROG_CC
 
 # Checks for libraries.
 AC_PROG_RANLIB
 # Checks for header files.
 
 # Checks for typedefs, structures, and compiler characteristics.
 AC_C_CONST
 AC_C_INLINE
 
 # Checks for library functions.
 
 AC_CONFIG_FILES([Makefile
                  sth/Makefile
                  sth/util/Makefile])
 AC_OUTPUT
 
 
 
 ./Makefile.am
 INCLUDES = -I$(top_srcdir)/sth $(all_includes)
 bin_PROGRAMS = testlibs
 testlibs_SOURCES = main.cpp
 testlibs_LDFLAGS = $(all_libraries)
 testlibs_LDADD = $(top_builddir)/sth/libsth.a 
 SUBDIRS = sth
 
 
 
 ./main.cpp
 #include "ColorTest.h"
 #include <iostream>
 
 int main(int argc, char* argv[]) {
   using sth::ColorTest;
   ColorTest* ct = new ColorTest(std::cout);
 }
 
 ./sth/Makefile.am
 INCLUDES = -I$(top_srcdir)/sth/util $(all_includes)
 SUBDIRS = util
 lib_LIBRARIES = libsth.a
 libsth_a_LIBADD = $(top_builddir)/sth/util/libutil.a
 noinst_HEADERS = ColorTest.h
 libsth_a_SOURCES = ColorTest.cpp
 
 
 ./sth/ColorTest.h
 #ifndef STHCOLORTEST_H
 #define STHCOLORTEST_H
 
 #include <ostream>
 namespace sth {
   class ColorTest {
   public:
     ColorTest(std::ostream& out);
     ~ColorTest();
   };
 };
 
 #endif
 
 
 ./sth/ColorTest.cpp
 #include "ColorTest.h"
 #include <iostream>
 
 int main(int argc, char* argv[]) {
   using sth::ColorTest;
   ColorTest* ct = new ColorTest(std::cout);
 }
 
 ./sth/util/Makefile.am
 INCLUDES = -I$(all_includes)
 lib_LIBRARIES = libutil.a
 noinst_HEADERS = RgbColor.h Printable_IF.h
 libutil_a_SOURCES = RgbColor.cpp
 
 
 ./sth/util/RgbColor.h
 #ifndef UTILRGBCOLOR_H
 #define UTILRGBCOLOR_H
 
 #include "Printable_IF.h"
 namespace sth
   {
   namespace util
     {
 
     /**
     @author Steven T. Hatton
     */
 
     class RgbColor
           : public Printable_IF
       {
       public:
         RgbColor(const unsigned char& r=255,
                  const unsigned char& g=127,
                  const unsigned char& b=127);
           
         unsigned char R() const;
         void R(const unsigned char& r);
 
         unsigned char G() const;
         void G(const unsigned char& g);
 
         unsigned char B() const;
         void B(const unsigned char& b);
 
         std::ostream& print(std::ostream& out) const;
 
         static const RgbColor RED;
         static const RgbColor GREEN;
         static const RgbColor BLUE;
         static const RgbColor BLACK;
         static const RgbColor WHITE;
         static const RgbColor MAGENTA;
         static const RgbColor CYAN;
         static const RgbColor YELLOW;
       private:
         unsigned char m_r;
         unsigned char m_g;
         unsigned char m_b;
       };
 
     inline unsigned char RgbColor::R() const
       {
         return m_r;
       }
     inline void RgbColor::R(const unsigned char& r)
     {
       m_r = r;
     }
 
     inline unsigned char RgbColor::G() const
       {
         return m_g;
       }
 
     inline void RgbColor::G(const unsigned char& g)
     {
       m_g = g;
     }
 
     inline unsigned char RgbColor::B() const
       {
         return m_b;
       }
 
     inline void RgbColor::B(const unsigned char& b)
     {
       m_b = b;
     }
   }
 }
 #endif
 
 ./sth/util/RgbColor.h
 #include "RgbColor.h"
 namespace sth
 {
   util::RgbColor::RgbColor(const unsigned char& r,
       const unsigned char& g,
       const unsigned char& b)
     : m_r(r)
     , m_g(g)
     , m_b(b)
   {}
   
   const util::RgbColor util::RgbColor::RED     = util::RgbColor(255,0,0);
   const util::RgbColor util::RgbColor::GREEN   = util::RgbColor(0,255,0);
   const util::RgbColor util::RgbColor::BLUE    = util::RgbColor(0,0,255);
   const util::RgbColor util::RgbColor::BLACK   = util::RgbColor(0,0,0);
   const util::RgbColor util::RgbColor::WHITE   =
 util::RgbColor(255,255,255);
   const util::RgbColor util::RgbColor::MAGENTA = util::RgbColor(255,0,255);
   const util::RgbColor util::RgbColor::CYAN    = util::RgbColor(0,255,255);
   const util::RgbColor util::RgbColor::YELLOW  = util::RgbColor(255,255,0);
 
   /*!
     \fn util::RgbColor::print(std::ostream& out) const
   */
   std::ostream& util::RgbColor::print(std::ostream& out) const
   {
     out
       << "util::RgbColor::{r=" << this->m_r
       << ",g=" << this->m_g
       << ",b=" << this->m_b << "}\n";
     return out;
   }
   
 }
 
 ./sth/util/Printable_IF.h
 #ifndef PRINTABLE_IF_H
 #define PRINTABLE_IF_H
 #include <iostream>
 namespace sth
   {
   namespace util
     {
     class Printable_IF
       {
       public:
         Printable_IF()
         {}
         virtual ~Printable_IF()
         {}
 
         virtual std::ostream& print(std::ostream& out) const = 0;
       };
 
     inline std::ostream& operator<<(std::ostream& out, const Printable_IF&
 pif)
     {
       return pif.print(out);
     }
   }
 }
 #endif
 
 undefined reference to `sth::util::RgbColor::RED'
 ./sth/libsth.a(ColorTest.o)(.text+0x6f):./sth/ColorTest.cpp:9: undefined
 reference to `sth::util::RgbColor::RED'
 ./sth/libsth.a(ColorTest.o)(.text+0x77):./sth/ColorTest.cpp:9: undefined
 reference to `sth::util::RgbColor::RED'
 ./sth/libsth.a(ColorTest.o)(.text+0x81):./sth/ColorTest.cpp:9: undefined
 reference to `vtable for sth::util::RgbColor'
 ./sth/libsth.a(ColorTest.o)(.text+0x8f): In function
 `sth::ColorTest::ColorTest[in-charge](std::basic_ostream<char,
 std::char_traits<char> >&)':

-- 
Regards,
Steven