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In layered architecture does it matter where static methods go? Or is it the architect deciding this? For example can the DAL be static to cache records and perform smart data retrieval at the application level? How about the service layer; can it be non-static?
I ask this because I have seen examples from good architects that employed static methods in their service layer -and I usually try to avoid them unless it's a matter of performance and efficiency (e.g. for record caching).
In my opinion, static items are hard to control, because they can't easily be bound to a context, be abstracted or overridden. Sometimes, when really just one instance is needed, a singleton can be a solution.
Common object-relational mappers, like NHibernate, create local contexts in which data is cached (depending on implementation, these may be bound to semi-static thread or web session contexts). But actual implementation is usually not static.
