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Compound that with inability to cache those headers between different compilation units because each time you include a header, it can behave differently thanks

Compound that with inability to cache those headers between different compilation units because each time you include a header, it can behave differently thanks to preprocessor definitions, but you can't really make dependency of those definitions because even changing order of header inclusion can make difference to those definitions.

canucker2016 4y ago
...which is why sane, large projects use precompiled headers (PCH). C (and later C++) compilers have used precompiled headers since at least the late 80s. PCH speeds up compilation and roots out (hopefully, the few) cases where precompiled headers fail. But C/C++ wasn't designed for a world where tens/hundreds of programmers build an app measured in the tens/hundreds of megabytes.