This isn't even debatable. >> Efficiency has been a major design goal for C++ from the beginning, also the principle of “zero overhead” for any feature that is

This isn't even debatable. >> Efficiency has been a major design goal for C++ from the beginning, also the principle of “zero overhead” for any feature that is not used in a program. It has been a guiding principle from the earliest days of C++ that “you don’t pay for what you don’t use”. https://www.stroustrup.com/Performance-TR.pdf https://www.stroustrup.com/Performance-TR.pdf