You would have to make sure that all your users have a (working) version of a compiler that is compatible with the libraries. For C++, this can be a royal pain

You would have to make sure that all your users have a (working) version of a compiler that is compatible with the libraries. For C++, this can be a royal pain. Even on Linux, where a compiler can reasonably be expected to exist, there's no way of knowing whether the system's compiler is what you need. And don't even think about Windows, where only developers have a compiler, unless you'd like to ship GCC/mingw with your original app...