Re: [Boost-users] Header only libraries, why not all?

Sachin Garg wrote:

Header-only libraries are great as that eliminates the need for building the libraries and then linking with them. But not all libraries in boost are header only, which is an inconvenience.

Is this only because of 'legacy', and with time all libraries will move towards being header only? Or is there some technical requirement due to which some libraries just can't ever be header-only?

Because putting all code in headers comes with a cost at compile-time, may create duplicates across translation units, and also prevents code sharing.