I think he means header files compile to nothing, they do not end up as actual computer instructions. They only serve to help programs call the actual implementations (which he'll see as the real code) correctly.
I'm not sure if this interpretation of his words is what he meant to say.
I'd argue that code that "compiles to nothing" can be protected by copyright, too, even if it is not distributed to customers. E.g., extensive documentation inside comments in the source files is definitely copyrighted. Complex build rules might be copyrightable, too, although they definitely end up in the distributed application.
Therefore, it would probably be counterproductive to assert such a thing in court.
Yes.
I just wanted to clarify that code that "compiles to nothing", e.g., build instructions, may still be copyrightable.
Therefore, I do not think that Page wanted to extend his definition of "non-code" to anything besides interfaces/declarations.
I'd argue that code that "compiles to nothing" can be protected by copyright, too, even if it is not distributed to customers. E.g., extensive documentation inside comments in the source files is definitely copyrighted. Complex build rules might be copyrightable, too, although they definitely end up in the distributed application.
Therefore, it would probably be counterproductive to assert such a thing in court.