[phire]

Yeah, maybe they should have, would have been a lot simpler.

But C++ really wanted modules to be a more or less drop in replacement for #include (or at least a set of common use cases), which really pushed up the required level of complexity.

[pjmlp]

That it was already there via Apple and Google's work, header maps, but what we got was Microsoft proposal, after some collaboration with Google.

Note at WWDC 2024, the module improvements regarding build times, in what concerns C++, it is based on header maps as well. Apple is not even bothering with C++20 modules.