C/C++ Preprocessing with modern data storage devices

The progress of hardware evolution cannot be stopped. Not just new CPUs and memory modules are invented but new kind of data storage devices appeared. Typically the programming languages do not follow all the changes in hardware. Solid-state drives (SSD) are improved data storage devices in order to reach must faster read and write speed than hard disk drives. Nowadays the solid-state drives have become popular. The high number of I/O operations have some performance drawbacks during build. In this paper we analyze how the data storage device affects C/C++ preprocessor operations because this is an I/O-intensive task and many researches target the speed-up of preprocessing workflow. We present our measurement framework that helps us to analyze different approaches. We focus on the following questions: Is it worth to use unity build or another technique when SSD is available? How can we take advantage of solid-state drive when we work with preprocessor? What are pros and cons when preprocessor works with these new devices?