title: Release mode static library much larger than debug mode version
body: <p>today i found out that the compiled static library i'm working on is much larger in <strong>Release</strong> mode than in <strong>Debug</strong>. I found it very surprising, since most of the time the exact opposite happens (as far as i can tell).</p>
  
  <p>The size in debug mode is slightly over 3 MB (its a fairly large project), but in release it goes up to 6,5 MB. Can someone tell me what could be the reason for this? I'm using the usual Visual Studio (2008) settings for a static library project, changed almost nothing in the build configuration settings. In release, i'm using /O2 and "Favor size or speed" is set to "Neither". Could the /O2 ("Maximize speed") cause the final .lib to be so much larger than the debug version with all the debugging info in it?</p>
  
  <p><strong>EDIT:</strong>
  Additional info: <br>
  Debug: <br>
  - whole program optimization: No <br>
  - enable function level linking: No</p>
  
  <p>Release:<br>
  - whole program optimization: Enable link-time code generation <br>
  - enable function level linking: Yes</p>