I found very little information on the difference between C7 compatible and Program Database (there is a third one, Program Database Edit and Continue, but that should be the same as Program Database with the ability to edit and continue). The only solid information I could find was that C7 compatible embeds the debug information in the obj files, while the Program Database creates a .pdb file for debugging purposes.
Is there an upside to using C7 compatible vs. Program Database? What is the downside?
Extra notes: I have tried both and so far, the debugging information is preserved properly in both cases
It is documented in Generating and Deploying Debug Symbols with Microsoft Visual C++ 6.0 which makes it still relevant today as C7 hasn’t changed.