Huh? Templates in C++ are pay-for-what-you-use; only those instantiations required by your code are generated.
Note also the ability to extern templates added in C++0x, which allow you to collapse common instantiations to a single object file.
Note also the ability to extern templates added in C++0x, which allow you to collapse common instantiations to a single object file.
One example of templates affecting runtime performance is poor use of the instruction cache due to code duplication in every instantiation of a template.