PUBLIC compile definitions propagate to all link consumers

Goal

Keep an internal compile definition available to a library target while preventing it from appearing in the compile commands of targets that link against the library.

Constraint

target_compile_definitions(lib PUBLIC INTERNAL_MACRO) adds the macro to lib and propagates it through target_link_libraries as part of INTERFACE_COMPILE_DEFINITIONS. CMake does not provide a standard way to suppress that propagation for an individual consumer without modifying the producer or the consumer's link expression.

Questions

• Can a PUBLIC compile definition be scoped so downstream consumers do not receive it while the producer retains it?
• Is there a consumer-side link expression or usage requirement that strips an inherited definition without changing the producer target?