There are two factors at work. A programmer has to go to a lot of extra
effort to eliminate the standard stuff that development environments include
in executables when you use even simple windows stuff. This can easily make
an executable 300K, or 500K with fancy stuff. It gets worse if it's compiled
with database libraries etc.

The next factor is including multimedia in the program. If the programmer
thinks it's cool to write a splash screen, or include a company logo in the
"about box", or have audio clips, or anything like that, you can add a meg
to the executable. The help file can also explode if you include screen
shots.

joe

> -----Original Message-----
> While on the subject of reviling programmers, has anyone
> noticed lately
> that small applications seem to be getting bigger?
>
> I went to download a utility the other day which appeared to
> have only one
> simple purpose, and was astonished to see it was over 1 Mb in
> size.  I was
> expecting something perhaps 200 Kb at most.
>
> Apps that used to be a few Kb now seem to be getting up in the Mb
> size.  Does anyone know why?  Is the fact that they now have
> to be written
> for a multiplicity of Windows Operating Systems mean that they have to
> contain that much more coding?  Maybe it's just my imagination.
>
> Seems our shiny new 20 Gb hard drives aren't going to last
> any longer than
> our everlasting 2.1 Gb ones did.
>
> Don Penlington

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