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 PCSOFT's List Owner's: Bob Wright<[log in to unmask]> Drew Dunn<[log in to unmask]>