500 KB exe???

[Sc0rp]

I just compiled a simple console program in C++.

These are the includes:

#include <vector>
#include <iostream>
#include <conio.h>

using std::vector;
using std::cout;
using std::cin;
using std::endl; 

The program is not more than 150 lines, I compiled it and I got a 528 KB exe!?! What the!?

[Vlatko]

Make sure you have compiled it in release mode (not debug mode). Go to the Build Menu -> SetActiveConfiguration and make sure what is chosen.

[Sc0rp]

Thanks, that reduced it to 116 KB.

But isn't that a little large too?

[SteveCRM]

yeah that's pretty big!

My checkers game (about 500 lines) is 36 kilobytes...take a look for yourself!

[SteveCRM]

sorry...that was a pretty blatent ad! hehehe

[Sc0rp]

Was that made using C++?

If it was then how come my small console app takes 3 times the space your checkers take?

[SteveCRM]

maybe it's just that your header files take up the space I only had a few...you have a lot more.

[ChimpFace9000]

I wrote an entire Windows app in C that came out in 1kb. It used Win16 techniques. If i could remeber how, id show ya, but i dont rememebr.

[Sc0rp]

1K ???!!!!?!?!?

I compiled this:

int main()
{
    return 0;
} 

This turned out 24K compiled!!! AAAHHH!!!

[parksie]

Take out all the run-time library link statements in Project Settings, write your own _mainCRTStartup function, and see just how small it goes. I'll have a pop and see how I do...

[parksie]

2.5KB program file anyone?

/* tiny.c */
#include <windows.h>

void __cdecl WinMainCRTStartup(void) {
    MessageBox(NULL, "Hello", "Hello", MB_OK);

    ExitProcess(0);
}

Compile optimised for size (in Release mode, obviously )

Link ignoring default libraries, and take everything except for kernel32.lib and user32.lib out of the list

[Sc0rp]

That helped a lot!

[parksie]

Read this as well, because I just managed to kick my system squarely up the backside by using some non-initialised functions

http://www.microsoft.com/msj/default...chive/S569.htm

[Sc0rp]

Thanks everybody!
Vlatko, SteveCRM, ChimpFace9000.

[Sc0rp]

Parksie:

Originally posted by MSDN Journal
...on most hard drives the minimum space that a file takes up is 8KB or 16KB. Thus (as the logic goes), it's not worth trying to make your programs smaller than 8KB.

Good effort anyway.

[parksie]

More space for fancy graphics

And since mine was only a one-liner

[denniswrenn]

Originally posted by parksie
2.5KB program file anyone?

/* tiny.c */
#include <windows.h>

void __cdecl WinMainCRTStartup(void) {
    MessageBox(NULL, "Hello", "Hello", MB_OK);

    ExitProcess(0);
}

Compile optimised for size (in Release mode, obviously )

Link ignoring default libraries, and take everything except for kernel32.lib and user32.lib out of the list

Wouldn't it be smaller if you #define'd WIN32_LEAN_AND_MEAN ?

[parksie]

Nope

[denniswrenn]

Why not?

[Wynd]

I think that just speeds up compiling, but doesn't make the .exe any smaller.

[parksie]

The linker excludes most things that aren't actually necessary, code-wise. However, the RTL startup code pulls in a lot of extra functions, bulking up the EXE.

[sail3005]

i am making a simple program, in release mode, and i am still getting a 162 kb exe! i took out all those extra libs like parksie said, and that didn't make any difference. i can't ignore default librarys, becuase i get errors.

My friend made the same program in C, and it was 44kb. Does anyone have any tips for making it smaller? perhaps a different compiler?

[parksie]

C++ programs are always bigger than C programs.

If you write in C then because there is less compiler-generated code (for handling virtual functions, static constructors, etc.) you can replace a large proportion of the startup code with something smaller.

You could always try compressing it (120K->50K) - search for UPX (I use that )

[amac]

Read this...

http://www.hailstorm.net/papers/smallwin32.htm

It should help...

[Drakon]

Wow that is strange... THIS came to 24k:

int main() {}

Thats the only line in there... not even a #include...

[parksie]

Not strange. The RTL defines _mainCRTStartup which does all the command-line processing and sets things up (like static constructors ).

So actually, you have windows.h included anyway