Programming slim C++ programs (like uTorrent) for Windows [closed]

Answer 1

If you want to optimize for the smallest possible memory footprint and you don't mind jumping through a bunch of hoops that the .NET CLR was invented to take care of for you, then writing a direct Win32API app and hooking to GDI+ is the way to go. Petzold was the definitive reference.

Really, though, it's sort of a fool's errand, since the .NET runtime is going to be loaded into the OS's memory whether your app uses it or not, so you may as well link to it.

Answer 2

uTorrent is written in C++ and uses the old fashioned Win32 API. Google Chrome is also written this way, so why not download the source code and learn from their code?

Answer 3

The Demo Scene is a group of people who spend their free time trying to make impressive and very small executables, which usually render something in 3d to music. Often the entire demo (code, music, 3d data) compiles into a single executable that is compressed to 64k or an impressively small size for the content.

You might draw some inspiration from the demos and learning about how they are made will inform your obsession to create small executables.

Often, the key is to leverage as many 3rd party DLLs as possible that are installed with windows. Also, low level, custom coding of everything else is required.

Answer 4

The Windows Template Library is geared towards what you want to do. It's a light-weight, template-based C++ wrapper for the Win32 API. With it, you don't have to go through the pain of direct Win32 coding, but it doesn't add a lot of overhead like MFC.

Answer 5

The old "LIBCTiny" trick still works. With modern VC++ releases, you might need to turn of a few features.

Another good trick to know is the lstr* collection of functions in Kernel32. That's already in memory, so those functions might be a leaner choice.

Answer 6

Notepad++ is also a very fast, highly optimized and very useful os program that could spark your inspiration. It's philosophy is similar to that of uTorrent. It uses the good old Win32 api which should still be the fastest you can go on Windows.

If you want to go really artistic, the demo scene is the perfect place to go. Although their code is not always open.