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From: cedman@golem.ps.uci.edu (Carl Edman)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.programmer
Subject: Re: How are some programs SO DAMN SMALL!
Message-ID: <CEDMAN.91Feb14200713@lynx.ps.uci.edu>
Date: 15 Feb 91 04:06:00 GMT
References: <1991Jan20.210328.18087@hoss.unl.edu><28077.279c3c3f@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu>
	<91042.125712UH2@psuvm.psu.edu><91042.134209J56QC@CUNYVM.BITNET>
	<MWM.91Feb14030520@raven.pa.dec.com> <21001@wehi.dn.mu.oz>
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In-reply-to: BAXTER_A@wehi.dn.mu.oz's message of 15 Feb 91 11:39:06 GMT


   In article <MWM.91Feb14030520@raven.pa.dec.com>, mwm@pa.dec.com (Mike (My Watch Has Windows) Meyer) writes:
   > In article <91042.134209J56QC@CUNYVM.BITNET> J56QC@CUNYVM.BITNET writes:
   >    To write small programs YOU write THEM in ASSEMBLER :)
   > 
   > No, _you_ write them in assembler. _I_ write them in the best language
   > for the job.
   > 
   > Example: I just spent 30 seconds turning out a "hello world" program
   > in a language chosen to 1) be portable, and 2) generate small
   > executables. The executable is 20 bytes long. How small is your best
   > assembler effort?
   > 
   > 	<mike

I agree with most things that mike said, but I object to a few things,
too:

1. Such a file is _not_ an executable. An executable is machine-code.
To call it that is misleading. This is a script/batch/whatever file
but _not_ an executable. Please don't reply : "But you can execute
them. These other things are not executables. Ever tried 'execute
C:ed' ?". Calling these files executables makes about as much sense as
calling them binaries as - after all - they consist out of binary
digits.

2. Unless I am completely mistaken the original poster asked why some
programs for which he received _executables_ were so small. This is an
interesting questions and there are quite a few tricks for this. Using
basic or smalltalk or rexx is a notoriously bad way to do this.


        Carl Edman


"We hold that what one man cannot morally do, a million men cannot
morally do, and government, representing many millions of men, cannot
do." -- Auberon Herbert
          Send mail to Carl Edman <cedman@golem.ps.uci.edu>