alt Hacker NewsThis is quite timely as we need to write a simple UI for Windows (a few buttons, status, maybe a file menu). The main constraint is it must compile to a single binary (.exe) with no dependencies such as runtimes, DLLs, languages etc. It also needs to run on some older unsupported Windows systems, probably Windows >= 7, 32 bit.
My first thought was MFC. Basic, fast, well understood.
But then maybe WxWindows so we can cross-compile it (from Linux) and use the same UI on other platforms? It could probably be compiled statically although I've not tested it.
Or Mono, but that needs a runtime?
Edit: Some comments mention Qt which could also work although how large is the runtime? Can it be compiled statically?
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> Edit: Some comments mention Qt which could also work although how large is the runtime? Can it be compiled statically?
You need a commercial license for that, but yes you could. But since applications are typically distributed with install bundles that put into application-local program files directories, it's not super-important as long as you only cherry-pick the Qt libraries you need.
Delphi or Lazarus (https://www.lazarus-ide.org) should solve it.
.net will work. Use a weaver (fody) or the modern features to roll everything into 1 .exe.
Use self-contained to have everything together.
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/core/deploying/sing...