EXE file size?

[Brian_Lewis]

Good day,
I am new to Xojo and am learning it using the ‘Trial’ version (no Build option).

Using the Simple Browser sample application located at:
Example Projects\Sample Applications\SimpleBrowser

Questions:

1. How big is its .exe file?
2. How many files need to be distributed?

Regards,
BL

[William_Reynolds]

Hi Brian, I’m not the expert on this but I can say that the collection of dependency files changes based on what you’re building for (Linux, Windows, Web, etc.). The .EXE tends to be small (e.g. ~4MB) where the Libs (supporting files) vary depending on the number of libraries you need to support your application. In many of my apps the supporting files are on average 10x the size of the .EXE.

Going back to the question of “How many files need to be distributed?”, I’d answer “All of them”. All the Libs and supporting files output during the Build process.

[Bob_Keeney3 (Bob Keeney)]

Xojo apps are mostly self contained meaning that you can zip the build folder and put it on another computer, unzip it, and double click the executable and it will just run. Occasionally there are some C++ distribution files that might need to be installed on an end computer but that seems to be relatively rare.

As William said, the size of the exe is going to vary quite a bit with what your app does. Some things like using WebKit for the HTMLviewer can greatly impact overall package size as it’s including a bunch of libraries. If you use plugins, those will impact package size as well.

[Bill_Gookin]

To answer the question, I just opened the sample you mentioned in 2021r3 on my Mac and built for Windows. The .exe is 2.1MB, the entire distribution is 253MB, and there are a total of 78 files (some are in subdirectories).

[Domenico_MARINELLI]

Ciao Brian,
la domanda non ha molto senso, xojo può compilare per macOS, Linux, Windows a 32 o 64 bit producendo eseguibili di dimensioni diverse.
Ad esempio, sul mio PC, compilando il file SimpleBrowser per macOS si ottiene un unico file .app.tar di 16399 KB
Compilando per Windows 64 bit si ottiene una cartella con l’eseguibile di 2069 KB ed atri 78 file di librerie e risorse per un totale di 241 MB.
Considera che librerie e risorse che vengono agginti dipendono dal particolare programma, in questo caso trattandosi di un web browser vengono aggiunte delle librerie di chrome, se compili un esempio diverso, queste librerie non vengono aggiunte.
Ti consiglio di provare a guardare qualche esempio e di divertirti a realizzare qualcosa di tuo per poter apprezzare il linguaggio e l’ambiente
Spero di esserti stato utile.
Saluti

Hi Brian,
the question doesn’t make much sense, xojo can compile for macOS, Linux, Windows 32 or 64 bit producing different size executables.
For example, on my PC, compiling the SimpleBrowser file for macOS you get a single .app.tar file of 16399 KB
Compiling for Windows 64 bit you get a folder with the executable of 2069 KB and other 78 files of libraries and resources for a total of 241 MB.
Consider that libraries and resources that are added depend on the particular program, in this case being a web browser libraries are added to chrome, if you compile a different example, these libraries are not added.
I recommend you to try to look at some examples and have fun making something of your own to appreciate the language and the environment.
I hope to have been useful.
Regards

Translated with DeepL Translate: The world's most accurate translator (free version)

[Brian_Lewis]

Hi Domenico,
Does the phenomenal size difference between the 16MB MacOs file and the 246MB total for Windows mean that the MacOS does not have the Chrome web libraries distribution requirement?
/////////////
Ciao Domenico,
La fenomenale differenza di dimensioni tra il file di 16MB per MacOs e i 246MB totali per Windows significa che MacOS non ha il requisito di distribuzione delle librerie web di Chrome?

[Brian_Lewis]

Bill,
Thanks.

Seems Xojo needs to include an option to Build for WebView2 in mind for those who need to use this option.

[Domenico_MARINELLI]

Hi Brian,
I am not familiar with macOS. The file generated for macOS is compressed, I don’t know the size of the uncompressed file.
Probably some libraries that Xojo adds for Windows may not be needed for mac, they may be already included in the OS.
Regards

[Tim_Parnell]

@Brian_Lewis

Does the phenomenal size difference between the 16MB MacOs file and the 246MB total for Windows mean that the MacOS does not have the Chrome web libraries distribution requirement?

That is correct. DesktopHTMLViewer will always include the chrome kit. If you use HTMLViewer, you have the option to not use chrome. On macOS this issue isn’t a thing, the system provided viewer is sufficient.

[Ivan_Tellez]

@Brian_Lewis

• How big is its .exe file?
• How many files need to be distributed?

To avoid problems in windows, it is better if you include the runtime DLLs adding a couple Mb and like 50 files to the already "253MB and 78 files.

@Brian_Lewis

Seems Xojo needs to include an option to Build for WebView2 in mind for those who need to use this option.

Xojo decided NOT TO SUPPORT WebView2.

DesktopHTMLViewer can't use Native in 2021r3?

For Windows, the HTMLViewer is now WebKit. There was already functionality that couldn’t really be ported reliably to the native renderer due to that functionality being missing from whatever version of the built-in renderer might be installed on whatever version of Windows a user might have. This was a change to improve consistency.

Advocating for WebView2 on Windows

I’m not sure what you mean by this, our WebKit based HTMLViewer is supported on Windows 7. Whatever issues it may have should be reported, but I suspect most of what you are seeing has already been addressed (only because it sounds old and familiar). WebView2 introduces their own runtime so unless users have Edge installed you’d have to provide a way to download it with your installer (all trade-offs of course, and this does not imply we’ll never add support for WebView2, just pointing out th…

Maybe in a few years they change their mind