I need to write a Windows XP/Vista application, main requirements:
The application is for network centric usage, similar to ICQ or Gtalk clients.
You can try: C++ w/ MFC. That's really going to be the only way you can seriously control the 'size' of your application (though why is that a constraint?).
If you want even lighterweight, you can try the Windows Template Library with C++.
I would use Delphi and have a look at this. Delphi compiles into a single file executable, is easy to learn (object pascal), has a nice IDE and one of the fastest compilers available. And if you get Turbo Delphbi 2006, it is even free!
It depends, I think, how much UI you require. The benefit of frameworks such as MFC is it wraps a lot of boiler plate code for you. However.. if executable size & dependencies are the major constraint, it can be quite fun to build a tiny app.
It's quite possible to build a Windows application with bare essentials (a dialog, etc) and make use of common dialog resources which will already be installed (e.g commdlg.dll).
To keep it as small as possible I'd recommend writing It with C++, preferably with the MSVC runtime for ease. The Win32 API is pretty easy to pick up in terms of the essential steps, e.g. registering windows and creating a message proc.
Can you be a bit more specific with what you'd like to know more about?
It depends on which language you are planning on using.
All these will create a standalone .exe without the need for any runtime.
ALthough its been mentioned, PowerBasic is very powerful, compiles fast code down to a single small exe and supports some very advanced features. It is touted as a VB6 alternative, but in many ways its more powerful and other ways it is limited, eg: no native forms/GUI but optional extras support GUI front-end development. No native form controls, but COM is supported.
Formerly known as 'Turbo Basic' (from the old Borland days) its quite cheap, but not free. Its is also a bit 'quirky' and takes some getting used to.
Well, use Assembly Language, so the EXE is NOT BLOATED (What you write is what you get)!
Though it's not really an active project anymore, I've used the V C++ Gui to write some small one-off tools in the past before I started working with Java. It's kind of an MFC-lite. But like I said, it's an inactive project now.
Does it have to be GUI? If not you could get away with using something like PDcurses to build a console application.
You can try HTA (HTML application) and make exe file with http://www.xneat.com/application-builder/index.htm
FLTK is another option for a fast light toolkit, it's also cross platform.
For quick an easy on Windows I would probably go with MFC, it's old and not the cleanest design but the support is built into MS tools and it's very easy to get a quick sample up and running.
ps. Using MFC with the free compiler is a bit tricky, if you only have Visual Studio express I would look at something like FLTK.
Just use C / Win32 api.
Unbeatable (exe < 1KB !)
How small is very small for you? I've used MFC before and gotten sub 200k files. Though I don't know if you're OK with DLLs though.
MFC is a pretty safe bet on Windows, though it is quite old and ugly (in my opinion).
Another possibility is REALBasic. It will create a native exe, but may require a couple of DLL's depending on the gui components used. The base exe file size is ~3MB, which may be too big for your needs.
I do not like Windows, well I hate it. However I would use C++ and Windows API. You can download Visual C++ express for free or use Eclipse for C++.
Thanks for the -9 guys! I still hate Windows. Few serious command line programs. Primitive shell. Very closed environment. Inefficient. Insecure. Want more?
