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Editorial Team
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Asked: 2026-05-11T20:46:57+00:00

I’m a .Net developer but I have a situation where I can’t guarantee that

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I’m a .Net developer but I have a situation where I can’t guarantee that the .Net Framework will be installed on the target machine.

I’ve seen a few questions (here and here) that suggest using NGen to compile to native code. Both point out that you still need the framework though.

I want to write a fairly lightweight app (basic GUI, no database, nothing complicated) but for various reasons, I don’t want to have to install any frameworks or bytecode interpreters.

This question suggests Python and py2exe. I’m not familiar with Python, but if it’s the best tool for the job, I can probably learn enough to write this app (I’d prefer not to though). I’ve also thought about writing it in DHTML and javascript – I can rely on the machine having a relatively new browser.

I’m familiar with the C family of languages and I’ve dabbled in Java, PHP, and Ruby.

Can anyone suggest a language that I can easily compile to native Win32 code?

Edit: Clarification

There have been a few answers suggesting that if I’m familiar with the C family of languages, why not just use C? I should probably clarify. I use C# every day and I was brought up on C+ and C++ (but haven’t used either for quite a few years).

It does look like C/C++ might be the way to go, but I’ll have to refresh my memory on them 🙂

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1 Answer

  1. Editorial Team

    if it’s lightweight and nothing complicated, and you are familiar with the C family of languages.. then why not C and the Win32 Api? It’s harder than writing .net or java programs, sure but it’s definitely going to compile to native windows code, and doesn’t need bytecode or an interpreter.

    Also, you might be able to use Mono to statically link a C# application with the Mono runtime. http://www.mono-project.com/Guide:Running_Mono_Applications

    I see you need to brush up on C..here’s another idea, then : Delphi.

    There are some more answers in this thread

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