FILE TOO LARGE

[geroj13051981]

I'm developing an application using lazarus, it's normal that the .exe file is too large (23,6) with just six forms?

[Vincent Snijders]

Yes, that is more or less normal, if you include the debug information in your application. Please read more about it in the FAQ.

[lazarillo]

Hello,
If you change some options of the compiler the weight of the .exe will be much smaller.

[Handoko]

I have a similar case.

I'm developing a simple inventory utility. Currently only 4 forms, the executable file size has reached 13,7 MB  . I think it's normal, because I use a lot of visual controls and self made units.

My suggestion is: try using strip.exe to make it slim. But only if you ready to release it, because the debug information will be strip off. I'm happy with the result: 1.85 MB (before was 13,7!)

My easy step to make it fat loss:
- Copy the strip.exe from C:\lazarus\fpc\2.2.2\bin\i386-win32
- Paste it to your project folder
- Using Command Prompt, type: strip YourProject.exe
- And be happy with the result.

[JanRoza]

Like the other persons above already mentioned, change your compile options to exclude debug information and you will see the exe file is only some 2 Mb.
I keep the debug info included when developing and testing and after that I do one more compilation without debug info to get the small exe file which can easily be distributed.

 
Jan 

[Leledumbo]

I got a IMHO better solution. Since Lazarus uses fpc.cfg, why not use that? Here's part of mine:

Code: [Select]

#IFDEF OPTIMIZE
  -O3 # Maximum optimization, there's no -O4 yet
  -XX # Turn on smartlinking
  -Xs # Exclude debug information
#ENDIF

#IFDEF DEBUG
  -Crtoi # Turn on all checks
  -XS    # Use static linking, debugging doesn't go well with smartlinking
  -g     # Generate debug info
  -gl    # Generate line number debug info
  -gh    # Generate heap profiling
#ENDIF
You can then add -dOPTIMIZE to other options tab. Simple, isn't it? Btw, I also recompile my Lazarus with OPTIMIZE defined. With an exception that -O3 got replaced by -O1 (some LCL bug not yet resolved).