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Because they don't know how to develop software. At least not desktop/mobile software. A Windows CAD/CAM app I've developed, with very advanced algorithms and

Because they don't know how to develop software. At least not desktop/mobile software. A Windows CAD/CAM app I've developed, with very advanced algorithms and visuals, takes about 300k lines of code (45% C++, 45% C#, 10% others), has 3.7MB download size. That 3.7MB installer includes both 32 and 64 bit binaries. Couple general things how to achieve that. Be very conservative about third-party libraries. Not only they inflate size, you have to support every line of third-party code you've brought to the project. Prefer vector graphics over raster, and you'll get hi-dpi support for free. Stuff like XML or DDS can be compressed by 50% or more, other stuff like JPG or PNG is almost in-compressible. Distinguish these 2 resources, compress first with e.g. gzip but not the second it'll be a waste of CPU bandwidth.

zwily 8y ago
Of course they know how to develop software. They just don’t have a goal of a small app bundle size.
- Const-me 8y ago
  My client (if I worked in that company he would be my manager) didn't care about installer size either. I did. I think it's about developer professionalism. If you have business goal to make small bundle but don't have professional developers who understand what I wrote in previous comment, it won't be small.
- retrogradeorbit 8y ago
  Yep. Connections are fast, bandwidth is cheap and storage is capacious. Developers on the other hand are expensive.
  - Amezarak 8y ago
    Everyone I know is out of space on their phones.
orf 8y ago
Developers of an app used by over a billion people do not know how to develop software because you wrote a small CAD app one time? Right. I think someone should reach out to them and let them know that they just have to gzip their XML!
- Const-me 8y ago
  No, not just because of the size. I’ve used that app on iOS (some time ago, on iOS 5-7), and as a user, I didn’t like the quality. BTW I’ve wrote much more than 1 app in my life, I’ve been programming for living for 18 years already. Mostly desktop software, some mobile, videogames, and embedded. I haven’t developed web apps but I’ve interacted with many people who did, I think they have slightly different mindset, the areas are just too different. What I think might have happened, FB hired people based on the criteria dictated by their main product, facebook.com web site, then told them to write that iOS app.
  - orf 8y ago
    I think it's extremely arrogant to assume that you have any clue what they did, the constraints they had or the kind of people they hired while developing it. And you should definitely not postulate on their ability to develop software based on that utter lack of knowledge.
    - Const-me 8y ago
      > arrogant to assume that you have any clue what they did I know what they did. They’ve made an 0.5GB mobile app that downloads some data from a server, and displays it with a nice 2D rich GUI. I’ve wrote a few similar apps, both for iOS and WP. > the constraints they had Again, I know most of the constraints they had. Unlike PCs or especially lower-level platforms like game consoles or embedded Linux, at least 50% of these constraints are dictated by Apple and should be known by every developer with the access to iOS SDKs. Other constraints are dictated by internationalization, Asian languages and RTL layouts indeed complicate a few things, but not enough to justify the size. Same for multi-platform development, data caching, and security & privacy constraints. The only thing I don’t know about these constraints is their client-server protocol (not because I don’t work in FB, it’s possible to reverse-engineer with a sniffer, I just never cared). But if it’s network-related code that’s so complex, I would consider making a server-side proxy, to expose mobile-friendly protocol. BTW I did that too, when I was working on mobile bank clients. > or the kind of people they hired while developing it I agree with you on that. I don’t know anything about FB, I‘ve just guessed about it.

zwily 8y ago

Of course they know how to develop software. They just don’t have a goal of a small app bundle size.

Const-me 8y ago
My client (if I worked in that company he would be my manager) didn't care about installer size either. I did. I think it's about developer professionalism. If you have business goal to make small bundle but don't have professional developers who understand what I wrote in previous comment, it won't be small.
retrogradeorbit 8y ago
Yep. Connections are fast, bandwidth is cheap and storage is capacious. Developers on the other hand are expensive.
- Amezarak 8y ago
  Everyone I know is out of space on their phones.

orf 8y ago

Developers of an app used by over a billion people do not know how to develop software because you wrote a small CAD app one time? Right. I think someone should reach out to them and let them know that they just have to gzip their XML!

Const-me 8y ago
No, not just because of the size. I’ve used that app on iOS (some time ago, on iOS 5-7), and as a user, I didn’t like the quality. BTW I’ve wrote much more than 1 app in my life, I’ve been programming for living for 18 years already. Mostly desktop software, some mobile, videogames, and embedded. I haven’t developed web apps but I’ve interacted with many people who did, I think they have slightly different mindset, the areas are just too different. What I think might have happened, FB hired people based on the criteria dictated by their main product, facebook.com web site, then told them to write that iOS app.
- orf 8y ago
  I think it's extremely arrogant to assume that you have any clue what they did, the constraints they had or the kind of people they hired while developing it. And you should definitely not postulate on their ability to develop software based on that utter lack of knowledge.
  - Const-me 8y ago
    > arrogant to assume that you have any clue what they did I know what they did. They’ve made an 0.5GB mobile app that downloads some data from a server, and displays it with a nice 2D rich GUI. I’ve wrote a few similar apps, both for iOS and WP. > the constraints they had Again, I know most of the constraints they had. Unlike PCs or especially lower-level platforms like game consoles or embedded Linux, at least 50% of these constraints are dictated by Apple and should be known by every developer with the access to iOS SDKs. Other constraints are dictated by internationalization, Asian languages and RTL layouts indeed complicate a few things, but not enough to justify the size. Same for multi-platform development, data caching, and security & privacy constraints. The only thing I don’t know about these constraints is their client-server protocol (not because I don’t work in FB, it’s possible to reverse-engineer with a sniffer, I just never cared). But if it’s network-related code that’s so complex, I would consider making a server-side proxy, to expose mobile-friendly protocol. BTW I did that too, when I was working on mobile bank clients. > or the kind of people they hired while developing it I agree with you on that. I don’t know anything about FB, I‘ve just guessed about it.