Whether 100Mb usage is unacceptably large is mostly dependent on the precise features in play: * 32-bit vs 64-bit application(64 bit will bloat all pointers)

Whether 100Mb usage is unacceptably large is mostly dependent on the precise features in play: * 32-bit vs 64-bit application(64 bit will bloat all pointers) * Methods of loading and editing documents(modern editing attempts a lot of introspection based on highlighting syntax or project environment) * Character encoding support(Supporting current Unicode rendering would almost immediately take you beyond 4Mb) Interactive editing is a pretty memory-hungry task compared to a simple viewer or batch processor. There's more reason to keep things cached. If you actually go back to old text editor versions from the days of 4Mb desktops, you'll find yourself missing stuff. Not so much that you can't get by, but enough to give pause and consider taking the hit.