This is crazy funny

[Mark Farrar]

This is out of control...and it even works! oh my god...




#BLOAT metastatement

Purpose
Artificially inflate the disk image size of a compiled program.
Syntax
#BLOAT size_expression
Remarks
#BLOAT allows the creation of artificially bloated program files on disk, in order to match or exceed that generated by competing "BloatWare" compilers. #BLOAT does not affect the memory image size (running size) of a compiled program.
size_expression
The size_expression parameter is a simple Long-integer expression that specifies the total desired size of the compiled programs disk image, but is ignored if it is smaller than the actual program size. #BLOAT uses sections of the actual compiled code to fill and obfuscate the portion added to the file.
While #BLOAT adds no true merit to the technical efficiency of the compiled code, there are a number of reasons for its use, including:

1. To allow "BloatWare" programmers to feel more comfortable when using PowerBASIC.
2. To impress project leaders/managers with the volume of executable code created.
3. To allay the fears of uninformed customers who may mistakenly infer that "such tiny programs couldn't possibly do everything that..."
4. To make certain versions of a program more readily identifiable simply by examining the size of the file on disk.
5. To improve convolution of the contents of the executable disk image, because the bloat region appears to contain executable code.

[Elias Montoya]

Im not even sure where this post belongs. :P

[Don Schullian]

Mark,

See how well rounded and complete PowerBASIC is?

Elias,

This belongs on national TV. Most definitely a more interesting story than what Britney Spears is up to.

[Michael Mattias]

>This is out of control...and it even works!

Amen, my brother!!

I really believe this "feature" was added on a Friday afternoon after someone on the development staff found a couple of twelve-packs of what made my hometown (Milwaukee) famous.

Too bad that development effort (minus the twelve-packs) couldn't have gone into forward-referencing, or overflow checking, or any one of a dozen other things.

[Mark Farrar]

oh yea

oh yea...I agree. This was almost certainly a beer induced add on to the PB command set.

but...

I just really wonder...does anybody really do this? I mean can you imagine writing an app that complies to say 150 K and then bloating it up to 15 Meg just so a client thinks they got their moneys worth!

wow....

[Cliff Nichols]

I am curious how much "BLOAT" you can do? it could be abused to keep up with true bloat software (don't get me started on M$)

My answer to "IT can't POSSIBLY be that small"...is "I built it on the smallest fastest compiler I could find, and NEVER looked back

Although I am curious if anyone purposely used bloat to satisfy a customer or boss?

**** where is my 12 pack? Its SuperBowl Sunday

[keith shelton]

It would certainly make it hard for someone to try to decompile the exe. It would be geat if you could specify the code to bloat the program with. Imagine a hacker trying to find all of the places you jump to for your code to authincate the ap, if you used it for the bload source.
KS

[Michael Mattias]

>It would certainly make it hard for someone to try to decompile the exe.

As though anyone who would even try this would be fooled? Give me a break.

There might be some deterrence value ("Darn, that's a BIG file and it will take me forever so I won't even start") but genuine 'protection' I think not.

FWIW as long as I have been doing this, I have never ever had any client say word number one about the size of any file included in an installation of one of my package or custom products. Not "That's too small to be correct" and certainly never "too big")

MCM

[Bob Zale]

Michael, you just don't "get it", do you? {smile}

[Michael Mattias]

Apparently, not.

[Bob Zale]

You should... it worked marvelously. It got attention, just as planned.








(These guys make executables so small, they have to intentionally BLOAT them)

[Michael Mattias]

If that's on the level, it was in fact pretty clever.

Now lets apply the same logic to some important stuff:

#FORWARD REFERENCE [B]OFF [/B]
#DEBUG ERROR OVERFLOW [B]OFF[/B]

"These guys do such a complete and thorough job of parsing and error checking that they have to allow users to turn these things off!"

MCM

[Bob Zale]

or maybe even...

#SARCASM Off

[Michael Mattias]

#BEGGING ON

[Fred Harris]

#bloat

Unfortunately, #BLOAT is such an 'inside' joke, you've gotta be a programmer to appreciate it. And not just any programmer. You would have to have been around long enough to have had to face that ultimate programmer's moral dilmema, i.e., MFC or VB, or no MFC and VB, and you would have to have had the moral fortitude to maintain your course of ascetic rigor in the face of that seemingly unbounded flat 32 bit memory space, where the virtues of efficiency and conservatism seem to wane in importance. And for those who chose the path of profligateness and waste, (and these people know who they are), they correctly realize and sense that those laughing in glee at #BLOAT are doing so at their expense.

[Joe Byrne]

Unfortunately, #BLOAT is such an 'inside' joke, you've gotta be a programmer to appreciate it. And not just any programmer. You would have to have been around long enough to have had to face that ultimate programmer's moral dilemma, i.e., MFC or VB, or no MFC and VB, and ....

So what you're saying, is that in ~1988-89 when deciding what compiler to buy, I made the smartest move with Turbo/PowerBasic avoiding the whole MS and Borland Pascal mess completely?

Yes, I agree, and yes, I 'get it'

[Ian Cairns]

And I had to argue why I should be permitted to use PowerBasic instead of VB and MS VC, the standards in our government. (Don't think it was easy. I had to buy it myself and demonstrate how well it worked.)
regards, Ian.