there is a small program i want to do and it comes in a normal version and a ansi version. both seem to open for me but i wanted to know what was gained by using the unicode version over the ansi version. i know ansi is for win98 etc i could use the ansi version or both of them.
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I'd suggest using both for maximum reach. The ANSI will work everywhere, but the unicode will work with more languages.
Check out the recent Miranda IM Portable release for code you can grab. Or the older WinDirStat Portable pre-release in the forums. Both of these have OS detection code in them and automatic selection of the appropriate binary based on the host OS.
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I assume you talk about making a portable version of the application, right?
Unicode VS ANSII. Thats like Win 2000 and up vs Win 9x.
Many languages and special characters require Unicode support. If you really want the best range.. do them both. Let NSIS check the windows version and start the appropriate version for that windows. (You said the app was small
I did a CDEX launcher long ago that included both Unicode and ANSII version. And the launcher did launch the version appropriate for the windows you ran it on. If I had to choose one i had to go for Unicode. (Biggest user base and best support for Unicode filenames etc.) So it depends on the sort of application as well.
But if it's small enough you could try to do both
No, that's like Windows NT 1.0 up. Windows 95 was obsolete from the start.
Agree that it's safest to have both..but personally I don't do it. Win 9x systems are very rare nowadays and Unicode is enough for me.
"Those people who think they know everything are a great annoyance to those of us who do." Asimov
I think it makes the most sense when it doesn't add much to the install size. In the case of Miranda IM and WinDirStat, it doesn't add much more than 1-2MB, which I think is fair.
Worldwide, Windows 95/98/Me are around 1% of PCs online, but in some locales -- especially outside first-world countries or in lower income areas -- you'll find more Win 9x machines in net cafes and schools... so, I think it's right for us to do the small amount of additional work to ensure the platform and apps work for everybody.
Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!