Why is GNU/Linux so Bloated?

[Ori Berger]

Shlomi Fish wrote:

> I've compared the size of the Linux .so file (after -Os and strip) to the size 
> of the Windows MSVC-generated .dll. 
>
> With gcc -Os before strip - 86,464 bytes
> same after strip - 74,584
>
> With gcc -Os that can solve Freecell only - before strip: 71,440
> After strip - 60,312
>
> Now on Windows, Visual C++ generated the files in:
>
> http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/fc-solve-discuss/message/999
>
> I have some freecell-solver.dll's there and since it is the output of cygwin's 
> "ls -l", you can determine their size. The Freecell-only DLL after strip is 
> 18,944 bytes long.
>   
<http://www.nedprod.com/programs/gccvisibility.html>

This is a good description of what might be causing this, and how to 
solve it. As the page notes, the "visibility" option has been integrated 
into gcc 4, but you do have to use it.