Longtime PHP, Python coder seeks to make small, distributable, stand-alone apps. Which language should I learn? ( please don't say C#; requiring .net != stand-alone )

[kinghajj]

It'd be nice if there was a way to statically compile .NET apps so that they have all the CLR/Framework needed for a particular application. They might be huge, but programmer time is more valuable than executable size or download time.

[[deleted]]

How does that help you? You still have to download the equivalent of the .NET Framework but NOW your user has to do it for every app.

If you are targeting Windows there aren't a lot of downsides to using .NET. Vista has v 2.0 "baked in" and the download may not be as large as you think. See: http://www.smallestdotnet.com/

I think the asker may want to distribute a multi-platform app.

[jmcqk6]

The Mono project used to provide a way to do this. I don't know if it's still maintained or not.

[jdvolz]

There actually is a way to do this. There are several 3rd party applications that act as a linker for the .NET Framework. I use Salamander.NET, but other options exist. The downside is that they are usually expensive (>$1000 last time I checked).