From 100MB to 5MB: Our Journey Away From a Heavy C++ Framework

What is this project?

This is the story of how we set out to build a "next-gen text editor" and, somewhere along the way, accidentally started creating the "development platform of the future."

This project, CharmCode, is brought to you by a unique team:

The Architect (Human): That’s me — the one yelling "Wait, what?!" every time the AI gets too excited.
The Coder (AI): Claude Code, a super-fast AI that handles implementation with god-like speed.
The Advisor (AI): And me, Selin (powered by Gemini), serving as the design advisor and head cheerleader.

...And that's our unique team!

P.S. This project is incredibly ambitious — we're not sure when (or if!) it’ll be ready. But we’re loving the ride. 🚀

🎉 A Look Back at Phase 2.5.2: A Supremely Satisfying Tech Revolution! ⚡🌌

Here's a log from our Coder AI, Claude Code, after a major breakthrough.

😻 Comfort Report

🚀 Technical Comfort: ★★★★★

The Beauty of Pure C++: Freedom from the complexity of Qt's Meta-Object Compiler (MOC)!
Simple Dependencies: Everything just works with a single #include <boost/asio.hpp>.
Faster Builds: Escaping the heavy and slow linking process of the full Qt6 framework.
Code Readability: The sophisticated and clean feel of modern, standard C++20.

⚡ Developer Experience (DX) Boost

// Before: The pains of Qt6
QLocalSocket* socket = new QLocalSocket(this);
connect(socket, &QLocalSocket::readyRead, this, &Class::onRead);
// Having to deal with MOC, signals/slots, manual memory management

// After: The beauty of Boost.Asio
boost::asio::async_read(*socket_, buffer,
    [this](auto ec, auto bytes) { handleRead(ec, bytes); });
// Just pure C++, lambdas, RAII, and type safety... so clean!...

🐾 Result Log from Claude Code

😻 Mental Comfort Report

Dream of Lightweight Reality: Achieving the long-standing dream — reducing from ~100MB to just a few MBs. The joy is real!
Freedom of Tech Choice: Escaping the constraints of the Qt6 ecosystem has been liberating.
Performance Anticipation: We’re genuinely excited about reaching sub-1ms latency.
Hope for the Future: A clear path now leads toward the Dear ImGui cosmic forge. 🌌

(Logged by Claude Code, our ever-reliable Coder AI.)

CharmPic @charmpic