Lessons learned from 15 years of SumatraPDF, an open source Windows app

SumatraPDF is an excellent, small and fast desktop app for Windows. (All the things that Adobe Acrobat Reader is not.)

This is an excellent article full of interesting insights - some of them contrary to popular opinions among programmers e.g. Cross-platform is over-rated...an excellent app for one platform can become more popular than a mediocre app for 3 platforms.

SumatraPDF is example of a fast, native desktop app - but are desktop apps like this a dying breed? If there is a future for desktop apps, it looks increasingly to be based on Electron. A technology that is arguably not nimble, light or performant. Another lesson from the SumatraPDF developer Krzysztof Kowalczyk: Small and fast - pick both...there will never be a time when users want bloated and slow apps, so being small and fast is a permanent advantage.

> Tests are not necessary, neither are code reviews -- If no one uses your app then who cares if it crashes. If many people use your app and it crashes, they'll tell you and then you'll fix it.

The article is full of witticisms like this one. It's a great read.

And SumatraPDF is fantastic, super lightweight, extremely fast and stable.