Software using the win32 graphics primitives is just so incredibly fast. If it looks like those, there is of course still the possibility that it wastes time elsewhere (or in an exact simulation of those looks), but it might also just be the real thing, as instantaneous as the old "just load a file into the text control, \n without preceding \r be damned!" notepad. (I miss having that notepad, it was so properly being just what it was, without any pretentions of being something different)
I think I saw a notepad reimplementation in assembly once: half a screen (or what felt like half a screen) of glue code to plug the file access into the text control, might have even had the ctrl+h menu and dialog. Just like the glue code python prides itself of, only that it was straight assembly, zero dependencies except for the DLLs for file access and the bare bones standard control set.
It's remarkable how Windows had a native toolkit that worked great, but when it needed modernizing (especially for higher resolutions) they repeatedly drove off a cliff in weird directions which are much, much heavier and also locked down awkwardly like UWP.
The other day for meme purposes I was trying to write a "retro Windows style Bluesky client". I did get a timeline displaying but it was clear that I'd exceeded the point at which the toolkit was going to help and I was going to have to do my own word wrap etc for owner-draw listbox entries. It's still a charming aesthetic.
I think I saw a notepad reimplementation in assembly once: half a screen (or what felt like half a screen) of glue code to plug the file access into the text control, might have even had the ctrl+h menu and dialog. Just like the glue code python prides itself of, only that it was straight assembly, zero dependencies except for the DLLs for file access and the bare bones standard control set.