> don't want to assume a pre-existing runtime like .NET
Don't all distributions of Windows include .NET by default?
Don't all distributions of Windows include .NET by default?
I remember meeting and talking with (or rather he did more of the talking) a senior Microsoft software engineer who was involved in the first .NET version, and he was telling me stuff about it. He may not have used the term .NET (can't remember), but I remember him saying that it used XML throughout (and also a lot of other stuff about its advantages). Very enthusiastic about it, he was. It was only some time later that I realized that what was now called .NET, was the same as what he had been referring to in his talk with me.
Also, Turbo Delphi Explorer (which was a stripped-down version of Delphi 6), came in two versions - the plain Win 32 version (non-.NET) and the .NET version. I remember, because I installed and used it some. Here's a blog post about a small utility I wrote with it (screenshot of the clock not there now, sorry):
http://jugad2.blogspot.in/2010/08/digital-clock-v10-in-3-lin...
Before .NET there was only Win 32, and before that, Win 16. (Worked some on both). Edit: Okay, there was and maybe still is WoW too (Windows on Windows), and even something called Win32s (or 16s) (IIRC, but I don't know or remember much about those).
https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/oldnewthing/20110404-00/?p=... .NET could be disabled or some older version.