Why do we have to install programs to programfiles and have some leave behind empty folders when uninstalled? Like why cant we just have the standalone .exe thats saved on the desktop? It would be much easier to remove as you just need to delete the icon right?
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They can, but it’s a huge pain and there’s some security issues.
The most basic thing is expecting to be able to use the OS’s system calls. Not every program wants to know how to interface with every possible hard-drive maker and motherboard architecture. Every program COULD run bare-metal right on the processor with no layers inbetween, but that’s nuts. Operating systems that handle standard calls have been a thing since the 50’s.
This sort of “offloading of responsibility” has continued. It makes executable smaller and faster which is almost always good. A lot of people really hate waiting for programs to boot up. Anything you can just do once during installation saves time.
Then there’s things like remembering who you logged in as last time. Configuration, settings, saved files. If the program can’t really keep these things in it’s executable (well, it CAN, but you’re looking at virus behavior) so it needs a place to store these files. So you need a “program files” folder.
If you want your program to show up when you hit that little start button in the bottom left, then the OS needs to be told it exists.
The concept of just not bothering or needing any of that is [“portable applications”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portable_application). They’re still tied to an OS, Windows or Linux, but try to do without any of the other fluff that happens at installation. I think it’s a great idea.
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