Hi,
I have just started (thinking about, trying & testing, ... ) a small application using a web service. But I have this dilemma weather to choose managed c# or native c++ to eventually develop it in.

I know such decisions should be planned out beforehand, but since this was just a little test, a way to learn about web services that turned into a little project I was confronted with this dilemma when I was already doing some coding.

Now, the problem is, it's a tiny tray app (monitoring ISP data usage) that doesn't use a lot of resources. Targeted at users with various Windows versions, with their various .net versions or no .net framework at all.

I started out using .net 4.0 because I was just learning about web services and with .net 4.0 it's really easy. But the problem is; .net 4.0 isn't widely supported yet. It isn't even standard in Windows 7. So I'm thinking, should I;

1) Include a full .net 4.0 framework in my setup, which would probably be bigger than the actual app itself. And loose some potential users, or annoy them by forcing them to install a 'big' .net framework. It puts a lot of people off, sadly but understandable. Especially for such a small app. (btw, I thought about developing for an earlier .net version that is more widely spread, but the problem above remains)

Or

2) Should I rewrite the app in native c++ ? I love c++ but it is harder for working with web services I feel. C++ is native code, requires minimal dependencies. And I like that. Although I understand I still would need to include the WWS API to support older OSses which I is the idea.

So basically I just want to ask what would most of you do in a situation like this ? And perhaps guide me in the process of when it's better to choose to use native c++ or when c# is the better choice for certain types of applications.

any help/suggestions would be greatly appreciated,

thanx !