But isn't a dotnet runtime a feature? AOT strips a main feature of the language, while still doesn't even get close to compiled languages ( hello world < 300kb (or < 100 kb compressed))
Technically, the runtime is the thing you need if you didnt use [native] AOT. A big example being that you don't need to emit/interpret IL in an AOT binary.
I agree though, the minimal .NET example is still not close to a full-featured .NET platform. I kind of like the idea of opting-out of features though. Bringing the whole runtime for the party each time is a bit overkill (unless its already on every target machine). Lots of code doesn't need reflection. Some special cases actively dislike GC, etc.
