.
There are two types of technical books: the kind that
you can read straight through, and the kind that are so densely packed with information
that their only realistic use is as a reference book. Inside the Windows 95 Registry
is a good example of the first type. Petrusha begins with an overview of the structure and
functions of the registry, explaining how it has developed from its beginnings in Windows
3.1 and identifying the key differences between its Windows 95 and NT implementations. The
distinction between ‘policy’ and ‘mechanism’ is crucial: the registry
API (mechanism) is common between Windows 95 and NT, but the storage and placement of
specific values in the registry (policy) may and do differ.
After an overview of the RegEdit utility (REGEDIT.EXE in Windows 95 and NT 4.0,
REGEDT32.EXE in NT 3.x), Petrusha sets out the functions of the registry API and provides
some tips for calling the API programmatically. Just to complicate matters, the API is not
only a means of accessing the registry: "In NT, the registry API has
performance-monitoring features that were hacked in at the last minute ... These entries
don’t correspond to actual registry entries." Finally there is extensive
documentation of the types of information which are held in the Registry, including
specific values for applications and users as well as system settings. The package is
completed by an accompanying diskette, including executables and source files for a set of
Registry monitoring utilities. Throughout, Petrusha’s tone is informal and
irreverent: "you just have to take a look at the current Win95 registry to find
examples of the disorganization that results from a failure to develop - or adequately
communicate - standards. Not surprisingly, perhaps, the worst offender turns out to be
Microsoft."
This book can be wholeheartedly recommended to 32-bit Windows developers and
administrators, with two caveats. Firstly, Petrusha’s focus throughout is on, to use
his terms, ‘mechanism’ rather than ‘policy’: this is not a registry
reference book, but a guide to using the registry. Secondly, as its title implies, the
book predates Windows 98. For both these reasons, it may be worth supplementing Petrusha
with a reference work such as Jerry Honeycutt’s Windows 98 Registry Handbook
(Que, £18,49) or Greg Holden’s Win 98 Registry Little Black Book (Coriolis,
£24.49). |
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