9 ms·

Honestly, the registry as an idea is a great concept - structured, typed data to define the configuration of an entire system, which all applications use for co

by zdw 5y ago

Honestly, the registry as an idea is a great concept - structured, typed data to define the configuration of an entire system, which all applications use for config? Remind anyone of YAML loaded into K8s?

somat 5y ago
It is a great concept, it makes sense from any reasonable viewpoint, yet for some reason I loath the registry with a passion, not exactly sure why, but I think it comes down to the question. Why do we need an additional tree to store configuration?
- FridgeSeal 5y ago
  I think because it’s used haphazardly and applications make messes that they never clean up. Also, having both env vars, local config and registry creates sort of a smorgasbord-stuff gets thrown everywhere. If all you were allowed for config was the registry,and application scopes were more tightly defined and enforced, it would probably be a lot nicer.
  - dredmorbius 5y ago
    If an architecture results in persistent and pervasive misuse, the problem isn't the misuse, the problem is the architecture.
    - FridgeSeal 5y ago
      I agree 100%, I’m just hypothesising why it could have ended up like that, and if there’s a way to have something “registry-like” without the observed flaws.
- zmmmmm 5y ago
  I always just found it incredibly hostile to access and use. Hate to think the hours I've lost from my life using Regedit. But that goes for all sysadmin stuff in Windows. Give me plain text files I can grep and edit with vim, backup by making copies, diff, version etc. Make it JSON if you want but let me use real tools and not the horror show of Regedit and it's ilk.
  - gerikson 5y ago
    PowerShell is your friend now.
- pie_flavor 5y ago
  You don't. You can store it anywhere else you like and most programs do. The system uses it to store its own configuration so other programs can configure the way they integrate with the system.
andrewstuart 5y ago
The Registry sounds like a great concept but it's the worst architectural decision Microsoft ever made for Windows. The idea was to move away from text based ini files, which is previously how Windows apps were configured. At the time I thought "awesome". However the registry is just a black box full of binary garbage, chewing gum and rubber bands that tightly couples everything in Windows.and it's like spaghetti and can't possibly be unwound. .ini files were a much better idea, in hindsight. I've always wished Microsoft would have the courage to somehow get rid of the registry but I don't think it will ever happen. I feel like Windows needs a clean start that implements its modern APIs, ditches its commitment to backward compatibility, gets rid of the registry, and makes everything including the UI consistent and modular. That's a Windows worth getting excited about. The unix model of plain text files for configuration is a much better idea than a Registry. Without the Registry there wouldn't be the concept of "Registry cleaners" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Registry_cleaner https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Registry_cleaner <--- read this link to get a sense of all the bad things about the Registry. The Registry is the reason why you need an installer instead of being able to drop application files into a directory and run them.
- Sakos 5y ago
  Also if the registry is corrupted in any way, there's no way to recover it. It's crazy that there's this single point of failure.
  - pie_flavor 5y ago
    Windows has had 'restore points' for the registry since forever which are auto-created every time an application is installed. Prior to that the system came with backup/restore tools. They're even mentioned on the Wikipedia page.
    - Sakos 5y ago
      And I've seen too many non-functional W10 systems with a corrupt registry. AFAIK, Windows used to make automatic backups of the registry that you could restore from, but they stopped doing that several years ago. I don't care what Wikipedia says. It's a shitshow and a brittle system with an absurd single point of failure.
eternityforest 5y ago
I implemented a registry once, where plugins in an app could store data. It was kind of horrific. Text files are great for config because you can version them and they tend to be somewhat self documenting. And with no registry you can use very useful patterns like one file per object. One of Linux's nastiest things, that is mostly fixed now, was things like hosts files and fstab, individual files responsible for multiple objects that are likely to be "owned" by different packages. Now most things have a config.d folder or something so you can use multiple files. Registries take away the ability to represent things using the file hierarchy and manipulate it with common tools.

by zdw 5y ago

somat 5y ago

It is a great concept, it makes sense from any reasonable viewpoint, yet for some reason I loath the registry with a passion, not exactly sure why, but I think it comes down to the question. Why do we need an additional tree to store configuration?

FridgeSeal 5y ago
I think because it’s used haphazardly and applications make messes that they never clean up. Also, having both env vars, local config and registry creates sort of a smorgasbord-stuff gets thrown everywhere. If all you were allowed for config was the registry,and application scopes were more tightly defined and enforced, it would probably be a lot nicer.
- dredmorbius 5y ago
  If an architecture results in persistent and pervasive misuse, the problem isn't the misuse, the problem is the architecture.
  - FridgeSeal 5y ago
    I agree 100%, I’m just hypothesising why it could have ended up like that, and if there’s a way to have something “registry-like” without the observed flaws.
zmmmmm 5y ago
I always just found it incredibly hostile to access and use. Hate to think the hours I've lost from my life using Regedit. But that goes for all sysadmin stuff in Windows. Give me plain text files I can grep and edit with vim, backup by making copies, diff, version etc. Make it JSON if you want but let me use real tools and not the horror show of Regedit and it's ilk.
- gerikson 5y ago
  PowerShell is your friend now.
pie_flavor 5y ago
You don't. You can store it anywhere else you like and most programs do. The system uses it to store its own configuration so other programs can configure the way they integrate with the system.

andrewstuart 5y ago

The Registry sounds like a great concept but it's the worst architectural decision Microsoft ever made for Windows. The idea was to move away from text based ini files, which is previously how Windows apps were configured. At the time I thought "awesome". However the registry is just a black box full of binary garbage, chewing gum and rubber bands that tightly couples everything in Windows.and it's like spaghetti and can't possibly be unwound. .ini files were a much better idea, in hindsight. I've always wished Microsoft would have the courage to somehow get rid of the registry but I don't think it will ever happen. I feel like Windows needs a clean start that implements its modern APIs, ditches its commitment to backward compatibility, gets rid of the registry, and makes everything including the UI consistent and modular. That's a Windows worth getting excited about. The unix model of plain text files for configuration is a much better idea than a Registry. Without the Registry there wouldn't be the concept of "Registry cleaners" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Registry_cleaner https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Registry_cleaner <--- read this link to get a sense of all the bad things about the Registry. The Registry is the reason why you need an installer instead of being able to drop application files into a directory and run them.

Sakos 5y ago
Also if the registry is corrupted in any way, there's no way to recover it. It's crazy that there's this single point of failure.
- pie_flavor 5y ago
  Windows has had 'restore points' for the registry since forever which are auto-created every time an application is installed. Prior to that the system came with backup/restore tools. They're even mentioned on the Wikipedia page.
  - Sakos 5y ago
    And I've seen too many non-functional W10 systems with a corrupt registry. AFAIK, Windows used to make automatic backups of the registry that you could restore from, but they stopped doing that several years ago. I don't care what Wikipedia says. It's a shitshow and a brittle system with an absurd single point of failure.

eternityforest 5y ago

I implemented a registry once, where plugins in an app could store data. It was kind of horrific. Text files are great for config because you can version them and they tend to be somewhat self documenting. And with no registry you can use very useful patterns like one file per object. One of Linux's nastiest things, that is mostly fixed now, was things like hosts files and fstab, individual files responsible for multiple objects that are likely to be "owned" by different packages. Now most things have a config.d folder or something so you can use multiple files. Registries take away the ability to represent things using the file hierarchy and manipulate it with common tools.