At 10:56 AM 10/11/00 -0400, you wrote:

>Ann,
>
>No, _please_, no... not the registry...

When this discussion was first taking place I sent this email to the list
in case you missed it here are my reasons for using a plain text file
instead of the registry. At the time I wrote this list I missed the most
obvious reason which is cross platform compatibility.

Just my $.02.

I prefer the txt/ini file scenario to a registry for the following reasons.

1) Text ini files can be commented. This really helps me out when there
are different options for some setting. Also you can include tips and
warnings in the configuration file.
2) You can place the ini file on some network drive and have everybody
point to it. Then by making a change to one centralized file all the
clients become aware of it. If you stick with a registry each client needs
to have the registry changed which is much bigger pain.
3) Text files can be easily backed up by standard backup utilities.
Registries need to be backed up special.
4) Text files can be manipulated by standard tools like perl, awk etc and
these can be scripted to run from CRON jobs.
5) Its very easy to attach a text file when you are asking for support.
6) text files are very easy to grep and list when you want to do a quick
check on a setting.
7) You can make changes to a text file from a telnet/ssh session when you
are managing systems remotely.
8) Text files can be manipulated vie CGI scripts so you can build web front
ends to software.

I am sure there are many more reasons but these I find I use most often.




:wq
Tim Uckun
Due Diligence Inc. http://www.diligence.com/ Americas Background
Investigation Expert.
If your company isn't doing background checks, maybe you haven't considered
the risks of a bad hire.