BKWNTRGD.RVW   971121

"Windows NT Registry Guide", Weiying Chen/Wayne Berry, 1997,
0-201-69473-5, U$34.95/C$47.95
%A   Weiying Chen
%A   Wayne Berry waynebe@microsoft.com
%C   P.O. Box 520, 26 Prince Andrew Place, Don Mills, Ontario M3C 2T8
%D   1997
%G   0-201-69473-5
%I   Addison-Wesley Publishing Co.
%O   U$34.95/C$47.95 416-447-5101 fax: 416-443-0948 800-822-6339
%O   617-944-3700 Fax: (617) 944-7273 bkexpress@aw.com
%P   271 p.
%T   "Windows NT Registry Guide"

The Registry is the configuration database new to Windows 95 and
Windows NT.  It replaces the series of initialization and
configuration (.INI) files that were such a large part of Windows 3.x. 
As with its predecessor .INI files, the official Microsoft position is
that Microsoft knows best, and you should just keep your hands off. 
To that end, almost no information is provided about the Registry, and
the Registry Editor is not found on the Desktop, or anywhere in the
toolbar.  The authors, both connected with Microsoft, follow the party
line.  This book is not intended for the user, but rather for the
developer who is writing applications that will need to install and
put entries into the Registry.

As noted, the Registry exists in both Windows NT and Windows 95. 
Therefore, despite the title, this book applies to both.  Where the
two systems are different, details are given for each.  Also, despite
the exhortation that the Registry is not for users, chapter two, on
using the Registry Editor, is admirably clear as to the operation of
REGEDIT.  There is also a quick, but quite serviceable, explanation of
making modifications to the Registry with scripts.

They weren't kidding, though, about the intended audience.  Chapter
three, the longest in the book, covers the Registry API (Application
Programming Interface) with plenty of source code to back it up. 
Chapters four and five extend that by looking specifically at the use
of the API in Visual Basic and C++.  Chapter six looks at support for
ActiveX technology.  The final chapter has some interesting
implications: it looks at Registry programming that can be used to
customize and extend the Windows 95 and NT shell.  Unfortunately, the
delivery in this chapter is not as good as in other parts of the book,
and the explanations are not as clear.

There are some interesting nuggets of information, with implications
beyond the face value.  For example, the authors suggest that you
always install the Windows NT operating system to a FAT (File
Allocation Table) drive rather than a NTFS (NT File System) drive. 
Why is this?  After all, isn't the NTFS faster and better?  (For
everyone who isn't still using DOS programs, that is.)  Well, it turns
out that if you make an error in dealing with the Registry, the
operating system won't run.  With a FAT drive, you can recover.  With
an NTFS drive, you can't.  No operating system means no NTFS drive. 
No NTFS drive means you can't fix the error in the Registry.  An error
in the Registry means no operating system.  You get the picture.  (Did
you notice that the path for the Registry files has only "short"
filenames in it?  \windows\system32 for Win95 and
\winnt\system32\config for WinNT.  On a FAT drive, therefore, you can
boot DOS and copy over your backup files.)

While intended for programmers, the book nevertheless has value for
the intermediate computer user and up.  As with AUTOEXEC.BAT,
CONFIG.SYS, and the .INI files before it, the Registry will soon be
the dividing line between the novice and hobbyist user, danger of
system corruption or not.  It is too bad that the book takes such a
hard line, but it does provide solid information and good basic
tutorial material.

copyright Robert M. Slade, 1997   BKWNTRGD.RVW   971121