Choosing a Technique

Table 9-1 lays out the substantial differences—as I see them—between the scripting methods covered in this chapter. Each column represents one of the five scripting methods that I describe in this chapter. For example, the Batch column describes using Reg.exe in a batch file. The MSI column describes Windows Installer package files that include registry settings. First the similarities: All five methods enable you to change values as well as add keys or values. Also, Windows XP supports all five methods without installing third-party tools or any resource kits.

Table 9-1: Comparison of Scripting Methods

Features	INF	REG	Batch	Script	MSI
Difficulty	Medium	Low	Medium	High	Medium
OS access	Basic	None	Full	Full	Basic
Built-in support	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Change values	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Add keys/values	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Delete keys/values	Yes	Keys only	Yes	Yes	Yes
Querying values	No	No	Yes	Yes	No
Support for value types	High	Medium	Medium	Low	Medium
Bitwise support	Yes	No	No	Yes	No

Nine times out of ten, my preference is to write an INF file. You'll notice that most of the scripts in this book are INF files. I chose this method because I'm familiar with INF files, they're easy to create, and they're easy to read. I use scripts only when I have to query values from the registry. INF files' strong suit is that they offer the flexibility to do anything I want in the registry without requiring me to put on a programmer hat for the weekend. Choose whatever methods best suit you, but give more weight to INF files and scripts. You won't end up using just one of these techniques, though. In fact, you'll find that you'll use a combination of these methods, depending on the scenario. After you start using the script methods I describe in this chapter, you'll master them in no time.

Now I'll describe the differences. As the table shows, using REG files is the easiest method, scripts and Windows Installer package files are the most difficult, and the rest fall somewhere in between. No matter which method you choose, they all become rather easy after you learn how to use them. Access to the operating system is important only if you're trying to do more than just edit the registry. For example, if you want to read values from the registry and then dump them to a text file, you're going to need access to the operating system. The most important difference is that only INF files and scripts provide high support for the many different types of values you can store in the registry. The remaining methods support the basic value types, though, and that's often all you need. If you need to edit more esoteric types, though, you're better off writing an INF file or a script. Likewise, INF files and scripts are the only two methods you can use to set and clear bits in values. For example, the bits in the value UserPreferencesMask indicate different user interface settings, and you enable or disable them by setting or clearing the corresponding bit. If this is your requirement, you're left with INF files or scripts as your method of choice.