Dealing with the Windows Registry

WinRegSimple is a member of the APLTree library. The library is a collection of classes etc. that aim to support the Dyalog APL programmer. Search GitHub for "apltree" and you will find solutions to many every-day problems Dyalog APL programmers might have to solve.

Overview

This class offers a limited range of methods useful to read, write and delete values from the Windows Registry without using .NET. It uses the Windows Scripting Host. Note that for safety reasons the Windows Script Host might not be available on your Windows box. If that is the case settle for WinReg.

For an all-singing-all-dancing class see WinReg which is much more powerful. However, WinReg is a complex and large class. If WinRegSimple offers what you need stick with it.

Terminology

To understand the names of the methods you need to understand the terminology. If you find the terminology strange: so do I, but it was invented by Microsoft and therefore defines the standard. That is the reason why I decided to go for it: it makes it easier to understand the Microsoft documentation but also to understand others while talking about the Windows Registry.

In this picture:

you can see this string:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Dyalog\Dyalog APL/W 12.0 Unicode\AutoComplete

at the top of the window.

HKEY_CURRENT_USER

: This is called a "Main key". There are a number of pre-defined main keys available you can choose from. There is also a shortcut available: instead of '''HKEY_CURRENT_USER''' you can use '''HKCU'''.

SOFTWARE\Dyalog\Dyalog APL/W 12.0 Unicode

: This is called a sub key.

On the right side you see a list. The entries in this list are called values. Therefore "CancelKey1" is a value.

Note that the names are called values; the actual data saved under a value is called data.

Shared Methods

Read
Write
Delete

Restrictions

The Write method supports just two data types: REG_SZ and REG_DWORD.