Provided by: tcl8.4-doc_8.4.20-7_all bug

NAME

       registry - Manipulate the Windows registry

SYNOPSIS

       package require registry 1.1

       registry option keyName ?arg arg ...?
_________________________________________________________________

DESCRIPTION

       The  registry  package  provides  a general set of operations for manipulating the Windows registry.  The
       package implements the registry Tcl command.  This command is only supported  on  the  Windows  platform.
       Warning:  this  command  should  be used with caution as a corrupted registry can leave your system in an
       unusable state.

       KeyName is the name of a registry key.  Registry keys must be one of the following forms:

              \\hostname\rootname\keypath

              rootname\keypath

              rootname

       Hostname specifies the name of any valid Windows host that exports its registry.  The rootname  component
       must be one of HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, HKEY_USERS, HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT, HKEY_CURRENT_USER, HKEY_CURRENT_CONFIG, 2
       HKEY_PERFORMANCE_DATA,  or HKEY_DYN_DATA.  The keypath can be one or more registry key names separated by
       backslash (\) characters.

       Option indicates what to do  with  the  registry  key  name.   Any  unique  abbreviation  for  option  is
       acceptable.  The valid options are:                                                                       2

       registry broadcast keyName ?-timeout milliseconds?                                                        2
              Sends  a  broadcast  message to the system and running programs to notify them of certain updates. 2
              This is necessary to propagate changes  to  key  registry  keys  like  Environment.   The  timeout 2
              specifies  the  amount  of  time,  in  milliseconds,  to  wait  for applications to respond to the 2
              broadcast message.  It defaults to 3000.  The following example demonstrates how to add a path  to 2
              the global Environment and notify applications of the change without requiring a logoff/logon step 2
              (assumes admin privileges):                                                                        2
              set regPath {HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Environment}      2
              set curPath [registry get $regPath "Path"]                                                         2
              registry set $regPath "Path" "$curPath;$addPath"                                                   2
              registry broadcast "Environment"                                                                   2

       registry delete keyName ?valueName?
              If  the  optional valueName argument is present, the specified value under keyName will be deleted
              from the registry.  If the optional valueName is omitted, the specified key  and  any  subkeys  or
              values beneath it in the registry hierarchy will be deleted.  If the key could not be deleted then
              an error is generated.  If the key did not exist, the command has no effect.

       registry get keyName valueName
              Returns  the data associated with the value valueName under the key keyName.  If either the key or
              the value does not exist, then an error is generated.  For more  details  on  the  format  of  the
              returned data, see SUPPORTED TYPES, below.

       registry keys keyName ?pattern?
              If  pattern isn't specified, returns a list of names of all the subkeys of keyName.  If pattern is
              specified, only those names matching pattern are returned.  Matching is determined using the  same
              rules as for string match.  If the specified keyName does not exist, then an error is generated.

       registry set keyName ?valueName data ?type??
              If  valueName  isn't specified, creates the key keyName if it doesn't already exist.  If valueName
              is specified, creates the key keyName and value valueName if necessary.  The contents of valueName
              are set to data with the type indicated by type.  If type isn't specified, the type sz is assumed.
              For more details on the data and type arguments, see SUPPORTED TYPES below.

       registry type keyName valueName
              Returns the type of the value valueName in the key keyName.  For more information on the  possible
              types, see SUPPORTED TYPES, below.

       registry values keyName ?pattern?
              If  pattern  isn't specified, returns a list of names of all the values of keyName.  If pattern is
              specified, only those names matching pattern are returned.  Matching is determined using the  same
              rules as for string match.

SUPPORTED TYPES

       Each  value  under  a  key  in  the  registry  contains some data of a particular type in a type-specific
       representation.  The registry command converts between this internal representation and one that  can  be
       manipulated  by  Tcl  scripts.   In  most  cases,  the data is simply returned as a Tcl string.  The type
       indicates the intended use for the data, but does not  actually  change  the  representation.   For  some
       types,  the  registry  command returns the data in a different form to make it easier to manipulate.  The
       following types are recognized by the registry command:

       binary           The registry value contains arbitrary binary data.  The data is represented  exactly  in
                        Tcl, including any embedded nulls.

       none             The  registry  value  contains  arbitrary binary data with no defined type.  The data is
                        represented exactly in Tcl, including any embedded nulls.

       sz               The registry value contains a null-terminated string.  The data is represented in Tcl as
                        a string.

       expand_sz        The registry value contains a null-terminated string that contains unexpanded references
                        to environment variables in the normal Windows style (for example, "%PATH%").  The  data
                        is represented in Tcl as a string.

       dword            The  registry  value contains a little-endian 32-bit number.  The data is represented in
                        Tcl as a decimal string.

       dword_big_endian The registry value contains a big-endian 32-bit number.  The data is represented in  Tcl
                        as a decimal string.

       link             The  registry  value  contains a symbolic link.  The data is represented exactly in Tcl,
                        including any embedded nulls.

       multi_sz         The  registry  value  contains  an  array  of  null-terminated  strings.   The  data  is
                        represented in Tcl as a list of strings.

       resource_list    The  registry  value  contains  a  device-driver resource list.  The data is represented
                        exactly in Tcl, including any embedded nulls.

       In addition to the symbolically named types listed above, unknown types are  identified  using  a  32-bit
       integer  that  corresponds to the type code returned by the system interfaces.  In this case, the data is
       represented exactly in Tcl, including any embedded nulls.

PORTABILITY ISSUES

       The registry command is only available on Windows.

EXAMPLE

       Print out how double-clicking on a Tcl script file will invoke a Tcl interpreter:
              package require registry
              set ext .tcl

              # Read the type name
              set type [registry get HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\\$ext {}]
              # Work out where to look for the command
              set path HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\\$type\\Shell\\Open\\command
              # Read the command!
              set command [registry get $path {}]

              puts "$ext opens with $command"

KEYWORDS

       registry

registry                                               1.1                                        registry(3tcl)