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I've read answers to the following:

Why is Windows registry needed?

However I am curious about how this might apply to the practice of storing software license keys. I've seen developers store license information in the Windows registry, such as keys used to keep the software activated over a period of time (until the license expires or something). I've also read:

Where can I store and manage application license information?

In my situation, I am not concerned with the obscurity aspect. At this point I am just creating a system to keep out the average user. So aside from hiding the information, is there any real reason to use the registry?

Snoop
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    There's nothing special at all about the registry, other than it being an "official" data store recognized by the Windows operating system. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Registry – Robert Harvey Jun 12 '18 at 14:52
  • @RobertHarvey Yeah, that's kinda what I was thinking. I am trying to figure out whether to use a file or the registry for an app's license data. I am new to licensing software. – Snoop Jun 12 '18 at 14:57
  • I'm not fond of storing information in the registry, for a number of reasons. But if you want to tie the software to a particular machine (e.g. re-installs don't require putting in the license key again, because it's already there), the registry is a good place to put it, because it doesn't depend on a specific file in a specific place on the hard drive. Otherwise, my feeling is that the more [x-copy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XCOPY_deployment) you can make your installation, the better. – Robert Harvey Jun 12 '18 at 15:03
  • @RobertHarvey Well, I've made it to this point having never used the Windows registry... – Snoop Jun 12 '18 at 15:04
  • @RobertHarvey Is x-copy generally considered good practice? – Snoop Jun 12 '18 at 15:06
  • That's not an answerable question. Strictly speaking, there's no such thing as a "good practice;" there is only that which most effectively meets your specific requirements. – Robert Harvey Jun 12 '18 at 15:07
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    Having said that, installations have been moving away from depending heavily on the registry for quite some time now. In older application models, dependency on the registry caused all manner of difficult problems. – Robert Harvey Jun 12 '18 at 15:09
  • @RobertHarvey More or less what I meant to ask, thanks. – Snoop Jun 12 '18 at 15:11
  • Installation problems are the reason that the vast majority of new applications written for industry are *web applications.* The ability to avoid having to perform an install is the primary motivator for such applications. – Robert Harvey Jun 12 '18 at 15:13
  • Let us [continue this discussion in chat](https://chat.stackexchange.com/rooms/78793/discussion-between-snoop-and-robert-harvey). – Snoop Jun 12 '18 at 15:16
  • You can do atomic updates in the registry. Some operations are a bit easier than the file system. – Frank Hileman Jun 12 '18 at 21:36

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