• Melllvar@startrek.website
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    32
    arrow-down
    2
    ·
    edit-2
    8 months ago

    Unpopular opinion: The Windows Registry, a centralized, strongly typed key:value database for application settings, is actually superior to hundreds of individual dotfiles, each one written in its own janky customized DSL, with its own idea of where it should live in the file system, etc.

      • excitingburp@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        6
        ·
        8 months ago

        The language itself has no type enforcement, the type checking is implemented within nixpkgs. This might seem like pedantry, but it really matters for things like LSPs (text editor autocomplete). I think that’s what scares some people off: it’s like OG Minecraft, you need to have the wiki/search.nixos.org open while you are doing your editing.

        That being said, the type checking goes much deeper than what the windows registry does - e.g. it won’t allow you to enable conflicting services - like grub and systemd-boot - at the same time.

    • azthec@feddit.nl
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      7
      ·
      8 months ago

      I agreee with you on the side of the concept, but the way it is organised and the potential values seem to make no intuitive sense (if they make any)

    • 0x4E4F@lemmy.dbzer0.comOP
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      3
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      8 months ago

      That is true.

      But, due to the nature of how it works, it can be also used to hide data that the user “should not be aware of”.

      • Melllvar@startrek.website
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        3
        ·
        8 months ago

        So can a dotfile, or any other kind of storage. There’s really nothing inherently bad about the registry. Its reputation as a place to hide things in is equal parts selection bias, users’ lack of technical understanding, and the marketing of “registry cleaner” apps.

        • 0x4E4F@lemmy.dbzer0.comOP
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          1
          ·
          8 months ago

          But… it is a place to hide things 🤨.

          I won’t argue about leftovers when uninstallig, some package managers do that as well, plus it’s not really the registry’s fault, that’s just bad or badly configured installers/uninstallers.