Persistence of Data
Private Initialization Files, page 3
Initialization files are an older technology that goes back to Window 2.0 (version 1.0 did not support private initialization files, only win.ini). While some of the newer Windows documentation suggests that one should always use the registry instead of initialization files, this is not necessarily the case. Initialization files maintain a number of advantages over the registry for some applications. They can be edited by hand using any text editor such as Notepad. They can be easily copied or saved using simple file commands. They are very easy to work with using a few simple API functions or Visual Basic commands.
Are initialization files appropriate for saving application configuration information? Yes - absolutely. A program's state can often be stored as a relatively small number of short string entries or numeric entries - exactly the kind of information that initialization files handle best. It would take more effort to handle user specific configuration information - each user would have to have their own section in the file, but it is still a viable solution.
Are initialization files appropriate for saving documents? Probably not. Their performance is not adequate for most documents. Each entry is limited in size, as is the entire file (depending on the operating system). They can only handle text data, limiting their flexibility for general use.
Are initialization files appropriate for saving record information? Certainly not, except perhaps for the most limited applications.
