>> 	1. A user mode configuration library that uses a protected
>> 		binary file. (a *gasp* registry)

PLEASE DON'T DO THIS.

I keep hearing this from the NT heads that somehow "the registry" is
a big win over (pick your favourite explitive) flat files.

On Win/* perhaps that is so.  I also keep hearing horror stories 
about corrupted registries and critical but undocumented settings...  
but again that's Win/*

But we are not discussing Win/* here, we are talking about a 
system which at the very least has RCS and probably has CVS.  
In that environment a "registry" has all sorts of deficiencies wrt
backing out changes history logs etc. compared to a flat file and CVS.

--sjg