what to do with various things.
[link|http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_registry|Wikipedia entry].
It can get corrupted fairly easily, and when it does Windows has lots of problems.
OS/2 (an old operating system that many of us loved) had something similar - OS2.INI and OS2SYS.INI - that stored information that the Workplace Shell used to know various things about applications and the environment. It could have similar problems.
The idea of a database or a special file to hold information like this is a good one. But the system that reads and writes to that database must be smart enough to know what to do when the database gets corrupted. In Windows and OS/2's case, it was too easy to get in a situation that was pathological, and unless you - as a user - know what to do when that happens, you are often stuck with a reinstallation adventure.
HTH a bit.
Cheers,
Scott.