Reading the Windows registry

The Windows® registry is a database used by the Windows® operating system to store configuration information. Often it becomes necessary for a tester to read information out of this database using HCL DevOps Test UI (Test UI) commands. This topic provides examples for doing this.

The following example is applicable for scripts running on Windows®:

import javax.swing.JOptionPane;

import resources.RegistryExampleHelper;
import com.rational.test.ft.*;
import com.rational.test.ft.object.interfaces.*;
import com.rational.test.ft.object.interfaces.SAP.*;
import com.rational.test.ft.object.interfaces.siebel.*;
import com.rational.test.ft.script.*;
import com.rational.test.ft.value.*;
import com.rational.test.ft.vp.*;

/**
 * Description   : Functional Test Script
 * @author Administrator
 */
public class RegistryExample extends RegistryExampleHelper
{
	/**
	 * Script Name   : RegistryExample
	 * Generated     : Jul 20, 2006 1:48:49 PM
	 * Description   : Functional Test Script
	 * Original Host : WinNT Version 5.1  Build 2600 (S)
	 * 
	 * @since  2006/07/20
	 * @author Administrator
	 */
	public void testMain (Object[] args)
	{
	    try
	    {
	        
              //Use this code to extract String (REG_SZ) values from the registry.
	    	String regKeyString ="HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\\SOFTWARE\\HCL\\DevOps Test UI\\HCL FT Install Directory";
	    	
	        String regValueString = getOperatingSystem().getRegistryValue(regKeyString);
	        JOptionPane.showMessageDialog(null, regValueString,"String Registry Value",1);
	    }
	    catch (NoSuchRegistryKeyException e)
	    {
	        JOptionPane.showMessageDialog(null, "Error finding registry key.");
	        System.out.println ("No Such Registry Key Exception." + e);
	    }
	    try
	    {
	        //Use this code to extract Integer (DWORD) values from the registry.
	        String regKeyInt = "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\\Control " +"Panel\\Desktop\\LowLevelHooksTimeout";
	        Integer regValueInt = new
	           Integer(getOperatingSystem().getRegistryIntValue(regKeyInt));
	        JOptionPane.showMessageDialog(null,regValueInt, "Integer Registry " + "Value ",1);
	    }
	    catch (NoSuchRegistryKeyException e)
	    {
	        JOptionPane.showMessageDialog(null, "Error finding registry key.");
	        System.out.println ("No Such Registry Key Exception. (" + e + ")" );
	    }
	}
	}

There are two commands available to read values from the registry. The getRegistryValue command is used to read string values from the registry. The getRegistryIntValue is used to read integer values from the registry. The terms "REG_SZ" describe the string and integer types. Both of the commands take a type String argument, which contains the registry key to extract.

The example extracts both a string and an integer value from the registry. Looking first at the String value segment, notice the core code:

String regKeyString ="HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\\SOFTWARE\\HCL\\DevOps Test UI\\HCL FT Install Directory";
String regValueString = getOperatingSystem().getRegistryValue(regKeyString);
JOptionPane.showMessageDialog(null, regValueString,"String Registry Value",1);

The first line creates a type String variable, which contains the registry value to extract. The second line executes the command and stores it in the type String variable regValueString. The third line uses the JOptionPane.showMessageDialog class to display the registry value in a message box on the screen. For those unfamiliar with this last class, it is a Java™ Swing class, which must be imported to be available. Note the last import statement at the top of the script.

The second segment extracts the type int value. In the example, the simple type int is converted to an Integer object, so that it can be displayed in the JOptionPane dialog. Otherwise, the code is identical to the first segment.

Both of the commands throw a NoSuchRegistryKeyException when they fail. Therefore, it is a good idea to wrap these methods within a try/catch block, as in the example. You can change the registry key to one that does not exist and run the script. You will see an error message indicating the key could not be found.