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People identify things by giving them names. In computer systems, names are used to identify machines, files, users, devices, and so on. The Name Registry provides a way for device drivers and system software to store names. The Registry does not store the things named, just important pieces of information about the things. The information stored is determined by the creator of the name entry and may include such data as the physical location of the thing, technical descriptions of it, and logical addresses.
Name entries are created in the Name Registry by expert software. Each expert owns specific entries and is responsible for removing them when they are no longer needed. Clients search for entries the expert has placed in the Registry, making the Registry a rendezvous point for clients and experts. The Registry does not provide general communication between clients and experts; it only helps clients and experts find each other. After clients and experts find each other, different software helps them communicate directly.
The Name Registry is similar to the name services used in some other computing environments. In concept it resembles the X.500 or BIND (named) network name services. However, the present implementation of the Name Registry is less general; it is optimized for the specific needs of hardware and device driver configuration.