The "string-of-pearls" is a name given to a series of NT scripts and registry files that are copied from /auto/jacal/ntscriptroot/temp/sop/. Within the sop directory are three sub-directories: full, sysdiff, and bare. When the parse-vars.pl script was executed earlier, the sop.reg file was modified so that one of these three directories will be chosen as the directory to run scripts from.
Each step in the "string-of-pearls" system requires three files: a registry file (.reg), a "ScriptIt" execution file (.ini), and a command file (.cmd). The function of the registry file is to set the "RunOnce" registry key so that the "ScriptIt" answer file is executed on the next reboot. The "ScriptIt" answer file (.ini) is a pseudo-script that is parsed by the "ScriptIt" utility. In most stages of the "string-of-pearls" the only action in the answer file is to execute the command file (.cmd). The command file performs the appropriate tasks for the current stage, inserts the next registry file into the registry and reboots the machine.