Configuration Files

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Configuration files allow the operating system and applications running on it to be configured.

• All Linux configuration settings are stored in text files and saved in the file system
  • unlike Windows registry database
  • configuration files are generally stored in /etc
    • sometimes /usr, /opt, /var
• use different formatting standards:
  • Initialization file (INI)
    • uses key-value pairs associated using =
  • eXtensible Markup Language (XML)
    • uses tag formatting similar to HTML
    • often used by APIs to exchange information
  • YAML Ain’t Markup Language (YAML)
    • uses : and indentation to associate groups of settings
    • common with apps using JavaScript