Definitions of Configuration

Definitions of Configuration

Configuration is called the organization of the different elements that constitute something, giving it its shape and characteristics. The term derives from the Latin word configuratio.

According to abbreviationfinder.org, the idea of ​​configuration is often used in the field of computing and electronics. The data series that establish the value of certain variables of a software or that indicate how a device should work is known as configuration. In all cases there must be a factory setting, which is called default or original, and then the user is given a certain degree of freedom to change it.

In other words, the configuration is the series of modifications made by a person, either the manufacturer or the user, so that a program or a device has the characteristics that best suit their tastes and needs. It is important to note that this process depends on certain limits, such as the tools that the person has when carrying it out, the original properties of the product and the access that developers give the public to modify them.

The configuration of a monitor, for example, establishes the screen resolution, brightness, contrast, color gamut, volume (if it has speakers), image position and scaling options, among other variables that They depend on its price, the target audience and the preferences of each company. In this particular case, we can see two possible ways of accessing the device’s configuration: on the one hand, making use of a button present in its own structure, to modify the properties in a graphic menu; on the other, from the operating system of the device to which it is connected.

In a digital camera, for its part, through the configuration it is possible to establish the values ​​of many properties, such as the resolution of the images that are captured, the amount of light in the environment, the typical image settings (brightness, contrast, saturation, etc.), the inclusion of the date and time in the photos and the use or not of the flash, among others.

If we focus on a computer program, the possibilities become endless, since the characteristics of the configuration depend on the type of program. For example, in a word processor we have at our disposal endless properties to adjust: sheet size, width and height of the margins, type, size and color of the font, behavior of the spelling and grammar checker, autosave function, creation and update of one or more backup copies, file format and protection against reading or writing, among many others.

Although we are in the era of smart devices, we must not forget that all appliances have a configuration, since it is an inevitable part of the design and manufacture of any appliance. Many of them also allow the user to make certain adjustments: in a traditional oven we must indicate the power of the fire; the refrigerators allow us to select the temperature; AM radios require the tuning of stations and give us the ability to adjust the volume of the audio.

In the field of chemistry, the electronic configuration indicates how electrons are structured in an atom. According to this configuration, the combination properties of the atoms change and, in turn, the position of the element in the periodic table.

When designing a car, on the other hand, the automotive setup is taken into account. This concept is linked to the location of the wheels with traction and the engine of the vehicle structure. Front-wheel drive, rear-wheel drive, four-wheel drive, transverse engine, longitudinal engine, front engine, mid-engine, and rear engine are some of the variables in the automotive setup.

Definitions of Configuration