What is the purpose of configuration management in software development?
a) To track and control changes to software artifacts
b) To manage the project schedule
c) To optimize software performance
d) To design the software architecture
Answer:
a) To track and control changes to software artifacts
Explanation:
Configuration management is the process of tracking and controlling changes to software artifacts, such as source code, documentation, and configuration files. It ensures that the correct versions of software components are used in the development, testing, and production environments.
Configuration management tools, such as Git, Subversion, or Ansible, help teams manage version control, automate deployments, and maintain consistency across environments. This process is essential for preventing configuration drift and ensuring that changes are well-documented and reversible.
Configuration management also plays a key role in DevOps, where it is used to automate infrastructure setup and manage software dependencies.