Configuration

An important aspect to understand about James is the idea of "configuration". Sometimes "configuration" means different things to different people, so we wanted to ensure that what we mean by the concept is clear and precise, because in order operate a James server, you will necessarily need to configure it.

A "Configuration" is a value object that communicates to a James server how the Operator wishes the server to behave. It is very similar to an interface, but yet it is not quite an interface (which is why we call it something different).

An "interface" provides a means for an Operator to interact with a server as part of the normal course of ongoing operations. Interfacing with the system essentially means either reading the server’s current state, or updating the server’s current state. A typical example would be adding a new mailbox via the Useradmin API. Each time the Operator interacts with the system via an interface, although the state of the system may change, the behavior of the system is not expected to change.

By contrast, "configuration" of a system (also a noun, but yet not the same as the "Configuration" we mention above) is more like a switching mechanism that instructs the server how to behave given some kind of interaction via an interface. For example, if a James server is configured to allow multiple domains, then if an Operator adds "user@domain1.com" and "user@domain2.com", the server will happily accept the command. If only a single domain is permitted via configuration, then only one of those mailboxes will be allowed. In other words, given the same interaction by the Operator, given different configurations the behavior of the system is different.

Some systems call these "settings", so as a user of a system you would "configure your settings".