Configuration files exist to make life easier for developers and website operators. In a world without configuration files, every instance of code that depended on a database connection could potentially require the connection details to be hard coded or manually entered. Other reusable data would be defined multiple times, causing code bloat and possible performance issues. Even just making changes to a website could be a tedious task of tracking down exactly where configuration details are kept, and updating all instances. Configuration files are a great resource for maintaining a website with ease, but they are also a common resource for malicious actors.
