# Introduction

This document contains the Detailed Design for the Flexible Configuration Management system which is known as FCM.

A lot of information about the design of FCM can be found within:

- The FCM User Guide. This contains all the information which a user needs to know about FCM, including relevant aspects of the design.
- The FCM source code which is, we hope, well commented.

Everything else which you might need to know about the design should be described in the following sections. It includes higher level design information not suited for inclusion in the source code but too detailed to be included in the User Guide. It is intended for those who need to maintain or develop the FCM system or simply for those who wish to obtain a deeper understanding of how the system works. This document consists of the following sections:

- Code Management System
- Extract System
- Build System