Answer:   The web.config is the basic configuration file for ASP.NET applications. It utilizes an XML format. It is used to define application settings, connection strings, and much more. These files can appear in multiple directories, and they are applied in a top-down approach; that is, configuration files apply to their container directory as well as all directories below it, but the configuration files in lower directories can override those in parent directories. This provides a way to granularly apply settings. The machine.config file contains ASP.NET settings for all of the applications on the server -- it is at the top of the configuration file hierarchy, thus web.configs can override it.