US Patent 7945907 System and method for configuring application programs

A system includes a communication unit to receive a request to change a configuration of an application program, and a storage unit to access a configuration state that represents the configuration. The system further includes a processing unit to identify a further configuration state that is consistent with a system of rules. The further configuration state represents a further configuration that complies with the request. The processing unit uses an integrity preserving transition to change the configuration to the further configuration. The integrity preserving transition terminates with the further configuration when the integrity preserving transition changes the configuration.