Chapter 9. Configuring Desktop with GSettings and dconf

9.1. Terminology Explained: GSettings, gsettings, and dconf

This section defines several terms that are easily confused.

dconf: dconf is a key-based configuration system which manages user settings. It is the back end for GSettings used in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7. dconf manages a range of different settings, including GDM, application, and proxy settings.
dconf: The dconf command-line utility is used for reading and writing individual values or entire directories from and to a dconf database.
GSettings: GSettings is a high-level API for application settings, front end for dconf.
gsettings: The gsettings command-line tool is used to view and change user settings.