title: What does a GraphicsConfiguration represent in Java?
body: <p>The Java 8 documentation describes GraphicsConfiguration in the following manner.</p>
  
  <blockquote>
    <p>The GraphicsConfiguration class describes the characteristics of a graphics destination such as a printer or monitor</p>
  </blockquote>
  
  <p>The description is a bit non-technical and vague, though, it has been enough to allow me to use it in a screenshot application, but I still do not understand why a GraphicsDevice has multiple GraphicsConfigurations. In the documentation for GraphicsDevice it states:</p>
  
  <blockquote>
    <p>Each graphics device has one or more GraphicsConfiguration objects associated with it. These objects specify the different configurations in which the GraphicsDevice can be used. </p>
  </blockquote>
  
  <p>What are these "different configurations" and when would they occur?</p>