1. A computer system comprising: a first computer comprising a storage device storing: a configuration repository storing multiple entries of configuration information for a software application program, each entry designed for customizing the software application program for a specific situation and the software application program being designed to remotely request configuration information as needed, wherein each configuration information entry includes 1) a configuration component available to be requested for the software application program and 2) a configuration attribute and an associated attribute value that define terms for the software application program to apply to a business transaction of a business enterprise in the specific situation, wherein the configuration repository stores the multiple entries of configuration information in XML format, and a configuration directory storing at least a first configuration information entry selected for the specific situation from among the multiple entries, the first configuration information entry selected based on a user input during a process to customize the software application program for use in the specific situation by a particular business enterprise, the configuration directory being remote from the software application program and different from the configuration repository, and the configuration directory storing the at least one configuration information entry in a database table format in which access to the first configuration information entry is faster than in the XML format; a processing device, coupled to the storage device, for providing the first configuration information entry having the database table format from the configuration directory to the software application program in response to a request; and a second computer that operates the software application program and that is outer to the first computer, the software application program being configured to send, from the second computer over a communications link to the first computer, the request for the first configuration information entry for use by the software application program to process the business transaction of the business enterprise.
9. The system of claim 1 , wherein each configuration information entry includes meta-information reflecting constraints on the configuration attribute and the associated attribute value.