Greetings,
I'm a total noob here but somehow I managed to get a mega and learn enough Arduino C to create a functioning project. ;D
Anyway, to take it to the next level, I have several configurable variables that are hard coded into the code. I would like to write a Windows application to both read and store these configurations on my Arduino via my USB cable. I'm sure this has been done a million times. I'm not trying to short circuit the learning process with hand holding but knowing the right architecture up front seems to save me many false starts, much like when some good fellow told me to use ISRs instead of delays. 
I would have eventually got there but the time savings of being headed in the right direction was huge. Would someone be willing to give me the high level outline for how this is normally accomplished? I'd be very appreciative.
I don't even want to make any presumptions on the Windows application language but it needs to be relatively easy to use and somewhat visual.
Any thoughts at all on how to get started would be greatly appreciated!
Thank You!
Mike