Whenever I change the configurations e.g. under hst:pages in the CMS console, will it get reflected in the XML files under bootstrap configuration?
On the other hand, when I update the XML file under bootstrap configuration, is it supposed to be reflected in the CMS console as well? I've tried (I increased the version number in the hippoecm-extension.xml file, cleaned and rebuilt the project) but this doesn't seem to happen
1) Your changes will get reflected in the XML files only if you have the auto-export feature activated. More information on this feature can be found here: http://www.onehippo.org/library/development/automatic-export-add-on.html
2) You have to do several things for this to work: update the version number in the XML file, mark the item you want to reload as reload on startup, and add the flag -Drepo.bootstrap=true when you start the server. You can find more detailed information on this topic here:
http://www.onehippo.org/library/concepts/update/deploying-content-and-configuration-updates.html