Can WordPress plugins “Talk to each other”?

Sorry if this is a really silly question, but I am very new to Word Press.

My question is, can one plugin update the settings of another WordPress plugin? I suppose this might depend on the plugin and where it stores its settings. I don’t know if plugins store their settings in static files or in the database.

Simple Answer would be yes.

It really depends on the plugin. A good plugin will take use of the many API’s that WordPress has set up for development, such as the settings API. Most plugins will probably store their settings using get_option.

A good place to start will be the WordPress Codex