Environment variable

An environment variable is a variable that is available to all programs on a computer, and that can be used to store information such as the location of files or the options that should be used when running a program.

Environment variables are set by the operating system, and can be accessed by programs using a special syntax. For example, on Windows, the environment variable "USERNAME" contains the name of the current user, and can be accessed using the syntax %USERNAME%.

Where are environmental variables?

Environmental variables are usually stored in a file called ".env" in the root directory of your project. However, the location of this file can vary depending on the operating system and development environment you are using. For example, on a Windows machine, the file might be stored in the "C:UsersAppDataRoaming" directory. On a Mac, the file might be stored in the "~/.config//" directory.

How do I check environment variables?

First, you need to determine what shell you are using. The shell is the program that provides the command line interface for the operating system. The most common shells are Bash, Zsh, and Fish.

Once you know the shell you are using, you can use the appropriate command to print out all of the environment variables.

For Bash, the command is:

env

For Zsh, the command is:

printenv

For Fish, the command is:

set What are the two types of environment variables? There are two types of environment variables in Linux: system variables and user variables. System variables are set by the system administrator and are global in scope. User variables are set by individual users and are only accessible by those users. Why do we need environment variables? Environment variables are used to store information that can be used by programs. They are typically used to store settings that should be available to all programs on a system, or to store information that should be kept private.

How do environment variables work?

Environment variables are variables that are set outside of the program, typically by the operating system. They are used to store information that may be needed by the program, such as the location of files or directories.

When a program is started, the operating system sets up a number of environment variables. These are made available to the program through a set of system calls. The program can then use the getenv() function to retrieve the value of an environment variable.

Some environment variables are set by the user, typically in their shell configuration file. These variables are made available to programs that are started by the shell. The program can use the getenv() function to retrieve the value of these variables as well.