Variables

A variable is a configuration property that can provide a parameter for certain values in the system. A variable has a name and a value to be used in place of that name wherever the variable name is located within the configuration files.

Not all WebSphere components support the use of a variable that you can define using this function. Test your application to verify that variables that you define are being used correctly.

Variables have a scope, which is the range of locations in the WebSphere Application Server network where the variable is applicable. A variable with node-level scope applies only on the node for which it is defined. A server variable only applies to one server, and takes precedence over any wider scoped variable with the same name.

WebSphere Application Server variables are used primarily to specify file system paths. The following syntax refers to the variable using the variable name:

${variable_name}

If the value of a variable contains a reference to another variable, the value of the variable is computed by substituting the value of the referenced variable recursively. For example:

Variable name Variable value
ROOT_DIR /
HOME_DIR ${ROOT_DIR}home
USER_DIR ${HOME_DIR}/myuserdir

In this example, the variable reference ${USER_DIR} resolves to the value /home/myuserdir.

Variables are often useful where configured paths cannot contain the and operator to join variable values.

Variables that WebSphere Application Server provides are reserved. If you change the values of such variables, you affect configuration settings. Refer to the Variable settings topic for more specific details about these reserved variables.


Related tasks
Configuring WebSphere variables
Configuring the cell-wide environment



Searchable topic ID:   crun_variable
Last updated: Jun 21, 2007 9:56:50 PM CDT    WebSphere Application Server for z/OS, Version 5.0.2
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