Today we have a simple tip of the shell. Are there applications or scripts that you use that require different environment variables, such as a different PATH or EDITOR? Then meet the env command. env allows you to run a program in a restricted environment with custom variables or so that no “dirty” variables are left around.

When using variables, they should be declared in order to be useful in shell scripting. This bash shell tutorial explains the declaration process.

The Java™ language contains two intrinsic synchronization mechanisms: synchronized blocks (and methods) and volatile variables. Both are provided for the purpose of rendering code thread-safe. Volatile variables are the weaker (but sometimes simpler or less expensive) of the two -- but also easier to use incorrectly.

Aliases are great for saving typing time, and you probably already have a handful set up. But you may not be aware that it's possible to set up aliases that take command line variables as an argument. Read on for an example.

After looking last week at at special Perl variables for reading things in, here are some that may be useful when you want to write things out.

Regardless of whether you're running a single MySQL server or a cluster of multiple servers, one thing you are always interested in is squeezing the maximum performance out of your system. MySQL's developers were well aware of this, and so they provided a fairly comprehensive list of performance variables that you can monitor in real time to check the health and performance of your MySQL server.

- Comparison of PHP variables vs Constants (performance wise)
- How to keep all scripts that are not "starting scripts" outside of the publicly accessible scripts in apache by using a handy constant.

Vimscript is a mechanism for reshaping and extending the Vim editor. Scripting allows you to create new tools, simplify common tasks, and even redesign and replace existing editor features. This article (the first in a series) introduces the fundamental components of the Vimscript programming language: values, variables, expressions, statements, functions, and commands.

Vimscript is a mechanism for reshaping and extending the Vim editor. Scripting allows you to create new tools, simplify common tasks, and even redesign and replace existing editor features. This article (the first in a series) introduces the fundamental components of the Vimscript programming language: values, variables, expressions, statements, functions, and commands.