UNIX environment

This subsection describes a conceptual model of the UNIX environment.

In UNIX, an array of strings called the environment is available to each process. The format of these strings is aKey=aValue. The environment is often used to store user configuration information. For example, the PATH environment variable defines the search path used to locate executables.

The UNIXEnvironment class provides access to the shell environment from within Smalltalk. A subset of the Dictionary protocol is supported by the UNIXEnvironment class. Through this protocol the environment can be queried and modified.

There are two intended uses for the UNIXEnvironment class:

1.	To enable Smalltalk applications to configure themselves based on available environment information.

2.	To provide the UNIXProcess (described in UNIX process) with a configurable environment that can be based on the current environment or completely defined.