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AbyssLabs.Environment Component

Version number: 1.0.0.6
Last updated: April 10, 2004
License type: Freeware
Component type: In-process COM-server
Threading model: Apartment
ProgId: AbyssLabs.Environment
CLSID: F183EBBA-0D4A-46E3-A581-4D522B0FAE6E
Former name: a1asp.env (www.a1lab.com)

Product overview

This component provides an access to the MS Windows environment variables from such scripting languages as VBScript, JScript, ASP, and any other programming environment supporting COM.

Features

Basically, you can do following:
= get a value of any particular variable by its name, e.g. PATH or TEMP
= get a total number of available variables
= get a list of names of all available variables

Functions

Value( name ) - returns an environment variable specified by its name

Count() - returns a total number of available environment variables

Name( index ) - returns a name of the environment variable specified by its numerical index that should be in range from 1 to Count()

GetByIndex( index ) - returns name/value pair cpecified by the numerical index

Especially for ASP/IIS programmers

Environment variables are not the Server variables which are available using Request.ServerVariables() collection.

This component has Apartment threading model. Consequences are:
= it can be used in page, session, and application scope
= in an application scope it can be created only using <OBJECT ...> notation
= the page scope is highly recommended due to lack of performance in other cases

In such NT-based operating systems as Windows NT, Windows 2000, and Windows XP, the set of emvironment variables is not the same for all users. There are two kinds of environment variables: system variables and user variables. All users share the same single set of the system variables. But the user variables are specific for each local user (or more precisely - for each local user profile). This is important because IIS works under special SYSTEM user account (by default), but not under an account of any regular user, e.g. Administrator.

Just in case: this component provides an access to the environment variables of that computer, where this component is installed. Therefore, do not try to get client's variables from the server side script.

Documentation and Sample code

Following files are included in the installation package:
= readme.txt containing a programmer's manual for this component
= some sample scripts written in VBScript are available in the Installation path\Test\VBS folder
= sample ASP page are available in the Installation path\Test\ASP folder

Installation procedure

The installation package contains a usual installation program that installs the component itself, all required libraries, and documentation files. A default installation folder is C:\Program files\AbyssLabs\Environment.

Technical support