On 3/19/07, Marshall Schor <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
UIMA descriptors have an XML construct that can be used in UIMA
descriptors to reference the value of environmental variables, called
<envVarRef>.

But this is misnamed, and misleading to users.  It actually substitutes
the value of the Java System property (if one exists).  The
documentation says:

    In several places throughout the descriptor, it is possible to
    reference environment
    variables. In Java, these are actually references to Java system
    properties. To reference
    system environment variables from a Java analysis engine you must
    pass the environment
    variables into the Java virtual machine by using the -D option on
    the java command line.


This seems like a poor design.   The Component Descriptor Editor (CDE)
doesn't support using this.

Here are some alternatives to discuss:

1) removing this capability.

2) changing the implementation of this to get environmental variables,
not Java System property values

How does this work in the C++ version (it obviously can't get Java
System properties, it seems)?


In C++ it really does get environment variables.

I'm in favor of deprecating this feature.  I would be nervous about
completely removing it since people could be using it.

-Adam

Reply via email to