[QGIS-trac] [Quantum GIS] #3097: Add preference to set/override environment variables

[Quantum GIS]

#3097: Add preference to set/override environment variables
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   Reporter:  kyngchaos                         |              Owner:  nobody       
       Type:  enhancement                       |             Status:  new          
   Priority:  major: does not work as expected  |          Milestone:  Version 1.6.0
  Component:  GUI                               |            Version:  Trunk        
   Keywords:  shell environment                 |   Platform_version:               
   Platform:  All                               |           Must_fix:  No           
Status_info:  0                                 |  
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 This is mainly for OS X, maybe Windows is similar?  Could still be useful
 on *nix.

 On OS X, ''applications'' don't get any of the shell environment.  It's
 just the way OS X works (generally no need for it from a purely OS X
 perspective).  Applications still know about and can use environment
 variables, and there is a hidden and little-documented (if at all) method
 to set them for applications, but it is a hidden plist and really needs
 3rd party software to safely and easily edit.

 Some (many?) Qgis plugins use unix-like tools, like GDAL, and need paths
 and configuration from the environment.  Rather than having every
 developer remember to add a configuration menu to their plugins when
 environment variables are needed, I think Qgis needs a preference section
 to set environment variables that all plugins can use.

 Maintaining a list of arbitrary user-added variables would be ideal for
 future flexibility (who knows what a plugin will need).  But if security
 is a concern, at least have a fixed list of common variables, like PATH,
 java-related, GDAL_SKIP, ...

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Ticket URL: <http://trac.osgeo.org/qgis/ticket/3097>
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