Environment variable

Environment variables are a set of dynamic named values that can affect the way running processes will behave on a computer.

They are part of the environment in which a process runs. For example, a running process can query the value of the TEMP environment variable to discover a suitable location to store temporary files, or the HOME or USERPROFILE variable to find the directory structure owned by the user running the process.

They were introduced in their modern form in 1979 with Version 7 Unix, so are included in all Unix operating system flavors and variants from that point onward including Linux and OS X. From PC DOS 2.0 in 1982, all succeeding Microsoft operating systems including Microsoft Windows, and OS/2 also have included them as a feature, although with somewhat different syntax, usage and standard variable names.

Details

In all Unix and Unix-like systems, each process has its own separate set of environment variables. By default, when a process is created, it inherits a duplicate environment of its parent process, except for explicit changes made by the parent when it creates the child. At the API level, these changes must be done between running fork and exec. Alternatively, from command shells such as bash, a user can change environment variables for a particular command invocation by indirectly invoking it via env or using the ENVIRONMENT_VARIABLE=VALUE <command> notation. All Unix operating system flavors, DOS, and Windows have environment variables; however, they do not all use the same variable names. A running program can access the values of environment variables for configuration purposes.

Second wine

Second wine (or second label; in French Second vin) is a term commonly associated with Bordeaux wine to refer to a second label wine made from cuvee not selected for use in the Grand vin or first label. In some cases a third wine or even fourth wine is also produced. Depending on the house winemaking style, individual plots of a vineyard may be selected, often those of the youngest vines, and fermented separately, with the best performing barrels being chosen for the house's top wine and the other barrels being bottled under a separate label and sold for a lower price than the Grand vin.

In less favorable vintages, an estate may choose to release only a second label wine rather than to release a smaller than normal quantity of its Grand vin or a wine that would not be consistent with past vintages under that name. The practice has its roots in the 18th century but became more commercially prominent in the 1980s when consumers discovered these wines as a more affordable way to drink the product of a First growth or classified Bordeaux estate without paying the premium for the estate's label and classification.

Second (parliamentary procedure)

In deliberative bodies a second to a proposed motion is an indication that there is at least one person besides the mover that is interested in seeing the motion come before the meeting. It does not necessarily indicate that the seconder favors the motion.

Purpose

The purpose of requiring a second is to prevent time being wasted by the assembly's having to dispose of a motion that only one person wants to see introduced. Hearing a second to a motion is guidance to the chair that he should state the question on the motion, thereby placing it before the assembly. It does not necessarily indicate that the seconder favors the motion.

Procedure

The seconder may state "I second the motion" or "second" without first being recognized by the chair. He may remain seated but in larger assemblies, especially in those where nonmembers may be seated in the hall, the seconder should stand. After hearing a second, the chair then states the question and the motion is placed before the assembly for discussion.

Palomar

Palomar may refer to:

Places

Science

Palomar (comics)

Palomar (subtitled The Heartbreak Soup Stories) is the title of a graphic novel written and drawn by Gilbert Hernandez and published in 2003 by Fantagraphics Books (ISBN 1-56097-539-3). It collects work previously published within the pages of Love and Rockets (volume one). Palomar is the fictional town in Latin America where all the stories presented are set. Palomar is included in Time magazine's Best Comics of 2003 list, and in 2005 was one of Time's 100 best graphic novels of all time.

Palomar 12

Palomar 12 is a globular cluster in the constellation Capricornus that belongs to the halo of the Milky Way Galaxy.

First discovered on the National Geographic Society – Palomar Observatory Sky Survey plates by Robert George Harrington and Fritz Zwicky, it was catalogued as a globular cluster. However Zwicky came to believe this was actually a nearby dwarf galaxy in the Local Group. It is a relatively young cluster, being about 30% younger than most of the globular clusters in the Milky Way. It is metal-rich with a metallicity of [Fe/H] ~= -0.8. It has an average luminosity distribution of M_v = -4.48.

Based on proper motion studies, this cluster was first suspected in 2000 to have been captured from the Sagittarius dwarf galaxy about 1.7 Ga ago. It is now generally believed to be a member of the Sagittarius dwarf galaxy (Cohen 2004, Sbordone et al. 2006). It is estimated to be 6.5 Gyr old.

References

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