Learning about environment variables

Environment variables are basically variables whose values depend on the environment in which they are being used. For example, an environment variable can return to the application using it as a description of the current operating system or the complete path where the application is being executed.

In Pentaho Report Designer (PRD) there exists a series of predefined environment variables that will help us interact with the BA Server that is executing them. Making use of these variables, we can modify the behavior and content of our reports.

Environment variables in PRD

The environment variables that we can use in PRD are found in the Data tab, under the Environment node as shown in the following screenshot:

In the following list, we describe each of these:

• env::hostColonPort: This environment variable specifies the IP address and port where Pentaho BA Server is being executed, separated by a colon. For example: localhost:8080.

• env:serverBaseURL: This environment...