18. System Variables
System variables are automatically initialized when a Miva Script program begins execution. There are two types of system variables:
- Static system variables: have values set only when the script begins execution.
- Dynamic system variables: have values set each time they are used in an expression.
All of the time-related variables (except for dyn_time_remaining and globaltimeout) have both static and dynamic versions: the dynamic variables start with the dyn_ prefix. With the exception of recno, all other system variables are static.
Time Variables
| Dynamic |
Static |
Return value |
| dyn_time_t |
time_t |
Number of seconds since 1 Jan. 1970 (numeric) |
| dyn_tm_hour |
tm_hour |
Hour in current day (numeric) |
| dyn_tm_isdst |
tm_isdst |
Has the value true (1) if daylight time is in effect in this time zone (boolean) |
| dyn_tm_mday |
tm_mday |
Day of the month (numeric) |
| dyn_tm_min |
tm_min |
Minutes in current hour (numeric) |
| dyn_stm_mon |
stm_mon |
Month of the year (string) |
| dyn_tm_mon |
tm_mon |
Month of the year (numeric) |
| dyn_tm_sec |
tm_sec |
Seconds in current minute (numeric) |
| dyn_tm_usec |
tm_usec |
The current microsecond, relative to dyn_tm_sec or tm_sec. (On Windows, this value is updated only in 50-millisecond increments). |
| dyn_stm_wday |
stm_wday |
Day of the week (string) |
| dyn_tm_wday |
tm_wday |
Day of the week (numeric) |
| dyn_tm_yday |
tm_yday |
Day in year (numeric) |
| dyn_tm_year |
tm_year |
Year (numeric) |
| dyn_stm_zone |
stm_zone |
The time zone (string) |
| --- |
globaltimeout |
Maximum total number of seconds that this script can execute. |
| dyn_time_remaining |
--- |
Number of seconds before the current script will time out. |
Note: The values returned by the dyn_tm_ variables are not zero-padded; for example, if the time is 12:04, dyn_tm_min returns '4', not '04'. You can use the padl() function to perform padding, if required.
CGI, HTTP, and Other Variables
All available CGI environment variables are automatically converted into static Miva Script system variables upon start-up. All HTTP headers are saved in environment variables and therefore are also converted to Miva Script static variables. The availability of environment variables depends on the server software; the availability of HTTP headers also depends on the browser; therefore, not all variables listed here are guaranteed to be available in all circumstances. For more information on HTTP headers and environment variables, consult a CGI reference and/or your server documentation.
Note: HTTP servers convert HTTP headers into environment variables in which '-' is converted to '_', and to which the prefix 'HTTP' is added.
In the CGI version of Miva Empresa, all available HTTP headers and CGI variables (except for TERMCAP, MAIL, LOGNAME, and PATH) are accessible. In the NSAPI version, a selection of variables and headers (listed below) are accessible. With Miva Mia, all available headers are accessible, as are the variables remote_addr, remote_host, request_method, server_name, server_port, and server_protocol.
The list below contains many of the variables that you may encounter. If the browser and/or server software support other variables, they will be inherited by Miva Script where possible. The following key is used in the table below to summarize the accessibility of system variables:
Origin:
S: generated by Miva Empresa, Miva Mia
E: if available, inherited from environment
H: if available, inherited from HTTP header (via the environment)
Platform:
C: accessible with CGI version of Miva Empresa
N: accessible with NSAPI version of Miva Empresa
P: accessible with Miva Mia
For example, E: C,N means that the variable in question is inherited from the environment and is accessible in the CGI and NSAPI versions of Miva Empresa.
| Variable |
Return Value |
Accessibility |
| apitype |
Platform: 'CGI', 'NSAPI', or 'Mia' (Miva Mia) |
S: C,N,P |
| argN |
If a list of values is passed to a Miva Script program, argN is the value of the Nth argument on the URL used to call the script. arg1 always contains the program file name. The first argument after the file name will be arg2, and so forth. |
S: C,N,P |
| auth_type |
Authentication method user by the server |
E: C,N |
| callerid |
Each time a cookie-enabled browser accesses a Miva Script document, Miva Script creates a 32-character cookie that is unique to that browser and URL. The cookie lasts for one year after being set. Cookies can be turned off in Miva Empresa; contact your server administrator. |
S: C,N,P |
| content_length |
Length of any attached (POST) information |
E: C |
| content_type |
Type of data for POST |
E: C |
| documenturl |
Contains URL of the currently running Miva Script program. This URL also contains the character between the program name and the command line arguments ('+' for NSAPI and Miva Mia, and '?' for CGI). |
S: C,N,P |
| gateway_interface |
Version of CGI used |
E: C |
| http_accept |
Comma-separated list of MIME types (type/subtype) that the browser will accept. This list is very incomplete on most browsers. |
H: C,N,P |
| http_accept_charset |
Character sets preferred by the browser (other than the default ASCII or ISO Latin-1) |
H: C,N,P |
| http_accept_language |
ISO codes for the languages preferred by the browser |
H: C,N,P |
| http_connection |
String that browser sends to the server to preserve a TCP connection (also called a "keep-alive" string). Not supported by all browsers and servers. |
H: C,N,P |
| http_cookie |
Contents of all the cookies set for the document. |
H: C,N,P |
| http_host |
Remote host name (usually same as server_name) |
H: C,N,P |
| http_pragma |
Mode client is running under |
H: C,P |
| http_referer |
The document that the current document was accessed from. |
H: C,P |
| http_user_agent |
Browser name, platform, version, and library |
H: C,N,P |
| mivaversion |
Version of the Miva Script language preprocessor |
S: C,N,P |
| nargs |
If a list of values is passed to a Miva Script program, nargs is the number of arguments on the URL, including the program file name. |
S: C,N,P |
| path_info |
Extra path information in the URL (a directory path that occurs immediately after the name of the CGI program in the URL) |
E: C,N |
| path_translated |
path_info, translated to a physical location by prepending the server document directory to its value |
E: C |
| process_id |
Currently running process number |
S: C,N,P |
| query_string |
Information passed after a URL and a "?" via the GET method |
E: C |
| recno |
Current record number in a flat file being accessed by <MvIMPORT>, or current record number in a database |
S: C,N,P |
| remote_addr |
IP address of remote host |
E: C,N,P |
| remote_host |
The domain name of the remote host |
E: C,N,P |
| remote_ident |
Remote user name, from servers that support RFC 931 identification |
E: C |
| remote_user |
User name associated with protected script, on servers that support user authentication |
E: C,N |
| request_method |
GET, POST, or HEAD |
E: C,N,P |
| script_name |
Virtual path to CGI script; not mapped locally to actual path |
E: C |
| server_hostname |
The name of the server |
E: C,N |
| server_name |
Same as server_hostname |
E: C,N,P |
| server_port |
Port under which server is running |
E: C,P |
| server_port_secure |
Whether the port is secure (boolean) |
E: C |
| server_protocol |
Name and revision of protocol used |
E: C,N,P |
| server_software |
HTTP server and version number that processed the request |
E: C,P |
| server_url |
server_hostname, in URL format |
E: C,N |
| server_version |
Version of the server |
E: C,N |
| user_agent |
Same as http_user_agent |
H: N |
| version |
Miva Empresa or Miva Mia version number |
S: C,N,P |
Miva Script also allows site administrators to define their own system variables. Check with your administrator to find out whether any have been added to your site.
Note: Miva does not give scripts direct access to standard input (STDIN).