What does "environment variable" mean in programming?
environment variable is one of the most common terms in software development. This guide explains what it means, how it is used in practice, and why it matters, with real examples from the developer world.
Definition
A named value stored outside the application code that configures its behavior in a specific environment. Environment variables hold secrets (API keys, database URLs), feature flags, and settings that differ between local, staging, and production. They prevent secrets from being hardcoded in source code.
Example
"The database URL is stored in the DATABASE_URL environment variable — different values are set in local, staging, and production."
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