Setting environment variables in eclipse that references other environment variables

Question

I have Eclipse Helios with a java program set up. I'm attempting to create two environment variables

ReportingManagerHome=C:\rp
ReportingManagerConfig=${ReportingManagerHome}\config

I then run my program with

System.out.println(System.getenv("ReportingManagerConfig"));

Eclipse doesn't even call the java compiler. It throws up a pop up window with the error that environment variable ReportingManagerHome is not defined. I understand that since the java compiler has yet to be called, technically Eclipse is correct.

Now how do I work around this so that I can define cascading environment variables in Eclipse?

Solution

It won't recursively expand environment variables from the launch config.

Even using ${env:VAR} takes it from the environment variables from your eclipse process, not from your current launch config.

The most reliable way to do it is to go to Preferences>Run/Debug>String Substitution and define an eclipse variable there.

Then define the environment variables in your launch config:

ReportingManagerHome=${RMH}
ReportingManagerConfig=${RMH}\config

Comments

[mrtumnus]

${env:VAR} should be ${env_var:VAR}, at least in Eclipse Mars.