_CEE_ENVFILE

Enables a list of environment variables to be set from a specified file. This environment variable only takes effect when it is set through the runtime option ENVAR on initialization of a parent program. When _CEE_ENVFILE is defined under these conditions, its value is taken as the name of the file to be used. For example, to read the ddname MYVARS, you would call your program with the ENVAR runtime option, as follows:

   ENVAR("_CEE_ENVFILE=DD:MYVARS")

When you set the environment variables with a file in the UNIX file system, you need to use the absolute path to specify the file. For example, if the absolute path of the file is /u/DPGROSS/ootest/tsthello/ENV, you would call your program with the ENVAR runtime option as follows:

ENVAR("_CEE_ENVFILE=/u/DPGROSS/ootest/tsthello/ENV")

The specified file is opened as a variable length record file. For an MVS data set, the data set must be allocated with RECFM=V. RECFM=VBS must not be used because environment variables may not be contained in spanned records. RECFM=F is not suggested because RECFM=F enables padding with blanks, and the blanks are counted when calculating the size of the line. Each record consists of NAME=VALUE. For example, a file with the following two records:

   _EDC_RRDS_HIDE_KEY=Y
   World_Champions=New_York_Yankees

would set the environment variable _EDC_RRDS_HIDE_KEY to the value Y, and the environment variable World_Champions to the value New_York_Yankees.

Notes:

Using _CEE_ENVFILE to set environment variables through a file is not supported under CICS®.
z/OS® Language Environment® searches for an equal sign to delimit the environment variable from its value. If an equal sign is not found, the environment variable is skipped and the rest of the text is treated as comments.
Each record of the file is processed independently from any other record in the file. Data within a record is used exactly as input with no substitution. A file containing:
```
FRED=WILMA
FRED=$FRED:BAMBAM
```
will result in the environment variable FRED being set to $FRED:BAMBAM, rather than to WILMA:BAMBAM as would be the case if the same statements were processed by a UNIX shell.