System Variables

System variables are automatically initialized when a Miva Script program begins execution. There are two types of system variables

  • Dynamic system variables: values are set each time they are used in an expression.
  • Static system variables: values are set when script begins execution. With the exception of recno, all other system variables are static. All http environment variables get converted to static system variables.

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.

Time Variables

Time variables are not zero-padded; for example, if the time is 12:04, dyn_tm_min returns '4', not '04'. Use the padl() function to perform padding, as needed.

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.

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.

HTTP servers convert HTTP headers into environment variables in which '-' is converted to '_', and to which the prefix 'HTTP' is added.

Accessibility Codes

Origin:

  • S: generated by Miva Merchant Virtual Machine, Miva Merchant 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 Merchant Virtual Machine
  • N: accessible with NSAPI version of Miva Merchant Virtual Machine
  • P: accessible with Miva Merchant 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 Merchant Virtual Machine.

Miva Script also allows site administrators to define their own system variables. Check with your server administrator to find out whether any have been added to your site.

Variable Return Value Accessibility
apitype Platform: 'CGI', 'NSAPI', or 'Mia' (Miva Merchant 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 Not enabled by default as of the 5.34 engine. Its recommended that cookies and sessions are handled at the application layer. If required, contact your host to have this value enabled. 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 Merchant Virtual Machine; 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 Merchant Mia, and '?' for CGI). S: C,N,P
gateway_interface Version of CGI used E: C
globaltimeout Maximum total number of seconds that this script can execute. S: C,N,P
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
miva_defaultlanguage Retrieves the current default language setting  
miva_language Retrieves the current language setting  
miva_sslavailable Whether OpenSSL is available for use by <MvCALL> 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
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
request_uri The full uri path to the requested resource 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
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