TIP: Control your system PATH variabe!

[DelJo63]

Here's the issue:

When an application asks for program XXX, the system searches the SYSTEM PATH to find it. The sequence of locating XXX goes like this:​

• The exact location requested (if any), eg ..\thisDir\XXX (this would have to be hard coded in the code itself)
• The current directory, eg .\xxx (this and the next are the default behaviors)
• The system Path variable, which is a LIST of directories

That PATH Variable changes almost with every install, or at least with every Application installed. This gives rise to fraudulent and/or multiple XXX modules on the system.

Here's the cause:

Programmers are lazy, just like you & I and when they create an Installer Package,​

the System Path sometimes needs to include the install location. The easiest method to​

add the new install path is​

​

PATH = $newpath;$PATH​

​

I just installed PERL on my Win/7 64bit system and the new path var looks like this:​

​

C:\PERL64\SITE\BIN;C:\PERL64\BIN;C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32;C:\WINDOWS;C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\WINDOWSPOWERSHELL\V1.0\;...​

​

Here's the fix:

Use an ADMIN login and edit the SYSTEM PATH so as to keep​

​

C:\windows\SYSTEM32;C:\windows;​

​

at the beginning of the path and move the new install at least AFTER the system directories:​

​

C:\windows\SYSTEM32;C:\windows;C:\PERL64\SITE\BIN;C:\PERL64\BIN;\...​

​

I've been using this technique since Win98 to ensure that system modules can not be overridden (at least by careless path manipulations).