What is Environment Variable, and Why Use Environment Variables in Python?

Updated by Ashirafu Kibalama on September 17, 2024

"Environment variables in Python: What are they and why should we use them?"

Managing application settings and configurations efficiently is crucial in the ever-evolving software development landscape.

One powerful tool that developers can leverage for this purpose is environment variables.

These dynamic values, set outside the application code, play an essential role in controlling the behaviour of running processes and ensuring smooth transitions between different stages of development, testing, and deployment.

This blog investigates the concept of environment variables, their significance, and their numerous benefits to Python development.

What is an environment variable in Python?

An environment variable in Python is a variable defined outside the application, typically in the operating system, and used to provide configuration settings to the application.

These variables are part of the Python script's environment and can affect the application's behaviour without changing its code.

How to Use Environment Variables in Python: Check out my blog post.

4 Benefits of Using Environment Variables in Python

1) Security:

Ensures that sensitive information is kept secure and out of the codebase.

Therefore, sensitive data, such as API keys and passwords, can be stored as environment variables rather than hardcoded into the source code.

2) Flexibility:

Configurations can be easily changed without modifying the code.

Therefore, settings stored in environment variables can be easily changed between different environments (development, testing, production) without altering the codebase.

3) Separation of Concerns: Decoupling Configuration from Code

Separation of concerns refers to a design principle that promotes separating a computer program into distinct sections, each addressing a separate concern or responsibility.

This principle helps create more cleaner, maintainable, and understandable codebases.

4) Consistency and Global Access:

Ensures all running processes and applications on the system can be accessed.

Therefore, this ensures consistent settings across different environments and deployment platforms.

Conclusion

Environment variables are essential for managing configuration settings in Python applications.

They offer enhanced security, ease of maintenance, and the ability to switch between different environments without altering the code.

Using environment variables promotes the separation of concerns and improves the robustness and scalability of your software.

Incorporate environment variables into your Python projects to build efficient, secure, and adaptable applications.

Happy coding!

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