variable

variable: In programming, a named storage location capable of containing a certain type of data that can be modified during program execution.

System environment variables are defined by the operating systems in the Windows Server 2003 family, and they are the same no matter who is logged on to the computer. Administrator group members can add new variables or change the values, however.

User environment variables can be different for each user of a particular computer. They include any environment variables you want to define or variables defined by your applications, such as the path where application files are located.