0012-Folio Deploy Environment Variable Naming Conventions

Summary

FOLIO Deployment Environment Variables should follow Naming Conventions.

Motivation

In Linux environments in docker containers, inconsistent environment variable naming can cause errors.

Scope

Applicable for all backend modules, also to the Eureka manager components.

Detailed Explanation/Design

Variable naming should be OS independent.
Allowed standards: Uppercase letters, digits, underscore

We recommend following the IEEE standards: Environment Variables

Not allowed: Variables with dots, e.g. like okapi.url , tenant.url, kong.url  , am.url .

These potential problems mostly appear in the new modules of the Eureka platform. So, it should not require much effort in an Upgrade Scenario, because most Hosters don’t yet run the Eureka platform in production.

Risks and Drawbacks

• System Upgrades. It has to documented when Sys Ops need to change the variable names.

• A transition period in which you can use both naming schemes.

• okapi.url (etc.) should generate a warning in the log, or say that this is deprecated.

Why should we not do this?

• it can cause problems in Linux containers

Rationale and Alternatives

FOLIO should work on all operation systems.

Timing

Better be fixed in Sunflower, because most hoster will change their environment to Eureka by the Sunflower version.

Unresolved Questions

Keywords

backend deployment

sys ops

release upgrades