(1) A named entity within query management that can be assigned a value used for communications between an application program and query management. The entity is accessible from both the application program and query management. See also runtime variable.
(2) A symbol defined in one program module that is used in other program modules that are independently compiled.
(3) A variable used to contain information for the use of actions. The values of global variables can be extracted from a host screen or elsewhere, and can be used in templates, transformations, macros, Integration Objects, or business logic. A global variable can be a single value or an array, and it can be shared with other applications sharing the same session.
(4) A variable that is used to hold and manipulate values assigned to it during translation and that is shared across maps and across document translations. One of the three types of variables supported by the Data Interchange Services mapping command language.
(5) A representation of a changeable value that can be accessed and modified by SQL statements that are running within the same session scope. See also special register, variable, session global variable, created global variable, built-in global variable.