Why must I set ORACLE_xxx before starting apache vs inside a script?

I went to the linux and sun boxes that we run PHP on and set the environment variable from the command line, even after the apache server started. It fixed the issue I had with error 12514. It begs the question -- does PHP successfully set variables via putenv() when it comes to Oracle connections? I know I'm not the only guy who will test my PHP scripts on a development database, and need to switch back and forth. ORA_HOME will always point to the same directory regardless of the database. But ORACLE_SID should be addressable if we can't properly pass the database in ocilogon.... I'm really confused here :) -- Paul Fernandez Webmaster Structural GenomiX, Inc. www.stromix.com 858.558.4850