[texworks] Why is $PATH ignored?

[Karl Berry]

    Is there a way to examine a process's environment while it's running?

/proc/PID/environ, if you have /proc.  
If you don't, look at man ps, there might be an option e or some such to
display it.

    But I guess texworks doesn't want to do this.

Sure, but I highly doubt it is doing anything explicitly.

    so .zshenv is sourced by every single shell

What is the exact contents of your .zshenv?

    - when using my X login manager, "LC_ALL=C texworks" still gives the
    interface in French, but

Perhaps env LC_ALL=C texworks would change it, BTW.  As another data point.

    So probably my X login manager is doing nasty things indeed. 

Yes, that is the kind of program that I was thinking of would be playing
with the paths.

    PPS: I still don't understand why apps like kile or texmaker can get the
    right path and texworks doesn't. 

Me either.

Maybe strace or the equivalent would help determine what files are being
looked in the different cases.

    They must determine their environment differently somehow...

The child has no control at all over the environment it is passed.  It
is entirely up to the calling program.  (Of course, the child can
manipulate the env after it is running, but I doubt texworks is doing
that?)

What if you invoke "env" instead of "texworks" in this various ways?