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Expressions and variable in SSIS

  • November 26, 2009 at 6:55 am

    #139599

    Hi all,

    I'm just learning SSIS and I'm having difficulties with the concepts of variables and expressions, I've been following the BOL tutorial but it seems to jump straight in, assuming previous deep knowledge of programming language constructs, which I don't have (apart from some Tsql of course) as I'm from an Admin background.

    Could anybody give me the 'non-developers' guide to how and why they are commonly used in SSIS, or point me to a article explaining their usage ?

    Thanks in advance, J.

  • November 26, 2009 at 8:48 am

    #1084623

    Here's a few:

    http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms141671.aspx

    http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms137538.aspx

    http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms141085.aspx

    Do you have any specific questions? Sometimes it just helps to see a few examples.

  • November 26, 2009 at 9:54 am

    #1084652

    Hi Ivan,

    Fair enough, if you go Start-Programs etc. to the BOL tutorial for 2005, it takes you through the creation of a 'simple' etl package, and here's the point at which I got stuck...

    ms-help://MS.SQLCC.v9/MS.SQLSVR.v9.en/sqltut9/html/88a973cc-0f23-4ecf-adb6-5b06279c2df6.htm

    This announces that the Foreach container is going to enlist a user-defined variable - but assumes I know what one is (I vaguely know about global/local variables in tsql).

    But the 'explanation' as to what it is, and why it is being included, is pretty clunkily worded, obviously written by Devs for other Devs (I had to go to Wikipedia to find out what an 'Ennumerator' is!), and I find it a fruitless headache to plough through.

    In the next page, it is announced that the Flat File Connection Manager will use an 'expression', but as above, it's a new concept to me. The concept of a Connection Manager is made crystal clear, as is that of the Foreach container, the data flow transforms etc, but I get the feeling these expressions/variables were widely used in DTS and the team who put the tutorial together just assumed that DTS Devs only would be learning SSIS!!

    Appreciate the links above but they're again written in the same almost robotic style, and this endeavour has already cleaned me out of Aspirin...

    🙂

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