Wishlist: MOST WANTED Tasks, Sources, Transformations, and Destinations?
Until there's an Integration Services 2.0,what custom components would you most like to see examples of? The documentation team is starting work on the 2nd Web refresh of Books Online and SQL Server samples, anticipated for release around April, and may be able to incorporate some requests as samples or BOL topics.
I scanned Kirk's "Requests" thread and, although many requests are for tweaks to existing SSIS widgets, I noted the following. Which ones, or which others, would provide the most value to the most users? I don't have the authority to make this "sticky," so get your votes in before I disappear off the bottom of the page!
Tasks
- HTTP request/response task (similar to FTP task)
- parameterized XML task (for use with xsl:param)
Sources
- IIS log files source
Transformations
- replace NULLs with a default value
Destinations
- ODBC destination (solution using Script Component provided in this forum)
- SELECT INTO destination that creates destination table
- console window destination for debugging
Any votes forcustom log providers orcustom connection managers? Web refresh 1 of BOL and the samples, which should be available this month, will include a sample custom connection manager using SQL. Web refresh 2 will contain a 2nd custom connection manager using Excel.
Both new drops of BOL will include new Script Task and Script Component samples.
Thank you for your input!
-Doug
[1658 byte] By [
DouglasL] at [2007-12-17]
This seems to be metamorphorsizing into the "SSIS Requests" thread but nonetheless....
An example of a custom source component that puts data into the pipeline from a variable that has been populated using the recordset destination would be very VERY handy.
Alot of people are complaining that there is no corresponding recordset source component and while I can completely understand the reasons why, I think that being able to do this is still a valid requirement.
-Jamie
It would be nice to have skeletons of a custom control flow task and a custom data flow task with all of the possible functions/methods defined. It would also be great if it was "commented up" as to what the purpose of each method is, when it is fired and what properties would commonly be used in them. Especially in VB, there seem to be a few C# samples but no VB anywhere. I know C# is the "wave of the future", but we have no one on staff who knows it or has time to learn it right now. Plus, I think, you can only use VB in the stock script compnents and we would rather only use one language since most of our staff know neither one.
Harry
Custom UIs.
The standard UI used by in the box components, provides some basic functionality, like configuring the error output, displaying the input and output columns. It would be good to have that to work off.
SELECT INTO WITH OUTUT would be good, to get the keys of the newly created tasks.
Threading in asynchronous components, so many options, it would be good to know the right ones.
When I wrote my first custom UI (for a connection manager), I was relieved to discover how relatively easy it is. The methods to implement are nearly identical to those we used to write DTS custom tasks, and are nearly identical from one type of SSIS component to another (connection manager, data flow component, etc.).
The upcoming BOL & samples download includes at least a custom connection manager with custom UI, and a data flow transformation with a more complex custom UI (although the latter is provided in C# only in this release).
Thank you for your suggestions.
-Doug
Harry,
I agree that "templates" are a useful suggestion. You may want to take a look at the wizards that Oleg Ivanov created for this purpose at http://www.ivolva.com/ssis_wizards.html. Also, if you don't want to wait to see whether these appear from Microsoft, it's easy to add template items in Visual Studio by putting files with the appropriate extensions in the appropriate folders. (Forgive me for hedging, I would need to look up the details.)
I'm not sure what you mean about a lack of VB samples, since all of our BOL samples and code snippets are provided in both VB and C#. Although most of them are relatively simple, they should get folks off to a good start.
Thank you for your suggestions.
-Doug
DouglasL wrote: