Use Global Variables in Execute SQL Tasks (GVCustomTask)

December 28, 1999

Thank you to those people who pointed out some bugs in the first release and sorry to anyone who encountered problems.

This DTS custom task allow you to use package global variables in Execute SQL Tasks.

It works by reading the global variables and converting them into T-SQL. It then examines all tasks in the package to find any Execute SQL Tasks. If found the global variable SQL is added to the front of the existing SQL.

Example

The following Global Variables will be used -

/*GlobalVariableToSQL*/  DECLARE @FileName varchar(23)
/*GlobalVariableToSQL*/  SET @FileName = '\\Server\Share\File.txt'
/*GlobalVariableToSQL*/  DECLARE @StartDate datetime
/*GlobalVariableToSQL*/  SET @StartDate = '01/11/1999'
/*GlobalVariableToSQL*/  DECLARE @EndDate datetime
/*GlobalVariableToSQL*/  SET @EndDate = '30/11/1999'

/* This section is not altered in anyway by the task */
DELETE FROM tbRecords
WHERE RecordDate BETWEEN @StartDate AND @EndDate

Installation

• Download and extract the archive to a suitable location (SQL 6.X or SQL 7.X version).
• From within the DTS Designer select Register Custom Task from the Tasks menu
• Supply a suitable description such as GlobalVariableToSQL Task
• Supply the Task location (Find GVCustomTask.dll in the extraction directory)
• Supply the Icon location (Find GVCustomTask.ico in the extraction directory)
• Click OK and you are ready to go.

A more complete step by step guide is available here

Usage Notes

When designing the package, ensure that GVCustomTask is executed prior to any Execute SQL Tasks, using suitable workflow constraints.

The SQL variables will be declared with the same name as the global variable, and will not change.

Do not alter any lines prefixed with /*GlobalVariableToSQL*/ . Each time the package is run, the SQL is examined for the presence of this string, and if found the line is removed. The new global variable SQL is then added, preventing duplicate declarations in the SQL.

Only the following global variable types are supported at present - String, Int, Integer, Integer (Small), Currency, Date, Boolean, Decimal.
All other types will be placed in the SQL but commented out with a warning.

MS SQL Server 7 Service Pack 1 is required for this Custom Task. Without SP1 you will encounter automation errors when executing packages from the DTS designer. (See SQL Links).

There are now two versions of the CustomTask (GVCustomTask6.zip: v1.1.0 and GVCustomTask7.zip: v1.0.2). The new version will use SET instead of SELECT when defining the variables in SQL to enable compatibility with SQL 6.X servers.

Download

Please note that this program is provided without any warranty or assurances of any kind. Use it at your own risk. Commercial distribution or distribution for profit in any form is strictly forbidden without prior permission from the author.

Any comments would be greatly appreciated.
Download GVCustomTask7 (~10K) or GVCustomTask6 (~10K).

Version History