Change request: Parameter mapping

In some places in the SSIS enviroment, you can use parameters in queries, for examples in the query part of the OLE DB Command component.

You do this by specifying placeholders using question marks. The question marks result in parameters on the Column Mappings tab of the Advanced Editor named Param_0, Param_1, etc. When adding question marks to the query later on, new parameters are created named Param_<x>, where ‘x’ is the next higher index number, no matter where the question mark appears in the query. If, for example, your initial query contains two parameters and later on you add a third one that appears as the first parameter in the query, it results in a new Param_3 on the Column Mappings tab.

This is all a bit confusing and not very wanted from a maintenance point of view. I know this might be a limitation caused by using OLE DB connections; we tried to do something with ADO.NET connections, but until now, not very succesful. Therefore we think this is something to put on a wish list for a next SSIS version. It would be great to have the opportunity to give parameters a meaningful name, in stead of the question marks in the queries and the generated Param_<x> names in other places.
Hans Geurtsen
MoreInfo BV

I couldn't agree more. I recently had to do the same thing for a pipeline with >50 columns in it. Debugging it when it didn't work was near impossible.

You should raise this request at http://lab.msdn.microsoft.com/productfeedback/default.aspx (and let us know because I will vote for it) and also on the "SSIS Requests" thread at the top of this forum.

-Jamie