Running custom packages within BPC 5.1

Question

Hi,
Current Enviroment:
BPC Ver: 5.1
SQL Server: SQL 2005
I have used earlier versions of BPC 5.1 which used SQL 2000 as a back end and was able to utlise functionailty within the EVMODIFYSCRIPT object to perform certian SQL based tasks such as creating a new bespoket table.
In trying to re-perform the same process with BPC 5.1 and SQL 2005 I am unable to run a simialr bespoke package from DataManager.   To highligh the problem I have included below the syntax that I once used for SQL 2000 (- which worked in the earlier version of BPC 5.1) and which will now not not work with BPC 5.1 and I am not sure if it is because SQL 2005 requires a different aproach for the syntax it will accept or whether it is because the EVMODIFYSCRIPT object which has now become a MODIFYSCRIPT variable and as a result has lost some of its functionailty.
The syntax (as an example) for SQL 2000 that I have used successfuly in the past would have been something like the following:
PROMPT(TEXT,%CATGVALUE%,"Enter the category for the current year",,"actual,budget")
TASK(EXCUTESQL,SQLSTATEMENT,%SQLSTRING%)
BEGINFO (%SQLSTRING%)
SELECT * INTO COPYTBLFACTWB WHERE CATEGORY IN (%CATGVALUE%)
ENDINFO
The above syntax runs fine in Visual Studio 2005 Integrated Services however it fails (with no indication of why) when run from BPC .. any thoughts on what I may be doing wrong ?
Thanks

Answer 1

I've never had any success directly updating a Package Variable from within the MODIFYSCRIPT value.   In DTS you could modify a GLOBAL Variable from the EvModifyScript task and the package could utilize that value.  However, in SSIS, the GLOBAL Variable no longer exists and Package Variables have "replaced" them.  But I do not believe the EvModifyScript Task replacement of the variable MODIFYSCRIPT has the ability to directly update a Package Variable.
However, within the MODIFYSCRIPT value, you can update properties of the tasks and connections included in a package. 
In your scenario, you could use a Prompt and dynamically build the sql statement with the variable holding the user provided value.  Then passed the sql statement to the property of the Execute SQL Task.
ie:
<<in the MODIFYSCRIPT  -- not exact code, just off the top of my head so I might have some syntax wrong>>
PROMPT(TEXT,%USERINPUT%,"Enter value",)
BEGININFO(%SQLQUERY%)
    Insert Into tblFac2Finance
    Select * from tblFactFinance
    Where Category=%USERINPUT%
ENDINFO
TASK(Execute SQL Task, SQLSTATEMENTSOURCE,%SQLQUERY%)
But if you wish to provide the user with member selectors for the input, you could use the SELECTINPUT prompt with the appropriate dimensions.   The user selections are then recorded in a txt file within the PrivatePublications Temp directory for the user executing the package.  The location of this file is stored in the BPC MODIFYSCRIPT variable %SELECTIONFILE%.  I have created packages with a flat file connection that can be updated in the MODIFYSCRIPT with the selectionfile location.
CONNECTION(UserSelectionFile,CONNECTIONSTRING,%SELECTIONFILE%)
Then within the package, I add a Script task that performs file processing against the UserSelectionFile to parse the values into the appropriate package variables that can then be used throughout the package.
I would be very interested in discovering a more direct way to update a package variable from within the MODIFYSCRIPT.
Hope this helps,
Sara Lee McLindon