Biml for Beginners: Speed up your SSIS development (Malta Microsoft Data Platform User Group)

Biml for Beginners:Speed Up Your SSISDevelopment

Cathrine Wilhelmsen

MMDPUG · March 28th 2017

Session Description

Are you tired of creating and updating the same SSIS packages again and again? Is your wrist hurting from

all that clicking, dragging, dropping, connecting and aligning? Do you want to take the next step and really

speed up your SSIS development?

Say goodbye to repetitive work and hello to Biml, the markup language for Business Intelligence projects.

In this session we will look at the basics of Biml. First learn how to use Biml to generate SSIS packages

from database metadata. Then see how you can reuse code to implement changes in multiple SSIS

packages and projects with just a few clicks. Finally, we will create an example project that you can

download and start with to speed up your SSIS development from day one.

Stop wasting your valuable time on doing the same things over and over and over again, and see how you

can complete in a day what once took more than a week!

Biml Basics Tools & Projects

Code Management

…the next 60 minutes…

Cathrine Wilhelmsen

@cathrinew

cathrinew.net

PASS Community EvangelistData Warehouse Architect

Business Intelligence Developer

You…

…?

SSIS developer

Easily bored

Tired of repetitive work

Work…

…?

Long development time

Many SSIS packages

Frequent requirement changes

job done!

new standards

...yay

Ever experienced this?

Ready for a change?

What is Biml?

Business Intelligence Markup Language

Easy to read and write XML language

Describes business intelligence objects:

• Databases, Schemas, Tables, Views, Columns

• SSIS Packages

• SSAS Cubes

Why use Biml?

SSIS: Plumbing Biml: Business Logic

SSIS: Plumbing

Time wasted on dragging, dropping, connecting, aligning

Create the same package over and over again with minor changes

Standards, patterns and templates must be defined up-front

Changes must be done in every single package

High risk of manual errors

More packages, more time

Biml: Business Logic

Spend time on what is unique in a package

Create a pattern once and reuse for all similar packages

Handle scope and requirement changes quickly and easily

Changes can be applied to all packages at once

Lower risk of manual errors

Longer time to start, but then reuse and scale

Will Biml solve all your challenges?

Probably not...

Biml is a tool for generating SSIS packages

Biml is not a pre-defined ETL framework

Biml is not a tool for automated deployment

...but it will solve many challenges!

How can Biml help you?

Biml is great for large projects with common patterns…

Timesaving: Many SSIS packages from one Biml file

Reusable: Write once and run on any platform

Flexible: Start simple, expand as you learn

…but is also useful for smaller projects!

What do you need?

BIDS Helper

Free open-source add-in for Visual Studio

60+ features for SSIS, SSAS and SSRS

Includes basic Biml package generator

bidshelper.codeplex.com

http://bidshelper.codeplex.com/

…or you can use the Biml tools…

BimlExpress

Free add-in for Visual Studio

Code editor with syntax highlighting and Biml Intellisense

More frequent updates than BIDS Helper

varigence.com/bimlexpress

http://varigence.com/bimlexpress

BimlOnline

Free browser-based Biml editor

Code editor with Biml and C# Intellisense

Reverse-engineer from SSIS to Biml

bimlonline.com

http://bimlonline.com/

BimlStudio

Licensed full-featured development environment for Biml

Visual designer and metadata modeling

Full-stack automation and transformers

varigence.com/bimlstudio

http://varigence.com/bimlstudio

How does it work?

…generated packages look exactly like manually created packages

Biml syntax

<Biml xmlns="http://schemas.varigence.com/biml.xsd">

<Packages>

<Package Name="EmptyPackage1"></Package>

<Package Name="EmptyPackage2"/>

</Packages>

</Biml>

Biml syntax: Root Element


<Packages>



</Packages>

</Biml>

Biml syntax: Collections of Elements


<Packages>



</Packages>

</Biml>

Biml syntax: Elements


<Packages>



</Packages>

</Biml>

Biml syntax: Attributes


<Packages>



</Packages>

</Biml>

Biml syntax: Full vs. Shorthand Syntax


<Packages>



</Packages>

</Biml>

Let's generatesome packages!

Goal: Load from source to staging

Add New Biml File from BimlExpress menu…

…or right-click on SSIS project to Add New Biml File

Biml files are placed under Miscellaneous

Check Biml For Errors from BimlExpress menu…

…or right-click on file to Check Biml For Errors

Generate SSIS Packages from BimlExpress menu…

…or right-click on file to Generate SSIS Packages

From Biml to SSIS: Control Flow

<Package Name="TruncateLoad" ConstraintMode="Linear">

<Tasks>

<ExecuteSQL Name="Truncate Table" ConnectionName="Staging">

<DirectInput>TRUNCATE TABLE DestinationTable</DirectInput>

</ExecuteSQL>

<Dataflow Name="Load Table">

<Transformations>...</Transformations>

</Dataflow>

</Tasks>

</Package>

From Biml to SSIS: Data Flow

<Transformations>

<OleDbSource Name="Source" ConnectionName="AW2014">

<ExternalTableInput Table="SourceTable" />

</OleDbSource>

<DerivedColumns Name="Add LoadDate">

<Columns>

<Column Name="LoadDate" DataType="DateTime">

@[System::StartTime]

</Column>

</Columns>

</DerivedColumns>

<OleDbDestination Name="Destination" ConnectionName="Staging">

<ExternalTableOutput Table="DestinationTable" />

</OleDbDestination>

</Transformations>

.biml vs .dtsx: human-readable vs ALL THE CODE!

(20% zoom)(150% zoom)

Ok, so we can go from Biml to SSIS…

…can we go from SSIS to Biml?

Yes! ☺

Let's reverse-engineersome packages!

Package Importer in BimlOnline

Choose a File

Convert from SSIS to Biml

Choose and filter assets

Copy the Biml…

…or Create /Add to BimlOnline Project

The magic is in the

What is BimlScript?

Extend Biml with C# or VB code blocks

Import database structure and metadata

Loop over tables and columns

Expressions replace static values

Generate, control and manipulate Biml code

BimlScript Code Nuggets

<# … #> Control Nuggets (Control logic)

<#= … #> Text Nuggets (Returns string)

<#@ … #> Directives (Compiler instructions)

<#+ … #> Class Nuggets (Create C# classes)

BimlScript Syntax

<# var con = SchemaManager.CreateConnectionNode(...); #>

<# var metadata = con.GetDatabaseSchema(); #>


<Packages>

<# foreach (var table in metadata.TableNodes) { #>

<Package Name="Load_<#=table.Name#>"></Package>

<# } #>

</Packages>

</Biml>

BimlScript Syntax: Import metadata




<Packages>



<# } #>

</Packages>

</Biml>

BimlScript Syntax: Loop over tables




<Packages>



<# } #>

</Packages>

</Biml>

BimlScript Syntax: Replace static values




<Packages>



<# } #>

</Packages>

</Biml>

Biml vs. BimlScript

Generate, control and manipulate Biml with C#

XML Language"Just plain text"

How does it work?

Yes, but how does it work?

Yes, but how does it actually work?

<# foreach (var table in RootNode.Tables) { #><Package Name="Load_<#=table.Name#>" />

<# } #>

<Package Name="Load_Customer" /><Package Name="Load_Product" /><Package Name="Load_Sales" />

Let's generatea lot of packages!

Of course I can create 200 SSIS Packages!

…what do you need me to do after lunch?

Code Management

Don't Repeat Yourself

Move common code to separate files

Centralize and reuse in many projects

Update code once for all projects

1. Include files

2. CallBimlScript with parameters

3. Tiered Biml files

Include Files

Include common code in multiple files and projects

Can include many file types: .biml .txt .sql .cs

Use the include directive

<#@ include file="CommonCode.biml" #>

This directive will be replaced by the included file

Works like an automated Copy & Paste

Include Files

CallBimlScript with Parameters

Like a parameterized include or stored procedure

File to be called (callee) specifies input parameters

<#@ property name="Param" type="String" #>

File that calls (caller) passes input parameters

<#=CallBimlScript("CommonCode.biml", Param)#>

CallBimlScript with Parameters

Tiered Biml Files

Split Biml code in multiple files

Specify tiers by using the template directive

<#@ template tier="2" #>

Biml files without BimlScript are implicitly tier 0

Biml files with BimlScript are implicitly tier 1

Tiered Biml Files

Biml is compiled from lowest to highest tier to:• Solve logical dependencies

• Build solutions in multiple steps behind the scenes

For each tier, objects are added to the RootNode

Higher tiers can use objects from lower tiers

What is this RootNode?

When working with flat Biml,the <Biml> root element contains collections of elements:

<Biml>

<Connections>...</Connections>

<Databases>...</Databases>

<Schemas>...</Schemas>

<Tables>...</Tables>

<Projects>...</Projects>

<Packages>...</Packages>

</Biml>

When working with BimlScript, the RootNode object contains collections of objects:

Inside the Black Box: Tiered Biml Files

<#@ template tier="1" #><Connections>...</Connections>

<#@ template tier="2" #><Packages>...</Packages>

<#@ template tier="3" #><Package>...</Package>

Inside the Black Box: Tiered Biml Files

How do you use Tiered Biml files?

1. Create Biml files with specified tiers

2. Select all the tiered Biml files

3. Right-click and click Generate SSIS Packages

1

2

3

How does this actually work?

Biml Basics Tools & Projects

Code Management

…the past 60 minutes…

Where can I learn more?

Free online training

bimlscript.com

http://bimlscript.com/

Get things done

Start small

Start simple

Start with ugly code

Keep going

Expand

Improve

Deliver often

Biml on Monday…

…BimlBreak the rest of the week ☺

@cathrinew

cathrinew.net

linkedin.com/in/cathrinewilhelmsen

[email protected]

slideshare.net/cathrinewilhelmsen

Biml resources and references:

cathrinew.net/biml

Biml for Beginners: Speed up your SSIS development (Malta Microsoft Data Platform User Group)

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