Debugging Custom SSIS Components

Custom SSIS Components consists of Design-time methods and Run-time methods. Debugging a Design-time method is different from a Run-time method. This post explains the techniques to debug Design-time and Run-time methods using the Custom Data Flow Component, Credit Card Number Validator as an example.

Debugging Design-Time Methods of Custom SSIS Component

1. Ensure that your Custom SSIS Component is deployed and available to BIDS. Steps to Deploy Custom SSIS Component.

2. From Visual Studio, open your Component’s class library project  and set up break points in Design-time Methods like ProvideComponentProperties(), Validate(), ReinitializeMetaData(), InsertOutputColumnAt().

Figure 1- Set-up Breakpoints in Design-time Methods

3. Open BIDS and create package to test the component. If your component was deployed successfully and depending on the type of your component, you should be able to see your component in the Toolbar as Control Flow Item or Data Flow Item. In the case of Credit Card Number Validator, it is a Data Flow Transformation Component, so the component will be visible in the toolbar only after at least one Data Flow Control is added to the package (Figure 2). 

Figure 2 - Package to Test Credit Card Number Validator

4. Switch to the Component’s source code in Visual Studio, and attach the debugger to devenv.exe instance of the BIDS that has test package open as shown in Figure 3a.

Figure 3 - Attach to Process

 

Figure 3a - Attach to devenv.exe

 5. Now switch back to the BIDS that has the test package open. Drag and Drop the custom component to Data Flow. Immediately you should see the control hitting the break point set at ProvideComponentProperties () of the class library code. In fact, ProvideComponentProperties () is called only once when the component is placed on the Data Flow for the first time. Now you should be able to step-through the code using the standard Visual Studio debugging techniques.

6. Validate () method is the most frequently called Design-time method.  Adding a new input/output path from/to any other component in data flow, adding/removing inputs or outputs, adding/removing input or output columns etc will trigger the break point in the class library code.

7. The break point at ReInitializeMetaData () will be triggered, if the Validate () determines that a Meta data refresh is required and when you click Refresh from the Advanced Editor of the Component (Figure 4). 

Figure 4 - ReInitializeMetaData () upon meta data refresh

 8. The break point at InsertOutputColumnAt() will be triggered, if from the Advanced Editor→Input and Output Properties→Output→Output Columns→Add Column is clicked (Figure 5).

Figure 5 - InsertOutputColumnAt() upon Add Column

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