Is there a way to Pass Parameters to C# Scripts via the CLI (specifically within DevOps)?

[corycundy]

Within a DevOps pipeline it would be very helpful to be able to pass parameters to a C# script via the TE CLI.

The only way it seems to be possible is to either read an environment variable from DevOps or figure a way to read the parameter from a file. Neither of these is ideal as they are not as dynamic or won't have the context of a value depending on where you are in a loop or other logic within the pipeline.

For example, if looping over a configurations for multiple models a parameter may be set to true for some models and false for others. The ability to pass it into a script allows the context of the logic calling the script to decide vs. trying to have the script figure out what to go and get.

This could work in the very same way as passing parameters to a CLI itself. The script can then check for specific parameters and determine what to do.

Before I post this as a feature request, I wanted to see if there is currently a way to do this.

Cory

[otykier]

Hi Cory,

Just to be clear, are you asking for a way to put the parameter on the CLI itself, and then have the C# script pick it up? So something like:

MyScript.csx:

var arg1 = CliParams["CustomArg1"];
Info("You passed in: " + arg1);

And then in the CLI:

TabularEditor.exe AdventureWorks.bim -S MyScript.csx CustomArg1:"Hello world!"

Or something like that?

[corycundy]

@otykier, that is exactly what I'm looking to do. In my particular case, we have a configuration file in which our DevOps pipeline reads in. This file contains various configuration for various models. When running the CI/CD pipeline, running C# scripts in TE is a step. Based on the configuration for a particular model, I may want the C# script to conditionally take certain actions. One example, would be if have some models return the pipeline with warnings if issues are found vs. failing the pipeline. The idea is that each model is configured dependently and the script can decide based on the config value. This could all work with the same C# script. Reading the value in from an environment variable would be much more challenging vs. passing a value in.

Building off your example:

TabularEditor.exe AdventureWorks.bim -S MyScript.csx ReturnPipelineArg:"Warning"
or
TabularEditor.exe AdventureWorks.bim -S MyScript.csx ReturnPipelineArg:"Info"

and then in the script:
var issuesFound = CliParams["ReturnPipelineArg"];
if (issuesFound == "Warning)
{
Warning("Issues Found");
}
else
{
Output("Issues Found");
}

I can see many other use cases for this as well, especially as it relates to DevOps. This provides a way to have more re-usable scripts.

This feature would really allow us to move our DevOps processes forward.