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Parameterized Task Chains: What You Can and Can’t Do

XaviPolo
Active Contributor
3 weeks ago
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Recently, the ability to use parameters in Task Chains was added ... a long-awaited feature for many of us. But what exactly can we do with parameters in Task Chains, and what are the limitations?

ℹ️Allowed Actions in Task Chains

Task Chains let us execute tasks in a controlled way, whether in parallel, sequentially, or a mix of both. The actions we can perform include:

  • Executing a Task Chain
  • Executing a Data Flow
  • Executing a Transformation Flow
  • Creating/Deleting persistence of a View
  • API Task: calling HTTP service (POST, PUT)
  • Notification Task (to send email)
  • Call BW Process Chain
  • Call SQL Script Procedures

However, only some of these actions support parameter usage within a Task Chain:

  • ✔️ Executing a Task Chain
  • ✔️ Executing a Transformation Flow

 

ℹ️ Restrictions when using parameters in Task Chains

These objects can be defined with parameters, but we cannot pass parameters from the Task Chain to these objects directly:

  • ❌Executing a Data Flow
  • ❌ Creating/Deleting persistence of a View

If we add these parameterized objects to a Task Chain, they will only work if their parameters have default values set. We won’t be able to change them dynamically, but at least we can execute them from within a Task Chain.
If the default parameter is not set, we’ll see an error when adding them to the Task Chain

XaviPolo_0-1760601413754.png

That said, we can pass parameters to a view if it’s used inside a Transformation Flow. The parameter is first passed to the Transformation Flow, which then passes it to the view.

 

🔍How Does It Work?

It’s actually quite simple. In the Task Chain, you define the necessary input parameters (you can have multiple inputs if needed) and assign them a value or leave them blank, which will be treated as an empty string.

There’s no data type enforcement, no length restrictions, and no functions involved ... all parameters are treated as String value.

XaviPolo_1-1760601957224.png

Now we add our tasks to the Task Chain. If those tasks support parameters under this new functionality, you’ll see an option to assign values to them.

XaviPolo_2-1760602462574.png

You can either set a fixed value or map the Task Chain’s input parameter to pass the value dynamically.

XaviPolo_3-1760602488951.png

If the parameter isn’t supported, you won’t see any option to assign a value or link the parameter. Here’s an example of a Data Flow defined with a parameter (with a default value), but without the option to map the Task Chain Input Parameter or assign a value.

XaviPolo_4-1760602551504.png

And that’s it ! ... once you run the Task Chain, it will use the values defined in the Input Parameters. If you need to run it with different values, just update them and execute.

🚀 Why This Matters

This new functionality is a major step forward in building smarter and more advanced flows. Hopefully, we’ll soon see features like a global variable repository, the ability to pass those values into parameters, use functions, or derive values from views ... all of which would make the system even more powerful.

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