Do you use Visual Studio Code? If so, I have some cool news for you! The Biml Support extension was released on July 19th, 2019. Once you install it, you can view your Biml files in Visual Studio Code with Biml syntax highlighting. Woohoo!
The Biml Support Extension
The Biml Support extension was created by Zachary Becknell. You can find the source code in his GitHub repository.
To install the extension, search for Biml Support (or even just Biml) under Extensions, then click Install. That’s it! :)
Biml Syntax Highlighting
Please note that you only get syntax highlighting with this extension. You do not get the full Biml or .NET intellisense, the BimlScript preview pane, or the ability to generate SSIS packages from Biml. For those things, you will still need BimlExpress for Visual Studio.
However! If you simply want to view your Biml files in a lightweight editor, the Biml Support extension works beautifully :)
If you are using the default light theme, the colors are similar to what you will see in BimlExpress:
You can easily switch to a dark theme if you prefer that:
Thanks!
A huge thank you to William Schmidt, who reached out and shared this with me. William had the idea for this Biml extension, took the initiative to contact Zachary, and Zachary then developed the extension. Yay, community! :D
Cathrine Wilhelmsen is a Microsoft Data Platform MVP, BimlHero Certified Expert, Microsoft Certified Solutions Expert, international speaker, author, blogger, and chronic volunteer who loves teaching and sharing knowledge. She works as a Senior Business Intelligence Consultant at Inmeta, focusing on Azure Data and the Microsoft Data Platform. She loves sci-fi, chocolate, coffee, craft beers, ciders, cat gifs and smilies :)
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Hi! This is Cathrine. Thank you so much for visiting my blog. I'd love to hear your thoughts, but please keep in mind that I'm not technical support for any products mentioned in this post :) Off-topic questions, comments and discussions may be moderated. Be kind to each other. Thanks!