Shaunt,

Thanks for the article.

"The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; ..." -- Theodore Roosevelt

I will probably never have opportunity to use the "parameter" knowledge you put forth, but the first line of your first snippet of script brought joy to my heart. I started in the "C" and Oracle space where, at least from the early 90s, you have been able to declare and assign a variable in one step. Imagine my disappointment when I came to SQL Server, at version 2005, and was unable to do so.