diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-algebra/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/algebra/base/ILangExpressionToPlanTranslatorFactory.java b/asterixdb/asterix-algebra/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/algebra/base/ILangExpressionToPlanTranslatorFactory.java
index 5db516e..c29dee8 100644
--- a/asterixdb/asterix-algebra/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/algebra/base/ILangExpressionToPlanTranslatorFactory.java
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-algebra/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/algebra/base/ILangExpressionToPlanTranslatorFactory.java
@@ -18,7 +18,11 @@
  */
 package org.apache.asterix.algebra.base;
 
+import java.util.Map;
+
+import org.apache.asterix.lang.common.struct.VarIdentifier;
 import org.apache.asterix.metadata.declared.MetadataProvider;
+import org.apache.asterix.om.base.IAObject;
 import org.apache.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 
 public interface ILangExpressionToPlanTranslatorFactory {
@@ -28,10 +32,11 @@
      *            providing the definition of created (i.e., stored) user-defined functions.
      * @param currentVarCounter,
      *            the current minimum available variable id.
+     * @param externalVars
      * @return a logical query plan.
      * @throws AlgebricksException
      */
     ILangExpressionToPlanTranslator createExpressionToPlanTranslator(MetadataProvider metadataProvider,
-            int currentVarCountert) throws AlgebricksException;
+            int currentVarCounter, Map<VarIdentifier, IAObject> externalVars) throws AlgebricksException;
 
 }
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-algebra/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/compiler/provider/AqlCompilationProvider.java b/asterixdb/asterix-algebra/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/compiler/provider/AqlCompilationProvider.java
index af0ba73..548917a 100644
--- a/asterixdb/asterix-algebra/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/compiler/provider/AqlCompilationProvider.java
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-algebra/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/compiler/provider/AqlCompilationProvider.java
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@
 package org.apache.asterix.compiler.provider;
 
 import org.apache.asterix.algebra.base.ILangExpressionToPlanTranslatorFactory;
+import org.apache.asterix.algebra.base.ILangExtension;
 import org.apache.asterix.lang.aql.parser.AQLParserFactory;
 import org.apache.asterix.lang.aql.rewrites.AQLRewriterFactory;
 import org.apache.asterix.lang.aql.visitor.AQLAstPrintVisitorFactory;
@@ -30,6 +31,11 @@
 public class AqlCompilationProvider implements ILangCompilationProvider {
 
     @Override
+    public ILangExtension.Language getLanguage() {
+        return ILangExtension.Language.AQL;
+    }
+
+    @Override
     public IParserFactory getParserFactory() {
         return new AQLParserFactory();
     }
@@ -53,5 +59,4 @@
     public IRuleSetFactory getRuleSetFactory() {
         return new DefaultRuleSetFactory();
     }
-
 }
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-algebra/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/compiler/provider/ILangCompilationProvider.java b/asterixdb/asterix-algebra/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/compiler/provider/ILangCompilationProvider.java
index f658be9..f625343 100644
--- a/asterixdb/asterix-algebra/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/compiler/provider/ILangCompilationProvider.java
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-algebra/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/compiler/provider/ILangCompilationProvider.java
@@ -19,35 +19,39 @@
 package org.apache.asterix.compiler.provider;
 
 import org.apache.asterix.algebra.base.ILangExpressionToPlanTranslatorFactory;
+import org.apache.asterix.algebra.base.ILangExtension;
 import org.apache.asterix.lang.common.base.IAstPrintVisitorFactory;
 import org.apache.asterix.lang.common.base.IParserFactory;
 import org.apache.asterix.lang.common.base.IRewriterFactory;
 
 public interface ILangCompilationProvider {
+    /**
+     * @return language kind
+     */
+    ILangExtension.Language getLanguage();
 
     /**
      * @return the parser factory of a language implementation.
      */
-    public IParserFactory getParserFactory();
+    IParserFactory getParserFactory();
 
     /**
      * @return the rewriter factory of a language implementation.
      */
-    public IRewriterFactory getRewriterFactory();
+    IRewriterFactory getRewriterFactory();
 
     /**
      * @return the AST printer factory of a language implementation.
      */
-    public IAstPrintVisitorFactory getAstPrintVisitorFactory();
+    IAstPrintVisitorFactory getAstPrintVisitorFactory();
 
     /**
      * @return the language expression to logical query plan translator factory of a language implementation.
      */
-    public ILangExpressionToPlanTranslatorFactory getExpressionToPlanTranslatorFactory();
+    ILangExpressionToPlanTranslatorFactory getExpressionToPlanTranslatorFactory();
 
     /**
      * @return the rule set factory of a language implementation
      */
-    public IRuleSetFactory getRuleSetFactory();
-
+    IRuleSetFactory getRuleSetFactory();
 }
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-algebra/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/compiler/provider/SqlppCompilationProvider.java b/asterixdb/asterix-algebra/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/compiler/provider/SqlppCompilationProvider.java
index 70f8f92..6451b6f 100644
--- a/asterixdb/asterix-algebra/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/compiler/provider/SqlppCompilationProvider.java
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-algebra/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/compiler/provider/SqlppCompilationProvider.java
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@
 package org.apache.asterix.compiler.provider;
 
 import org.apache.asterix.algebra.base.ILangExpressionToPlanTranslatorFactory;
+import org.apache.asterix.algebra.base.ILangExtension;
 import org.apache.asterix.lang.common.base.IAstPrintVisitorFactory;
 import org.apache.asterix.lang.common.base.IParserFactory;
 import org.apache.asterix.lang.common.base.IRewriterFactory;
@@ -30,6 +31,11 @@
 public class SqlppCompilationProvider implements ILangCompilationProvider {
 
     @Override
+    public ILangExtension.Language getLanguage() {
+        return ILangExtension.Language.SQLPP;
+    }
+
+    @Override
     public IParserFactory getParserFactory() {
         return new SqlppParserFactory();
     }
@@ -53,5 +59,4 @@
     public IRuleSetFactory getRuleSetFactory() {
         return new DefaultRuleSetFactory();
     }
-
 }
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-algebra/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/translator/AqlExpressionToPlanTranslator.java b/asterixdb/asterix-algebra/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/translator/AqlExpressionToPlanTranslator.java
index e777c4e..6a173db 100644
--- a/asterixdb/asterix-algebra/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/translator/AqlExpressionToPlanTranslator.java
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-algebra/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/translator/AqlExpressionToPlanTranslator.java
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@
 
 import java.util.ArrayList;
 import java.util.List;
+import java.util.Map;
 
 import org.apache.asterix.algebra.base.ILangExpressionToPlanTranslator;
 import org.apache.asterix.common.exceptions.CompilationException;
@@ -34,7 +35,9 @@
 import org.apache.asterix.lang.common.base.ILangExpression;
 import org.apache.asterix.lang.common.expression.VariableExpr;
 import org.apache.asterix.lang.common.statement.Query;
+import org.apache.asterix.lang.common.struct.VarIdentifier;
 import org.apache.asterix.metadata.declared.MetadataProvider;
+import org.apache.asterix.om.base.IAObject;
 import org.apache.asterix.om.types.BuiltinType;
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.Mutable;
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.MutableObject;
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-algebra/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/translator/AqlExpressionToPlanTranslatorFactory.java b/asterixdb/asterix-algebra/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/translator/AqlExpressionToPlanTranslatorFactory.java
index a3e9d74..911c443 100644
--- a/asterixdb/asterix-algebra/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/translator/AqlExpressionToPlanTranslatorFactory.java
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-algebra/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/translator/AqlExpressionToPlanTranslatorFactory.java
@@ -18,16 +18,20 @@
  */
 package org.apache.asterix.translator;
 
+import java.util.Map;
+
 import org.apache.asterix.algebra.base.ILangExpressionToPlanTranslator;
 import org.apache.asterix.algebra.base.ILangExpressionToPlanTranslatorFactory;
+import org.apache.asterix.lang.common.struct.VarIdentifier;
 import org.apache.asterix.metadata.declared.MetadataProvider;
+import org.apache.asterix.om.base.IAObject;
 import org.apache.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 
 public class AqlExpressionToPlanTranslatorFactory implements ILangExpressionToPlanTranslatorFactory {
 
     @Override
     public ILangExpressionToPlanTranslator createExpressionToPlanTranslator(MetadataProvider metadataProvider,
-            int currentVarCounter) throws AlgebricksException {
+            int currentVarCounter, Map<VarIdentifier, IAObject> externalVars) throws AlgebricksException {
         return new AqlExpressionToPlanTranslator(metadataProvider, currentVarCounter);
     }
 
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-algebra/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/translator/IRequestParameters.java b/asterixdb/asterix-algebra/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/translator/IRequestParameters.java
index a1fbac6..d58d761 100644
--- a/asterixdb/asterix-algebra/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/translator/IRequestParameters.java
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-algebra/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/translator/IRequestParameters.java
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@
 
 import java.util.Map;
 
+import org.apache.asterix.om.base.IAObject;
 import org.apache.asterix.translator.IStatementExecutor.Stats;
 import org.apache.hyracks.api.dataset.IHyracksDataset;
 
@@ -56,4 +57,9 @@
      * @return Optional request parameters. Otherwise null.
      */
     Map<String, String> getOptionalParameters();
+
+    /**
+     * @return Statement parameters
+     */
+    Map<String, IAObject> getStatementParameters();
 }
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-algebra/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/translator/IStatementExecutor.java b/asterixdb/asterix-algebra/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/translator/IStatementExecutor.java
index 0ff877b..fa967f5 100644
--- a/asterixdb/asterix-algebra/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/translator/IStatementExecutor.java
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-algebra/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/translator/IStatementExecutor.java
@@ -22,11 +22,14 @@
 import java.rmi.RemoteException;
 import java.util.ArrayList;
 import java.util.List;
+import java.util.Map;
 
 import org.apache.asterix.common.exceptions.ACIDException;
 import org.apache.asterix.common.exceptions.AsterixException;
+import org.apache.asterix.lang.common.base.IStatementRewriter;
 import org.apache.asterix.lang.common.statement.Query;
 import org.apache.asterix.metadata.declared.MetadataProvider;
+import org.apache.asterix.om.base.IAObject;
 import org.apache.asterix.om.types.ARecordType;
 import org.apache.asterix.translator.CompiledStatements.ICompiledDmlStatement;
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.tuple.Triple;
@@ -123,6 +126,9 @@
      *            The query to be compiled
      * @param dmlStatement
      *            The data modification statement when the query results in a modification to a dataset
+     * @param statementParameters
+     *            Statement parameters
+     * @param statementRewriter
      * @return the compiled {@code JobSpecification}
      * @throws AsterixException
      * @throws RemoteException
@@ -130,7 +136,8 @@
      * @throws ACIDException
      */
     JobSpecification rewriteCompileQuery(IClusterInfoCollector clusterInfoCollector, MetadataProvider metadataProvider,
-            Query query, ICompiledDmlStatement dmlStatement) throws RemoteException, AlgebricksException, ACIDException;
+            Query query, ICompiledDmlStatement dmlStatement, Map<String, IAObject> statementParameters,
+            IStatementRewriter statementRewriter) throws RemoteException, AlgebricksException, ACIDException;
 
     /**
      * returns the active dataverse for an entity or a statement
@@ -148,5 +155,4 @@
      * @return the executions plans
      */
     ExecutionPlans getExecutionPlans();
-
 }
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-algebra/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/translator/LangExpressionToPlanTranslator.java b/asterixdb/asterix-algebra/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/translator/LangExpressionToPlanTranslator.java
index 0c46383..18a6597 100644
--- a/asterixdb/asterix-algebra/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/translator/LangExpressionToPlanTranslator.java
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-algebra/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/translator/LangExpressionToPlanTranslator.java
@@ -679,10 +679,9 @@
         Expression bindingExpr = lc.getBindingExpr();
         SourceLocation sourceLoc = bindingExpr.getSourceLocation();
         if (bindingExpr.getKind() == Kind.VARIABLE_EXPRESSION) {
+            VariableExpr bindingVarExpr = (VariableExpr) bindingExpr;
+            ILogicalExpression prevVarRef = translateVariableRef(bindingVarExpr);
             v = context.newVarFromExpression(lc.getVarExpr());
-            LogicalVariable prevVar = context.getVar(((VariableExpr) bindingExpr).getVar().getId());
-            VariableReferenceExpression prevVarRef = new VariableReferenceExpression(prevVar);
-            prevVarRef.setSourceLocation(sourceLoc);
             returnedOp = new AssignOperator(v, new MutableObject<>(prevVarRef));
             returnedOp.getInputs().add(tupSource);
             returnedOp.setSourceLocation(sourceLoc);
@@ -753,10 +752,8 @@
             switch (expr.getKind()) {
                 case VARIABLE_EXPRESSION:
                     VariableExpr varExpr = (VariableExpr) expr;
-                    LogicalVariable var = context.getVar(varExpr.getVar().getId());
-                    VariableReferenceExpression varRef = new VariableReferenceExpression(var);
-                    varRef.setSourceLocation(varExpr.getSourceLocation());
-                    args.add(new MutableObject<>(varRef));
+                    ILogicalExpression varRefExpr = translateVariableRef(varExpr);
+                    args.add(new MutableObject<>(varRefExpr));
                     break;
                 case LITERAL_EXPRESSION:
                     LiteralExpr val = (LiteralExpr) expr;
@@ -801,6 +798,17 @@
         return new Pair<>(op, v);
     }
 
+    protected ILogicalExpression translateVariableRef(VariableExpr varExpr) throws CompilationException {
+        LogicalVariable var = context.getVar(varExpr.getVar().getId());
+        if (var == null) {
+            throw new CompilationException(ErrorCode.COMPILATION_ILLEGAL_STATE, varExpr.getSourceLocation(),
+                    varExpr.toString());
+        }
+        VariableReferenceExpression varRef = new VariableReferenceExpression(var);
+        varRef.setSourceLocation(varExpr.getSourceLocation());
+        return varRef;
+    }
+
     private AbstractFunctionCallExpression lookupUserDefinedFunction(FunctionSignature signature,
             List<Mutable<ILogicalExpression>> args, SourceLocation sourceLoc) throws CompilationException {
         try {
@@ -1326,16 +1334,14 @@
     }
 
     @Override
-    public Pair<ILogicalOperator, LogicalVariable> visit(VariableExpr v, Mutable<ILogicalOperator> tupSource) {
-        SourceLocation sourceLoc = v.getSourceLocation();
+    public Pair<ILogicalOperator, LogicalVariable> visit(VariableExpr v, Mutable<ILogicalOperator> tupSource)
+            throws CompilationException {
         // Should we ever get to this method?
+        ILogicalExpression oldVRef = translateVariableRef(v);
         LogicalVariable var = context.newVar();
-        LogicalVariable oldV = context.getVar(v.getVar().getId());
-        VariableReferenceExpression oldVRef = new VariableReferenceExpression(oldV);
-        oldVRef.setSourceLocation(sourceLoc);
         AssignOperator a = new AssignOperator(var, new MutableObject<>(oldVRef));
         a.getInputs().add(tupSource);
-        a.setSourceLocation(sourceLoc);
+        a.setSourceLocation(v.getSourceLocation());
         return new Pair<>(a, var);
     }
 
@@ -1452,13 +1458,9 @@
         SourceLocation sourceLoc = expr.getSourceLocation();
         switch (expr.getKind()) {
             case VARIABLE_EXPRESSION:
-                LogicalVariable var = context.getVar(((VariableExpr) expr).getVar().getId());
-                if (var == null) {
-                    throw new IllegalStateException(String.valueOf(expr));
-                }
-                VariableReferenceExpression ve = new VariableReferenceExpression(var);
-                ve.setSourceLocation(sourceLoc);
-                return new Pair<>(ve, topOpRef);
+                VariableExpr varExpr = (VariableExpr) expr;
+                ILogicalExpression varRefExpr = translateVariableRef(varExpr);
+                return new Pair<>(varRefExpr, topOpRef);
             case LITERAL_EXPRESSION:
                 LiteralExpr val = (LiteralExpr) expr;
                 return new Pair<>(new ConstantExpression(
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-algebra/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/translator/SqlppExpressionToPlanTranslator.java b/asterixdb/asterix-algebra/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/translator/SqlppExpressionToPlanTranslator.java
index 5c7b165..3954135 100644
--- a/asterixdb/asterix-algebra/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/translator/SqlppExpressionToPlanTranslator.java
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-algebra/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/translator/SqlppExpressionToPlanTranslator.java
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@
 import java.util.Collections;
 import java.util.Deque;
 import java.util.List;
+import java.util.Map;
 
 import org.apache.asterix.algebra.base.ILangExpressionToPlanTranslator;
 import org.apache.asterix.common.exceptions.CompilationException;
@@ -42,6 +43,7 @@
 import org.apache.asterix.lang.common.expression.VariableExpr;
 import org.apache.asterix.lang.common.literal.StringLiteral;
 import org.apache.asterix.lang.common.statement.Query;
+import org.apache.asterix.lang.common.struct.VarIdentifier;
 import org.apache.asterix.lang.common.util.FunctionUtil;
 import org.apache.asterix.lang.sqlpp.clause.AbstractBinaryCorrelateClause;
 import org.apache.asterix.lang.sqlpp.clause.FromClause;
@@ -67,10 +69,14 @@
 import org.apache.asterix.metadata.declared.MetadataProvider;
 import org.apache.asterix.om.base.ABoolean;
 import org.apache.asterix.om.base.AInt32;
+import org.apache.asterix.om.base.AMissing;
 import org.apache.asterix.om.base.AString;
+import org.apache.asterix.om.base.IAObject;
 import org.apache.asterix.om.constants.AsterixConstantValue;
 import org.apache.asterix.om.functions.BuiltinFunctions;
+import org.apache.asterix.om.typecomputer.base.TypeCastUtils;
 import org.apache.asterix.om.types.BuiltinType;
+import org.apache.asterix.om.types.IAType;
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.Mutable;
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.MutableObject;
 import org.apache.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
@@ -113,10 +119,12 @@
         ISqlppVisitor<Pair<ILogicalOperator, LogicalVariable>, Mutable<ILogicalOperator>> {
     private static final String ERR_MSG = "Translator should never enter this method!";
     private Deque<Mutable<ILogicalOperator>> uncorrelatedLeftBranchStack = new ArrayDeque<>();
+    private final Map<VarIdentifier, IAObject> externalVars;
 
-    public SqlppExpressionToPlanTranslator(MetadataProvider metadataProvider, int currentVarCounter)
-            throws AlgebricksException {
+    public SqlppExpressionToPlanTranslator(MetadataProvider metadataProvider, int currentVarCounter,
+            Map<VarIdentifier, IAObject> externalVars) throws AlgebricksException {
         super(metadataProvider, currentVarCounter);
+        this.externalVars = externalVars != null ? externalVars : Collections.emptyMap();
     }
 
     @Override
@@ -621,6 +629,38 @@
         return new Pair<>(finalAssignOp, resultVar);
     }
 
+    @Override
+    protected ILogicalExpression translateVariableRef(VariableExpr varExpr) throws CompilationException {
+        VarIdentifier varId = varExpr.getVar();
+        if (SqlppVariableUtil.isExternalVariableIdentifier(varId)) {
+            IAObject value = externalVars.get(varId);
+            SourceLocation sourceLoc = varExpr.getSourceLocation();
+            if (value == null) {
+                throw new CompilationException(ErrorCode.COMPILATION_ILLEGAL_STATE, sourceLoc, varId.toString());
+            }
+
+            ILogicalExpression resultExpr;
+            ConstantExpression constExpr = new ConstantExpression(new AsterixConstantValue(value));
+            constExpr.setSourceLocation(sourceLoc);
+            resultExpr = constExpr;
+
+            IAType valueType = value.getType();
+            if (valueType.getTypeTag().isDerivedType()) {
+                ScalarFunctionCallExpression castExpr =
+                        new ScalarFunctionCallExpression(FunctionUtil.getFunctionInfo(BuiltinFunctions.CAST_TYPE));
+                castExpr.setSourceLocation(sourceLoc);
+                // The first argument is the field
+                castExpr.getArguments().add(new MutableObject<>(resultExpr));
+                TypeCastUtils.setRequiredAndInputTypes(castExpr, BuiltinType.ANY, valueType);
+                resultExpr = castExpr;
+            }
+
+            return resultExpr;
+        }
+
+        return super.translateVariableRef(varExpr);
+    }
+
     private Pair<ILogicalOperator, LogicalVariable> produceSelectPlan(boolean isSubquery,
             Mutable<ILogicalOperator> returnOpRef, LogicalVariable resVar) {
         if (isSubquery) {
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-algebra/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/translator/SqlppExpressionToPlanTranslatorFactory.java b/asterixdb/asterix-algebra/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/translator/SqlppExpressionToPlanTranslatorFactory.java
index 49c088f..65d90ae 100644
--- a/asterixdb/asterix-algebra/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/translator/SqlppExpressionToPlanTranslatorFactory.java
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-algebra/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/translator/SqlppExpressionToPlanTranslatorFactory.java
@@ -18,17 +18,21 @@
  */
 package org.apache.asterix.translator;
 
+import java.util.Map;
+
 import org.apache.asterix.algebra.base.ILangExpressionToPlanTranslator;
 import org.apache.asterix.algebra.base.ILangExpressionToPlanTranslatorFactory;
+import org.apache.asterix.lang.common.struct.VarIdentifier;
 import org.apache.asterix.metadata.declared.MetadataProvider;
+import org.apache.asterix.om.base.IAObject;
 import org.apache.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 
 public class SqlppExpressionToPlanTranslatorFactory implements ILangExpressionToPlanTranslatorFactory {
 
     @Override
     public ILangExpressionToPlanTranslator createExpressionToPlanTranslator(MetadataProvider metadataProvider,
-            int currentVarCounter) throws AlgebricksException {
-        return new SqlppExpressionToPlanTranslator(metadataProvider, currentVarCounter);
+            int currentVarCounter, Map<VarIdentifier, IAObject> externalVars) throws AlgebricksException {
+        return new SqlppExpressionToPlanTranslator(metadataProvider, currentVarCounter, externalVars);
     }
 
 }
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/api/common/APIFramework.java b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/api/common/APIFramework.java
index a1d3f57..1a88170 100644
--- a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/api/common/APIFramework.java
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/api/common/APIFramework.java
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@
 import java.io.StringWriter;
 import java.util.ArrayList;
 import java.util.Arrays;
+import java.util.Collection;
 import java.util.Collections;
 import java.util.HashSet;
 import java.util.List;
@@ -62,8 +63,10 @@
 import org.apache.asterix.lang.common.statement.FunctionDecl;
 import org.apache.asterix.lang.common.statement.Query;
 import org.apache.asterix.lang.common.statement.StartFeedStatement;
+import org.apache.asterix.lang.common.struct.VarIdentifier;
 import org.apache.asterix.lang.common.util.FunctionUtil;
 import org.apache.asterix.metadata.declared.MetadataProvider;
+import org.apache.asterix.om.base.IAObject;
 import org.apache.asterix.optimizer.base.FuzzyUtils;
 import org.apache.asterix.optimizer.rules.am.AbstractIntroduceAccessMethodRule;
 import org.apache.asterix.runtime.job.listener.JobEventListenerFactory;
@@ -170,8 +173,8 @@
     }
 
     public Pair<IReturningStatement, Integer> reWriteQuery(List<FunctionDecl> declaredFunctions,
-            MetadataProvider metadataProvider, IReturningStatement q, SessionOutput output, boolean inlineUdfs)
-            throws CompilationException {
+            MetadataProvider metadataProvider, IReturningStatement q, SessionOutput output, boolean inlineUdfs,
+            Collection<VarIdentifier> externalVars) throws CompilationException {
         if (q == null) {
             return null;
         }
@@ -180,13 +183,15 @@
             generateExpressionTree(q);
         }
         IQueryRewriter rw = rewriterFactory.createQueryRewriter();
-        rw.rewrite(declaredFunctions, q, metadataProvider, new LangRewritingContext(q.getVarCounter()), inlineUdfs);
+        rw.rewrite(declaredFunctions, q, metadataProvider, new LangRewritingContext(q.getVarCounter()), inlineUdfs,
+                externalVars);
         return new Pair<>(q, q.getVarCounter());
     }
 
     public JobSpecification compileQuery(IClusterInfoCollector clusterInfoCollector, MetadataProvider metadataProvider,
             Query query, int varCounter, String outputDatasetName, SessionOutput output,
-            ICompiledDmlStatement statement) throws AlgebricksException, ACIDException {
+            ICompiledDmlStatement statement, Map<VarIdentifier, IAObject> externalVars)
+            throws AlgebricksException, ACIDException {
 
         // establish facts
         final boolean isQuery = query != null;
@@ -203,7 +208,7 @@
         final TxnId txnId = metadataProvider.getTxnIdFactory().create();
         metadataProvider.setTxnId(txnId);
         ILangExpressionToPlanTranslator t =
-                translatorFactory.createExpressionToPlanTranslator(metadataProvider, varCounter);
+                translatorFactory.createExpressionToPlanTranslator(metadataProvider, varCounter, externalVars);
 
         ILogicalPlan plan = isLoad ? t.translateLoad(statement) : t.translate(query, outputDatasetName, statement);
 
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/api/http/server/ApiServlet.java b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/api/http/server/ApiServlet.java
index 63896f2..86cac25 100644
--- a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/api/http/server/ApiServlet.java
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/api/http/server/ApiServlet.java
@@ -164,7 +164,7 @@
             long startTime = System.currentTimeMillis();
             final IRequestParameters requestParameters =
                     new RequestParameters(hds, new ResultProperties(IStatementExecutor.ResultDelivery.IMMEDIATE),
-                            new IStatementExecutor.Stats(), null, null, null);
+                            new IStatementExecutor.Stats(), null, null, null, null);
             translator.compileAndExecute(hcc, null, requestParameters);
             long endTime = System.currentTimeMillis();
             duration = (endTime - startTime) / 1000.00;
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/api/http/server/NCQueryServiceServlet.java b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/api/http/server/NCQueryServiceServlet.java
index 1713ca5..9655f57 100644
--- a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/api/http/server/NCQueryServiceServlet.java
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/api/http/server/NCQueryServiceServlet.java
@@ -71,7 +71,8 @@
     @Override
     protected void executeStatement(String statementsText, SessionOutput sessionOutput,
             ResultProperties resultProperties, IStatementExecutor.Stats stats, RequestParameters param,
-            RequestExecutionState execution, Map<String, String> optionalParameters) throws Exception {
+            RequestExecutionState execution, Map<String, String> optionalParameters,
+            Map<String, byte[]> statementParameters) throws Exception {
         // Running on NC -> send 'execute' message to CC
         INCServiceContext ncCtx = (INCServiceContext) serviceCtx;
         INCMessageBroker ncMb = (INCMessageBroker) ncCtx.getMessageBroker();
@@ -87,9 +88,10 @@
             if (param.timeout != null && !param.timeout.trim().isEmpty()) {
                 timeout = TimeUnit.NANOSECONDS.toMillis(Duration.parseDurationStringToNanos(param.timeout));
             }
-            ExecuteStatementRequestMessage requestMsg = new ExecuteStatementRequestMessage(ncCtx.getNodeId(),
-                    responseFuture.getFutureId(), queryLanguage, statementsText, sessionOutput.config(),
-                    resultProperties.getNcToCcResultProperties(), param.clientContextID, handleUrl, optionalParameters);
+            ExecuteStatementRequestMessage requestMsg =
+                    new ExecuteStatementRequestMessage(ncCtx.getNodeId(), responseFuture.getFutureId(), queryLanguage,
+                            statementsText, sessionOutput.config(), resultProperties.getNcToCcResultProperties(),
+                            param.clientContextID, handleUrl, optionalParameters, statementParameters);
             execution.start();
             ncMb.sendMessageToPrimaryCC(requestMsg);
             try {
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/api/http/server/QueryServiceServlet.java b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/api/http/server/QueryServiceServlet.java
index 3d0858c..a52973c 100644
--- a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/api/http/server/QueryServiceServlet.java
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/api/http/server/QueryServiceServlet.java
@@ -27,9 +27,12 @@
 import java.io.PrintWriter;
 import java.net.InetAddress;
 import java.net.UnknownHostException;
+import java.util.HashMap;
+import java.util.Iterator;
 import java.util.List;
 import java.util.Map;
 import java.util.concurrent.ConcurrentMap;
+import java.util.function.BiFunction;
 import java.util.function.Function;
 
 import org.apache.asterix.algebra.base.ILangExtension;
@@ -45,6 +48,7 @@
 import org.apache.asterix.lang.common.base.IParser;
 import org.apache.asterix.lang.common.base.Statement;
 import org.apache.asterix.metadata.MetadataManager;
+import org.apache.asterix.om.base.IAObject;
 import org.apache.asterix.translator.ExecutionPlans;
 import org.apache.asterix.translator.ExecutionPlansJsonPrintUtil;
 import org.apache.asterix.translator.IRequestParameters;
@@ -75,7 +79,6 @@
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.databind.JsonNode;
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.databind.ObjectMapper;
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.databind.node.ObjectNode;
-
 import io.netty.handler.codec.http.HttpResponseStatus;
 
 public class QueryServiceServlet extends AbstractQueryApiServlet {
@@ -137,6 +140,7 @@
     }
 
     public enum Parameter {
+        ARGS("args"),
         STATEMENT("statement"),
         FORMAT("format"),
         CLIENT_ID("client_context_id"),
@@ -208,6 +212,7 @@
         String mode;
         String maxResultReads;
         String planFormat;
+        Map<String, JsonNode> statementParams;
         boolean expressionTree;
         boolean rewrittenExpressionTree;
         boolean logicalPlan;
@@ -236,6 +241,11 @@
                 on.put("optimizedLogicalPlan", optimizedLogicalPlan);
                 on.put("job", job);
                 on.put("signature", signature);
+                if (statementParams != null) {
+                    for (Map.Entry<String, JsonNode> statementParam : statementParams.entrySet()) {
+                        on.set('$' + statementParam.getKey(), statementParam.getValue());
+                    }
+                }
                 return om.writer(new MinimalPrettyPrinter()).writeValueAsString(on);
             } catch (JsonProcessingException e) { // NOSONAR
                 LOGGER.debug("unexpected exception marshalling {} instance to json", getClass(), e);
@@ -412,6 +422,41 @@
         return value != null ? value.asBoolean() : defaultValue;
     }
 
+    @FunctionalInterface
+    interface CheckedFunction<I, O> {
+        O apply(I requestParamValue) throws IOException;
+    }
+
+    private <R, P> Map<String, JsonNode> getOptStatementParameters(R request, Iterator<String> paramNameIter,
+            BiFunction<R, String, P> paramValueAccessor, CheckedFunction<P, JsonNode> paramValueParser)
+            throws IOException {
+        Map<String, JsonNode> result = null;
+        while (paramNameIter.hasNext()) {
+            String paramName = paramNameIter.next();
+            String stmtParamName = extractStatementParameterName(paramName);
+            if (stmtParamName != null) {
+                if (result == null) {
+                    result = new HashMap<>();
+                }
+                P paramValue = paramValueAccessor.apply(request, paramName);
+                JsonNode stmtParamValue = paramValueParser.apply(paramValue);
+                result.put(stmtParamName, stmtParamValue);
+            } else if (Parameter.ARGS.str().equals(paramName)) {
+                if (result == null) {
+                    result = new HashMap<>();
+                }
+                P paramValue = paramValueAccessor.apply(request, paramName);
+                JsonNode stmtParamValue = paramValueParser.apply(paramValue);
+                if (stmtParamValue.isArray()) {
+                    for (int i = 0, ln = stmtParamValue.size(); i < ln; i++) {
+                        result.put(String.valueOf(i + 1), stmtParamValue.get(i));
+                    }
+                }
+            }
+        }
+        return result;
+    }
+
     private RequestParameters getRequestParameters(IServletRequest request) throws IOException {
         final String contentType = HttpUtil.getContentTypeOnly(request);
         RequestParameters param = new RequestParameters();
@@ -435,6 +480,8 @@
                 param.optimizedLogicalPlan = getOptBoolean(jsonRequest, Parameter.OPTIMIZED_LOGICAL_PLAN.str(), false);
                 param.job = getOptBoolean(jsonRequest, Parameter.JOB.str(), false);
                 param.signature = getOptBoolean(jsonRequest, Parameter.SIGNATURE.str(), true);
+                param.statementParams =
+                        getOptStatementParameters(jsonRequest, jsonRequest.fieldNames(), JsonNode::get, v -> v);
             } catch (JsonParseException | JsonMappingException e) {
                 // if the JSON parsing fails, the statement is empty and we get an empty statement error
                 GlobalConfig.ASTERIX_LOGGER.log(Level.ERROR, e.getMessage(), e);
@@ -451,6 +498,12 @@
             param.timeout = request.getParameter(Parameter.TIMEOUT.str());
             param.maxResultReads = request.getParameter(Parameter.MAX_RESULT_READS.str());
             param.planFormat = request.getParameter(Parameter.PLAN_FORMAT.str());
+            try {
+                param.statementParams = getOptStatementParameters(request, request.getParameterNames().iterator(),
+                        IServletRequest::getParameter, OBJECT_MAPPER::readTree);
+            } catch (JsonParseException | JsonMappingException e) {
+                GlobalConfig.ASTERIX_LOGGER.log(Level.ERROR, e.getMessage(), e);
+            }
         }
         return param;
     }
@@ -530,12 +583,15 @@
             if (optionalParamProvider != null) {
                 optionalParams = optionalParamProvider.apply(request);
             }
+            Map<String, byte[]> statementParams =
+                    org.apache.asterix.app.translator.RequestParameters.serializeParameterValues(param.statementParams);
             // CORS
             response.setHeader("Access-Control-Allow-Origin",
                     "http://" + hostName + ":" + appCtx.getExternalProperties().getQueryWebInterfacePort());
             response.setHeader("Access-Control-Allow-Headers", "Origin, X-Requested-With, Content-Type, Accept");
             response.setStatus(execution.getHttpStatus());
-            executeStatement(statementsText, sessionOutput, resultProperties, stats, param, execution, optionalParams);
+            executeStatement(statementsText, sessionOutput, resultProperties, stats, param, execution, optionalParams,
+                    statementParams);
             if (ResultDelivery.IMMEDIATE == delivery || ResultDelivery.DEFERRED == delivery) {
                 ResultUtil.printStatus(sessionOutput, execution.getResultStatus());
             }
@@ -560,8 +616,8 @@
     }
 
     protected void executeStatement(String statementsText, SessionOutput sessionOutput,
-            ResultProperties resultProperties, IStatementExecutor.Stats stats, RequestParameters param,
-            RequestExecutionState execution, Map<String, String> optionalParameters) throws Exception {
+            ResultProperties resultProperties, Stats stats, RequestParameters param, RequestExecutionState execution,
+            Map<String, String> optionalParameters, Map<String, byte[]> statementParameters) throws Exception {
         IClusterManagementWork.ClusterState clusterState =
                 ((ICcApplicationContext) appCtx).getClusterStateManager().getState();
         if (clusterState != IClusterManagementWork.ClusterState.ACTIVE) {
@@ -574,8 +630,11 @@
         IStatementExecutor translator = statementExecutorFactory.create((ICcApplicationContext) appCtx, statements,
                 sessionOutput, compilationProvider, componentProvider);
         execution.start();
-        final IRequestParameters requestParameters = new org.apache.asterix.app.translator.RequestParameters(
-                getHyracksDataset(), resultProperties, stats, null, param.clientContextID, optionalParameters);
+        Map<String, IAObject> stmtParams =
+                org.apache.asterix.app.translator.RequestParameters.deserializeParameterValues(statementParameters);
+        IRequestParameters requestParameters =
+                new org.apache.asterix.app.translator.RequestParameters(getHyracksDataset(), resultProperties, stats,
+                        null, param.clientContextID, optionalParameters, stmtParams);
         translator.compileAndExecute(getHyracksClientConnection(), queryCtx, requestParameters);
         execution.end();
         printExecutionPlans(sessionOutput, translator.getExecutionPlans());
@@ -638,4 +697,26 @@
         return format.startsWith(HttpUtil.ContentType.APPLICATION_JSON)
                 || format.equalsIgnoreCase(HttpUtil.ContentType.JSON);
     }
+
+    public static String extractStatementParameterName(String name) {
+        int ln = name.length();
+        if (ln > 1 && name.charAt(0) == '$' && Character.isLetter(name.charAt(1))) {
+            if (ln == 2 || isStatementParameterNameRest(name, 2)) {
+                return name.substring(1);
+            }
+        }
+        return null;
+    }
+
+    private static boolean isStatementParameterNameRest(CharSequence input, int startIndex) {
+        int i = startIndex;
+        for (int ln = input.length(); i < ln; i++) {
+            char c = input.charAt(i);
+            boolean ok = c == '_' || Character.isLetterOrDigit(c);
+            if (!ok) {
+                return false;
+            }
+        }
+        return i > startIndex;
+    }
 }
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/api/http/server/RestApiServlet.java b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/api/http/server/RestApiServlet.java
index 428a4e0..40095d7 100644
--- a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/api/http/server/RestApiServlet.java
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/api/http/server/RestApiServlet.java
@@ -210,7 +210,7 @@
             IStatementExecutor translator = statementExecutorFactory.create(appCtx, aqlStatements, sessionOutput,
                     compilationProvider, componentProvider);
             final IRequestParameters requestParameters = new RequestParameters(hds,
-                    new ResultProperties(resultDelivery), new IStatementExecutor.Stats(), null, null, null);
+                    new ResultProperties(resultDelivery), new IStatementExecutor.Stats(), null, null, null, null);
             translator.compileAndExecute(hcc, null, requestParameters);
         } catch (AsterixException | TokenMgrError | org.apache.asterix.aqlplus.parser.TokenMgrError pe) {
             response.setStatus(HttpResponseStatus.INTERNAL_SERVER_ERROR);
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/api/java/AsterixJavaClient.java b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/api/java/AsterixJavaClient.java
index 0e51953..2d3a2f6 100644
--- a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/api/java/AsterixJavaClient.java
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/api/java/AsterixJavaClient.java
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@
 import java.io.PrintWriter;
 import java.io.Reader;
 import java.util.List;
+import java.util.Map;
 
 import org.apache.asterix.api.common.APIFramework;
 import org.apache.asterix.app.translator.RequestParameters;
@@ -32,6 +33,7 @@
 import org.apache.asterix.lang.common.base.IParserFactory;
 import org.apache.asterix.lang.common.base.Statement;
 import org.apache.asterix.metadata.MetadataManager;
+import org.apache.asterix.om.base.IAObject;
 import org.apache.asterix.translator.IRequestParameters;
 import org.apache.asterix.translator.IStatementExecutor;
 import org.apache.asterix.translator.IStatementExecutorFactory;
@@ -57,6 +59,7 @@
     private final IStatementExecutorFactory statementExecutorFactory;
     private final IStorageComponentProvider storageComponentProvider;
     private ICcApplicationContext appCtx;
+    private Map<String, IAObject> statementParams;
 
     public AsterixJavaClient(ICcApplicationContext appCtx, IHyracksClientConnection hcc, Reader queryText,
             PrintWriter writer, ILangCompilationProvider compilationProvider,
@@ -81,6 +84,10 @@
                 compilationProvider, statementExecutorFactory, storageComponentProvider);
     }
 
+    public void setStatementParameters(Map<String, IAObject> statementParams) {
+        this.statementParams = statementParams;
+    }
+
     public void compile() throws Exception {
         compile(true, false, true, false, false, false, false);
     }
@@ -121,7 +128,7 @@
                 storageComponentProvider);
         final IRequestParameters requestParameters =
                 new RequestParameters(null, new ResultProperties(IStatementExecutor.ResultDelivery.IMMEDIATE),
-                        new IStatementExecutor.Stats(), null, null, null);
+                        new IStatementExecutor.Stats(), null, null, null, statementParams);
         translator.compileAndExecute(hcc, null, requestParameters);
         writer.flush();
     }
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/app/message/ExecuteStatementRequestMessage.java b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/app/message/ExecuteStatementRequestMessage.java
index 977bbe3..ce259a2 100644
--- a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/app/message/ExecuteStatementRequestMessage.java
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/app/message/ExecuteStatementRequestMessage.java
@@ -29,7 +29,6 @@
 import org.apache.asterix.api.http.server.ResultUtil;
 import org.apache.asterix.app.cc.CCExtensionManager;
 import org.apache.asterix.app.translator.RequestParameters;
-import org.apache.asterix.common.api.Duration;
 import org.apache.asterix.common.api.IClusterManagementWork;
 import org.apache.asterix.common.cluster.IClusterStateManager;
 import org.apache.asterix.common.config.GlobalConfig;
@@ -45,6 +44,7 @@
 import org.apache.asterix.lang.common.base.Statement;
 import org.apache.asterix.messaging.CCMessageBroker;
 import org.apache.asterix.metadata.MetadataManager;
+import org.apache.asterix.om.base.IAObject;
 import org.apache.asterix.translator.IRequestParameters;
 import org.apache.asterix.translator.IStatementExecutor;
 import org.apache.asterix.translator.IStatementExecutorContext;
@@ -77,10 +77,12 @@
     private final String clientContextID;
     private final String handleUrl;
     private final Map<String, String> optionalParameters;
+    private final Map<String, byte[]> statementParameters;
 
     public ExecuteStatementRequestMessage(String requestNodeId, long requestMessageId, ILangExtension.Language lang,
             String statementsText, SessionConfig sessionConfig, ResultProperties resultProperties,
-            String clientContextID, String handleUrl, Map<String, String> optionalParameters) {
+            String clientContextID, String handleUrl, Map<String, String> optionalParameters,
+            Map<String, byte[]> statementParameters) {
         this.requestNodeId = requestNodeId;
         this.requestMessageId = requestMessageId;
         this.lang = lang;
@@ -90,6 +92,7 @@
         this.clientContextID = clientContextID;
         this.handleUrl = handleUrl;
         this.optionalParameters = optionalParameters;
+        this.statementParameters = statementParameters;
     }
 
     @Override
@@ -125,8 +128,9 @@
             IStatementExecutor translator = statementExecutorFactory.create(ccAppCtx, statements, sessionOutput,
                     compilationProvider, storageComponentProvider);
             final IStatementExecutor.Stats stats = new IStatementExecutor.Stats();
+            Map<String, IAObject> stmtParams = RequestParameters.deserializeParameterValues(statementParameters);
             final IRequestParameters requestParameters = new RequestParameters(null, resultProperties, stats,
-                    outMetadata, clientContextID, optionalParameters);
+                    outMetadata, clientContextID, optionalParameters, stmtParams);
             translator.compileAndExecute(ccApp.getHcc(), statementExecutorContext, requestParameters);
             outPrinter.close();
             responseMsg.setResult(outWriter.toString());
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/app/translator/QueryTranslator.java b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/app/translator/QueryTranslator.java
index bc6fff1..6bb6f35 100644
--- a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/app/translator/QueryTranslator.java
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/app/translator/QueryTranslator.java
@@ -115,7 +115,6 @@
 import org.apache.asterix.lang.common.struct.Identifier;
 import org.apache.asterix.lang.common.struct.VarIdentifier;
 import org.apache.asterix.lang.common.util.FunctionUtil;
-import org.apache.asterix.lang.sqlpp.rewrites.SqlppRewriterFactory;
 import org.apache.asterix.metadata.IDatasetDetails;
 import org.apache.asterix.metadata.MetadataManager;
 import org.apache.asterix.metadata.MetadataTransactionContext;
@@ -145,6 +144,7 @@
 import org.apache.asterix.metadata.utils.MetadataConstants;
 import org.apache.asterix.metadata.utils.MetadataLockUtil;
 import org.apache.asterix.metadata.utils.MetadataUtil;
+import org.apache.asterix.om.base.IAObject;
 import org.apache.asterix.om.types.ARecordType;
 import org.apache.asterix.om.types.ATypeTag;
 import org.apache.asterix.om.types.IAType;
@@ -221,6 +221,7 @@
     protected final SessionConfig sessionConfig;
     protected Dataverse activeDataverse;
     protected final List<FunctionDecl> declaredFunctions;
+    protected final ILangCompilationProvider compilationProvider;
     protected final APIFramework apiFramework;
     protected final IRewriterFactory rewriterFactory;
     protected final ExecutorService executorService;
@@ -228,15 +229,16 @@
     protected final IMetadataLockManager lockManager;
 
     public QueryTranslator(ICcApplicationContext appCtx, List<Statement> statements, SessionOutput output,
-            ILangCompilationProvider compliationProvider, ExecutorService executorService) {
+            ILangCompilationProvider compilationProvider, ExecutorService executorService) {
         this.appCtx = appCtx;
         this.lockManager = appCtx.getMetadataLockManager();
         this.statements = statements;
         this.sessionOutput = output;
         this.sessionConfig = output.config();
+        this.compilationProvider = compilationProvider;
         declaredFunctions = getDeclaredFunctions(statements);
-        apiFramework = new APIFramework(compliationProvider);
-        rewriterFactory = compliationProvider.getRewriterFactory();
+        apiFramework = new APIFramework(compilationProvider);
+        rewriterFactory = compilationProvider.getRewriterFactory();
         activeDataverse = MetadataBuiltinEntities.DEFAULT_DATAVERSE;
         this.executorService = executorService;
         if (appCtx.getServiceContext().getAppConfig().getBoolean(CCConfig.Option.ENFORCE_FRAME_WRITER_PROTOCOL)) {
@@ -280,13 +282,15 @@
         final Stats stats = requestParameters.getStats();
         final ResultMetadata outMetadata = requestParameters.getOutMetadata();
         final String clientContextId = requestParameters.getClientContextId();
+        final Map<String, IAObject> stmtParams = requestParameters.getStatementParameters();
         try {
             for (Statement stmt : statements) {
                 if (sessionConfig.is(SessionConfig.FORMAT_HTML)) {
                     sessionOutput.out().println(ApiServlet.HTML_STATEMENT_SEPARATOR);
                 }
                 validateOperation(appCtx, activeDataverse, stmt);
-                rewriteStatement(stmt); // Rewrite the statement's AST.
+                IStatementRewriter stmtRewriter = rewriterFactory.createStatementRewriter();
+                rewriteStatement(stmt, stmtRewriter); // Rewrite the statement's AST.
                 MetadataProvider metadataProvider = new MetadataProvider(appCtx, activeDataverse);
                 metadataProvider.getConfig().putAll(config);
                 metadataProvider.setWriterFactory(writerFactory);
@@ -347,10 +351,10 @@
                             metadataProvider.setMaxResultReads(maxResultReads);
                         }
                         handleInsertUpsertStatement(metadataProvider, stmt, hcc, hdc, resultDelivery, outMetadata,
-                                stats, false, clientContextId);
+                                stats, false, clientContextId, stmtParams, stmtRewriter);
                         break;
                     case DELETE:
-                        handleDeleteStatement(metadataProvider, stmt, hcc, false);
+                        handleDeleteStatement(metadataProvider, stmt, hcc, false, stmtParams, stmtRewriter);
                         break;
                     case CREATE_FEED:
                         handleCreateFeedStatement(metadataProvider, stmt);
@@ -382,7 +386,7 @@
                                 resultDelivery == ResultDelivery.ASYNC || resultDelivery == ResultDelivery.DEFERRED);
                         metadataProvider.setMaxResultReads(maxResultReads);
                         handleQuery(metadataProvider, (Query) stmt, hcc, hdc, resultDelivery, outMetadata, stats,
-                                clientContextId, ctx);
+                                clientContextId, ctx, stmtParams, stmtRewriter);
                         break;
                     case COMPACT:
                         handleCompactStatement(metadataProvider, stmt, hcc);
@@ -1721,20 +1725,18 @@
             wrappedQuery.setSourceLocation(sourceLoc);
             wrappedQuery.setBody(cfs.getFunctionBodyExpression());
             wrappedQuery.setTopLevel(false);
-            List<VarIdentifier> varIds = new ArrayList<>();
+            List<VarIdentifier> paramVars = new ArrayList<>();
             for (String v : cfs.getParamList()) {
-                varIds.add(new VarIdentifier(v));
+                paramVars.add(new VarIdentifier(v));
             }
-            wrappedQuery.setExternalVars(varIds);
-            apiFramework.reWriteQuery(declaredFunctions, metadataProvider, wrappedQuery, sessionOutput, false);
+            apiFramework.reWriteQuery(declaredFunctions, metadataProvider, wrappedQuery, sessionOutput, false,
+                    paramVars);
 
             List<List<List<String>>> dependencies = FunctionUtil.getFunctionDependencies(
                     rewriterFactory.createQueryRewriter(), cfs.getFunctionBodyExpression(), metadataProvider);
 
-            final String language =
-                    rewriterFactory instanceof SqlppRewriterFactory ? Function.LANGUAGE_SQLPP : Function.LANGUAGE_AQL;
             Function function = new Function(signature, cfs.getParamList(), Function.RETURNTYPE_VOID,
-                    cfs.getFunctionBody(), language, FunctionKind.SCALAR.toString(), dependencies);
+                    cfs.getFunctionBody(), getFunctionLanguage(), FunctionKind.SCALAR.toString(), dependencies);
             MetadataManager.INSTANCE.addFunction(mdTxnCtx, function);
 
             MetadataManager.INSTANCE.commitTransaction(mdTxnCtx);
@@ -1747,6 +1749,17 @@
         }
     }
 
+    private String getFunctionLanguage() {
+        switch (compilationProvider.getLanguage()) {
+            case SQLPP:
+                return Function.LANGUAGE_SQLPP;
+            case AQL:
+                return Function.LANGUAGE_AQL;
+            default:
+                throw new IllegalStateException(String.valueOf(compilationProvider.getLanguage()));
+        }
+    }
+
     protected boolean isFunctionUsed(MetadataTransactionContext ctx, FunctionSignature signature,
             String currentDataverse) throws AlgebricksException {
         List<Dataverse> allDataverses = MetadataManager.INSTANCE.getDataverses(ctx);
@@ -1810,7 +1823,8 @@
                     new CompiledLoadFromFileStatement(dataverseName, loadStmt.getDatasetName().getValue(),
                             loadStmt.getAdapter(), loadStmt.getProperties(), loadStmt.dataIsAlreadySorted());
             cls.setSourceLocation(stmt.getSourceLocation());
-            JobSpecification spec = apiFramework.compileQuery(hcc, metadataProvider, null, 0, null, sessionOutput, cls);
+            JobSpecification spec =
+                    apiFramework.compileQuery(hcc, metadataProvider, null, 0, null, sessionOutput, cls, null);
             afterCompile();
             MetadataManager.INSTANCE.commitTransaction(mdTxnCtx);
             bActiveTxn = false;
@@ -1829,7 +1843,8 @@
 
     public JobSpecification handleInsertUpsertStatement(MetadataProvider metadataProvider, Statement stmt,
             IHyracksClientConnection hcc, IHyracksDataset hdc, ResultDelivery resultDelivery,
-            ResultMetadata outMetadata, Stats stats, boolean compileOnly, String clientContextId) throws Exception {
+            ResultMetadata outMetadata, Stats stats, boolean compileOnly, String clientContextId,
+            Map<String, IAObject> stmtParams, IStatementRewriter stmtRewriter) throws Exception {
         InsertStatement stmtInsertUpsert = (InsertStatement) stmt;
         String dataverseName = getActiveDataverse(stmtInsertUpsert.getDataverseName());
         final IMetadataLocker locker = new IMetadataLocker() {
@@ -1850,7 +1865,8 @@
             metadataProvider.setMetadataTxnContext(mdTxnCtx);
             try {
                 metadataProvider.setWriteTransaction(true);
-                final JobSpecification jobSpec = rewriteCompileInsertUpsert(hcc, metadataProvider, stmtInsertUpsert);
+                final JobSpecification jobSpec =
+                        rewriteCompileInsertUpsert(hcc, metadataProvider, stmtInsertUpsert, stmtParams, stmtRewriter);
                 MetadataManager.INSTANCE.commitTransaction(mdTxnCtx);
                 bActiveTxn = false;
                 return jobSpec;
@@ -1889,7 +1905,8 @@
     }
 
     public JobSpecification handleDeleteStatement(MetadataProvider metadataProvider, Statement stmt,
-            IHyracksClientConnection hcc, boolean compileOnly) throws Exception {
+            IHyracksClientConnection hcc, boolean compileOnly, Map<String, IAObject> stmtParams,
+            IStatementRewriter stmtRewriter) throws Exception {
         DeleteStatement stmtDelete = (DeleteStatement) stmt;
         String dataverseName = getActiveDataverse(stmtDelete.getDataverseName());
         MetadataTransactionContext mdTxnCtx = MetadataManager.INSTANCE.beginTransaction();
@@ -1903,7 +1920,8 @@
                     stmtDelete.getDatasetName().getValue(), stmtDelete.getCondition(), stmtDelete.getVarCounter(),
                     stmtDelete.getQuery());
             clfrqs.setSourceLocation(stmt.getSourceLocation());
-            JobSpecification jobSpec = rewriteCompileQuery(hcc, metadataProvider, clfrqs.getQuery(), clfrqs);
+            JobSpecification jobSpec =
+                    rewriteCompileQuery(hcc, metadataProvider, clfrqs.getQuery(), clfrqs, stmtParams, stmtRewriter);
             afterCompile();
 
             MetadataManager.INSTANCE.commitTransaction(mdTxnCtx);
@@ -1925,27 +1943,31 @@
 
     @Override
     public JobSpecification rewriteCompileQuery(IClusterInfoCollector clusterInfoCollector,
-            MetadataProvider metadataProvider, Query query, ICompiledDmlStatement stmt)
-            throws RemoteException, AlgebricksException, ACIDException {
+            MetadataProvider metadataProvider, Query query, ICompiledDmlStatement stmt,
+            Map<String, IAObject> stmtParams, IStatementRewriter stmtRewriter)
+            throws AlgebricksException, ACIDException {
+
+        Map<VarIdentifier, IAObject> externalVars = createExternalVariables(stmtParams, stmtRewriter);
 
         // Query Rewriting (happens under the same ongoing metadata transaction)
-        Pair<IReturningStatement, Integer> rewrittenResult =
-                apiFramework.reWriteQuery(declaredFunctions, metadataProvider, query, sessionOutput, true);
+        Pair<IReturningStatement, Integer> rewrittenResult = apiFramework.reWriteQuery(declaredFunctions,
+                metadataProvider, query, sessionOutput, true, externalVars.keySet());
 
         // Query Compilation (happens under the same ongoing metadata transaction)
         return apiFramework.compileQuery(clusterInfoCollector, metadataProvider, (Query) rewrittenResult.first,
-                rewrittenResult.second, stmt == null ? null : stmt.getDatasetName(), sessionOutput, stmt);
+                rewrittenResult.second, stmt == null ? null : stmt.getDatasetName(), sessionOutput, stmt, externalVars);
     }
 
     private JobSpecification rewriteCompileInsertUpsert(IClusterInfoCollector clusterInfoCollector,
-            MetadataProvider metadataProvider, InsertStatement insertUpsert)
-            throws RemoteException, AlgebricksException, ACIDException {
+            MetadataProvider metadataProvider, InsertStatement insertUpsert, Map<String, IAObject> stmtParams,
+            IStatementRewriter stmtRewriter) throws AlgebricksException, ACIDException {
         SourceLocation sourceLoc = insertUpsert.getSourceLocation();
 
-        // Insert/upsert statement rewriting (happens under the same ongoing metadata
-        // transaction)
-        Pair<IReturningStatement, Integer> rewrittenResult =
-                apiFramework.reWriteQuery(declaredFunctions, metadataProvider, insertUpsert, sessionOutput, true);
+        Map<VarIdentifier, IAObject> externalVars = createExternalVariables(stmtParams, stmtRewriter);
+
+        // Insert/upsert statement rewriting (happens under the same ongoing metadata transaction)
+        Pair<IReturningStatement, Integer> rewrittenResult = apiFramework.reWriteQuery(declaredFunctions,
+                metadataProvider, insertUpsert, sessionOutput, true, externalVars.keySet());
 
         InsertStatement rewrittenInsertUpsert = (InsertStatement) rewrittenResult.first;
         String dataverseName = getActiveDataverse(rewrittenInsertUpsert.getDataverseName());
@@ -1971,7 +1993,7 @@
         // Insert/upsert statement compilation (happens under the same ongoing metadata
         // transaction)
         return apiFramework.compileQuery(clusterInfoCollector, metadataProvider, rewrittenInsertUpsert.getQuery(),
-                rewrittenResult.second, datasetName, sessionOutput, clfrqs);
+                rewrittenResult.second, datasetName, sessionOutput, clfrqs, externalVars);
     }
 
     protected void handleCreateFeedStatement(MetadataProvider metadataProvider, Statement stmt) throws Exception {
@@ -2419,7 +2441,8 @@
 
     protected void handleQuery(MetadataProvider metadataProvider, Query query, IHyracksClientConnection hcc,
             IHyracksDataset hdc, ResultDelivery resultDelivery, ResultMetadata outMetadata, Stats stats,
-            String clientContextId, IStatementExecutorContext ctx) throws Exception {
+            String clientContextId, IStatementExecutorContext ctx, Map<String, IAObject> stmtParams,
+            IStatementRewriter stmtRewriter) throws Exception {
         final IMetadataLocker locker = new IMetadataLocker() {
             @Override
             public void lock() {
@@ -2437,7 +2460,8 @@
             boolean bActiveTxn = true;
             metadataProvider.setMetadataTxnContext(mdTxnCtx);
             try {
-                final JobSpecification jobSpec = rewriteCompileQuery(hcc, metadataProvider, query, null);
+                final JobSpecification jobSpec =
+                        rewriteCompileQuery(hcc, metadataProvider, query, null, stmtParams, stmtRewriter);
                 afterCompile();
                 MetadataManager.INSTANCE.commitTransaction(mdTxnCtx);
                 bActiveTxn = false;
@@ -2885,8 +2909,7 @@
         }
     }
 
-    protected void rewriteStatement(Statement stmt) throws CompilationException {
-        IStatementRewriter rewriter = rewriterFactory.createStatementRewriter();
+    protected void rewriteStatement(Statement stmt, IStatementRewriter rewriter) throws CompilationException {
         rewriter.rewrite(stmt);
     }
 
@@ -2902,4 +2925,20 @@
             ExecutionPlansHtmlPrintUtil.print(sessionOutput.out(), getExecutionPlans());
         }
     }
+
+    private Map<VarIdentifier, IAObject> createExternalVariables(Map<String, IAObject> stmtParams,
+            IStatementRewriter stmtRewriter) {
+        if (stmtParams == null || stmtParams.isEmpty()) {
+            return Collections.emptyMap();
+        }
+        Map<VarIdentifier, IAObject> m = new HashMap<>();
+        for (Map.Entry<String, IAObject> me : stmtParams.entrySet()) {
+            String paramName = me.getKey();
+            String extVarName = stmtRewriter.toExternalVariableName(paramName);
+            if (extVarName != null) {
+                m.put(new VarIdentifier(extVarName), me.getValue());
+            }
+        }
+        return m;
+    }
 }
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/app/translator/RequestParameters.java b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/app/translator/RequestParameters.java
index 9592492..0655285 100644
--- a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/app/translator/RequestParameters.java
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/app/translator/RequestParameters.java
@@ -18,13 +18,26 @@
  */
 package org.apache.asterix.app.translator;
 
+import java.io.DataInputStream;
+import java.io.DataOutputStream;
+import java.util.HashMap;
 import java.util.Map;
 
+import org.apache.asterix.external.library.java.base.ByteArrayAccessibleInputStream;
+import org.apache.asterix.external.parser.JSONDataParser;
+import org.apache.asterix.formats.nontagged.SerializerDeserializerProvider;
+import org.apache.asterix.om.base.IAObject;
+import org.apache.asterix.om.types.BuiltinType;
 import org.apache.asterix.translator.IRequestParameters;
 import org.apache.asterix.translator.IStatementExecutor;
 import org.apache.asterix.translator.IStatementExecutor.Stats;
 import org.apache.asterix.translator.ResultProperties;
+import org.apache.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ISerializerDeserializer;
 import org.apache.hyracks.api.dataset.IHyracksDataset;
+import org.apache.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
+import org.apache.hyracks.data.std.util.ByteArrayAccessibleOutputStream;
+
+import com.fasterxml.jackson.databind.JsonNode;
 
 public class RequestParameters implements IRequestParameters {
 
@@ -34,16 +47,18 @@
     private final Map<String, String> optionalParameters;
     private final IStatementExecutor.ResultMetadata outMetadata;
     private final String clientContextId;
+    private final Map<String, IAObject> statementParameters;
 
     public RequestParameters(IHyracksDataset hdc, ResultProperties resultProperties, Stats stats,
             IStatementExecutor.ResultMetadata outMetadata, String clientContextId,
-            Map<String, String> optionalParameters) {
+            Map<String, String> optionalParameters, Map<String, IAObject> statementParameters) {
         this.hdc = hdc;
         this.resultProperties = resultProperties;
         this.stats = stats;
         this.outMetadata = outMetadata;
         this.clientContextId = clientContextId;
         this.optionalParameters = optionalParameters;
+        this.statementParameters = statementParameters;
     }
 
     @Override
@@ -75,4 +90,50 @@
     public String getClientContextId() {
         return clientContextId;
     }
+
+    @Override
+    public Map<String, IAObject> getStatementParameters() {
+        return statementParameters;
+    }
+
+    public static Map<String, byte[]> serializeParameterValues(Map<String, JsonNode> inParams)
+            throws HyracksDataException {
+        if (inParams == null || inParams.isEmpty()) {
+            return null;
+        }
+        JSONDataParser parser = new JSONDataParser(null, null);
+        ByteArrayAccessibleOutputStream buffer = new ByteArrayAccessibleOutputStream();
+        DataOutputStream bufferDataOutput = new DataOutputStream(buffer);
+        Map<String, byte[]> m = new HashMap<>();
+        for (Map.Entry<String, JsonNode> me : inParams.entrySet()) {
+            String name = me.getKey();
+            JsonNode jsonValue = me.getValue();
+            parser.setInputNode(jsonValue);
+            buffer.reset();
+            parser.parseAnyValue(bufferDataOutput);
+            byte[] byteValue = buffer.toByteArray();
+            m.put(name, byteValue);
+        }
+        return m;
+    }
+
+    public static Map<String, IAObject> deserializeParameterValues(Map<String, byte[]> inParams)
+            throws HyracksDataException {
+        if (inParams == null || inParams.isEmpty()) {
+            return null;
+        }
+        Map<String, IAObject> m = new HashMap<>();
+        ByteArrayAccessibleInputStream buffer = new ByteArrayAccessibleInputStream(new byte[0], 0, 0);
+        DataInputStream bufferDataInput = new DataInputStream(buffer);
+        ISerializerDeserializer serDe =
+                SerializerDeserializerProvider.INSTANCE.getSerializerDeserializer(BuiltinType.ANY);
+        for (Map.Entry<String, byte[]> me : inParams.entrySet()) {
+            String name = me.getKey();
+            byte[] value = me.getValue();
+            buffer.setContent(value, 0, value.length);
+            IAObject iaValue = (IAObject) serDe.deserialize(bufferDataInput);
+            m.put(name, iaValue);
+        }
+        return m;
+    }
 }
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/utils/FeedOperations.java b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/utils/FeedOperations.java
index 424444a..dc057cb 100644
--- a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/utils/FeedOperations.java
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/utils/FeedOperations.java
@@ -264,7 +264,7 @@
             clfrqs = new CompiledStatements.CompiledUpsertStatement(feedConn.getDataverseName(),
                     feedConn.getDatasetName(), feedConnQuery, stmtUpsert.getVarCounter(), null, null);
         }
-        return statementExecutor.rewriteCompileQuery(hcc, metadataProvider, feedConnQuery, clfrqs);
+        return statementExecutor.rewriteCompileQuery(hcc, metadataProvider, feedConnQuery, clfrqs, null, null);
     }
 
     private static JobSpecification combineIntakeCollectJobs(MetadataProvider metadataProvider, Feed feed,
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/java/org/apache/asterix/test/common/CancellationTestExecutor.java b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/java/org/apache/asterix/test/common/CancellationTestExecutor.java
index 942b192..e85fedf 100644
--- a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/java/org/apache/asterix/test/common/CancellationTestExecutor.java
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/java/org/apache/asterix/test/common/CancellationTestExecutor.java
@@ -35,6 +35,7 @@
 import org.apache.asterix.common.utils.Servlets;
 import org.apache.asterix.test.runtime.SqlppExecutionWithCancellationTest;
 import org.apache.asterix.testframework.context.TestCaseContext;
+import org.apache.asterix.testframework.xml.ParameterTypeEnum;
 import org.apache.asterix.testframework.xml.TestCase;
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.MutableInt;
 import org.apache.http.HttpResponse;
@@ -51,8 +52,8 @@
             List<TestCase.CompilationUnit.Parameter> params, boolean jsonEncoded,
             Predicate<Integer> responseCodeValidator, boolean cancellable) throws Exception {
         String clientContextId = UUID.randomUUID().toString();
-        final List<TestCase.CompilationUnit.Parameter> newParams =
-                cancellable ? upsertParam(params, "client_context_id", clientContextId) : params;
+        final List<TestCase.CompilationUnit.Parameter> newParams = cancellable
+                ? upsertParam(params, "client_context_id", ParameterTypeEnum.STRING, clientContextId) : params;
         Callable<InputStream> query = () -> {
             try {
                 return CancellationTestExecutor.super.executeQueryService(str, fmt, uri, newParams, jsonEncoded,
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/java/org/apache/asterix/test/common/TestExecutor.java b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/java/org/apache/asterix/test/common/TestExecutor.java
index 4697a2a..2281238 100644
--- a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/java/org/apache/asterix/test/common/TestExecutor.java
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/java/org/apache/asterix/test/common/TestExecutor.java
@@ -30,6 +30,7 @@
 import java.io.PrintStream;
 import java.io.PrintWriter;
 import java.io.StringWriter;
+import java.math.BigDecimal;
 import java.net.Inet4Address;
 import java.net.InetSocketAddress;
 import java.net.Socket;
@@ -69,6 +70,7 @@
 import org.apache.asterix.testframework.context.TestCaseContext.OutputFormat;
 import org.apache.asterix.testframework.context.TestFileContext;
 import org.apache.asterix.testframework.xml.ComparisonEnum;
+import org.apache.asterix.testframework.xml.ParameterTypeEnum;
 import org.apache.asterix.testframework.xml.TestCase.CompilationUnit;
 import org.apache.asterix.testframework.xml.TestCase.CompilationUnit.Parameter;
 import org.apache.asterix.testframework.xml.TestGroup;
@@ -90,10 +92,13 @@
 import org.apache.http.impl.client.StandardHttpRequestRetryHandler;
 import org.apache.http.protocol.HttpContext;
 import org.apache.http.util.EntityUtils;
+import org.apache.hyracks.http.server.utils.HttpUtil;
 import org.apache.hyracks.util.StorageUtil;
 import org.apache.logging.log4j.Level;
 import org.apache.logging.log4j.LogManager;
 import org.apache.logging.log4j.Logger;
+
+import com.fasterxml.jackson.databind.util.RawValue;
 import org.junit.Assert;
 
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.JsonProcessingException;
@@ -124,11 +129,13 @@
     private static final Pattern POLL_DELAY_PATTERN = Pattern.compile("polldelaysecs=(\\d+)(\\D|$)", Pattern.MULTILINE);
     private static final Pattern HANDLE_VARIABLE_PATTERN = Pattern.compile("handlevariable=(\\w+)");
     private static final Pattern VARIABLE_REF_PATTERN = Pattern.compile("\\$(\\w+)");
-    private static final Pattern HTTP_PARAM_PATTERN = Pattern.compile("param (\\w+)=(.*)", Pattern.MULTILINE);
+    private static final Pattern HTTP_PARAM_PATTERN =
+            Pattern.compile("param (?<name>[\\w$]+)(?::(?<type>\\w+))?=(?<value>.*)", Pattern.MULTILINE);
     private static final Pattern HTTP_BODY_PATTERN = Pattern.compile("body=(.*)", Pattern.MULTILINE);
     private static final Pattern HTTP_STATUSCODE_PATTERN = Pattern.compile("statuscode (.*)", Pattern.MULTILINE);
     private static final Pattern MAX_RESULT_READS_PATTERN =
             Pattern.compile("maxresultreads=(\\d+)(\\D|$)", Pattern.MULTILINE);
+    private static final Pattern HTTP_REQUEST_TYPE = Pattern.compile("requesttype=(.*)", Pattern.MULTILINE);
     public static final int TRUNCATE_THRESHOLD = 16384;
     public static final Set<String> NON_CANCELLABLE =
             Collections.unmodifiableSet(new HashSet<>(Arrays.asList("store", "validate")));
@@ -579,15 +586,15 @@
 
     public InputStream executeQueryService(String str, OutputFormat fmt, URI uri, List<Parameter> params,
             boolean jsonEncoded, Predicate<Integer> responseCodeValidator, boolean cancellable) throws Exception {
-        List<Parameter> newParams = upsertParam(params, "format", fmt.mimeType());
+        List<Parameter> newParams = upsertParam(params, "format", ParameterTypeEnum.STRING, fmt.mimeType());
         final Optional<String> maxReadsOptional = extractMaxResultReads(str);
         if (maxReadsOptional.isPresent()) {
             newParams = upsertParam(newParams, QueryServiceServlet.Parameter.MAX_RESULT_READS.str(),
-                    maxReadsOptional.get());
+                    ParameterTypeEnum.STRING, maxReadsOptional.get());
         }
         final List<Parameter> additionalParams = extractParameters(str);
         for (Parameter param : additionalParams) {
-            newParams = upsertParam(newParams, param.getName(), param.getValue());
+            newParams = upsertParam(newParams, param.getName(), param.getType(), param.getValue());
         }
         HttpUriRequest method = jsonEncoded ? constructPostMethodJson(str, uri, "statement", newParams)
                 : constructPostMethodUrl(str, uri, "statement", newParams);
@@ -600,16 +607,18 @@
         return response.getEntity().getContent();
     }
 
-    protected List<Parameter> upsertParam(List<Parameter> params, String name, String value) {
+    protected List<Parameter> upsertParam(List<Parameter> params, String name, ParameterTypeEnum type, String value) {
         boolean replaced = false;
         List<Parameter> result = new ArrayList<>();
         for (Parameter param : params) {
             Parameter newParam = new Parameter();
             newParam.setName(param.getName());
             if (name.equals(param.getName())) {
+                newParam.setType(type);
                 newParam.setValue(value);
                 replaced = true;
             } else {
+                newParam.setType(param.getType());
                 newParam.setValue(param.getValue());
             }
             result.add(newParam);
@@ -617,6 +626,7 @@
         if (!replaced) {
             Parameter newParam = new Parameter();
             newParam.setName(name);
+            newParam.setType(type);
             newParam.setValue(value);
             result.add(newParam);
         }
@@ -677,7 +687,7 @@
             List<Parameter> otherParams) {
         RequestBuilder builder = RequestBuilder.post(uri);
         if (stmtParam != null) {
-            for (Parameter param : upsertParam(otherParams, stmtParam, statement)) {
+            for (Parameter param : upsertParam(otherParams, stmtParam, ParameterTypeEnum.STRING, statement)) {
                 builder.addParameter(param.getName(), param.getValue());
             }
             builder.addParameter(stmtParam, statement);
@@ -697,8 +707,23 @@
         RequestBuilder builder = RequestBuilder.post(uri);
         ObjectMapper om = new ObjectMapper();
         ObjectNode content = om.createObjectNode();
-        for (Parameter param : upsertParam(otherParams, stmtParam, statement)) {
-            content.put(param.getName(), param.getValue());
+        for (Parameter param : upsertParam(otherParams, stmtParam, ParameterTypeEnum.STRING, statement)) {
+            String paramName = param.getName();
+            ParameterTypeEnum paramType = param.getType();
+            if (paramType == null) {
+                paramType = ParameterTypeEnum.STRING;
+            }
+            String paramValue = param.getValue();
+            switch (paramType) {
+                case STRING:
+                    content.put(paramName, paramValue);
+                    break;
+                case JSON:
+                    content.putRawValue(paramName, new RawValue(paramValue));
+                    break;
+                default:
+                    throw new IllegalStateException(paramType.toString());
+            }
         }
         try {
             builder.setEntity(new StringEntity(om.writeValueAsString(content), ContentType.APPLICATION_JSON));
@@ -1178,14 +1203,17 @@
         }
         URI uri = testFile.getName().endsWith("aql") ? getEndpoint(Servlets.QUERY_AQL)
                 : getEndpoint(Servlets.QUERY_SERVICE);
+        boolean isJsonEncoded = isJsonEncoded(extractHttpRequestType(statement));
         InputStream resultStream;
         if (DELIVERY_IMMEDIATE.equals(delivery)) {
-            resultStream = executeQueryService(statement, fmt, uri, params, true, null, isCancellable(reqType));
+            resultStream =
+                    executeQueryService(statement, fmt, uri, params, isJsonEncoded, null, isCancellable(reqType));
             resultStream = METRICS_QUERY_TYPE.equals(reqType) ? ResultExtractor.extractMetrics(resultStream)
                     : ResultExtractor.extract(resultStream);
         } else {
             String handleVar = getHandleVariable(statement);
-            resultStream = executeQueryService(statement, fmt, uri, upsertParam(params, "mode", delivery), true);
+            resultStream = executeQueryService(statement, fmt, uri,
+                    upsertParam(params, "mode", ParameterTypeEnum.STRING, delivery), isJsonEncoded);
             String handle = ResultExtractor.extractHandle(resultStream);
             Assert.assertNotNull("no handle for " + reqType + " test " + testFile.toString(), handleVar);
             variableCtx.put(handleVar, toQueryServiceHandle(handle));
@@ -1445,18 +1473,49 @@
         return Optional.empty();
     }
 
-    protected static List<Parameter> extractParameters(String statement) {
+    public static List<Parameter> extractParameters(String statement) {
         List<Parameter> params = new ArrayList<>();
         final Matcher m = HTTP_PARAM_PATTERN.matcher(statement);
         while (m.find()) {
             final Parameter param = new Parameter();
-            param.setName(m.group(1));
-            param.setValue(m.group(2));
+            String name = m.group("name");
+            param.setName(name);
+            String value = m.group("value");
+            param.setValue(value);
+            String type = m.group("type");
+            if (type != null) {
+                try {
+                    param.setType(ParameterTypeEnum.fromValue(type.toLowerCase()));
+                } catch (IllegalArgumentException e) {
+                    throw new IllegalArgumentException(
+                            String.format("Invalid type '%s' specified for parameter '%s'", type, name));
+                }
+            }
             params.add(param);
         }
         return params;
     }
 
+    private static String extractHttpRequestType(String statement) {
+        Matcher m = HTTP_REQUEST_TYPE.matcher(statement);
+        return m.find() ? m.group(1) : null;
+    }
+
+    private static boolean isJsonEncoded(String httpRequestType) throws Exception {
+        if (httpRequestType == null || httpRequestType.isEmpty()) {
+            return true;
+        }
+        switch (httpRequestType.trim()) {
+            case HttpUtil.ContentType.JSON:
+            case HttpUtil.ContentType.APPLICATION_JSON:
+                return true;
+            case HttpUtil.ContentType.APPLICATION_X_WWW_FORM_URLENCODED:
+                return false;
+            default:
+                throw new Exception("Invalid value for http request type: " + httpRequestType);
+        }
+    }
+
     protected static Predicate<Integer> extractStatusCodePredicate(String statement) {
         List<Integer> codes = new ArrayList<>();
         final Matcher m = HTTP_STATUSCODE_PATTERN.matcher(statement);
@@ -1511,6 +1570,7 @@
         List<Parameter> params = new ArrayList<>();
         Parameter node = new Parameter();
         node.setName("node");
+        node.setType(ParameterTypeEnum.STRING);
         node.setValue(nodeId);
         params.add(node);
         InputStream executeJSON = executeJSON(fmt, "POST", URI.create("http://localhost:16001" + endpoint), params);
@@ -1798,6 +1858,7 @@
         Stream.of("partition", "host", "port").forEach(arg -> {
             Parameter p = new Parameter();
             p.setName(arg);
+            p.setType(ParameterTypeEnum.STRING);
             parameters.add(p);
         });
         parameters.get(0).setValue(partition);
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/java/org/apache/asterix/test/common/TestHelper.java b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/java/org/apache/asterix/test/common/TestHelper.java
index 66a34ff..a7a7fce 100644
--- a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/java/org/apache/asterix/test/common/TestHelper.java
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/java/org/apache/asterix/test/common/TestHelper.java
@@ -23,15 +23,29 @@
 import java.io.IOException;
 import java.io.InputStream;
 import java.io.OutputStream;
+import java.util.Collections;
 import java.util.Enumeration;
+import java.util.HashMap;
 import java.util.List;
+import java.util.Map;
 import java.util.zip.ZipEntry;
 import java.util.zip.ZipFile;
 
+import org.apache.asterix.api.http.server.QueryServiceServlet;
+import org.apache.asterix.app.translator.RequestParameters;
+import org.apache.asterix.om.base.IAObject;
+import org.apache.asterix.testframework.xml.ParameterTypeEnum;
+import org.apache.asterix.testframework.xml.TestCase;
 import org.apache.commons.compress.utils.IOUtils;
 import org.apache.commons.io.FileUtils;
 import org.apache.hyracks.util.file.FileUtil;
 
+import com.fasterxml.jackson.databind.JsonNode;
+import com.fasterxml.jackson.databind.MapperFeature;
+import com.fasterxml.jackson.databind.ObjectMapper;
+import com.fasterxml.jackson.databind.SerializationFeature;
+import com.fasterxml.jackson.databind.node.TextNode;
+
 public final class TestHelper {
 
     private static final String TEST_DIR_BASE_PATH = System.getProperty("user.dir") + File.separator + "target";
@@ -81,4 +95,53 @@
             }
         }
     }
+
+    public static Map<String, IAObject> readStatementParameters(String statement) throws IOException {
+        List<TestCase.CompilationUnit.Parameter> parameterList = TestExecutor.extractParameters(statement);
+        if (parameterList.isEmpty()) {
+            return Collections.emptyMap();
+        }
+        Map<String, JsonNode> stmtParams = new HashMap<>();
+        ObjectMapper om = createObjectMapper();
+        for (TestCase.CompilationUnit.Parameter param : parameterList) {
+            String paramName = param.getName();
+            JsonNode paramJsonValue;
+            ParameterTypeEnum paramType = param.getType();
+            if (paramType == null) {
+                paramType = ParameterTypeEnum.STRING;
+            }
+            String paramValue = param.getValue();
+            switch (paramType) {
+                case STRING:
+                    paramJsonValue = TextNode.valueOf(paramValue);
+                    break;
+                case JSON:
+                    paramJsonValue = om.readTree(paramValue);
+                    break;
+                default:
+                    throw new IllegalArgumentException(String.valueOf(paramType));
+
+            }
+            String name = QueryServiceServlet.extractStatementParameterName(paramName);
+            if (name != null) {
+                stmtParams.put(name, paramJsonValue);
+            } else if (QueryServiceServlet.Parameter.ARGS.str().equals(paramName)) {
+                if (paramJsonValue.isArray()) {
+                    for (int i = 0, ln = paramJsonValue.size(); i < ln; i++) {
+                        stmtParams.put(String.valueOf(i + 1), paramJsonValue.get(i));
+                    }
+                }
+            }
+        }
+
+        return RequestParameters.deserializeParameterValues(RequestParameters.serializeParameterValues(stmtParams));
+    }
+
+    private static ObjectMapper createObjectMapper() {
+        ObjectMapper objectMapper = new ObjectMapper();
+        objectMapper.enable(SerializationFeature.INDENT_OUTPUT);
+        objectMapper.configure(MapperFeature.SORT_PROPERTIES_ALPHABETICALLY, true);
+        objectMapper.configure(SerializationFeature.ORDER_MAP_ENTRIES_BY_KEYS, true);
+        return objectMapper;
+    }
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/java/org/apache/asterix/test/jsonplan/JsonLogicalPlanTest.java b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/java/org/apache/asterix/test/jsonplan/JsonLogicalPlanTest.java
index e7b6271..0751178 100644
--- a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/java/org/apache/asterix/test/jsonplan/JsonLogicalPlanTest.java
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/java/org/apache/asterix/test/jsonplan/JsonLogicalPlanTest.java
@@ -24,9 +24,11 @@
 import java.io.FileInputStream;
 import java.io.InputStreamReader;
 import java.io.PrintWriter;
-import java.io.Reader;
+import java.io.StringReader;
+import java.nio.charset.StandardCharsets;
 import java.util.ArrayList;
 import java.util.Collection;
+import java.util.Map;
 
 import org.apache.asterix.api.common.AsterixHyracksIntegrationUtil;
 import org.apache.asterix.api.java.AsterixJavaClient;
@@ -41,11 +43,13 @@
 import org.apache.asterix.external.util.ExternalDataConstants;
 import org.apache.asterix.external.util.IdentitiyResolverFactory;
 import org.apache.asterix.file.StorageComponentProvider;
+import org.apache.asterix.om.base.IAObject;
 import org.apache.asterix.test.base.AsterixTestHelper;
 import org.apache.asterix.test.common.TestHelper;
 import org.apache.asterix.test.runtime.HDFSCluster;
 import org.apache.asterix.translator.IStatementExecutorFactory;
 import org.apache.asterix.translator.SessionConfig.PlanFormat;
+import org.apache.commons.io.FileUtils;
 import org.apache.hyracks.api.client.IHyracksClientConnection;
 import org.apache.logging.log4j.LogManager;
 import org.apache.logging.log4j.Logger;
@@ -173,31 +177,28 @@
             Assume.assumeTrue(!skipped);
 
             LOGGER.info("RUN TEST: \"" + queryFile.getPath() + "\"");
-            Reader query = new BufferedReader(new InputStreamReader(new FileInputStream(queryFile), "UTF-8"));
+            String query = FileUtils.readFileToString(queryFile, StandardCharsets.UTF_8);
+            Map<String, IAObject> queryParams = TestHelper.readStatementParameters(query);
 
             // Forces the creation of actualFile.
             actualFile.getParentFile().mkdirs();
 
-            PrintWriter plan = new PrintWriter(actualFile);
             ILangCompilationProvider provider =
                     queryFile.getName().endsWith("aql") ? aqlCompilationProvider : sqlppCompilationProvider;
             if (extensionLangCompilationProvider != null) {
                 provider = extensionLangCompilationProvider;
             }
             IHyracksClientConnection hcc = integrationUtil.getHyracksClientConnection();
-            AsterixJavaClient asterix =
-                    new AsterixJavaClient((ICcApplicationContext) integrationUtil.cc.getApplicationContext(), hcc,
-                            query, plan, provider, statementExecutorFactory, storageComponentProvider);
-            try {
-                asterix.compile(true, false, !optimized, optimized, false, false, false, PlanFormat.JSON);
 
+            try (PrintWriter plan = new PrintWriter(actualFile)) {
+                AsterixJavaClient asterix = new AsterixJavaClient(
+                        (ICcApplicationContext) integrationUtil.cc.getApplicationContext(), hcc,
+                        new StringReader(query), plan, provider, statementExecutorFactory, storageComponentProvider);
+                asterix.setStatementParameters(queryParams);
+                asterix.compile(true, false, !optimized, optimized, false, false, false, PlanFormat.JSON);
             } catch (AsterixException e) {
-                plan.close();
-                query.close();
                 throw new Exception("Compile ERROR for " + queryFile + ": " + e.getMessage(), e);
             }
-            plan.close();
-            query.close();
 
             BufferedReader readerActual =
                     new BufferedReader(new InputStreamReader(new FileInputStream(actualFile), "UTF-8"));
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/java/org/apache/asterix/test/optimizer/OptimizerTest.java b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/java/org/apache/asterix/test/optimizer/OptimizerTest.java
index 3fd59a4..debb3f9 100644
--- a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/java/org/apache/asterix/test/optimizer/OptimizerTest.java
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/java/org/apache/asterix/test/optimizer/OptimizerTest.java
@@ -23,14 +23,16 @@
 import java.io.FileInputStream;
 import java.io.InputStreamReader;
 import java.io.PrintWriter;
-import java.io.Reader;
+import java.io.StringReader;
+import java.nio.charset.StandardCharsets;
 import java.util.ArrayList;
+import java.util.Arrays;
 import java.util.Collection;
+import java.util.Map;
 
 import org.apache.asterix.api.common.AsterixHyracksIntegrationUtil;
 import org.apache.asterix.api.java.AsterixJavaClient;
 import org.apache.asterix.app.translator.DefaultStatementExecutorFactory;
-import org.apache.asterix.common.config.GlobalConfig;
 import org.apache.asterix.common.context.IStorageComponentProvider;
 import org.apache.asterix.common.dataflow.ICcApplicationContext;
 import org.apache.asterix.compiler.provider.AqlCompilationProvider;
@@ -39,10 +41,12 @@
 import org.apache.asterix.external.util.ExternalDataConstants;
 import org.apache.asterix.external.util.IdentitiyResolverFactory;
 import org.apache.asterix.file.StorageComponentProvider;
+import org.apache.asterix.om.base.IAObject;
 import org.apache.asterix.test.base.AsterixTestHelper;
 import org.apache.asterix.test.common.TestHelper;
 import org.apache.asterix.test.runtime.HDFSCluster;
 import org.apache.asterix.translator.IStatementExecutorFactory;
+import org.apache.commons.io.FileUtils;
 import org.apache.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import org.apache.hyracks.api.client.IHyracksClientConnection;
 import org.apache.logging.log4j.LogManager;
@@ -113,7 +117,9 @@
 
     private static void suiteBuildPerFile(File file, Collection<Object[]> testArgs, String path) {
         if (file.isDirectory() && !file.getName().startsWith(".")) {
-            for (File innerfile : file.listFiles()) {
+            File[] files = file.listFiles();
+            Arrays.sort(files);
+            for (File innerfile : files) {
                 String subdir = innerfile.isDirectory() ? path + innerfile.getName() + SEPARATOR : path;
                 suiteBuildPerFile(innerfile, testArgs, subdir);
             }
@@ -170,32 +176,29 @@
             Assume.assumeTrue(!skipped);
 
             LOGGER.info("RUN TEST: \"" + queryFile.getPath() + "\"");
-            Reader query = new BufferedReader(new InputStreamReader(new FileInputStream(queryFile), "UTF-8"));
+            String query = FileUtils.readFileToString(queryFile, StandardCharsets.UTF_8);
+            Map<String, IAObject> queryParams = TestHelper.readStatementParameters(query);
 
             LOGGER.info("ACTUAL RESULT FILE: " + actualFile.getAbsolutePath());
 
             // Forces the creation of actualFile.
             actualFile.getParentFile().mkdirs();
 
-            PrintWriter plan = new PrintWriter(actualFile);
             ILangCompilationProvider provider =
                     queryFile.getName().endsWith("aql") ? aqlCompilationProvider : sqlppCompilationProvider;
             if (extensionLangCompilationProvider != null) {
                 provider = extensionLangCompilationProvider;
             }
             IHyracksClientConnection hcc = integrationUtil.getHyracksClientConnection();
-            AsterixJavaClient asterix =
-                    new AsterixJavaClient((ICcApplicationContext) integrationUtil.cc.getApplicationContext(), hcc,
-                            query, plan, provider, statementExecutorFactory, storageComponentProvider);
-            try {
+            try (PrintWriter plan = new PrintWriter(actualFile)) {
+                AsterixJavaClient asterix = new AsterixJavaClient(
+                        (ICcApplicationContext) integrationUtil.cc.getApplicationContext(), hcc,
+                        new StringReader(query), plan, provider, statementExecutorFactory, storageComponentProvider);
+                asterix.setStatementParameters(queryParams);
                 asterix.compile(true, false, false, true, true, false, false);
             } catch (AlgebricksException e) {
-                plan.close();
-                query.close();
                 throw new Exception("Compile ERROR for " + queryFile + ": " + e.getMessage(), e);
             }
-            plan.close();
-            query.close();
 
             BufferedReader readerExpected =
                     new BufferedReader(new InputStreamReader(new FileInputStream(expectedFile), "UTF-8"));
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/java/org/apache/asterix/test/sqlpp/ParserTestExecutor.java b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/java/org/apache/asterix/test/sqlpp/ParserTestExecutor.java
index 0d0c1d9..830307b 100644
--- a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/java/org/apache/asterix/test/sqlpp/ParserTestExecutor.java
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/java/org/apache/asterix/test/sqlpp/ParserTestExecutor.java
@@ -188,8 +188,8 @@
         PA.invokeMethod(rewriter,
                 "setup(java.util.List, org.apache.asterix.lang.common.base.IReturningStatement, "
                         + "org.apache.asterix.metadata.declared.MetadataProvider, "
-                        + "org.apache.asterix.lang.common.rewrites.LangRewritingContext)",
-                declaredFunctions, topExpr, metadataProvider, context);
+                        + "org.apache.asterix.lang.common.rewrites.LangRewritingContext, " + "java.util.Collection)",
+                declaredFunctions, topExpr, metadataProvider, context, null);
         PA.invokeMethod(rewriter, "inlineColumnAlias()");
         PA.invokeMethod(rewriter, "generateColumnNames()");
         PA.invokeMethod(rewriter, "substituteGroupbyKeyExpression()");
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/optimizerts/queries/statement-params/statement-params-01.sqlpp b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/optimizerts/queries/statement-params/statement-params-01.sqlpp
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0a53f64
--- /dev/null
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/optimizerts/queries/statement-params/statement-params-01.sqlpp
@@ -0,0 +1,45 @@
+/*
+ * Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one
+ * or more contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file
+ * distributed with this work for additional information
+ * regarding copyright ownership.  The ASF licenses this file
+ * to you under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the
+ * "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance
+ * with the License.  You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *   http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing,
+ * software distributed under the License is distributed on an
+ * "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY
+ * KIND, either express or implied.  See the License for the
+ * specific language governing permissions and limitations
+ * under the License.
+ */
+/*
+ * Description  : Test plan for a query with named parameters
+ * Expected Res : Success
+ * Date         : 20 Jun 2017
+ */
+
+// param $p_str:json="hello"
+
+drop dataverse test if exists;
+create dataverse test;
+use test;
+
+write output to asterix_nc1:"rttest/statement-params_statement-params-01.adm";
+
+create type TestOpenType as open {
+  c_id: int64
+};
+
+create dataset TestOpen(TestOpenType)
+primary key c_id;
+
+create index idx_s on TestOpen(c_s:string);
+
+select c_id
+from  TestOpen as t
+where t.c_s = $p_str
+;
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/optimizerts/queries/statement-params/statement-params-02.sqlpp b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/optimizerts/queries/statement-params/statement-params-02.sqlpp
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..71e9f3c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/optimizerts/queries/statement-params/statement-params-02.sqlpp
@@ -0,0 +1,45 @@
+/*
+ * Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one
+ * or more contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file
+ * distributed with this work for additional information
+ * regarding copyright ownership.  The ASF licenses this file
+ * to you under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the
+ * "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance
+ * with the License.  You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *   http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing,
+ * software distributed under the License is distributed on an
+ * "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY
+ * KIND, either express or implied.  See the License for the
+ * specific language governing permissions and limitations
+ * under the License.
+ */
+/*
+ * Description  : Test plan for a query with named parameters
+ * Expected Res : Success
+ * Date         : 20 Jun 2017
+ */
+
+// param args:json=["hello"]
+
+drop dataverse test if exists;
+create dataverse test;
+use test;
+
+write output to asterix_nc1:"rttest/statement-params_statement-params-03.adm";
+
+create type TestOpenType as open {
+  c_id: int64
+};
+
+create dataset TestOpen(TestOpenType)
+primary key c_id;
+
+create index idx_s on TestOpen(c_s:string);
+
+select c_id
+from  TestOpen as t
+where t.c_s = $1
+;
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/optimizerts/queries/statement-params/statement-params-03.sqlpp b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/optimizerts/queries/statement-params/statement-params-03.sqlpp
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9019f68
--- /dev/null
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/optimizerts/queries/statement-params/statement-params-03.sqlpp
@@ -0,0 +1,45 @@
+/*
+ * Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one
+ * or more contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file
+ * distributed with this work for additional information
+ * regarding copyright ownership.  The ASF licenses this file
+ * to you under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the
+ * "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance
+ * with the License.  You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *   http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing,
+ * software distributed under the License is distributed on an
+ * "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY
+ * KIND, either express or implied.  See the License for the
+ * specific language governing permissions and limitations
+ * under the License.
+ */
+/*
+ * Description  : Test plan for a query with named parameters
+ * Expected Res : Success
+ * Date         : 20 Jun 2017
+ */
+
+// param args:json=["hello"]
+
+drop dataverse test if exists;
+create dataverse test;
+use test;
+
+write output to asterix_nc1:"rttest/statement-params_statement-params-03.adm";
+
+create type TestOpenType as open {
+  c_id: int64
+};
+
+create dataset TestOpen(TestOpenType)
+primary key c_id;
+
+create index idx_s on TestOpen(c_s:string);
+
+select c_id
+from  TestOpen as t
+where t.c_s = ?
+;
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/optimizerts/results/statement-params/statement-params-01.plan b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/optimizerts/results/statement-params/statement-params-01.plan
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..cd5c81e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/optimizerts/results/statement-params/statement-params-01.plan
@@ -0,0 +1,17 @@
+-- DISTRIBUTE_RESULT  |PARTITIONED|
+  -- ONE_TO_ONE_EXCHANGE  |PARTITIONED|
+    -- STREAM_PROJECT  |PARTITIONED|
+      -- ASSIGN  |PARTITIONED|
+        -- STREAM_PROJECT  |PARTITIONED|
+          -- STREAM_SELECT  |PARTITIONED|
+            -- ONE_TO_ONE_EXCHANGE  |PARTITIONED|
+              -- BTREE_SEARCH  |PARTITIONED|
+                -- ONE_TO_ONE_EXCHANGE  |PARTITIONED|
+                  -- STABLE_SORT [$$21(ASC)]  |PARTITIONED|
+                    -- ONE_TO_ONE_EXCHANGE  |PARTITIONED|
+                      -- STREAM_PROJECT  |PARTITIONED|
+                        -- ONE_TO_ONE_EXCHANGE  |PARTITIONED|
+                          -- BTREE_SEARCH  |PARTITIONED|
+                            -- ONE_TO_ONE_EXCHANGE  |PARTITIONED|
+                              -- ASSIGN  |PARTITIONED|
+                                -- EMPTY_TUPLE_SOURCE  |PARTITIONED|
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/optimizerts/results/statement-params/statement-params-02.plan b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/optimizerts/results/statement-params/statement-params-02.plan
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..cd5c81e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/optimizerts/results/statement-params/statement-params-02.plan
@@ -0,0 +1,17 @@
+-- DISTRIBUTE_RESULT  |PARTITIONED|
+  -- ONE_TO_ONE_EXCHANGE  |PARTITIONED|
+    -- STREAM_PROJECT  |PARTITIONED|
+      -- ASSIGN  |PARTITIONED|
+        -- STREAM_PROJECT  |PARTITIONED|
+          -- STREAM_SELECT  |PARTITIONED|
+            -- ONE_TO_ONE_EXCHANGE  |PARTITIONED|
+              -- BTREE_SEARCH  |PARTITIONED|
+                -- ONE_TO_ONE_EXCHANGE  |PARTITIONED|
+                  -- STABLE_SORT [$$21(ASC)]  |PARTITIONED|
+                    -- ONE_TO_ONE_EXCHANGE  |PARTITIONED|
+                      -- STREAM_PROJECT  |PARTITIONED|
+                        -- ONE_TO_ONE_EXCHANGE  |PARTITIONED|
+                          -- BTREE_SEARCH  |PARTITIONED|
+                            -- ONE_TO_ONE_EXCHANGE  |PARTITIONED|
+                              -- ASSIGN  |PARTITIONED|
+                                -- EMPTY_TUPLE_SOURCE  |PARTITIONED|
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/optimizerts/results/statement-params/statement-params-03.plan b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/optimizerts/results/statement-params/statement-params-03.plan
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..cd5c81e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/optimizerts/results/statement-params/statement-params-03.plan
@@ -0,0 +1,17 @@
+-- DISTRIBUTE_RESULT  |PARTITIONED|
+  -- ONE_TO_ONE_EXCHANGE  |PARTITIONED|
+    -- STREAM_PROJECT  |PARTITIONED|
+      -- ASSIGN  |PARTITIONED|
+        -- STREAM_PROJECT  |PARTITIONED|
+          -- STREAM_SELECT  |PARTITIONED|
+            -- ONE_TO_ONE_EXCHANGE  |PARTITIONED|
+              -- BTREE_SEARCH  |PARTITIONED|
+                -- ONE_TO_ONE_EXCHANGE  |PARTITIONED|
+                  -- STABLE_SORT [$$21(ASC)]  |PARTITIONED|
+                    -- ONE_TO_ONE_EXCHANGE  |PARTITIONED|
+                      -- STREAM_PROJECT  |PARTITIONED|
+                        -- ONE_TO_ONE_EXCHANGE  |PARTITIONED|
+                          -- BTREE_SEARCH  |PARTITIONED|
+                            -- ONE_TO_ONE_EXCHANGE  |PARTITIONED|
+                              -- ASSIGN  |PARTITIONED|
+                                -- EMPTY_TUPLE_SOURCE  |PARTITIONED|
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/parserts/queries_sqlpp/ANYInFieldAccessor.sqlpp b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/parserts/queries_sqlpp/ANYInFieldAccessor.sqlpp
index bca9e57..ceddca3 100644
--- a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/parserts/queries_sqlpp/ANYInFieldAccessor.sqlpp
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/parserts/queries_sqlpp/ANYInFieldAccessor.sqlpp
@@ -20,5 +20,5 @@
 select element {'name':user.name,'movie':mv.movie}
 from  User as user,
       Movie as mv
-where some i in user.interests satisfies (i.movie = mv.movie[?])
+where some i in user.interests satisfies (i.movie = mv.movie[0])
 ;
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/parserts/results_parser_sqlpp/ANYInFieldAccessor.ast b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/parserts/results_parser_sqlpp/ANYInFieldAccessor.ast
index 42e81f9..3e3575d 100644
--- a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/parserts/results_parser_sqlpp/ANYInFieldAccessor.ast
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/parserts/results_parser_sqlpp/ANYInFieldAccessor.ast
@@ -50,7 +50,7 @@
             Variable [ Name=$mv ]
             Field=movie
           ]
-          Index: ANY
+          Index:           LiteralExpr [LONG] [0]
         ]
       ]
     ]
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/queries_sqlpp/custord/customer_q_06/customer_q_06.3.query.sqlpp b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/queries_sqlpp/custord/customer_q_06/customer_q_06.3.query.sqlpp
index d5afe16..0be9caa 100644
--- a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/queries_sqlpp/custord/customer_q_06/customer_q_06.3.query.sqlpp
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/queries_sqlpp/custord/customer_q_06/customer_q_06.3.query.sqlpp
@@ -24,5 +24,5 @@
 from  Customers as c
 with  rec as c.lastorder,
       m as [c.cid,rec.oid],
-      n as [m[?],m[1],m[4]]
+      n as [m[0],m[1],m[4]]
 ;
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/queries_sqlpp/custord/customer_q_07/customer_q_07.3.query.sqlpp b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/queries_sqlpp/custord/customer_q_07/customer_q_07.3.query.sqlpp
index 3344c77..71a0714 100644
--- a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/queries_sqlpp/custord/customer_q_07/customer_q_07.3.query.sqlpp
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/queries_sqlpp/custord/customer_q_07/customer_q_07.3.query.sqlpp
@@ -24,5 +24,5 @@
 from  Customers as c
 with  rec as c.lastorder,
       m as [c.cid,rec.oid],
-      n as {{m[?],m[1],m[4]}}
+      n as {{m[0],m[1],m[4]}}
 ;
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/queries_sqlpp/custord/join_q_03/join_q_03.3.query.sqlpp b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/queries_sqlpp/custord/join_q_03/join_q_03.3.query.sqlpp
index 7b34440..fac0fa5 100644
--- a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/queries_sqlpp/custord/join_q_03/join_q_03.3.query.sqlpp
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/queries_sqlpp/custord/join_q_03/join_q_03.3.query.sqlpp
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@
 use test;
 
 
-select element {'cust_name':c.name,'order_total':o.total,'orderedlist':ol,'unorderedlist':ul,'ol_item1':ol[0],'ol_item2':ol[1],'ol_item5':ol[4],'ul_item1':ul[?]}
+select element {'cust_name':c.name,'order_total':o.total,'orderedlist':ol,'unorderedlist':ul,'ol_item1':ol[0],'ol_item2':ol[1],'ol_item5':ol[4],'ul_item1':ul[0]}
 from  Customers as c,
       Orders as o
 with  rec as c.lastorder,
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/queries_sqlpp/custord/order_q_05/order_q_05.3.query.sqlpp b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/queries_sqlpp/custord/order_q_05/order_q_05.3.query.sqlpp
index 7271316..83a01cb 100644
--- a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/queries_sqlpp/custord/order_q_05/order_q_05.3.query.sqlpp
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/queries_sqlpp/custord/order_q_05/order_q_05.3.query.sqlpp
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@
 use test;
 
 
-select element {'orderid':o.oid,'ordertot':o.total,'emptyorderedlist':c1,'emptyunorderedlist':c2,'olist_item1':c1[0],'olist_item5':c1[4],'ulist_item1':c2[?]}
+select element {'orderid':o.oid,'ordertot':o.total,'emptyorderedlist':c1,'emptyunorderedlist':c2,'olist_item1':c1[0],'olist_item5':c1[4],'ulist_item1':c2[0]}
 from  Orders as o
 with  c1 as [],
       c2 as {{}}
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/queries_sqlpp/custord/order_q_06/order_q_06.3.query.sqlpp b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/queries_sqlpp/custord/order_q_06/order_q_06.3.query.sqlpp
index a8859c5..cc8bc88 100644
--- a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/queries_sqlpp/custord/order_q_06/order_q_06.3.query.sqlpp
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/queries_sqlpp/custord/order_q_06/order_q_06.3.query.sqlpp
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@
 use test;
 
 
-select element {'item1':c3[?]}
+select element {'item1':c3[0]}
 from  Orders as o
 with  c3 as {{o.heList,o.openlist}}
 ;
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/queries_sqlpp/employee/q_02/q_02.3.query.sqlpp b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/queries_sqlpp/employee/q_02/q_02.3.query.sqlpp
index 7c8f2ea..ea7e438 100644
--- a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/queries_sqlpp/employee/q_02/q_02.3.query.sqlpp
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/queries_sqlpp/employee/q_02/q_02.3.query.sqlpp
@@ -22,5 +22,5 @@
 
 select element m
 from  Emp as e
-with  m as [{'EmpName':e.name,'parent_interest_1':e.interests[?],'child1Name':e.children[?],'child2Name':e.children[1]}]
+with  m as [{'EmpName':e.name,'parent_interest_1':e.interests[0],'child1Name':e.children[0],'child2Name':e.children[1]}]
 ;
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/queries_sqlpp/list/any-collection-member_01/any-collection-member_01.3.query.sqlpp b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/queries_sqlpp/list/any-collection-member_01/any-collection-member_01.3.query.sqlpp
index 208a440..ebccaf3 100644
--- a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/queries_sqlpp/list/any-collection-member_01/any-collection-member_01.3.query.sqlpp
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/queries_sqlpp/list/any-collection-member_01/any-collection-member_01.3.query.sqlpp
@@ -20,4 +20,4 @@
 use test;
 
 
-{{1,1,1}}[?];
+{{1,1,1}}[0];
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/queries_sqlpp/statement-params/mixed_01/mixed_01.1.query.sqlpp b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/queries_sqlpp/statement-params/mixed_01/mixed_01.1.query.sqlpp
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1763959
--- /dev/null
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/queries_sqlpp/statement-params/mixed_01/mixed_01.1.query.sqlpp
@@ -0,0 +1,35 @@
+/*
+ * Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one
+ * or more contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file
+ * distributed with this work for additional information
+ * regarding copyright ownership.  The ASF licenses this file
+ * to you under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the
+ * "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance
+ * with the License.  You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *   http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing,
+ * software distributed under the License is distributed on an
+ * "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY
+ * KIND, either express or implied.  See the License for the
+ * specific language governing permissions and limitations
+ * under the License.
+ */
+
+/*
+ * Description  : Test named and positional statement parameters with json encoded request
+ * Expected Res : Success
+ * Date         : Jun 2018
+ */
+
+// requesttype=application/json
+
+// param args:json=[2.5, " world"]
+// param $p_int:json=2
+// param $p_str:json="hello"
+
+{
+  "t1": $p_int + ? + $1,
+  "t2": $p_str || ? || $2
+}
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/queries_sqlpp/statement-params/mixed_01/mixed_01.2.query.sqlpp b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/queries_sqlpp/statement-params/mixed_01/mixed_01.2.query.sqlpp
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c01c253
--- /dev/null
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/queries_sqlpp/statement-params/mixed_01/mixed_01.2.query.sqlpp
@@ -0,0 +1,33 @@
+/*
+ * Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one
+ * or more contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file
+ * distributed with this work for additional information
+ * regarding copyright ownership.  The ASF licenses this file
+ * to you under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the
+ * "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance
+ * with the License.  You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *   http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing,
+ * software distributed under the License is distributed on an
+ * "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY
+ * KIND, either express or implied.  See the License for the
+ * specific language governing permissions and limitations
+ * under the License.
+ */
+
+/*
+ * Description  : Test named and positional statement parameters with url encoded request
+ * Expected Res : Success
+ * Date         : Jun 2018
+ */
+
+// requesttype=application/x-www-form-urlencoded
+
+// param args:json=[" b", " c"]
+// param $p_str:json="a"
+
+{
+  "t1": $p_str || ? || $1 || ? || $2
+}
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/queries_sqlpp/statement-params/named_01/named_01.1.query.sqlpp b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/queries_sqlpp/statement-params/named_01/named_01.1.query.sqlpp
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..68d6aad
--- /dev/null
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/queries_sqlpp/statement-params/named_01/named_01.1.query.sqlpp
@@ -0,0 +1,61 @@
+/*
+ * Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one
+ * or more contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file
+ * distributed with this work for additional information
+ * regarding copyright ownership.  The ASF licenses this file
+ * to you under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the
+ * "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance
+ * with the License.  You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *   http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing,
+ * software distributed under the License is distributed on an
+ * "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY
+ * KIND, either express or implied.  See the License for the
+ * specific language governing permissions and limitations
+ * under the License.
+ */
+
+/*
+ * Description  : Test named statement parameters with json encoded request
+ * Expected Res : Success
+ * Date         : Jun 2018
+ */
+
+// requesttype=application/json
+
+// param $p_null:json=null
+// param $p_bool:json=true
+// param $p_int:json=42
+// param $p_dec:json=42.5
+// param $p_dbl:json=42.5e2
+// param $p_str:json="hello"
+// param $p_arr:json=["99",100,{"a":null},null,true]
+// param $p_obj:json={"a":[1,2,3]}
+
+{
+  "t1": {
+    "p_null": $p_null,
+    "p_bool": $p_bool,
+    "p_int": $p_int,
+    "p_dec": $p_dec,
+    "p_dbl": $p_dbl,
+    "p_str": $p_str,
+    "p_arr": $p_arr,
+    "p_obj": $p_obj
+  },
+
+  "t2": {
+    "p_null_type": $p_null is null,
+    "p_bool_type": is_boolean($p_bool),
+    "p_int_type": is_number($p_int),
+    "p_dec_type": is_number($p_dec),
+    "p_dbl_type": is_number($p_dbl),
+    "p_str_type": is_string($p_str),
+    "p_arr_type": is_array($p_arr),
+    "p_obj_type": is_object($p_obj)
+  },
+
+  "t3": [ $p_null, $p_bool, $p_int, $p_dec, $p_dbl, $p_str, $p_arr, $p_obj ]
+}
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/queries_sqlpp/statement-params/named_01/named_01.2.query.sqlpp b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/queries_sqlpp/statement-params/named_01/named_01.2.query.sqlpp
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6ecefd1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/queries_sqlpp/statement-params/named_01/named_01.2.query.sqlpp
@@ -0,0 +1,61 @@
+/*
+ * Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one
+ * or more contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file
+ * distributed with this work for additional information
+ * regarding copyright ownership.  The ASF licenses this file
+ * to you under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the
+ * "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance
+ * with the License.  You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *   http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing,
+ * software distributed under the License is distributed on an
+ * "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY
+ * KIND, either express or implied.  See the License for the
+ * specific language governing permissions and limitations
+ * under the License.
+ */
+
+/*
+ * Description  : Test named statement parameters with url encoded request.
+ * Expected Res : Success
+ * Date         : Jun 2018
+ */
+
+// requesttype=application/x-www-form-urlencoded
+
+// param $p_null:json=null
+// param $p_bool:json=true
+// param $p_int:json=42
+// param $p_dec:json=42.5
+// param $p_dbl:json=42.5e2
+// param $p_str:json="hello"
+// param $p_arr:json=["99",100,{"a":null},null,true]
+// param $p_obj:json={"a":[1,2,3]}
+
+{
+  "t1": {
+    "p_null": $p_null,
+    "p_bool": $p_bool,
+    "p_int": $p_int,
+    "p_dec": $p_dec,
+    "p_dbl": $p_dbl,
+    "p_str": $p_str,
+    "p_arr": $p_arr,
+    "p_obj": $p_obj
+  },
+
+  "t2": {
+    "p_null_type": is_string($p_null),
+    "p_bool_type": is_string($p_bool),
+    "p_int_type": is_string($p_int),
+    "p_dec_type": is_string($p_dec),
+    "p_dbl_type": is_string($p_dbl),
+    "p_str_type": is_string($p_str),
+    "p_arr_type": is_string($p_arr),
+    "p_obj_type": is_string($p_obj)
+  },
+
+  "t3": [ $p_null, $p_bool, $p_int, $p_dec, $p_dbl, $p_str, $p_arr, $p_obj ]
+}
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/queries_sqlpp/statement-params/named_02/named_02.1.query.sqlpp b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/queries_sqlpp/statement-params/named_02/named_02.1.query.sqlpp
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f2ec9e0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/queries_sqlpp/statement-params/named_02/named_02.1.query.sqlpp
@@ -0,0 +1,30 @@
+/*
+ * Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one
+ * or more contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file
+ * distributed with this work for additional information
+ * regarding copyright ownership.  The ASF licenses this file
+ * to you under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the
+ * "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance
+ * with the License.  You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *   http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing,
+ * software distributed under the License is distributed on an
+ * "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY
+ * KIND, either express or implied.  See the License for the
+ * specific language governing permissions and limitations
+ * under the License.
+ */
+
+/*
+ * Description  : Test named statement parameters with json encoded request
+ * Expected Res : Failure (no value for a named parameter)
+ * Date         : Jun 2018
+ */
+
+// requesttype=application/json
+
+// param $p1:json="hello"
+
+$p1 || $p2
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/queries_sqlpp/statement-params/named_03/named_03.1.query.sqlpp b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/queries_sqlpp/statement-params/named_03/named_03.1.query.sqlpp
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..522b776
--- /dev/null
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/queries_sqlpp/statement-params/named_03/named_03.1.query.sqlpp
@@ -0,0 +1,31 @@
+/*
+ * Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one
+ * or more contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file
+ * distributed with this work for additional information
+ * regarding copyright ownership.  The ASF licenses this file
+ * to you under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the
+ * "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance
+ * with the License.  You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *   http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing,
+ * software distributed under the License is distributed on an
+ * "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY
+ * KIND, either express or implied.  See the License for the
+ * specific language governing permissions and limitations
+ * under the License.
+ */
+
+/*
+ * Description  : Test autogenerated column aliases named statement parameters
+ * Expected Res : Success
+ * Date         : Jun 2018
+ */
+
+// requesttype=application/json
+
+// param $p_int:json=42
+// param $p_str:json="hello"
+
+select $p_int, $p_str
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/queries_sqlpp/statement-params/positional_01/positional_01.1.query.sqlpp b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/queries_sqlpp/statement-params/positional_01/positional_01.1.query.sqlpp
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ef71010
--- /dev/null
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/queries_sqlpp/statement-params/positional_01/positional_01.1.query.sqlpp
@@ -0,0 +1,54 @@
+/*
+ * Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one
+ * or more contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file
+ * distributed with this work for additional information
+ * regarding copyright ownership.  The ASF licenses this file
+ * to you under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the
+ * "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance
+ * with the License.  You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *   http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing,
+ * software distributed under the License is distributed on an
+ * "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY
+ * KIND, either express or implied.  See the License for the
+ * specific language governing permissions and limitations
+ * under the License.
+ */
+
+/*
+ * Description  : Test positional ($) statement parameters with json encoded request
+ * Expected Res : Success
+ * Date         : Jun 2018
+ */
+
+// requesttype=application/json
+
+// param args:json=[null, true, 42, 42.5, 42.5e2, "hello", ["99",100,{"a":null},null,true], {"a":[1,2,3]}]
+
+{
+  "t1": {
+    "p_null": $1,
+    "p_bool": $2,
+    "p_int": $3,
+    "p_dec": $4,
+    "p_dbl": $5,
+    "p_str": $6,
+    "p_arr": $7,
+    "p_obj": $8
+  },
+
+  "t2": {
+    "p_null_type": $1 is null,
+    "p_bool_type": is_boolean($2),
+    "p_int_type": is_number($3),
+    "p_dec_type": is_number($4),
+    "p_dbl_type": is_number($5),
+    "p_str_type": is_string($6),
+    "p_arr_type": is_array($7),
+    "p_obj_type": is_object($8)
+  },
+
+  "t3": [ $1, $2, $3, $4, $5, $6, $7, $8 ]
+}
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/queries_sqlpp/statement-params/positional_01/positional_01.2.query.sqlpp b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/queries_sqlpp/statement-params/positional_01/positional_01.2.query.sqlpp
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a31a646
--- /dev/null
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/queries_sqlpp/statement-params/positional_01/positional_01.2.query.sqlpp
@@ -0,0 +1,54 @@
+/*
+ * Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one
+ * or more contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file
+ * distributed with this work for additional information
+ * regarding copyright ownership.  The ASF licenses this file
+ * to you under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the
+ * "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance
+ * with the License.  You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *   http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing,
+ * software distributed under the License is distributed on an
+ * "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY
+ * KIND, either express or implied.  See the License for the
+ * specific language governing permissions and limitations
+ * under the License.
+ */
+
+/*
+ * Description  : Test positional ($) statement parameters with url encoded request
+ * Expected Res : Success
+ * Date         : Jun 2018
+ */
+
+// requesttype=application/x-www-form-urlencoded
+
+// param args:json=[null, true, 42, 42.5, 42.5e2, "hello", ["99",100,{"a":null},null,true], {"a":[1,2,3]}]
+
+{
+  "t1": {
+    "p_null": $1,
+    "p_bool": $2,
+    "p_int": $3,
+    "p_dec": $4,
+    "p_dbl": $5,
+    "p_str": $6,
+    "p_arr": $7,
+    "p_obj": $8
+  },
+
+  "t2": {
+    "p_null_type": $1 is null,
+    "p_bool_type": is_boolean($2),
+    "p_int_type": is_number($3),
+    "p_dec_type": is_number($4),
+    "p_dbl_type": is_number($5),
+    "p_str_type": is_string($6),
+    "p_arr_type": is_array($7),
+    "p_obj_type": is_object($8)
+  },
+
+  "t3": [ $1, $2, $3, $4, $5, $6, $7, $8 ]
+}
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/queries_sqlpp/statement-params/positional_02/positional_02.1.query.sqlpp b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/queries_sqlpp/statement-params/positional_02/positional_02.1.query.sqlpp
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2fa7cde
--- /dev/null
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/queries_sqlpp/statement-params/positional_02/positional_02.1.query.sqlpp
@@ -0,0 +1,41 @@
+/*
+ * Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one
+ * or more contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file
+ * distributed with this work for additional information
+ * regarding copyright ownership.  The ASF licenses this file
+ * to you under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the
+ * "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance
+ * with the License.  You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *   http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing,
+ * software distributed under the License is distributed on an
+ * "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY
+ * KIND, either express or implied.  See the License for the
+ * specific language governing permissions and limitations
+ * under the License.
+ */
+
+/*
+ * Description  : Test positional (?) statement parameters with json encoded request
+ * Expected Res : Success
+ * Date         : Jun 2018
+ */
+
+// requesttype=application/json
+
+// param args:json=[null, true, 42, 42.5, 42.5e2, "hello", ["99",100,{"a":null},null,true], {"a":[1,2,3]}]
+
+{
+  "t1": {
+    "p_null": ?,
+    "p_bool": ?,
+    "p_int": ?,
+    "p_dec": ?,
+    "p_dbl": ?,
+    "p_str": ?,
+    "p_arr": ?,
+    "p_obj": ?
+  }
+}
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/queries_sqlpp/statement-params/positional_02/positional_02.2.query.sqlpp b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/queries_sqlpp/statement-params/positional_02/positional_02.2.query.sqlpp
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1d952d3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/queries_sqlpp/statement-params/positional_02/positional_02.2.query.sqlpp
@@ -0,0 +1,41 @@
+/*
+ * Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one
+ * or more contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file
+ * distributed with this work for additional information
+ * regarding copyright ownership.  The ASF licenses this file
+ * to you under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the
+ * "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance
+ * with the License.  You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *   http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing,
+ * software distributed under the License is distributed on an
+ * "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY
+ * KIND, either express or implied.  See the License for the
+ * specific language governing permissions and limitations
+ * under the License.
+ */
+
+/*
+ * Description  : Test positional (?) statement parameters with json encoded request
+ * Expected Res : Success
+ * Date         : Jun 2018
+ */
+
+// requesttype=application/json
+
+// param args:json=[null, true, 42, 42.5, 42.5e2, "hello", ["99",100,{"a":null},null,true], {"a":[1,2,3]}]
+
+{
+  "t2": {
+    "p_null_type": ? is null,
+    "p_bool_type": is_boolean(?),
+    "p_int_type": is_number(?),
+    "p_dec_type": is_number(?),
+    "p_dbl_type": is_number(?),
+    "p_str_type": is_string(?),
+    "p_arr_type": is_array(?),
+    "p_obj_type": is_object(?)
+  }
+}
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/queries_sqlpp/statement-params/positional_02/positional_02.3.query.sqlpp b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/queries_sqlpp/statement-params/positional_02/positional_02.3.query.sqlpp
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..13c077b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/queries_sqlpp/statement-params/positional_02/positional_02.3.query.sqlpp
@@ -0,0 +1,32 @@
+/*
+ * Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one
+ * or more contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file
+ * distributed with this work for additional information
+ * regarding copyright ownership.  The ASF licenses this file
+ * to you under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the
+ * "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance
+ * with the License.  You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *   http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing,
+ * software distributed under the License is distributed on an
+ * "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY
+ * KIND, either express or implied.  See the License for the
+ * specific language governing permissions and limitations
+ * under the License.
+ */
+
+/*
+ * Description  : Test positional (?) statement parameters with json encoded request
+ * Expected Res : Success
+ * Date         : Jun 2018
+ */
+
+// requesttype=application/json
+
+// param args:json=[null, true, 42, 42.5, 42.5e2, "hello", ["99",100,{"a":null},null,true], {"a":[1,2,3]}]
+
+{
+  "t3": [ ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ? ]
+}
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/queries_sqlpp/statement-params/positional_03/positional_02.1.query.sqlpp b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/queries_sqlpp/statement-params/positional_03/positional_02.1.query.sqlpp
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1eb6e0f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/queries_sqlpp/statement-params/positional_03/positional_02.1.query.sqlpp
@@ -0,0 +1,41 @@
+/*
+ * Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one
+ * or more contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file
+ * distributed with this work for additional information
+ * regarding copyright ownership.  The ASF licenses this file
+ * to you under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the
+ * "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance
+ * with the License.  You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *   http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing,
+ * software distributed under the License is distributed on an
+ * "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY
+ * KIND, either express or implied.  See the License for the
+ * specific language governing permissions and limitations
+ * under the License.
+ */
+
+/*
+ * Description  : Test positional (?) statement parameters with url encoded request
+ * Expected Res : Success
+ * Date         : Jun 2018
+ */
+
+// requesttype=application/x-www-form-urlencoded
+
+// param args:json=[null, true, 42, 42.5, 42.5e2, "hello", ["99",100,{"a":null},null,true], {"a":[1,2,3]}]
+
+{
+  "t1": {
+    "p_null": ?,
+    "p_bool": ?,
+    "p_int": ?,
+    "p_dec": ?,
+    "p_dbl": ?,
+    "p_str": ?,
+    "p_arr": ?,
+    "p_obj": ?
+  }
+}
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/queries_sqlpp/statement-params/positional_03/positional_02.2.query.sqlpp b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/queries_sqlpp/statement-params/positional_03/positional_02.2.query.sqlpp
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..bbacada
--- /dev/null
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/queries_sqlpp/statement-params/positional_03/positional_02.2.query.sqlpp
@@ -0,0 +1,41 @@
+/*
+ * Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one
+ * or more contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file
+ * distributed with this work for additional information
+ * regarding copyright ownership.  The ASF licenses this file
+ * to you under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the
+ * "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance
+ * with the License.  You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *   http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing,
+ * software distributed under the License is distributed on an
+ * "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY
+ * KIND, either express or implied.  See the License for the
+ * specific language governing permissions and limitations
+ * under the License.
+ */
+
+/*
+ * Description  : Test positional (?) statement parameters with url encoded request
+ * Expected Res : Success
+ * Date         : Jun 2018
+ */
+
+// requesttype=application/x-www-form-urlencoded
+
+// param args:json=[null, true, 42, 42.5, 42.5e2, "hello", ["99",100,{"a":null},null,true], {"a":[1,2,3]}]
+
+{
+  "t2": {
+    "p_null_type": ? is null,
+    "p_bool_type": is_boolean(?),
+    "p_int_type": is_number(?),
+    "p_dec_type": is_number(?),
+    "p_dbl_type": is_number(?),
+    "p_str_type": is_string(?),
+    "p_arr_type": is_array(?),
+    "p_obj_type": is_object(?)
+  }
+}
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/queries_sqlpp/statement-params/positional_03/positional_02.3.query.sqlpp b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/queries_sqlpp/statement-params/positional_03/positional_02.3.query.sqlpp
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..312278f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/queries_sqlpp/statement-params/positional_03/positional_02.3.query.sqlpp
@@ -0,0 +1,32 @@
+/*
+ * Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one
+ * or more contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file
+ * distributed with this work for additional information
+ * regarding copyright ownership.  The ASF licenses this file
+ * to you under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the
+ * "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance
+ * with the License.  You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *   http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing,
+ * software distributed under the License is distributed on an
+ * "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY
+ * KIND, either express or implied.  See the License for the
+ * specific language governing permissions and limitations
+ * under the License.
+ */
+
+/*
+ * Description  : Test positional (?) statement parameters with url encoded request
+ * Expected Res : Success
+ * Date         : Jun 2018
+ */
+
+// requesttype=application/x-www-form-urlencoded
+
+// param args:json=[null, true, 42, 42.5, 42.5e2, "hello", ["99",100,{"a":null},null,true], {"a":[1,2,3]}]
+
+{
+  "t3": [ ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ? ]
+}
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/queries_sqlpp/statement-params/positional_04/positional_04.1.query.sqlpp b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/queries_sqlpp/statement-params/positional_04/positional_04.1.query.sqlpp
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..279f336
--- /dev/null
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/queries_sqlpp/statement-params/positional_04/positional_04.1.query.sqlpp
@@ -0,0 +1,30 @@
+/*
+ * Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one
+ * or more contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file
+ * distributed with this work for additional information
+ * regarding copyright ownership.  The ASF licenses this file
+ * to you under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the
+ * "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance
+ * with the License.  You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *   http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing,
+ * software distributed under the License is distributed on an
+ * "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY
+ * KIND, either express or implied.  See the License for the
+ * specific language governing permissions and limitations
+ * under the License.
+ */
+
+/*
+ * Description  : Test named statement parameters with json encoded request
+ * Expected Res : Failure (no value for a positional parameter)
+ * Date         : Jun 2018
+ */
+
+// requesttype=application/json
+
+// param args:json=["hello"]
+
+$1 || $2
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/queries_sqlpp/statement-params/positional_04/positional_04.2.query.sqlpp b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/queries_sqlpp/statement-params/positional_04/positional_04.2.query.sqlpp
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5f7dedc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/queries_sqlpp/statement-params/positional_04/positional_04.2.query.sqlpp
@@ -0,0 +1,30 @@
+/*
+ * Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one
+ * or more contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file
+ * distributed with this work for additional information
+ * regarding copyright ownership.  The ASF licenses this file
+ * to you under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the
+ * "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance
+ * with the License.  You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *   http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing,
+ * software distributed under the License is distributed on an
+ * "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY
+ * KIND, either express or implied.  See the License for the
+ * specific language governing permissions and limitations
+ * under the License.
+ */
+
+/*
+ * Description  : Test named statement parameters with json encoded request
+ * Expected Res : Failure (no value for a positional parameter)
+ * Date         : Jun 2018
+ */
+
+// requesttype=application/json
+
+// param args:json=["a", "b"]
+
+? || ? || ?
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/queries_sqlpp/statement-params/positional_05/positional_05.1.query.sqlpp b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/queries_sqlpp/statement-params/positional_05/positional_05.1.query.sqlpp
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..89901e7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/queries_sqlpp/statement-params/positional_05/positional_05.1.query.sqlpp
@@ -0,0 +1,30 @@
+/*
+ * Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one
+ * or more contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file
+ * distributed with this work for additional information
+ * regarding copyright ownership.  The ASF licenses this file
+ * to you under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the
+ * "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance
+ * with the License.  You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *   http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing,
+ * software distributed under the License is distributed on an
+ * "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY
+ * KIND, either express or implied.  See the License for the
+ * specific language governing permissions and limitations
+ * under the License.
+ */
+
+/*
+ * Description  : Test autogenerated column aliases positional statement parameters
+ * Expected Res : Success
+ * Date         : Jun 2018
+ */
+
+// requesttype=application/json
+
+// param args:json=[3,4]
+
+select $2, $1
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/results/statement-params/mixed_01/mixed_01.1.adm b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/results/statement-params/mixed_01/mixed_01.1.adm
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7190640
--- /dev/null
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/results/statement-params/mixed_01/mixed_01.1.adm
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+{ "t1": 7.0, "t2": "hello world world" }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/results/statement-params/mixed_01/mixed_01.2.adm b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/results/statement-params/mixed_01/mixed_01.2.adm
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3ed423f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/results/statement-params/mixed_01/mixed_01.2.adm
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+{ "t1": "a b b c c" }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/results/statement-params/named_01/named_01.1.adm b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/results/statement-params/named_01/named_01.1.adm
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2d95320
--- /dev/null
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/results/statement-params/named_01/named_01.1.adm
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+{ "t1": { "p_null": null, "p_bool": true, "p_int": 42, "p_dec": 42.5, "p_dbl": 4250.0, "p_str": "hello", "p_arr": [ "99", 100, { "a": null }, null, true ], "p_obj": { "a": [ 1, 2, 3 ] } }, "t2": { "p_null_type": true, "p_bool_type": true, "p_int_type": true, "p_dec_type": true, "p_dbl_type": true, "p_str_type": true, "p_arr_type": true, "p_obj_type": true }, "t3": [ null, true, 42, 42.5, 4250.0, "hello", [ "99", 100, { "a": null }, null, true ], { "a": [ 1, 2, 3 ] } ] }
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/results/statement-params/named_01/named_01.2.adm b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/results/statement-params/named_01/named_01.2.adm
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e16cae9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/results/statement-params/named_01/named_01.2.adm
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+{ "t1": { "p_null": null, "p_bool": true, "p_int": 42, "p_dec": 42.5, "p_dbl": 4250.0, "p_str": "hello", "p_arr": [ "99", 100, { "a": null }, null, true ], "p_obj": { "a": [ 1, 2, 3 ] } }, "t2": { "p_null_type": null, "p_bool_type": false, "p_int_type": false, "p_dec_type": false, "p_dbl_type": false, "p_str_type": true, "p_arr_type": false, "p_obj_type": false }, "t3": [ null, true, 42, 42.5, 4250.0, "hello", [ "99", 100, { "a": null }, null, true ], { "a": [ 1, 2, 3 ] } ] }
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/results/statement-params/named_03/named_03.1.adm b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/results/statement-params/named_03/named_03.1.adm
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e7eb119
--- /dev/null
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/results/statement-params/named_03/named_03.1.adm
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+{ "$1": 42, "$2": "hello" }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/results/statement-params/positional_01/positional_01.1.adm b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/results/statement-params/positional_01/positional_01.1.adm
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..aab6f21
--- /dev/null
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/results/statement-params/positional_01/positional_01.1.adm
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+{ "t1": { "p_null": null, "p_bool": true, "p_int": 42, "p_dec": 42.5, "p_dbl": 4250.0, "p_str": "hello", "p_arr": [ "99", 100, { "a": null }, null, true ], "p_obj": { "a": [ 1, 2, 3 ] } }, "t2": { "p_null_type": true, "p_bool_type": true, "p_int_type": true, "p_dec_type": true, "p_dbl_type": true, "p_str_type": true, "p_arr_type": true, "p_obj_type": true }, "t3": [ null, true, 42, 42.5, 4250.0, "hello", [ "99", 100, { "a": null }, null, true ], { "a": [ 1, 2, 3 ] } ] }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/results/statement-params/positional_01/positional_01.2.adm b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/results/statement-params/positional_01/positional_01.2.adm
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2d95320
--- /dev/null
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/results/statement-params/positional_01/positional_01.2.adm
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+{ "t1": { "p_null": null, "p_bool": true, "p_int": 42, "p_dec": 42.5, "p_dbl": 4250.0, "p_str": "hello", "p_arr": [ "99", 100, { "a": null }, null, true ], "p_obj": { "a": [ 1, 2, 3 ] } }, "t2": { "p_null_type": true, "p_bool_type": true, "p_int_type": true, "p_dec_type": true, "p_dbl_type": true, "p_str_type": true, "p_arr_type": true, "p_obj_type": true }, "t3": [ null, true, 42, 42.5, 4250.0, "hello", [ "99", 100, { "a": null }, null, true ], { "a": [ 1, 2, 3 ] } ] }
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/results/statement-params/positional_02/positional_02.1.adm b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/results/statement-params/positional_02/positional_02.1.adm
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f8c0d3e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/results/statement-params/positional_02/positional_02.1.adm
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+{ "t1": { "p_null": null, "p_bool": true, "p_int": 42, "p_dec": 42.5, "p_dbl": 4250.0, "p_str": "hello", "p_arr": [ "99", 100, { "a": null }, null, true ], "p_obj": { "a": [ 1, 2, 3 ] } } }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/results/statement-params/positional_02/positional_02.2.adm b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/results/statement-params/positional_02/positional_02.2.adm
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5a2e691
--- /dev/null
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/results/statement-params/positional_02/positional_02.2.adm
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+{ "t2": { "p_null_type": true, "p_bool_type": true, "p_int_type": true, "p_dec_type": true, "p_dbl_type": true, "p_str_type": true, "p_arr_type": true, "p_obj_type": true } }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/results/statement-params/positional_02/positional_02.3.adm b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/results/statement-params/positional_02/positional_02.3.adm
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..84e880e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/results/statement-params/positional_02/positional_02.3.adm
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+{ "t3": [ null, true, 42, 42.5, 4250.0, "hello", [ "99", 100, { "a": null }, null, true ], { "a": [ 1, 2, 3 ] } ] }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/results/statement-params/positional_05/postitional_05.1.adm b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/results/statement-params/positional_05/postitional_05.1.adm
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5494401
--- /dev/null
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/results/statement-params/positional_05/postitional_05.1.adm
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+{ "$1": 4, "$2": 3 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/results_parser_sqlpp/custord/customer_q_06/customer_q_06.3.ast b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/results_parser_sqlpp/custord/customer_q_06/customer_q_06.3.ast
index 0ebf373..b9e2111 100644
--- a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/results_parser_sqlpp/custord/customer_q_06/customer_q_06.3.ast
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/results_parser_sqlpp/custord/customer_q_06/customer_q_06.3.ast
@@ -45,7 +45,7 @@
   OrderedListConstructor [
     IndexAccessor [
       Variable [ Name=$m ]
-      Index: ANY
+      Index:       LiteralExpr [LONG] [0]
     ]
     IndexAccessor [
       Variable [ Name=$m ]
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/results_parser_sqlpp/custord/customer_q_07/customer_q_07.3.ast b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/results_parser_sqlpp/custord/customer_q_07/customer_q_07.3.ast
index 3c8d114..12e09be 100644
--- a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/results_parser_sqlpp/custord/customer_q_07/customer_q_07.3.ast
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/results_parser_sqlpp/custord/customer_q_07/customer_q_07.3.ast
@@ -45,7 +45,7 @@
   UnorderedListConstructor [
     IndexAccessor [
       Variable [ Name=$m ]
-      Index: ANY
+      Index:       LiteralExpr [LONG] [0]
     ]
     IndexAccessor [
       Variable [ Name=$m ]
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/results_parser_sqlpp/custord/join_q_03/join_q_03.3.ast b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/results_parser_sqlpp/custord/join_q_03/join_q_03.3.ast
index 6653361..a1dace8 100644
--- a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/results_parser_sqlpp/custord/join_q_03/join_q_03.3.ast
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/results_parser_sqlpp/custord/join_q_03/join_q_03.3.ast
@@ -57,7 +57,7 @@
     :
     IndexAccessor [
       Variable [ Name=$ul ]
-      Index: ANY
+      Index:       LiteralExpr [LONG] [0]
     ]
   )
 ]
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/results_parser_sqlpp/custord/order_q_05/order_q_05.3.ast b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/results_parser_sqlpp/custord/order_q_05/order_q_05.3.ast
index 2682444..4ee2bc8 100644
--- a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/results_parser_sqlpp/custord/order_q_05/order_q_05.3.ast
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/results_parser_sqlpp/custord/order_q_05/order_q_05.3.ast
@@ -49,7 +49,7 @@
     :
     IndexAccessor [
       Variable [ Name=$c2 ]
-      Index: ANY
+      Index:       LiteralExpr [LONG] [0]
     ]
   )
 ]
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/results_parser_sqlpp/custord/order_q_06/order_q_06.3.ast b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/results_parser_sqlpp/custord/order_q_06/order_q_06.3.ast
index 3aae7c8..c0ec9bf 100644
--- a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/results_parser_sqlpp/custord/order_q_06/order_q_06.3.ast
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/results_parser_sqlpp/custord/order_q_06/order_q_06.3.ast
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@
     :
     IndexAccessor [
       Variable [ Name=$c3 ]
-      Index: ANY
+      Index:       LiteralExpr [LONG] [0]
     ]
   )
 ]
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/results_parser_sqlpp/employee/q_02/q_02.3.ast b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/results_parser_sqlpp/employee/q_02/q_02.3.ast
index 43344eb..7eb3a51 100644
--- a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/results_parser_sqlpp/employee/q_02/q_02.3.ast
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/results_parser_sqlpp/employee/q_02/q_02.3.ast
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@
             Variable [ Name=$e ]
             Field=interests
           ]
-          Index: ANY
+          Index:           LiteralExpr [LONG] [0]
         ]
       )
       (
@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@
             Variable [ Name=$e ]
             Field=children
           ]
-          Index: ANY
+          Index:           LiteralExpr [LONG] [0]
         ]
       )
       (
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/results_parser_sqlpp/list/any-collection-member_01/any-collection-member_01.3.ast b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/results_parser_sqlpp/list/any-collection-member_01/any-collection-member_01.3.ast
index b96b43b..fa9bf57 100644
--- a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/results_parser_sqlpp/list/any-collection-member_01/any-collection-member_01.3.ast
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/results_parser_sqlpp/list/any-collection-member_01/any-collection-member_01.3.ast
@@ -6,5 +6,5 @@
     LiteralExpr [LONG] [1]
     LiteralExpr [LONG] [1]
   ]
-  Index: ANY
+  Index:   LiteralExpr [LONG] [0]
 ]
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/testsuite_sqlpp.xml b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/testsuite_sqlpp.xml
index 4376ca6..21c14d1 100644
--- a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/testsuite_sqlpp.xml
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/testsuite_sqlpp.xml
@@ -6050,6 +6050,56 @@
       </compilation-unit>
     </test-case>
   </test-group>
+  <test-group name="statement-params">
+    <test-case FilePath="statement-params">
+      <compilation-unit name="mixed_01">
+        <output-dir compare="Text">mixed_01</output-dir>
+      </compilation-unit>
+    </test-case>
+    <test-case FilePath="statement-params">
+      <compilation-unit name="named_01">
+        <output-dir compare="Text">named_01</output-dir>
+      </compilation-unit>
+    </test-case>
+    <test-case FilePath="statement-params">
+      <compilation-unit name="named_02">
+        <output-dir compare="Text">named_01</output-dir>
+        <expected-error>ASX1086: No value for parameter: $p2</expected-error>
+      </compilation-unit>
+    </test-case>
+    <test-case FilePath="statement-params">
+      <compilation-unit name="named_03">
+        <output-dir compare="Text">named_03</output-dir>
+      </compilation-unit>
+    </test-case>
+    <test-case FilePath="statement-params">
+      <compilation-unit name="positional_01">
+        <output-dir compare="Text">positional_01</output-dir>
+      </compilation-unit>
+    </test-case>
+    <test-case FilePath="statement-params">
+      <compilation-unit name="positional_02">
+        <output-dir compare="Text">positional_02</output-dir>
+      </compilation-unit>
+    </test-case>
+    <test-case FilePath="statement-params">
+      <compilation-unit name="positional_03">
+        <output-dir compare="Text">positional_02</output-dir>
+      </compilation-unit>
+    </test-case>
+    <test-case FilePath="statement-params">
+      <compilation-unit name="positional_04">
+        <output-dir compare="Text">positional_02</output-dir>
+        <expected-error>ASX1086: No value for parameter: $2</expected-error>
+        <expected-error>ASX1086: No value for parameter: $3</expected-error>
+      </compilation-unit>
+    </test-case>
+    <test-case FilePath="statement-params">
+      <compilation-unit name="positional_05">
+        <output-dir compare="Text">positional_05</output-dir>
+      </compilation-unit>
+    </test-case>
+  </test-group>
   <test-group name="string">
     <test-case FilePath="string">
       <compilation-unit name="codepoint-to-string1">
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-common/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/common/exceptions/ErrorCode.java b/asterixdb/asterix-common/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/common/exceptions/ErrorCode.java
index de399eb..ae59ddc 100644
--- a/asterixdb/asterix-common/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/common/exceptions/ErrorCode.java
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-common/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/common/exceptions/ErrorCode.java
@@ -166,6 +166,7 @@
     public static final int UNKNOWN_INDEX = 1083;
     public static final int INDEX_EXISTS = 1084;
     public static final int TYPE_EXISTS = 1085;
+    public static final int PARAMETER_NO_VALUE = 1086;
 
     // Feed errors
     public static final int DATAFLOW_ILLEGAL_STATE = 3001;
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-common/src/main/resources/asx_errormsg/en.properties b/asterixdb/asterix-common/src/main/resources/asx_errormsg/en.properties
index f0a36bf..01e217e 100644
--- a/asterixdb/asterix-common/src/main/resources/asx_errormsg/en.properties
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-common/src/main/resources/asx_errormsg/en.properties
@@ -153,6 +153,7 @@
 1083 = Cannot find index with name %1$s
 1084 = An index with this name %1$s already exists
 1085 = A datatype with this name %1$s already exists
+1086 = No value for parameter: %1$s
 
 # Feed Errors
 3001 = Illegal state.
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-doc/src/main/markdown/sqlpp/2_expr.md b/asterixdb/asterix-doc/src/main/markdown/sqlpp/2_expr.md
index 8fe379d..a1f0420 100644
--- a/asterixdb/asterix-doc/src/main/markdown/sqlpp/2_expr.md
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-doc/src/main/markdown/sqlpp/2_expr.md
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@
 
 SQL++ is a highly composable expression language. Each SQL++ expression returns zero or more data model instances.
 There are three major kinds of expressions in SQL++. At the topmost level, a SQL++ expression can be an
-OperatorExpression (similar to a mathematical expression), or a QuantifiedExpression (which yields a boolean value). 
+OperatorExpression (similar to a mathematical expression), or a QuantifiedExpression (which yields a boolean value).
 Each will be detailed as we explore the full SQL++ grammar.
 
     Expression ::= OperatorExpression | QuantifiedExpression
@@ -201,13 +201,14 @@
 
     PathExpression  ::= PrimaryExpression ( Field | Index )*
     Field           ::= "." Identifier
-    Index           ::= "[" ( Expression | "?" ) "]"
+    Index           ::= "[" Expression "]"
 
 Components of complex types in the data model are accessed via path expressions. Path access can be applied to the result
 of a SQL++ expression that yields an instance of  a complex type, for example, a object or array instance. For objects,
-path access is based on field names. For arrays, path access is based on (zero-based) array-style indexing.
-SQL++ also supports an "I'm feeling lucky" style index accessor, [?], for selecting an arbitrary element from an array.
+path access is based on field names. For arrays path access is based on (zero-based) array-style indexing.
 Attempts to access non-existent fields or out-of-bound array elements produce the special value `MISSING`.
+For multisets path access is also zero-based and returns an arbitrary multiset element if the index
+is within the size of the multiset or `MISSING` otherwise.
 Type errors will be raised for inappropriate use of a path expression, such as applying a field
 accessor to a numeric value.
 
@@ -227,15 +228,16 @@
 
     PrimaryExpr ::= Literal
                   | VariableReference
+                  | ParameterReference
                   | ParenthesizedExpression
                   | FunctionCallExpression
                   | CaseExpression
                   | Constructor
 
 The most basic building block for any SQL++ expression is PrimaryExpression. This can be a simple literal (constant)
-value, a reference to a query variable that is in scope, a parenthesized expression, a function call, a conditional 
-(case) expression, or a newly constructed instance of the data model (such as a newly constructed object, array, 
-or multiset of data model instances).
+value, a reference to a query variable that is in scope, a statement parameter, a parenthesized expression,
+a function call, a conditional (case) expression, or a newly constructed instance of the data model
+(such as a newly constructed object, array, or multiset of data model instances).
 
 ## <a id="Literals">Literals</a>
 
@@ -301,7 +303,7 @@
 
 ### <a id="Variable_references">Variable References</a>
 
-    VariableReference     ::= <IDENTIFIER>|<DelimitedIdentifier>
+    VariableReference     ::= <IDENTIFIER> | <DelimitedIdentifier>
     <IDENTIFIER>          ::= (<LETTER> | "_") (<LETTER> | <DIGIT> | "_" | "$")*
     <LETTER>              ::= ["A" - "Z", "a" - "z"]
     DelimitedIdentifier   ::= "`" (<EscapeQuot>
@@ -327,6 +329,22 @@
     `SELECT`
     `my-function`
 
+### <a id="Parameter_references">Parameter References</a>
+
+    ParameterReference              ::= NamedParameterReference | PositionalParameterReference
+    NamedParameterReference         ::= "$" (<IDENTIFIER> | <DelimitedIdentifier>)
+    PositionalParameterReference    ::= ("$" <DIGITS>) | "?"
+
+A statement parameter is an external variable which value is provided through the [statement execution API](../api.html#queryservice).
+An error will be raised if the parameter is not bound at the query execution time. Positional parameter numbering starts at 1.
+"?" parameters are interpreted as $1, .. $N in the order in which they appear in the statement.
+
+##### Examples
+
+    $id
+    $1
+    ?
+
 ### <a id="Parenthesized_expressions">Parenthesized Expressions</a>
 
     ParenthesizedExpression ::= "(" Expression ")" | Subquery
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-doc/src/site/markdown/api.md b/asterixdb/asterix-doc/src/site/markdown/api.md
index 848f2c3..6853938 100644
--- a/asterixdb/asterix-doc/src/site/markdown/api.md
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-doc/src/site/markdown/api.md
@@ -43,6 +43,8 @@
   If the delivery mode is `immediate` the query result is returned with the response.
   If the delivery mode is `deferred` the response contains a handle to the <a href="#queryresult">result</a>.
   If the delivery mode is `async` the response contains a handle to the query's <a href="#querystatus">status</a>.
+* `args` - (SQL++ only) A JSON array where each item is a value of a [positional query parameter](sqlpp/manual.html#Parameter_references)
+* `$parameter_name` - (SQL++ only) a JSON value of a [named query parameter](sqlpp/manual.html#Parameter_references).
 
 __Command (immediate result delivery)__
 
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-external-data/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/external/parser/JSONDataParser.java b/asterixdb/asterix-external-data/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/external/parser/JSONDataParser.java
index 209ba34..554bb2f 100644
--- a/asterixdb/asterix-external-data/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/external/parser/JSONDataParser.java
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-external-data/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/external/parser/JSONDataParser.java
@@ -50,6 +50,8 @@
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.JsonFactory;
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.JsonParser;
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.core.JsonToken;
+import com.fasterxml.jackson.databind.JsonNode;
+import com.fasterxml.jackson.databind.node.TreeTraversingParser;
 
 /**
  * JSON format parser using Jakson parser.
@@ -102,7 +104,15 @@
 
     @Override
     public void setInputStream(InputStream in) throws IOException {
-        jsonParser = jsonFactory.createParser(in);
+        setInput(jsonFactory.createParser(in));
+    }
+
+    public void setInputNode(JsonNode node) {
+        setInput(new TreeTraversingParser(node));
+    }
+
+    private void setInput(JsonParser parser) {
+        jsonParser = parser;
         geometryCoParser.reset(jsonParser);
     }
 
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-lang-aql/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/lang/aql/rewrites/AqlQueryRewriter.java b/asterixdb/asterix-lang-aql/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/lang/aql/rewrites/AqlQueryRewriter.java
index dd7061f..967fdae 100644
--- a/asterixdb/asterix-lang-aql/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/lang/aql/rewrites/AqlQueryRewriter.java
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-lang-aql/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/lang/aql/rewrites/AqlQueryRewriter.java
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@
 package org.apache.asterix.lang.aql.rewrites;
 
 import java.util.ArrayList;
+import java.util.Collection;
 import java.util.List;
 import java.util.Set;
 
@@ -69,8 +70,8 @@
 
     @Override
     public void rewrite(List<FunctionDecl> declaredFunctions, IReturningStatement topStatement,
-            MetadataProvider metadataProvider, LangRewritingContext context, boolean inlineUdfs)
-            throws CompilationException {
+            MetadataProvider metadataProvider, LangRewritingContext context, boolean inlineUdfs,
+            Collection<VarIdentifier> externalVars) throws CompilationException {
         setup(declaredFunctions, topStatement, metadataProvider, context);
         if (topStatement.isTopLevel()) {
             wrapInLets();
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-lang-aql/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/lang/aql/rewrites/AqlStatementRewriter.java b/asterixdb/asterix-lang-aql/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/lang/aql/rewrites/AqlStatementRewriter.java
index a89e8bd..5ca91b6 100644
--- a/asterixdb/asterix-lang-aql/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/lang/aql/rewrites/AqlStatementRewriter.java
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-lang-aql/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/lang/aql/rewrites/AqlStatementRewriter.java
@@ -36,4 +36,9 @@
             stmt.accept(visitor, null);
         }
     }
+
+    @Override
+    public String toExternalVariableName(String statementParameterName) {
+        return null;
+    }
 }
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-lang-common/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/lang/common/base/IQueryRewriter.java b/asterixdb/asterix-lang-common/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/lang/common/base/IQueryRewriter.java
index 05ab836..8f3b8a9 100644
--- a/asterixdb/asterix-lang-common/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/lang/common/base/IQueryRewriter.java
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-lang-common/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/lang/common/base/IQueryRewriter.java
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@
  */
 package org.apache.asterix.lang.common.base;
 
+import java.util.Collection;
 import java.util.List;
 import java.util.Set;
 
@@ -25,24 +26,27 @@
 import org.apache.asterix.lang.common.expression.CallExpr;
 import org.apache.asterix.lang.common.rewrites.LangRewritingContext;
 import org.apache.asterix.lang.common.statement.FunctionDecl;
+import org.apache.asterix.lang.common.struct.VarIdentifier;
 import org.apache.asterix.metadata.declared.MetadataProvider;
 
 public interface IQueryRewriter {
 
     /**
      * Rewrite a query at the AST level.
-     *
      * @param declaredFunctions,
-     *            a list of declared functions associated with the query.
+     *          a list of declared functions associated with the query.
      * @param topExpr,
-     *            the query to be rewritten.
+     *          the query to be rewritten.
      * @param metadataProvider,
-     *            providing the definition of created (i.e., stored) user-defined functions.
-     * @param context,
-     *            manages ids of variables and guarantees uniqueness of variables.
+     *          providing the definition of created (i.e., stored) user-defined functions.
+     * @param context
+     *          rewriting context
+     * @param externalVars
+     *          external variables
      */
     void rewrite(List<FunctionDecl> declaredFunctions, IReturningStatement topExpr, MetadataProvider metadataProvider,
-            LangRewritingContext context, boolean inlineUdfs) throws CompilationException;
+            LangRewritingContext context, boolean inlineUdfs, Collection<VarIdentifier> externalVars)
+            throws CompilationException;
 
     /**
      * Find the function calls used by a given expression
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-lang-common/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/lang/common/base/IReturningStatement.java b/asterixdb/asterix-lang-common/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/lang/common/base/IReturningStatement.java
index d31b765..02e5267 100644
--- a/asterixdb/asterix-lang-common/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/lang/common/base/IReturningStatement.java
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-lang-common/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/lang/common/base/IReturningStatement.java
@@ -19,8 +19,6 @@
 
 package org.apache.asterix.lang.common.base;
 
-import org.apache.asterix.lang.common.struct.VarIdentifier;
-
 import java.util.List;
 
 /**
@@ -66,16 +64,4 @@
      *            the main body expression.
      */
     void setBody(Expression expr);
-
-    /**
-     * @return external (pre-defined) variables for the statement
-     */
-    List<VarIdentifier> getExternalVars();
-
-    /**
-     * Sets external (pre-defined) variables for the statement
-     *
-     * @param externalVars external variables
-     */
-    void setExternalVars(List<VarIdentifier> externalVars);
 }
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-lang-common/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/lang/common/base/IStatementRewriter.java b/asterixdb/asterix-lang-common/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/lang/common/base/IStatementRewriter.java
index 7de67f7..0584665 100644
--- a/asterixdb/asterix-lang-common/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/lang/common/base/IStatementRewriter.java
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-lang-common/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/lang/common/base/IStatementRewriter.java
@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@
      * @param statement,
      *            a non-query statement.
      */
-    public void rewrite(Statement statement) throws CompilationException;
+    void rewrite(Statement statement) throws CompilationException;
 
+    String toExternalVariableName(String statementParameterName);
 }
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-lang-common/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/lang/common/parser/ScopeChecker.java b/asterixdb/asterix-lang-common/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/lang/common/parser/ScopeChecker.java
index 7dadd67..f332b0a 100644
--- a/asterixdb/asterix-lang-common/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/lang/common/parser/ScopeChecker.java
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-lang-common/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/lang/common/parser/ScopeChecker.java
@@ -303,7 +303,8 @@
     }
 
     protected String getLine(int line) {
-        return inputLines[line - 1];
+        int idx = line - 1;
+        return idx >= 0 && idx < inputLines.length ? inputLines[idx] : "";
     }
 
     protected String extractFragment(int beginLine, int beginColumn, int endLine, int endColumn) {
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-lang-common/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/lang/common/statement/InsertStatement.java b/asterixdb/asterix-lang-common/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/lang/common/statement/InsertStatement.java
index 20aea67..7bb2cbe 100644
--- a/asterixdb/asterix-lang-common/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/lang/common/statement/InsertStatement.java
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-lang-common/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/lang/common/statement/InsertStatement.java
@@ -29,7 +29,6 @@
 import org.apache.asterix.lang.common.base.Statement;
 import org.apache.asterix.lang.common.expression.VariableExpr;
 import org.apache.asterix.lang.common.struct.Identifier;
-import org.apache.asterix.lang.common.struct.VarIdentifier;
 import org.apache.asterix.lang.common.visitor.base.ILangVisitor;
 
 public class InsertStatement extends AbstractStatement implements IReturningStatement {
@@ -116,16 +115,6 @@
     }
 
     @Override
-    public List<VarIdentifier> getExternalVars() {
-        return null;
-    }
-
-    @Override
-    public void setExternalVars(List<VarIdentifier> externalVars) {
-        throw new UnsupportedOperationException();
-    }
-
-    @Override
     public <R, T> R accept(ILangVisitor<R, T> visitor, T arg) throws CompilationException {
         return visitor.visit(this, arg);
     }
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-lang-common/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/lang/common/statement/Query.java b/asterixdb/asterix-lang-common/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/lang/common/statement/Query.java
index 6b532fe..8b67556 100644
--- a/asterixdb/asterix-lang-common/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/lang/common/statement/Query.java
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-lang-common/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/lang/common/statement/Query.java
@@ -27,14 +27,12 @@
 import org.apache.asterix.lang.common.base.Expression;
 import org.apache.asterix.lang.common.base.IReturningStatement;
 import org.apache.asterix.lang.common.base.Statement;
-import org.apache.asterix.lang.common.struct.VarIdentifier;
 import org.apache.asterix.lang.common.visitor.base.ILangVisitor;
 
 public class Query extends AbstractStatement implements IReturningStatement {
     private final boolean explain;
     private boolean topLevel = true;
     private Expression body;
-    private List<VarIdentifier> externalVars;
     private int varCounter;
 
     public Query(boolean explain) {
@@ -42,15 +40,10 @@
     }
 
     public Query(boolean explain, boolean topLevel, Expression body, int varCounter) {
-        this(explain, topLevel, body, varCounter, null);
-    }
-
-    public Query(boolean explain, boolean topLevel, Expression body, int varCounter, List<VarIdentifier> externalVars) {
         this.explain = explain;
         this.topLevel = topLevel;
         this.body = body;
         this.varCounter = varCounter;
-        this.externalVars = externalVars;
     }
 
     @Override
@@ -87,16 +80,6 @@
         return topLevel;
     }
 
-    @Override
-    public List<VarIdentifier> getExternalVars() {
-        return externalVars;
-    }
-
-    @Override
-    public void setExternalVars(List<VarIdentifier> externalVars) {
-        this.externalVars = externalVars;
-    }
-
     public boolean isExplain() {
         return explain;
     }
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-lang-common/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/lang/common/visitor/AbstractInlineUdfsVisitor.java b/asterixdb/asterix-lang-common/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/lang/common/visitor/AbstractInlineUdfsVisitor.java
index c43824d..bf9cf89 100644
--- a/asterixdb/asterix-lang-common/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/lang/common/visitor/AbstractInlineUdfsVisitor.java
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-lang-common/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/lang/common/visitor/AbstractInlineUdfsVisitor.java
@@ -337,7 +337,6 @@
         wrappedQuery.setSourceLocation(sourceLoc);
         wrappedQuery.setBody(fnDecl.getFuncBody());
         wrappedQuery.setTopLevel(false);
-        wrappedQuery.setExternalVars(fnDecl.getParamList());
 
         String fnNamespace = fnDecl.getSignature().getNamespace();
         Dataverse defaultDataverse = metadataProvider.getDefaultDataverse();
@@ -356,7 +355,8 @@
         metadataProvider.setDefaultDataverse(fnDataverse);
         try {
             IQueryRewriter queryRewriter = rewriterFactory.createQueryRewriter();
-            queryRewriter.rewrite(declaredFunctions, wrappedQuery, metadataProvider, context, true);
+            queryRewriter.rewrite(declaredFunctions, wrappedQuery, metadataProvider, context, true,
+                    fnDecl.getParamList());
             return wrappedQuery.getBody();
         } finally {
             metadataProvider.setDefaultDataverse(defaultDataverse);
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-lang-sqlpp/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/lang/sqlpp/rewrites/SqlppFunctionBodyRewriter.java b/asterixdb/asterix-lang-sqlpp/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/lang/sqlpp/rewrites/SqlppFunctionBodyRewriter.java
index 7858e58..0c0ebd6 100644
--- a/asterixdb/asterix-lang-sqlpp/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/lang/sqlpp/rewrites/SqlppFunctionBodyRewriter.java
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-lang-sqlpp/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/lang/sqlpp/rewrites/SqlppFunctionBodyRewriter.java
@@ -18,22 +18,24 @@
  */
 package org.apache.asterix.lang.sqlpp.rewrites;
 
+import java.util.Collection;
 import java.util.List;
 
 import org.apache.asterix.common.exceptions.CompilationException;
 import org.apache.asterix.lang.common.base.IReturningStatement;
 import org.apache.asterix.lang.common.rewrites.LangRewritingContext;
 import org.apache.asterix.lang.common.statement.FunctionDecl;
+import org.apache.asterix.lang.common.struct.VarIdentifier;
 import org.apache.asterix.metadata.declared.MetadataProvider;
 
 class SqlppFunctionBodyRewriter extends SqlppQueryRewriter {
 
     @Override
     public void rewrite(List<FunctionDecl> declaredFunctions, IReturningStatement topStatement,
-            MetadataProvider metadataProvider, LangRewritingContext context, boolean inlineUdfs)
-            throws CompilationException {
+            MetadataProvider metadataProvider, LangRewritingContext context, boolean inlineUdfs,
+            Collection<VarIdentifier> externalVars) throws CompilationException {
         // Sets up parameters.
-        setup(declaredFunctions, topStatement, metadataProvider, context);
+        setup(declaredFunctions, topStatement, metadataProvider, context, externalVars);
 
         // Inlines column aliases.
         inlineColumnAlias();
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-lang-sqlpp/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/lang/sqlpp/rewrites/SqlppQueryRewriter.java b/asterixdb/asterix-lang-sqlpp/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/lang/sqlpp/rewrites/SqlppQueryRewriter.java
index 647b50e..09a9f90 100644
--- a/asterixdb/asterix-lang-sqlpp/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/lang/sqlpp/rewrites/SqlppQueryRewriter.java
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-lang-sqlpp/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/lang/sqlpp/rewrites/SqlppQueryRewriter.java
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@
 package org.apache.asterix.lang.sqlpp.rewrites;
 
 import java.util.ArrayList;
+import java.util.Collection;
 import java.util.List;
 import java.util.Set;
 
@@ -31,6 +32,7 @@
 import org.apache.asterix.lang.common.expression.CallExpr;
 import org.apache.asterix.lang.common.rewrites.LangRewritingContext;
 import org.apache.asterix.lang.common.statement.FunctionDecl;
+import org.apache.asterix.lang.common.struct.VarIdentifier;
 import org.apache.asterix.lang.common.util.FunctionUtil;
 import org.apache.asterix.lang.common.visitor.GatherFunctionCallsVisitor;
 import org.apache.asterix.lang.sqlpp.clause.AbstractBinaryCorrelateClause;
@@ -76,25 +78,27 @@
     private List<FunctionDecl> declaredFunctions;
     private LangRewritingContext context;
     private MetadataProvider metadataProvider;
+    private Collection<VarIdentifier> externalVars;
 
     protected void setup(List<FunctionDecl> declaredFunctions, IReturningStatement topExpr,
-            MetadataProvider metadataProvider, LangRewritingContext context) {
+            MetadataProvider metadataProvider, LangRewritingContext context, Collection<VarIdentifier> externalVars) {
         this.topExpr = topExpr;
         this.context = context;
         this.declaredFunctions = declaredFunctions;
         this.metadataProvider = metadataProvider;
+        this.externalVars = externalVars;
     }
 
     @Override
     public void rewrite(List<FunctionDecl> declaredFunctions, IReturningStatement topStatement,
-            MetadataProvider metadataProvider, LangRewritingContext context, boolean inlineUdfs)
-            throws CompilationException {
+            MetadataProvider metadataProvider, LangRewritingContext context, boolean inlineUdfs,
+            Collection<VarIdentifier> externalVars) throws CompilationException {
         if (topStatement == null) {
             return;
         }
 
         // Sets up parameters.
-        setup(declaredFunctions, topStatement, metadataProvider, context);
+        setup(declaredFunctions, topStatement, metadataProvider, context, externalVars);
 
         // Inlines column aliases.
         inlineColumnAlias();
@@ -206,7 +210,7 @@
 
     protected void variableCheckAndRewrite() throws CompilationException {
         VariableCheckAndRewriteVisitor variableCheckAndRewriteVisitor =
-                new VariableCheckAndRewriteVisitor(context, metadataProvider, topExpr.getExternalVars());
+                new VariableCheckAndRewriteVisitor(context, metadataProvider, externalVars);
         topExpr.accept(variableCheckAndRewriteVisitor, null);
     }
 
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-lang-sqlpp/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/lang/sqlpp/rewrites/SqlppStatementRewriter.java b/asterixdb/asterix-lang-sqlpp/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/lang/sqlpp/rewrites/SqlppStatementRewriter.java
index 5667415..7908636 100644
--- a/asterixdb/asterix-lang-sqlpp/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/lang/sqlpp/rewrites/SqlppStatementRewriter.java
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-lang-sqlpp/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/lang/sqlpp/rewrites/SqlppStatementRewriter.java
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@
 import org.apache.asterix.common.exceptions.CompilationException;
 import org.apache.asterix.lang.common.base.IStatementRewriter;
 import org.apache.asterix.lang.common.base.Statement;
+import org.apache.asterix.lang.sqlpp.util.SqlppVariableUtil;
 import org.apache.asterix.lang.sqlpp.visitor.SqlppDeleteRewriteVisitor;
 
 class SqlppStatementRewriter implements IStatementRewriter {
@@ -36,4 +37,9 @@
             stmt.accept(visitor, null);
         }
     }
+
+    @Override
+    public String toExternalVariableName(String statementParameterName) {
+        return SqlppVariableUtil.toExternalVariableName(statementParameterName);
+    }
 }
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-lang-sqlpp/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/lang/sqlpp/rewrites/visitor/VariableCheckAndRewriteVisitor.java b/asterixdb/asterix-lang-sqlpp/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/lang/sqlpp/rewrites/visitor/VariableCheckAndRewriteVisitor.java
index 5af284b..20071e3 100644
--- a/asterixdb/asterix-lang-sqlpp/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/lang/sqlpp/rewrites/visitor/VariableCheckAndRewriteVisitor.java
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-lang-sqlpp/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/lang/sqlpp/rewrites/visitor/VariableCheckAndRewriteVisitor.java
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@
 package org.apache.asterix.lang.sqlpp.rewrites.visitor;
 
 import java.util.ArrayList;
+import java.util.Collection;
 import java.util.List;
 import java.util.Set;
 
@@ -56,7 +57,7 @@
      * @param context, manages ids of variables and guarantees uniqueness of variables.
      */
     public VariableCheckAndRewriteVisitor(LangRewritingContext context, MetadataProvider metadataProvider,
-            List<VarIdentifier> externalVars) {
+            Collection<VarIdentifier> externalVars) {
         super(context, externalVars);
         this.metadataProvider = metadataProvider;
     }
@@ -96,9 +97,9 @@
     private Expression resolve(VariableExpr varExpr, String dataverseName, String datasetName,
             Expression originalExprWithUndefinedIdentifier, ILangExpression parent) throws CompilationException {
 
+        VarIdentifier varId = varExpr.getVar();
+        String varName = varId.getValue();
         SourceLocation sourceLoc = varExpr.getSourceLocation();
-
-        String varName = varExpr.getVar().getValue();
         VarIdentifier var = lookupVariable(varName, sourceLoc);
         if (var != null) {
             // Exists such an identifier
@@ -107,6 +108,11 @@
             return varExpr;
         }
 
+        if (SqlppVariableUtil.isExternalVariableIdentifier(varId)) {
+            throw new CompilationException(ErrorCode.PARAMETER_NO_VALUE, sourceLoc,
+                    SqlppVariableUtil.variableNameToDisplayedFieldName(varId.getValue()));
+        }
+
         boolean resolveToDatasetOnly = resolveToDatasetOnly(originalExprWithUndefinedIdentifier, parent);
         if (resolveToDatasetOnly) {
             return resolveAsDataset(dataverseName, datasetName, sourceLoc);
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-lang-sqlpp/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/lang/sqlpp/util/ExpressionToVariableUtil.java b/asterixdb/asterix-lang-sqlpp/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/lang/sqlpp/util/ExpressionToVariableUtil.java
index c0eb2d9..4842026 100644
--- a/asterixdb/asterix-lang-sqlpp/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/lang/sqlpp/util/ExpressionToVariableUtil.java
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-lang-sqlpp/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/lang/sqlpp/util/ExpressionToVariableUtil.java
@@ -40,7 +40,8 @@
     private static String getGeneratedIdentifier(Expression expr) throws ParseException {
         if (expr.getKind() == Kind.VARIABLE_EXPRESSION) {
             VariableExpr bindingVarExpr = (VariableExpr) expr;
-            return bindingVarExpr.getVar().getValue();
+            VarIdentifier var = bindingVarExpr.getVar();
+            return SqlppVariableUtil.isExternalVariableIdentifier(var) ? null : var.getValue();
         } else if (expr.getKind() == Kind.FIELD_ACCESSOR_EXPRESSION) {
             FieldAccessor fa = (FieldAccessor) expr;
             return SqlppVariableUtil.toInternalVariableName(fa.getIdent().getValue());
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-lang-sqlpp/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/lang/sqlpp/util/SqlppVariableUtil.java b/asterixdb/asterix-lang-sqlpp/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/lang/sqlpp/util/SqlppVariableUtil.java
index 519627c..3dbdde5 100644
--- a/asterixdb/asterix-lang-sqlpp/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/lang/sqlpp/util/SqlppVariableUtil.java
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-lang-sqlpp/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/lang/sqlpp/util/SqlppVariableUtil.java
@@ -40,6 +40,8 @@
 
     private static final String USER_VAR_PREFIX = "$";
 
+    private static final String EXTERNAL_VAR_PREFIX = "?";
+
     private SqlppVariableUtil() {
     }
 
@@ -79,7 +81,15 @@
     }
 
     public static VarIdentifier toInternalVariableIdentifier(String idName) {
-        return new VarIdentifier(USER_VAR_PREFIX + idName);
+        return new VarIdentifier(toInternalVariableName(idName));
+    }
+
+    public static String toExternalVariableName(String varName) {
+        return EXTERNAL_VAR_PREFIX + varName;
+    }
+
+    public static boolean isExternalVariableIdentifier(VarIdentifier varId) {
+        return varId.getValue().startsWith(EXTERNAL_VAR_PREFIX);
     }
 
     public static Collection<VariableExpr> getFreeVariables(ILangExpression langExpr) throws CompilationException {
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-lang-sqlpp/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/lang/sqlpp/visitor/DeepCopyVisitor.java b/asterixdb/asterix-lang-sqlpp/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/lang/sqlpp/visitor/DeepCopyVisitor.java
index 6635a0e..fbe9eb5 100644
--- a/asterixdb/asterix-lang-sqlpp/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/lang/sqlpp/visitor/DeepCopyVisitor.java
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-lang-sqlpp/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/lang/sqlpp/visitor/DeepCopyVisitor.java
@@ -256,8 +256,8 @@
 
     @Override
     public Query visit(Query q, Void arg) throws CompilationException {
-        Query copy = new Query(q.isExplain(), q.isTopLevel(), (Expression) q.getBody().accept(this, arg),
-                q.getVarCounter(), q.getExternalVars());
+        Query copy =
+                new Query(q.isExplain(), q.isTopLevel(), (Expression) q.getBody().accept(this, arg), q.getVarCounter());
         copy.setSourceLocation(q.getSourceLocation());
         return copy;
     }
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-lang-sqlpp/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/lang/sqlpp/visitor/base/AbstractSqlppExpressionScopingVisitor.java b/asterixdb/asterix-lang-sqlpp/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/lang/sqlpp/visitor/base/AbstractSqlppExpressionScopingVisitor.java
index 81b21c8..6d9430b 100644
--- a/asterixdb/asterix-lang-sqlpp/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/lang/sqlpp/visitor/base/AbstractSqlppExpressionScopingVisitor.java
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-lang-sqlpp/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/lang/sqlpp/visitor/base/AbstractSqlppExpressionScopingVisitor.java
@@ -18,8 +18,8 @@
  */
 package org.apache.asterix.lang.sqlpp.visitor.base;
 
+import java.util.Collection;
 import java.util.HashMap;
-import java.util.List;
 import java.util.Map;
 import java.util.Map.Entry;
 import java.util.Set;
@@ -76,7 +76,7 @@
      * @param externalVars
      *            pre-defined (external) variables that must be added to the initial scope
      */
-    public AbstractSqlppExpressionScopingVisitor(LangRewritingContext context, List<VarIdentifier> externalVars) {
+    public AbstractSqlppExpressionScopingVisitor(LangRewritingContext context, Collection<VarIdentifier> externalVars) {
         this.context = context;
         this.scopeChecker.setVarCounter(context.getVarCounter());
         if (externalVars != null) {
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-lang-sqlpp/src/main/javacc/SQLPP.jj b/asterixdb/asterix-lang-sqlpp/src/main/javacc/SQLPP.jj
index 6d9976a..e2a8759 100644
--- a/asterixdb/asterix-lang-sqlpp/src/main/javacc/SQLPP.jj
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-lang-sqlpp/src/main/javacc/SQLPP.jj
@@ -209,6 +209,8 @@
     // error configuration
     protected static final boolean REPORT_EXPECTED_TOKENS = false;
 
+    private int externalVarCounter;
+
     private static class IndexParams {
       public IndexType type;
       public int gramLength;
@@ -2325,9 +2327,6 @@
             }
         }
     }
-
-  | <QUES> // ANY
-
   )
 
   <RIGHTBRACKET>
@@ -2347,6 +2346,7 @@
   | expr = CaseExpr()
   | expr = Literal()
   | expr = VariableRef()
+  | expr = ExternalVariableRef()
   | expr = ListConstructor()
   | expr = RecordConstructor()
   | expr = ParenthesizedExpression()
@@ -2458,6 +2458,33 @@
     }
 }
 
+VariableExpr ExternalVariableRef() throws ParseException:
+{
+  String name = null;
+}
+{
+  (
+    (
+      <DOLLAR>
+      (
+        <INTEGER_LITERAL> { name = token.image; } |
+        <IDENTIFIER> { name = token.image; } |
+        name = QuotedString()
+      )
+    )
+    |
+    (
+      <QUES> { name = String.valueOf(++externalVarCounter); }
+    )
+  )
+  {
+     String idName = SqlppVariableUtil.toExternalVariableName(name);
+     VarIdentifier id = new VarIdentifier(idName);
+     VariableExpr varExp = new VariableExpr(id);
+     return addSourceLocation(varExp, token);
+  }
+}
+
 Expression ListConstructor() throws ParseException:
 {
     Expression expr = null;
@@ -3410,6 +3437,7 @@
   | <ATT : "@">
   | <COLON : ":">
   | <COMMA : ",">
+  | <DOLLAR: "$">
   | <DOT : ".">
   | <PERCENT: "%">
   | <QUES : "?">
@@ -3459,8 +3487,8 @@
 <DEFAULT,IN_DBL_BRACE>
 TOKEN [IGNORE_CASE]:
 {
-  <MISSING : "missing">
-  |  <NULL : "null">
+    <MISSING : "missing">
+  | <NULL : "null">
   | <TRUE : "true">
   | <FALSE : "false">
 }
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-om/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/om/pointables/cast/ACastVisitor.java b/asterixdb/asterix-om/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/om/pointables/cast/ACastVisitor.java
index 6eb7d4c..04ee28b 100644
--- a/asterixdb/asterix-om/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/om/pointables/cast/ACastVisitor.java
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-om/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/om/pointables/cast/ACastVisitor.java
@@ -75,7 +75,8 @@
             laccessorToCaster.put(accessor, caster);
         }
         if (arg.second.getTypeTag().equals(ATypeTag.ANY)) {
-            arg.second = DefaultOpenFieldType.NESTED_OPEN_AUNORDERED_LIST_TYPE;
+            arg.second = accessor.ordered() ? DefaultOpenFieldType.NESTED_OPEN_AORDERED_LIST_TYPE
+                    : DefaultOpenFieldType.NESTED_OPEN_AUNORDERED_LIST_TYPE;
         }
         caster.castList(accessor, arg.first, (AbstractCollectionType) arg.second, this);
         return null;
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-om/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/om/typecomputer/base/TypeCastUtils.java b/asterixdb/asterix-om/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/om/typecomputer/base/TypeCastUtils.java
index 7fa987f..8aad9d7 100644
--- a/asterixdb/asterix-om/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/om/typecomputer/base/TypeCastUtils.java
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-om/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/om/typecomputer/base/TypeCastUtils.java
@@ -19,12 +19,12 @@
 
 package org.apache.asterix.om.typecomputer.base;
 
+import org.apache.asterix.common.exceptions.CompilationException;
 import org.apache.asterix.om.exceptions.IncompatibleTypeException;
 import org.apache.asterix.om.typecomputer.impl.TypeComputeUtils;
 import org.apache.asterix.om.types.ATypeTag;
 import org.apache.asterix.om.types.IAType;
 import org.apache.asterix.om.types.hierachy.ATypeHierarchy;
-import org.apache.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import org.apache.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.expressions.AbstractFunctionCallExpression;
 
 public class TypeCastUtils {
@@ -33,7 +33,7 @@
     }
 
     public static boolean setRequiredAndInputTypes(AbstractFunctionCallExpression expr, IAType requiredType,
-            IAType inputType) throws AlgebricksException {
+            IAType inputType) throws CompilationException {
         boolean changed = false;
         Object[] opaqueParameters = expr.getOpaqueParameters();
         if (opaqueParameters == null) {
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-runtime/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/runtime/evaluators/functions/GetItemDescriptor.java b/asterixdb/asterix-runtime/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/runtime/evaluators/functions/GetItemDescriptor.java
index aa641ff..70b0891 100644
--- a/asterixdb/asterix-runtime/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/runtime/evaluators/functions/GetItemDescriptor.java
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-runtime/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/runtime/evaluators/functions/GetItemDescriptor.java
@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@
 import java.io.IOException;
 
 import org.apache.asterix.dataflow.data.nontagged.serde.AOrderedListSerializerDeserializer;
+import org.apache.asterix.dataflow.data.nontagged.serde.AUnorderedListSerializerDeserializer;
 import org.apache.asterix.om.functions.BuiltinFunctions;
 import org.apache.asterix.om.functions.IFunctionDescriptor;
 import org.apache.asterix.om.functions.IFunctionDescriptorFactory;
@@ -44,6 +45,7 @@
 public class GetItemDescriptor extends AbstractScalarFunctionDynamicDescriptor {
 
     private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
+
     public static final IFunctionDescriptorFactory FACTORY = new IFunctionDescriptorFactory() {
         @Override
         public IFunctionDescriptor createFunctionDescriptor() {
@@ -66,9 +68,6 @@
         private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
         private IScalarEvaluatorFactory listEvalFactory;
         private IScalarEvaluatorFactory indexEvalFactory;
-        private byte serItemTypeTag;
-        private ATypeTag itemTag;
-        private boolean selfDescList = false;
 
         public GetItemEvalFactory(IScalarEvaluatorFactory[] args) {
             this.listEvalFactory = args[0];
@@ -86,9 +85,6 @@
                 private IScalarEvaluator evalList = listEvalFactory.createScalarEvaluator(ctx);
                 private IScalarEvaluator evalIdx = indexEvalFactory.createScalarEvaluator(ctx);
                 private byte[] missingBytes = new byte[] { ATypeTag.SERIALIZED_MISSING_TYPE_TAG };
-                private int itemIndex;
-                private int itemOffset;
-                private int itemLength;
 
                 @Override
                 public void evaluate(IFrameTupleReference tuple, IPointable result) throws HyracksDataException {
@@ -96,48 +92,51 @@
                         evalList.evaluate(tuple, inputArgList);
                         evalIdx.evaluate(tuple, inputArgIdx);
 
-                        byte[] serOrderedList = inputArgList.getByteArray();
+                        byte[] serList = inputArgList.getByteArray();
                         int offset = inputArgList.getStartOffset();
                         byte[] indexBytes = inputArgIdx.getByteArray();
                         int indexOffset = inputArgIdx.getStartOffset();
 
-                        if (serOrderedList[offset] == ATypeTag.SERIALIZED_ORDEREDLIST_TYPE_TAG) {
-                            itemIndex = ATypeHierarchy.getIntegerValue(BuiltinFunctions.GET_ITEM.getName(), 0,
-                                    indexBytes, indexOffset);
+                        int itemCount;
+                        byte serListTypeTag = serList[offset];
+                        if (serListTypeTag == ATypeTag.SERIALIZED_ORDEREDLIST_TYPE_TAG) {
+                            itemCount = AOrderedListSerializerDeserializer.getNumberOfItems(serList, offset);
+                        } else if (serListTypeTag == ATypeTag.SERIALIZED_UNORDEREDLIST_TYPE_TAG) {
+                            itemCount = AUnorderedListSerializerDeserializer.getNumberOfItems(serList, offset);
                         } else {
-                            throw new TypeMismatchException(sourceLoc, BuiltinFunctions.GET_ITEM, 0,
-                                    serOrderedList[offset], ATypeTag.SERIALIZED_ORDEREDLIST_TYPE_TAG);
+                            throw new TypeMismatchException(sourceLoc, BuiltinFunctions.GET_ITEM, 0, serListTypeTag,
+                                    ATypeTag.SERIALIZED_ORDEREDLIST_TYPE_TAG,
+                                    ATypeTag.SERIALIZED_UNORDEREDLIST_TYPE_TAG);
                         }
 
-                        if (itemIndex < 0 || itemIndex >= AOrderedListSerializerDeserializer
-                                .getNumberOfItems(serOrderedList, offset)) {
+                        int itemIndex = ATypeHierarchy.getIntegerValue(BuiltinFunctions.GET_ITEM.getName(), 0,
+                                indexBytes, indexOffset);
+
+                        if (itemIndex < 0 || itemIndex >= itemCount) {
                             // Out-of-bound index access should return MISSING.
                             result.set(missingBytes, 0, 1);
                             return;
                         }
 
-                        itemTag = EnumDeserializer.ATYPETAGDESERIALIZER.deserialize(serOrderedList[offset + 1]);
-                        if (itemTag == ATypeTag.ANY) {
-                            selfDescList = true;
-                        } else {
-                            serItemTypeTag = serOrderedList[offset + 1];
-                        }
+                        byte serItemTypeTag = serList[offset + 1];
+                        ATypeTag itemTag = EnumDeserializer.ATYPETAGDESERIALIZER.deserialize(serItemTypeTag);
+                        boolean selfDescList = itemTag == ATypeTag.ANY;
 
-                        itemOffset =
-                                AOrderedListSerializerDeserializer.getItemOffset(serOrderedList, offset, itemIndex);
+                        int itemOffset = serListTypeTag == ATypeTag.SERIALIZED_ORDEREDLIST_TYPE_TAG
+                                ? AOrderedListSerializerDeserializer.getItemOffset(serList, offset, itemIndex)
+                                : AUnorderedListSerializerDeserializer.getItemOffset(serList, offset, 0);
 
                         if (selfDescList) {
-                            itemTag = EnumDeserializer.ATYPETAGDESERIALIZER.deserialize(serOrderedList[itemOffset]);
-                            itemLength =
-                                    NonTaggedFormatUtil.getFieldValueLength(serOrderedList, itemOffset, itemTag, true)
-                                            + 1;
-                            result.set(serOrderedList, itemOffset, itemLength);
+                            itemTag = EnumDeserializer.ATYPETAGDESERIALIZER.deserialize(serList[itemOffset]);
+                            int itemLength =
+                                    NonTaggedFormatUtil.getFieldValueLength(serList, itemOffset, itemTag, true) + 1;
+                            result.set(serList, itemOffset, itemLength);
                         } else {
-                            itemLength =
-                                    NonTaggedFormatUtil.getFieldValueLength(serOrderedList, itemOffset, itemTag, false);
+                            int itemLength =
+                                    NonTaggedFormatUtil.getFieldValueLength(serList, itemOffset, itemTag, false);
                             resultStorage.reset();
                             output.writeByte(serItemTypeTag);
-                            output.write(serOrderedList, itemOffset, itemLength);
+                            output.write(serList, itemOffset, itemLength);
                             result.set(resultStorage);
                         }
                     } catch (IOException e) {
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-test-framework/src/main/resources/Catalog.xsd b/asterixdb/asterix-test-framework/src/main/resources/Catalog.xsd
index 7a4feea..b6bc7bf 100644
--- a/asterixdb/asterix-test-framework/src/main/resources/Catalog.xsd
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-test-framework/src/main/resources/Catalog.xsd
@@ -141,6 +141,7 @@
                      <xs:complexType>
                         <xs:attribute name="name" type="xs:string" />
                         <xs:attribute name="value" type="xs:string" />
+                        <xs:attribute name="type" type="test:parameter-type-enum" />
                      </xs:complexType>
                   </xs:element>
                   <xs:element name="output-dir" minOccurs="0">
@@ -269,4 +270,20 @@
       </xs:restriction>
    </xs:simpleType>
 
+   <!-- parameter-type-enum type                                              -->
+   <!--    Identify the type of a parameter value                             -->
+
+   <xs:simpleType name="parameter-type-enum">
+      <xs:annotation>
+         <xs:documentation>
+            Identify the type of a parameter value
+         </xs:documentation>
+      </xs:annotation>
+
+      <xs:restriction base="xs:string">
+         <xs:enumeration value="string"/>
+         <xs:enumeration value="json"/>
+      </xs:restriction>
+   </xs:simpleType>
+
 </xs:schema>