What is the format to pass sets of parameters to a pipeline - can you show me an example?

You can use all three ways, for just the pipeline, or across multiple pipelines. For just the pipeline you would use runtime parameters. If you want the parameters to be used across multiple pipelines you should use runtime properties or resources. https://docs.streamsets.com/portal/platform-datacollector/latest/datacollector/UserGuide/Pipeline_Configuration/RuntimeValues.html#concept_h5b_kcr_kz