NetSuite’s SuiteCloud developer platform provides solutions for software developers that deliver agility and control over every stage of your company’s software development lifecycle management process. Implementing continuous integration and delivery (CI/CD) techniques to build better quality software faster has never been easier with the Platform developer solutions now available in NetSuite. Let’s take an in-depth look at how teams can realize the benefits of automated build, test, integration and distribution of custom objects and applications created for NetSuite accounts, including the ISV solutions built and offered by SuiteCloud Development Network partners.
SuiteCloud IDE
NetSuite application development typically begins within an integrated developer environment (IDE) context with business logic based on JavaScript standard-based SuiteScript. NetSuite’s SuiteCloud supports a range of popular IDEs like WebStorm and Visual Studio Code (VsCode), one of the world’s most widely adopted code editors. Installing the SuiteCloud extension instantly makes your IDE NetSuite-aware and enables full support of the SuiteCloud Development Framework (SDF).
VsCode view of SDF Project Component and Terminal
SuiteCloud Development Framework
SDF offers a collaborative development paradigm that supports an embeddable version control system, object dependencies and change management throughout the entire development lifecycle.
By providing a robust, IDE and command cline interface (CLI)-centric framework for building applications and executing DevOps processes, organizations can more easily adapt NetSuite to their specific needs. The framework defines a structured development process for customizing, integrating and extending any native NetSuite capability, with a project-based approach to managing components or custom objects represented as XML.
SuiteCloud Development Framework is a foundation for structured development processes.
Powerful CLIs
The SuiteCloud CLI is an IDE-agnostic tool that enables full control of your software development lifecycle.
The CLI for Java and the CLI for Node.js (available as an open-source distribution on npm.js) can be used to create, manage and automate SDF projects at each pipeline stage. The tooling provides teams with a modern DevOps experience, supporting common tasks like updating custom objects, validating project dependencies and deploying projects to accounts—including sandbox and production—all of which can be scripted and scheduled.
Test and Deployment actions running in SuiteCloud CLI
Jest Unit Testing Framework
SuiteCloud provides access to JavaScript test frameworks, including open-source Jest, to perform unit testing of SuiteCloud projects directly from the CLI.
And by embedding Jest in the IDE, developers can execute test cycles for SuiteScript 2.x files referenced within SDF projects. As part of the Jest distribution, developers receive ready-to-use SuiteScript 2.x record stubs including HTTP, HTTPS RECORD and Search. Complete instructions are provided for stubbing out NetSuite records required by the test harness. The framework also ships with a custom resolver to mock objects outside of test scope and includes a mock functions API for test-time observation of function calls.
Each test run produces a coverage report containing pass/fail metrics, execution time and other useful test results. For IDEs like WebStorm and VS Code that support Node.js debugging, Jest includes support for a unit testing debugger to help quickly identify and resolve errors in SuiteScript module code.
The Jest unit test framework is available as an open-source distribution on GitHub
CI/CD
SuiteCloud enables DevOps teams to define CI pipelines that automate the build and test phases of any SuiteCloud project. Developers can further enhance pipelines to auto-deploy projects to test environments like Jest for acceptance testing, as well as to production for smoke testing and release to production accounts—a great example of how teams can leverage modern CI/CD tools to realize maximum DevOps agility.
The end-to-end NetSuite DevOps lifecycle
The development tools included with SuiteCloud seamlessly integrate to most CI/CD management environments, such as GitLab, TeamCity, Jenkins and many others. This makes it possible to realize the benefits of CI whether you are just getting started or have a well-established toolchain in place.
Automated build stages active in GitLab
SuiteCloud Control Center and Marketplace
In addition to the automated solutions discussed here, SuiteCloud makes it possible for ISV partners to manage Built for NetSuite certified NetSuite applications using the SuiteCloud Control Center, where they can then be published to a rich catalog of partner and NetSuite-built SuiteApps and become discoverable to in the SuiteApp Marketplace within NetSuite as well as on suiteapp.com.
Commercially available SuiteApps are developed by both NetSuite and an active global ecosystem of ISV partners who build and market applications that address a wide variety of specific customer needs.
Conclusion
Whether you are new to SuiteCloud or you’re an experienced NetSuite application developer, please take a moment to check out these the latest software lifecycle management capabilities and explore how they can help you and your team more efficiently work across every stage of your release pipeline, keeping your entire portfolio of SuiteApps and customizations up to date with maximum agility and control.
Learn more about the specifications, features and benefits of the SuiteCloud Platform in the data sheet.
Story by Erik Klein