Core Plug-in Overview
A plug-in is functionality, defined by an interface, that can be customized. After the plug-in is installed, a third party can override the plug-in’s default logic with logic that suits its specific needs. The third party does this by defining alternate implementations of the interface
The object-oriented interface is central to the plug-in model. To be more exact, a plug-in is an interface. Plug-ins do not act as APIs. In other words, a plug-in does not expose a class’s functions or objects. It merely allows a third party to override the logic defined within its default implementation.
NetSuite develops core plug-ins and releases them, typically as part of a major release, to partners or customers. A core plug-in’s interface defines functions that are executed within the core NetSuite code.
Functions defined in a core plug-in’s interface are only ever called within the core NetSuite code by core NetSuite developers.
NetSuite releases each core plug-in with a default implementation. Note that the logic defined in the default implementation may or may not be available to end users. If applicable, NetSuite may also release a core plug-in with one or more alternate implementations.
After a plug-in is installed within an account, the solution implementor can define one or more alternate implementations. These alternate implementations allow the solution implementor to customize the core plug-in’s logic to suit specific needs. To accommodate this process, NetSuite provides an interface definition that describes the name, parameters, and return type of each function defined in the core plug-in’s interface.
Alternate implementations can only be edited by their owners. When NetSuite releases a core plug-in with alternate implementations, these alternate implementations cannot be edited by third parties.
When a plug-in’s implementations are ready to be utilized, the end-user’s NetSuite administrator activates the implementation or implementations available to each account. Whether a plug-in can use a single or multiple implementations at one time is dependent upon the design of the plug-in. When an implementation is active, function calls made within the core NetSuite code execute that implementation’s logic.