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 its default logic with logic that suits their 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 aren't APIs. They don't expose a class’s functions or objects. They merely let a third party override the logic defined in the default implementation.
NetSuite develops core plug-ins and usually releases them to partners and customers part of a major release. A core plug-in’s interface defines functions that run in the core NetSuite code.
Only core NetSuite developers and call functions defined in a core plug-in’s interface, and only within the core NetSuite code.
NetSuite releases each core plug-in with a default implementation. The logic 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 in an account, the solution implementer can define one or more alternate implementations. These let the solution implementer customize the core plug-in’s logic to suit specific needs. To help with this, NetSuite provides an interface definition that describes the name, parameters, and return type of each function in the core plug-in’s interface.
Only plug-in owners can edit alternate implementations. When NetSuite releases a core plug-in with alternate implementations, third parties can't edit them.
When a plug-in’s implementations are ready, the NetSuite administrator activates the implementations available for each account. Whether you can one or multiple plug-in implementations at one time depends on how the plug-in is set up. When an implementation is active, function calls made in the core NetSuite code run that implementation’s logic.