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  2. SuiteCloud Development Framework

SuiteCloud Development Framework

SuiteCloud Development Framework (SDF) is a development framework that you can use to create SDF SuiteApps, or to customize NetSuite accounts, using an integrated development environment (IDE) on your local computer. It provides a foundation for a structured development process and supports familiar development concepts and patterns. Information about the new release is included in the Release Notes.

Both SDF SuiteApps and account customizations can be created using SuiteCloud project components, sometimes referred to as customizations or SDF custom objects, for commercial distribution or internal use within your organization. The two types of SuiteCloud projects are account customization and SuiteApp. The projects are file-based and use XML definitions of SDF custom objects representing NetSuite objects and record types such as custom records, custom forms, and workflows. SuiteCloud projects also support SuiteScript files. Information about SuiteCloud projects is available in SuiteCloud Project Types.

For information about the directory structure and files in SuiteCloud projects, see SuiteCloud Project Structure and File Components and SDF Custom Object File Structure.

For an overview of development and deployment using SDF, see the following information:

To get started using SuiteCloud Development Framework, see Getting Started with SuiteCloud Development Framework.

Additional information about SDF is included in the following topics:

Development Overview

SDF provides rich code completion for the SDF custom object XML definitions used in SuiteCloud projects.

You do not need to be connected to a NetSuite account when developing SuiteCloud projects.

SDF enables you to build, validate, and deploy SuiteCloud projects from your local computer without tying its components to a NetSuite account. You can also create and modify custom objects in the NetSuite UI, and then use SDF to import those objects into SuiteCloud projects.

By decoupling the development process from NetSuite accounts, SDF improves code portability and provides a streamlined deployment process across various NetSuite account types. For information about account types, see Understanding NetSuite Account Types.

Tip:

Development accounts can be used with SDF. For information about who can benefit from using development accounts and how to get one, see Uses for Development Accounts.

You can use SuiteCloud Software Development Kit (SuiteCloud SDK) to develop and deploy SuiteCloud projects to NetSuite accounts. The following tools are useful for getting started developing SDF custom objects:

For more information about using SuiteCloud SDK, see SuiteCloud SDK Overview.

Deployment Overview

SuiteCloud projects can be deployed directly to development, sandbox, or production accounts where you have access to create NetSuite objects. SDF provides on-demand validation of your SuiteCloud projects during the development process against NetSuite accounts without requiring deployment. You can review rich deployment logs and audit trails that include detailed information about the components being deployed and the deployment status.

You can also use SuiteApp Control Center to distribute SDF SuiteApp projects as SDF SuiteApps. For information about distributing SDF SuiteApps, see SuiteApp Control Center Overview.

To get started using SuiteCloud Extension for Visual Studio Code or SuiteCloud IDE Plug-in for WebStorm to create a SuiteCloud project and deploy the project to a NetSuite account, see SuiteCloud Development Framework Tutorial.

Versioning and Revision Control for SDF

SuiteCloud Development Framework (SDF) is integrated with SuiteCloud SDK so that, in addition to your code, you can manage other components of SuiteCloud projects. With SDF, you can maintain custom objects as XML files and code outside of a NetSuite account, so you can use your own revision control system to provide your development team with versioning, change management, and team collaboration.

Related Topics

General Notices