RESTlets vs. Other NetSuite Integration Options
RESTlets provide one option for integration with NetSuite. Other options include SOAP-based web services, REST web services, and Suitelets.
For a comparison of RESTlets with REST web services, see REST Web Services and Other Integration Options.
The concurrency limits that apply to SOAP and REST web services and RESTlets are unified. For information about concurrency governance, see Web Services and RESTlet Concurrency Governance.
RESTlets Compared to SuiteTalk Web Services
The following table compares the characteristics of RESTlets with those of SOAP and REST web services:
|
Attribute |
RESTlets |
SOAP web services |
REST web services |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Supported Functionality |
For a list of supported functionality, see SuiteScript 2.x RESTlet Script Type. |
For a list of supported functionality, see SOAP Web Services Operations. |
For a list of supported functionality, see SuiteTalk REST Web Services Overview and Setup. |
|
Supported Authentication Method |
User credentials, token-based authentication, OAuth 2.0
Important:
User credentials authentication for newly created RESTlets is not supported. If you attempt to authenticate a new RESTlet with user credentials, an HTTP error response is returned. For more information, see Using User Credentials for RESTlet Authentication. |
User credentials, token-based authentication
Important:
Do not use user credentials as an authentication method for SOAP web services. If you are currently using this method, you should transition to use token-based authentication instead. As of the 2020.2 SOAP web services endpoint, authentication through request-level credentials is not supported. This change does not affect web services integrations that use 2020.1 and earlier endpoints. |
Token-based authentication, OAuth 2.0 |
|
Supported Content Types |
JSON, text/xml |
text/xml |
Standard content types: JSON, OpenAPI 3.0 |
|
Environment |
More suitable for low bandwidth use cases, programmable endpoint that needs deployment. |
Usually a client-side SOAP framework or library is used. No coding and script deployment needed on the server side. |
No coding and script deployment needed on the server side, suitable for low bandwidth use cases. |
|
Performance |
You can create a RESTlet so that all actions required for a business flow can be executed within a single call. RESTlets can be tailored for a specific need and are highly efficient. |
SOAP web services may require more calls to accomplish a business flow. |
The performance of SuiteTalk REST and SuiteTalk SOAP operations is similar. The performance can differ slightly depending on the specific use case. For example, when using REST, fewer calls may be required to accomplish a business flow than when using SOAP. REST web services also supports technology that is not supported in SOAP, for example, SuiteQL. |
Use SOAP web services for system-to-system integrations.