SuiteCloud Development Framework (SDF) provides an excellent mechanism for NetSuite Developers to develop a customization that you can then easily deploy to any account. This can be helpful when you have a Sandbox environment and need to be able to quickly deploy the changes to Production, but that isn’t the only benefit. You can even handle changes in a Production-only environment through SDF! This allows for better project and modification management. In the next several blog posts, we plan to discuss how to make the best use of SDF and how your company can benefit from this NetSuite feature, whether you are a developer or an admin.
Important Links
These links are the authoritative resources from NetSuite about SDF and how to use it.
What is SDF
From NetSuite:
SuiteCloud Development Framework (SDF) is a next-generation integrated development environment and a major advancement included in the NetSuite SuiteCloud Development Platform. It supports the complete software development lifecycle including source code control, peer code reviews, team development and integrated debugging, coupled with sophisticated SuiteCloud deployment technologies.
Benefits of SDF
From NetSuite:
- Foundation for a world-class development process.
- Enables team development though integration with common source control systems.
- Everything is code, managed in SuiteCloud IDE where SDF features are accessed.
- XML definition of all custom objects allows for uncoupled development.
- Import current custom objects into projects to increase control and process in SuiteCloud development.
- Complete code validation of projects without need to deploy first.
- Deploy directly to target account (no SuiteBundler required for admins).
- More robust developer experience including dependency management, better logs and audit trails and on-demand validation against target accounts.
Getting used to using SDF can be a bit of work, so it’s important to know the benefits before you start using it. If you ever wonder if the work is worth it, you should come back to these benefits for a reminder of why you should be using SDF.
Here is my shortlist of highlighted benefits:
- Maintainability. Track changes and see who made changes by putting your xml definitions and scripts in a git repository.
- Portability. Easily use your code in different environments—e.g., Sandbox, Production, or a completely different account.
- Deployability. If you’re like me, you’ve been selecting all, copy, pasting code from an external editor into NetSuite for a while. Don’t do that anymore. Make changes and push them with a few keystrokes.
Conclusion
SDF is an incredibly helpful and time-saving tool. In the next blog post, we will guide you through setting it up for the first time. Be sure to subscribe to our email list to get our latest blog posts!