Integration Patterns

Every integration falls into one of these patterns. Find yours, understand when to use it, and get the code.

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The Pattern Matrix

NETSUITE INTEGRATION PATTERNS
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

                         NETSUITE'S ROLE
              ┌──────────────────┬──────────────────┐
              │     ACTIVE       │     PASSIVE      │
              │   (Initiates)    │   (Responds)     │
──────────────┼──────────────────┼──────────────────┤
              │                  │                  │
   OUTBOUND   │  Pattern 1:      │  Pattern 4:      │
   (Data OUT) │  PUSH OUT        │  EXPOSE DATA     │
              │  NS → External   │  External → NS   │
              │                  │  (queries)       │
──────────────┼──────────────────┼──────────────────┤
              │                  │                  │
   INBOUND    │  Pattern 2:      │  Pattern 3:      │
   (Data IN)  │  PULL IN         │  RECEIVE DATA    │
              │  NS ← External   │  External → NS   │
              │  (fetches)       │  (pushes)        │
              │                  │                  │
              └──────────────────┴──────────────────┘

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All Patterns at a Glance

Pattern	Description	NetSuite Role	Script Types
Push Out	NetSuite sends data to external systems	Active	User Event, Workflow Action, Scheduled, Map/Reduce
Pull In	NetSuite fetches data from external systems	Active	Scheduled, Map/Reduce, Suitelet
Receive	External systems send data to NetSuite	Passive	RESTlet, Suitelet
Expose	External systems query NetSuite for data	Passive	RESTlet, SuiteTalk
File-Based	Exchange data via SFTP files	Active	Scheduled, Map/Reduce
Middleware	Use middleware for complex integrations	N/A	Any

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Quick Reference: Which Script for Which Pattern?

Pattern	Script Type	Timing	Use Case
Push Out (Real-time)	User Event Script	afterSubmit	Sync on save
Push Out (Workflow)	Workflow Action Script	Workflow trigger	Conditional sync
Push Out (Batch)	Scheduled/Map-Reduce	Periodic	Bulk export
Pull In (Periodic)	Scheduled Script	Every X minutes	Polling external API
Pull In (Bulk)	Map/Reduce Script	Periodic	High-volume import
Receive (Authenticated)	RESTlet	On-demand	Webhook with auth
Receive (Public)	Suitelet	On-demand	Webhook without auth
Expose Data	RESTlet / SuiteTalk	On-demand	External queries NS

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Decision Flowchart

CHOOSING THE RIGHT PATTERN
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

Who initiates the data transfer?
        │
        ├── NetSuite (Active)
        │       │
        │       ├── Data going OUT?
        │       │       │
        │       │       ├── Real-time? ──────▶ User Event Script
        │       │       ├── Conditional? ────▶ Workflow Action Script
        │       │       ├── Periodic? ───────▶ Scheduled Script
        │       │       └── Bulk? ───────────▶ Map/Reduce Script
        │       │
        │       └── Data coming IN?
        │               │
        │               ├── Periodic fetch? ──▶ Scheduled Script
        │               ├── High volume? ─────▶ Map/Reduce Script
        │               └── On-demand? ───────▶ Suitelet (button)
        │
        └── External System (Passive)
                │
                ├── Sending data TO NetSuite?
                │       │
                │       ├── Can do OAuth? ────▶ RESTlet
                │       ├── No OAuth? ────────▶ Suitelet (public)
                │       └── High volume? ─────▶ RESTlet + Queue + M/R
                │
                └── Querying data FROM NetSuite?
                        │
                        ├── Custom logic? ────▶ RESTlet
                        ├── Standard CRUD? ───▶ SuiteTalk REST
                        └── Legacy system? ───▶ SuiteTalk SOAP

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Quick Reference: N/https Methods

Method	Use Case
https.get()	Fetch data from external API
https.post()	Send data to external API
https.put()	Update data in external API
https.delete()	Delete data in external API
https.request()	Custom HTTP method
https.get.promise()	Async GET (non-blocking)
https.post.promise()	Async POST (non-blocking)
https.requestRestlet()	Call another NetSuite RESTlet
https.requestSuiteTalkRest()	Call SuiteTalk REST API

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Best Practices Summary

Practice	Why
Use https.post.promise() for outbound	Don't block user transactions
Implement retry queue	External systems fail
Validate webhook signatures	Security
Log all API calls	Debugging & audit
Set timeouts	Don't hang on slow APIs
Use Map/Reduce for bulk	Governance limits
Store API keys in script parameters	Don't hardcode secrets
Return fast from RESTlets	Queue heavy processing

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Related Documentation

• OAuth 1.0 (TBA) Setup - Token-Based Authentication
• OAuth 2.0 Setup - Modern OAuth with certificates
• SuiteQL Reference - Query language for APIs