Published on August 10, 2022.

Last week, I had the opportunity to join Xojo's founder and CEO, Geoff Perlman, on a webinar to discuss low-code software development. We talked about low-code in general, why it's needed in the NetSuite community, and why Xojo is a good choice as a low-code development tool. This is a follow-up to that webinar.

If you're interested in watching a replay of the Webinar, it's available here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6nQzPbeW_g

Sample Xojo Projects

During the webinar, I demonstrated a few example apps that I've developed with Xojo that integrate with NetSuite.

The first app that I demonstrated is SuiteTalk Explorer, which can be used to send requests to NetSuite's SuiteTalk REST API. I developed SuiteTalk Explorer because I figured that if I could use Xojo to build that type of app, then it was likely that I could use it to develop any app that required integration with NetSuite. SuiteTalk Explorer is a desktop application that can be run on macOS, Windows, and Linux-based computers.

I also demonstrated a few basic iOS and Web apps. One of the apps can be used to lookup inventory in NetSuite, while the other two provide access to employee information. In demonstrating those apps, my goal was to show the variety of apps that can be developed with Xojo, how easy developing apps can be, and how you can reuse code between Xojo project types.

A zip file containing all of the Xojo project files that I demonstrated on the Webinar can be downloaded here: netsuite-xojo-webinar-demos.zip

The nsConnection Class

To call Web APIs from apps built with Xojo, you normally use Xojo's URLConnection class. To make calling NetSuite Web APIs a little easier, I've developed a special version of the URLConnection class (a "subclass" of it) called nsConnection.

The nsConnection class seamlessly handles the authentication aspect of NetSuite integrations. It can be used to call NetSuite's SuiteTalk Web APIs, or custom RESTlets.

The nsConnection class is available in the Xojo project files.

Getting Started With Xojo

For those of you who are new to Xojo, here are some thoughts on how to get started.

As I mentioned during the webinar, with Xojo you can build apps and run them in debug mode for as long as you'd like, all at no charge. If you reach a point where you'd like to build (compile) an app and run it as an executable, then you'll need to purchase a license. The license that you'll need is based on the types of apps that you want to compile and distribute. There are licenses specifically for compiling desktop apps, Web apps, mobile apps, and so on. But Xojo also provides Pro and Pro Plus licenses, which can be used to compile everything.

So my recommendation for getting started is simply to download Xojo, then download the sample Xojo project files that I've made available, and start exploring.

During the webinar, I mentioned Byron Minick's Youtube Channel. Byron does a great job of explaining Xojo concepts, and I highly recommend checking out his videos.

I also recommend taking a look at the sample projects that ship with Xojo. You'll find examples of several different application types, and code samples as well.

Another Xojo resource that I recommend is the Xojo Programming Forum. It's a great way to see how other developers are using Xojo, and to get answers to your technical questions.

For Xojo Developers

A couple of the questions that came up during the Webinar were from existing Xojo developers who are interested in developing apps for NetSuite. They wanted to know how they can "break into" this market.

One of the challenges in getting started with NetSuite is that NetSuite doesn't provide the type of "developer programs" that many of us are used to seeing in other platforms. For example, it's easy to get development accounts for things like Salesforce and ServiceNow. NetSuite does have partner programs, but they can be expensive and difficult to get into.

My advice to Xojo developers that are looking for NetSuite opportunities is to monitor some of the NetSuite-related LinkedIn groups, as well as the job boards - and look specifically for NetSuite customers that are looking to have external apps developed. Then reach out to them, and see if they might be willing to give you the "big break" that you need to get into the NetSuite space.

Wrapping Up

I want to thank Geoff and the Xojo team for giving me the opportunity to present on last week's webinar, and I also want to thank everyone that attended. I've received a lot of nice feedback about the webinar, and it seems that a number of NetSuite developers who hadn't previously heard of Xojo are interested in and excited about it.

I hope that by sharing my experience using Xojo to develop apps that integrate with NetSuite, as well as the Xojo project files, I've helped to "jump-start" their Xojo journey.