What is XML?

XML, eXtensible Markup Language, is a way of describing information in a structured manner.  The structure for a given XML document is defined in another document, called a DTD or Document Type Definition.

Before XML, information was held in data files, but the format of each data file was know only to the developer that created it.  Passing these files to another system for processing required the receiving system to have intimate knowledge of the data file being passed.  This made integration difficult at best.

XML solved this problem by allowing the description of the data format to be specified in a DTD.  An XML document contains a DocType element that points to it's DTD, then contains tagged data elements conforming to the rules specified in that DTD.

The creators of XML realized that many types of information are passed between systems.  So instead of creating an all encompassing DTD for every situation, they allowed businesses to create their own DTDs for their own purposes.  Many dialects of XML, as defined by their respective DTDs, have sprung up since.  smbXML is one of those dialects.

What is smbXML?

SmbXML is a dialect of XML created by NetSuite to faciliate the import and export of information into and out of their NetSuite family of products.

The version of smbXML that NetSuite currently supports is 4.05.  But as the NetSuite product line encorporates more features, the smbXML is upgraded to support those features.

Why not just use the CSV interface?

The CSV interface is a great tool for getting basic information into NetSuite.  Unfortunately, it doesn't address transactions, and many other entities.  And for the entities it does import, it only supports a sub-set of the data elements that are available through smbXML. 

What is the smbXML Wizard?

The smbXML Wizard is a conversion tool that allows you to convert text files to smbXML.  This smbXML file can then be imported through the NetSuite user interface.  The tool will also generate smbXML Query files, then convert the query response files to text files.

If you have ever struggled getting information into or out of NetSuite, then this is the tool for you.