To script, or not to script?
Once you learn how powerful scripting can be in ServiceNow, it would be easy to try and do everything with custom scripts. A wise person once said "When all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail"; however, this is quite often not the best solution for a few reasons:
- If the functionality or API are updated or deprecated, any unnecessary custom code means more maintenance costs during upgrades
- Increased custom code increases complexity, increasing the cost of development overall
- Custom code being used in lieu of out-of-the-box functionality can make it more difficult to identify the source of a given issue, making troubleshooting cumbersome
- Out-of-the-box (OOB) functionality, when it is available, is often faster and more efficient than custom code, even using extant APIs.
In the Where scripting is supported section of this chapter, we'll learn about the various fields and records in which scripting is supported. However, it is important...