General Server Logic

Quick start

System operations:

// Get current user
var userId = gs.getUserID();
var userName = gs.getUser().getName();
var userEmail = gs.getUser().getEmail();

// Logging
gs.info('Information message');
gs.warn('Warning message');
gs.error('Error message');
gs.debug('Debug message', myObject);

// System properties
var timeout = gs.getProperty('system.timeout', '30000');
var isProduction = gs.getProperty('glide.install.type') === 'prod';

Event queue management:

// Queue a business event
gs.eventQueue('my.custom.event', current, oldCurrent, {
    priority: 1
});

// Publish event for other listeners
gs.eventQueue('incident.priority.updated', current, oldCurrent);

Session management:

// Current session context
var domainId = gs.getDomainID();
var sessionID = gs.getSessionID();
var timezoneID = gs.getTimeZoneID();

Impersonation (admin only):

var impersonate = new GlideImpersonate();
impersonate.loginAs('admin');
// Now running as admin
impersonate.back();
// Back to original user

Common patterns

Scoped evaluation:

var evaluator = new GlideScopedEvaluator();
var result = evaluator.evaluateScript(grRecord, 'script_field', {});

Locale and formatting:

var locale = GlideLocale.get();
var datePattern = locale.getDatePattern();
var timePattern = locale.getTimePattern();

Secure random generation:

var random = GlideSecureRandomUtil.getRandomString(16);
var randomInt = GlideSecureRandomUtil.getRandomInt(1, 100);

User preferences (per-user key-value store, no custom table needed):

// Save a preference for the current user
var user = gs.getUser();
user.savePreference('my_app.my_key', JSON.stringify({ lastTable: 'incident' }));

// Read it back
var raw = user.getPreference('my_app.my_key');
var pref = raw ? JSON.parse(raw) : null;

// Remove a preference
user.savePreference('my_app.my_key', null);

Naming: Prefix the key with your app scope (x_scope.key_name) to avoid collisions.
Values are stored as strings — serialize objects with JSON.stringify / JSON.parse.
Preferences are stored in sys_user_preference and are scoped to the current user.

Best practices

• Use descriptive variable names (grIncident for GlideRecord)
• Use PascalCase for classes, camelCase for functions
• Never use eval() or dynamic code execution
• Never hardcode sys_ids; use System Properties
• Avoid global synchronous calls like getXMLWait()
• Log important actions for audit trails
• Use domain context for multi-tenant operations
• Queue async work instead of waiting for results
• Follow IIFE pattern for Script Includes
• Test thoroughly on sub-production first

Key APIs

Reference

For advanced patterns, debugging techniques, and best practices, see BEST_PRACTICES.md