What's the "official" way to pass variables in SS2.0? - netsuite

Question

Run into a kind of silly problem.
I want to pass a variable between stages on a map/reduce script. Is it there an "official" or best way to do this (rather than sending it with the returned results).
This is my last approach:
/**
* #NApiVersion 2.0
* #NScriptType MapReduceScript
*/
define(["N/search", "N/record", "N/email", "N/runtime", "N/task", "/SuiteScripts/Libraries/tools_lib"],
function (search, record, email, runtime, task, tools) {
var ss = runtime.getCurrentSession();
var conf = {};
/**
* Retrieve the CSV contents and return as an object
* #return {Array|*}
*/
function getInputData() {
log.debug("setting", "foo");
ss.set({name: "foo", value: "bar"});
//Session
var foo = ss.get({name: "foo"});
log.debug("foo 1", foo);
//var pass
conf["foo"] = "bar";
return [1, 2, 3];
}
/**
* Search and group by type, all records with matching entries on the CSV field
* #param context
* #return {boolean}
*/
function map(context) {
//Session
var foo = ss.get({name: "foo"});
log.debug("foo 2", foo);
//Var pass
log.debug("foo 3", conf["foo"]);
return false;
}
foo 1 = bar
foo2 = null
foo3 = null

Answer 1

NetSuite stores whatever you return from the previous phase in context.value.
No matter what data type you return, it will always get sent to the next phase as a String, so you need to JSON.parse it if you want to work with a different data type.
function getInputData() {
return [1,2,3];
}
function map(context) {
log.debug(JSON.parse(context.value));
}
You cannot get access to specific variables from previous phases. If you want to pass data along, you need to build an appropriate data structure with the values you want to pass and return it, then parse it out of context.value in the subsequent phase.

Answer 2

This is coming a little late, but one solution/workaround I found is using a Scheduled Script to call a Map/Reduce Script.
You can dynamically set script parameters within the Scheduled Script when you initiate the map/reduce script (using the 'N/task' module).