Sharepoint Server 2010 or Sharepoint Foundation 2010 for development?

Question

Ok first of all what is the difference between these two products?

Secondly are the development skills interchangeable between Server 2010 and Foundation 2010?

And lastly in terms of job market, when HR department writes "Looking for Sharepoint developer" do they mean developer for Sharepoint Server (MOSS) or Sharepoint Foundation (Services)?

Note: Working with SP Foundation would be better in my case because Sharepoint Server 2010 brings my computer to its knees with only 3GB RAM. Sharepoint Foundation is it a good starting point or would you suggest going with Sharepoint Server?

Answer 1

Strictly speaking, SharePoint Server IS SharePoint Foundation with additional features. Therefore, all your SharePoint Foundation development skills can be used in SharePoint Server as well. What you should/could use depends on the requirements of your project. Some projects require features that are only available in SharePoint Server, so that narrows your options.

If your PC is not powerfull enough to run SharePoint Server, there's always the option to install it on a development server and connect to it remotely. That is... if you have a development server available.

Side note: the term MOSS is only used for SharePoint Server 2007. Microsoft decided to change the name of the product from Microsoft Office SharePoint Server to Microsoft SharePoint Server.