What do I need to develop SharePoint applications?

Question

I'm a .NET developer and I'm used to write standard WinForms and ASP.NET applications.

In a few months I'll engage in a project that requires Sharepoint development. Problem is... I'm on ground zero regarding Sharepoint, and I have no idea how Sharepoint works.

What software / tools do I need to have to be able to study and develop sharepoint applications? I've noticed there's a "SharePoint Server 2007", do I need that? What about Office, do I need a special version of Office to develop for Sharepoint?

And a second question is: how do these things connect and integrate? Visual Studio, IIS, SharePoint Server, Office... ?

Any overview on this would be highly appreciated :)

Thanks!

Answer 1

Pretty much a duplicate of:

• SharePoint development environment setup;
• Creating a development environment for SharePoint.;
• How to begin as a .net and SharePoint developer; and
• What setup do you use for SharePoint (WSS/MOSS) development?.

Answer 2

Read Inside Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 (Pattison,Larson). If you are already familiar with C# and ASP.NET, this book is THE book to read to ensure you are aware of how to develop WSS/MOSS applications. This book is a MUST HAVE if you want to properly develop SharePoint solutions/applications.

Answer 3

I agree with Pete's recommendation of the Inside Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 (Pattison,Larson) book. I would also recommend the The Great SharePoint Adventure class taught by Ted Pattison (if/when that is an option for you). I took the class and it helped fill in a lot of the gaps in my knowledge. It follows his book closely.

I would also recommend that you look at SharePoint Designer too (now a free download). While not a programming tool it fills the gap between the web interface and Visual Studio. For some tasks it is the quickest approach.

Answer 4

Be careful with the Sharepoint Designer it is not development it is more customization of one site...

If you have a more mature deploy model then you need to write solutions see http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc262957.aspx

What is your requirements__ What should you write. My experience sitting in Sharepoint land the last 2 years is that is not a silver bullet. You can easily get much more problems with performance, deployment etc. because you tried to use Sharepoint for everything....