With SharePoint 2010, developers finally have the powerful, end-to-end development tools they need to build outstanding solutions quickly and painlessly. Whatrs"s more, those tools are built directly into the latest version of Visual Studio, the development platform most Microsoft developers already know. In this book, the Microsoft experts who created these tools show you how to take full advantage of them. The authors focusspecifically on the SharePoint scenarios that Visual Studio 2010 now makes accessible to mainstream Microsoft developers. They assume no experience with SharePoint development, and focus on SharePoint Foundation 2010: the low-cost version designed for organizations and departments of all kinds, not just large enterprises. The essential companion to Microsoftrs"s Visual Studio Tools for Office (VSTO), this book shows how to get your solution up and running fast, and then extend it to meet your precise business requirements. Yours"ll learn how to develop, package, and deploy robust SharePoint business collaboration applications without any unnecessary complexity or overhead. Following a practical, developer-focused introduction to Microsoft SharePoint 2010, yours"ll learn about Visual Studio 2010 templates and tools that simplify the creation of SharePoint solutions The SharePoint Object Model and its most frequently used methods, properties, and events Using lists to store, manage, and share data Responding to events related to lists, features, items, or workflows Integrating external data with Business Data Connectivity Services Using content types that ship with SharePoint 2010-and creating new ones Building multi-step workflows, and custom forms that work with them Utilizing Web Parts to present different data and applications on the same page Customizing SharePoint pages or navigation with ASP.NET Packaging and deploying solutions, and customizing deployment to your unique requirements Whether yours"re just starting out with SharePoint development, upgrading from earlier versions, or building on experience with ASP.NET, this bookwill help you solve real problems and get real results-fast!

Eric Carter is a development manager in the Bing team at Microsoft. Previously, he worked as a development manager in the Visual Studio team, helping to invent, design, and implement many of today’s key features. He has also worked on Visual Studio Tools for Office, Visual Studio Tools for Applications, the Visual Studio Macros IDE, and Visual Basic for Applications for Office 2000 and Office 2003. His other Addison-Wesley books include Visual Studio Tools for Office (2006) and Visual Studio Tools for Office 2007 (2009).

 

Boris Scholl, program manager on Microsoft’s Visual Studio team, works on Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 SharePoint developer tools. Previously, as senior technical product manager in Microsoft’s Office Server group, he focused on developer readiness and SharePoint integration with Project Server.

 

Peter Jausovec helped test and design the Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 SharePoint developer tools, focusing especially on SharePoint workflows.

Figures xvii

Tables xxxv

Foreword xxxix

Preface xli

Acknowledgments xliii

About the Authors xlv

 

Chapter 1: Introduction to SharePoint 1

What Is SharePoint Development? 1

Introduction to SharePoint Site Collections and Sites 7

The Central Administrative View of a SharePoint Server 74

A Visual Studio View of SharePoint: The Server Explorer 93

Conclusion 103

 

Chapter 2: Introduction to SharePoint Development in Visual Studio 2010 105

Creating a SharePoint Solution 105

Conclusion 152

 

Chapter 3: Introduction to the SharePoint Object Model 153

Introduction 153

The Disposable Pattern in SharePoint Development 157

Sandboxed Solutions 160

A Little Set Up 162

From the Top: Web Applications, Site Collections, and Sites 172

Working with Lists 194

Working with Queries 221

Working with Users 226

Other Important SharePoint Objects 227

Conclusion 229

 

Chapter 4: SharePoint Lists 231

Introduction to SharePoint Lists 231

Creating Lists 231

Conclusion 315

 

Chapter 5: SharePoint Event Receivers 317

Introduction to Event Receivers 317

Creating Event Receivers in Visual Studio 331

Creating Feature Event Receiver Projects 341

Deploying and Debugging Event Receiver Projects 347

Conclusion 358

 

Chapter 6: Working with Business Data 361

Introduction to Business Connectivity Services 361

Creating External Content Types Using SharePoint Designer 362

Creating External Content Types Using Visual Studio 384

Conclusion 455

 

Chapter 7: SharePoint Content Types 457

Introduction to Content Types 457

Content Types in Visual Studio 2010 470

Advanced Content Types 491

Conclusion 522

 

Chapter 8: SharePoint Workflow 525

Workflow Basics 525

Workflow Activities 528

SharePoint Workflows 536

Workflow Forms 552

Workflows in SharePoint Designer 562

Conclusion 578

 

Chapter 9: SharePoint Web Parts 579

Introduction to Web Parts 579

Web Part Fundamentals 580

Creating a Visual Web Part 581

Creating a Code-only Web Part (Sandboxed) 609

Creating a Silverlight Web Part 619

Web Part Connections 636

Configuration of Web Parts 643

Conclusion 654

 

Chapter 10: SharePoint Pages 655

Introduction to SharePoint Pages 655

SharePoint Architecture 655

Customizing and Developing SharePoint Pages 661

Conclusion 697

 

Chapter 11: Packaging and Deployment 699

The Basics and Beyond 699

SharePoint Features 699

SharePoint Solution Packaging 712

The SharePoint Project Structure in Visual Studio 721

Configurable Deployment 751

Conclusion 786

 

Appendix A: Preparing for SharePoint Development 787

Supported Operating Systems 787

Installing SharePoint 2010 788

Installing Visual Studio 2010 803

Installing SharePoint Designer 2010 807

Creating a Site Collection 809

Developer Dashboard 812

Conclusion 815

 

Index 817