Professional SharePoint® 2007 Development

If you're a .NET or Microsoft Office developer, this book gives you the tools to utilize the entire SharePoint platform. It offers practical insights that will help you take advantage of this integrated suite of server capabilities along with specific examples of how to implement classes of solutions on top of the platform. You'll be able to apply this information in order to create a collaborative environment and build web–based applications.

You'll build your SharePoint foundation on the solid details provided on SharePoint technologies, architecture, and development tools. The core of the book takes you into the key areas of development on SharePoint: base platform, collaboration, enterprise search, enterprise content management (ECM), records management (RM), document management (DM), web content management (WCM), workflow, electronic forms, and business intelligence. With these skills, you will be able to set up a SharePoint environment that enhances productivity and delivers rich–looking sites.

What you will learn from this book

• All about the Microsoft® Application Platform, WSS 3.0, MOSS 2007, and SharePoint's relationship to ASP.NET

• What tools you'll need and how to build your development environment

• Ways to enhance collaboration using calendars, tasks, issues, lists, and e–mail events

• Techniques for developing applications with RSS, blogs, and wikis

• Strategies for using enterprise search, XML, and XSLT

• How to create solutions integrating custom workflows and e–forms

Who this book is for

This book is for ASP.NET, .NET, and Microsoft Office developers who want to learn SharePoint development. .NET code examples are given in C#.

Wrox Professional guides are planned and written by working programmers to meet the real–world needs of programmers, developers, and IT professionals. Focused and relevant, they address the issues technology professionals face every day. They provide examples, practical solutions, and expert education in new technologies, all designed to help programmers do a better job.

Enhance Your Knowledge

Advance Your Career

About the Authors.

Foreword.

Introduction.

Chapter 1: The Microsoft Application Platform and SharePoint.

SharePoint Products and Technologies.

The Microsoft Application Platform.

A Service–Oriented View of the Microsoft Application Platform.

Chapter 2: MOSS 2007 Overview for Developers.

Architectural Overview of SharePoint.

Your Development Environment.

Configure Remote Debugging.

Chapter 3: The SharePoint User Experience.

Site Design Starts with Web Applications.

Content Is Stored in a Site Collection.

Using SharePoint Lists and Libraries.

Improved Storage with Lists.

Working with Site Columns.

Understanding Content Types.

Windows SharePoint Services Pages.

Windows SharePoint Services Mobility.

Chapter 4: WSS v3 Platform Services.

Site Definitions.

Custom Field Types.

Features.

Solutions.

Web Parts.

Chapter 5: Programming Windows SharePoint Services.

Object Model.

Event Handling.

Web Services.

Chapter 6: A Sample Collaboration Solution.

The Project.

Designing a Solution.

Project Review.

Chapter 7: RSS, Blogs, and Wikis.

RSS.

Blogs.

Wikis.

Chapter 8: Building Personalized Solutions.

Building Rich Portal Solutions on SharePoint.

Membership and User Profiles.

SharePoint Audiences.

Chapter 9: Using Enterprise Search.

Introduction to Enterprise Search.

SharePoint Server Enterprise Search Object Model Architecture.

Extending Enterprise Search.

Configuring Enterprise Search.

Chapter 10: Using the Business Data Catalog.

Business Data Catalog Architecture.

Connecting to Web Services.

Chapter 11: Building Document Management Solutions.

Understanding the Document Lifecycle.

Defining Metadata Using Content Types.

Managing Document Creation.

Managing the Document Revision Cycle.

Developing XML–Driven Document Management Solutions.

Creating Policy Administration Tools.

Chapter 12: Building Records Management Solutions.

SharePoint Support for Records Management.

The SharePoint Records Repository.

Information Management Policy.

Chapter 13: Building Web Content Management Solutions.

Customizing the Authoring Experience.

Chapter 14: Electronic Forms in MOSS 2007.

The Structure of an InfoPath Form.

Form Templates and Form Data.

Understanding InfoPath Security.

Form Programming.

Form Deployment and Distribution.

Using Browser–Based Forms.

Chapter 15: Building Workflow Solutions.

Workflow Foundation Basics.

Workflow in MOSS.

Workflow Development.

Building Declarative Workflows Using SharePoint Designer 2007.

Building Reusable Workflows Using Visual Studio 2005.

Chapter 16: Business Intelligence and SharePoint Server 2007.

Dashboards and Report Center.

Appendix A: Using the Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 Extension for Windows SharePoint Services 3.0.

Installation Requirements.

Building a Custom Solution Using the VSeWSS.

Using VSeWSS to Build Site Definitions and Custom Modules.

Using VSeWSS to Build Content Types.

Building a Custom Content Type Using VSeWSS.

Using VSeWSS to Build List Definitions.

Using VSeWSS to Build Web Parts.

Leveraging the SharePoint Solution Generator.

Index.

Consultant, author, and coach John Alexander is a recognized Microsoft Certified Trainer (MCT), Microsoft Certified Solution Developer (MCSD) and has served as the Microsoft regional director for the Kansas City region for the last nine years. Experienced in the delivery of scalable, stable, and open enterprise–level .NET Web applications, John is an industry–recognized trainer, consultant, speaker, and writer on the Microsoft .NET vision and implementation at both the technical and business decision–maker level. He has also coached several teams of developers, including one that was directly responsible for placing their organization on CIO magazine s Agile 100 list. You can reach John at john@alexanderjulian.net. John is a principal with Alexander & Julian Inc, a Microsoft Partner specializing in Microsoft SharePoint Server 2007 and custom .NET development. Known for excellence in software delivery, Alexander & Julian prides itself on solving business challenges with innovative solutions. Aside from being very passionate and somewhat obsessed with the latest and greatest Microsoft technologies that regularly come out of Redmond, J. Dan Attis has been heavily involved in the local Atlanta user group community since 2003, where he landed after completing his degree in applied mathematics at the University of Western Ontario, a hardcore technology program at The Information Technology Institute (ITI), and a short contract in North Carolina. In addition to being an occasional speaker at both the VB.NET and the C#.NET user groups, he helped create the Free Training 1,2,3! series (www.freetraining123.com) to help developers learn Microsoft technologies. Dan created and presented material at the first SharePoint 1,2,3! event (www.sharepoint123.com) along with the other leaders of the Atlanta Microsoft Professionals user group. Dan is also on the team responsible for the highly successful Atlanta Code Camps that run every year, as well as being a speaker. Today, Dan works as a senior consultant for Intellinet, working primarily with cutting–edge SharePoint and .NET technologies, creating innovative technology solutions that achieve measurable business improvements for their clients. He resides in Roswell, Georgia, with his wonderful wife, Jody, and their beautiful daughter, Lily. Adam Buenz , MVP, CCSP, MCP, is an enterprise software architect for ARB Security Solutions specializing in knowledge management, collaboration strategies, and business process automation. In 2006, Adam was awarded the Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP) citation for Windows SharePoint Services for his contributions to the SharePoint community. Adam is currently completing his Masters degree in mathematics. Adam blogs at www.sharepointsecurity.com/blog and can be contacted at . John Holliday is an independent consultant and Microsoft MVP for Office SharePoint Server and has over 25 years of professional software development and consulting experience. John has been involved in a broad spectrum of commercial software development projects ranging from retail products to enterprise information systems for the Fortune 100. After receiving his bachelor s degree in applied mathematics from Harvard College and a J.D. from the University of Michigan, John developed a specialized computing language for constructing legal expert systems. His expertise includes all aspects of distributed systems development, with a special emphasis on document automation, collaboration, and enterprise content management. In addition to his professional career, John is actively engaged in humanitarian activities through Works of Wonder International, a nonprofit organization he cofounded with his wife, Alice, and the Art of Living Foundation, an international service organization devoted to uplifting human values throughout the world. Jeff Julian is a principal consultant with Alexander & Julian Inc, a Kansas City based Microsoft partner and software consulting firm. His ability to resolve business challenges and passion for the software community was evident when Microsoft awarded him the Most Valuable Professional award in the area of XML for four years in a row. Jeff is also the founder of the largest blogging site of Microsoft professionals, named Geekswithblogs.net. You can contact Jeff by email at jeff@alexanderjulian.net. Matt Ranlett , a SQL Server MVP, has been a fixture of the Atlanta .NET developer community for many years. A founding member of the Atlanta Dot Net Regular Guys (www.devcow.com), Matt has formed and leads several area user groups. Despite spending dozens of hours after work on local and national community activities such as the SharePoint 1, 2, 3! series (www.sharepoint123.com), organizing three Atlanta Code Camps, working on the INETA board of directors as the vice president of technology, and appearing in several podcasts such as .Net Rocks and the ASP.NET Podcast, Matt recently found the time to ge