What are the prerequisites for learning Sharepoint? Do I need to know any other languages (C#, .NET etc) before I get started with Sharepoint development?
Answers (4)
Joel A.
Senior Software Engineer at Integra, Inc
Best Answers in: Software Development (3), Equity Markets (1), Databases (1)
Hi Saili,
I would suggest you start with both a language course/book (C# or VB.NET) and a platform book ( .NET CLR overview ) before starting SharePoint development.
Note that the platform knowledge is more important than a specific language choice.
Depend on what area you are going to work on Sharepoint family. If its straight forward configuration stuff for sites, you want required to go into much details of underlying framework.
However, it better to understand the .net framework for proper understanding and wise decision making during the developments or designing. Framework knowledge is good enough.
Richard H.
Senior Sharepoint Consultant at Microsoft
Best Answers in: Enterprise Software (2), Education and Schools (1), Blogging (1), E-Commerce (1), Web Development (1)
Hi Saili
As already stated it really depends on what you want to achieve within SharePoint. If you are just looking to modify SharePoints look and feel there is very little .net coding involved and an excellent starting point would be Heather Solomons blog (http://www.heathersolomon.com/Blog/).
Another useful tool for simple customisations is Microsoft SharePoint Designer, as you can do some simple customisation without really needing to know a lot about asp, VB or C#.
However for more in-depth customisations or development, I would recommend looking at the following languages
* C#.Net for webpart development, workflows and other custom functions
* ASP.Net for general website development
* XML, as most of the configuration pages in MOSS and SharePoint are in XML.
Once you have got a feel for the languages then have a look at a couple of books/web sites on developing for SharePoint as this will be slightly different from the stuff covered in the more general development books/web sites.
Finally I have included some links to some blogs that I have found useful in the past.
I hope this is of use.
Regards
Richard Hogan
Links:
Saili,
The answer to your question depends on what you are going to do with SharePoint. Noting that you are a Senior S/W Engineer, I am guessing you are looking at this from a development perspective.
If that is the case, the *right* prerequisites would be an understanding of the .NET framework, particularly the ASP.NET 2.0 framework to begin with, followed by working knowledge of a .NET language (VB.NET or C#). That allows you to gain a broad understanding of how Sharepoint behaves as a framework. Knowledge of T-SQL and Windows Server 2003 with IIS is also a pre-requisite in my mind.
To learn Sharepoint the tool (and this is where it gets hazy so bear with me), you have to look at it as a Web-based application that incorporates elements of Office (Excel, Access etc) and Windows (Explorer type interface etc) into a browser based tool.
RoadMap to learning Sharepoint:
My personal learning began with installing Sharepoint on a Windows Server 2003 install out of the box and then fiddling with a tool called Central Administration (CA); It then evolved into creating Web Applications, Sharepoint Site Collections using CA; After that, I learnt more about what are the different types of site templates that you can create (Team Sites, Blank Sites, Document Center etc).
Once I was comfortable using the tool, I turned to Sharepoint Designer 2007 to learn more about the inner workings of the Sharepoint Site Structure and its artifacts.
At this point, I already had a background in ASP.NET and Visual Studio based Web app development. Hence, it was a natural segue into incorporating the recommendations from MS to get started with WSS/MOSS custom development using concepts like Features and Solutions.
I should stop now, or this could be end being an essay!
Let me know if you need more details!
Thanks!
--Karthik
