Thorough SharePoint 2010 development book suggestion?

Question

I'm looking for a developer's book that would be quite in-depth and works from the basics to advanced stuff without requiring previous knowledge of MOSS 2007.

I would like the book to explain basics of the SharePoint development framework and class library and then go off with all kinds of common development practices in SharePoint . Including advanced stuff like integrating WCF services (including RIA services for Silverlight support) etc.

Answer 1

Robert - Most SharePoint development books tend to cover a broad amount of information at a relatively shallow depth. They may cover the object model, but also focus on developing for SharePoint's features such as collaboration, search, etc. There are plenty of books that I like, such as: http://www.wrox.com/WileyCDA/WroxTitle/Professional-SharePoint-2010-Development.productCd-0470529423,descCd-tableOfContents.html, but I don't know that it will cover everything that you want.

There are some online (downloadable) resources that may be more thorough:

SharePoint 2010 SDK [Online] [Download]

Patterns and Practices [Online] [Download]

Developer Training Kit (with Hands On Labs) [Download]

Also, for the first time I think ever, Microsoft has made the TechEd videos/slide decks available online for free. There were a slew of sessions related to SharePoint 2010 this year: http://www.msteched.com/Tracks/OfficeAndSharePoint

Hope this helps!

Answer 2

I have grown quite fond of the book by Sahil Malik "Building Solutions for SharePoint 2010". Specifically for building SharePoint web parts you should look at Wictor Wiléns "SharePoint 2010 Web pars in action"

Answer 3

I've read a couple of books this summer on SharePoint 2010 including some of the mentioned here. The one I find most valuable is the free PDF book released by the SharePoint Patterns & Practices team called Developing applications for Microsoft SharePoint 2010. It can be downloaded from http://spg.codeplex.com/releases/view/48412.

This book is not for absolute newbies, it expects you to have some knowledge about SharePoint programming, but it is an excellent resource of how to do what in a correct way in SharePoint 2010.

Answer 4

It will be beneficial for the SharePoint Developer to learn and effectively use PowerShell. A few of the books suggested are -

• Automating SharePoint 2010 with Windows PowerShell 2.0
• PowerShell for Microsoft SharePoint 2010 Administrators

Answer 5

I'm quite surprised that Inside SharePoint 2010 by Andrew Connell et al hasn't been mentioned. It's provides a great overview of the architecture along with a selection of decent examples and I often refer to it.