Ten Places to Go for SharePoint Development Information

SharePoint Developer Center
The SharePoint Developer Center is a one-stop shop for “everything SharePoint development.” The site includes community forums, videos, whitepapers, and other indispensable developer resources.
The SharePoint Developer Center is a great place to explore if you are just getting started. There are a number of videos that walk through some of the basic issues you will encounter as you begin developing on the SharePoint platform. Whenever you find yourself stuck, be sure to visit the forums, where a very active bunch of passionate SharePointers will go above and beyond to answer your questions and get you pointed in the right direction. To access the SharePoint Developer Center, point your browser to this URL

Office Developer Center
The Office Developer Center is designed especially for developers who work with Microsoft Office products. The site includes resources for all types of Office development — but especially worth checking out is its information on the tight integration between Office products and SharePoint. For example, you might need to get additional information on building those InfoPath forms that you will use in SharePoint or when you start putting together Excel analytical reports.
To access the Office Developer Center, point your browser to here

Developing Applications Guide
The Developing Applications for SharePoint 2010 guide is produced by the Patterns and Practices team at Microsoft. The Patterns and Practices group is tasked with defining best practices and “patterns” that should be used when working with Microsoft products. The guide contains resources for develop- ing SharePoint code along with code samples and a reusable class library.
To find the most recent version of the guide, follow these steps:
 1. Open your favorite Web browser and navigate to  here
 2. In the Search Downloads text box, type in Developing Applications for SharePoint 2010.
 3. Look for the title with the most recent release date.

Channel 9 Developer Course
The Channel 9 site is a production unit at Microsoft that conducts interviews and creates videos. These videos include everything from interviews with products’ team members to training courses for particular Microsoft software products. The Channel 9 team has created a series of SharePoint 2010 developer videos that you can find at the followingURL

Software Development Kit
The SharePoint 2010 Reference: Software Development Kit includes documentation and code samples, along with information for programming with the SharePoint Foundation and SharePoint Server object models in mind. In addi- tion, the kit includes a set of best practices and guidance on getting started with SharePoint 2010 programming.
To find the most recent version of the kit, follow these steps:
 1. Open your favorite Web browser and navigate to here
 2. In the Search Downloads text box, type in SharePoint 2010 Reference: Software Development Kit.
 3. Look for the title with the most recent release date.

SharePoint 2010 Guides
Microsoft has created a number of guides to assist in your SharePoint planning and deployment process. These guides are more like books; they’re extensive and contain a treasure trove of SharePoint information. You can download the planning and deployment guides by using the processes outlined in the next subsections.
Planning Guide

The Planning Guide For SharePoint is a detailed paper (more of a book if you print it out) that walks you through all aspects of planning for SharePoint. The guide includes such useful resources as technical diagrams, project templates, planning worksheets, and checklists. To find the most recent version of the Planning Guide, follow these steps:
 1. Open your favorite Web browser and navigate to here
 2. In the Search Downloads text box, type in Planning Guide For SharePoint.
  Note that guides are available for both SharePoint Server and SharePoint Foundation.
 3. Look for the title with the most recent release date.

Deployment Guide
The Deployment Guide is designed to provide detailed information about deploying SharePoint. It covers everything from hardware and software requirements to installing and configuring the product. The guide comes in two flavors. The first is designed for SharePoint Foundation and the second is designed for SharePoint Server.
To find the most recent version of the Deployment Guide, follow these steps:
 1. Open your favorite Web browser and navigate to here
 2. In the Search Downloads text box, type in Deployment Guide For SharePoint.
  Note that guides exist for SharePoint Server and SharePoint Foundation. Choose the one that applies to your version of SharePoint.
 3. Look for the title with the most recent release date.

Setting up a SharePoint development environment
Past versions of SharePoint would only install and run on a server operating system — a problem for developers, who often prefer to work in a workstation environment instead of a server environment. SharePoint 2010 solved this dilemma by supporting installation on Windows 7. Finally a developer could install a local version of SharePoint that included the database and all the necessary dependencies. With SharePoint running locally you’re free to tweak and play and really get to know the product — in particular, how other users will experience it on their workstations — without leaving the comfort of your own desktop computer.
Keep in mind that SharePoint requires a 64-bit operating system. If you’re planning to install SharePoint on Windows 7, make sure it’s the 64-bit edition.
If you want more information about installing a SharePoint development environment, you can find it at the followingURL

Deployment Planning Services
Microsoft has a program in place that uses certified partners to assist in your SharePoint planning and deployment efforts. The program is called SharePoint Deployment Planning Services (SDPS); essentially it’s a series of information sessions that representatives of those Microsoft-certified partners conduct, making use of planning material created by Microsoft. The sessions offer different materials based on the depth and complexity of the information required; they come in 1-, 3-, 5-, 10-, and 15-day engagements.
If your organization subscribes to the Microsoft Software Assurance program, then the SDPS program may be available to you already at no cost.
For more information about SharePoint Deployment Planning Services check out the followingURL

Microsoft Hosted Information
Microsoft maintains a couple of extensive online libraries of information. Although the sites are geared to specific professional groups, the information on both sites is useful regardless of how you interact with SharePoint — and getting familiar with both sites will help you as a developer.
 ✓ The Microsoft TechNet site is designed for general IT professionals, and is available at
technet.microsoft.com
 ✓ Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN) site is designed especially for developers, and hangs out athere

SharePoint 2010 Developer Training Kit
Although the SharePoint 2010 Developer Training Kit may not be a whole new development-oriented brain, it does provide a rich set of training materials for the good ol’ brain you already have. The kit includes video tutorials, hands- on labs, source-code examples, PowerPoint decks, whitepapers, and articles. Downloading and browsing through the kit is a great way to get started with SharePoint development.
The training kit is updated often — so you’ll want to find the most recent ver- sion. Fortunately, finding that latest version is a breeze — just follow these steps:
 1. Open your favorite Web browser and navigate to here
 2. In the Search Downloads text box, type in SharePoint 2010 Developer Training Kit.
 3. Look for the title with the most recent release date.
If these steps look hauntingly familiar, that’s by design; Microsoft makes all this handy info available with maximum consistency and minimum fuss.

Magazines and Blogs
As SharePoint has gained popularity, a number of online magazines have cropped up that provide a wealth of published SharePoint information. The following magazines — which are either specific to SharePoint or regularly include SharePoint content — offer some good starting points:
 ✓ SharePointPro Connections (www.sharepointproconnections.com)
 ✓ SharePoint Magazine (sharepointmagazine.net)
 ✓ MSDN Magazine (msdn.microsoft.com/magazine)
 ✓ Visual Studio Magazine (visualstudiomagazine.com)
 ✓ The Architecture Journal (msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/architecture/bb410935.aspx)
  No, you won’t find photo spreads of pricey bungalows here; the “architecture” under discussion is strictly the structure-of-your-software variety.
 ✓ Windows IT Pro (www.windowsitpro.com)
 In addition to the published magazines you can find online, a number of blogs are maintained by SharePoint professionals. The relevance of blogs is con- stantly shifting — but to find some of the best, visit the SharePoint Developer Center site and look for the blogs written by SharePoint MVPs — the folks even Microsoft recognizes as gurus in the field.