Introduction

Why does the world need Yet Another Web Framework?

This is the question that is most likely on your mind —  or perhaps it’s what you were thinking when you saw this book sitting on the shelf. We each asked ourselves this many times over the last few years. Indeed there are many frameworks out there today fl  avored with every buzzword the industry can think of. In short, it’s easy to be skeptical. Yet as we, the authors, delve deeper into the latest and greatest web framework, we’re each starting to realize just how far the industry has come in the last 10 years. Rob began programming for the Web with Classic ASP in 1997 and was giddy with excitement. When .NET came out, he remembers running around his offi  ce, stopping everyone from working and explaining that the world just tilted on its axis.

We all feel the same way about ASP.NET MVC. Not because it’s “something different” but because it offers developers the ultimate chance to “do it their way.” You don’t like the way the platform renders the View? Change it! Just about every part of the ASP.NET MVC Framework is “swappable” —  if the shoes pinch, get different shoes. Don’t like ties? Why not a bow tie? You’re totally in control. ASP.NET MVC is a web framework that comes with a bunch of conventions to make your life easier when you follow them, but if you don’t want them, the framework is quick to step out of your way so that you can get your work done in the way you like.

This book is going to go into the “out-of-the-box” experience you’ll have with ASP.NET MVC, but more importantly you’ll learn practical ways that you can extend ASP.NET MVC with your own magic —  then hopefully share that magic with others.

Because of this extensibility and attention to “doing it your way,” we’re happy to embrace Yet Another Web Framework and hope you are willing to come along with us for the ride.

Introduction

The idea ofWeb portals is nothing new. In fact, SharePoint is not even a totally new idea, with SharePoint Portal Server (and Windows SharePoint Services version 2) being first introduced in 2003 (or even Share- Point Team Services first released in 2001). But with the introduction of Microsoft Offices SharePoint Server 2007 (MOSS) and Windows SharePoint Services version 3 (WSS), Web portal development took a huge leap forward. Many new technologies were introduced, and since they were built on the .NET 2.0 Framework, MOSS andWSS were able to capitalize on many of the new and cool features that made that framework release so amazing.

But if you look at any bookstore or online book retailer for books on SharePoint, there is a woeful lack of releases that deal specifically with design. Sure, there are several books out on MOSS and WSS, but mostly they focus on the nuts and bolts of making SharePoint work. There might be a chapter here and there that deals with things that are important to the design of your SharePoint portal, but the chapter is included in a larger scope that, frankly, doesn’t overly concern itself with the way your SharePoint site looks.

The consequence to this unfortunate gap in available manuscripts is that many SharePoint sites out there look pretty much the same as any other SharePoint site. In fact, it’s not uncommon for anyone familiar with SharePoint to be able to look at a site built on SharePoint technologies and be able to immediately determine that is the case. It’s unfortunate that such a powerful set of tools often comes wrapped in such a vanilla package.

This book is unique in the fact that it puts the design of a SharePoint site as its primary scope. Sure, some of the technologies covered are also covered in other books. However, this should not be seen as overlap because, in the confines of this book, the design is the point, not necessarily the technology behind it. Also, since this book is focused towards design, universal concepts such as accessibility, CSS, and even outside applications such as Photoshop are discussed as they relate to SharePoint. While not specifically a designer’s cookbook for SharePoint, this book does try to bring the most relevant topics regarding the design perspective of a SharePoint site to those developers interested in making their sites stand out. If you want to learn how SharePoint works and how to use its administrative features to make your site powerful, there are plenty of books (many from Wrox) available to help you with that. However, if your focus is making your SharePoint sites look unique, we hope that this book will help you with that endeavor.

Introduction

Welcome to Professional Microsoft SharePoint 2007 Workflow Programming . SharePoint 2007 provides both workflow and activity developers with rich workflow programming facilities, which enable them to implement and deploy their own custom SharePoint workflows and activities.

This book presents numerous detailed step - by - step recipes for developing and deploying SharePoint workflows and activities, and numerous real - world examples in which these recipes are used. This book uses an approach based on analysis of detailed code and in - depth technical discussions to help you gain the skills, knowledge, and experience you need to develop and deploy your own custom SharePoint workflows and activities.

Introduction

Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 has improved and changed dramatically over previous versions of the product. The capabilities of the platform have expanded greatly with the inclusion of an automated workflow engine, web content management capabilities, and a vast number of document management enhancements. However, the value of this tool to an enterprise will depend primarily on the ability of individuals in the organization to understand the features and capabilities of the platform and effectively map those to specific business requirements. This book is designed to mentor and coach business and technical leaders in an organization on the use of SharePoint to address critical information management problems. It gives detailed descriptions and illustrations of the product’s functionality and also includes realistic usage scenarios to provide contextual relevance and a personalized learning experience to the reader.

Introduction

When I first started planning for this book, I took some time to think about the challenges that face a beginning SharePoint 2007 administrator. The many SharePoint courses I have conducted as a SharePoint trainer have given me a good understanding of these challenges. All my SharePoint consulting has also been very helpful, because theory is one thing, but real-world experience is another. I also remember my own frustration and the numerous questions I had when I was trying to learn what SharePoint 2007 was all about. I have written the book that I wished I had when I started to work with SharePoint. My hope is that you will find it full of practical and easy-to-follow instructions that will help you get your SharePoint environment up and running in no time.

The goal of this book is to be your practical guide when building your SharePoint 2007 environment. I have tried to be very clear and focus on the steps that you must understand to build a production environment. Because SharePoint is a very broad subject with lots of details, I had to make sure that the book contains information that you most likely will need to know, such as how to install SharePoint, how to administrate it, how to customize it, and how to perform backup and restore procedures.

But administration is not the only important aspect of SharePoint. I know that most beginning SharePoint administrators also want to know what SharePoint is and what it can be used for. As the administrator, you will most likely be consulted by your users when they want to know how to get the most out of SharePoint 2007. That is why the book also contains several chapters on how to use the features of SharePoint.

Finally, the book has several references and tips for smart add-ons and utilities that will enhance the functionality of SharePoint, such as better navigation, integration with other systems, and workflow solutions. The book describes many free utilities and commercial third-party products. It also shows you where to find new utilities, because there is almost no other Microsoft product that has as many related new products and utilities constantly showing up.