Modern SharePoint Development completely changed the skill set required to be successful in Office 365 and SharePoint Online. SharePoint developer/Architect should change there skill set as a front-end web developer. i.e., a big changes coming that will bring a new user experience and also a radically different development model.
Overview of new modern SharePoint
Preparation for developers
- Client web parts and client-side applications are the new building blocks
- Client side Scripting language – i.e., JavaScript
- No particular JavaScript framework is mandated – you can use Angular, React, Knockout, Handlebars, Backbone or whatever you like
- You should learn Typescript for Modules.
- You no longer NEED to work in Visual Studio versions, just move to free Visual Studio code and should learn VS code.
- JSON for Manifest and packaging solution.
- To Host – WebPart can live anywhere, they don’t have to live in SharePoint. Example: CDN or any website you host.
- The “local development” model is very different – Gulp and node.js are used to host files locally, so you don’t need to use IIS on your local machine.
- SharePoint Web hooks – these are the new “event receivers”
Some of the JavaScript Libraries below to build modern SharePoint development …
Advantages
- No Visual Studio
- No SharePoint Environment
- No IFrame
- Local Desktop is enough for Development
Need Server Side Web part only for below scenarios
- JavaScript running on the client so there is no elevation of privilege possible there. All client web parts and client applications will run in the context of the current user.
- Microsoft releasing the first version now, so publishing sites will continue to use master pages and page layouts. Later they bring new features.
We now have a page and web part model that’s fast, lightweight, simple for end users, and nice to develop using JavaScript. There are also new ways of solving common requirements around building mini-applications, but in a way which moves away from the very SharePoint-y building blocks such as JSLink and display templates that we had in the past, to a way where the implementer can choose how to build the UI using the approaches of their choice. Additionally, we now have an open development model more in line with the rest of the world, and great support for quick development without the need for Visual Studio and where much can be done without even having access to a SharePoint environment. Always we use our local desktop as development Environment.
This all together Microsoft building a SharePoint framework for developers.
I am going to start my journey with Modern SharePoint Development and going to share my experience here. so that I invite SharePoint developers to follow along with my journey to learn and Implement together…