1.
Modern SharePoint Development
- techniques for moving code off
SharePoint servers
Chris O’Brien – MVP
www.sharepointnutsandbolts.com

2.
About me
 Independent Consultant
 Head of Development, Content and Code
 Blog: www.sharepointnutsandbolts.com
 Twitter: @ChrisO_Brien
 LinkedIn: http://uk.linkedin.com/in/
chrisobrienmvp

3.
Agenda
 Background – remote code for the win
 Core techniques/references:
 Remote Event Receivers (e.g. in Azure)
 PowerShell and CSOM – a winning combo
 AMS samples
 The “optimum position” debate
 Summary

4.
SharePoint as a dev platform
 8 years of farm solutions
– we were hooked!
 The horror:
 Objects not disposed
 Dodgy web parts
 API bad practices
 Timer job proliferation
 ..and more

5.
SharePoint – the bad parts
 Too easy for custom
code to bring
SharePoint down
 Result – SharePoint
got a bad rep
 No good for Office
365!

6.
What is cloud-friendly dev?
No - farm solutions/files deployed to _LAYOUTS
• No feature receivers
• No timer jobs
• No event receivers
Yes - sandbox solutions, but no code in sandbox solutions
Yes - apps (aka remote code)
* Deployable in Office 365 *
• No custom field controls
• No site definitions
• No custom web parts (due to use of code)

7.
Benefits even to on-premises projects?
• One app can no longer bring SharePoint down
Better isolation
• Fewer SharePoint artifacts to audit/upgrade
Simpler upgrade (e.g. to “SharePoint 2015”)
• Less rework to transition
Keeps door open to Office 365

8.
Code implementation mapping
Farm solution Remote code/apps
Timer job Scheduled process in Azure (CSOM to
read/write to SP)
Event receiver Remote event receiver
Custom field control JSLink
Site definition WebTemplate in NCSS *
Run With Elevated Privileges App-only authentication
Custom web parts/user control App part, or JavaScript + DOM
Feature receiver, DelegateControl,
application page
None – but other approaches possible
* NCSS = no-code sandbox solution

9.
Problem areas (examples)
• Custom authentication
• Custom claims provider (needed for People
Picker in SAML claims)
• Admin UI customisations
Not possible
• Branding of OneDrive sites (personal sites)
• Remote provisioning (of site collections)
Possible, but
involved:
NOTE! The AMS samples cover these scenarios

10.
The remote code model

11.
Remote code – what you need to know
 Various flavours:
 “Off-box” server-side code (CSOM)
 Powershell/CSOM scripts (CSOM)
 JavaScript code (JSOM/REST)
 An app is needed for server code (trust)
 Required to use app authentication (OAuth or S2S)
 Alternative – user authentication with password and
SharePointOnlineCredential (e.g. PS/CSOM script)

12.
Examples of remote server-side code
(CSOM)
 Pages in an app (e.g. ASP.NET – in Azure or IIS)
 User goes OUT of SharePoint and into remote app
 App pages in an app part (IFrame) in SharePoint page
 User stays in SharePoint, IFrame brings remote page in
 Tip! This is a key “hook” to execute remote code 
 Services
 Remote Event Receivers
 App events | List/list item events | WebProvisioned event | etc.

13.
Remote provisioning code – considerations
 JavaScript-based approaches can be interesting:
 Custom control added to site home page
 When first user (or admin) hits site, shows a “Getting your site
ready” message
 JSOM code runs to provision fields/content types/pages etc.
 Sets flag(s) on web property bag when done – next run checks
 From the server-side (CSOM) approaches:
 The WebProvisioned event (RER) can be a useful hook!

14.
Remote code (CSOM) – where?
 Options include:
 Azure Websites (VM role not needed)
 Some IIS servers (usually inside your network)
 Pros/cons
Pros – Azure Websites Cons - Azure Websites
+ Easy. Even a dev can do it! - Typically need to implement authentication
(since accessible on internet)
+ Microsoft take care of SSL,
external access, load-balancing,
high availability etc.
- Need to implement Azure if not done
already (e.g. who pays the bill?)

15.
Remote Event Receivers
 Key pillar of “remote code” model
 Effectively a WCF service somewhere callable
 List/list item receivers
 WebProvisioned receiver
 App events:
 AppInstalled, AppUpgraded, AppUninstalled (also –ing)
 *No* equivalent for Feature Receivers

16.
Remote Event Receivers – key steps
1. Create provider-hosted app (and add RER code)
2. Create Azure Website (if doesn’t exist)
3. Publish remote code to Azure
4. Register app with AppRegNew.aspx (or Seller Dashboard)
5. Publish app package, put in app catalog
6. Add to site
7. Associate RERs with lists (e.g. with PowerShell/CSOM)
8. Test!

17.
DEMO:
Remote code in Azure
(Remote Event Receivers)
Click “next slide” to see this demo
on YouTube, or use link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G
4T1eLg0_to

18.
PowerShell and CSOM

19.
PowerShell in Office 365
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
900
Poweshell cmdlets
PS cmdlets
On-premises SharePoint Online
On-premises SharePoint Online
774 30

20.
PowerShell + CSOM – don’t confuse with:
 The MSOL/Azure AD cmdlets
 Generic Office 365 PowerShell – add
users, groups etc.
 The SPO cmdlets
 SharePoint Online PowerShell –
create site collections etc.
Instead, use STANDARD PowerShell
command prompt for PS + CSOM

21.
PowerShell + CSOM – how it works
 Using PS ability to call any .NET object
 Need to have CSOM DLLs available
 Run script from a SharePoint environment
OR
 Install “client redistributable” (or manually copy DLLs)

22.
PowerShell + CSOM – what it looks like
Add-Type -Path "c:LibMicrosoft.SharePoint.Client.dll"
Add-Type -Path "c:LibMicrosoft.SharePoint.Client.Runtime.dll"
Add-Type -Path "c:LibMicrosoft.SharePoint.Client.Taxonomy.dll"
# connect/authenticate to SharePoint Online and get ClientContext object..
$clientContext = New-Object Microsoft.SharePoint.Client.ClientContext($url)
$credentials = New-Object
Microsoft.SharePoint.Client.SharePointOnlineCredentials($username, $securePassword)
$clientContext.Credentials = $credentials
# do something..
$rootWeb = $clientContext.Web
$clientContext.Load($rootWeb)
$clientContext.ExecuteQuery()
$rootWeb.Title = "Updated from PS/CSOM script"
$clientContext.ExecuteQuery()

23.
DEMO:
PowerShell + CSOM scripts
Click “next slide” to see this demo
on YouTube, or use link:
http://youtu.be/yuD21t-C9kQ

24.
POWERSHELL + CSOM

25.
PowerShell + CSOM – advanced operations
Importing/exporting taxonomy terms
Importing/exporting search schema
Recreating site collections
Sandbox solution deployment – no API for this!
Activating web templates
Create publishing pages
Uploading files

26.
Microsoft's App Model Samples

27.
AMS – why you should care
 “Office App Model Samples” –
http://officeamscodeplex.com
 Version 2 released May 2014
 Core CSOM helper libraries,
small/large samples etc.
Because it’s AWESOME – it’s the “helper library” you
dreamed about, plus samples you’d use!

28.
AMS – what’s in there (AKA the “eye test”
slide )
Branding
• DeployThemeToWeb
• SetThemeToWeb
• SetSiteLogo
Features
• ActivateFeature
• DeactivateFeature
Fields and content types
• AddContentTypeToList
• AddFieldToContentType
• CreateContentType
• CreateField
• CreateTaxonomyField
(including wire-up)
Files and folders
• UploadDocumentToLibrary
• UploadDocumentToFolder
• CreateFolder
Pages
• AddWebPartToWebPartPag
e
• AddWebPartToWikiPage
• DeleteWebPart
• AddHtmlToWikiPage
Sites
• AddSite
• AddSiteCollectionTenant
• MySiteSearch (CSOM
search)
• ProcessQuery (CSOM
search)
• SetPropertyBagValue
Security
• AddAdministrators
• GetAdministrators
• GetSharingCapabilitiesTena
nt
Navigation
• AddCustomAction
• AddNavigationNode
• DeleteAllQuickLaunchNodes
List
• AddList
• AddDocumentLibrary
• GetList
• UpdateListVersioning
See – I *told* you it was AWESOME!

29.
AMS – what’s (really) in there
Branding
Create fields
and content
types
Create
lists/libraries
Create
sites/site
collections
Upload files
Configure
navigation
App code (CSOM) to support lots of “collab” scenarios:

30.
AMS – COB’s 5 favourite scenarios
1. Modifying OneDrive sites (e.g. branding)
2. Remote “timer job”
3. Custom site collection creation (“templating”)
4. Adding Remote Event Receivers to host web
5. Cross site collection navigation (term set-driven)
6. Bulk update user profiles

31.
AMS – COB’s 5 favourite core methods
1. CreateTaxonomyField (including wire-up)
2. CreateField/CreateContentType
3. AddList/AddDocumentLibrary
4. UploadDocumentToLibrary
5. AddCustomAction

32.
Other useful AMS artifacts
 Controls for use in provider-hosted apps:
 “People picker”  “Taxonomy picker”

33.
DEMO:
AMS samples
Click “next slide” to see this demo
on YouTube, or use link:
http://youtu.be/GISWaLZ3r_4

34.
The optimum position (for Microsoft?)
 You use all the techniques we’ve discussed, so that..
 ..all your customizations could be deployed to Office 365
 But also:
MSFT optimum Reason But consider!
NO custom master
page
MSFT want to push updates
to master pages
Your customisations could
break (e.g. DOM change)
NO XML for
provisioning, remote
code used instead
Fields/ctypes in XML causes
them upgrade problems
Unclear if any benefit to
implementor

35.
Summary
 Many clients (not just Office 365 orgs) will want “modern”
cloud-friendly development
 Some key
elements:
 The “optimum position” debate is worth following
Apps
No-Code
Sandbox
Solutions
PS/CSOM
scripts
Remote
Event
Receivers
Azure
AMS
samples

36.
Thank you for attending!
www.sharepointnutsandbolts.com
@ChrisO_Brien