Modern SharePoint Development - techniques for moving code off

SharePoint servers

Chris O’Brien – MVP

www.sharepointnutsandbolts.com

About me Independent Consultant Head of Development, Content and Code

Blog: www.sharepointnutsandbolts.com Twitter: @ChrisO_Brien LinkedIn: http://uk.linkedin.com/in/

chrisobrienmvp

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

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

SharePoint – the bad parts

Too easy for custom code to bring SharePoint down

Result – SharePoint got a bad rep

No good for Office 365!

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)

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

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

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

The remote code model

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)

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.

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!

Remote code (CSOM) – where?

Options include: Azure Websites (VM role not needed) Some IIS servers (usually inside your network)

Pros/consPros – 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?)

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

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!

DEMO:

Remote code in Azure

(Remote Event Rece ivers )

C l ick “nex t s l ide” to see th is demo on YouTube, or use

l ink :

h t tps : / /www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4T1eLg0_to

PowerShell and CSOM

PowerShell in Office 365

Poweshell cmdlets0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

900 PS cmdlets

On-premises SharePoint Online

PowerShell cmdlets:

On-premises SharePoint Online

774 30

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

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)

PowerShell + CSOM – what it looks like

Add-Type -Path "c:\Lib\Microsoft.SharePoint.Client.dll" Add-Type -Path "c:\Lib\Microsoft.SharePoint.Client.Runtime.dll"Add-Type -Path "c:\Lib\Microsoft.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()

DEMO:

PowerShel l + CSOM scr ip ts

C l ick “nex t s l ide” to see th is demo on YouTube, or use

l ink :

h t tp : / /youtu .be/yuD21t -C9kQ

Demo

POWERSHELL + CSOM

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

Microsoft 's App Model Samples

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!

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

•AddWebPartToWebPartPage

•AddWebPartToWikiPage

•DeleteWebPart

•AddHtmlToWikiPage

Sites

•AddSite

•AddSiteCollectionTenant

•MySiteSearch (CSOM search)

•ProcessQuery (CSOM search)

•SetPropertyBagValue

Security

•AddAdministrators

•GetAdministrators

•GetSharingCapabilitiesTenant

Navigation

•AddCustomAction

•AddNavigationNode

•DeleteAllQuickLaunchNodes

List

•AddList

•AddDocumentLibrary

•GetList

•UpdateListVersioning

See – I *told* you it was AWESOME!

AMS – what’s (really) in there

BrandingCreate fields and

content typesCreate lists/libraries

Create sites/site

collectionsUpload files Configure navigation

App code (CSOM) to support lots of “collab” scenarios:

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

AMS – COB’s 5 favourite core methods

1. CreateTaxonomyField (including wire-up)

2. CreateField/CreateContentType

3. AddList/AddDocumentLibrary

4. UploadDocumentToLibrary

5. AddCustomAction

Other useful AMS artifacts

Controls for use in provider-hosted apps: “People picker”

“Taxonomy picker”

DEMO:

AMS samples

Cl ick “nex t s l ide” to see th is demo on YouTube, or use

l ink :

h t tp : / /youtu .be/GISWaLZ3r_4

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

Summary

Many clients (not just Office 365 orgs) will want “modern” cloud-friendly development

Some key elements:

The “optimum position” debate is worth following

AppsNo-Code Sandbox

Solutions

PS/CSOM

scripts

Remote Event

Receivers

Azure AMS

samples

Thank you for attending!

www.sharepointnutsandbolts.com

@ChrisO_Brien