SharePoint development starter pack

Starting development in a new framework can be quite daunting. Seemingly simple things can be hard to find and or decide on – from API references through to development tools and how code should be indented.

In this article, I have compiled some resources that may be helpful to you on your coding adventure with hopefully less misadventure.

SharePoint Framework (SPFx)

First off, here are some resources that will help you get started on SPFx solutions.

• https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepoint/dev/ – The basics. Microsoft regularly updates their documentation and it’s always worthwhile checking in whenever you can. Keep an eye out for new versions of SPFx!
• https://www.voitanos.io – Tutorials. This is a great place to learn about SPFx development from Andrew Connell who’s an experienced trainer in the field and a trusted member of the Microsoft development community.
• https://github.com/pnp/pnpjs – Indispensable code library! This is an open source project maintained by Microsoft and makes working with SharePoint and Office 365 REST APIs much simpler and robust.
• https://lodash.com/ – Makes working with arrays, objects, etc much more easier. A subset of this library is included with SPFx. While it may not have everything the full library has, it still includes methods that will save you from writing the same boring loopy code in every solution.

Microsoft

Microsoft Graph is a huge part in developing dynamic and rich SPFx solutions that’s powered by data from Office 365.

• https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/graph/overview – The documentation. It’s helpful to refer to this when you are unsure or confused about what the endpoints return.
• https://developer.microsoft.com/en-us/graph/graph-explorer – Helpful service. You use the Graph Explorer to test out any query you have written before committing them into code. Could potentially save you a lot of time.

Development tools

• https://code.visualstudio.com/ – My preferred IDE these days. This is a great and free piece of software developed by Microsoft. It is also highly extensible and customisable. Develop the way you want with VS Code.
• https://github.com/prettier – Code formatter. It is available as an extension in VS Code and is extremely helpful in alleviating worry and potential arguments about coding formats especially those pesky line breaks and indentation. The rules can be customised to fit your team or your own standards.

Have a question about developing in SharePoint. We are a team of Brisbane SharePoint developers. Get in touch today!