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SharePoint development overview

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SharePoint is a development platform for SharePoint Framework, SharePoint Add-ins and farm solutions. Get acquainted with the capabilities and features of SharePoint to start your development.

Introducing the SharePoint development platform

SharePoint is a versatile development platform for building client-side components, add-ins and solutions with varying scopes that address a wide range of needs. The SharePoint developer documentation guides you through the features, technologies, capabilities, and models for development that distinguish SharePoint as a development platform.

What kinds of development can you do with SharePoint?

For SharePoint Framework

The following article can help you get acquainted with SharePoint Framework and determine whether they are a good option for you.

For SharePoint Add-ins development

The following article can help you get acquainted with SharePoint Add-ins and determine whether they are a good option for you.

For SharePoint solutions and add-ins for mobility features development

The following sections describe how to create mobile solutions for SharePoint.

The following sections provide information about SharePoint features that are available for farm solutions.

Set up your development environment and start developing

For SharePoint Framework

Table 1 shows the resources for setting up a development environment and beginning to take advantage of the new capabilities for building SharePoint Framework customizations.

Table 1. Resources to help you get started with SharePoint Framework solutions

Topic Description
Set up your SharePoint Framework development environment
Contains step-by-step instructions on how to install the components of a SharePoint Framework development environment.
Build your first SharePoint client-side web part
Describes how to build your first client-side web part using SharePoint Framework
Build your first SharePoint Framework Extension
Describes how to build your first SharePoint Framework Extension

For SharePoint solutions and add-ins for mobility features development

Table 2 shows the resources for setting up a development environment and beginning to take advantage of the new capabilities for building farm solutions with SharePoint.

Table 2. Resources to help you get started with SharePoint farm solutions development

Topic Description
Set up a general development environment for SharePoint
Contains step-by-step instructions on how to install the components of a SharePoint development environment.
Choose the right API set in SharePoint
Describes the several sets of APIs that are provided in SharePoint, including the server object model and the various client-side object models, and the REST/OData web service.
Programming models in SharePoint
Provides a quick overview of the different kinds of SharePoint development projects that you can create with SharePoint.
Add SharePoint capabilities
Provides a gateway to detailed information about using the capabilities of SharePoint in your solutions.

For SharePoint Add-ins development

If you want to get started development SharePoint Add-ins, first think about the kinds of add-ins that you might want to build, the technologies that you want to include, and the hosting options that you want to use.

When you know the kinds of SharePoint Add-in that you want to create, we provide guidance to help you match them to the appropriate development environment. Table 3 shows the resources for setting up your SharePoint development environment and beginning to create your add-ins.

Table 3. Resources to help you get started with SharePoint Add-ins development

Topic Description
Set up a development environment for SharePoint Add-ins on Office 365
Explains how to sign up for and use an Office 365 Developer Site for developing SharePoint Add-ins.
Set up an on-premises development environment for SharePoint Add-ins
Explains how to set up a local, on-premises installation of SharePoint and configure it for developing SharePoint Add-ins.
Get started creating provider-hosted SharePoint Add-ins
Contains step-by-step instructions on how to create a basic SharePoint Add-in that is hosted separately from a SharePoint site.
Get started creating SharePoint-hosted SharePoint Add-ins
Contains step-by-step instructions on how to create a basic SharePoint Add-in that is hosted on a SharePoint site.

See also