Title : Pro  SharePoint 2010 Solution Development

Authors : Ed Hild, Chad Wach

Summary :
After a quick introduction to the new features of SharePoint 2010 and how to develop solutions using Visual Studio, the authors continue with an overview of what Office development can offer to the users. Then, they continue by explaining how to integrate Excel workbooks with an interesting collaboration between Excel, InfoPath and SharePoint. After Excel, it is the turn to Word and how to get SharePoint list data in a document or creating a PowerPoint presentation to build reports automatically. The way external data are consumed is presented with an example of integration of LOB data into Outlook, before an interesting example of a site provisioning using a workflow designed in Visio. The last chapters go through the use of Access, Visio Services and the use of external services like Bing Map in a SharePoint application.

Book Review :
At first glance, I was surprised, given the title of the book, that not a lot of SharePoint development was explained. In fact, the complete title of the book “Pro SharePoint 2010 Solution Development – Combining .NET, SharePoint, and Office 2010??? should be read to understand what is inside. Not a big deal, as nowadays, integrating an enterprise solution like SharePoint with the Office applications is almost a daily job. And for that, this book is really good. Rather than trying to absolutely have standalone SharePoint applications, it is pragmatic and proposes business solutions to help people working in their familiar environments (Excel, Word or PowerPoint). This book proposes a lot of practical examples with possible improvements that at least can give ideas when the need for solution for your information worker appears. Nice examples, many samples, if you want a good Office / SharePoint development book, it is a good one.