Datasheet

scenario for SharePoint is Active Directory, although SharePoint supports
custom authentication schemes (such as forms-based authentication) as
well. See Chapter 6 for more details on SharePoint’s security features.
 Management: SharePoint provides a multi-tiered administration model
that makes it possible to isolate technical administrators from sensitive
content. Administrators can’t see the files and other content that infor-
mation workers save in SharePoint sites. Additional administration fea-
tures include auditing, monitoring, and backing up and restoring tools.
SharePoint provides specialized administration Web sites. All adminis-
trative features are also accessible from the command line and via code.
Chapter 18 walks you through accessing the SharePoint administrative
features.
 Services: A number of services are provided by SharePoint that support
SharePoint’s other core services. These include notification services,
such as RSS feeds, alerts, and inbound e-mail (see Chapter 10). WSS
indexes all list, library, and site content so these items can be searched
(see Chapter 14). SharePoint also provides migration tools to assist with
deploying SharePoint.
 Application programming interfaces (APIs): SharePoint has a power-
ful object model and Web services. Everything you can do from the
SharePoint user interface uses SharePoint APIs; thus, you can write
code to access all SharePoint’s features. SharePoint makes available
numerous before-and-after events that make it possible to customize
SharePoint’s default behavior.
Kicking it up a notch
Given that WSS is an application platform, it makes sense that Microsoft has
released several products that are built upon that application platform. MOSS
2007 is one such product; it’s essentially a WSS application.
As a WSS application, MOSS consumes WSS resources and extends WSS to
provide completely new features. Similar to how WSS consists of a set of
services, MOSS adds the following services:
 Core services are the foundational features that enable MOSS 2007
applications. Core services of MOSS 2007 include personalization,
search, business data catalog, and Excel Services. MOSS 2007’s core
services are shared services because they’re shared across an entire
SharePoint deployment.
 Application Services are the building blocks for creating applications in
MOSS 2007. Examples include dashboards, workflows, and user profiles.
These services are mixed and matched to provide a myriad of MOSS
2007 applications.
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Chapter 1: Getting to Know SharePoint
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