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CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION TO SHAREPOINT 2010
Language Integrated Query (LINQ)
In the 2008 release of Visual Studio and .NET 3.5, Microsoft introduced new technology and
semantics that allow developers to write against objects that map back to a number of different
datasources, even if those datasources do not store the data using object storage. Effectively, LINQ is
an object mapper with special operators in the .NET languages. Therefore, you can take a relational
database table, use Visual Studio to map the database to your objects, and then write to your objects.
For LINQ to work, you need a provider that takes the object calls and translates them into the correct
native calls of the underlying datasource, such as SQL queries for databases. With SharePoint 2010,
a new LINQ provider for SharePoint converts object operations into the correct SharePoint operations
using the native CAML language that SharePoint understands.
List Enhancements
Lists are a critical part of the SharePoint platform. In fact, everything in SharePoint is powered
by lists, whether it ’ s a built - in application or your own custom application. With the 2010 release,
lists have new, long - awaited functionality, including new scale limits, XSLT views for better
customization, list relationships that allow cascade deletes and updates to work, and formula
validation for columns in a list. There is also a new list type called the External Data List. This type
of list allows you to surface external data, such as database or web service data, inside SharePoint
with read/write capabilities. You ’ ll learn more about this new type of list later in the book.
Business Connectivity Services
Business Connectivity Services (BCS) is the new name for the Business Data Catalog technologies
from SharePoint 2007. BCS is greatly enhanced in the 2010 release with read/write capabilities,
support for Windows Communication Foundation (WCF), and new client capabilities so that
you have APIs both on the server and client, and can sync Line - of - Business (LOB) data from your
backend systems to the client cache and work on that LOB data when offl ine. BCS will synchronize
the data from the client with the server when you can reconnect. As part of the tooling, SharePoint
Designer and Visual Studio include entity - modeling tools for BCS so that you can create business
objects that connect to your LOB datasources from within these tools, and write your business logic
for reading and writing your LOB data.
Silverlight Integration
If you are using SharePoint 2007, one of the biggest challenges is trying to get Silverlight to work in a
SharePoint environment. You have to modify your
web.config , hack around to deploy your Silverlight
application to a content viewer web part, and then hope you don ’ t need to debug the application.
Silverlight shipped after SharePoint 2007, which made it diffi cult for the SharePoint team to foresee
the requirements of being a great Silverlight host. With the 2010 release, SharePoint has become that
great Silverlight host. Built into SharePoint is a Silverlight web part; you can drag and drop this web
part onto your page, point it to your Silverlight application, and start using the Silverlight application
in your SharePoint environment in minutes.
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