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SharePoint

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File:SharePoint Workspace 2010.jpg
Microsoft Office SharePoint Workspace 2010

Microsoft SharePoint, also known as Microsoft SharePoint Products and Technologies, is a collection of products and software elements that includes, among a growing selection of components, web browser based collaboration functions, process management modules, search modules and a document-management platform.[1] SharePoint can be used to host web sites that access shared workspaces, information stores and documents, as well as host defined applications such as wikis and blogs. All users can manipulate proprietary controls called "web parts" or interact with pieces of content such as lists and document libraries.

Overview

The term "SharePoint" can collectively refer to a number of products ranging from the base platform to various services. The platform is Windows SharePoint Services (WSS), which is included with Windows Server and available as a free download for those with Windows Server licenses. Services such as Microsoft Office SharePoint Server (MOSS) provide additional functionality and features and are licensed accordingly.[1]

Microsoft identifies the following as part of the current SharePoint products and technologies family:

Microsoft Office SharePoint Designer, a free[2] editor to help administrators develop and customize SharePoint solutions, is also in the SharePoint family.

Previous versions of elements of this software used different names such as "SharePoint Portal Server 2003" and "SharePoint Team Services" but are also referred to as SharePoint or SharePoint Technologies. Since the beginning, when the SharePoint initiative was collectively called Tahoe, SharePoint development has been a mixed bag of products and technologies and includes the now defunct Site Server 3.0.

SharePoint, as a collection of technologies, is not intended to simply replace a full file server or to be a single use solution. Instead, it is geared and positioned to play various roles in the business and enterprise environment. Microsoft markets these vectors as Collaboration, Processes, and People.

The SharePoint user interface is a web interface accessed through a browser. While all browsers are supported, only Internet Explorer, which Microsoft designates as a "Level 1" browser, is fully integrated and able to utilize the full functionality of a SharePoint Solution.[3]

SharePoint sites are functionally ASP.NET 2.0 web applications, which are served using IIS and use a SQL Server database as a data storage back end. All site content data, such as items in document libraries and lists, are stored within an SQL database named by default as "WSS_Content_[ID]".

Microsoft Search Server (MSS)

Microsoft Search Server (MSS), an enterprise search platform from Microsoft, builds on the search capabilities of Microsoft Office SharePoint Server.[4] MSS shares its architectural underpinnings with the Windows Search platform for both the querying engine as well as the indexer. MOSS search provides the ability to search metadata attached to documents.

Microsoft has made Microsoft Search Server available as Search Server 2008, released March 2008. A free version, Search Server 2008 Express, is also available. The express edition features the same feature set as the commercial edition, including no limitation on the number of files indexed. However, it is limited to a stand-alone installation and cannot be scaled out to a cluster.[5]. Various plugins for indexing third party files, for example Adobe's Acrobat (pdf) files, are available.

Microsoft Office SharePoint Designer

The WYSIWYG HTML editor Microsoft Office SharePoint Designer primarily targets the design of SharePoint sites and end-user workflows for WSS sites. It is the successor to FrontPage 2003. It shares its rendering engine with Microsoft Expression Web, its general web designing sibling, and Microsoft's Visual Studio 2008 IDE. SharePoint Designer represents a next-generation Microsoft replacement for Microsoft FrontPage.

Through a next-generation family of data controls (like the DataView WebPart) and XPath, SharePoint Designer enables developers to manipulate data from SharePoint or external sources (such as Microsoft SQL Server) without coding directly against the .NET Framework.

Microsoft SharePoint Portal Server 2003 used Microsoft FrontPage. FrontPage is not compatible with SharePoint 2007 or MOSS.

Industry analyst assessments

Evaluations of SharePoint by industry analysts have varied. In late 2008, the Gartner Group put SharePoint in the "leaders" quadrant in three of its Magic Quadrants (for Search, Portals, and enterprise content management).[6]

In contrast, independent evaluation firm CMS Watch issued customer research indicating,[7] "Customers readily shared their frustrations: Redmond’s rather belated embrace of Web 2.0, SharePoint’s poor support for individuals working on multiple different teams, as well as its cumbersome and incomplete integration with Outlook."[8]

Integration with developer tools

SharePoint is often criticized for its lack of well integrated tools for developers and its complex customized software architecture that differs significantly from those of other ASP.NET-based web applications.[9][10][11][12] Therefore, Microsoft announced significantly improved support in the upcoming version of Microsoft Visual Studio to improve the developer experience.[13]

Similar products

See also

References

  1. ^ a b http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepointtechnology/FX101758691033.aspx?ofcresset=1
  2. ^ http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=baa3ad86-bfc1-4bd4-9812-d9e710d44f42&displaylang=en
  3. ^ http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc263526.aspx
  4. ^ "Microsoft Unveils Enterprise Search Products". Retrieved 2007-11-08.
  5. ^ "Microsoft Gives Away Search Server 2008". Retrieved 2007-11-08.
  6. ^ "Gartner "SharePoint Related" Magic Quadrants Updated for 2008". Retrieved 2009-02-03.
  7. ^ "CMS Watch SharePoint Report". Retrieved 2009-02-03.
  8. ^ "SharePoint Has Become the New Lotus Notes - CMS Watch Cites Collaboration Pros, Proliferation Cons". Retrieved 2009-02-03.
  9. ^ "Sharepoint is not a good development platform". Retrieved 2009-02-18.
  10. ^ "What SharePoint can learn from Sitecore as web development platform". Retrieved 2009-02-18.
  11. ^ "How ASP.NET developer have to adjust to work with SharePoint". Retrieved 2009-04-07.
  12. ^ "How MOSS Can Help Improve Business Processes – CMS Wire". Retrieved 2009-02-23.
  13. ^ "SharePoint Development Improves in Visual Studio 2010". Retrieved 2009-02-18.
  14. ^ Torode, Christina (2008-12-18). "SharePoint Alternatives Seek to Fill in the Gaps". SearchCIO-Midmarket.com. TechTarget. Retrieved 2008-12-18. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  15. ^ Roth, Craig (2009-05-04). "Oracle Enters Beehive in Collaboration Tournament". Retrieved 2009-06-29.

External links

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