SharePoint - APIs

In this chapter, we will be covering the several sets of APIs to access the SharePoint platform.

The selection of APIs depend upon the following different factors −

• Application type
• Developer existing skills
• Device on which the code runs

Application Type

There are different types of applications such as −

• SharePoint Add-in
• Web Part on a SharePoint page
• Silverlight application running on either a client computer or a client mobile device
• ASP.NET application exposed in SharePoint
• JavaScript running in a SharePoint site page
• SharePoint application page
• Microsoft .NET Framework application running on a client computer
• Windows PowerShell script
• Timer job running on a SharePoint server

Developer Existing Skills

You can easily create applications in SharePoint if you already have experience in any of the following programming models without needing to learn a lot about SharePoint programming −

• JavaScript
• ASP.NET
• REST/OData
• .NET Framework
• Windows Phone
• Silverlight
• Windows PowerShell

Device on Which the Code Runs

The device on which the code runs can be any of the following −

• Server in the SharePoint farm.
• An external server such as a server in the cloud.
• A client computer and a mobile device.

The following table provides guidance for different set of APIs, which can be used for a selected list of common SharePoint extensibility projects.

S.No.	API & Usage
1	.NET Framework client object model, Silverlight client object model, REST/OData endpoints Create an ASP.NET web application that performs CRUD operations on SharePoint data or external data that is surfaced in SharePoint by a BCS external content type, but does not have to call SharePoint across a firewall.
2	REST/OData endpoints Create a LAMP web application that performs CRUD operations on SharePoint data or external data that is surfaced in SharePoint by a BCS external content type. Create an iOS or Android app that performs CRUD operations on SharePoint data.
3	Mobile client object model Create a Windows Phone app that performs CRUD operations on SharePoint data.
4	Mobile client object model and the server object model Create a Windows Phone app that uses the Microsoft Push Notification Service to alert the mobile device of events in SharePoint.
5	.NET Framework client object model Create a .NET Framework application that performs CRUD operations on SharePoint data.
6	Silverlight client object model Create a Silverlight application that performs CRUD operations on SharePoint data.
7	JavaScript client object model Create an HTML/JavaScript application that performs CRUD operations on SharePoint data. Create an Office Add-in that works with SharePoint
8	Server object model Create a custom Windows PowerShell command. Create a timer job. Create an extension of Central Administration. Create consistent branding across an entire SharePoint farm. Create a custom Web Part, application page, or ASP.NET user control.