I had to go through the process of installing a new virtual machine for SharePoint development today and realised there was a fair list of tools that I use in SharePoint Development.
As SharePoint is (in my view) an extension of the .NET framework, and as such a platform for developers to weave their magic, some of the tools in my list are tools I also use in my general ASP.NET development. So without further ado, my list of development tools (this list will change from time to time!):
| Tool's Name |
Description |
Use |
| Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V |
Hosts the virtual environments, give the virtual machine 1500mb of RAM and you will be fine! |
Host for VM |
| Windows Server 2003 32bit |
Installed as a virtual environment, use 32bit as VSeWSS does NOT work in 64bit. |
OS for Development |
| Visual Studio 2008 |
IDE for code development, workflows and packages. I use 2008 because I don't need any add-ins for Office. This is installed on the Server. |
IDE |
| Office SharePoint Designer |
This is installed on my PC, not the server. Don't listen to what other say about SPD, it has a whole lot of GREAT things! Branding wouldn't be very fun without it! |
Design tool |
| Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 SDK |
Has a good amount of code demos and documentation! |
SDK |
| Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 SDK |
Opens the world of custom workflows and SharePoint tweaking! Same as the MOSS 2007 SDK, full of good code and documentation! |
SDK |
| VSeWSS 1.2 |
Trying to package up a project without this was a bit of a mission... This is a great addition to the arsenal! |
VS2008 Add-in |
| U2U CAML Query Builder and Execution Tool |
A great tool for writing and firing CAML queries! |
Query Tool |
| I use these tools for general development, and SharePoint development is no different! |
| Fiddler |
I use this to view what is being passed back and forward between my browser and SP. |
HTTP Debugger |
| Internet Explorer Developer Toolbar |
This is a fantastic add-on for IE, viewing the DOM has never been so nice! |
DOM/CSS/Browser Debugger |
| NotePad++ |
Great way to view the source of the page! |
Viewing Source, Text Editor |
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