Best Practices for SharePoint Solutions

Here are my personal requirements that I use for applications built on SharePoint.  I think they embody many of the best practices.

Applications should be SharePoint Solutions

·         Each application should be self contained in a single SharePoint solution .wsp file.

o   Including all DLL’s to GAC

o   Including all SafeControls

o   Including all Templates

o   Including all Features

o   Including all List and Item Schema

·         Including all WebServices  and HttpHandlers for data communication

·         Solutions should be deployable (SharePoint’s concept of an internal install) to a new Web Application or one or more existing Web Applications.

·         Solutions should not be global to the farm (SharePoint has the concept of a global solution deployment) as this prevents multiple versions of the same solution from coexisting on the farm.

·         Solutions must be visible in the Farm Solution Manager so they may be retracted from the SharePoint farm.

·         Solutions should properly clean up themselves upon a Solution retraction.

·         Solutions must play friendly with third party applications

o   Unique ID’s on all objects

o   Unique namespace within file store

o   Never override or modify built in items

o   Smart about web application configuration

·         Solution version to version compatibility must be maintained

o   If the site template needs to be upgraded

§  Never change ID or site template (no delete)

§  Add a new site template into the system with the new functionality

§  Preserve all old template definitions

·         there may be existing site content built on this template

·         there may be customer customized site templates built on this template

·         PTC partners may have built their own templates on top of existing templates

§   Mark old template definitions as hidden so that customers are discouraged from using old site definitions

§  Feature staple new features to old site definitions to add new features to previously installed sites

o   If a list definition needs to be upgraded

§  Never change ID or  remove a list definition (no delete)

·         Never remove a content type

§  add a new list definition into the system with the new functionality

§  Preserve all old list definitions

·         They may have been customized and migration is impossible without loss of customization

§  Mark old list definitions as hidden so that customers are discouraged from using old list definitions

§  Repurpose the Microsoft’s SharePoint Upgrade Schema system to upgrade old lists to new lists

o   If a feature definition needs to be upgraded

§  Never change ID or remove a feature definition (no delete)

§  Do not remove any existing element definitions

o   If a administrative object needs to be upgraded

§  Should maintain deserialization between versions

§  Override the Upgrade method in the SPPersistedObject to perform self upgrade

§  Detect old status (when deserialized) and implement the NeedsUpgrade property

§  Maintain all API’s from version to version (no delete on API)