Few key things to know about SharePoint Apps

SharePoint Apps has been the keyword when you speak about SharePoint 2013 development. It brings many advantages with its characteristics. The concept of SharePoint apps bring many advantages. In this article I am going to explain some of them which attracted me most.

SharePoint Apps by Malin De Silva
1. Executes outside SharePoint

A farm solution could possibly break the whole SharePoint farm. But given the apps do work mostly out of the SharePoint it minimize the risk of affecting the SharePoint environment. Also this puts relatively less load on the server as well as it can be configured by the administrators.

2. App is a sub site
An app works with the concept of app web inside a host web. Basically an app in SharePoint is a sub site. This facilitates the app with SharePoint features like lists for storing data, property bag values for storing settings, permission management and etc…
3. Security settings
Even though an app is a sub site, it is not limited to the particular sub site. The app can access content rely out of the sub site such as host web or the site collection, tenant as well as many farm level services. This will be informed to trust before installation of the app so the person who is installing the app will get a good idea of the areas allowed in the app.
4. App Catalog or App Store
Apps that are managed inside the organization can be added to a collection named App Catalog. But if the app is targeted to the SharePoint users around the globe, they can be published in the Global App Store supported by Microsoft.
5. Ease of development

The developers have many options for developing apps. Basic knowledge on JavaScript will be the mostly needed skill when you start development. There are many client side object models such as the JavaScript Client Side Object Model or the SharePoint REST API that can be used.

The app architecture and the deployment models make this a great concept and facilitate with some good features. If you have not yet started reading about SharePoint apps, its high time to get started.

This blog was first published by Malin De Silva here. If you have any questions or feedback on this article please leave a comment below. We would love to hear from you.

For more expert advice on APP’s why not check out  Sahil Mailik’s eBook SharePoint 2013 – Planet of the Apps. Download Now>>

SharePoint Apps by Malin De Silva

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