Pitfalls when developing with the SharePoint Framework–my talk at Unity Connect, Amsterdam

In a few weeks I’ll be speaking at the Unity Connect conference in Amsterdam, 17-18 November 2016. I’m looking forward to this event! There are some great speakers there such as Waldek, Spence, Dan Holme, Scot Hillier, Marc Anderson, Neil Hodgkinson and many others, and I think now is a great time to be talking about SharePoint and Office 365 – regardless of which aspect of it you work with. Certainly for developers it’s pretty good – many of us have got past the initial learning experiences of working with the SharePoint Framework (SPFX), but at the same time it’s a deep topic, and there’s lots still to learn and preferred approaches to work out.

In my session, I want to convey some of the mistakes you can easily make when getting started with SPFX. Between the coding side and the packaging/deployment side, there are definitely a few little traps in there – some articles which I think are great have been published so far, but I think it’s an evolving list and there a couple of things on my mind for sure. I’m also delivering a 20 minute “innova” session on developing a web part in the SharePoint Framework.

Here are the details of my sessions:

Avoiding common pitfalls when developing with the new SharePoint framework - Thursday, Nov 17, 13:20

Getting started with the new SharePoint framework can be a challenge initially. Whether you choose to use every JavaScript framework under the sun, or keep things as simple as possible, there's a reasonable amount to learn. Inevitably you'll fall into a few gotchas, and this session discusses the common ones to ensure you get to productivity fast. From adding JavaScript libraries to dealing with async code, from implementing TypeScript modules to dealing with npm, this session tries to smooth over your learning path.

INNOVA (20 minute session) : Developing a Client Web Part in the SharePoint Framework – What You Need to Know - Friday, Nov 18, 11:45

Creating a client web part in the new model is *very* different to the classic SharePoint web part experience that developers are used to. From creating the initial files with the Yeoman Generator, to adding your code in TypeScript, and then packaging for deployment – there are new things to learn at every turn! But there are huge advantages to the new approach – a better experience for users working with the web part, better performance, and freedom to develop using modern web technologies. Your JavaScript code can also be hosted wherever you like (e.g. a CDN), and this opens up some new options which are very welcome in the SharePoint world. This discussion and demo session looks at the fundamentals of client web parts so you can get an accelerated start on this important developer topic.

The conference

Anyway, there’s still time to register for the conference if you’re interested. Looking at the sessions and the price (€699), I think it’s a bargain personally. Go to https://www.unityconnect.com/2016/Registration to find out more