In this initial chapter, we had a tour of the core SharePoint Online building blocks, including document libraries, lists, and web parts. Additionally, these are always stored within SharePoint sites, which are then constructed within a given SharePoint site collection.
A somewhat simplified logical view of the structure of SharePoint Online is shown in the following graphic:
Typically, you would create one or more site collection and one or more site within these site collections. One site collection could be an intranet and another could be a dedicated site collection for project sites. Each site could then host your customizations and custom add-ins.
Development for on-premises versions of SharePoint differs quite a bit from SharePoint Online, as SharePoint Online only supports either client-side code with the use of JavaScript, CSS, and HTML, or code executed outside SharePoint--typically within a Microsoft Azure service such as Azure App Service.
For development, developers tend to use Visual Studio when building add-ins, as the templates are immensely helpful in managing the necessary file structures and packaging. Deployment can be done manually against a SharePoint Online developer site for real-life testing before production deployment through a special Application Catalog site.
In Chapter 2, Developing Solutions for SharePoint Online, we will start our journey of developing solutions for SharePoint Online. We will first have a look at SharePoint Framework, which partially replaces but also augments some of the existing development models in SharePoint Online. In addition, we'll dip our toes the usual development aspects of any type of project, including application lifecycle management and the best ways to manage your development efforts in SharePoint Online.