For developers wanting to learn how to develop in SharePoint 2010 there is a wealth of free online resources available. I've collected a list of the ones that I think are most useful below. Beyond that, I can strongly recommend the Critical Path Great SharePoint Adventure course. If you're based in Australia we would be delighted to deliver this to you.
My best advice to all wanna be developers is to learn to be a Power User and no code developer first. Don't assume that SharePoint development is like classic web development or you will risk not doing things the SharePoint way and reinventing the wheel in many cases. Also, be prepared for the frustration that comes from seemingly simple things turning out to be incredibly hard in SharePoint – that's just the way it is until you become proficient.
If you want to buy a book on SharePoint 2010, I reckon Inside SharePoint 2010 by Ted Pattison, Andrew Connell and Scott Hillier is the best. You can read selected chapters online for free at http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff742318.aspx
Online Courses & Labs
| Title | Link | Notes |
| Getting Started Developing on SharePoint 2010 | http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepoint/ee513147.aspx | Online course with 10 modules covering the basics of SharePoint 2010 development |
| SharePoint 2010 Advanced Developer Training | http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepoint/ff420377.aspx | Online course with 10 Modules |
| SharePoint 2010 Visual How tos | http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepoint/gg577580.aspx | Short videos covering specific SharePoint 2010 development topics |
| SharePoint Server 2010 Virtual Labs | http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/cc707678 | Hands on labs to help to learn SharePoint 2010 administration and development |
| Crtical Path – Free Online webinars |
http://www.criticalpathtraining.com/ Schedule/Webcasts/Pages/default.aspx |
Various online development videos from the experts at Critical Path Training |
Websites
| Title | Link | URL |
| SharePoint 2010 Developers Centre |
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/ sharepoint/default |
Homepage for SharePoint 2010 development on msdn |
| 101 Code Samples for SharePoint 2010 |
http://code.msdn.microsoft.com/site/ search?f%5B0%5D.Type=Topic& f%5B0%5D.Value=Sharepoint %202010%20101%20code%20samples |
Loads of useful SharePoint 2010 code samples from the msdn gallery. |
| SharePoint Product Site | http://sharepoint.microsoft.com/en-us/Pages/default.aspx | Try, buy and cry |
Useful Tools
| Information Worker Virtual Machine |
http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/ details.aspx?id=27417 |
Prebuilt virtual machine to get you started – assuming your local server has enough umph to run it |
| SharePoint Manager | http://spm.codeplex.com/ | View the farm in a windows explorer app |
| SharePoint Designer |
http://www.microsoft.com/download/ en/details.aspx?id=16573 |
Don't think that because you are a developer this isn't for you! |
