ReadMe.txt

# Overview
This project demonstrates accessing a sharepoint site from a new website/service running in docker.
The reason is that the new website requires data that exists as sharepoint lists in an existing (legacy) sharepoint site.

The requirement for the new service is to use .Net Core on a docker image. A windows image was used because of the need for sharepoint client libraries.

It is possible to access sharepoint using raw HttpClient, but the amount of work required to establish a secure connection seemed daunting, so we used the sharepoint Client Side Object Model (CSOM) library.

Ideally, a .Net Core service would be deployed to a linux image, but the sharepoint client software will only run on windows.


# Node and MVC in .Net Core
These steps
. Use Visual Studio 2019 version 16.3.9 (or later)
. Select template for new project (ASPNET Core Web Application)
         -> Choose .Net Core 3.0
		 -> Choose React.js


# Docker
Right mouse on project & select "Add docker support". This adds a dockerfile to the project
This default dockerfile does not include node/NPM which is required for this project
	For linux its easy: to add the following 2 lines to run on build)
		RUN curl -sL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_10.x |  bash -
		RUN apt-get install -y nodejs

	If we use windows nanoserver: then https://blogs.technet.microsoft.com/nanoserver/2016/05/04/node-js-on-nano-server/

To build the docker image:
	>docker build -t netcoreexample .

To run the docker image in a new container:
	>docker run -d -p 8080:80 --name example netcoreexample


# Sharepoint
Getting sharepoint to work with .Net Core is a challenge.
The way I got this to work uses the CSOM (client side object model)
The downside is that this code must run on Windows. (It can be a console app or a web service and can be dockerised, but must be Windows OS)
I am trying to set up the dockerfile for windows nanoserver.
The reason is that although CSOM says it is "portable" that does not include Linux.
 * You need to download the sharepoint portable DLLs (NuGet does not work for portable!)
 * https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=42038
 * When the installer runs, the DLLs live here on a windows box in the following path C:\Program Files\Common Files\microsoft shared\Web Server Extensions\16\ISAPI\
 * You need to reference
 * Microsoft.Sharepoint.Client.Portable
 * Microsoft.Sharepoint.Client.Runtime.Portable
 * Microsoft.Sharepoint.Client.Runtime.Windows
 *  The last one (Runtime.Windows) needs to be referenced by the final executable - not a library project - as it is loaded at runtime
 *  I stick that DLL in a subfolder to get the docker build to work
 * 
 * See this article:
 * https://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/office/en-US/3dacdc8f-a819-4451-8b2c-10f8f14e832b/sharepoint-online-client-components-sdk-does-not-work-with-net-core-20