SharePoint interview questions

Question

Have a list of good interview questions for SharePoint developers. Please indicate one question per entry and, if possible, answers.

Also, feel free to suggest corrections if the answers provided are incorrect.

I'll go first:

Q: How does SharePoint store pages?

A: How to host-sharepoint-document-library-source-page-on-the-server?

Answer 1

Q. When working with SPSecurity.RunWithElevatedPrivileges (web context), what credentials are used?

but. Application pool identifier for the web application running SharePoint.

Answer 2

Q. When changing a list item, what is the “main” difference between using SPListItem.Update () and SPListItem.SystemUpdate ()?

but. Using SystemUpdate () will not create a new version and save timestamps.

Answer 3

Q: When should you place SPWeb and SPSite objects? And more importantly, when not?

A: You should always dispose of them if you created them yourself, but not otherwise. You should never delete SPContext.Current.Web / Site, and you should usually not remove SPWeb if IsRootWeb is true. More complex constructs are things along the lines of SPList.ParentWeb.

Bonus points if the candidate knows Roger Lamb's Blog Post .

Answer 4

Q: What is the difference between System.Web.UI.WebControls.WebParts.WebPart and Microsoft.SharePoint.WebPartPages.WebPart ?

A: Microsoft.SharePoint.WebPartPages.WebPart provided in MOSS 2007 for backward compatibility with MOSS 2003 web pages. In MOSS 2007, System.Web.UI.WebControls.WebParts.WebPart recommended.

Answer 5

sometimes I like to ask more open questions to discuss perspectives.

If I want to know the technical depth

Q: What errors did you find in SharePoint? then Q: And what did you do to get around them?

Answer 6

Q. If you have an ItemUpdated or ItemUpdating event receiver and it causes an update to this item, how do you prevent another ItemUpdated and ItemUpdating event from firing during the update?

but. Before performing the update, call the DisableEventFiring () function. After the update, call EnableEventFiring ().

Answer 7

Q. What is a site collection, why are you creating a new site collection, not a site?

but. A little long answer, but they should know about site collection administration, quotas, asset sharing, security models, etc.

Dave Wallerman has a good article about some of what and why.

Answer 8

Q: What is the impact of RunWithElevatedPrivileges performance?

A: RunWithElevatedPrivileges creates a new thread with application pool credentials, blocking the current thread until it ends.

[via rexm ]

Answer 9

Q: Describe the difference between a list and a library.

A: Lists are collections of metadata or columns that may have attached documents. Libraries are collections of documents (Excel, InfoPath, Word, etc.), plus additional metadata.

Edited feedback for ktrauberman.

Answer 10

Q: (i) Describe the purpose of the content type and; (ii) give an example of where they can be used.

A: (i) The content type groups a set of list columns together so that they can be reused equally across sites. (ii) They can be used as a set of metadata columns to be applied to each document in a site collection.

Answer 11

Q: Explain how SharePoint displays its contents. A: Besides the area here, but you can find useful information here: http://gmac.blogspot.com/2008/04/how-sharepoint-2007-renders-its-content.html

The applicant should at least bypass the mechanism for rendering SharePoint templates, as well as the one in 12 / TEMPLATE / CONTROLTEMPLATES / and what he used, with emphasis on DefaultTemplates.ascx. This is absolutely necessary knowledge if you want to make any SharePoint settings.

Answer 12

Q: Name at least two common services available in MOSS 2007

A: Shared Services Providers in MOSS 2007 can provide the following Shared Services:

• User profiles
• The audience
• Personal sites
• Search
• Excel Services
• Forms of Services
• Business Data Catalog (Enterprise Edition required)

Answer 13

Q. What is the difference between MOSS and WSS

but. MOSS uses a common service provider to search, import profile, etc. (See answers posted by Lars Fastrup for a more complete list)

Answer 14

Q: How do you programmatically retrieve a list item?

A: SPQuery and SPSiteDataQuery. Bonus points for knowledge of CrossListQueryCache, PortalSiteMapProvider. Negative points for using foreach.

Answer 15

Good ones. here are some really useful ones. http://megasolutions.net/qs/Sharepoint_Portal_Interview_Questions.aspx

Answer 16

Q: Why did you use a custom column?

A: it allows you to reuse a column in multiple libraries. It is especially useful if you use a selection type to restrict user input to a predefined set of answers, and when this list of answers is likely to change.

Answer 17

Q. What base classes do event receivers inherit?

BUT:

• SPListEventReceiver, SPItemEventReciever, and SPWebEventReceiver inherit from the abstract base class SPEventReceiverBase.
• SPWorkflowLibraryEventReceiver inherits from SPItemEventReceiver.
• SPEmailEventReceiver inherits directly from System.Object.

Also see the SharePoint question book at: http://qmoss.blogspot.com/

Answer 18

Q: What are the built-in backup methods for SharePoint?

A: through central administration and the stsadm command

Q: (more advanced). You created and deployed the web part, when you deploy the server, you get a page in which your web part cannot be loaded, click here to go to the web part maintenance page, etc. to disable the web part part. What steps should you take to get a stack dump from your web part instead of this error page?

A: go to the web.config file for your site and find the CallStack attribute in the SafeControls element and set it to true.

Answer 19

Describe your experience with custom branding in SharePoint 2007. What are some pitfalls to avoid? How do you deploy your own farm branding?

Answer 20

When / why should / should you not make direct changes or additions to files in 12 bushes?

Answer 21

Q. How to create a wizard / part page?

but. Creating a content type that inherits from the folder content type for the wizard, and another content type that inherits the item, and uses them as in the list

Answer 22

Describe the business data catalog (BDC) and provide at least one of its applications.

Answer 23

Q: What is the way to upgrade SharePoint privileges without using RunWithElevatedPrivileges?

A: Pass the system account user token from SPContext to the SPSite constructor.

In most cases, the developer can accomplish what they need using this method, without the need to increase network credentials.

Answer 24

I would rather ask some open-ended questions: Tell me, what do you think is the mistake Microsoft made in SharePoint? Possible answers ... For search columns, you need to know the GUID of the search field in advance, and you cannot easily find the search field as a function. MOSS does not have site level events, such as an event to create lists. SharePoint Designer is crap and adds unnecessary stuff that increases page size.
Lack of user-based cropping control, since only cropping based on permissions is available by default (because of which you can create a custom security trimmer that does this)

Answer 25

Q. What are the data types that are supported in the Search column in SharePoint.

but. Only single lines of text and calculated columns are supported as search columns.

I also collected a few more questions: http://qmoss.blogspot.com/