1.3. SharePoint Components Overview
SharePoint includes several components and elements that are key to the effective use of the system and will be very important concepts to master as you progress through this book. Although each of these items is addressed in detail in later chapters, the following sections offer a brief overview.
1.3.1. SharePoint Lists
The list is a fundamental component of SharePoint Products and Technologies. They act as both the store for the information and the vehicle for creating, adding, and sharing information from the store. For a to-do list that you might create using a notepad and pen, each task is an individual item and has certain properties or characteristics that differentiate it from the others in the list. In SharePoint, you can create a digital to-do list with each new task requiring that you fill out a form to describe the task. This means you can view a list of all completed items and rank them in order based on when you must complete them, or when they will start, or even how long each will take.
Although advanced and dynamic, SharePoint lists are easy to create, requiring absolutely no code, special development skills or tools. In the past, such lists took time to create and required using an application and hiring a developer or user with technical skills. By using SharePoint, users most familiar with the information tracking and sharing needs of the organization can create the tools they need.
You can use lists to store virtually any ...
