SharePoint 2010 Client Object Model Hierarchy and Identity
Applies to: SharePoint Foundation 2010
Available in SharePoint Online
Microsoft SharePoint Foundation 2010 has three object models for working on the client-side. These are the managed .NET object model, the managed Silverlight object model, and the unmanaged ECMAScript (JavaScript, JScript) object model. Each object model has different applications. The two managed object models are used primarily for rich applications that have to access SharePoint data. This could be a Silverlight application in the browser or a desktop application. The JavaScript object model is used when you are working inside the client browser. This object model is used when you are working with the Server ribbon or inside sandboxed solutions.
For information about the differences between the object models, see Differences Between Managed and JavaScript Object Models. For information about how to include each of these object models, see Client Object Model Distribution and Deployment and Setting Up an Application Page for JavaScript.
SharePoint Foundation 2010 Namespaces
Microsoft.SharePoint.Client is the core namespace used for the .NET managed and Silverlight object models, and SP is the core namespace for the JavaScript object model. Client objects and their respective collection objects inherit from the ClientObject (JavaScript: ClientObject) and ClientObjectCollection (JavaScript: ClientObjectCollection) classes.
In addition to the core namespace, SharePoint Foundation 2010 provides the following namespaces.
.NET Managed and Silverlight |
JavaScript |
|---|---|
Microsoft.SharePoint.Client.Application |
N/A |
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
The following table shows the equivalent objects that the new APIs provide for common SharePoint Foundation 2010 server objects.
Server |
.NET Managed and Silverlight |
JavaScript |
|---|---|---|
Microsoft.SharePoint.SPContext |
Microsoft.SharePoint.Client.ClientContext |
SP.ClientContext |
Microsoft.SharePoint.SPSite |
Microsoft.SharePoint.Client.Site |
SP.Site |
Microsoft.SharePoint.SPWeb |
Microsoft.SharePoint.Client.Web |
SP.Web |
Microsoft.SharePoint.SPList |
Microsoft.SharePoint.Client.List |
SP.List |
Microsoft.SharePoint.SPListItem |
Microsoft.SharePoint.Client.ListItem |
SP.ListItem |
Microsoft.SharePoint.SPField (including major derived classes) |
Microsoft.SharePoint.Client.Field |
SP.Field |
Microsoft.SharePoint.WebPartPages.SPLimitedWebPartManager |
Microsoft.SharePoint.Client.WebParts.LimitedWebPartManager |
SP.WebParts.LimitedWebPartManager |
The new client APIs do not provide administration objects or objects that are scoped higher than site collection: SPSite class in the server object model.
Object Identity Path
When you work with SharePoint objects in one of the client object models, SharePoint Foundation retains object identity, which means that multiple operations and queries can occur with the same object over time. This helps prevent objects from becoming "stale" and helps to ensure that changes to objects are reflected when the object is obtained subsequently. To this end, SharePoint Foundation maintains an object identity path between calls to the ExecuteQuery() or ExecuteQueryAsync(ClientRequestSucceededEventHandler, ClientRequestFailedEventHandler) method (JavaScript: executeQueryAsync(succeededCallback, failedCallback)), so that if an object is created in one call, the client will use the same object path in subsequent calls within the same context.
Note
Separate contexts do not support object identity as a feature.
See Also
Concepts
Client Context as Central Object
Client Objects, Value Objects, and Scalar Properties
SharePoint Client Object Creation
SharePoint 2010 Client Object Model Guidelines
Differences Between Managed and JavaScript Object Models
Common Programming Tasks in the Managed Client Object Model
Other Resources
Using the SharePoint Foundation 2010 Managed Client Object Model