SharePoint REST Services for Effective Operations

Microsoft SharePoint is a web-based collaborative platform that allows the creation of powerful websites. SharePoint is not installed on your computer locally but instead connected from a browser, and it is primarily used as a document management and storage system.

Microsoft SharePoint is more than just an application installed on your computer. SharePoint’s most valuable features are collaboration and sharing, which help you stay organized by creating workflows and automating tasks. It is also the right place for you to store your documents securely.

This article discusses SharePoint API, Sharepoint REST API to be specific, that you can leverage for your team to work well together. You’ll also learn to work around SharePoint REST API HTTP commands for added functionality.

What is the SharePoint REST API?

Representational State Transfer, also known as REST, is a standardized Software Architecture Style, or, in other words, a specific type of API used by the industry to establish a connection between Client and Server. REST API is built to guide the development and design of the World Wide Web’s architecture.

REST API provides a flexible, lightweight way of interacting with SharePoint remotely using any technology supporting the REST protocol. With SharePoint API, you can easily perform basic Create, Read, Update, and Delete (also known as CRUD) operations. This can be done from SharePoint Add-ins, Solutions, and Client Object Model Applications. The REST interface exposes all the SharePoint entities and operations available in other SharePoint APIs.

Introduced by Microsoft in SharePoint 2013, the REST service is similar to existing SharePoint Client Object Models like JSOM and CSOM.

Advantages of Using SharePoint API

• SharePoint API is easier to work with and can be accessed from the browser to test the results.
• SharePoint REST API allows you to interact with SharePoint Sites remotely using any technology supporting REST protocol.
• One of the main advantages of using SharePoint REST API is that you can directly retrieve or update SharePoint entities (such as Webs, Lists, and List Items) by creating and sending HTTP requests to appropriate endpoints (URL) without adding references to any SharePoint Libraries or Client Assemblies.
• With SharePoint REST API, no SP.js files must be uploaded for code execution.

How Does SharePoint REST API Work?

Before working around SharePoint REST API, you must construct a RESTful HTTP request using the Open Data Protocol (OData) standard. Open Data Protocol (OData) is used along with REST to access many Cloud-based services. The HTTP request corresponds to the desired Client Object Model API.

Your Client Application will then send an HTTP request to the client.svc web service internally calls the Server Object Model to retrieve data from the Content Database. The Client Application parses the response sent in either Atom or JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) format.

Types of Sharepoint API

SharePoint provides a robust set of APIs that allow developers to interact with SharePoint sites, lists, documents, and other components. Here are the main types of SharePoint APIs and their differences:

1. REST API

The SharePoint REST API allows developers to interact with SharePoint data over HTTP. It provides a simple and flexible way to interact with SharePoint resources, including lists, libraries, and sites, and supports JSON data formats.

Key Features

• Accessible via HTTP requests (GET, POST, PUT, DELETE)
• Supports querying data, creating and updating items
• JSON-based responses

Example

GET /_api/web/lists/getbytitle('Documents')/items

2. CSOM (Client-Side Object Model)

CSOM allows developers to interact with SharePoint from client-side applications (e.g., web, desktop, or mobile apps). CSOM is used for .NET applications and supports a rich object model for working with SharePoint lists, libraries, and other resources.

Key Features

• Allows interaction with SharePoint from client applications
• .NET-based (can be used in C#)
• Supports operations like CRUD (Create, Read, Update, Delete)
• Asynchronous processing

Example (C#)

ClientContext context = new ClientContext("https://yoursharepointsite");
List list = context.Web.Lists.GetByTitle("Documents");
CamlQuery query = new CamlQuery();
ListItemCollection items = list.GetItems(query);
context.Load(items)
context.ExecuteQuery();

3. JSOM (JavaScript Object Model)

JSOM is a client-side API for interacting with SharePoint using JavaScript. It is mainly used in SharePoint add-ins (apps) or custom web parts that run in the browser. Like CSOM, JSOM provides a rich object model for SharePoint data manipulation.

Key Features

• JavaScript-based (ideal for SharePoint add-ins)
• Suitable for working in browser-based environments
• Supports CRUD operations and more

Example (JavaScript)

var context = SP.ClientContext.get_current();
var web = context.get_web();
var list = web.get_lists().getByTitle('Documents');
var items = list.getItems(SP.CamlQuery.createAllItemsQuery());
context.load(items);
context.executeQueryAsync(function() {
    console.log('Items fetched');
}, function(sender, args) {
    console.log('Error: ' + args.get_message());
});

4. SOAP Web Services

SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol) Web Services were traditionally used to interact with SharePoint, though they are now deprecated in favor of REST and CSOM. SOAP is a protocol for exchanging structured information in the implementation of web services.

Key Features

• XML-based communication
• Supports legacy systems
• More complex than REST for most tasks

Example (SOAP Call)

<soapenv:Envelope xmlns:soapenv="http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/soap/envelope/" xmlns:web="http://schemas.microsoft.com/sharepoint/soap/">
   <soapenv:Header/>
   <soapenv:Body>
      <web:GetListItems>
         <web:listName>Documents</web:listName>
      </web:GetListItems>
   </soapenv:Body>
</soapenv:Envelope>

5. Microsoft Graph API

Microsoft Graph API is a unified API endpoint that provides access to a variety of Microsoft services, including SharePoint, OneDrive, Outlook, and more. It is the recommended API for modern SharePoint development.

Key Features

• Unified API for various Microsoft services
• Access SharePoint data through sites and drives endpoints
• Supports modern authentication methods like OAuth
• Offers broader functionality beyond SharePoint

Example

GET https://graph.microsoft.com/v1.0/sites/{site-id}/lists/{list-id}/items

6. SharePoint Online Management Shell (PowerShell)

PowerShell provides an automation script-based interface to interact with SharePoint Online. It is used for administrative tasks, such as managing sites, users, and documents.

Key Features

• Command-line based
• Ideal for administration and automation
• Works with SharePoint Online (Office 365)

Example

Connect-SPOService -Url https://yoursharepointsite-admin.sharepoint.com
Get-SPOSite

API Type	Technology	Technology	Response Format	Platform
REST API	HTTP/JSON	Access SharePoint data via HTTP requests	JSON	Web/Client Apps
CSOM	.NET (C#)	Client-side SharePoint operations in .NET apps	Objects (XML/JSON)	.NET-based apps
JSOM	Javascript	Client-side SharePoint operations in browser	Objects (JSON)	SharePoint Add-ins
SOAP Web Services	XML	Legacy method for accessing SharePoint data	XML	Legacy systems
Microsoft Graph API	REST (OAuth)	Unified API for SharePoint and other Microsoft services	JSON	Web, Office 365 Apps

Understanding SharePoint REST API Commands

With SharePoint API, by building REST endpoints, you can perform typical CRUD (Create, Read, Update, and Delete) operations against SharePoint entities, such as Lists and Sites. The REST endpoints in the SharePoint API correspond to the types and members in the SharePoint Client Object Models.

Endpoints representing Read operations (such as reading data from the SharePoint site) are mapped to HTTP GET commands, Create operations (such as creating a List or Library) are mapped to HTTP POST commands and Update or Insert operations (such as updating a List or Library Title or Description) are mapped to HTTP PUT commands. To start with SharePoint REST API Example, you must create an HTTP request to build endpoints.

• GET
• POST
• PUT/MERGE
• DELETE

GET

In SharePoint API, the HTTP GET command reads or retrieves information from the SharePoint site. Typically, endpoints representing any Read operation use the GET method.

POST

In SharePoint API, the HTTP POST command creates or updates a List or Library in a SharePoint Site. In SharePoint API POST endpoints, optional properties are set to default values.

PUT/MERGE

In SharePoint API, the HTTP PUT and HTTP MERGE commands update an existing entity in a SharePoint List/Library or SharePoint List/Library Title/Description.

Setting properties is optional in the SharePoint REST API HTTP MERGE method, and if any property is not set explicitly, it keeps its current property. However, it is mandatory to set up all the required properties while updating SharePoint objects in the HTTP PUT method. Optional properties are set to their default values if not set explicitly.

DELETE

In SharePoint API, the HTTP DELETE command is used to delete any SharePoint object like deleting a SharePoint List, SharePoint Library, Documents, etc.

Now that you have a basic idea of various HTTP commands let’s implement them to perform CRUD operations.

SharePoint REST Endpoint Examples

First, to start with SharePoint REST API, you must create a REST endpoint. All the REST endpoint URLs start with:

https://SiteURL/Sites/SiteName/_api/

Here are various examples of SharePoint REST API endpoints.

Operation	SharePoint Rest API endpoint
Retrieve SharePoint Site Collection	https:///{site url}/_api/site
Retrieve a particular SharePoint Site or Web	https:///{site url}/_api/web
Retrieve SharePoint Site Title	https://{site url}/_api/web/title
Retrieve all SharePoint Lists	https:///{site url}/_api/web/lists
Retrieve all the Items from a SharePoint List	https:///{site url}/_api/web/lists/getbytitle(‘listname’)/items
Retrieve SharePoint List Title	https:///{site url}/_api/web/lists/getbytitle(‘listname’)?select=Title
Retrieve all the columns of a SharePoint List	https:///{site url}/_api/web/lists/getbytitle(‘listname’)/Fields
Retrieve a SharePoint List by using List GUID	https:///{site url}/_api/Web/Lists(List GUID)
Retrieve a SharePoint List Item by Item Id	https:///{site url}/_api/web/lists/GetByTitle(‘listname’)/GetItemById(2)
Retrieve SharePoint Current User Information	https:///{site url}/_api/Web/currentUser
Retrieve selected Fields of a SharePoint List Items	https:///{site url}/_api/web/lists/getbytitle(‘listname’)/Items?select=ID,Title,FirstName,LastName
Retrieve all SharePoint Site Users	https:///{site url}/_api/Web/siteusers
Retrieve all Groups from a SharePoint Site	https:///{site url}/_api/Web/sitegroups
Retrieve a particular SharePoint Group by Group Id	https:///{site url}/_api/Web/sitegroups/GetById(GroupId)
Retrieve all the Users from a SharePoint Group	https:///{site url}/_api/Web/sitegroups(Id)/users

Conclusion

As you already know, SharePoint has recently been one of the best collaborative platforms for organizations. Organizations have started leveraging SharePoint API to perform various operations to unleash its full potential. This article introduced you to SharePoint API and showed you how to implement SharePoint REST API endpoints to perform basic operations.

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FAQ on SharePoint REST Services