IS CAML the only way to Query MOSS?

Question

CAML is hard to learn, and dificult to use, is there a better way to get results from MOSS, besides using CAML queries? And not referring to the Web Services, which are slower, or the object model, which again is slower.

Answer 1

Essentially, yes, you need to at least be able to read and understand CAML. However you can probably get out of writing it. I've used these tools:

U2U CAML Query Builder by U2U - download and online

Yet Another CAML Query Tool by Carlos Segura Sanz (good if you know SQL) - CodePlex

Answer 2

There is also a Linq to Sharepoint provider which gives the ability to use Linq syntax over CAML - definitely worth a look.

Linq To Sharepoint provider

Answer 3

Yes, Sharepoint 2010 has introduced a tool named SPMetal, using which we can have entities representing the lists in our site. We can perform CRUD (Create Read Update Delete) operations using SPMetal and Linq.

This link shows you how to generate custom entities using SPMetal and parameters.

Answer 4

I depends on what you want to do.
You can also use the MOSS search engine to search for documents.

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms544561.aspx