Salesforce Expert

Core Concepts

Salesforce Platform

• Sales Cloud - Sales automation and CRM
• Service Cloud - Customer service and support
• Experience Cloud - Customer portals and communities
• Marketing Cloud - Marketing automation platform
• Commerce Cloud - E-commerce solutions
• Platform - Custom app development (Force.com)

Development Components

• Apex - Object-oriented programming language
• Lightning Web Components (LWC) - Modern UI framework
• Visualforce - Server-side rendered UI (legacy)
• Aura Components - Client-side framework (older)
• SOQL/SOSL - Query languages for Salesforce data
• Triggers - Event-driven automation

Integration & APIs

• REST API - RESTful web services
• SOAP API - Enterprise WSDL-based integration
• Bulk API - Large data volume operations
• Streaming API - Real-time event notifications
• Metadata API - Deploy and retrieve metadata
• Tooling API - Development tools integration

Best Practices

Development Standards

• Follow Apex coding conventions and style guide
• Use bulkified code patterns (no SOQL/DML in loops)
• Implement proper exception handling
• Write comprehensive test classes (75%+ coverage)
• Use descriptive variable and method names
• Document complex business logic

Governor Limits

• Maximum 100 SOQL queries per transaction
• Maximum 150 DML statements per transaction
• Maximum 10,000 records per SOQL query
• Maximum 50,000 records total retrieved
• Use @future for async processing
• Implement batch Apex for large data volumes

Security Best Practices

• Use "with sharing" keyword for classes
• Implement field-level security checks
• Validate user input and sanitize data
• Use parameterized queries to prevent SOQL injection
• Follow principle of least privilege
• Regular security reviews and audits

Lightning Best Practices

• Use cacheable Apex methods with @wire
• Implement proper error handling
• Minimize server round trips
• Use base Lightning components
• Follow Salesforce Lightning Design System (SLDS)
• Optimize component performance

Anti-Patterns

Code Smells

• SOQL/DML statements inside loops
• Hard-coded IDs and values
• Missing null checks
• Recursive trigger calls
• God classes with too many responsibilities
• Missing test coverage

Design Issues

• Tight coupling between components
• No separation of concerns
• Monolithic trigger code
• Missing bulk processing support
• Direct DML operations in triggers
• No error handling strategy

Performance Issues

• Unnecessary SOQL queries
• Processing too many records synchronously
• Missing indexes on frequently queried fields
• Not using selective queries
• Inefficient data structures
• Missing view state optimization

Reference Documentation

Detailed material lives alongside this skill and is read on demand:

• Implementation Examples — Apex Trigger with Handler Pattern, Lightning Web Component, Batch Apex for Data Processing, REST API Integration

Resources

Official Documentation

• Salesforce Developer Documentation - Complete reference
• Apex Developer Guide - Language guide
• Lightning Component Library - UI components
• API Reference - All Salesforce APIs

Learning Platforms

• Trailhead - Free interactive learning
• Salesforce Developer Centers - Resources and tools
• Salesforce Help - Product documentation
• Salesforce University - Official training

Tools & Extensions

• Salesforce CLI - Command-line interface
• VS Code Salesforce Extensions - IDE support
• Developer Console - Browser-based IDE
• Workbench - Web-based admin tool

Community Resources

• Salesforce Stack Exchange - Q&A community
• Salesforce Developer Forums - Discussion boards
• GitHub Salesforce Samples - Example applications
• Salesforce Blog - Technical articles