A blog post on DT

josemota

Hi everyone,

I took the time to write a little about my experience with Datatables and would love some feedback from you guys. I honestly hope to contribute in a positive way and help make DT a better tool for everyone.

Here is the link: http://josemota.net/2011/09/does-datatables-need-better-integration/
Let me know what you have to say. Thanks!

allan

Hi josemota,

Thanks very much for taking the time to write up your thoughts on these aspects of DataTables. Let me address each point:

> Push data to the server without using fnServerData

I fully agree! I've been thinking about this for a while, but you've prompted me to take action on it - I've just spent a bit of time on introducing a new callback function called fnServerParams (the initialisation option - internally it is an array which can be used by plug-in developers if they want). This function is executed on each request to the server, and is passed in the name/value data array that will be used to send the parameters to the server, so it can be manipulated as required.

For example, previously to simply add a parameter to the request you would need to override fnServerData - you can now simply do this:

[code]
$('#example').dataTable( {
"bServerSide": true,
"sAjaxSource": "scripts/server_processing.php",
"fnServerParams": function ( aoData ) {
aoData.push( { "name": "more_data", "value": "my_value" } );
}
} );
[/code]

I've committed this in and it will be included in 1.8.2. It is available now as the 1.8.2.dev nightly from the downloads page: http://datatables.net/download .

> Datatables’ features that have controls, such as MF, require a DOM object to be returned in the fnInit function

If you don't want to return a DOM object when creating a feature plug-in, you can just return null and nothing will be added. This way you can add event handlers, or manipulate the table's DOM, without needing to insert a "dummy" node.

I fully agree on the need to have more callbacks. In DataTables 2 I plan to use custom events for exactly this kind of thing and so we don't get completely swamped in callback functions!

> There should clearly be some plugin development guidelines and I personally volunteer to help build those guidelines. Based on what I know, I would say there is a need to improve integration. If it’s not for how it’s built, it would by the way it’s told.

Documentation is like software - it is never finished! Your help in putting together better documentation, particularly documentation for how to creating plug-ins for DataTables, would be very welcome indeed - not just by myself, but by the whole DataTables community I'm sure!

There is a lot that can be done to improve DataTables and its documentation - with time being basically the only limiting factor for me personally. But with feedback such as your own, I can push forward on points which are important for the community as a whole and improve DataTables in the ways that are most beneficial to the project as a whole.

Thanks for the feedback!

Regards,
Allan