Minimum required?

Minimum required?

LeadVisionaryLeadVisionary Posts: 8Questions: 0Answers: 0
edited February 2011 in General
Am I correct to assume that the minimum required components for full functionality from the downloadable version of DataTables are jquery.dataTables.min.js and the css/ and images/ directories from the media/ directory?

I'm integrating Datatables with a Grails application that already has jQuery and other stuff from external sources, and I don't need the overhead of carrying around the examples/ extras/ and other such stuff with my production application.

The installation instructions are a bit sparse. While "Zero Configuration" shows off the power of how easy it is to start using, it tells you nothing about the dependencies to add to pages that use Datatables or any of that, which leaves a developer to go through the examples and tease out what's there for "demo purposes" and what will actually be used in their app. Consider doing a 5 minute "Getting Started with DataTables" screencast similar to what the folks over at Selenium do.

Replies

  • GregPGregP Posts: 500Questions: 10Answers: 0
    Strictly speaking, the only requirement is the jquery.dataTables.min.js (as well as jQuery, which you've already listed as including).

    The CSS and images provide a base style, but you could theoretically just create your own. If you decide to use the jQuery UI functionality, you will of course need the stylesheet (but not the JS!) and images included in a jQuery UI themeroller package.

    Assuming you don't mind the included styles as a starting point, you are correct, though: the .js file, the css, and the images.

    I tend to agree that the download package looks a bit overwhelming and a 'getting started' could be a welcome asset and quite useful to Allan's product. Many of us who develop in JS on a daily basis can pretty quickly intuit what the minimum requirements are; to be honest, the thought never even occurred to me when I started out with DataTables to do anything other than look at an example page at the JS and CSS being included to get a feel for the minimums. But I can't imagine that a simplified installation would be anything but helpful.
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