ajax

In its simplest form, ajax, when given as a string will simply load the data from the given remote file. Note that DataTables expects the table data to be an array of items in the data parameter of the object (use the ajax.dataSrc option of ajax as an object, if your data is formatted differently):

{
    "data": [
        // row 1 data source,
        // row 2 data source,
        // etc
    ]
}

DataTables can use objects or arrays in almost any format as the data source for each row through use of the columns.data option. The default is to use an array data source.

Simple example:

new DataTable('#myTable', {
  "ajax": "data.json"
} );

As of DataTables 2, this option can be given as an empty string to indicate to DataTables that it is an Ajax sourced table, but not to make an Ajax request until a URL is given, which can be done with ajax.url().load(). This can be useful if you are using DataTables to display search results obtained by Ajax, for example.

As an object, the ajax object is passed to jQuery.ajax allowing fine control of the Ajax request. DataTables has a number of default parameters which you can override using this option. Please refer to the jQuery documentation for a full description of the options available, although the following parameters provide additional options in DataTables or require special consideration:

• data (ajax.data) - As with jQuery, data can be provided as an object, but as an extension, it can also be provided as a function to manipulate the data DataTables sends to the server. The function takes a single parameter, an object where the parameters are name / value pairs that DataTables has readied for sending. An object may be returned which will be use used as the data to send to the server (therefore, if you wish to use the DataTables set parameters, you must merge them in your function), or you can add the items to the object that was passed in and not return anything from the function. This supersedes fnServerParams from DataTables 1.9-.
• dataSrc (ajax.dataSrc) - By default DataTables will look for the property data (or aaData for compatibility with DataTables 1.9-) when obtaining data from an Ajax source or for server-side processing - this parameter allows that property to be changed, through two different forms:
  • As a string - define the property from the object to read. Note that if your Ajax source simply returns an array of data to display, rather than an object, set this parameter to be an empty string. Additionally you can use Javascript dotted object notation to get a data source for multiple levels of object / array nesting.
  • As a function - As a function it takes a single parameter, the JSON returned from the server, which can be manipulated as required. The returned value from the function is what will be used by DataTables as the data source for the table.
  • This supersedes sAjaxDataProp from DataTables 1.9-.
• success - Must not be overridden as it is used internally in DataTables. To manipulate / transform the data returned by the server use ajax.dataSrc (above), or use ajax as a function (below).

Simple example:

new DataTable('#myTable', {
  "ajax": {
    "url": "data.json",
    "type": "POST"
  }
} );

As a function, making the Ajax call is left up to yourself allowing complete control of the Ajax request. Indeed, if desired, a method other than Ajax could be used to obtain the required data, such as Web storage or a Firebase database.

When the data has been obtained from the data source, the second parameter (callback here) should be called with a single parameter passed in - the data to use to draw the table.

Simple example:

new DataTable('#myTable', {
  "ajax": function (data, callback, settings) {
    callback(
      JSON.parse( localStorage.getItem('dataTablesData') )
    );
  }
} );

Note that as of DataTables 1.10.6 the xhr event will be triggered when a function is used for ajax (even if there is no Ajax request). Prior to 1.10.6 no event would have been triggered.