Preamble

By default, DataTables will expect an array of arrays for its data source, with each cell in the table being exactly described in the data source. However, this can often be quite limiting, or not suitable for a particular data source, so it is possible to specify which property of a source object that DataTables should read for each column. In this example the Ajax source returns an array of objects (one object for each row), and will then read the required property for each column.

Live example

Initialisation code

$(document).ready(function() {
	var oTable = $('#example').dataTable( {
		"bProcessing": true,
		"sAjaxSource": "sources/objects.txt",
		"aoColumns": [
			{ "mData": "engine" },
			{ "mData": "browser" },
			{ "mData": "platform" },
			{ "mData": "version" },
			{ "mData": "grade" }
		]
	} );
} );

Server response

The code below shows the latest JSON data that has been returned from the server in response to the Ajax request made by DataTables. This will update as further requests are made.

Other examples