Join tables - link table

Data in relational databases is often stored over multiple tables, partitioned by the data type and then joined together using SQL JOIN queries. In one form of joined table, a 'link' table is used linking records between two different types of data.

In this example, which extends the simple join example, the users and dept tables are linked by the user_dept table. When the data is read, we read from all three tables (plus the sites table to show multiple joins working together). The returned data structure for each row in this example is:

{
	"DT_RowId": "row_1",
	"users": {
		"first_name": "Quynn",
		"last_name": "Contreras",
		"site": "1"
	},
	"sites": {
		"name": "Edinburgh"
	},
	"user_dept": {
		"dept_id": "1"
	},
	"dept": {
		"name": "IT"
	}
}

For editing we want to write to three users fields and the user_dept field. The Editor instance is configured with these four fields using the fields.name option and the Editor server-side libraries perform the required SQL operations for us on create, edit and delete.

See the join documentation (PHP | .NET | NodeJS) for further information about joins with Editor's framework libraries.

First name	Last name	Location	Department
First name	Last name	Location	Department

Javascript
HTML
CSS
Ajax
Server-side script
Comments

The Javascript shown below is used to initialise the table shown in this example:

var editor = new DataTable.Editor({
	ajax: '../php/joinLinkTable.php',
	fields: [
		{
			label: 'First name:',
			name: 'users.first_name'
		},
		{
			label: 'Last name:',
			name: 'users.last_name'
		},
		{
			label: 'Site:',
			name: 'users.site',
			type: 'select'
		},
		{
			label: 'Department:',
			name: 'user_dept.dept_id',
			type: 'select'
		}
	],
	table: '#example'
});

$('#example').DataTable({
	ajax: {
		url: '../php/joinLinkTable.php',
		type: 'POST'
	},
	columns: [
		{ data: 'users.first_name' },
		{ data: 'users.last_name' },
		{ data: 'sites.name' },
		{ data: 'dept.name' }
	],
	layout: {
		topStart: {
			buttons: [
				{ extend: 'create', editor: editor },
				{ extend: 'edit', editor: editor },
				{ extend: 'remove', editor: editor }
			]
		}
	},
	select: true
});

const editor = new DataTable.Editor({
	ajax: '../php/joinLinkTable.php',
	fields: [
		{
			label: 'First name:',
			name: 'users.first_name'
		},
		{
			label: 'Last name:',
			name: 'users.last_name'
		},
		{
			label: 'Site:',
			name: 'users.site',
			type: 'select'
		},
		{
			label: 'Department:',
			name: 'user_dept.dept_id',
			type: 'select'
		}
	],
	table: '#example'
});

new DataTable('#example', {
	ajax: {
		url: '../php/joinLinkTable.php',
		type: 'POST'
	},
	columns: [
		{ data: 'users.first_name' },
		{ data: 'users.last_name' },
		{ data: 'sites.name' },
		{ data: 'dept.name' }
	],
	layout: {
		topStart: {
			buttons: [
				{ extend: 'create', editor: editor },
				{ extend: 'edit', editor: editor },
				{ extend: 'remove', editor: editor }
			]
		}
	},
	select: true
});

In addition to the above code, the following Javascript library files are loaded for use in this example:

The HTML shown below is the raw HTML table element, before it has been enhanced by DataTables:

This example uses a little bit of additional CSS beyond what is loaded from the library files (below), in order to correctly display the table. The additional CSS used is shown below:

The following CSS library files are loaded for use in this example to provide the styling of the table:

This table loads data by Ajax. The latest data that has been loaded is shown below. This data will update automatically as any additional data is loaded.

The script used to perform the server-side interaction for this demo is shown below. This server uses PHP, so the PHP script is shown, however our download packages include the equivalent script for other platforms, including .NET and Node.js. Server-side scripts can be written in any language, using the protocol described in the Editor documentation.

Join tables - link table

Other examples

Simple initialisation

Advanced initialisation

DataTables as an input

Dates and time

DataTables extensions

Inline editing

Bubble editing

API

Standalone

Styling

Plug-ins

DataTables