Server-side processing

When using server-side processing, rather than passing this into the inline() method (where this is the td cell) we need to translate the cell node into an index using cell().index(). The reason for this is that when server-side processing is enabled, each redraw will refresh the table, resulting in the original cell no longer being in the document (it has been discarded and replaced). Using the cell index allows the reference to the correct cell to be maintained over the redraw.

This example shows that in practice.

	First name	Last name	Position	Office	Start date	Salary

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/staff.php',
	fields: [
		{
			label: 'First name:',
			name: 'first_name'
		},
		{
			label: 'Last name:',
			name: 'last_name'
		},
		{
			label: 'Position:',
			name: 'position'
		},
		{
			label: 'Office:',
			name: 'office'
		},
		{
			label: 'Extension:',
			name: 'extn'
		},
		{
			label: 'Start date:',
			name: 'start_date',
			type: 'datetime'
		},
		{
			label: 'Salary:',
			name: 'salary'
		}
	],
	table: '#example'
});

var table = $('#example').DataTable({
	ajax: {
		url: '../php/staff.php',
		type: 'POST'
	},
	columns: [
		{
			data: null,
			orderable: false,
			render: DataTable.render.select(),
			searchable: false
		},
		{ data: 'first_name' },
		{ data: 'last_name' },
		{ data: 'position' },
		{ data: 'office' },
		{ data: 'start_date' },
		{ data: 'salary', render: DataTable.render.number(null, null, 0, '$') }
	],
	layout: {
		topStart: {
			buttons: [
				{ extend: 'create', editor: editor },
				{ extend: 'edit', editor: editor },
				{ extend: 'remove', editor: editor }
			]
		}
	},
	order: [[1, 'asc']],
	select: {
		selector: 'td:first-child',
		style: 'os'
	},
	serverSide: true
});

// Activate an inline edit on click of a table cell
$('#example').on('click', 'tbody td:not(:first-child)', function (e) {
	editor.inline(table.cell(this).index(), {
		onBlur: 'submit'
	});
});

const editor = new DataTable.Editor({
	ajax: '../php/staff.php',
	fields: [
		{
			label: 'First name:',
			name: 'first_name'
		},
		{
			label: 'Last name:',
			name: 'last_name'
		},
		{
			label: 'Position:',
			name: 'position'
		},
		{
			label: 'Office:',
			name: 'office'
		},
		{
			label: 'Extension:',
			name: 'extn'
		},
		{
			label: 'Start date:',
			name: 'start_date',
			type: 'datetime'
		},
		{
			label: 'Salary:',
			name: 'salary'
		}
	],
	table: '#example'
});

const table = new DataTable('#example', {
	ajax: {
		url: '../php/staff.php',
		type: 'POST'
	},
	columns: [
		{
			data: null,
			orderable: false,
			render: DataTable.render.select(),
			searchable: false
		},
		{ data: 'first_name' },
		{ data: 'last_name' },
		{ data: 'position' },
		{ data: 'office' },
		{ data: 'start_date' },
		{ data: 'salary', render: DataTable.render.number(null, null, 0, '$') }
	],
	layout: {
		topStart: {
			buttons: [
				{ extend: 'create', editor: editor },
				{ extend: 'edit', editor: editor },
				{ extend: 'remove', editor: editor }
			]
		}
	},
	order: [[1, 'asc']],
	select: {
		selector: 'td:first-child',
		style: 'os'
	},
	serverSide: true
});

// Activate an inline edit on click of a table cell
table.on('click', 'tbody td:not(:first-child)', function (e) {
	editor.inline(table.cell(this).index(), {
		onBlur: 'submit'
	});
});

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.

Server-side processing

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