- DataTables 1.9 had 5 different parameters that controlled how Ajax
data was obtained, which with its own naming properties, often mapping
to the jQuery.ajax methods, or otherwise extending them. To hugely
simply and extend the Ajax functionality DataTables has, these five
parameters have now been deprecated and the funtionality provided by
them merged into the new `ajax` parameter.
- Deprecated properties:
- sAjaxSource
- fnServerData
- sAjaxDataProp
- sServerMethod
- fnServerParams
- Note that these parameters are still fully supported and can be used,
but for new projects, `ajax` should be used as they will eventually be
removed (likely DataTables v2 whenever that is, as they are too widely
used to be removed in v1.x).
- Added additional / missing tests for the deprecated properties to
ensure full backwards compatiblity
- The new `ajax` property is fully documented in the doc comments, but
as a summary it can take three forms:
- string - the url to get the data from (i.e. this is the new
sAjaxSource)
- object - maps directly to jQuery.ajax, allowing full control of the
Ajax call (provides the abilities of fnServerParams, sServerMethod,
sAjaxDataProp)
- function - a function so you can get the data your own way
(provides the abilities of fnServerData)
- Added unit tests for the new `ajax` property and doc comment examples
updated to use this property exclusively.
- As of jQuery 1.8 `andSelf` was deprecated in favour of `andBack`.
`andBack` was not available in jQuery <1.8, and I don't want to make
1.8 a requirement yet, so a small workaround requiring two unbind
calls is used to avoid calling `andSelf` or `andBack`.
Removed: fnCookieCallback (cookieCallback) - This is now irrelevant since DataTables does not state save in cookies by default.
Removed: sCookiePrefix (cookiePrefix) - This is now irrelevant since DataTables does not state save in cookies by default.
Depreciated: iCookieDuration (cookieDuration) - Since DataTables does not use cookies for state saving by default the name of this parameter is now incorrect. The new parameter `stateDuration` should be used instead, although the old parameter is still supported. It will be removed in the next major version of DataTables.
Backwards compatibility issues: The main goal here (other than to use camel-case notation!) is to preserve backwards compatibility. Unfortunately this isn't 100% possible:
- DataTable.defaults.columns has been renamed to be DataTable.defaults.column
- Otherwise it conflicts with aoColumns in the defaults.
Without doubt this is going to be a long process - for example the unit tests and examples need to be completely updated for this change. The JSDoc comments have been updated, so the site should take care of itself for the most part, when released.
In terms of implementation, it is important to note that I have not broken backwards compatibility here - the way it is does is that the current defaults are retained, and a camel-case to Hungarian mapping is automatically generated and then applied to the objects given by the end user. This adds around 0.5K to the size of DataTables, but writing the mapping manually would require at least 3K, and changing DataTables wholesale to camel-case would utterly break backwards compatibility. This is the least 'evil' way to accomplish this. It is important to note that this is a step along the roadmap for DataTables - come v2 Hungarian notation will likely be dropped completely.
One important note to make about this mapping is that if you use camel-case DataTables will copy the value from the camel-case properties to their Hungarian counterparts, so you will end up with additional properties on your source object. As I say, this appears to be to be the least 'evil' option, although still not perfect itself. The challenges of working with legacy software and installs...!
Note: _fnColumnOrdering is left in place at the moment, although it may be updated as work progresses on 1.10 with regard to the increased use of column names.
Removed: fnRender - fnRender was depricated in 1.9 and is now being completely removed here. Its always been a bit messy and is now superseded by mRender. The main reason for this is that DataTables use to take an independent copy of the input data source object / array. This is a performance hit and it means we can't do any binding to external objects (for example it makes Knockout integration almost impossible).
Removed: bUseRendered - with fnRender being removed, bUseRendered is irrelevent
Updated: With fnRender being removed we no longer need to take an independent copy of the data source object / array (since DataTables itself isn't ever going to write to it now - fnRender did and the copy was included so we didn't inadvertantly change a developers data source object without them knowing about it. This is no longer a problem, and in fact having it use the same data source object is extremely useful in many cases.
Fix: Use jQuery html() and text() for HTML data to search method. Much tidier and copes with strict XHTML - downside is that it is a little slower if & is in a data string.
New: Static API method - fnIsDataTable - check if a TABLE node is a DataTable or not
New: Static API method - fnTables - get the DataTables that are initialised on the table (optionally limit to just the visible tables)
Examples update - Tabs and scrolling updated to use the new static fnTables method
Fix: Settings object model was missing the nScrollHead and nScrollFoot properties from the documentation
New: API: Underscore function updated to use fnGetData rather than its internal function calls. Although slightly more expensive in computation terms, it extends the capacibabites of the underscore function greatly, allowing TD nodes to be the result of the selector as well as TR nodes. So now you can get a column of data with something like: $('#example').dataTable()._('td:nth-child(4)') . Cool :-)
Dev: New internal function called _fnNodeToColumnIndex, adapted from fnGetPosition for reuse.
