Preamble

As you would expect with a desktop application, DataTables allows you to sort by multiple columns at the same time. This multiple sorting mechanism is always active if the bSort initialiser is true (it is by default) and the end user can activate it by 'shift' clicking on the column they want to add to the sort. You can also pass in an array of information using the aaSorting initialiser, as I have done in the example below there the first column is sorted as the primary column and the second one then used if the elements in the first column match. As many columns as you wish can be added to the sort.

DataTables also provides a method to add your own sorting functions, to extend those built into DataTables. This can be very useful if you wish to sort on data formats such as currency and non-Javascript standard date formats (this natural sort algorithm is a popular useage). This is achieved by extending the jQuery.fn.dataTableExt object with ascending and descending sort functions. In the example below I've added case sensitive sorting functions.

Live example

Initialisation code

/* Define two custom functions (asc and desc) for string sorting */
jQuery.fn.dataTableExt.oSort['string-case-asc']  = function(x,y) {
	return ((x < y) ? -1 : ((x > y) ?  1 : 0));
};

jQuery.fn.dataTableExt.oSort['string-case-desc'] = function(x,y) {
	return ((x < y) ?  1 : ((x > y) ? -1 : 0));
};

$(document).ready(function() {
	/* Build the DataTable with third column using our custom sort functions */
	$('#example').dataTable( {
		"aaSorting": [ [0,'asc'], [1,'asc'] ],
		"aoColumns": [
			null,
			null,
			{ "sType": 'string-case' },
			null,
			null
		]
	} );
} );

Other examples

Basic initialisation

• Zero configuration
• Feature enablement
• Sorting data
• Multi-column sorting
• Multiple tables
• Hidden columns
• DOM positioning
• State saving
• Alternative pagination styles
• Change language information (internationalisation)
• ThemeRoller themes (Smoothness)

Advanced initialisation

• Events (pre initialisation)
• Events (post initialisation)
• Column rendering
• Sorting without HTML tags
• Multiple table controls (sDom)
• Custom toolbar (element) around table
• Set sorting controls
• Column grouping through col/row spans
• Row grouping
• Row callback
• Footer callback
• Change language information from a file (internationalisation)

Data sources

• DOM
• Javascript array
• Ajax source
• Server side processing

Server-side processing

• Obtain server-side data
• Add extra HTTP variables
• Use HTTP POST
• Custom column ordering (in callback data)
• Pipelining data (reduce Ajax calls for paging)
• Show and hide details about a particular record
• User selectable rows (multiple rows)

API

• Dynamically add a new row
• Individual column filtering
• Highlight rows and columns
• Show and hide details about a particular record
• User selectable rows (multiple rows)
• User selectable rows (single row) and delete rows
• Editable rows (with jEditable)
• Submit form with elements in table
• Index column (static number column)
• Show and hide columns dynamically
• Regular expression filtering

Plug-ins

• Add custom API functions
• Sorting and type detection
• Custom pagination controls
• Range filtering / custom filtering
• Live DOM sorting

Please refer to the DataTables documentation for full information about its API properties and methods.