Hi, If you are looking to give a dynamic search feature to your web application or your web project, without any problems, then you are in the right place.
This website Coding Birds Online provides the very simple, to the point and 100% working source code with a complete guide. You can check this demo also.
What is the DataTables plugin?
DataTable is a plug-in for the jQuery JavaScript library. It is a highly flexible tool, built upon the foundations of progressive enhancement, that adds all of these advanced features to any HTML table. You can read more about DataTable from the official website.
Not understood? Don’t worry, I will explain. In simple words. It is a simple plugin or tool we can say, that helps us to search the records in a larger table with very little time and without page refresh.
For example, check this screenshot when type any keyword in the search box, the results are dynamically displayed.
Why we need DataTables?
If you are using a web application, then you might have a reporting feature. You can learn how to export records. Sometimes you want to search any data in the table, if normally you code then you search a keyword in the search box, the page will be reloaded and then you will get the desired record.
Sounds interesting? I know surely you are. Now that’s enough to understand. So what are you waiting for? let’s get started
Steps to integrate data table plugin
- Load the jQuery 1st, In the head tag of index.php file.
- Now load the required JavaScripts provided by DataTable plugin.
- You can load bootstrap to style the tables, It is optional.
- Create a table in the index.php file.
- Now add a two-line of jQuery Code.
- Test it !!!
Let’s create the index.php or index.html, You can use index.php to fetch the records from the database. Here I am creating a static table. You can learn how to fetch records in JAVA & Servlets.
Add these imports to your head tag of the page on which you want to integrate the DataTable plugin. Make sure you import it in this sequence only.
<script src="https://code.jquery.com/jquery-3.3.1.js"></script> <script src="https://maxcdn.bootstrapcdn.com/bootstrap/3.4.1/js/bootstrap.min.js"></script> <script src="https://cdn.datatables.net/1.10.20/js/jquery.dataTables.min.js"></script> <script src="https://cdn.datatables.net/1.10.20/js/dataTables.bootstrap4.min.js"></script> <script src="https://cdn.datatables.net/1.10.20/css/dataTables.bootstrap4.min.css"></script>
Complete Code
index.php
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<title>Integrate datatable - Coding Birds Online</title>
<meta charset="utf-8">
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
<link rel="stylesheet" href="https://maxcdn.bootstrapcdn.com/bootstrap/3.4.1/css/bootstrap.min.css">
<script src="https://code.jquery.com/jquery-3.3.1.js"></script>
<script src="https://maxcdn.bootstrapcdn.com/bootstrap/3.4.1/js/bootstrap.min.js"></script>
<script src="https://cdn.datatables.net/1.10.20/js/jquery.dataTables.min.js"></script>
<script src="https://cdn.datatables.net/1.10.20/js/dataTables.bootstrap4.min.js"></script>
<script src="https://cdn.datatables.net/1.10.20/css/dataTables.bootstrap4.min.css"></script>
<link rel="icon" href="https://codingbirdsonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/cropped-coding-birds-favicon-2-1-192x192.png" type="image/x-icon">
<style> #thead>tr>th{ color: white; } </style>
</head>
<body>
<div class="container">
<table id="exampleTable" class="table table-striped table-bordered" style="width: 70%">
<thead id="thead">
<tr style="background-color: #1573ff">
<th>Name</th>
<th>Position</th>
<th>Office</th>
<th>Age</th>
<th>Start date</th>
<th>Salary</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>Tiger Nixon</td>
<td>System Architect</td>
<td>Edinburgh</td>
<td>61</td>
<td>2011/04/25</td>
<td>$320,800</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Garrett Winters</td>
<td>Accountant</td>
<td>Tokyo</td>
<td>63</td>
<td>2011/07/25</td>
<td>$170,750</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Ashton Cox</td>
<td>Junior Technical Author</td>
<td>San Francisco</td>
<td>66</td>
<td>2009/01/12</td>
<td>$86,000</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Cedric Kelly</td>
<td>Senior Javascript Developer</td>
<td>Edinburgh</td>
<td>22</td>
<td>2012/03/29</td>
<td>$433,060</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Airi Satou</td>
<td>Accountant</td>
<td>Tokyo</td>
<td>33</td>
<td>2008/11/28</td>
<td>$162,700</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Brielle Williamson</td>
<td>Integration Specialist</td>
<td>New York</td>
<td>61</td>
<td>2012/12/02</td>
<td>$372,000</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Herrod Chandler</td>
<td>Sales Assistant</td>
<td>San Francisco</td>
<td>59</td>
<td>2012/08/06</td>
<td>$137,500</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Rhona Davidson</td>
<td>Integration Specialist</td>
<td>Tokyo</td>
<td>55</td>
<td>2010/10/14</td>
<td>$327,900</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Colleen Hurst</td>
<td>Javascript Developer</td>
<td>San Francisco</td>
<td>39</td>
<td>2009/09/15</td>
<td>$205,500</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Sonya Frost</td>
<td>Software Engineer</td>
<td>Edinburgh</td>
<td>23</td>
<td>2008/12/13</td>
<td>$103,600</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Jena Gaines</td>
<td>Office Manager</td>
<td>London</td>
<td>30</td>
<td>2008/12/19</td>
<td>$90,560</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Quinn Flynn</td>
<td>Support Lead</td>
<td>Edinburgh</td>
<td>22</td>
<td>2013/03/03</td>
<td>$342,000</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Charde Marshall</td>
<td>Regional Director</td>
<td>San Francisco</td>
<td>36</td>
<td>2008/10/16</td>
<td>$470,600</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Haley Kennedy</td>
<td>Senior Marketing Designer</td>
<td>London</td>
<td>43</td>
<td>2012/12/18</td>
<td>$313,500</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Tatyana Fitzpatrick</td>
<td>Regional Director</td>
<td>London</td>
<td>19</td>
<td>2010/03/17</td>
<td>$385,750</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Michael Silva</td>
<td>Marketing Designer</td>
<td>London</td>
<td>66</td>
<td>2012/11/27</td>
<td>$198,500</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Paul Byrd</td>
<td>Chief Financial Officer (CFO)</td>
<td>New York</td>
<td>64</td>
<td>2010/06/09</td>
<td>$725,000</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Gloria Little</td>
<td>Systems Administrator</td>
<td>New York</td>
<td>59</td>
<td>2009/04/10</td>
<td>$237,500</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Bradley Greer</td>
<td>Software Engineer</td>
<td>London</td>
<td>41</td>
<td>2012/10/13</td>
<td>$132,000</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Dai Rios</td>
<td>Personnel Lead</td>
<td>Edinburgh</td>
<td>35</td>
<td>2012/09/26</td>
<td>$217,500</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Jenette Caldwell</td>
<td>Development Lead</td>
<td>New York</td>
<td>30</td>
<td>2011/09/03</td>
<td>$345,000</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Yuri Berry</td>
<td>Chief Marketing Officer (CMO)</td>
<td>New York</td>
<td>40</td>
<td>2009/06/25</td>
<td>$675,000</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Caesar Vance</td>
<td>Pre-Sales Support</td>
<td>New York</td>
<td>21</td>
<td>2011/12/12</td>
<td>$106,450</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Doris Wilder</td>
<td>Sales Assistant</td>
<td>Sydney</td>
<td>23</td>
<td>2010/09/20</td>
<td>$85,600</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Angelica Ramos</td>
<td>Chief Executive Officer (CEO)</td>
<td>London</td>
<td>47</td>
<td>2009/10/09</td>
<td>$1,200,000</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Gavin Joyce</td>
<td>Developer</td>
<td>Edinburgh</td>
<td>42</td>
<td>2010/12/22</td>
<td>$92,575</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Jennifer Chang</td>
<td>Regional Director</td>
<td>Singapore</td>
<td>28</td>
<td>2010/11/14</td>
<td>$357,650</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Brenden Wagner</td>
<td>Software Engineer</td>
<td>San Francisco</td>
<td>28</td>
<td>2011/06/07</td>
<td>$206,850</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Fiona Green</td>
<td>Chief Operating Officer (COO)</td>
<td>San Francisco</td>
<td>48</td>
<td>2010/03/11</td>
<td>$850,000</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Shou Itou</td>
<td>Regional Marketing</td>
<td>Tokyo</td>
<td>20</td>
<td>2011/08/14</td>
<td>$163,000</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Michelle House</td>
<td>Integration Specialist</td>
<td>Sydney</td>
<td>37</td>
<td>2011/06/02</td>
<td>$95,400</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Suki Burks</td>
<td>Developer</td>
<td>London</td>
<td>53</td>
<td>2009/10/22</td>
<td>$114,500</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Prescott Bartlett</td>
<td>Technical Author</td>
<td>London</td>
<td>27</td>
<td>2011/05/07</td>
<td>$145,000</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Gavin Cortez</td>
<td>Team Leader</td>
<td>San Francisco</td>
<td>22</td>
<td>2008/10/26</td>
<td>$235,500</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Martena Mccray</td>
<td>Post-Sales support</td>
<td>Edinburgh</td>
<td>46</td>
<td>2011/03/09</td>
<td>$324,050</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Unity Butler</td>
<td>Marketing Designer</td>
<td>San Francisco</td>
<td>47</td>
<td>2009/12/09</td>
<td>$85,675</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Howard Hatfield</td>
<td>Office Manager</td>
<td>San Francisco</td>
<td>51</td>
<td>2008/12/16</td>
<td>$164,500</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Hope Fuentes</td>
<td>Secretary</td>
<td>San Francisco</td>
<td>41</td>
<td>2010/02/12</td>
<td>$109,850</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Vivian Harrell</td>
<td>Financial Controller</td>
<td>San Francisco</td>
<td>62</td>
<td>2009/02/14</td>
<td>$452,500</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Timothy Mooney</td>
<td>Office Manager</td>
<td>London</td>
<td>37</td>
<td>2008/12/11</td>
<td>$136,200</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Jackson Bradshaw</td>
<td>Director</td>
<td>New York</td>
<td>65</td>
<td>2008/09/26</td>
<td>$645,750</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Olivia Liang</td>
<td>Support Engineer</td>
<td>Singapore</td>
<td>64</td>
<td>2011/02/03</td>
<td>$234,500</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Bruno Nash</td>
<td>Software Engineer</td>
<td>London</td>
<td>38</td>
<td>2011/05/03</td>
<td>$163,500</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Sakura Yamamoto</td>
<td>Support Engineer</td>
<td>Tokyo</td>
<td>37</td>
<td>2009/08/19</td>
<td>$139,575</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Thor Walton</td>
<td>Developer</td>
<td>New York</td>
<td>61</td>
<td>2013/08/11</td>
<td>$98,540</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Finn Camacho</td>
<td>Support Engineer</td>
<td>San Francisco</td>
<td>47</td>
<td>2009/07/07</td>
<td>$87,500</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Serge Baldwin</td>
<td>Data Coordinator</td>
<td>Singapore</td>
<td>64</td>
<td>2012/04/09</td>
<td>$138,575</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Zenaida Frank</td>
<td>Software Engineer</td>
<td>New York</td>
<td>63</td>
<td>2010/01/04</td>
<td>$125,250</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Zorita Serrano</td>
<td>Software Engineer</td>
<td>San Francisco</td>
<td>56</td>
<td>2012/06/01</td>
<td>$115,000</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Jennifer Acosta</td>
<td>Junior Javascript Developer</td>
<td>Edinburgh</td>
<td>43</td>
<td>2013/02/01</td>
<td>$75,650</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Cara Stevens</td>
<td>Sales Assistant</td>
<td>New York</td>
<td>46</td>
<td>2011/12/06</td>
<td>$145,600</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Hermione Butler</td>
<td>Regional Director</td>
<td>London</td>
<td>47</td>
<td>2011/03/21</td>
<td>$356,250</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Lael Greer</td>
<td>Systems Administrator</td>
<td>London</td>
<td>21</td>
<td>2009/02/27</td>
<td>$103,500</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Jonas Alexander</td>
<td>Developer</td>
<td>San Francisco</td>
<td>30</td>
<td>2010/07/14</td>
<td>$86,500</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Shad Decker</td>
<td>Regional Director</td>
<td>Edinburgh</td>
<td>51</td>
<td>2008/11/13</td>
<td>$183,000</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Michael Bruce</td>
<td>Javascript Developer</td>
<td>Singapore</td>
<td>29</td>
<td>2011/06/27</td>
<td>$183,000</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Donna Snider</td>
<td>Customer Support</td>
<td>New York</td>
<td>27</td>
<td>2011/01/25</td>
<td>$112,000</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
<tfoot>
<tr>
<th>Name</th>
<th>Position</th>
<th>Office</th>
<th>Age</th>
<th>Start date</th>
<th>Salary</th>
</tr>
</tfoot>
</table>
</div>
<script>
$(document).ready(function() {
$('#exampleTable').DataTable();
} );
</script>
</body>
</html>
Final output
Source Code with Demo
To download the full working source code download it from here. You can check this demo also.
You can also watch this video of mine, uploaded a year ago explaining the same.
Conclusion
I hope you learned everything I explained above, If you have any suggestions, are appreciated. And if you have any error comment here. If you want to download the source code then click here.
Happy Coding 🙂