Convert Json Data to a Html Table [Closed]

Is there any jQuery or javascript library that generates a dynamic table given json data? I don't want to define the columns, the library should read the keys in the json hash and generate columns.

Of course, I can myself iterate through the json data and generate the html table. I just want to know if any such library exists which I can simply reuse.

4

Thanks all for your replies. I wrote one myself. Please note that this uses jQuery.

Code snippet:

var myList = [
  { "name": "abc", "age": 50 },
  { "age": "25", "hobby": "swimming" },
  { "name": "xyz", "hobby": "programming" }
];

// Builds the HTML Table out of myList.
function buildHtmlTable(selector) {
  var columns = addAllColumnHeaders(myList, selector);

  for (var i = 0; i < myList.length; i++) {
    var row$ = $('<tr/>');
    for (var colIndex = 0; colIndex < columns.length; colIndex++) {
      var cellValue = myList[i][columns[colIndex]];
      if (cellValue == null) cellValue = "";
      row$.append($('<td/>').html(cellValue));
    }
    $(selector).append(row$);
  }
}

// Adds a header row to the table and returns the set of columns.
// Need to do union of keys from all records as some records may not contain
// all records.
function addAllColumnHeaders(myList, selector) {
  var columnSet = [];
  var headerTr$ = $('<tr/>');

  for (var i = 0; i < myList.length; i++) {
    var rowHash = myList[i];
    for (var key in rowHash) {
      if ($.inArray(key, columnSet) == -1) {
        columnSet.push(key);
        headerTr$.append($('<th/>').html(key));
      }
    }
  }
  $(selector).append(headerTr$);

  return columnSet;
}
<script src=""></script>

<body onLoad="buildHtmlTable('#excelDataTable')">
  <table id="excelDataTable" border="1">
  </table>
</body>
12

I have rewritten your code in vanilla-js, using DOM methods to prevent html injection.

Demo

var _table_ = document.createElement('table'),
  _tr_ = document.createElement('tr'),
  _th_ = document.createElement('th'),
  _td_ = document.createElement('td');

// Builds the HTML Table out of myList json data from Ivy restful service.
function buildHtmlTable(arr) {
  var table = _table_.cloneNode(false),
    columns = addAllColumnHeaders(arr, table);
  for (var i = 0, maxi = arr.length; i < maxi; ++i) {
    var tr = _tr_.cloneNode(false);
    for (var j = 0, maxj = columns.length; j < maxj; ++j) {
      var td = _td_.cloneNode(false);
      var cellValue = arr[i][columns[j]];
      td.appendChild(document.createTextNode(arr[i][columns[j]] || ''));
      tr.appendChild(td);
    }
    table.appendChild(tr);
  }
  return table;
}

// Adds a header row to the table and returns the set of columns.
// Need to do union of keys from all records as some records may not contain
// all records
function addAllColumnHeaders(arr, table) {
  var columnSet = [],
    tr = _tr_.cloneNode(false);
  for (var i = 0, l = arr.length; i < l; i++) {
    for (var key in arr[i]) {
      if (arr[i].hasOwnProperty(key) && columnSet.indexOf(key) === -1) {
        columnSet.push(key);
        var th = _th_.cloneNode(false);
        th.appendChild(document.createTextNode(key));
        tr.appendChild(th);
      }
    }
  }
  table.appendChild(tr);
  return columnSet;
}

document.body.appendChild(buildHtmlTable([{
    "name": "abc",
    "age": 50
  },
  {
    "age": "25",
    "hobby": "swimming"
  },
  {
    "name": "xyz",
    "hobby": "programming"
  }
]));
8

Check out JSON2HTML plugin for jQuery. It allows you to specify a transform that would convert your JSON object to HTML template. Use builder on to get json transform object for any desired html template. In your case, it would be a table with row having following transform.

Example:

var transform = {"tag":"table", "children":[
    {"tag":"tbody","children":[
        {"tag":"tr","children":[
            {"tag":"td","html":"${name}"},
            {"tag":"td","html":"${age}"}
        ]}
    ]}
]};

var data = [
    {'name':'Bob','age':40},
    {'name':'Frank','age':15},
    {'name':'Bill','age':65},
    {'name':'Robert','age':24}
];

$('#target_div').html(json2html.transform(data,transform));
2

You can use simple jQuery jPut plugin

<script>
$(document).ready(function(){

var json = [{"name": "name1","email":""},{"name": "name2","link":""}];
//while running this code the template will be appended in your div with json data
$("#tbody").jPut({
    jsonData:json,
    //ajax_url:"youfile.json",  if you want to call from a json file
    name:"tbody_template",
});

});
</script>   

<table jput="t_template">
 <tbody jput="tbody_template">
     <tr>
         <td>{{name}}</td>
         <td>{{email}}</td>
     </tr>
 </tbody>
</table>

<table>
 <tbody id="tbody">
 </tbody>
</table>
Sarah Jenkins

Sarah Jenkins

Senior Technology Editor & AI Specialist

Sarah Jenkins is a veteran tech journalist with over 12 years of experience covering artificial intelligence, mobile innovations, and digital ethics. Her insights have appeared in leading technology publications worldwide.

Share this article
Twitter Facebook Pinterest