dataTable group() means something different

[gordonwoodhull]

This is one of those inconsistencies which to fix would break a lot of code.

But why oh why does dataTable.group() take a function returning a grouping key, rather than a group? If it is doing something completely different, it should not use the same name.

[emiguevara]

exactly, very confusing indeed... took a while to figure how to use gouping with tables

[emiguevara]

I started looking at the data-table code, and one of the things that really bother me is the group-rows being shown even if there is just one group. I used to hide them with CSS. Today I added a getter/setter to control this as a chart parameter, without breaking back-compatibility. Do you think this could be useful? Changes in this commit: https://github.com/emiguevara/dc.js/commit/e7a60c082853c059abbef200e82ef4aa158ae32c

[gordonwoodhull]

Yes, @emiguevara, please submit a PR. That is something many people have been working around.

Please call it showGroups, plural, and if you can add a test for the option that would be great. It looks like there is already a test that verifies there is a group tr in the default case:

https://github.com/dc-js/dc.js/blob/develop/spec/data-table-spec.js#L54

So I'd just need one verifying that there are no group trs when this option is set.

[emiguevara]

Hi @gordonwoodhull , that is good. I'll give it a go later today, I've never written any tests in JS but it shouldn't be too difficult. Thanks.

[emiguevara]

PR submitted.

[gordonwoodhull]

At least we have a warning for this API inconsistency in 2.0 beta 16, thanks to @calvino.

[gordonwoodhull]

Also documented dataTable.group() and dataGrid.group() separately.

[gordonwoodhull]

As of 3.0.12, dataTable and dataGrid have new functions called section, showSections, and htmlSection. This follows the plan set forth in #1499 (comment)

The old functions are still supported, but they emit a suggestion to use the new functions for clarity. They could be deprecated in the future (but there's really no need).

Additionally, the section property is no longer mandatory for dataTable, since it's common to use a constant string and put everything in one group (and turn off showSections / showGroups). The default is to use the blank string.