Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Moment.js VS DataTables

Compare Moment.js VS DataTables and see what are their differences

Moment.js logo Moment.js

Parse, validate, manipulate, and display dates in JavaScript

DataTables logo DataTables

DataTables is a plug-in for the jQuery Javascript library.
  • Moment.js Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-07-30
  • DataTables Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-12-29

Moment.js features and specs

  • Comprehensive Functionality
    Moment.js offers a wide range of features such as parsing, validating, manipulating, and formatting dates, which covers most use cases in web development.
  • Locale Support
    The library provides extensive support for internationalization (i18n) with built-in locale data, allowing developers to easily format dates and times in different languages and regions.
  • Ease of Use
    Moment.js is designed to be easy to use with a simple API. It allows developers to manipulate dates effectively without having to deal with the complexities of the native JavaScript Date object.
  • Community and Documentation
    Moment.js has a large community and well-documented API, offering numerous tutorials, guides, and Stack Overflow questions/answers to help developers resolve their issues.

Possible disadvantages of Moment.js

  • Large Bundle Size
    Moment.js is significantly large in size (around 300KB unminified), which can lead to performance issues in applications, particularly concerning load times and resource usage.
  • Mutable API
    Moment.js follows a mutable date object paradigm, meaning that the original date objects can be changed unintentionally, which can lead to bugs and make debugging difficult.
  • Deprecated
    The creators of Moment.js have positioned it as a legacy project since 2020 and discourage its use in new projects. They recommend alternatives like Luxon, Day.js, or date-fns, which are more modern and lightweight.
  • Performance
    Moment.js is slower in terms of performance compared to newer libraries like date-fns or Day.js, especially when it comes to operations that require large-scale date manipulations.
  • Lacks Tree-Shaking
    Moment.js does not support tree-shaking, a feature in modern JavaScript build tools that allows for the elimination of unused code. This affects the overall bundle size even if only a small portion of Moment.js is used.

DataTables features and specs

  • Feature-Rich
    DataTables provides a vast array of features: pagination, filtering, sorting, and customizable buttons, which can cater to various data handling needs in web applications.
  • Easy to Use
    Its straightforward implementation and extensive documentation make it simple for developers to integrate DataTables into their projects.
  • Extensible
    DataTables supports a variety of plugins and extensions, such as Editor for rich editing capabilities and FixedColumns for better column handling, allowing for enhanced functionality.
  • Cross-platform Compatibility
    It works consistently across different browsers and devices, providing a reliable user experience regardless of the end user's environment.
  • Community and Support
    A large and active community, along with official support forums, provide assistance, plugins, and extensions, contributing to a rich ecosystem.

Possible disadvantages of DataTables

  • Performance Issues
    Handling very large datasets might lead to performance bottlenecks, requiring server-side processing or additional optimization strategies.
  • Complexity in Customization
    While customization is possible, it can sometimes be complex and time-consuming, especially for non-standard functionalities or appearances.
  • Dependencies
    DataTables rely on jQuery, which might be an additional overhead for projects not already using jQuery or those aiming to minimize dependencies.
  • Learning Curve
    To fully leverage DataTables' advanced features and customization options, developers might need to invest time in understanding the API and various options.
  • License Restrictions
    While DataTables is generally free to use under the MIT license, some advanced plugins and extensions are commercial and require purchase.

Analysis of DataTables

Overall verdict

  • DataTables is generally considered a good library for handling interactive tables in web applications. It is well-suited for projects that require robust table manipulation features and can accommodate a variety of needs through its extensive customization options.

Why this product is good

  • DataTables is a popular jQuery plugin that is widely known for its ability to enhance HTML tables with advanced interaction controls. It offers features like pagination, instant search/filtering, multi-column ordering, and responsive table design. Its extensibility with various plugins and themes, along with a comprehensive documentation, makes it a versatile choice for many web development projects.

Recommended for

  • Developers looking for an out-of-the-box solution for interactive and feature-rich tables.
  • Projects that require quick integration of data manipulation features in tables.
  • Applications that need extensive customization and scalability of table data handling.

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Moment.js and DataTables)
Javascript UI Libraries
35 35%
65% 65
Development Tools
0 0%
100% 100
JS Library
100 100%
0% 0
JavaScript Framework
58 58%
42% 42

User comments

Share your experience with using Moment.js and DataTables. For example, how are they different and which one is better?
Log in or Post with

Social recommendations and mentions

DataTables might be a bit more popular than Moment.js. We know about 73 links to it since March 2021 and only 64 links to Moment.js. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Moment.js mentions (64)

  • 100+ Must-Have Web Development Resources
    Moment.js: A JavaScript library for parsing, validating, manipulating, and displaying dates. - Source: dev.to / 8 months ago
  • You're parsing URLs wrong.
    The fact that moment.js or day.js needs to exist in 2024 bothers me a lot. - Source: dev.to / about 1 year ago
  • JavaScript Compare Dates: From Chaos to Clarity
    Moment.js lets you do amazing things with dates and times in JavaScript. You can easily compare, change, and format them in different ways. For example, you can say things like "today is Monday" or "3 hours ago" or "12/31/2020". To start with Moment.js, you need to install it and import it into your JavaScript project. For example:. - Source: dev.to / about 1 year ago
  • How to Convert String to Date in JavaScript
    To learn more about Moment.js, please visit their official website. - Source: dev.to / about 1 year ago
  • 8 NPM Packages for JavaScript Beginners [2024][+tutorials]
    Ah, Moment.js, the guardian angel of date and time manipulation. Ever needed to format a date, calculate durations, or display something like "2 days ago"? Moment.js has got your back. It's a lifesaver for anything date and time-related, making it a must-have in your project, especially if you're into making your users feel like you really get them. - Source: dev.to / about 1 year ago
View more

DataTables mentions (73)

  • Solidjs: Simple and performant reactivity for building user interfaces
    Not much is going to compete directly with React's ecosystem maturity. But, of course, there's the option you have when using a non-React library in React: on mount, you instantiate the library in a ref, and then you use effects to turn reactive state updates into library invocations. For example, wrapping https://datatables.net/ if there were no React adapter. - Source: Hacker News / about 1 month ago
  • ASP.NET8 using DataTables.net – Part8 – Select rows
    //datatables.js /* * This combined file was created by the DataTables downloader builder: * https://datatables.net/download * * To rebuild or modify this file with the latest versions of the included * software please visit: * https://datatables.net/download/#bs5/jszip-3.10.1/pdfmake-0.2.7/dt-2.0.8/b-3.0.2/b-colvis-3.0.2/b-html5-3.0.2/b-print-3.0.2/sl-2.0.3/sr-1.4.1 * * Included libraries: * JSZip... - Source: dev.to / 7 months ago
  • Integrating CanvasJS with DataTables
    CanvasJS is a JavaScript charting library that allows you to create interactive and responsive charts, while DataTables is a jQuery plugin that enhances HTML tables with advanced interaction controls like pagination, filtering, and sorting. Combining these two tools in a dashboard enables real-time data visualization, making it easier to analyze and interpret data trends and patterns through interactive and... - Source: dev.to / 8 months ago
  • New Programming Languages of 2024
    The good parts provided by: https://datatables.net/. - Source: Hacker News / 10 months ago
  • Ask HN: Best/Simplest Stack for Side Projects
    When you say you want to build something simple with a few pages, you might be able to get by with something minimalist like Flask and maybe DataTables: https://datatables.net/ If you don’t expect to have scalability or real-time needs, I would not really recommend Elixir/Phoenix. The core language, dev tools, docs, and OTP are best-in-class, but there’s a learning curve, and the ecosystem has less mindshare than... - Source: Hacker News / about 1 year ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Moment.js and DataTables, you can also consider the following products

date-fns - date-fns provides the most comprehensive yet simple and consistent toolset for manipulating JavaScript dates in a browser & Node.js.

jQuery - The Write Less, Do More, JavaScript Library.

Day.js - 2kB JavaScript date utility library

React Native - A framework for building native apps with React

AngularJS - AngularJS lets you extend HTML vocabulary for your application. The resulting environment is extraordinarily expressive, readable, and quick to develop.

Babel - Babel is a compiler for writing next generation JavaScript.