Top Table Libraries

AFFiNE is an open-source, privacy-first, local-first, and collaborative knowledge base that combines the best features of Notion, Miro, and Airtable.

Pros

• Offers a unique combination of document editing, whiteboarding, and database functionality in a single platform
• Emphasizes privacy and local-first approach, giving users more control over their data
• Provides a collaborative environment with real-time synchronization capabilities

Cons

• As a relatively new project, it may have fewer integrations and extensions compared to more established alternatives
• The learning curve might be steeper due to its multifunctional nature
• May lack some specialized features found in dedicated tools for specific tasks (e.g., advanced spreadsheet functions)

Tabler is a free and open-source HTML, CSS, and JavaScript framework for building responsive, mobile-first admin dashboards and web applications.

Code Example

<div class="card">
  <div class="card-body">
    <h3 class="card-title">Card title</h3>
    <p class="card-text">Some quick example text to build on the card title and make up the bulk of the card's content.</p>
  </div>
</div>

Pros

• Offers a comprehensive set of UI components and layouts specifically designed for admin dashboards
• Provides a clean and modern design out of the box, reducing the need for custom styling
• Includes a large collection of customizable icons (tabler-icons) as part of the ecosystem

Cons

• Focused primarily on admin dashboards, which may limit its versatility compared to more general-purpose frameworks like Bootstrap
• Lacks advanced data manipulation features found in projects like ag-Grid or Handsontable
• Does not provide spreadsheet-like functionality offered by projects such as SheetJS or x-spreadsheet

SheetJS/sheetjs is a powerful JavaScript library for parsing, manipulating, and generating spreadsheet files in various formats.

Code Example

const workbook = XLSX.readFile('example.xlsx');
const worksheet = workbook.Sheets[workbook.SheetNames[0]];
const data = XLSX.utils.sheet_to_json(worksheet);

Pros

• Supports a wide range of spreadsheet formats, including XLS, XLSX, CSV, and more.
• Offers robust parsing and generation capabilities for complex spreadsheet structures.
• Provides a lightweight, dependency-free solution for spreadsheet manipulation in JavaScript.

Cons

• Limited built-in UI components compared to projects like Handsontable or ag-Grid.
• May require more manual coding for advanced data visualization compared to some alternatives.
• Lacks some of the collaborative features found in projects like AFFiNE or Wekan.

TanStack/table is a headless UI library for building powerful tables and datagrids in React, Vue, and Solid.

Code Example

import { useTable } from '@tanstack/react-table'

const table = useTable({ columns, data })
return <table {...table.getTableProps()}>{/* ... */}</table>

Pros

• Highly flexible and customizable, allowing for complex table implementations
• Framework-agnostic, supporting multiple JavaScript frameworks
• Excellent performance with large datasets due to virtualization support

Cons

• Steeper learning curve compared to simpler table libraries
• Requires more setup and configuration than some alternatives
• Lacks built-in UI components, requiring additional styling and implementation

Handsontable is a JavaScript data grid component that provides spreadsheet-like functionality for web applications.

Code Example

const container = document.getElementById('example');
const hot = new Handsontable(container, {
  data: [['', 'Tesla', 'Volvo', 'Toyota', 'Ford'],
         ['2019', 10, 11, 12, 13],
         ['2020', 20, 11, 14, 13],
         ['2021', 30, 15, 12, 13]]
});

Pros

1. Offers a rich set of features including data binding, validation, and sorting out of the box.
2. Provides excellent Excel-like functionality with cell merging and custom cell types.
3. Has a well-documented API and extensive customization options.

Cons

1. Commercial license required for many use cases, unlike some open-source alternatives.
2. Can be resource-intensive for large datasets compared to lighter options like list.js or bootstrap-table.
3. Learning curve can be steeper due to its extensive feature set, compared to simpler table libraries.