How can I get jQuery DataTables to sort on hidden value, but search on displayed value?

Question

I have a simple DataTables grid which contains date columns. I have provided two values for the date in my JSON data set, one for display and one specifically designed so th

Answer 1

I believe the existing answers are deprecated due to updates to DataTables. HTML5 supports attributes that DataTables can use to easily sort columns. Specifically the data-sort attribute. (See https://datatables.net/examples/advanced_init/html5-data-attributes.html)

I can easily sort tables like so:

  

    

      
Name
      
Age
    
  
  

    

      
John Doe
      
2/1/78 (37 years old)
    
    

      
Jane Doe
      
12/1/80 (35 years old)
    
  

It doesn't matter that the 'Age' column contains numbers, symbols, and letters, DataTables will sort using the 'data-sort' attribute.