Monitor the AJAX data source every 5 seconds (default), comparing the current data structure and the data structure just pulled. If the DataTables setting rowid is not specified, then the entire table will be reloaded (via ajax.reload()) whenever any changes are detected. If rowid is specified, then liveAjax will update only the necessary rows, this is more resourceful than the former option, especially on massively large data structures, where serverSide should be used, but isn't. LiveAjax also has 2 optional parameters, one to specify the update interval (in milliseconds), and another to pause updates, which is useful for when there are certain actions being executed, which would be hindered if the table was updated. All of the DataTables AJAX settings are compatible with this plugin (ajax.type, ajax.data, ajax.dataSrc, ajax.url)

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1. Setup table to use ajax data source
2. Make sure your AJAX source is structured with objects
3. (Recommended, not required) Specify a rowId attribute

Basic Initialization - Enable liveAjax (Checks for updates every 5 seconds by default)

$('#example').DataTable({
    ajax: 'dataSrc.php',
    rowId: 'emp_id',
    liveAjax: true
});

Shows full compatibility with all ajax options, and implement some custom settings

$('#example').DataTable({
    ajax: {
        url: 'dataSrc.php',
        type: 'POST',
        data: { dataSrc: 'something'},
        dataSrc: 'something'
    },
    rowId: 'emp_id',
    liveAjax: {
        // Update every 4.5 seconds
        interval: 4500,
        // Enable DT XHR Callbacks for all AJAX requests
        dtCallbacks: true,
        abortOn: ['error', 'timeout', 'parsererror', 'abort']
    }
});

Update the entire table when any changes are detected (Less optimal than when rowid is used)

$('#example').DataTable({
    ajax: 'json.php',
    liveAjax: true
});

Stop updates entirely (Can not be restarted)

table.liveAjax.clear();

Pause updates (Updates can only be ran if forced)

table.liveAjax.pause();

Resume updates

table.liveAjax.resume();

Initialize immediate reload the table (Does not wait for interval)

table.liveAjax.reload();

Force reload of table (Executes regardless if paused or not)

table.liveAjax.reload( null, false, true );

Change interval update to 3 seconds

table.liveAjax.setInterval( 3000 );

Clear the API interval status, resetting it to default (5000) or value set by liveAjax.interval setting

table.liveAjax.setInterval( null );