Title: Shoddy Engineering
Last modified: February 21, 2023

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# Shoddy Engineering

 *  [apathetic](https://wordpress.org/support/users/amendment/)
 * (@amendment)
 * [3 years, 6 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/shoddy-engineering/)
 * Not built well and a really bad copy of jQuery DataTables. You would be better
   off using the source libraries for the tables and charts given how much the plugin
   author limits its functionality and all the extra work required to make it work
   even close to what modern users would expect.
 * Lots of hidden dysfunction. Closed-minded, opaque approach to development that
   makes extensibility practically impossible. Horrible documentation – eg if the
   data is a string and you’re using variables, the %VAR% must be enclosed in single
   quotes is buried in some random paragraph. Also, good luck trying to render multiple
   tables and/or charts on a single page. And if you opt in for cascading filters,
   well it simply doesn’t work like any cascading filter as they disable many of
   the UI elements to make their hack of a filtering system work with their hack
   of datatables.
 * This plugin is way too expensive for basic use and yet that is all it’s good 
   for. Need a quick table or chart and the ability to use a flat file or basic 
   SQL query to your database, great, but it’s not capable of much more and it should
   be free given they didn’t develop the underlying functionality but rather threw
   a bunch of foolish limitations on top of it so they could make money tapping 
   into the WP plugin ecosystem.

Viewing 3 replies - 1 through 3 (of 3 total)

 *  [alexanderweb](https://wordpress.org/support/users/alexanderweb/)
 * (@alexanderweb)
 * [3 years, 6 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/shoddy-engineering/#post-16492868)
 * [apathetic](https://wordpress.org/support/users/amendment/)(@amendment
 * I can only presume you are commenting on another plugin as wpDataTables by far
   one of the best available for all types of tables. Support is second to none 
   and suggestions for updates quickly actioned. Instead of sticking the boot in
   buy the plugin and see what it can actually do for you and you will soon have
   a different opinion.
 *  Plugin Contributor [ameliabooking](https://wordpress.org/support/users/ameliabooking/)
 * (@ameliabooking)
 * [3 years, 6 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/shoddy-engineering/#post-16494367)
 * .
 *  Plugin Author [wpDataTables](https://wordpress.org/support/users/wpdatatables/)
 * (@wpdatatables)
 * [3 years, 6 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/shoddy-engineering/#post-16494373)
 * Hi there.
 * We’re sorry to hear you’re not satisfied with wpDataTables. We’ve never hidden
   the fact that the plugin is created on the basis of DataTables, but there is 
   a large number of people who don’t know how to use it, so they choose wpDataTables
   because it’s simplified and ready for the end user with little-to-none coding
   skills.
 * Our documentation has been written exactly for those users, so they can follow
   it and use the plugin without any issues. If you run through the documentation
   without looking at notices and reading it thoroughly, there is a chance that 
   you will miss important information.
 * There are certain limitations in WordPress that prevent us from implementing 
   everything you may find in DataTables, but we’re working on resolving them and
   adding new functionalities to the plugin. The Lite version is limited due to 
   obvious reasons but it can still be functional for basic uses.
 * The placeholders are usually used for MySQL queries and the single quotes surrounding
   Strings, that you mentioned, are used in queries. The plugin simply follows SQL
   rules, and just like in phpMyAdmin – if you run a query and search for a string
   value without enclosing it in quotes, it will return an error. The same logic
   applies not only to placeholders but any string value that is to be used in a
   query.
 * [@alexanderweb](https://wordpress.org/support/users/alexanderweb/) Thank you 
   for your support, as always!

Viewing 3 replies - 1 through 3 (of 3 total)

 The topic ‘Shoddy Engineering’ is closed to new replies.

 * ![](https://ps.w.org/wpdatatables/assets/icon-128x128.gif?rev=3010404)
 * [wpDataTables - WordPress Data Table, Dynamic Tables & Table Charts Plugin](https://wordpress.org/plugins/wpdatatables/)
 * [Frequently Asked Questions](https://wordpress.org/plugins/wpdatatables/#faq)
 * [Support Threads](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/wpdatatables/)
 * [Active Topics](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/wpdatatables/active/)
 * [Unresolved Topics](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/wpdatatables/unresolved/)
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 * 3 replies
 * 4 participants
 * Last reply from: [wpDataTables](https://wordpress.org/support/users/wpdatatables/)
 * Last activity: [3 years, 6 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/shoddy-engineering/#post-16494373)