Handsontable vs ZingGrid: What are the differences?

Introduction

In this Markdown document, we will provide the key differences between Handsontable and ZingGrid, two popular JavaScript data grid libraries commonly used in web development.

1. Data Binding: Handsontable offers a flexible data binding feature, allowing developers to bind data from various sources, such as arrays, objects, or remote data. It also supports dynamic data rendering and automatic data validation. On the other hand, ZingGrid primarily relies on data provided through JSON and API endpoints, making it a convenient choice for working with RESTful APIs.

2. Performance and Rendering: Handsontable utilizes a virtual rendering technique, ensuring smooth performance even with large datasets. It adopts a lazy rendering approach, intelligently rendering only the visible portion of the table, resulting in faster loading times and efficient memory usage. ZingGrid, on the other hand, focuses on high-performance rendering by using a combination of web-workers, smart rendering, and client-side caching, providing faster and optimized rendering.

3. Customization and Theming: Handsontable offers extensive customization options, allowing developers to customize grid appearance, behavior, and functionality to fit their specific needs. It provides a wide range of hooks and callbacks, making it highly adaptable. ZingGrid also allows customization using CSS rules and properties, but it provides a more limited set of customization options compared to Handsontable. Additionally, Handsontable supports custom themes and provides a theme builder for generating custom CSS.

4. Feature Set and Functionality: Handsontable provides a comprehensive set of built-in features and functionalities such as formulas, conditional formatting, data sorting, filtering, and localization. It also supports collaborative editing and integration with popular frameworks like Angular and React. ZingGrid, while offering a decent feature set, focuses more on providing a lightweight and fast grid solution, prioritizing performance over a wide range of features.

5. Documentation and Community Support: Handsontable has a large and active community with extensive documentation, guides, and examples. It also provides dedicated technical support services and regular updates. ZingGrid, although it has an active community, lacks comprehensive documentation and may require more effort to troubleshoot or explore advanced features compared to Handsontable.

6. Pricing and Licensing: Handsontable offers both open-source and commercial licenses, allowing developers to choose based on their project requirements. The commercial license provides additional features, priority support, and faster updates. On the other hand, ZingGrid provides a limited free version, but for more advanced features and support, developers need to opt for a commercial license.

In Summary, Handsontable offers flexible data binding, better customization, a comprehensive feature set, extensive documentation, and a range of licensing options. On the other hand, ZingGrid focuses on high-performance rendering, lightweight solutions, and offers a free version with the option for commercial licenses.