Unexpected initialization return value when initialising Datatables inside an Object

Question

I put the dataTable function initialization inside an object but I don't get the same result as when I initialize it outside the object

Initialization outside object

var dataTable = $('datatable').dataTable();

Initialization inside object

var aObject = {
    dataTable : null,
    initFunction : function() {
        // this.dataTable contents is not the same when I initialize dataTable outside the object
        this.dataTable = $('datatable').dataTable();
    }
}

Why is this?

EDIT: Also, it doesn't seem to successfully initialise the table to dataTables when done inside an object.

Answer 1

I've tested it using following code, and the results of both console.log are the same. Are you sure that you're using right selector in both places (inside and outside of object) ?

var aObject = {
    dataTable : null,
    initFunction : function() {
        this.dataTable = $('#data').dataTable();
        }
    }

    $(function() {
        var x = $("#data").dataTable();
        aObject.initFunction();

        console.log(x);
        console.log(aObject.dataTable);
    })

and following html table:

<table id="data">
    <thead>
        <tr>
            <th>Name</th>
            <th>Age</th>
        </tr>
    </thead>
    <tbody>
        <tr>
            <td>
                one
            </td>
            <td>
                22
            </td>
        </tr>
    </tbody>
</table>