Datatables: Pass additional/hidden row information through JSON - json

Question

Short
Can I pass additional data through JSON objects to Datatables which won't be rendered by Datatables?
Longer description
I'm having issues with Internet Explorer (sigh) rendering Datatables in a frustratingly slow manor. Having scoured the web for solutions the best bet I've figured is that I should transfer the creation of the table from HTML to JSON.
Our HTML rows currently look like this:
<tr their_ID="{$data[$i]['their_ID']}" class="$no_select $exists">
<td>$ii.</td>
<td surname>{$data[$i]['surname']}</td>
<td forename>{$data[$i]['forename']}</td>
<td title>{$data[$i]['title']}</td>
<td gender>{$data[$i]['gender']}</td>
<td email>{$data[$i]['email']}</td>
<td import class="centerText"><input type="checkbox" $checked ourID="$ourID" /></td>
</tr>
The JSON seems great if all you are passing is raw data. But for the rest of the functionality to work we need all the additional data for each row and table cell to be passed.
If I have the following:
{
"DT_RowId": "1234",
"ii": "$ii",
"surname": "Surname",
"forename": "Forename",
"title": "Title",
"gender": "M",
"email": "abc#xyz.com",
"import": "$ourID"
},
Using the createdRow callback I can set most of the row and cell data using JS. The ID could be taken and renamed to the custom attribute their_ID. The keynames could be used to add the custom attributes to the cells. I could convert the import cell into a checkbox using JS etc. Determining whether the row could be selected or not ($no_select) could also be done with JS.
The problem we're left with is:
How do we pass the server side determined data of whether the user exists in our database or not?
Is it possible to pass additional data through the JSON which won't be rendered by the Datatables but will be available for us to use? $exists and $checked (which really could be a single variable as far as the JS is concerned)
E.g. theoretically:
{
"DT_RowId": "1234",
"ii": "$ii",
"surname": "Surname",
"forename": "Forename",
"title": "Title",
"gender": "M",
"email": "abc#xyz.com",
"import": $ourID,
"hiddenClientSideData": {
"exists": 1|0,
"checked": 1|0
}
},
Thanks for any help, and if you need any clarifications please ask.

Answer 1

You should be able to use the ColumnDefs and set the visible property to false. Create a column for that data. And then target that column and make it invisible
https://datatables.net/reference/option/columnDefs
You would create two additional th and two addadditional td cells in your table definition. Then just send the data as you are with other properties. To begin with render it on the UI to make sure it is all sending correctly. Then use the columnDefs to target and hide those last two columns. You will still be able to use datatables api to get the data to act on it if needed