CAUSE
There could be multiple reasons for this error.
- jQuery DataTables library is missing.
- jQuery library is loaded after jQuery DataTables.
- Multiple versions of jQuery library is loaded.
SOLUTION
Include only one version of jQuery library version 1.7 or newer before jQuery DataTables.
For example:
<script src="https://stackoverflow.com/questions/31227844/js/jquery.min.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
<script src="js/jquery.dataTables.min.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
See jQuery DataTables: Common JavaScript console errors for more information on this and other common console errors.