Could you please explain what the grid init() function does? Also, in relation to the first question, what grid functions or variables are supposed to be called or set before a call to init() is made?
grid.init() - this function renders grid, basically before this command you need to have at least
grid.setHeader( - define column count and header labels
grid.setInitWidths( - define initial widths of columns
most other commands may be executed before or after grid.init
In case of loading configuration from XML - you need not grid.init at all ( it will be executed automatically )