Hi Ben - I have not explored editing from a table because it seems to require better knowledge of server communication than I currently possess, but I can share what has worked for me using out of the box solutions.
I use Dgrid to display a table, with a little query box above it. The Dgrid content can change based on features returned from a query and row-clicks zoom to that particular feature:
dgrid | ArcGIS API for JavaScript
I then do editing in the map infowindow by clicking the feature after zooming. The Attribute Inspector widget set within the map infowindow allows for editing (so it's a pop-up when you click the feature):
AttributeInspector | API Reference | ArcGIS API for JavaScript
However, the Attribute Inspector can be put in any div so if you wanted to do a split window, you could set it on one half of the screen. Users would still need to click a feature to get the editor, or you could look into programmatically displaying it based on a click in a table row since that click event would have the id you need to select.
I also have an edit on/off button so that when the map starts a feature click displays the normal pop-up, but when editing is enabled it displays the Attribute Inspector. And when edits are saved I refresh the Dgrid results to reflect edits.
Not very elegant, but it works. Good luck!
