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Compiled tree of Oasis Linux based on own branch at <https://hacktivis.me/git/oasis/> git clone https://anongit.hacktivis.me/git/oasis-root.git

tbl.7 (11214B)


  1. .\" $Id: tbl.7,v 1.37 2021/09/18 12:34:27 schwarze Exp $
  2. .\"
  3. .\" Copyright (c) 2010, 2011 Kristaps Dzonsons <kristaps@bsd.lv>
  4. .\" Copyright (c) 2014,2015,2017,2018,2019 Ingo Schwarze <schwarze@openbsd.org>
  5. .\"
  6. .\" Permission to use, copy, modify, and distribute this software for any
  7. .\" purpose with or without fee is hereby granted, provided that the above
  8. .\" copyright notice and this permission notice appear in all copies.
  9. .\"
  10. .\" THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND THE AUTHOR DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES
  11. .\" WITH REGARD TO THIS SOFTWARE INCLUDING ALL IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF
  12. .\" MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHOR BE LIABLE FOR
  13. .\" ANY SPECIAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OR ANY DAMAGES
  14. .\" WHATSOEVER RESULTING FROM LOSS OF USE, DATA OR PROFITS, WHETHER IN AN
  15. .\" ACTION OF CONTRACT, NEGLIGENCE OR OTHER TORTIOUS ACTION, ARISING OUT OF
  16. .\" OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE USE OR PERFORMANCE OF THIS SOFTWARE.
  17. .\"
  18. .Dd $Mdocdate: September 18 2021 $
  19. .Dt TBL 7
  20. .Os
  21. .Sh NAME
  22. .Nm tbl
  23. .Nd tbl language reference for mandoc
  24. .Sh DESCRIPTION
  25. The
  26. .Nm tbl
  27. language formats tables.
  28. It is used within
  29. .Xr mdoc 7
  30. and
  31. .Xr man 7
  32. pages.
  33. This manual describes the subset of the
  34. .Nm
  35. language accepted by the
  36. .Xr mandoc 1
  37. utility.
  38. .Pp
  39. Each table is started with a
  40. .Xr roff 7
  41. .Ic \&TS
  42. macro, consist of at most one line of
  43. .Sx Options ,
  44. one or more
  45. .Sx Layout
  46. lines, one or more
  47. .Sx Data
  48. lines, and ends with a
  49. .Ic \&TE
  50. macro.
  51. All input must be 7-bit ASCII.
  52. .Ss Options
  53. If the first input line of a table ends with a semicolon, it contains
  54. case-insensitive options separated by spaces, tabs, or commas.
  55. Otherwise, it is interpreted as the first
  56. .Sx Layout
  57. line.
  58. .Pp
  59. The following options are available.
  60. Some of them require arguments enclosed in parentheses:
  61. .Bl -tag -width Ds
  62. .It Cm allbox
  63. Draw a single-line box around each table cell.
  64. .It Cm box
  65. Draw a single-line box around the table.
  66. For GNU compatibility, this may also be invoked with
  67. .Cm frame .
  68. .It Cm center
  69. Center the table instead of left-adjusting it.
  70. For GNU compatibility, this may also be invoked with
  71. .Cm centre .
  72. .It Cm decimalpoint
  73. Use the single-character argument as the decimal point with the
  74. .Cm n
  75. layout key.
  76. This is a GNU extension.
  77. .It Cm delim
  78. Use the two characters of the argument as
  79. .Xr eqn 7
  80. delimiters.
  81. Currently unsupported.
  82. .It Cm doublebox
  83. Draw a double-line box around the table.
  84. For GNU compatibility, this may also be invoked with
  85. .Cm doubleframe .
  86. .It Cm expand
  87. Increase the width of the table to the current line length.
  88. Currently ignored.
  89. .It Cm linesize
  90. Draw lines with the point size given by the unsigned integer argument.
  91. Currently ignored.
  92. .It Cm nokeep
  93. Allow page breaks within the table.
  94. This is a GNU extension and currently ignored.
  95. .It Cm nospaces
  96. Ignore leading and trailing spaces in data cells.
  97. This is a GNU extension.
  98. .It Cm nowarn
  99. Suppress warnings about tables exceeding the current line length.
  100. This is a GNU extension and currently ignored.
  101. .It Cm tab
  102. Use the single-character argument as a delimiter between data cells.
  103. By default, the horizontal tabulator character is used.
  104. .El
  105. .Ss Layout
  106. The table layout follows an
  107. .Sx Options
  108. line or a
  109. .Xr roff 7
  110. .Ic \&TS
  111. or
  112. .Ic \&T&
  113. macro.
  114. Each layout line specifies how one line of
  115. .Sx Data
  116. is formatted.
  117. The last layout line ends with a full stop.
  118. It also applies to all remaining data lines.
  119. Multiple layout lines can be joined by commas on a single physical
  120. input line.
  121. .Pp
  122. Each layout line consists of one or more layout cell specifications,
  123. optionally separated by whitespace.
  124. The following case-insensitive key characters start a new cell
  125. specification:
  126. .Bl -tag -width 2n
  127. .It Cm c
  128. Center the string in this cell.
  129. .It Cm r
  130. Right-justify the string in this cell.
  131. .It Cm l
  132. Left-justify the string in this cell.
  133. .It Cm n
  134. Justify a number around its last decimal point.
  135. If no decimal point is found in the number,
  136. it is assumed to trail the number.
  137. .It Cm s
  138. Horizontally span columns from the last
  139. .Pf non- Cm s
  140. layout cell.
  141. It is an error if a column span follows a
  142. .Cm _
  143. or
  144. .Cm =
  145. cell, or comes first on a layout line.
  146. The combined cell as a whole consumes only one cell
  147. of the corresponding data line.
  148. .It Cm a
  149. Left-justify a string and pad with one space.
  150. .It Cm \(ha
  151. Vertically span rows from the last
  152. .Pf non- Cm \(ha
  153. layout cell.
  154. It is an error to invoke a vertical span on the first layout line.
  155. Unlike a horizontal span, a vertical span consumes a data cell
  156. and discards the content.
  157. .It Cm _
  158. Draw a single horizontal line in this cell.
  159. This consumes a data cell and discards the content.
  160. It may also be invoked with
  161. .Cm \- .
  162. .It Cm =
  163. Draw a double horizontal line in this cell.
  164. This consumes a data cell and discards the content.
  165. .El
  166. .Pp
  167. Each cell key may be followed by zero or more of the following
  168. case-insensitive modifiers:
  169. .Bl -tag -width 2n
  170. .It Cm b
  171. Use a bold font for the contents of this cell.
  172. .It Cm d
  173. Move content down to the last row of this vertical span.
  174. Currently ignored.
  175. .It Cm e
  176. Make this column wider to match the maximum width
  177. of any other column also having the
  178. .Cm e
  179. modifier.
  180. .It Cm f
  181. The next one or two characters select the font to use for this cell.
  182. One-character font names must be followed by a blank or period.
  183. See the
  184. .Xr roff 7
  185. manual for supported font names.
  186. .It Cm i
  187. Use an italic font for the contents of this cell.
  188. .It Cm m
  189. Specify a cell start macro.
  190. This is a GNU extension and currently unsupported.
  191. .It Cm p
  192. Set the point size to the following unsigned argument,
  193. or change it by the following signed argument.
  194. Currently ignored.
  195. .It Cm v
  196. Set the vertical line spacing to the following unsigned argument,
  197. or change it by the following signed argument.
  198. Currently ignored.
  199. .It Cm t
  200. Do not vertically center content in this vertical span,
  201. leave it in the top row.
  202. Currently ignored.
  203. .It Cm u
  204. Move cell content up by half a table row.
  205. Currently ignored.
  206. .It Cm w
  207. Specify a minimum column width.
  208. .It Cm x
  209. After determining the width of all other columns, distribute the
  210. rest of the line length among all columns having the
  211. .Cm x
  212. modifier.
  213. .It Cm z
  214. Do not use this cell for determining the width of this column.
  215. .It Cm \&|
  216. Draw a single vertical line to the right of this cell.
  217. .It Cm ||
  218. Draw a double vertical line to the right of this cell.
  219. .El
  220. .Pp
  221. If a modifier consists of decimal digits,
  222. it specifies a minimum spacing in units of
  223. .Cm n
  224. between this column and the next column to the right.
  225. The default is 3.
  226. If there is a vertical line, it is drawn inside the spacing.
  227. .Ss Data
  228. The data section follows the last
  229. .Sx Layout
  230. line.
  231. Each data line consists of one or more data cells, delimited by
  232. .Cm tab
  233. characters.
  234. .Pp
  235. If a data cell contains only the two bytes
  236. .Ql \e\(ha ,
  237. the cell above spans to this row, as if the layout specification
  238. of this cell were
  239. .Cm \(ha .
  240. .Pp
  241. If a data cell contains only the single character
  242. .Ql _
  243. or
  244. .Ql = ,
  245. a single or double horizontal line is drawn across the cell,
  246. joining its neighbours.
  247. If a data cell contains only the two character sequence
  248. .Ql \e_
  249. or
  250. .Ql \e= ,
  251. a single or double horizontal line is drawn inside the cell,
  252. not joining its neighbours.
  253. If a data line contains nothing but the single character
  254. .Ql _
  255. or
  256. .Ql = ,
  257. a horizontal line across the whole table is inserted
  258. without consuming a layout row.
  259. .Pp
  260. In place of any data cell, a text block can be used.
  261. It starts with
  262. .Ic \&T{
  263. at the end of a physical input line.
  264. Input line breaks inside the text block
  265. neither end the text block nor its data cell.
  266. It only ends if
  267. .Ic \&T}
  268. occurs at the beginning of a physical input line and is followed
  269. by an end-of-cell indicator.
  270. If the
  271. .Ic \&T}
  272. is followed by the end of the physical input line, the text block,
  273. the data cell, and the data line ends at this point.
  274. If the
  275. .Ic \&T}
  276. is followed by the
  277. .Cm tab
  278. character, only the text block and the data cell end,
  279. but the data line continues with the data cell following the
  280. .Cm tab
  281. character.
  282. If
  283. .Ic \&T}
  284. is followed by any other character, it does not end the text block,
  285. which instead continues to the following physical input line.
  286. .Sh EXAMPLES
  287. String justification and font selection:
  288. .Bd -literal -offset indent
  289. \&.TS
  290. rb c lb
  291. r ci l.
  292. r center l
  293. ri ce le
  294. right c left
  295. \&.TE
  296. .Ed
  297. .Bd -filled -offset indent
  298. .TS
  299. rb c lb
  300. r ci l.
  301. r center l
  302. ri ce le
  303. right c left
  304. .TE
  305. .Ed
  306. .Pp
  307. Some ports in
  308. .Ox 6.1
  309. to show number alignment and line drawing:
  310. .Bd -literal -offset indent
  311. \&.TS
  312. box tab(:);
  313. r| l
  314. r n.
  315. software:version
  316. _
  317. AFL:2.39b
  318. Mutt:1.8.0
  319. Ruby:1.8.7.374
  320. TeX Live:2015
  321. \&.TE
  322. .Ed
  323. .Bd -filled -offset indent
  324. .TS
  325. box tab(:);
  326. r| l
  327. r n.
  328. software:version
  329. _
  330. AFL:2.39b
  331. Mutt:1.8.0
  332. Ruby:1.8.7.374
  333. TeX Live:2015
  334. .TE
  335. .Ed
  336. .sp 2v
  337. Spans and skipping width calculations:
  338. .Bd -literal -offset indent
  339. \&.TS
  340. box tab(:);
  341. lz s | rt
  342. lt| cb| \(ha
  343. \(ha | rz s.
  344. left:r
  345. l:center:
  346. :right
  347. \&.TE
  348. .Ed
  349. .Bd -filled -offset indent
  350. .TS
  351. box tab(:);
  352. lz s | rt
  353. lt| cb| ^
  354. ^ | rz s.
  355. left:r
  356. l:center:
  357. :right
  358. .TE
  359. .Ed
  360. .sp 2v
  361. Text blocks, specifying spacings and specifying and equalizing
  362. column widths, putting lines into individual cells, and overriding
  363. .Cm allbox :
  364. .Bd -literal -offset indent
  365. \&.TS
  366. allbox tab(:);
  367. le le||7 lw10.
  368. The fourth line:_:line 1
  369. of this column:=:line 2
  370. determines:\_:line 3
  371. the column width.:T{
  372. This text is too wide to fit into a column of width 17.
  373. T}:line 4
  374. T{
  375. No break here.
  376. T}::line 5
  377. \&.TE
  378. .Ed
  379. .Bd -filled -offset indent
  380. .TS
  381. allbox tab(:);
  382. le le||7 lw10.
  383. The fourth line:_:line 1
  384. of this column:=:line 2
  385. determines:\_:line 3
  386. the column width.:T{
  387. This text is too wide to fit into a column of width 17.
  388. T}:line 4
  389. T{
  390. No break here.
  391. T}::line 5
  392. .TE
  393. .Ed
  394. .sp 2v
  395. These examples were constructed to demonstrate many
  396. .Nm
  397. features in a compact way.
  398. In real manual pages, keep tables as simple as possible.
  399. They usually look better, are less fragile, and are more portable.
  400. .Sh COMPATIBILITY
  401. The
  402. .Xr mandoc 1
  403. implementation of
  404. .Nm
  405. doesn't support
  406. .Xr mdoc 7
  407. and
  408. .Xr man 7
  409. macros and
  410. .Xr eqn 7
  411. equations inside tables.
  412. .Sh SEE ALSO
  413. .Xr mandoc 1 ,
  414. .Xr man 7 ,
  415. .Xr mandoc_char 7 ,
  416. .Xr mdoc 7 ,
  417. .Xr roff 7
  418. .Rs
  419. .%A M. E. Lesk
  420. .%T Tbl \(em A Program to Format Tables
  421. .%D June 11, 1976
  422. .Re
  423. .Sh HISTORY
  424. The tbl utility, a preprocessor for troff, was originally written by M.
  425. E. Lesk at Bell Labs in 1975.
  426. The GNU reimplementation of tbl, part of the groff package, was released
  427. in 1990 by James Clark.
  428. A standalone tbl implementation was written by Kristaps Dzonsons in
  429. 2010.
  430. This formed the basis of the implementation that first appeared in
  431. .Ox 4.9
  432. as a part of the
  433. .Xr mandoc 1
  434. utility.
  435. .Sh AUTHORS
  436. This
  437. .Nm
  438. reference was written by
  439. .An Kristaps Dzonsons Aq Mt kristaps@bsd.lv
  440. and
  441. .An Ingo Schwarze Aq Mt schwarze@openbsd.org .
  442. .Sh BUGS
  443. In
  444. .Fl T
  445. .Cm utf8
  446. output mode, heavy lines are drawn instead of double lines.
  447. This cannot be improved because the Unicode standard only provides
  448. an incomplete set of box drawing characters with double lines,
  449. whereas it provides a full set of box drawing characters
  450. with heavy lines.
  451. It is unlikely this can be improved in the future because the box
  452. drawing characters are already marked in Unicode as characters
  453. intended only for backward compatibility with legacy systems,
  454. and their use is not encouraged.
  455. So it seems unlikely that the missing ones might get added in the future.