Thanks Pádraig for your instructive input! > Hmm, I wonder would it be worth augmenting `column -t` from util-linux > to add a --border option and also detect number cols and auto right align? > I guess a --header option would be useful too.
I have to admit I missed the '-t' option of column over the years! But for me printing tables is a bit distant from column's primary function, ie formating its input into multiple columns. Refering to the adage "Each program should do one thing well. No more, no less." [0], I would dedicate a program to print tables. [0] http://www.gnu.org/s/coreutils/manual/coreutils.html > $ python -m prettytable > +-----------+------+------------+-----------------+ > | City name | Area | Population | Annual Rainfall | > +-----------+------+------------+-----------------+ > | Adelaide | 1295 | 1158259 | 600.5 | > | Brisbane | 5905 | 1857594 | 1146.4 | > | Darwin | 112 | 120900 | 1714.7 | > | Hobart | 1357 | 205556 | 619.5 | > | Sydney | 2058 | 4336374 | 1214.8 | > | Melbourne | 1566 | 3806092 | 646.9 | > | Perth | 5386 | 1554769 | 869.4 | > +-----------+------+------------+-----------------+ This is really nice :) However relying on such module could be hazardous, as it could not be part of your system. > Note both util-linux and coreutils use a multi-byte aware alignment module¹, Thanks, indeed will be useful! > This also notes other possible formatting options. > http://cxc.harvard.edu/contrib/asciitable/ yeah, a little bit far from the tableize perspective, but could be an evolution. Regards, Guillaume
