%%% ==================================================================== %%% @LaTeX3-article{ LaTeX3-VT05-01, %%% filename = "vt05d01.tex", %%% archived = "ctan:/tex-archive/info/ltx3pub/", %%% author = "Ed Sznyter", %%% doc-group = "Volunteer task VT05", %%% title = "Research on Syntax for Tables", %%% version = "1.02", %%% date = "02 April 1993", %%% time = "22:48:49 GMT", %%% status = "public, contributed", %%% author-email = "ews@babel.babel.com", %%% author-address = "", %%% abstract = "This is a preliminary overview of the direction %%% for further research on tables. Much research %%% remains to be done; in particular, the %%% bibliography needs to be expanded, especially %%% to include input from graphic designers and %%% SGML users. %%% %%% Commonly requested features are listed, but %%% more are needed. Because of limitations in %%% \TeX\ and the small systems it must run on, %%% many capabilities necessary for high-quality %%% typesetting are unmanageable or must be %%% relegated to optional substyles. Nonetheless, %%% this list should include even functions we can %%% not implement, if only to document the reasons. %%% ", %%% keywords = "Tables.Syntax", %%% project-address = "LaTeX3 Project \\ %%% c/o Dr. Chris Rowley \\ %%% The Open University \\ %%% Parsifal College \\ %%% Finchley Road \\ %%% London NW3 7BG, England, UK", %%% project-tel = "+44 171 794 0575", %%% project-FAX = "+44 171 433 6196", %%% project-email = "LTX3-Mgr@SHSU.edu", %%% copyright = "Copyright (C) 1993 LaTeX3 Project %%% and Ed Sznyter. %%% All rights reserved. %%% %%% Permission is granted to make and distribute %%% verbatim copies of this publication or of %%% coherent parts from this publication provided %%% this copyright notice and this permission %%% notice are preserved on all copies. %%% %%% Permission is granted to copy and distribute %%% translations of this publication or of %%% individual items from this publication into %%% another language provided that the translation %%% is approved by the original copyright holders. %%% %%% No other permissions to copy or distribute this %%% publication in any form are granted and in %%% particular no permission to copy parts of it %%% in such a way as to materially change its %%% meaning.", %%% generalinfo = "To subscribe to the LaTeX3 discussion list: %%% %%% Send mail to listserv@vm.urz.uni-heidelberg.de %%% with the following line as the body of the %%% message (substituting your own name): %%% %%% subscribe LaTeX-L First-name Surname %%% %%% To find out about volunteer work: %%% %%% look at the document vol-task.tex which can %%% be obtained electronically, see below. %%% %%% To retrieve project publications electronically: %%% %%% Project publications are available for %%% retrieval by anonymous ftp from ctan hosts: %%% ftp.tex.ac.uk %%% ftp.dante.de %%% ftp.shsu.edu %%% in the directory /tex-archive/info/ltx3pub. %%% %%% The file ltx3pub.bib in that directory gives %%% full bibliographical information including %%% abstracts in BibTeX format. 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This is produced by Robert %%% Solovay's checksum utility.", %%% } %%% ==================================================================== \documentstyle{l3ms001} \title{Research on Syntax for Tables} \author{Ed Sznyter} \date{02 April 1993 \\ Version 1.02} \begin{document} \maketitle \begin{abstract} This is a preliminary overview of the direction for further research on tables. Much research remains to be done; in particular, the bibliography needs to be expanded, especially to include input from graphic designers and SGML users. Commonly requested features are listed, but more are needed. Because of limitations in \TeX\ and the small systems it must run on, many capabilities necessary for high-quality typesetting are unmanageable or must be relegated to optional substyles. Nonetheless, this list should include even functions we can not implement, if only to document the reasons. \end{abstract} \section{Functionality} Many desirable capabilities are already implemented in macro packages such as lamstex, bigtabular.sty, longtable.sty, supertab.sty. Other features are noticeably lacking. Many of the functions demand a high price in performance. \begin{enumerate} \item The `a', or alpha, column of tbl, which aligns left (with all other 'a' columns) and centers on the longest width. This is necessary for aligning column heads. \item A `d', or decimally-aligned column, that works as automatically as tbl's. Current solutions require manually counting the number of digits on either side of the decimal, or heuristics that assume a certain width (which leads to possible collisions or ridiculous bearoff). Most solutions assume monospaced digits without punctuation (other than the decimal point) and can't handle alpha entries. \item More complete control over column width balancing. You might want to make a set of columns equal width, or equal to the width of a selected columns. \item Table footnotes and sourcenotes. These usually depend on the width of the table, so can not be formatted independently. \item Element shading. This seems hopeless in a printer-independent world, but is too useful to exclude. \item A more complete pallet of rules---hairline, thick, thin, colored, dashed, etc. I have been unable to get vertical leaders to work properly across rows of an \verb|\halign|. \item A more complete version of \verb|\cline|; i.e., leaders that span a subset of columns (or rows). For example, to group entries below a spanning subhead I've used downbraces and a rule that doesn't reach the intercolumn vertical rules. \item Entries that span vertical columns. Lamstex probably solves this, but apparently at great compute cost. \item Better control over vertical placement of entries within the row (i.e., top, center, bottom). \item Tables that continue on multiple pages (repeating headings). It is {\em usually} required that multi-page tables preserve the column widths across pages; memory limits would require multiple passes or an external program (like tbl; even tbl has limits of 200 lines and 20 columns). Note that the heading might not be repeated on a spread. It is also common to have very wide tables extend horizontally across the binding gutter, usually repeating the stub column. The height of rows must preserved, especially on the same spread. This isn't simply a transpose of vertically broken tables. Per-page subtotal lines are beyond the capabilities of TeX, but one can envision some sort of communication with, e.g., a spreadsheet program so subsequent runs can produce these entries. If we are to formalize such communication, then why not offload most of the work to a tbl-like program? \end{enumerate} Some issues, such as continuation captions, captions that are integrated into the table structure, and being able to specify floats that cover spreads are at least partially the domain of the ``Research on figures and captions.'' \section{Syntax} Currently, tables specifications are completely procedural; column designators and rules define the representation, not element type, of table entries. Using single letters for column designations has been a standard in both \LaTeX\ and tbl. This now seems restrictive---new column types can be defined easily and assigned to single-letter column designators (see newarray.sty), so mnemonic choices are quickly exhausted, forcing unnatural choices. \verb|\multicolumn| is cumbersome and should only be used for rare entries; there should be a better way to specify controls for different parts of the table (heading, body, footing) as in tbl. There is not a clean mechanism for defining different styles of tables within a single document. \section{Taxonomy} A standard table may be broken up into the following elements. \begin{itemize} \item box head (contains all column headings) \begin{itemize} \item Spanning \{sub\}head \item Column head \item Stub head (above row heads) \end{itemize} \item Row heads \item Panel (actual table entries) \item Total line \end{itemize} Some rules are \begin{itemize} \item head rule---above the box head \item cutoff rule--below the box head \item spanner rule---below a spanning head \item foot rule---below the table \item total rule---above the total row \end{itemize} \begin{thebibliography}{Rhe92b} \bibitem[Bea85]{XEROX:RBe85} Richard~J. Beach. \newblock Setting tables and illustrations with style. \newblock Technical Report CSL-85-3, Xerox Corporation, Research Center, Palo Alto, Califonia 94304, May 1985. \bibitem[Bea86]{Nottingham:RBe86} R.~J. Beach. \newblock Tabular typography. \newblock In J.~C. van Vliet, editor, {\em Text processing and document manipulation}, British Computer Society Workshop Series, pages 18--33, Cambridge, April 1986. Cambridge University Press. \bibitem[Car90]{unp:DCa90} David Carlisle. \newblock Some notes on the longtable environment. \newblock Available from \TeX{} servers, December 1990. \bibitem[Chi82]{UCP:CMoS82} {\em The Chicago Manual of Style}. \newblock University of Chicago Press, Chicago, London, 13th edition, 1982. \bibitem[Duc90]{unp:DDu90} Denys Duchier \newblock bibtabular.sty \newblock Available from \TeX{} servers, July 1990. \bibitem[Fra91]{:FTC91} Frame Technology Corporation. \newblock New Features in FrameMaker. \newblock Part Number 41-01040-00, May 1991. \bibitem[Gor92]{unp:TGo92} Tom Gordon. \newblock The qwertz SGML Document Types. \newblock Version 1.2, German National Research Center for Computer Science, January 1992. \bibitem[Jur91]{unp:TJu91} Theo Jurriens \newblock supertab.doc \newblock Available from \TeX{} servers, August 1991. \bibitem[Les]{USD:MLe} M.E. Lesk \newblock {\it Tbl---A Program to Format Tables}. USD:28 \bibitem[Van92]{Lausanne:CVa92} Christine Vanoirbeek. \newblock Formatting structured tables. \newblock In C.~Vanoirbeek and G.~Coray, editors, {\em Electronic Publishing '92}, pages 291--309, Cambridge, April 1992. Cambridge University Press. \end{thebibliography} \end{document}