Re: [Docutils-develop] Cell classes/roles in tables

[Paul T. <pau...@gm...>]

I have also found the need to format cells. I handled this difficulty by 
post processing my documents. Since I convert rst to xml, and then xml 
to docbook to fo to PDF, I have to post process my documents regardless. 
None-the-less, the ability to format cells directly in a document 
reduces the complexity of my stylesheets, since the stylesheets can 
handle table generically rather than having to create special rules.

I like this addition quite a bit.

Paul

On 7/2/12 12:02 PM, Peter Davidson wrote:On 7/2/12 12:02 PM, Peter 
Davidson wrote:
> I've been using rst for all of my technical reports, but found that the limited
> formatting control of tables was a problem. In particular, I needed to be able
> to set alignment (particularly for tables of numbers) and wanted to do some
> highlighting/bold etc. I tried using in-cell interpreted text (i.e.
> :bold:`text`) but the extra width required for the text role distorted the
> layout of the table. I tried using 1 character roles, but they were still a
> problem, because of the additional 4 character required to apply them (2 colons,
> 2 backquotes). Even *emph* and **strong** can distort a tight table.
>
> I ended up modifying the Table directive to have an additional option - cell-
> class.The cell-class option gives an interpreted text role to each cell in the
> table according to the rules specified in the option.
>
> The simplest use is just
>
> .. Table:: Test Table
>     :cell-class: left+bold,right
>
>     ===== =====
>     Head1 Head2
>     ===== =====
>     Val1  Val2
>     Val3  Val4
>     ===== =====
>
> All of the cells in column 1 end up with the custom interpreted text roles
> 'left' and 'bold', and all of the cells in column two end up with the 'right'
> role.
>
> For more complex use, the classes can be qualified, like this
>
> .. Table:: Test Table
>     :cell-class: :header:     bold+lightshade+center
>                  :body:       bold,right+lightshade,right
>                  :1,2,3,5:    +lightshade
>                  :H1,H2:      +red
>
>     ======= ======== ========
>     Header  Test
>     ------- -----------------
>     Column  One      Two
>     ======= ======== ========
>     Row 1   Value 1  Value 2
>     Row 2   Value 3  Value 4
>     Row 3   Value 5  Value 6
>     Row 4   Value 7  Value 4
>     Row 5   Value 9  Value 10
>     ======= ======== ========
>
> The first line says that all headers should be bold, lightly shaded and
> centered. When the table has more columns than specified in the format (like
> here) then the formats wrap - this makes it easy to give a single format, or to
> give alternating formats.
>
> The second line gives the format for all rows in the body of the table. The
> third line only applies to rows 1,2,3 and 5, and, because it begins with a plus,
> is added to the existing format, rather than replacing it. Similarly, the last
> line adds 'red' to lines 1 and 2 of the header.
>
> I had thought of having a :last: specifier, or  allowing negative numbers to
> locate rows from the bottom, but these would have required much more extensive
> changes to the code. Also, they do not allow anything that can't be done with
> this format.
>
> It would be easy to add :even:, :odd:, :>5:, :3-8: etc
>
> I had also thought of having a fixed and a repeating section like this
> .. table:: Test
>     :body: *bold,noshade,shade
>
>     === === === === === === ===
>     H1  V1a V1b V2a V2b V3a V3b
>     === === === === === === ===
>
> This would make the first column bold, and the other columns alternating between
> shaded and not shaded. Again this didn't seem essential to me, but it could be
> nice.
>
> I've tried to stay away from too complex a mini-format for this option, but this
> seems as simple as I can make it. I'm not sure that :1,2,3: looks right.
> Originally I just had 1,2,3: but this didn't look as consistent. There is also
> an issue with what to put if you don't want a class. We could have multiple
> commas -i.e. bold+left,,right but this is ugly. I tend to use left, since this
> is the default assumption, although this could affect css formatting of tables
> that don't assume this default. It may be that a magic role of 'none' could be
> useful.
>
>
> Before I tidy up my code and start patching documentation, I thought I would
> check what you think of this. I note that David mentioned earlier that he had
> some table role ideas that he was working on.
>
> It seems to me that some sort of table formatting is necessary (at least for the
> sort of documents that I prepare) and this seems to me to be a minimal
> implementation. It does more than just alignment, and is quite flexible. It
> could be argued that some sort of in-line formatting would be  better, but it
> seems difficult to me because of the way that column widths are determined from
> the content. Another approach would be to put the formatting on alternating
> rows, or at the beginning of the row, but it's hard to see how this could be
> attractive or clear.
>
> If this were to go into the core then it would also be good to have some
> standard roles - at least left, right and center/centre.
>
> I have implemented this for the latex2e and html4css writers, since these are
> the only ones that I use. I am less familiar with the other writers (I've never
> looked at them) and may need some help.
>
> What do you think? Am I going in the right direction?
>
> Thanks,
> Peter Davidson
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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> threat landscape has changed and how IT managers can respond. Discussions
> will include endpoint security, mobile security and the latest in malware
> threats. http://www.accelacomm.com/jaw/sfrnl04242012/114/50122263/
> _______________________________________________
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>
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> I've been using rst for all of my technical reports, but found that the limited
> formatting control of tables was a problem. In particular, I needed to be able
> to set alignment (particularly for tables of numbers) and wanted to do some
> highlighting/bold etc. I tried using in-cell interpreted text (i.e.
> :bold:`text`) but the extra width required for the text role distorted the
> layout of the table. I tried using 1 character roles, but they were still a
> problem, because of the additional 4 character required to apply them (2 colons,
> 2 backquotes). Even *emph* and **strong** can distort a tight table.
>
> I ended up modifying the Table directive to have an additional option - cell-
> class.The cell-class option gives an interpreted text role to each cell in the
> table according to the rules specified in the option.
>
> The simplest use is just
>
> .. Table:: Test Table
>     :cell-class: left+bold,right
>
>     ===== =====
>     Head1 Head2
>     ===== =====
>     Val1  Val2
>     Val3  Val4
>     ===== =====
>
> All of the cells in column 1 end up with the custom interpreted text roles
> 'left' and 'bold', and all of the cells in column two end up with the 'right'
> role.
>
> For more complex use, the classes can be qualified, like this
>
> .. Table:: Test Table
>     :cell-class: :header:     bold+lightshade+center
>                  :body:       bold,right+lightshade,right
>                  :1,2,3,5:    +lightshade
>                  :H1,H2:      +red
>
>     ======= ======== ========
>     Header  Test
>     ------- -----------------
>     Column  One      Two
>     ======= ======== ========
>     Row 1   Value 1  Value 2
>     Row 2   Value 3  Value 4
>     Row 3   Value 5  Value 6
>     Row 4   Value 7  Value 4
>     Row 5   Value 9  Value 10
>     ======= ======== ========
>
> The first line says that all headers should be bold, lightly shaded and
> centered. When the table has more columns than specified in the format (like
> here) then the formats wrap - this makes it easy to give a single format, or to
> give alternating formats.
>
> The second line gives the format for all rows in the body of the table. The
> third line only applies to rows 1,2,3 and 5, and, because it begins with a plus,
> is added to the existing format, rather than replacing it. Similarly, the last
> line adds 'red' to lines 1 and 2 of the header.
>
> I had thought of having a :last: specifier, or  allowing negative numbers to
> locate rows from the bottom, but these would have required much more extensive
> changes to the code. Also, they do not allow anything that can't be done with
> this format.
>
> It would be easy to add :even:, :odd:, :>5:, :3-8: etc
>
> I had also thought of having a fixed and a repeating section like this
> .. table:: Test
>     :body: *bold,noshade,shade
>
>     === === === === === === ===
>     H1  V1a V1b V2a V2b V3a V3b
>     === === === === === === ===
>
> This would make the first column bold, and the other columns alternating between
> shaded and not shaded. Again this didn't seem essential to me, but it could be
> nice.
>
> I've tried to stay away from too complex a mini-format for this option, but this
> seems as simple as I can make it. I'm not sure that :1,2,3: looks right.
> Originally I just had 1,2,3: but this didn't look as consistent. There is also
> an issue with what to put if you don't want a class. We could have multiple
> commas -i.e. bold+left,,right but this is ugly. I tend to use left, since this
> is the default assumption, although this could affect css formatting of tables
> that don't assume this default. It may be that a magic role of 'none' could be
> useful.
>
>
> Before I tidy up my code and start patching documentation, I thought I would
> check what you think of this. I note that David mentioned earlier that he had
> some table role ideas that he was working on.
>
> It seems to me that some sort of table formatting is necessary (at least for the
> sort of documents that I prepare) and this seems to me to be a minimal
> implementation. It does more than just alignment, and is quite flexible. It
> could be argued that some sort of in-line formatting would be  better, but it
> seems difficult to me because of the way that column widths are determined from
> the content. Another approach would be to put the formatting on alternating
> rows, or at the beginning of the row, but it's hard to see how this could be
> attractive or clear.
>
> If this were to go into the core then it would also be good to have some
> standard roles - at least left, right and center/centre.
>
> I have implemented this for the latex2e and html4css writers, since these are
> the only ones that I use. I am less familiar with the other writers (I've never
> looked at them) and may need some help.
>
> What do you think? Am I going in the right direction?
>
> Thanks,
> Peter Davidson
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Live Security Virtual Conference
> Exclusive live event will cover all the ways today's security and
> threat landscape has changed and how IT managers can respond. Discussions
> will include endpoint security, mobile security and the latest in malware
> threats. http://www.accelacomm.com/jaw/sfrnl04242012/114/50122263/
> _______________________________________________
> Docutils-develop mailing list
> Doc...@li...
> https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/docutils-develop
>
> Please use "Reply All" to reply to the list.