[Rlib-users] Re: Text-mode tables with borders in reStructuredText style?

[Jeff K. <jt...@ya...>]

Bob Doan wrote:
> Implementing that would not be too hard.. however, rlib should also draw
> the boxes for HTML, and PDF...

I'm only guessing by the sample reports, but doesn't the text mode omit
drawing lines that may be specified in the report definition? I don't
think you'd want the richer formats to use the borders if they have other
formatting defined.

My idea was that the text mode could optionally use reST bordering as a
way to express information that is lost in comparison to other formats,
based on knowledge of the report definition elements. It would also make
rlib another useful generator of reST-compatible table text. I've been
using http://jefke.free.fr/soft/texttable/ (python module) for this.

> Is this something you would like to try to implement yourself?? Do you
> know C?
>> I'd like to request a feature for rlib's text mode output to be able to
>> add borders to rows and columns in the style of reStructuredText.

Unfortunately not fluent enough to be much help with an implementation. I
was using C# before finding python a few years ago, I kind of
bypassed/ducked C altogether.

I took a brief look at rlib/libsrc/txt.c; (my compliments, rlib's C is
quite readable) would this involve a few more filters in
rlib_txt_new_output_filter(), or a modification of some other function
area?