tbl(1) General Commands Manual tbl(1)
NAME
tbl - formats tables for nroff
SYNOPSIS
tbl [file...]
OPTIONS
Produces output without fractional line motions. You use this option when the destination output device or printer or post-filter cannot
handle fractional line motions. Reads in ms macros prior to table formatting. Reads in the mm macros prior to table formatting, if your
system has the *roff mm macros installed.
DESCRIPTION
The tbl preprocessor is used for formatting tables for nroff. When you run tbl, the input files are copied to standard output, except for
lines between the .TS (table start) and .TE (table end) command lines. All lines between the .TS and .TE command lines are assumed to
describe a table and are reformatted.
If no arguments are given, tbl reads from standard input, so it can be used as a filter. When tbl is used with neqn or other equation for-
matting *roff tools, the tbl command should be invoked first to minimize the volume of data passed through the pipes.
EXAMPLES
The following examples show tables that have been coded using tbl macros and the results after you run tbl to format the table. .TS
tab(@); c s s c c s c c c l n n. Household Population Town@Households @Number@Size Bedminster@789@3.26 Bernards Twp.@3087@3.74
Bernardsville@2018@3.30 Bound Brook@3425@3.04 Branchburg@1644@3.49 Bridgewater@7897@3.81 Far Hills@240@3.19 .TE
When formatted by tbl and then nroff, the output is as follows:
Household Population
Town Households
Number Size Bedminster 789 3.26 Bernards Twp. 3087 3.74 Bernardsville 2018 3.30 Bound Brook
3425 3.04 Branchburg 1644 3.49 Bridgewater 7897 3.81 Far Hills 240 3.19 The following example shows
how to specify column widths using the w column option. The width of a column must be large enough to contain it's anticipated
data. Multiple line column entries are controlled by T{ and T}.
.TS tab(@); cw(.5i) lw(1.2i) lw(3.0i). Return@Error@Description _ 0@@Successful completion. 1@ENOM@T{ Insufficient memory exists
to create this object. Multiple lines can be written in text surrounded by T braces. T} 2@EINVAL@The value specified is invalid.
.TE
When formatted by tbl and then nroff, the output is as follows:
Return Error Description _________________________________________________________________
0 Successful completion.
1 ENOM Insufficient memory exists to create
this object. Multiple lines can be
written in text surrounded by T braces.
2 EINVAL The value specified is invalid.
SEE ALSO
neqn(1), nroff(1), ms(5)
tbl(1)