osf1 man page for tbl

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)