32v 1m tbl

TBL(1) UNIX Programmer's Manual TBL(1)

NAME

tbl - format tables for nroff or troff

SYNOPSIS

tbl [ files ] ...

DESCRIPTION

Tbl is a preprocessor for formatting tables for nroff or troff(1). The input files are copied to the standard output, except for lines between .TS and .TE command lines, which are assumed to describe tables and reformatted. Details are given in the reference manual.

As an example, letting \t represent a tab (which should be typed as a genuine tab) the input

          .TS
          c s s
          c c s
          c c c
          l n n.
          Household Population
          Town\tHouseholds
          \tNumber\tSize
          Bedminster\t789\t3.26
          Bernards Twp.\t3087\t3.74
          Bernardsville\t2018\t3.30
          Bound Brook\t3425\t3.04
          Branchburg\t1644\t3.49
          Bridgewater\t7897\t3.81
          Far Hills\t240\t3.19
          .TE

yields

              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

If no arguments are given, tbl reads the standard input, so it may be used as a filter. When it is used with eqn or neqn the tbl command should be first, to minimize the volume of data passed through pipes.

SEE ALSO

troff(1), eqn(1) M. E. Lesk, TBL.