tabling 1.2.1

Tabling is a Python library for creating highly customizable tables in the console.

Tabling

Tabling is a Python library for creating highly customizable tables in the console.

Table of Contents

• Introduction
• Features
• Installation
• Usage
• Templates
• Effects
• Applications
• Contributing
• License
• Conclusion

Introduction

Tabling was inspired by HTML and CSS. It is row-centric, like in HTML tables, but supports direct column operations. It can be used not only for tabular data but also for designing user interfaces in the console (similar to how HTML tables were once used before the rise of CSS Grid and Flexbox).

Features

• Add/remove rows, columns, cells
• Sort rows/columns based on key
• Find/replace values with new ones
• Import/export table to JSON, CSV, TXT
• Customize background, border, font, margin, padding
• Modify text alignment, justification, wrap, direction, visibility
• CSS-like syntax e.g., border.style for CSS border-style
• 140+ color names; all RGB values; & all HEX color codes
• 5 border styles: single, double, dashed, dotted, solid
• 5+ font styles: bold, italic, strikethrough, underline

Installation

pip install tabling

Usage

1. Import library

from tabling import Table

2. Create table

table = Table(colspacing=1, rowspacing=0)

3. Perform operations

The table below shows available Tabling table operations:

Method	Description
add_row(entries: Iterable)	Adds a row
add_column(entries: Iterable)	Adds a column
insert_row(index: int, entries: Iterable)	Inserts a row at an index
insert_column(index: int, entries: Iterable)	Inserts a column at an index
remove_row(index: int)	Removes the row at an index
remove_column(index: int)	Removes the column at an index
swap_rows(index1: int, index2: int)	Swaps positions of two rows
swap_columns(index1: int, index2: int)	Swaps positions of two columns
sort_rows(key: int, start=0, reverse=False)	Sorts rows by a key column
sort_columns(key: int, start=0, reverse=False)	Sorts columns by a key row
find(value: Any)	Prints a table, highlighting matches
replace(value: Any, repl: Any)	Replaces a value with a new one
export_csv(filepath: str)	Exports rows to csv file
import_csv(filepath: str)	Imports rows from csv file
export_json(filepath: str, key=None, as_objects=True)	Exports rows to json file
import_json(filepath: str, key=None)	Imports rows from json file
export_txt(filepath: str)	Exports plain table to txt file

Example

table.add_row(("Name", "Age", "Sex"))
table.add_row(("Wesley", 20, "M"))
table.add_row(("Ashley", 12, "F"))
table.add_row(("Lesley", 12, "M"))
table.add_column(("Married", True, False, False))

4. Customize

The table below describes all customizable element properties:

Property Attribute	Description	Example values
background.color	Background color	red, green, blue, black, white
border.style	Border style	single, double, dashed, solid
border.color	Border color	red, green, blue, black, white
border.left.style	Border-left style	single, double, dashed, solid
border.left.color	Border-left color	red, green, blue, black, white
border.right.style	Border-right style	single, double, dashed, solid
border.right.color	Border-right color	red, green, blue, black, white
border.top.style	Border-top style	single, double, dashed, solid
border.top.color	Border-top color	red, green, blue, black, white
border.bottom.style	Border-bottom style	single, double, dashed, solid
border.bottom.color	Border-bottom color	red, green, blue, black, white
font.style	Font style	bold, italic, strikethrough
font.color	Font color	red, green, blue, black, white
margin.left	Margin to the left	0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
margin.right	Margin to the right	0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
margin.top	Margin to the top	0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
margin.bottom	Margin to the bottom	0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
padding.left	Padding to the left	0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
padding.right	Padding to the right	0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
padding.top	Padding to the top	0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
padding.bottom	Padding to the bottom	0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
text.justify	Horizontal text alignment	left, center, right
text.align	Vertical text alignment	top, center, bottom
text.wrap	Whether to wrap text	True, False
text.visible	Whether to show text	True, False
text.reverse	Whether to reverse text	True, False
text.letter_spacing	Spacing between letters	0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
text.word_spacing	Spacing between words	0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

The table below shows how to reference elements for customization:

Element	Method
table	table
row	table[row_index]
cell	table[row_index][column_index]
rows	for row in table:
cells	for cell in row:

Example

table.border.style = "single"
table[0].font.style = "bold"
for row in table:
    row[1].text.justify = "center"
    row[2].text.justify = "center"

5. Display

print(table)

Templates

Templates are pre-written, border-related, styles you can copy and customize.

1. Headed

Adds a border between the header and body.

table.border.style = "single"
table[0].border.bottom.style = "single"
table[1].margin.top = max(0, table.rowspacing - 1)
for row in table[2:]:
    row.margin.top = max(0, table.rowspacing)
table.rowspacing = 0

2. Stacked

Creates a stack of rows with collapsed horizontal borders.

table.border.style = "single"
for row in table[1:]:
    row.border.top.style = "single"

3. Queued

Creates column-separated borders with equal column spacing.

for cell in table[0]:
    cell.border.top.style = "single"
for row in table:
    for cell in row:
        cell.border.left.style = "single"
        cell.border.right.style = "single"
    row[0].height += table.rowspacing
for cell in table[-1]:
    cell.border.bottom.style = "single"
for cell in table[0]:
    cell.width += table.colspacing
table.rowspacing = table.colspacing = 0

4. Queued - Collapsed

Collapses horizontal borders while keeping column structure.

for cell in table[0]:
    cell.border.top.style = "single"
for row in table:
    for cell in row:
        cell.border.left.style = "single"
    row[-1].border.right.style = "single"
    row[0].height += table.rowspacing
for cell in table[-1]:
    cell.border.bottom.style = "single"
for cell in table[0]:
    cell.width += table.colspacing
table.rowspacing = table.colspacing = 0

5. Grid

Adds full borders to every cell.

for row in table:
    for cell in row:
        cell.border.style = "single"

6. Grid - Collapsed

A compact version of the grid layout with collapsed cell borders.

table.border.style = "single"
for row in table:
    for cell in row[:-1]:
        cell.border.right.style = "single"
    row[0].height += table.rowspacing
for row in table[:-1]:
    for cell in row:
        cell.border.bottom.style = "single"
for cell in table[0]:
    cell.width += table.colspacing
table.rowspacing = table.colspacing = 0

Effects

Effects are pre-written, color-related, styles you can copy and customize.

1. Striped

Alternates row colors.

for row in table[1::2]:
    row.background.color = "#999"

2. Banded

Alternates column colors.

for row in table:
    for cell in row[1::2]:
        cell.background.color = "#999"

3. Checkered

Alternates every cell’s color for a chessboard-like effect.

table.background.color = "#333"
for row in table:
    row[0].height += table.rowspacing
for row in table[0::2]:
    for cell in row[0::2]:
        cell.background.color = "#222"
for row in table[1::2]:
    for cell in row[1::2]:
        cell.background.color = "#222"
for cell in table[0]:
    cell.width += table.colspacing
table.rowspacing = table.colspacing = 0

Applications

These are real world examples where Tabling was used to design console-based user interfaces.

1. Menu

A menu-driven interface where a user selects a numbered option.

from tabling import Table

question = "What's your favorite programming language?"
answers = ("Python", "C", "C++", "Javascript")
options = (f"{i}." for i in range(1, len(answers) + 1))

menu = Table(colspacing=1, rowspacing=0)
menu.add_column(options)
menu.add_column(answers)
menu.padding.left = 2

print(question)
print(menu)

option = int(input("> "))
print(f"You chose: {menu[option-1][1]}")

2. Calendar

A customizable calendar for May 2025.

from tabling import Table

calendar = Table(colspacing=0, rowspacing=0)

calendar.add_row(("Sun", "Mon", "Tue", "Wed", "Thu", "Fri", "Sat"))
calendar.add_row(("", "", "", "", 1, 2, 3))
calendar.add_row((4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10))
calendar.add_row((11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17))
calendar.add_row((18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24))
calendar.add_row((25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31))

calendar[0].background.color = "#888"
calendar[3][3].background.color = "lightgray"
for row in calendar:
    row[0].background.color = "#999"
    for cell in row:
        cell.width = 5
        cell.height = 2
        
print(" May 2025")
print(calendar)

3. Bar Graph

A terminal-based bar graph made using Tabling.

from tabling import Table

graph = Table(colspacing=4)
graph.add_column((12, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2))
for _ in range(4):
    graph.add_column(("", "", "", "", "", ""))

for column_index in range(1, 5):
    graph[0][column_index].width = 6

graph.margin.top = 1
graph[0][-1].margin.right = 3
graph[-1].border.bottom.style = "single"
for row_index, row in enumerate(graph):
    row[0].border.right.style = "single"
    row[0].height = 3
    if row_index > 2:
        row[1].background.color = "tomato"
    if row_index > 3:
        row[2].background.color = "crimson"
    if row_index > 0:
        row[3].background.color = "maroon"
    if row_index > 1:
        row[4].background.color = "brown"

graph.add_row(("", "A","B", "C", "D"))
for cell in graph[-1]:
    cell.text.justify = "center"

print(graph)

4. Calculator

A terminal-based calculator interface using Tabling.

from tabling import Table

SCREEN_HEIGHT = 10

calculator = Table(colspacing=1, rowspacing=0)
calculator.border.style = "solid"
for _ in range(SCREEN_HEIGHT):
    calculator.add_row(("", "", "", "", ""))
calculator.add_row(("Menu", "⯇", "⏵", "⨯", "AC"))
calculator.add_row(("DEG", "sin", "cos", "tan", "π"))
calculator.add_row(("Shift", "√x", "ⁿ√x", "(", ")"))
calculator.add_row(("%", "x²", "xⁿ", "□∕□", "÷"))
calculator.add_row(("log", 7, 8, 9, "×"))
calculator.add_row(("ln", 4, 5, 6, "−"))
calculator.add_row(("e", 1, 2, 3, "+"))
calculator.add_row(("□", "Ans", 0, ".", "="))

calculator[0].border.top.style = "single"
for row in calculator[:SCREEN_HEIGHT]:
    row.border.left.style = "single"
    row.border.right.style = "single"
calculator[SCREEN_HEIGHT - 1].border.bottom.style = "single"

for row in calculator[SCREEN_HEIGHT:]:
    for cell in row: 
        cell.width = 5
        cell.text.justify = "center"
        cell.border.style = "single"

print(calculator)

5. Chess Board

A fully drawn chess board using Tabling.

from tabling import Table

chess_board = Table(colspacing=0, rowspacing=0)

for _ in range(8):
    chess_board.add_row(("",)*8)

chess_board.font.style = "bold"
chess_board.background.color = "burlywood"
for row in chess_board:
    for cell in row:
        cell.padding.block = 1, 1
        cell.padding.inline = 2, 2
for row in chess_board[0::2]:
    for cell in row[0::2]:
        cell.background.color = "#333"
for row in chess_board[1::2]:
    for cell in row[1::2]:
        cell.background.color = "#333"
chess_board.insert_column(0, range(8, 0, -1))
chess_board.add_column(range(8, 0, -1))
chess_board.add_row(" ABCDEFGH")
chess_board.insert_row(0, " ABCDEFGH")

print(chess_board)

FAQ/Troubleshooting

1. How do I enter RGB and HEX colors?
   Use r,g,b for RGB (e.g., 255,0,0) and #rrggbb or #rgb for HEX (e.g., #ff0000 or #f00)

2. How do I change a cell value?
   Use table[row_index][column_index].value = new_value

3. How do I check the data type of a cell value?
   Use type(cell.value). Cell values are stored as provided by the user.

4. How can I implement cell merging?
   Currently, Tabling does not support cell merging (rowspan, colspan). However, you can simulate merged cells by adjusting width, height, padding, and border properties across adjacent cells to create the visual illusion of merging.

5. Is there a shorter way to set margin and padding of all sides?
   Taking margin and padding as just spacing, use spacing.inline = left, right to set spacing-left and spacing-right and spacing.block = top, bottom to set spacing-top and spacing-bottom. For example, margin.top = 2, 1 sets margin.top = 2 and margin.bottom = 1.

6. Can table rendering be made a bit faster?
   Yes, by setting table.preserve = False. This means that normalization changes will directly affect the original table. In contrast, setting table.preserve = True creates a copy of the table each time it needs to be rendered. Preservation is safe and predictable but slower, whereas disabling preservation is faster but can be unsafe and unpredictable.

7. Why are rows, longer than my terminal, leaking to new lines?
   Most terminals wrap text when it's longer than their current width. Resize your terminal or zoom out to fit long rows. If they still don't fit, use print(f"\x1b[?7l{table}\x1b[?7h") to truncate the rows at the terminal width. Alternatively, use table.export_txt(filepath) to export the plain table to a text file, and then open the file with a non-wrapping editor.

8. Why are some colors not shown as expected?
   Make sure you use your Operating System's native terminal to display the table. IDE, such as VS Code (old versions), offer a terminal that is not as complete as an OS's terminal. The missing features might be essential for rendering the table. So, either update your IDE to the latest version, or use your OS's terminal (Recommended).

9. What is a key when importing/exporting to JSON files?
   A key is like an address where the rows and columns are stored (when importing) or are to be stored (when exporting). A key must only be used where a JSON file has or is to have an object root. For an array root, leave the key as None. Ideally a key must be like a table title, but it can be named anything.

10. Are there any other import/export file types to be supported?
    Yes, many of them. Excel files support (using openpyxl) is currently in beta phase. HTML and PDF files are in the alpha phase. These features will be released once they reach stable.

Contributing

Contributions are welcome and appreciated! Whether it's a bug report, feature suggestion, or a pull request, your input helps make Tabling a better tool for everyone.

Follow the following steps when contributing:

1. Fork the repository
   Click the Fork button at the top right of the GitHub repository to create your own copy

2. Clone your fork

   git clone https://github.com/<your-username>/tabling.git
   cd tabling
   

3. Create a new branch

   git checkout -b feature/my-new-feature
   

4. Make your changes

   • Use tools like black, pylint, and mypy for code changes
   • Make sure your changes do not break existing functionality
   • Update documentation if needed

5. Commit your changes

   git commit -m "feat: add my new feature"
   

6. Push your fork

   git push origin feature/my-new-feature
   

7. Create a Pull Request
   Go to the original repository and open a pull request with a clear description of your changes.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License – see the LICENSE file for details.

Conclusion

Tabling makes it easy to create clean, customizable tables in the terminal. It’s fast, flexible, and built with a CSS-like approach that’s intuitive for anyone familiar with web design. Whether you're formatting data or building full console interfaces, Tabling gets out of your way and lets you focus on structure and style. Simple as that.

“Tabling is a great tool not because of what it does but because of what it enables you to do.” — Haripo Wesley T.