A Modest Definition List Proposal (David E. Wheeler)

[David E. Wheeler]

On Feb 25, 2009, at 6:57 AM, Sherwood Botsford wrote:


> One minor change.  You don't need pipes in the horizontal separator  

> lines.  E.g:

>        id |  name   |  description     |      more info

>        ====================================================


They could be optional; I prefer them.


> Tables are critters where formatting is tangled with content.  And

> with proportional type, a text only system requires agreement on tab

> spacing at minimum to get anything to look right. (I'm not a fan of

> monospace, so all these examples are wonky.)


I think you might be using the wrong markup language, then. The use of  
monospace fonts is an expectation for reading Markdown. Really, it's  
the whole point.


> Add to this, the need for centering, the need for column spans.

>

> Allignment could be done with your horizontal separators.

>

> |-----------|  Means use your default alignment. (Same as cell above)

> |<--------| Means left alignment.  The < can appear anywhere between  

> the |'s

> |---------->| Means right alignment.

> |-----=----| means center alignment.


I dislike these. I have other ideas for alignment, but I need to do  
some more thinking and drafting before I have a proposal to submit.


> Column spans could be done by replacing the pipe with an underscore.

> |=========_===========|

> |This is a cell that spans two|

> columns, and is centred.

> |------------------|--------------|

> |Column 1  |Column 2|

>

> I'm working in a proportional font, so the above example is sure to  

> be wonky.


Yes, and basically illegible.


> Note that these two ideas are contradictory.

>

> To merge, them (makes reading slightly harder, but writing slightly  

> easier.

>

> | Default alignment |

> |< Left Alignment <|

> |> Right Alignment >|

> |= Centered alignment =|

>

> The alignment tags don't have to be paired, but can be for eye candy  

> purposes.

>

>

> || Spans two columns of the stuff below |

> |  Column 1 | Column 1 |


IMHO, any formatting should be invisible in Markdown. That is, it  
should be implicit. The use of all these extra characters to show  
alignment and whatnot makes for ugly text-only tables.

Best,

David