Re: [TUHS] A few observations regarding tbl

[Douglas McIlroy]

I disagree with one point in this interesting and thoughtful post.

>  2) The global option "nospaces", according to the manpage, is described
as:
>
>      Ignore leading and trailing spaces in data items (GNU tbl only).
>
>  The following point may be a question of correct interpretation of this
>  statement. Does the underbar "_" qualify as a data item in this
>  terminology? I positively think so, because the manpage states
>
>      If  a  data  line  consists of only ‘_’ or ‘=’, a single or double
>  line, respectively, is drawn across the table at that point;

The post goes on to suggest that under option "nospaces" a data line
consisting of an underbar followed by a space should be interpreted
as if it had been a bare underbar, signifying a line across the whole
table.

I agree that an underbar followed by a space qualifies as a data item.
However, the man page clearly distinguishes between "data item" and
"data line". Ignoring spaces in a data item does not destroy its
itemhood. It does not magically become a data line.

Doug