tbl(1) — Commands
Digital
NAME
tbl − formats tables for nroff
SYNOPSIS
tbl [file ... ]
FLAGS
−TXProduces output without fractional line motions. You use this flag when the destination output device or printer or post-filter cannot handle fractional line motions.
−msReads in ms macros prior to table formatting.
−mmReads 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 formatting ∗roff tools, the tbl command should be invoked first to minimize the volume of data passed through the pipes.
EXAMPLES
The following example shows a table that has been coded using tbl macros and the results after you run tbl to format the table:
.TS
tab(~);
l r l.
_
.sp
Signal Name~Value~Description
.sp
_
.sp
SIGHUP~1~Hangup detected on controlling terminal
.sp
SIGINT~2~Interactive attention signal
.sp
SIGQUIT~3~Interactive termination signal
.sp
SIGILL~4~Detection of an invalid hardware instruction
.sp
SIGABRT~6~Abnormal termination signal
.sp
SIGFPE~8~Erroneous arithmetic operation
.sp
SIGKILL~9~Termination signal
.sp
SIGSEGV~11~Detection of an invalid memory reference
.sp
_
.TE
When formatted by tbl and then nroff, the output is as follows:
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Signal Name Value Description
__________________________________________________________________
SIGHUP 1 Hangup detected on controlling terminal
SIGINT 2 Interactive attention signal
SIGQUIT 3 Interactive termination signal
SIGILL 4 Detection of an invalid hardware instruction
SIGABRT 6 Abnormal termination signal
SIGFPE 8 Erroneous arithmetic operation
SIGKILL 9 Termination signal
SIGSEGV 11 Detection of an invalid memory reference
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