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
