tables
======
The tables application allows for Excel-like display and manipulation of tabular
data. The underlying data format is columnar plaintext, with functions and
formulae stored inline.
In this file format, column breaks are ideally determined by column headers,
which are mandatory by implication. Since column header cells themselves may
contain freeform plaintext, we use lines (either single dash [-] or double dash
[=]) on the second row to delimit columns.
Example file:
# Sample table
TAX(p) = p * 0.1
Tax = TAX(Price)
Id Item Description Price Computed Tax
-- ---------------- ------- ------------
1 A new world $ 2.00 $ .20
2 Cool magazine $ 17.59 $ 1.76
Whitespace
----------
Extra whitespace surrounding a cell's contents is considered superfluous. That
is, cells [asdf] and [ asdf] would be considered equivalent.
Data types
----------
The data type of a cell will be inferred by its format. The default format is
plain text.
Formats:
* Number; e.g. [2000] or [2MM];
* Currency; e.g. [$ .20]; parameters: currency, negation style, [number format]
* Datetime;
* Time spans;
Formulae
--------
In the spirit of always reconstructable data tables, table formulas are always
denotated out-of-band relative to the cells. Functions are always described in
the file, to avoid any dependency on the app to reconstruct and verify data.