Tables and Graphs

Console Table and Graph/Plot Libraries

These header only libraries use box-drawing, Braille, fraction and other Unicode characters and terminal colors and formatting to output tables and graphs/plots to the console. All the tables and graphs are created with a single (one) function call and they do not require any special data structures.

See the python directory for Python ports of the libraries.

❤️ Please visit tealdulcet.com to support these libraries and my other software development.

Tables

Usage

Requires support for C++17. See the tables.hpp file for full usage information.

Complete versions of all of the examples below and more can be found in the tables.cpp file.

Compile with:

GCC: g++ -std=c++17 -Wall -g -O3 tables.cpp -o tables
Clang: clang++ -std=c++17 -Wall -g -O3 tables.cpp -o tables

Run with: ./tables

Output char array as table

C style char array

#include "tables.hpp"

using namespace std;

int main()
{
	size_t rows = 5;
	size_t columns = 5;

	char ***array;

	// Allocate and set array

	tables::options aoptions;
	aoptions.headerrow = true;
	aoptions.headercolumn = true;

	tables::array(rows, columns, array, nullptr, nullptr, aoptions);

	// Deallocate array

	return 0;
}

C++ string array

#include "tables.hpp"

using namespace std;

int main()
{
	size_t rows = 5;
	size_t columns = 5;

	vector<vector<string>> array(rows, vector<string>(columns));

	// Set array

	string *headerrow = nullptr;
	string *headercolumn = nullptr;

	tables::options aoptions;
	aoptions.headerrow = true;
	aoptions.headercolumn = true;

	tables::array(array, headerrow, headercolumn, aoptions);

	return 0;
}

Table cells can contain Unicode characters, but not newlines and tabs.

Output array as table with separate header row and column

C style char array

#include "tables.hpp"

using namespace std;

int main()
{
	size_t rows = 4;
	size_t columns = 4;

	const char* headerrow[] = {"Header row/column 1", "Header row 2", "Header row 3", "Header row 4", "Header row 5"};
	const char* headercolumn[] = {"Header column 2", "Header column 3", "Header column 4", "Header column 5"};

	char ***array;

	// Allocate and set array

	tables::options aoptions;
	aoptions.headerrow = true;
	aoptions.headercolumn = true;

	tables::array(rows, columns, array, headerrow, headercolumn, aoptions);

	// Deallocate array

	return 0;
}

C++ string array

#include "tables.hpp"

using namespace std;

int main()
{
	size_t rows = 5;
	size_t columns = 5;

	string headerrow[] = {"Header row/column 1", "Header row 2", "Header row 3", "Header row 4", "Header row 5"};
	string headercolumn[] = {"Header column 2", "Header column 3", "Header column 4", "Header column 5"};

	vector<vector<string>> array(rows, vector<string>(columns));

	// Set array

	tables::options aoptions;
	aoptions.headerrow = true;
	aoptions.headercolumn = true;
	// or with C++20:
	// tables::options aoptions{.headerrow = true, .headercolumn = true};

	tables::array(array, headerrow, headercolumn, aoptions);

	return 0;
}

Output same as example above.

Output array as table

C style pointer

#include "tables.hpp"

using namespace std;

int main()
{
	size_t rows = 5;
	size_t columns = 5;

	double **array; // array can be any data type

	// Allocate and set array

	tables::array(rows, columns, array);

	// Deallocate array

	return 0;
}

C++ array/vector

#include "tables.hpp"

using namespace std;

int main()
{
	size_t rows = 5;
	size_t columns = 5;

	vector<vector<double>> array(rows, vector<double>(columns)); // array can be any data type

	// Set array

	tables::array(array);

	return 0;
}

Output sorted array as table

C style pointer

#include <algorithm>
#include "tables.hpp"

using namespace std;

int dimensions; // Number of columns
int sortdimension; // Column to sort by

template <typename T>
bool compare(const T &a, const T &b)
{
	if (a[sortdimension] == b[sortdimension])
		for (int i = 0; i < dimensions; ++i)
			if (sortdimension != i and a[i] != b[i])
				return a[i] < b[i];

	return a[sortdimension] < b[sortdimension];
}

int main()
{
	size_t rows = 5;
	size_t columns = 5;

	int **array; // array can be any data type

	// Allocate and set array

	dimensions = columns;
	sortdimension = 0;

	sort(array, array + rows, compare<int *>);

	tables::array(rows, columns, array);

	// Deallocate array

	return 0;
}

C++ array/vector

#include <algorithm>
#include "tables.hpp"

using namespace std;

int sortdimension; // Column to sort by

template <typename T>
bool compare(const T &a, const T &b)
{
	if (a[sortdimension] == b[sortdimension])
		for (int i = 0; i < size(a); ++i)
			if (sortdimension != i and a[i] != b[i])
				return a[i] < b[i];

	return a[sortdimension] < b[sortdimension];
}

int main()
{
	size_t rows = 5;
	size_t columns = 5;

	vector<vector<int>> array(rows, vector<int>(columns)); // array can be any data type

	// Set array

	sortdimension = 0;

	sort(array.begin(), array.end(), compare<vector<int>>);

	tables::array(array);

	return 0;
}

Output single function as table

C style function pointer

#include "tables.hpp"

using namespace std;

double afunction(double x)
{
	return x + 1;
}

int main()
{
	double xmin = -10;
	double xmax = 10;
	double xscl = 2;

	tables::options aoptions;
	aoptions.headerrow = true;

	tables::function(xmin, xmax, xscl, afunction, aoptions);

	return 0;
}

C++ lambda function

#include "tables.hpp"

using namespace std;

int main()
{
	double xmin = -10;
	double xmax = 10;
	double xscl = 2;

	function<double(double)> afunction = [](auto x)
	{ return x + 1; };

	tables::options aoptions;
	aoptions.headerrow = true;

	tables::function(xmin, xmax, xscl, afunction, aoptions);

	return 0;
}

Output multiple functions as table

C style function pointer

#include <cmath>
#include "tables.hpp"

using namespace std;

double function1(double x)
{
	return 2 * x;
}

double function2(double x)
{
	return pow(x, 2);
}

int main()
{
	double xmin = -10;
	double xmax = 10;
	double xscl = 2;

	size_t numfunctions = 2;

	// Function parameter and return value can be any data type, as long as they are the same
	function<double(double)> functions[] = {function1, function2};

	tables::options aoptions;
	aoptions.headerrow = true;

	tables::functions(xmin, xmax, xscl, numfunctions, functions, aoptions);

	return 0;
}

C++ lambda function

#include <cmath>
#include "tables.hpp"

using namespace std;

int main()
{
	double xmin = -10;
	double xmax = 10;
	double xscl = 2;

	size_t numfunctions = 2;

	// Function parameter and return value can be any data type, as long as they are the same
	function<double(double)> functions[] = {[](auto x)
											{ return 2 * x; },
											[](auto x)
											{ return pow(x, 2); }};

	tables::options aoptions;
	aoptions.headerrow = true;

	tables::functions(xmin, xmax, xscl, numfunctions, functions, aoptions);

	return 0;
}

Options

Header row

Option: headerrow
Default value: false

Header rows are bolded, centered and have a border.

Header column

Option: headercolumn
Default value: false

Header columns are bolded, centered and have a border.

Table border

Option: tableborder
Default value: true

Cell border

Option: cellborder
Default value: false

Cell padding

Option: padding
Default value: 1

Alignment

Option: alignment
Values:

left (default)
right

bool to alpha

Option: boolalpha
Default value: false

Title

Option: title
Default value: nullptr

The title is word wrapped based on the current width of the terminal, using this solution. Handles newlines, tabs and Unicode characters.

Border style

Option: style
Values:

ASCII
Basic
Light (default)
Heavy
Double
Light Dashed
Heavy Dashed

Other C++ Console Tables Libraries

C++ Text Table (must specify every cell individually in their data structure, limited options, no Unicode support, no header row or column support)
Cpp Console Table (must specify every cell individually in their data structure, no Unicode support, no header row or column support)
ConsoleTable (requires C++11, must specify entire row at once in their data structure, no header column support)

Graphs/Plots

Usage

Requires support for C++17. See the graphs.hpp file for full usage information.

Complete versions of all of the examples below and more can be found in the graphs.cpp file.

Compile with: GCC: g++ -std=c++17 -Wall -g -O3 graphs.cpp -o graphs
Clang: clang++ -std=c++17 -Wall -g -O3 graphs.cpp -o graphs

Run with: ./graphs

If height is 0, it will be set to the current height of the terminal (number of rows times four). If width is 0, it will be set to the current width of the terminal (number of columns times two).

Output single array as plot

C style pointer

#include "graphs.hpp"

using namespace std;

int main()
{
	size_t height = 160;
	size_t width = 160;

	long double xmin = -20;
	long double xmax = 20;
	long double ymin = -20;
	long double ymax = 20;

	size_t rows = 10;

	double **array; // array can be any data type, but must have exactly two columns

	// Allocate and set array

	graphs::array(height, width, xmin, xmax, ymin, ymax, rows, array);

	// Deallocate array

	return 0;
}

C++ array/vector

#include "graphs.hpp"

using namespace std;

int main()
{
	size_t height = 160;
	size_t width = 160;

	long double xmin = -20;
	long double xmax = 20;
	long double ymin = -20;
	long double ymax = 20;

	size_t rows = 10;

	vector<vector<double>> array(rows, vector<double>(2)); // array can be any data type, but must have exactly two columns

	// Set array

	graphs::array(height, width, xmin, xmax, ymin, ymax, array);

	return 0;
}

If xmin and xmax are both 0, they will be set to the respective minimum and maximum values of x in the array. If ymin and ymax are both 0, they will be set to the respective minimum and maximum values of y in the array.

Use graphs::arrays() to plot multiple arrays, which can be of different sizes.

Output single function as graph

C style function pointer

#include "graphs.hpp"

using namespace std;

double afunction(double x)
{
	return x + 1;
}

int main()
{
	size_t height = 160;
	size_t width = 160;

	long double xmin = -20;
	long double xmax = 20;
	long double ymin = -20;
	long double ymax = 20;

	graphs::function(height, width, xmin, xmax, ymin, ymax, afunction);

	return 0;
}

C++ lambda function

#include "graphs.hpp"

using namespace std;

int main()
{
	size_t height = 160;
	size_t width = 160;

	long double xmin = -20;
	long double xmax = 20;
	long double ymin = -20;
	long double ymax = 20;

	function<double(double)> afunction = [](auto x)
	{ return x + 1; };

	graphs::function(height, width, xmin, xmax, ymin, ymax, afunction);

	return 0;
}

Output multiple functions as graph

C style function pointer

#include "graphs.hpp"

using namespace std;

double function1(double x)
{
	return 2 * x;
}

double function2(double x)
{
	return pow(x, 2);
}

int main()
{
	size_t height = 160;
	size_t width = 160;

	long double xmin = -20;
	long double xmax = 20;
	long double ymin = -20;
	long double ymax = 20;

	size_t numfunctions = 2;

	// Function parameter and return value can be any data type, as long as they are the same
	function<double(double)> functions[] = {function1, function2};

	graphs::functions(height, width, xmin, xmax, ymin, ymax, numfunctions, functions);

	return 0;
}

C++ lambda function

#include "graphs.hpp"

using namespace std;

int main()
{
	size_t height = 160;
	size_t width = 160;

	long double xmin = -20;
	long double xmax = 20;
	long double ymin = -20;
	long double ymax = 20;

	size_t numfunctions = 2;

	// Function parameter and return value can be any data type, as long as they are the same
	function<double(double)> functions[] = {[](auto x)
											{ return 2 * x; },
											[](auto x)
											{ return pow(x, 2); }};

	graphs::functions(height, width, xmin, xmax, ymin, ymax, numfunctions, functions);

	return 0;
}

Options

Border/Axis

Option: border
Default value: true

Axis labels

Option: axislabel
Default value: true

Requires border to be true.

Axis units labels

Option: axisunitslabel
Default value: true

Requires border and axislabel to be true.

Title

Option: title
Default value: nullptr

The title is word wrapped based on the current width of the terminal, using this solution. Handles newlines, tabs and Unicode characters.

Axis/Border style

Option: style
Values:

ASCII
Basic
Light (default)
Heavy
Double
Light Dashed
Heavy Dashed

Graph/Plot Color

Option: color
Values:

System default
Black
Red (default)
Green
Yellow
Blue
Cyan
Light gray
Dark gray
Light red
Light green
Light yellow
Light blue
Light cyan
White

See here for examples of the colors.

Only used for plots and when graphing a single function.

When graphing multiple functions, colors 2 - 14 are used inorder. Color 0 is used where the functions cross.

Plot

Graph

Other C++ Console Graphs/Plots Libraries

C++ terminal plotting library (requires C++14, based on UnicodePlots.jl, no documentation and very difficult to use, although supports animations)

Contributing

Pull requests welcome! Ideas for contributions:

Both:

Add more options
- Add an option to print a border around graphs/plots
- Add options to word wrap and truncate long text in table cells
- Add option to center text in table cells
Add more examples
Improve the performance
Handle newlines and tabs in the tables
Handle formatted text in the table and graph/plot titles
Support more graph/plot colors
- Support 24-bit color
- Support combining colors when functions cross
Update the -t, --table options of column command from util-linux to use the Table library
Create a new CLI tool that uses the Graph library
Port to other languages (C, Java, Rust, etc.)

C++:

Support tables with the wchar_t, char16_t and char32_t C data types and the wstring, u16string and u32string C++ data types.

Tables and Graphs

Tables

Usage

Output char array as table

C style char array

C++ string array

Output array as table with separate header row and column

C style char array

C++ string array

Output array as table

C style pointer

C++ array/vector

Output sorted array as table

C style pointer

C++ array/vector

Output single function as table

C style function pointer

C++ lambda function

Output multiple functions as table

C style function pointer

C++ lambda function

Options

Header row

Header column

Table border

Cell border

Cell padding

Alignment

bool to alpha

Title

Border style

Other C++ Console Tables Libraries

Graphs/Plots

Usage

Output single array as plot

C style pointer

C++ array/vector

Output single function as graph

C style function pointer

C++ lambda function

Output multiple functions as graph

C style function pointer

C++ lambda function

Options

Border/Axis

Axis labels

Axis units labels

Title

Axis/Border style

Graph/Plot Color

Plot

Graph

Other C++ Console Graphs/Plots Libraries

Contributing

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