ascii-table

What is ascii-table?

The ascii-table npm package is a simple and lightweight library for creating and formatting ASCII tables in Node.js. It allows you to easily generate tables with headers, rows, and columns, and provides various customization options for table appearance.

What are ascii-table's main functionalities?

Creating a Basic Table

This feature allows you to create a basic ASCII table with a title, headers, and rows. The code sample demonstrates how to set up a table with a title 'Sample Table', add headers 'Name', 'Age', and 'City', and add two rows of data.

const AsciiTable = require('ascii-table');
let table = new AsciiTable('Sample Table');
table.setHeading('Name', 'Age', 'City');
table.addRow('Alice', 25, 'New York');
table.addRow('Bob', 30, 'Los Angeles');
console.log(table.toString());

Customizing Table Appearance

This feature allows you to customize the appearance of the table, such as aligning the text in different columns. The code sample shows how to align the first column to the left, the second column to the center, and the third column to the right.

const AsciiTable = require('ascii-table');
let table = new AsciiTable('Styled Table');
table.setHeading('Name', 'Age', 'City');
table.addRow('Alice', 25, 'New York');
table.addRow('Bob', 30, 'Los Angeles');
table.setAlign(0, AsciiTable.LEFT);
table.setAlign(1, AsciiTable.CENTER);
table.setAlign(2, AsciiTable.RIGHT);
console.log(table.toString());

Adding Rows Dynamically

This feature allows you to add rows to the table dynamically, which is useful when dealing with data from external sources. The code sample demonstrates how to add multiple rows from an array of data.

const AsciiTable = require('ascii-table');
let table = new AsciiTable('Dynamic Rows');
table.setHeading('Name', 'Age', 'City');
const data = [
  ['Alice', 25, 'New York'],
  ['Bob', 30, 'Los Angeles'],
  ['Charlie', 35, 'Chicago']
];
data.forEach(row => table.addRow(...row));
console.log(table.toString());

Other packages similar to ascii-table

cli-table

The cli-table package is another popular library for creating ASCII tables in Node.js. It offers more advanced features such as nested tables, custom styles, and support for different table layouts. Compared to ascii-table, cli-table provides more flexibility and customization options but may have a steeper learning curve.

table

The table package is a highly configurable library for generating text tables in Node.js. It supports features like text wrapping, column alignment, and custom border styles. Compared to ascii-table, the table package offers more comprehensive configuration options and is suitable for more complex table formatting needs.

easy-table

The easy-table package is a lightweight library for creating ASCII tables with a focus on simplicity and ease of use. It provides basic table creation and formatting features similar to ascii-table but with a simpler API. Compared to ascii-table, easy-table is more straightforward and easier to use for basic table creation tasks.

README

Ascii Table

Easy table output for node debugging, but you could probably do more with it, since its just a string.

Table of Contents

• Usage
• Example
• API
  • Static Methods
    • factory([title])
    • align(direction, val, len, [pad])
    • alignLeft(val, len, [pad])
    • alignCenter(val, len, [pad])
    • alignRight(val, len, [pad])
    • alignAuto(val, len, [pad])
    • arrayFill(len, [val])
  • Instance Methods
    • setBorder([edge], [fill], [top], [bottom])
    • removeBorder()
    • setAlign(idx, direction)
    • setAlignLeft(idx)
    • setAlignCenter(idx)
    • setAlignRight(idx)
    • setTitle(title)
    • getTitle()
    • setTitleAlign(direction)
    • setTitleAlignLeft()
    • setTitleAlignCenter()
    • setTitleAlignRight()
    • sort([iterator])
    • sortColumn(idx, [iterator])
    • setHeading(heading, [...])
    • setHeadingAlign(direction)
    • setHeadingAlignLeft()
    • setHeadingAlignCenter()
    • setHeadingAlignRight()
    • addRow(row, [...])
    • addRowMatrix(rows)
    • setJustify([enabled])
    • toString()
    • toJSON()
    • fromJSON(obj)
    • clear()
    • clearRows()
• Install
• Contributors
• License

Usage

Node.js

var AsciiTable = require('ascii-table')

Browser

<script src="ascii-table.min.js"></script>

Note: If using in the browser, it will be placed under window.AsciiTable

Example

Basic usage

var table = new AsciiTable('A Title')
table
  .setHeading('', 'Name', 'Age')
  .addRow(1, 'Bob', 52)
  .addRow(2, 'John', 34)
  .addRow(3, 'Jim', 83)

console.log(table.toString())

.----------------.
|    A Title     |
|----------------|
|   | Name | Age |
|---|------|-----|
| 1 | Bob  |  52 |
| 2 | John |  34 |
| 3 | Jim  |  83 |
'----------------'

We can make a simple table without a title or headings as well.

var table = new AsciiTable()

table
  .addRow('a', 'apple', 'Some longer string')
  .addRow('b', 'banana', 'hi')
  .addRow('c', 'carrot', 'meow')
  .addRow('e', 'elephants')


console.log(table.toString())

.------------------------------------.
| a | apple     | Some longer string |
| b | banana    | hi                 |
| c | carrot    | meow               |
| e | elephants |                    |
'------------------------------------'

API

Static Methods

AsciiTable

See: AsciiTable.factory for details on instantiation

AsciiTable.factory([title], [options])

Table instance creator

• title - table title (optional, default null)
• options - table options (optional)
  • prefix - string prefix to add to each line on render

Note: If an object is passed in place of the title, the fromJSON method will be used to populate the table.

Example:

var table = AsciiTable.factory('title')

var table = AsciiTable.factory({
  title: 'Title'
, heading: [ 'id', 'name' ]
, rows: [ 
    [ 1, 'Bob' ]
  , [ 2, 'Steve' ] 
  ] 
})

AsciiTable.align(direction, val, len, [pad])

Shortcut to one of the three following methods

• direction - alignment direction (AsciiTable.LEFT, AsciiTable.CENTER, AsciiTable.RIGHT)
• val - string to align
• len - total length of created string
• pad - padding / fill char (optional, default ' ')

Example:

table.align(AsciiTable.LEFT, 'hey', 7) // 'hey    '

AsciiTable.alignLeft(val, len, [pad])

• val - string to align
• len - total length of created string
• pad - padding / fill char (optional, default ' ')

Example:

table.alignLeft('hey', 7, '-') // 'hey----'

AsciiTable.alignCenter(val, len, [pad])

• val - string to align
• len - total length of created string
• pad - padding / fill char (optional, default ' ')

Example:

table.alignCenter('hey', 7) // '  hey  '

AsciiTable.alignRight(val, len, [pad])

• val - string to align
• len - total length of created string
• pad - padding / fill char (optional, default ' ')

Example:

table.alignRight('hey', 7) // '    hey'

AsciiTable.alignAuto(val, len, [pad])

Attempt to do intelligent alignment of provided val, String input will be left aligned, Number types will be right aligned.

• val - string to align
• len - total length of created string
• pad - padding / fill char (optional, default ' ')

Example:

table.align(AsciiTable.LEFT, 'hey', 7) // 'hey    '

AsciiTable.arrayFill(len, [val])

Create a new array at the given len, filled with the given value, mainly used internally

• len - length of array
• val - fill value (optional)

Example:

AsciiTable.arrayFill(4, 0) // [0, 0, 0, 0]

Instance Methods

instance.setBorder([edge], [fill], [top], [bottom])

Set the border characters for rendering, if no arguments are passed it will be reset to defaults. If a single edge arg is passed, it will be used for all borders.

• edge - horizontal edges (optional, default |)
• fill - vertical edges (optional, default -)
• top - top corners (optional, default .)
• bottom - bottom corners (optional, default ')

Example:

var table = new AsciiTable('Stars')
table
  .setBorder('*')
  .setHeading('oh', 'look')
  .addRow('so much', 'star power')

console.log(table.toString())

************************
*        Stars         *
************************
*   oh    *    look    *
************************
* so much * star power *
************************

instance.removeBorder()

Example:

table.removeBorder()

console.log('' + table)

  #     Fruit           Thing
 --- ----------- --------------------
  a       apple   Some longer string
  b      banana           hi
  c      carrot          meow
  e   elephants

instance.setAlign(idx, direction)

• idx - column index to align
• direction - alignment direction, (AsciiTable.LEFT, AsciiTable.CENTER, AsciiTable.RIGHT)

Example:

table
  .setAlign(2, AsciiTable.RIGHT)
  .setAlign(1, AsciiTable.CENTER)

console.log(table.toString())

.-------------------------------------.
| a  |   apple   | Some longer string |
| b  |   banana  |                 hi |
| c  |   carrot  |               meow |
| e  | elephants |                    |
'-------------------------------------'

instance.setAlignLeft(idx)

Alias to instance.setAlign(idx, AsciiTable.LEFT)

instance.setAlignCenter(idx)

Alias to instance.setAlign(idx, AsciiTable.CENTER)

instance.setAlignRight(idx)

Alias to instance.setAlign(idx, AsciiTable.RIGHT)

instance.setTitle(title)

• title - table title

Example:

var table = new AsciiTable('Old Title')

table.setTitle('New Title')

instance.getTitle()

Get the current title of the table

Example:

table.getTitle() // 'New Title'

instance.setTitleAlign(direction)

• direction - table alignment direction

Example:

instance.setTitleAlignLeft()

Alias to instance.setTitleAlign(AsciiTable.LEFT)

instance.setTitleAlignCenter()

Alias to instance.setTitleAlign(AsciiTable.CENTER)

instance.setTitleAlignRight()

Alias to instance.setTitleAlign(AsciiTable.RIGHT)

instance.sort(iterator)

• iterator - sorting method to run against the rows

Example:

table.sort(function(a, b) {
  return a[2] - b[2]
})
console.log(table.toString())

.----------------.
| 2 | John |  34 |
| 1 | Bob  |  52 |
| 3 | Jim  |  83 |
'----------------'

instance.sortColumn(index, iterator)

Sorting shortcut for targeting a specific column

• index - column idx to sort
• iterator - sorting method to run against column values

Example:

// This is quivalent to the `sort` example above
table.sortColumn(2, function(a, b) {
  return a - b
})

instance.setHeading(heading, [...])

Set the column headings for the table, takes arguments the same way as addRow

• heading - heading array or arguments

Example:

table.setHeading('ID', 'Key', 'Value')

// or:

table.setHeading(['ID', 'Key', 'Value'])

instance.setHeadingAlign(direction)

• direction -

Example:

instance.setHeadingAlignLeft()

Alias to instance.setHeadingAlignLeft(AsciiTable.LEFT)

instance.setHeadingAlignCenter()

Alias to instance.setHeadingAlignLeft(AsciiTable.CENTER)

instance.setHeadingAlignRight()

Alias to instance.setHeadingAlignLeft(AsciiTable.RIGHT)

instance.addRow(row, [...])

Rows can be added using a single array argument, or the arguments if multiple args are used when calling the method.

• row - array or arguments of column values

Example:

var table = new AsciiTable()

table
  .addRow(1, 'Bob', 52)
  .addRow([2, 'John', 34])

console.log(table.render())

.---------------.
| 1 | Bob  | 52 |
| 2 | John | 34 |
'---------------'

instance.addRowMatrix(rows)

Bulk addRow operation

• rows - multidimentional array of rows

Example:

table.addRowMatrix([
  [2, 'John', 34]
, [3, 'Jim', 83]
])

instance.setJustify(enabled)

Justify all columns to be the same width

• enabled - boolean for turning justify on or off, undefined considered true

Example:

table
  .addRow('1', 'two', 'three')
  .setJustify()

console.log(table.toString())

.-----------------------.
| 1     | two   | three |
'-----------------------'

instance.toString()

Render the instance as a string for output

Alias: [valueOf, render]

instance.toJSON()

Return the JSON representation of the table, this also allows us to call JSON.stringify on the instance.

Example:

var table = new AsciiTable('Title')

table
  .setHeading('id', 'name')
  .addRow(1, 'Bob')
  .addRow(2, 'Steve')

console.log(table.toJSON())
console.log(JSON.stringify(table))

{
  title: 'Title'
, heading: [ 'id', 'name' ]
, rows: [ 
    [ 1, 'Bob' ]
  , [ 2, 'Steve' ] 
  ] 
}

{"title":"Title","heading":["id","name"],"rows":[[1,"Bob"],[2,"Steve"]]}

instance.fromJSON(obj)

Populate the table from json object, should match the toJSON output above.

Alias: [parse]

Example:

var table = new AsciiTable().fromJSON({
  title: 'Title'
, heading: [ 'id', 'name' ]
, rows: [ 
    [ 1, 'Bob' ]
  , [ 2, 'Steve' ] 
  ] 
})

instance.clear()

Clear / reset all table data

Alias: [reset]

instance.clearRows()

Reset all row data, maintains title and headings.

Install

With npm

npm install ascii-table

Contributors

Matthew Oliveira Peter Daum

License

(The MIT License)

Copyright (c) 2013 Beau Sorensen

Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy of this software and associated documentation files (the 'Software'), to deal in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:

The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all copies or substantial portions of the Software.

THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED 'AS IS', WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.