Extension talk:SimpleTable

[edit] Allow Wiki Text in Dataset

I have modified the script to allow wiki text within the dataset and properly handle the parse reference so it does not conflict with other extensions.

--- (Smcnaught) 20:12, 28 July 2006 (UTC) - I am also available on irc.chekmate.org #MediaWiki

Thanks for your contribution -- that's a big improvement (wish I'd thought of it!). As you'll see, I've moved your version to the main page, and also uploaded an improved version, which also includes your change. Cheers, JohanTheGhost 15:31, 12 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Quoted strings containing separator literals

I haven't tested this extension yet - though I've wanted one like it for a long time. Does it deal well with quoted strings that contain delimiters? For example:

<tab class=wikitable sep=comma>
"field, 1" , "field, 2"
"field 3" , "field 4"
</tab>

Along the same lines, if it does handle quoted strings containing separator literals, does it support quote escaping, or would the user just have to put in ". --Jimbojw 16:05, 12 April 2007 (UTC)

No, it doesn't handle quoted delimiters yet; with the most recent enhancement, the idea is that you can pick a non-clashing delimiter.

Having said that, being able to handle quoted delimiters in the style exported by Excel (eg.) would be useful -- I'll look into it. JohanTheGhost 16:45, 19 April 2007 (UTC)

OK, the Excel CSV format encloses any values which contain commas in double quotes; double quotes are escaped by doubling them. So, UK, "average" becomes "UK, ""average""". This is pretty repugnant from a parsing point of view... I think the simplest thing is to use tab-separated data, and convert tabs to spaces in your data. JohanTheGhost 17:38, 19 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] column/row headings

Since most tables usually have column headings (sometimes also row headings), it's be nice if there was an option for this.
A simple parameter in the TAB tag (heading=column and/or heading=row) could tell the parser to format the first row/column accordingly.
I'll look into it myself when I get around to it, though that might take a few weeks.
-- FND 18:44, 12 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Move to MediaWiki.org

Why is this at Meta - doesn't it belong at MediaWiki.org? -- FND 18:44, 12 April 2007 (UTC)

Dude, read the box on the article page! JohanTheGhost 16:41, 19 April 2007 (UTC)#

Sorry; I guess I meant why you didn't create it there in the first place, but that's probably because things were different when this page was first started... -- FND 17:38, 19 April 2007 (UTC)

That's right; TabbedData appeared in May 06, the "new extensions on MW.org" notice appeared in August. JohanTheGhost 20:02, 19 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] name misleading

As mentioned on MediaWiki-l, the current name of this extension makes it a bit hard to immediately grasp its purpose. The term "tabbed" is reminiscent of things like "tabbed browsing", which might be misleading.
"Tabular Data" has been suggested as an alternative, though something like "CSV-Data Tables" might be a more telling name.
-- FND 09:52, 13 April 2007 (UTC)

Agreed -- moving it would be a hassle, though. Maybe one day -- maybe after it gets moved to MW.org. JohanTheGhost 16:47, 19 April 2007 (UTC)

So, now that I've made Sayuri move the page, let's talk business... How about something like xSV Data Tables ("xSV" because "CSV" would be too limiting)? It doesn't sound very fancy, but at least it reflects the purpose!? -- FND 14:29, 26 June 2007 (UTC)

Hmmm... I really prefer "TabularData", or "SimpleTable". JohanTheGhost 15:13, 26 June 2007 (UTC)

"SimpleTable" sounds nice - though "TabularData" might be a more telling name... -- FND 16:05, 26 June 2007 (UTC)

"SimpleTable" it is -- I like simple... ;-) JohanTheGhost 20:21, 26 June 2007 (UTC)

Great! :) -- FND 13:40, 28 June 2007 (UTC)

[edit] modification: column headings

I've changed and added a few lines of code to allow column headings using the "HEAD" parameter.
Unfortunately, I do not know how to make TortoiseSVN create a patch from two local files, so I'll have to post the full code.
(Disclaimer: I'm not an experienced coder, and don't know very much about PHP - so the quality of my changes might be questionable... )
-- FND 12:53, 19 April 2007 (UTC)

Nice job! I've moved it into the main version, and added "head=top" and "head=left". I've deleted your posted version from here to make the page easier to navigate, but it is still available in the history. JohanTheGhost 17:25, 19 April 2007 (UTC)

Looks good - I can't test it here, but I'll update as soon as I'm in the office again!

Just one question: Why don't you use SWITCH/CASE instead of IF ... ELSE?

-- FND 18:16, 19 April 2007 (UTC)

With only two cases, it makes the code more compact, and it's not any slower. JohanTheGhost 19:58, 19 April 2007 (UTC)

Well, I guess it's a matter of personal preference...

I just tested it, and it works like a charm! (A nice addition would be to be able to specify both TOP and LEFT as headings, but I guess that's rarely needed.)

-- FND 08:23, 25 April 2007 (UTC)

Done, as of version 1,2 -- "head=topleft". JohanTheGhost 20:22, 26 June 2007 (UTC)

Good job! (I almost overlooked the update though; the revision history should have a timestamp too.) -- FND 13:40, 28 June 2007 (UTC)