Coloring a table
Sometimes, we see zebra-striped tables with alternating row colors. This design is intended for supporting horizontal reading without the need for separating lines.
While some people like that design, some find it harder to read. For example, while looking at a table, the eye may scan one color first and then jump back, scanning the rows with the other color. So, when we decide to go for this design, we should consider the following:
- Make the color variation small to prevent the eye from jumping across even or odd rows. The information should be visually stronger than the distinction between those two layers.
- Keep a good contrast between color and text. For example, black text with a dark gray background is hardly readable.
- Have a different color for the header to emphasize it.
How to do it...
We will use the xcolor package for this task. The sample data for this table, which we will also use in later recipes, has been taken from https...
