Introduction

With LaTeX, we can create and print complex tables. In this chapter, we will first talk about achieving good readability. Some recipes will show and explain useful design elements.

While the recipes are based on standard LaTeX tabular environments, you can use them in a similar manner with tabular*, tabularx, tabulary, and related environments.

Note

The tabular* environment achieves a desired table width by adjusting the spacing between columns. The tabularx environment also spans to a given width by automatically calculating column widths, trying to distribute available space evenly. The tabulary environment also balances column widths, but tries to give more space to columns with more content. These environments and packages are covered in LaTeX introductions such as in the LaTeX Beginner's Guide written by me.

Even with the array environment, it's quite the same; it would just be in math mode. That's why you may also have a look at the recipes in Chapter 10, Advanced Mathematics...