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Overview

The Table class is the main entry point for creating tables in Tabulate. It provides methods for adding rows, accessing cells, formatting, and printing tables.

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Constructor

Table()
Creates a new empty table.

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Type Definitions

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Row_t

using Row_t = std::vector<variant<std::string, const char *, string_view, Table>>;
Represents a row of data that can contain strings, string views, or nested tables.

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Methods

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add_row

Table& add_row(const Row_t& cells)
Adds a new row to the table.
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cells
const Row_t&
Vector of cell values. Each cell can be a string, const char*, string_view, or a nested Table.
Returns: Reference to the table for method chaining. Example: 
using namespace tabulate;
Table table;

table.add_row({"Name", "Age", "City"});
table.add_row({"Alice", "25", "New York"});

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operator[]

Row& operator[](size_t index)
Accesses a row by index using bracket notation.
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index
size_t
Zero-based row index.
Returns: Reference to the row at the specified index. Example: 
table.add_row({"Header 1", "Header 2"});
table[0].format().font_color(Color::blue);

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row

Row& row(size_t index)
Accesses a row by index.
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index
size_t
Zero-based row index.
Returns: Reference to the row at the specified index.

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column

Column column(size_t index)
Accesses a column by index.
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index
size_t
Zero-based column index.
Returns: Column object representing the specified column. Example: 
table.column(0).format().width(20).font_align(FontAlign::center);

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format

Format& format()
Accesses the table’s format settings. Returns: Reference to the table’s Format object. Example: 
table.format()
  .border_color(Color::yellow)
  .font_color(Color::white)
  .corner("+");

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print

void print(std::ostream& stream)
Prints the table to an output stream.
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stream
std::ostream&
Output stream to write the table to.
Example: 
table.print(std::cout);

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str

std::string str()
Converts the table to a string representation. Returns: String containing the formatted table. Example: 
std::string table_output = table.str();

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size

size_t size() const
Returns the number of rows in the table. Returns: Number of rows.

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shape

std::pair<size_t, size_t> shape()
Returns the dimensions of the table. Returns: Pair containing (number of rows, number of columns). Example: 
auto [rows, cols] = table.shape();
std::cout << "Table has " << rows << " rows and " << cols << " columns" << std::endl;

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Iterators

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begin / end

auto begin() -> RowIterator
auto end() -> RowIterator
Provides iteration over rows in the table. Example: 
for (auto& row : table) {
  row.format().padding(1);
}

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Stream Operator

std::ostream& operator<<(std::ostream& stream, const Table& table)
Allows printing tables directly to output streams. Example: 
Table table;
table.add_row({"Hello", "World"});
std::cout << table << std::endl;

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Complete Example

#include <tabulate/table.hpp>
using namespace tabulate;

int main() {
  Table employees;
  
  // Add header row
  employees.add_row({"Name", "Age", "Department", "Salary"});
  employees[0].format()
    .font_color(Color::white)
    .font_align(FontAlign::center)
    .font_style({FontStyle::bold});
  
  // Add data rows
  employees.add_row({"Alice Johnson", "28", "Engineering", "$95,000"});
  employees.add_row({"Bob Smith", "35", "Marketing", "$80,000"});
  employees.add_row({"Carol Davis", "42", "Management", "$120,000"});
  
  // Format columns
  employees.column(0).format().width(20);
  employees.column(1).format().width(8).font_align(FontAlign::center);
  employees.column(2).format().width(15);
  employees.column(3).format().width(12).font_align(FontAlign::right);
  
  // Format entire table
  employees.format()
    .border_color(Color::blue)
    .corner("+")
    .border_top("-")
    .border_bottom("-")
    .border_left("|")
    .border_right("|");
  
  std::cout << employees << std::endl;
  return 0;
}

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