cli-table-helper

This Helper generates good looking tables to be used in consoles / terminals. Rows are supplied to the table and then the helper generates a string.

Installation

The helper can be installed by using npm. Just copy the following text and paste it into your terminal / console.

npm i cli-table-helper

Usage

The "cli-table-helper" can be used very easely. The following is a usage guide. Some examples are at the bottom.

Adding the helper The Helper can be used by requiring it. Then assign a Variable to it, so that you can use the Object.

var CLITable = require('cli-table-helper');
var table = new CLITable.default();

//ES2016+
import CLITable from 'cli-table-helper';
let table = new CLITable();

CLITable takes one parameter.

• If an integer is used, it defines how many whitespaces are after a column.
• If an object is used, it can define the vertical spans by following options:
  • left: integer Number of whitespaces before the span sign.
  • right: integer Number of whitespaces after the span sign.
  • both: integer Number of whitespaces after and before the span sign. This option overrides the ones above.
  • sign: string The span sign as a string. In many cases, the "|" is used. This can also be null or an empty string.

Check the examples to see how it works.

Using the Helper

1. Adding Rows At least one row is needed for the helper to generate a console table.

   table.addRow(string, null|array, null|string);

   1. Parameter: firstColumn
      • type: string The first column is seperated, becaue it could be some heading column.
   2. Parameter: columns
      • type: array or null An array of additional columns
   3. Parameter: description
      • type: string or null The last column as description. This is useful for command lists.

   Adding empty lines Empty Lines can be added as a seperator by using.

   table.addLine();
       

   Adding Seperators A string seperator can be added with a given length.

   table.addSeperator(string, integer|20);

   1. Parameter: char
      • type: string The character or string to be printed.
   2. Parameter: integer or 20
      • type: integer The number of times, how often the string or char will be printed.

2. Create the Table After adding some rows, the helper can generate the table as a pure string.

   let pureString = table.makeTable();

   It returns the table as a string.

3. Display / Using the Table The table can now be displayed in the console / terminal:

   table.displayTable();

   The raw string of the table can also be used:

   let pureTable = table.table;
   console.log(pureTable);

Example

Full demo This example demonstrated, how the helper generates a well formated table.

import CLITable from './lib/cli-table-helper';
let table = new CLITable(5);

console.log("Banking Account Manager");
table.addSeperator("-");
table.addRow("Command:", ["Parameters:"], "Description:");
table.addLine();
table.addRow("create", ["Name", "Amount"], "Creates a new Bank Account.");
table.addRow("delete", ["Name"], "Deletes the Bank Account by Name.");
table.addLine();
table.addRow("deposit", ["Amount"], "Deposit the Amount.");
table.addRow("withdraw", ["Amount"], "Withdraw the Amount off the Bank Account.");
table.addSeperator("-");
table.makeTable();
table.displayTable();

Output:

Banking Account Manager
--------------------
Command:     Parameters:                Description:

create       Name            Amount     Creates a new Bank Account.
delete       Name                       Deletes the Bank Account by Name.

deposit      Amount                     Deposit the Amount.
withdraw     Amount                     Withdraw the Amount off the Bank Account.
--------------------

Vertical Spans

import CLITable from './lib/cli-table-helper';
let table = new CLITable({left: 2, right: 2 ,sign: '|'});
//alternative:
//let table = new CLITable({both: 2 ,sign: '|'});

// Same as fulldemo. Look at the example above.

Output:

Banking Account Manager
--------------------
Command:  |  Parameters:  |          |  Description:

create    |  Name         |  Amount  |  Creates a new Bank Account.
delete    |  Name         |          |  Deletes the Bank Account by Name.

deposit   |  Amount       |          |  Deposit the Amount.
withdraw  |  Amount       |          |  Withdraw the Amount off the Bank Account.
--------------------

License

This helper is released under the MIT license.