TABLE feature wishes

TABLE feature wishes

[Eckhart Guthöhrlein]

Hi again,

as dicussed some time ago, here comes the reminder of what context lacks
concerning table typesetting. I will concentrate on \bTABLE .. \eTABLE,
since it is much more powerful than the older ones (and I do not know
much about linetables).
In order to be able to typeset tables with satisfactory results, I
personally need at least the following missing features:

- Control over horizontal cell spacing and vertical row spacing,
	independently of each other.
	
	This can not be done currently, since the rulethickness parameter
	affects all frames of a cell.


- Better support for horizontal rules, without affecting the actual
	cells.
	
	I would like to say e.g. \HL between rows to get a line. A command to
	span just a selection of columns is also necessary.
	Although I have tricked TABLE into doing what I want with dummy rows
	and metapost graphics, this is not a very nice solution.
	Concerning rules, I would suggest further options like trimming, but
	maybe this can be postponed to prevent this message from becoming too
	lengthy.
	For those interested, my ideal table in this respect is what the latex
	booktabs package provides:
	ftp://ftp.dante.de/pub/tex/macros/latex/contrib/booktabs/booktabs.pdf.

In addition, it would be highly desirable to have the possibility
- to insert material before and after the entry of a cell, eg have
	\bTD[before=(,after=)]x\eTD typeset (x).
- to have hooks which do something with entries, eg
	\bTD[hook=\framed]x\eTD gives a framed x.

How are the chances that the above will be supported by context in the
near future, or ever?

Greetings,
-- 
Eckhart