Tables

Tables in LaTeX can be tricky at first. The basic environment is tabular.

Basic Table Structure

\begin{tabular}{c c c}
  A & B & C \\
  1 & 2 & 3 \\
  4 & 5 & 6 \\
\end{tabular}

• {c c c}: Defines three columns, all centered.
• l: Left-aligned column.
• r: Right-aligned column.
• c: Center-aligned column.

• |: Vertical line separator (e.g., {l|c|r}).

• &: Separates cells in a row.

• \\: Ends a row.
• \hline: Draws a horizontal line across the table.

Example with Lines

\begin{tabular}{|l|c|r|}
  \hline
  \textbf{Item} & \textbf{Qty} & \textbf{Price} \\
  \hline
  Apples & 5 & \$1.00 \\
  Oranges & 10 & \$2.00 \\
  \hline
\end{tabular}

Floating Tables (table Environment)

To make a table "float" (LaTeX decides the best position) and add a caption, wrap tabular in table.

\begin{table}[h]
    \centering
    \begin{tabular}{l c r}
        \hline
        Task & Duration & Status \\
        \hline
        Design & 2w & Done \\
        Code & 4w & In Progress \\
        Test & 2w & Pending \\
        \hline
    \end{tabular}
    \caption{Project Timeline}
    \label{tab:project}
\end{table}

• [h]: Try to place the table here. (Options: here, top, bottom, page).
• \centering: Centers the table.
• \caption{...}: Adds a descriptive title.
• \label{...}: Use this to reference the table (Table \ref{tab:project}).

Professional Tables (booktabs)

For publication-quality tables, use the booktabs package (\usepackage{booktabs}). It provides better spacing and cleaner lines.

• \toprule: Top line (thick).
• \midrule: Middle line (thin).
• \bottomrule: Bottom line (thick).

\begin{table}[ht]
    \centering
    \begin{tabular}{@{}llr@{}} \toprule
        \multicolumn{2}{c}{Item} \\ \cmidrule(r){1-2}
        Animal & Description & Price (\$)\\ \midrule
        Gnat  & per gram & 13.65 \\
        & each     & 0.01 \\
        Gnu   & stuffed  & 92.50 \\
        Emu   & stuffed  & 33.33 \\
        Armadillo & frozen & 8.99 \\ \bottomrule
    \end{tabular}
    \caption{A nice table with booktabs}
\end{table}