This is a versatile and user-friendly C# (.NET 8 and .NET 10) table library that can quickly render any List<T> or Dictionary<TV, T> into a visually appealing markdown, CSV, HTML, SpecFlow, SQL-insert, or console table format, while providing flexibility for other formats as well. In addition, it also supports dynamic returns from Dapper as IEnumerable<IDictionary<string, object>> via DbTable object. Whether you need to format data for documentation, testing, or display purposes, this library makes it easy to do so in a variety of formats, with just a few lines of code.
via nuget package -> https://www.nuget.org/packages/table.lib/
dotnet add package table.lib --version 1.20.0dotnet restore table.sln --configfile NuGet.Config
dotnet test table.sln --configuration Release
dotnet pack table.lib/table.lib.csproj --configuration Release --output artifacts/package
dotnet nuget push artifacts/package/table.lib.1.20.0.nupkg --api-key <NUGET_API_KEY> --source https://api.nuget.org/v3/index.jsonThe SQL Server integration tests in table.lib.integrationtests are opt-in. Set TABLE_LIB_SQL_PRODUCTS_CONNECTION and TABLE_LIB_SQL_USERS_CONNECTION when you want to run them against a local database.
Use the TextWriter APIs for large tables so the complete output does not need to be held in memory:
var table = Table<TestClass>.Add(list);
await using var stream = File.CreateText("output.csv");
table.WriteCsv(stream);WriteCsv, WriteMarkdown, WriteHtml, WriteSpecFlow, and WriteSqlInsert are available on Table<T>. TableDic<TV, T> supports CSV, Markdown, and HTML writers, while DbTable supports SpecFlow and SQL writers. The existing string and file APIs remain available.
Release 1.20.0 caches compiled property accessors, avoids exception-driven collection traversal, and writes rendering output incrementally. Benchmarks cover 10, 1,000, and 10,000 rows on both supported target frameworks.
In the local .NET 10 BenchmarkDotNet comparison, rendering a 1,000-row Table<T> to CSV improved from 1,515 us and 2,451 KB allocated in 1.19.0 to 963 us and 885 KB allocated in 1.20.0 (about 36% faster with 64% less managed allocation). Results vary by hardware and runtime configuration.
dotnet run --project table.lib.benchmarks/table.lib.benchmarks.csproj --configuration Release --framework net10.0 -- --filter "*Csv*"
dotnet run --project table.lib.benchmarks/table.lib.benchmarks.csproj --configuration Release --framework net10.0 -p:UseBaseline=true -- --filter "*Csv*"To make it easier to share, table.lib outputs the console output as markdown friendly. Note that there is a specific markdown output so the text justification can happen as per markdown specification.
Table<TestClass>.Add(list).ToConsole();| Field1 | Field2 | Field3 | Field4 | Field5 | Field6 |
| ------ | -------------------- | ------------- | ------ | ----------- | ------ |
| 321121 | Hi 312321 | 2,121.32 | True | 01-Jan-1970 | 34.43 |
| 32321 | Hi long text | 21,111,111.32 | True | 01-Jan-1970 | 34.43 |
| 321 | Hi longer text | 2,121.32 | True | 01-Jan-1970 | 34.43 |
| 13 | Hi very long text | 21,111,121.32 | True | 01-Jan-1970 | 34.43 |
| 13 | Hi very, long text | 21,111,121.32 | True | 01-Jan-1970 | 34.43 |
| 13 | Hi "very" long text | 21,111,121.32 | True | 01-Jan-1970 | 34.43 || Field1 | Field2 | Field3 | Field4 | Field5 | Field6 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 321121 | Hi 312321 | 2,121.32 | True | 01-Jan-1970 | 34.43 |
| 32321 | Hi long text | 21,111,111.32 | True | 01-Jan-1970 | 34.43 |
| 321 | Hi longer text | 2,121.32 | True | 01-Jan-1970 | 34.43 |
| 13 | Hi very long text | 21,111,121.32 | True | 01-Jan-1970 | 34.43 |
| 13 | Hi very, long text | 21,111,121.32 | True | 01-Jan-1970 | 34.43 |
| 13 | Hi "very" long text | 21,111,121.32 | True | 01-Jan-1970 | 34.43 |
Considerations:
- Any
CRLFwill be automatically transformed into a space
If the List contains another collection of , the library is able to scan those and build the resultant dataset giving them a column name called DynamicN:
var test = new List<IEnumerable<string>>
{
new List<string>() {"AAA", "BBB", "CCC"},
new List<string>() {"AAA", "BBB", "CCC"},
new List<string>() {"AAA", "BBB", "CCC"},
new List<string>() {"AAA", "BBB", "CCC"}
};
Table<IEnumerable<string>>.Add(test).ToConsole();| Capacity | Count | Dynamic0 | Dynamic1 | Dynamic2 |
| -------- | ----- | -------- | -------- | -------- |
| 4 | 3 | AAA | BBB | CCC |
| 4 | 3 | AAA | BBB | CCC |
| 4 | 3 | AAA | BBB | CCC |
| 4 | 3 | AAA | BBB | CCC || Capacity | Count | Dynamic0 | Dynamic1 | Dynamic2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 3 | AAA | BBB | CCC |
| 4 | 3 | AAA | BBB | CCC |
| 4 | 3 | AAA | BBB | CCC |
| 4 | 3 | AAA | BBB | CCC |
If the name of the column is not of your liking, you can change it via OverrideColumnsNames and provide your preferred name. Note that this will also alter the column width to allow for more room if the new name is larger than the previous one.
Table<IEnumerable<string>>.Add(test)
.OverrideColumnsNames(new Dictionary<string, string> {{"Dynamic0","ColumnA"}})
.ToConsole();| Capacity | Count | ColumnA | Dynamic1 | Dynamic2 |
| -------- | ----- | -------- | -------- | -------- |
| 4 | 3 | AAA | BBB | CCC |
| 4 | 3 | AAA | BBB | CCC |
| 4 | 3 | AAA | BBB | CCC |
| 4 | 3 | AAA | BBB | CCC |
| Capacity | Count | ColumnA | Dynamic1 | Dynamic2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 3 | AAA | BBB | CCC |
| 4 | 3 | AAA | BBB | CCC |
| 4 | 3 | AAA | BBB | CCC |
| 4 | 3 | AAA | BBB | CCC |
You don't want to show all the columns? Easy, just use the FilterColumns property and define the action to perform FilterAction.Include or FilterAction.Exclude:
By default it will use the FilterAction.Exclude functionality:
Table<IEnumerable<string>>.Add(test)
.OverrideColumnsNames(new Dictionary<string, string> { { "Dynamic0", "ColumnA" } })
.FilterColumns(new []{ "Capacity", "Count" })
.ToConsole();| ColumnA | Dynamic1 | Dynamic2 |
| -------- | -------- | -------- |
| AAA | BBB | CCC |
| AAA | BBB | CCC |
| AAA | BBB | CCC |
| AAA | BBB | CCC || ColumnA | Dynamic1 | Dynamic2 |
|---|---|---|
| AAA | BBB | CCC |
| AAA | BBB | CCC |
| AAA | BBB | CCC |
| AAA | BBB | CCC |
Table<IEnumerable<string>>.Add(test)
.OverrideColumnsNames(new Dictionary<string, string> { { "Dynamic0", "ColumnA" } })
.FilterColumns(new []{ "Dynamic0" }, FilterActions.Include)
.ToConsole();| Dynamic0 |
| -------- |
| AAA |
| AAA |
| AAA |
| AAA |With a simple operation, we can now highlight the entire content of the table using the code below:
Table<IEnumerable<string>>.Add(GetStringMatrix())
.FilterColumns(new[] { "Dynamic0", "Dynamic1" }, FilterAction.Include)
.HighlightRows(ConsoleColor.Red, ConsoleColor.White)
.ToConsole();**Note that this option will highlight all the rows
You need more control over the field you want to highlight? then use the highlight operator:
Table<TestClass>.Add(GetSampleOutput())
.HighlightValue(new HighlightOperator
{Field = "Field3", Type = HighlightType.Decimal, DecimalValue = 2121.32m})
.ToConsole();**Note that this option will highlight one specific cell and it will use two colors, one for = and one for <>
You need one of the columns, right aligned or centered? Use the column justification option.
Table<IEnumerable<string>>.Add(test)
.OverrideColumnsNames(new Dictionary<string, string>
{
{ "Dynamic0", "A" },
{ "Dynamic1", "B" },
{ "Dynamic2", "C" }
})
.FilterOutColumns(new[] { "Capacity", "Count" })
.ColumnContentTextJustification(new Dictionary<string, TextJustification>
{
{ "Dynamic0", TextJustification.Right },
{ "Dynamic1", TextJustification.Centered }
})
.ToConsole();Note that this will only affect markdown, console and html outputs and only their data. Columns labels will remain left aligned.
| A | B | C |
| -------- | -------- | -------- |
| AAA | BBB | CCC |
| AAA | BBB | CCC |
| AAA | BBB | CCC |
| AAA | BBB | CCC || ColumnA | Dynamic1 | Dynamic2 |
|---|---|---|
| AAA | BBB | CCC |
| AAA | BBB | CCC |
| AAA | BBB | CCC |
| AAA | BBB | CCC |
Transform your output into a nicely formatted HTML table
Table<IEnumerable<string>>.Add(test)
.OverrideColumnsNames(new Dictionary<string, string> { { "Dynamic0", "ColumnA" } })
.FilterColumns(new []{ "Capacity", "Count" })
.ToHtml(@"C:\temp\test.html");
Table<TestClass>.Add(list)
.ToHtml(@"C:\temp\test-list.html");Sample generated code:
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%;">
<tr>
<th style="text-align: center; background-color: #052a3d; color: white;padding: 4px;border: 1px solid #dddddd; font-family:monospace; font-size: 14px;">Field1</th>
<th style="text-align: center; background-color: #052a3d; color: white;padding: 4px;border: 1px solid #dddddd; font-family:monospace; font-size: 14px;">Field2</th>
<th style="text-align: center; background-color: #052a3d; color: white;padding: 4px;border: 1px solid #dddddd; font-family:monospace; font-size: 14px;">Field3</th>
<th style="text-align: center; background-color: #052a3d; color: white;padding: 4px;border: 1px solid #dddddd; font-family:monospace; font-size: 14px;">Field4</th>
<th style="text-align: center; background-color: #052a3d; color: white;padding: 4px;border: 1px solid #dddddd; font-family:monospace; font-size: 14px;">Field5</th>
<th style="text-align: center; background-color: #052a3d; color: white;padding: 4px;border: 1px solid #dddddd; font-family:monospace; font-size: 14px;">Field6</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: right; color: black; background-color: white;padding: 4px;border: 1px solid #dddddd; font-family:monospace; font-size: 14px;">321121</td>
<td style="text-align: right; color: black; background-color: white;padding: 4px;border: 1px solid #dddddd; font-family:monospace; font-size: 14px;">Hi 312321</td>
<td style="text-align: right; color: black; background-color: white;padding: 4px;border: 1px solid #dddddd; font-family:monospace; font-size: 14px;">2,121.32</td>
<td style="text-align: right; color: black; background-color: white;padding: 4px;border: 1px solid #dddddd; font-family:monospace; font-size: 14px;">True</td>
<td style="text-align: right; color: black; background-color: white;padding: 4px;border: 1px solid #dddddd; font-family:monospace; font-size: 14px;">01-Jan-1970</td>
<td style="text-align: right; color: black; background-color: white;padding: 4px;border: 1px solid #dddddd; font-family:monospace; font-size: 14px;">34.43</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: right; color: black; background-color: #f2f2f2;padding: 4px;border: 1px solid #dddddd; font-family:monospace; font-size: 14px;">32321</td>
<td style="text-align: right; color: black; background-color: #f2f2f2;padding: 4px;border: 1px solid #dddddd; font-family:monospace; font-size: 14px;">Hi long text</td>
<td style="text-align: right; color: black; background-color: #f2f2f2;padding: 4px;border: 1px solid #dddddd; font-family:monospace; font-size: 14px;">21,111,111.32</td>
<td style="text-align: right; color: black; background-color: #f2f2f2;padding: 4px;border: 1px solid #dddddd; font-family:monospace; font-size: 14px;">True</td>
<td style="text-align: right; color: black; background-color: #f2f2f2;padding: 4px;border: 1px solid #dddddd; font-family:monospace; font-size: 14px;">01-Jan-1970</td>
<td style="text-align: right; color: black; background-color: #f2f2f2;padding: 4px;border: 1px solid #dddddd; font-family:monospace; font-size: 14px;">34.43</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: right; color: black; background-color: white;padding: 4px;border: 1px solid #dddddd; font-family:monospace; font-size: 14px;">321</td>
<td style="text-align: right; color: black; background-color: white;padding: 4px;border: 1px solid #dddddd; font-family:monospace; font-size: 14px;">Hi longer text</td>
<td style="text-align: right; color: black; background-color: white;padding: 4px;border: 1px solid #dddddd; font-family:monospace; font-size: 14px;">2,121.32</td>
<td style="text-align: right; color: black; background-color: white;padding: 4px;border: 1px solid #dddddd; font-family:monospace; font-size: 14px;">True</td>
<td style="text-align: right; color: black; background-color: white;padding: 4px;border: 1px solid #dddddd; font-family:monospace; font-size: 14px;">01-Jan-1970</td>
<td style="text-align: right; color: black; background-color: white;padding: 4px;border: 1px solid #dddddd; font-family:monospace; font-size: 14px;">34.43</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: right; color: black; background-color: #f2f2f2;padding: 4px;border: 1px solid #dddddd; font-family:monospace; font-size: 14px;">13</td>
<td style="text-align: right; color: black; background-color: #f2f2f2;padding: 4px;border: 1px solid #dddddd; font-family:monospace; font-size: 14px;">Hi very long text</td>
<td style="text-align: right; color: black; background-color: #f2f2f2;padding: 4px;border: 1px solid #dddddd; font-family:monospace; font-size: 14px;">21,111,121.32</td>
<td style="text-align: right; color: black; background-color: #f2f2f2;padding: 4px;border: 1px solid #dddddd; font-family:monospace; font-size: 14px;">True</td>
<td style="text-align: right; color: black; background-color: #f2f2f2;padding: 4px;border: 1px solid #dddddd; font-family:monospace; font-size: 14px;">01-Jan-1970</td>
<td style="text-align: right; color: black; background-color: #f2f2f2;padding: 4px;border: 1px solid #dddddd; font-family:monospace; font-size: 14px;">34.43</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: right; color: black; background-color: white;padding: 4px;border: 1px solid #dddddd; font-family:monospace; font-size: 14px;">13</td>
<td style="text-align: right; color: black; background-color: white;padding: 4px;border: 1px solid #dddddd; font-family:monospace; font-size: 14px;">Hi very, long text</td>
<td style="text-align: right; color: black; background-color: white;padding: 4px;border: 1px solid #dddddd; font-family:monospace; font-size: 14px;">21,111,121.32</td>
<td style="text-align: right; color: black; background-color: white;padding: 4px;border: 1px solid #dddddd; font-family:monospace; font-size: 14px;">True</td>
<td style="text-align: right; color: black; background-color: white;padding: 4px;border: 1px solid #dddddd; font-family:monospace; font-size: 14px;">01-Jan-1970</td>
<td style="text-align: right; color: black; background-color: white;padding: 4px;border: 1px solid #dddddd; font-family:monospace; font-size: 14px;">34.43</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: right; color: black; background-color: #f2f2f2;padding: 4px;border: 1px solid #dddddd; font-family:monospace; font-size: 14px;">13</td>
<td style="text-align: right; color: black; background-color: #f2f2f2;padding: 4px;border: 1px solid #dddddd; font-family:monospace; font-size: 14px;">Hi "very" long<br> text</td>
<td style="text-align: right; color: black; background-color: #f2f2f2;padding: 4px;border: 1px solid #dddddd; font-family:monospace; font-size: 14px;">21,111,121.32</td>
<td style="text-align: right; color: black; background-color: #f2f2f2;padding: 4px;border: 1px solid #dddddd; font-family:monospace; font-size: 14px;">True</td>
<td style="text-align: right; color: black; background-color: #f2f2f2;padding: 4px;border: 1px solid #dddddd; font-family:monospace; font-size: 14px;">01-Jan-1970</td>
<td style="text-align: right; color: black; background-color: #f2f2f2;padding: 4px;border: 1px solid #dddddd; font-family:monospace; font-size: 14px;">34.43</td>
</tr>
</table>Sample output:
| Field1 | Field2 | Field3 | Field4 | Field5 | Field6 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 321121 | Hi 312321 | 2,121.32 | True | 01-Jan-1970 | 34.43 |
| 32321 | Hi long text | 21,111,111.32 | True | 01-Jan-1970 | 34.43 |
| 321 | Hi longer text | 2,121.32 | True | 01-Jan-1970 | 34.43 |
| 13 | Hi very long text | 21,111,121.32 | True | 01-Jan-1970 | 34.43 |
| 13 | Hi very, long text | 21,111,121.32 | True | 01-Jan-1970 | 34.43 |
| 13 | Hi "very" long text |
21,111,121.32 | True | 01-Jan-1970 | 34.43 |
Real HTML output:
Trasform your output into a nicely formatted CSV file
Table<TestClass>.Add(list)
.ToCsv(@"C:\temp\test-list.csv");The format of the file can be seen here:
Field1,Field2,Field3,Field4,Field5,Field6
321121,Hi 312321,"2,121.32",True,01-Jan-1970,34.43
32321,Hi long text,"21,111,111.32",True,01-Jan-1970,34.43
321,Hi longer text,"2,121.32",True,01-Jan-1970,34.43
13,Hi very long text,"21,111,121.32",True,01-Jan-1970,34.43
13,"Hi very, long text","21,111,121.32",True,01-Jan-1970,34.43
13,"Hi ""very"" long
text","21,111,121.32",True,01-Jan-1970,34.43Note that we use the CSV standard when processing CRLF, " or , characters surrouding the value with double quotes.
Do you deal a lot with SpecFlow tests and want to have something that will generate the output nicely from Dapper? Here it's a simple output:
var s = Table<TestClass>.Add(GetSampleOutput()).ToSpecFlowString();
Console.Write(s);and it becomes:
| Id | SenderId | SenderUsername | RecipientId | RecipientUsername | Content | DateRead | MessageSent | SenderDeleted | RecipientDeleted |
| 1 | 5 | lilly | 8 | ruiz | hi | | 08/02/2021 10:07:07 | False | False |
| 2 | 5 | lilly | 8 | ruiz | hello | | 21/02/2021 20:40:08 | False | False | Do you want to render the table somewhere else? Then just use the ToString method and bring the table anywhere with you. This will only produce the console output and return it as string.
This format will allow you to output a sql string from a specific object like below:
var s = Table<TestClass>.Add(Samples.GetSampleOutput()).ToSqlInsertString();
var lines = s.Split(Environment.NewLine);
Assert.Multiple(() =>
{
Assert.That(lines[0], Is.EqualTo("INSERT INTO TestClass (Field1,Field2,Field3,Field4,Field5,Field6) VALUES (321121,'Hi 312321',2121.32,1,'1970-01-01',34.43);"));
Assert.That(lines[1], Is.EqualTo("INSERT INTO TestClass (Field1,Field2,Field3,Field4,Field5,Field6) VALUES (32321,'Hi long text',21111111.32,1,'1970-01-01',34.43);"));
Assert.That(lines[2], Is.EqualTo("INSERT INTO TestClass (Field1,Field2,Field3,Field4,Field5,Field6) VALUES (321,'Hi longer text',2121.32,1,'1970-01-01',34.43);"));
Assert.That(lines[3], Is.EqualTo("INSERT INTO TestClass (Field1,Field2,Field3,Field4,Field5,Field6) VALUES (13,'Hi very long text',21111121.32,1,'1970-01-01',34.43);"));
});- Simple dictionaries
Dictionary<int, string>will not work. The second argument needs to be a class.
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