I found this module when I was looking for a solution to easily and intelligently format some data in text-based tables in an e-mail message. After a lot of wrestling, I'm here to report that Data::ShowTable was not a good choice for this. Here's why:

• First, It should have a clue that the module hasn't been updated since August, 1997.
• I noticed that several standard column types weren't supported that appeared to fit in with author's intended support of SQL character types in this capacity. The author's email address bounced when I sent a suggestion to update this area.
• The interface is at least partly broken. I was trying to use a syntax that was documented as valid, but was getting "not a CODE ref" errors, even though I wasn't using CODE refs. I switched to an equivalent syntax and it worked.
• My most substantial complaint against the module is that it insists on printing the results to STDOUT. In an era where using templates is common, this seems archiac to me. I hacked up support this to get my project done. A patch for this is here.

Since then, I've learned about a module named Text::FormatTable. If I need to address the same problem space instead, I'll try this module instead.

To it's credit Data::ShowTable seems well written and has some decent features. However, after my various annoyances with it, I've come to feel it's no longer being developed by anyone because there is a better solution out there.

---

---

Posts are HTML formatted. Put <p> </p> tags around your paragraphs. Put <code> </code> tags around your code and data!

Titles consisting of a single word are discouraged, and in most cases are disallowed outright.

Read Where should I post X? if you're not absolutely sure you're posting in the right place.

Please read these before you post! —

• How do I compose an effective node title?
• How do I post a question effectively?
• Markup in the Monastery

Posts may use any of the Perl Monks Approved HTML tags:

a, abbr, b, big, blockquote, br, caption, center, col, colgroup, dd, del, details, div, dl, dt, em, font, h1, h2, h3, h4, h5, h6, hr, i, ins, li, ol, p, pre, readmore, small, span, spoiler, strike, strong, sub, summary, sup, table, tbody, td, tfoot, th, thead, tr, tt, u, ul, wbr

You may need to use entities for some characters, as follows. (Exception: Within code tags, you can put the characters literally.)

	For:		Use:
	&		&
	<		&lt;
	>		&gt;
	[		&#91;
	]		&#93;

Link using PerlMonks shortcuts! What shortcuts can I use for linking?

See Writeup Formatting Tips and other pages linked from there for more info.