Module:AutosortTable/doc

Usage

This module helps create data tables in an automatically sorted order. As of this writing it is used primarily for the generation of the huge, dynamic tables at List of Wikipedias. For the Wikipedia editions table, the module is invoked directly to create the framework for the table, followed by content for the rows within the module's invocation. For the Details of Wikipedia editions table, the module is invoked directly to create the framework for the table while other templates (e.g., {{WP7}}, {{WP7a}}) generate content for the individual rows, also within the module's invocation. The templates {{WP7}}, {{WP7a}}, {{WP7b}} and {{WP7c}} are intended to be called as arguments within the module's invocation, as they do not produce regular wikitable (or any standard table) code themselves.

The module's arguments are:

{{#invoke:AutosortTable|create |class= |style= |separator= |order= |numeric= |descending= |hidden= |rowheader= |caption= |header= |footer= |colstyle= }}

Module arguments

Argument	Example	Notes
function	create	The argument create is the only function of this module, and is required.
class	class = wikitable	Class for the entire table. Table can be made user-sortable by including the class "sortable", but does not need to be.
style	style = width: 50%;	CSS for the entire table
separator	separator = --	Separator string used to separate cells in the data definition. The pipe (|) is an invalid separator for this module.
order	order = 3, 2	Order for auto-sorting preference, takes a comma-separated list of column numbers. In the example here, the table will be sorted by column 3 first, then by column 2.
numeric	numeric = 2	Columns which use numeric sorting when auto-sorted. Takes comma-separated list of column numbers.
descending	descending = 3	Columns for which the auto-sort order should be descending (otherwise, ascending is used). Takes comma-separated list of column numbers. Here, only the third column will be auto-sorted in descending order (e.g., Zebra, Walrus, Muskrat, Emu, etc., or 12, 9, 6, 4).
hidden	hidden = 2	Columns which are not to be displayed (even though they may be used for row-sorting purposes). Takes comma-separated list of column numbers. Here, the second column will not be shown.
rowheader	rowheader = 1	Cell(s) in each non-header row to be emitted as row header, per MOS:ACCESS. Usually 1, and only 1, but accepts comma-separated list of column numbers. Causes !scope="row" to be used in the HTML for the cells specified.
caption	caption = Notable people by age	Caption to be used for the table, per MOS:ACCESS
header	header = -- Name -- Age	These are the column headings. In this example there are two columns with headings, the first is "Name", the second, "Age". Note the separators (--) which match the separator value above.
footer	footer =-- Country -- Population -- Density	Table footer, typically a duplication of header (see header argument above). Here, the first three columns have the footer labels shown.
colstyle	colstyle = -- text-align:left; -- text-align:right; -- -- --	Adds the specified CSS styling to entire columns. Here, the first column will be left-aligned, the second column will be right-aligned, and the next three columns (with no CSS specified) will use the default styling. Note the separators (--) which match the separator value above.

Styling tricks

While there appear to be no ways to style an individual cell when using this module, styling particular rows, columns, or the entire table can be done using CSS.

Styling the table

The style argument allows the entire table to use a default styling. For example, |style=width:70%; text-align:center; would constrain the table width to 70% of the available window, and center the text (not including column and row headers) by default. When using multiple properties, the semicolon is necessary to separate them. Do not use the quotation marks ordinarily required in CSS or wikitable markup (as in "|style=width:70%; text-align:center;"), as it causes the CSS to be disregarded. A reminder: use CSS to constrain tables sparingly, as reduced font-size or unexpected table widths may cause accessibility problems or irritate readers.

Styling a row

An individual row can be styled separately by including CSS prior to the first data cell. Consider this example table:

<code>
{{#invoke: AutosortTable| create | class = wikitable plainrowheaders sortable | separator = -- | order = 2 | numeric =2  | descending = 2 | caption=Old friends | rowheader = 1
| header =  -- Name -- Age -- Diet                  <!-- Table header -->
| -- Maria -- 36 -- Vegan                           <!-- Row 1 -->
| -- Peter -- 35 -- Vegetarian                      <!-- Row 2 -->
| -- Julia -- 35 -- Meat                            <!-- Row 3 -->
| -- James -- 50 -- Vegan                           <!-- Row 4 -->
| background-color: #FFDDDD -- Henry -- 45 -- Meat  <!-- Row 5, with CSS -->
| -- Ireni -- 47 -- Fish, no meat                   <!-- Row 6 -->
| colstyle = -- text-align:left; -- text-align:right; -- -- --
}}
</code>

Old friends

Name	Age	Diet
James	50	Vegan
Ireni	47	Fish, no meat
Henry	45	Meat
Maria	36	Vegan
Peter	35	Vegetarian
Julia	35	Meat

The row for "Henry" gets a pink color (#FFDDDD), while the row header appropriately retains the gray formatting wikitables use for headers.

Styling a column

An individual column can be styled separately by using CSS in the colstyle argument. In the Old friends example just above, the alignment has been set to text-align:left; and text-align:right;, respectively. Consider this similar table:

<code>
{{#invoke: AutosortTable| create | class = wikitable plainrowheaders sortable | separator = -- | order = 2 | numeric =2  | descending = 2 | caption=Old friends again | rowheader = 1
| header =  -- Name -- Age -- Diet  <!-- Table header -->
| -- Maria -- 36 -- Vegan           <!-- Row 1 -->
| -- Peter -- 35 -- Vegetarian      <!-- Row 2 -->
| -- Julia -- 35 -- Meat            <!-- Row 3 -->
| -- James -- 50 -- Vegan           <!-- Row 4 -->
| -- Henry -- 45 -- Meat            <!-- Row 5 -->
| -- Ireni -- 47 -- Fish, no meat   <!-- Row 6 -->
| colstyle = -- -- font-weight:bold; color:brown -- background-color:yellow
}}
</code>

Old friends again

Name	Age	Diet
James	50	Vegan
Ireni	47	Fish, no meat
Henry	45	Meat
Maria	36	Vegan
Peter	35	Vegetarian
Julia	35	Meat

The "Age" column entries are now in bolded brown and no longer left-aligned as in the previous example. The "Diet" column here has the specified yellow background.

Sample tables

"Wikipedia editions" example

Here is an abbreviated version of the Wikipedia editions table at List of Wikipedias. It is a manually sortable wikitable which uses the class "plainrowheaders" (no bold, not centered) for row headers (specified here as only column 1). It is auto-sorted by the fifth column ("Active user base"), which is a numeric field and should be auto-sorted in descending order (highest at the top). The content of each row in the table is entered as a separate argument (starting with a pipe [|] symbol) and includes text, wikilinks, and image file links. Please view the wikicode to see the details.

Wikipedia editions

Wikipedia name	Language	Script	WP code	Active user base (10n)	Logo
English Wikipedia	English	Latn	en	5
Wikipedia in italiano	Italian	Latn	it	3
Kuanyama Wikipedia (closed)	Kuanyama	Latn	kj (closed)	0

"Details of Wikipedia editions" example

Here is an abbreviated version of the Details of Wikipedia editions table at List of Wikipedias. This table uses templates (using this module) to produce the individual rows for the table which this module will generate.

Like the above example, this is a manually sortable wikitable which uses the class "plainrowheaders" (no bold, not centered) for row headers (specified here as only column 1). However, this table is auto-sorted by the second column (based on number of articles) which is hidden (although the same values are used again — and shown — in column 5 as "Articles"), and which is a numeric field and should be used for auto-sorting in descending order (highest at the top). The content of each row in the table is generated by one of the WPn templates and the call to each template is entered as a separate argument (starting with a pipe [|] symbol).

This table has some special alignment requirements, as it contains several columns containing large numbers, so the colstyle argument is used extensively. Please view the wikicode to see the details.