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texer

Generate LaTeX tables and figures (PGFPlots) with Python using a glom-style spec system.

What is texer?

texer is a Python library that makes it easy to generate LaTeX tables and PGFPlots programmatically. Instead of writing string templates or manually building LaTeX code, you:

  1. Define the structure of your table or plot using Python classes
  2. Create specs that describe where data comes from
  3. Provide your data as plain Python dicts/lists

texer then evaluates the specs against your data to produce valid LaTeX.

Structure + Specs + Data → LaTeX

Quick Example

from texer import Table, Tabular, Row, Ref, Iter, Format, evaluate

# Define structure with specs
table = Table(
    Tabular(
        columns="lcc",
        header=Row("Experiment", "Result", "Error"),
        rows=Iter(
            Ref("experiments"),
            template=Row(
                Ref("name"),
                Format(Ref("result"), ".3f"),
                Format(Ref("error"), ".1%"),
            )
        ),
        toprule=True,
        bottomrule=True,
    ),
    caption=Ref("table_title"),
    label="tab:results",
)

# Provide data
data = {
    "table_title": "Experimental Results",
    "experiments": [
        {"name": "Trial A", "result": 3.14159, "error": 0.023},
        {"name": "Trial B", "result": 2.71828, "error": 0.015},
    ]
}

print(evaluate(table, data))

from texer import PGFPlot, Axis, AddPlot, Coordinates, Ref, Iter, evaluate

plot = PGFPlot(
    Axis(
        xlabel=Ref("x_label"),
        ylabel=Ref("y_label"),
        title=Ref("title"),
        grid=True,
        plots=[
            AddPlot(
                color="blue",
                mark="*",
                coords=Coordinates(
                    Iter(Ref("measurements"), x=Ref("time"), y=Ref("value"))
                ),
            )
        ],
        legend=[Ref("series_name")],
    )
)

data = {
    "title": "Temperature Over Time",
    "x_label": "Time (hours)",
    "y_label": "Temperature (°C)",
    "series_name": "Sensor 1",
    "measurements": [
        {"time": 0, "value": 20.5},
        {"time": 1, "value": 22.3},
        {"time": 2, "value": 25.1},
    ]
}

print(evaluate(plot, data))

Features

  • Data-driven: Separate structure from data for maximum flexibility
  • Type-safe: Full type hints and mypy support
  • Glom-style specs: Familiar pattern for data extraction and transformation
  • LaTeX best practices: Automatic escaping, booktabs-style tables, proper PGFPlots formatting
  • NumPy integration: Direct support for NumPy arrays in plots
  • Compile to PDF: Built-in support for compiling directly to PDF

Next Steps