“Just” print a Markdown table

[kellertuer]

Bug description

I have some table data in Jluia that I want to format a bit and “just” want to print that in markdown - plain markdown so it can get rendered later. I only manage to get the Markdown table when I put the output to code but then I also only get a code cell with the markdown code of the table not the table itself

Steps to reproduce

Use the JuliaNotebookRunnger (engine: julia) on the following .qmd where your Julia environment should at least have the two packages used installed

```{julia}
using Pkg;
cd(@__DIR__)
Pkg.activate(".");
Pkg.status() # just to illustrate package versions below
```
```{julia}
#| output: false
using PrettyTables, DataFrames
df = DataFrame(:a => [1,2,3], :b => [4,5,6])
```
```{julia}
# printing into normal output/code I get a nice markdown table,
# but this does only render in code and not as a nice markdown table
pretty_table(df, backend = :markdown, column_labels = ["A", "B"])
```
```{julia}
#| output: asis
# This `output: asis` should do the same as above without the code env, but always and only prints [TABLE]
# instead. Why? and how to fix this?
pretty_table(df, backend = :markdown, column_labels = ["A", "B"])
```

Actual behavior

      [a93c6f00] DataFrames v1.8.0
      [08abe8d2] PrettyTables v3.1.0

``` julia
# printing into normal output/code I get a nice markdown table,
# but this does only render in code and not as a nice markdown table
pretty_table(df, backend = :markdown, column_labels = ["A", "B"])
```

    | **A** | **B** |
    |------:|------:|
    |     1 |     4 |
    |     2 |     5 |
    |     3 |     6 |

``` julia
# This `output: asis` should do the same as above without the code env, but always and only prints [TABLE]
# instead. Why? and how to fix this?
pretty_table(df, backend = :markdown, column_labels = ["A", "B"])
```

[TABLE]

Expected behavior

The last output should be the second to last output with 4 spaces less upfront so I have a Markdown table (not the code of a markdown table) in the result if I continue with the markdown (e.g. through Julia Docu,emter.jl) - or as in the example above the output should read

``` julia
# This `output: asis` should do the same as above without the code env, but always and only prints [TABLE]
# instead. Why? and how to fix this?
pretty_table(df, backend = :markdown, column_labels = ["A", "B"])
```
| **A** | **B** |
|------:|------:|
|     1 |     4 |
|     2 |     5 |
|     3 |     6 |

(or the last 5 lines here instead of [TABLE] above)

Your environment

• VS Code (but should not matter) or just terminal
• Mac OS 26
• quarto 1.8.25
• QuartoNotebookRunner.jl 0.17.4
• Julia 1.12

[kellertuer]

An interesting addon: If I capture the result in a string and print that

#| output: asis
table_str = pretty_table(String, df, backend = :markdown, column_labels = ["A", "B"])
println("""
$(table_str)
""")

that also produces [TABLE] even if I add multiple empty lines around or any characters after the table.
But as soon as I do e.g.

#| output: asis
table_str = pretty_table(String, df, backend = :markdown, column_labels = ["A", "B"])
println("""
x
$(table_str)
""")

I get the plain output

x
| **A** | **B** |
|——:|——:|
| 1 | 4 |
| 2 | 5 |
| 3 | 6 |

i.e. without indentation. Sadly also with the x which I do not want.
So something makes a recognisable pure markdown table unprintable?

And even text upfront but an empty line before makes the print again fall back to [TABLE]. So soooomething is very strange here. when even stuff within an arbitrary as-is result gets replaced by TABLE

[kellertuer]

Ah, I maybe forgot, this is in commonmark, in gfm both would print an HTML Table instead (!?)

[cscheid]

@kellertuer https://github.com/quarto-dev/quarto-cli/discussions is the right place to ask questions about the cli. I moved your post here. There's an issue selector at quarto-dev/quarto. Please use that appropriately in the future:

[kellertuer]

Sorry, I really consider that a bug, if arbitrary letters upfront a table, which turn it into a non-table make the table render and other ways do not render the table properly. That is where the bug-decision came from.

Or do you consider “Please print the markdown table” only returning “[TABLE]” expected behaviour?

[cscheid]

It's not expected behavior. But it's not crashing, and it's using a built-in printer. It's possible that there's a different solution that works, so at worst this is an enhancement, at best a question to the Julia folks. In those situations, Q&A first, then report.

[mcanouil]

@kellertuer Please provide a complete small self-contained example that can be used as is and not only snippets (code cells).
Also, be sure to check what your code actually emits using keep-md: true for example.

---

You can share a self-contained "working" (reproducible) Quarto document using the following syntax, i.e., using more backticks than you have in your document (usually four ````).
See https://quarto.org/bug-reports.html#small-is-beautiful-aim-for-a-single-document-with-10-lines.

If you have multiple files (and if it is absolutely required to have multiple files), please share as a Git repository.

R	Python
````qmd --- title: "Reproducible Quarto Document" format: html engine: knitr --- This is a reproducible Quarto document. {{< lipsum 1 >}} ```{r} x <- c(1, 2, 3, 4, 5) y <- c(1, 4, 9, 16, 25) plot(x, y) ``` {#fig-placeholder} {{< lipsum 1 >}} The end after @fig-placeholder. ````	````qmd --- title: "Reproducible Quarto Document" format: html engine: jupyter --- This is a reproducible Quarto document. {{< lipsum 1 >}} ```{python} import matplotlib.pyplot as plt x = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5] y = [1, 4, 9, 16, 25] plt.plot(x, y) plt.show() ``` {#fig-placeholder} {{< lipsum 1 >}} The end after @fig-placeholder. ````

Additionally and if not already given, please share the output of quarto check within a code block (i.e., using three backticks ```txt), see https://quarto.org/bug-reports.html#check.

[kellertuer]

Where would the keep-md: true have to go?

[mcanouil]

In the YAML header.

FWIW, I don't see any issues at all.

---
title: "Quarto Playground"
format: gfm
engine: julia
---

```{julia}
#| output: false
import Pkg
Pkg.add(["PrettyTables", "DataFrames"])
using PrettyTables, DataFrames
df = DataFrame(:a => [1,2,3], :b => [4,5,6])
```

```{julia}
# printing into normal output/code I get a nice markdown table,
# but this does only render in code and not as a nice markdown table
pretty_table(df, backend = :markdown, column_labels = ["A", "B"])
```

```{julia}
#| output: asis
# This `output: asis` should do the same as above without the code env, but always and only prints [TABLE]
# instead. Why? and how to fix this?
pretty_table(df, backend = :markdown, column_labels = ["A", "B"])
```

# Quarto Playground


``` julia
import Pkg
Pkg.add(["PrettyTables", "DataFrames"])
using PrettyTables, DataFrames
df = DataFrame(:a => [1,2,3], :b => [4,5,6])
```

``` julia
# printing into normal output/code I get a nice markdown table,
# but this does only render in code and not as a nice markdown table
pretty_table(df, backend = :markdown, column_labels = ["A", "B"])
```

    | **A** | **B** |
    |------:|------:|
    |     1 |     4 |
    |     2 |     5 |
    |     3 |     6 |

``` julia
# This `output: asis` should do the same as above without the code env, but always and only prints [TABLE]
# instead. Why? and how to fix this?
pretty_table(df, backend = :markdown, column_labels = ["A", "B"])
```

| **A** | **B** |
|------:|------:|
|     1 |     4 |
|     2 |     5 |
|     3 |     6 |

[cscheid]

https://quarto.org/docs/computations/execution-options.html#intermediates search for "keep-md"

[kellertuer]

For now I am not able to get a single-file version to run, because I can not find which Julia version and environment the quartonotebookrunner takes if nothing else is specified, hunting error messages for now.

[kellertuer]

hm and the try on a standalone to specify Julia only errors in it tries to use a 1.11.x which I no longer have? Sorry I am very lost by now. Maybe it is time to just leave this then, each step I try for now just introduces more errors, which is maybe a sign to just leave it be.

[kellertuer]

Now I am even more confused.

Even without the keep md, the standalone thing like

---
engine: julia
julia:
  exeflags: ["+1.12"]
format:
  commonmark:
    variant: -raw_html+tex_math_dollars
    wrap: preserve
---

```{julia}
#| output: false
using PrettyTables, DataFrames
df = DataFrame(:a => [1,2,3], :b => [4,5,6])
```

```{julia}
# printing into normal output/code I get a nice markdown table,
# but this does only render in code and not as a nice markdown table
pretty_table(df, backend = :markdown, column_labels = ["A", "B"])
```

(same folder needs a project.toml with those two packages added)

Then it works. But that is the same setup as for the start example. And on the start example I now spent several days trying to even narrowing that down. So I am out of ideas why the initial thing does not print a table.

[cscheid]

execute:
  freeze: auto

Is it possible that you're not actually re-rendering the document when you expect to. Do you need freeze: auto? Just to make sure: do you understand what it does?

[kellertuer]

By now I am very sure I understand nothing. That option is probably several years old when I was happy that anything started to work.

[kellertuer]

I tried all weekend to narrow down the MWE. Now I am trying to get an MWE that is standalone to reproduce my problem. I would not expect to have one in the following 3 weeks sadly then. I feel I am very very very very slow when it comes to quarto. Sorry for that.

[cscheid]

Sorry about that! Incidentally - this is why we strongly encourage people to work on project configurations that are as small as they can make them. It's the best way we know to make the issues clearer.

[kellertuer]

I have a project configuration. But if I should generate a standalone here, I have to get it to work without a project config?

[kellertuer]

Hm, maybe we should close this, because I am out of ideas. The MWE above adopted is

---
engine: julia
julia:
  exeflags: ["+1.12"]
execute:
  keep-md: true
format:
  commonmark:
    variant: -raw_html+tex_math_dollars
    wrap: preserve
---

```{julia}
#| output: false
using Pkg;
Pkg.activate(; temp=true)
Pkg.add("PrettyTables")
Pkg.add("DataFrames")
using PrettyTables, DataFrames
df = DataFrame(:a => [1,2,3], :b => [4,5,6])
```

```{julia}
#| output: asis
# printing into normal output/code I get a nice markdown table,
# but this does only render in code and not as a nice markdown table
pretty_table(df, backend = :markdown, column_labels = ["A", "B"])
```

and that seems to run.

But moving that setup over to the project from the original post - I again get [TABLE] - and there is to my (probably) very limited knowledge no difference between the standalone setup here and the project setup I have.
So sadly we probably have to close this with “bacd luck” for me, since even I can not reproduce this standalone.

[kellertuer]

Ah, now it TABLEs again.

So can someone try this example here? It seems to maybe fail?

I do run this with quarto render standalone-test.qmd and get

``` julia
using Pkg;
Pkg.activate(; temp=true)
Pkg.add("PrettyTables")
Pkg.add("DataFrames")
using PrettyTables, DataFrames
df = DataFrame(:a => [1,2,3], :b => [4,5,6])
```

``` julia
# printing into normal output/code I get a nice markdown table,
# but this does only render in code and not as a nice markdown table
pretty_table(df, backend = :markdown, column_labels = ["A", "B"])
```

[TABLE]

[cscheid]

This seems to be specific to how PrettyTables works within the Julia engine. @jkrumbiegel, sorry to tag you here, but how should folks go about diagnosing this kind of problem?

[kellertuer]

If I remove -raw-html I seem to get a html table, but not a Markdown one. Yes maybe Julius has an idea.

[kellertuer]

It is also independent of whether I specify keep-md: true.