Principle:Testtimescaling Testtimescaling github io Comparison Table Editing
| Knowledge Sources | GitHub-flavored Markdown, HTML table formatting, Shields.io badge service |
|---|---|
| Domains | Documentation, Data_Management |
| Last Updated | 2026-02-14 |
Overview
Structured data entry into HTML comparison tables within Markdown documents, following a specific column format with badges, taxonomy values, and formatted citations.
Description
Comparison Table Editing is the practice of appending new rows to an existing HTML table embedded within a GitHub README file. Each row represents one paper and contains structured data across all taxonomy dimensions, formatted with specific HTML elements including bold-italic titles, arXiv badge images, and taxonomy classification values.
The comparison table is the primary user-facing artifact of the survey. It provides a visual, scannable overview of all included papers and their characteristics. The table is rendered by GitHub's Markdown engine, which supports inline HTML. This means the table uses a mix of Markdown table syntax and HTML formatting elements.
Key formatting principles:
Consistent column alignment: Each row must populate the same columns in the same order as the table header. The columns are: Method (paper title with badge), What, SFT, RL, STI, SEA, VER, AGG, Where, How Well.
Title formatting: Paper titles are wrapped in <i><b>...</b></i> tags to render as bold italic. This visual treatment distinguishes paper titles from taxonomy values.
arXiv badge: Each paper includes a Shields.io badge that links to the arXiv abstract page. The badge uses the format arXiv-XXXX.XXXXX-red and is wrapped in an anchor tag pointing to the arXiv URL.
Taxonomy values: Values follow the conventions established in the taxonomy classification step. Not-applicable fields use the ✗ symbol. Multiple values within a field are comma-separated.
Row ordering: New rows are appended at the end of the existing table, maintaining chronological insertion order.
Usage
Use this principle after taxonomy classification (Step 2) to add the paper's entry to the visible comparison table in README.md. This is Step 3 of the Adding_a_New_Paper workflow. The contributor needs the paper title, arXiv ID, and all taxonomy classification values from the previous step.
Theoretical Basis
The comparison table design follows principles from information visualization and structured data presentation:
Dense information display: Following Edward Tufte's principle of maximizing the data-ink ratio, the table presents the maximum amount of useful information in a compact format. Each cell contains only the essential taxonomy value, with no extraneous decoration.
Visual encoding: The use of bold-italic for titles, red badges for arXiv links, and checkmarks/crosses for applicability creates a visual language that can be scanned quickly. A reader can identify patterns (e.g., "which papers use MCTS?") by scanning a single column.
HTML-in-Markdown compatibility: GitHub-flavored Markdown supports inline HTML, but with some restrictions. The table uses only elements that GitHub's sanitizer allows: <i>, <b>, <a>, <img>, <div>. More complex HTML (e.g., <style> tags, JavaScript) is stripped.
Badge-as-link pattern: The Shields.io badge serves dual purposes: it provides a visual indicator of the paper's arXiv presence and it acts as a clickable link to the paper. This pattern is widely used in open-source README files and is immediately recognizable to the target audience.
The table header uses a multi-row structure with a <div style="width:300px"> on the first column to ensure the paper title column has sufficient width for readability. The "How" dimension spans multiple sub-columns (SFT, RL, STI, SEA, VER, AGG), reflecting the hierarchical structure of the taxonomy.