Re: multitable widths problem

[Gavin Smith]

On Wed, Mar 17, 2021 at 08:14:30PM +0100, Werner LEMBERG wrote:
> 
> [texinfo.tex version 2021-02-20.11]
> 
> 
> In the table below, it is expected that column fractions with
> identical values cause table columns with the same width.  However,
> this is not true, as the image shows.
> 
> This looks like a bug, probably caused by rounding errors due to the
> algorithm that converts column fractions to actual column widths.

That's not actually the case.  When I print what the column widths should
be, with the following:

diff --git a/doc/texinfo.tex b/doc/texinfo.tex
index 391414187d..e6224fa164 100644
--- a/doc/texinfo.tex
+++ b/doc/texinfo.tex
@@ -4488,6 +4488,7 @@ $$%
     \vtop{%
       % Use the current \colcount to find the correct column width:
       \hsize=\expandafter\csname col\the\colcount\endcsname
+      \showthe\hsize
       %
       % In order to keep entries from bumping into each other
       % we will add a \leftskip of \multitablecolspace to all columns after


the column widths printed are:

> 136.5746pt.
> 91.04742pt.
> 136.5746pt.
> 91.04742pt.

I think it's due to the space between columns being included in the width
of each column. When I make the first column be treated the same as the
rest with the following change:

diff --git a/doc/texinfo.tex b/doc/texinfo.tex
index 391414187d..d6bcf4f073 100644
--- a/doc/texinfo.tex
+++ b/doc/texinfo.tex
@@ -4505,7 +4505,7 @@ $$%
       \rightskip=0pt
       \ifnum\colcount=1
        % The first column will be indented with the surrounding text.
-       \advance\hsize by\leftskip
+       %\advance\hsize by\leftskip
       \else
        \ifsetpercent \else
          % If user has not set preamble in terms of percent of \hsize
@@ -4513,7 +4513,7 @@ $$%
          \advance\hsize by \multitablecolspace
        \fi
        % In either case we will make \leftskip=\multitablecolspace:
-      \leftskip=\multitablecolspace
+      %\leftskip=\multitablecolspace
       \fi
       % Ignoring space at the beginning and end avoids an occasional spurious
       % blank line, when TeX decides to break the line at the space before the

both pairs of columns in your example are the same, but there is no
spacing between the columns.  I am not sure what the best thing to
do here is and would like to understand the issue better.  The issue
interacts with the other problem you reported.