Mathematical absolute value symbol (|) is interpreted as end of cell (cell separator) in a table

[ram6ler]

What is the problem?

When an absolute value symbol (|) is used in a mathematical expression in a table, the markdown parser appears to trigger the closing of a cell rather than recognise the character as part of the math expression. (Markdown appears to be parsed before an expression bound by $ characters.)

(I notice that this is similar to the already closed Formatting - Wrong formatting when Table contains | issue.)

How can I reproduce it?

A simple example:

|Operation|`isEdge`|`listEdges`|`listVertices`|
|--:|:--:|:--:|:--:|
|Adjacency matrix|$\Theta(1)$|$\Theta(|V|^2)$|$\Theta(|V|)$|
                                      ^
                            (This | character triggers table 
                            cell completion - it is not
                            recognized as part of the math
                            expression.)

Is there any error message in the console?

No.

[yzhang-gh]

Thank you for pointing it out. It is kind of complex to tackle. For now, you can use \vert in place of | as a workaround.

[Lemmingh]

I'm sorry to say this behavior is required by the Spec.

The parsing strategy in CommonMark Spec says:

• Parse block structures first, then inline structures.

The Tables in GFM Spec says:

• A table is a leaf block.
• A table cell can only contains inline elements.
• Block-level elements cannot be inserted in a table.

Thus,

Table cell parsing must take higher precedence than inline math area parsing.

---

Sorry for the inconvenience. Please use \vert as described above.

[Lemmingh]

@yzhang-gh
There should be something wrong with our TM grammar, which leads to this misunderstanding. Would you please take a look?

[yzhang-gh]

Thanks.

But there doesn't seem to be an easy fix. The | doesn't have a specific color on its own (besides the general math highlight).

And it may not be worth it to create a special set of TM grammar for inline math inside a table cell.