booktabs

Booktabs is a LaTeX package that provides enhanced table rules for typesetting. It replaces the standard horizontal rules produced by \hline with a set of high-quality commands that produce visually balanced lines and appropriate spacing. The package is designed around typographic guidelines for tables, emphasizing simplicity and readability and discouraging the use of vertical rules or double rules.

Key features include commands such as \toprule, \midrule, and \bottomrule to draw the top, middle, and bottom horizontal rules; \cmidrule{m-n} (and with optional lr specifiers) for partial rules; and \addlinespace to insert extra vertical space between rows. It can also provide a \specialrule command for customized lines. Booktabs emphasizes clean separation of table sections and consistent line thickness to improve readability.

Usage typically involves including the package in the preamble with \usepackage{booktabs} and then using the provided commands within the tabular environment to structure headers, data, and footers. The design discourages vertical lines and the use of double lines; the recommended structure uses a top rule, a header row separated by a midrule, and a bottom rule, with optional midrules to group related rows. The approach is widely adopted in academic publishing for professional-looking tables.

The package is compatible with standard LaTeX engines and works with common table-related tools and environments. It has become a standard option for producing publication-quality tables in LaTeX documents.