[tbl] Setting the widths of the columns

[Frederic Chartier]

Until now, my dealings with tbl(1) have been infrequent, casual
and pleasant. This time, I need actual control over the widths
of the columns. Specifically, I want column 1 to be exactly as
wide as its contents requires, columns 3 and 4 to have specific
(and different) widths and column 2 to take up the remaining
horizontal space on the page.

I've spent a lot of time trying different things without
success. I think that the root of the problem is that you can
set a minimum width (with column specifier "w") but not a
maximum width.

Am I missing something obvious ? Thanks in advance.