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+*if_perl.txt*   For Vim version 7.0aa.  Last change: 2004 May 01
+
+
+		  VIM REFERENCE MANUAL    by Sven Verdoolaege
+					 and Matt Gerassimof
+
+Perl and Vim				*perl* *Perl*
+
+1. Editing Perl files			|perl-editing|
+2. Compiling VIM with Perl interface	|perl-compiling|
+3. Using the Perl interface		|perl-using|
+
+{Vi does not have any of these commands}
+
+The Perl interface only works when Vim was compiled with the |+perl| feature.
+
+==============================================================================
+1. Editing Perl files					*perl-editing*
+
+Vim syntax highlighting supports Perl and POD files.  Vim assumes a file is
+Perl code if the filename has a .pl or .pm suffix. Vim also examines the first
+line of a file, regardless of the filename suffix, to check if a file is a
+Perl script (see scripts.vim in Vim's syntax directory).  Vim assumes a file
+is POD text if the filename has a .POD suffix.
+
+To use tags with Perl, you need a recent version of Exuberant ctags.  Look
+here:
+	http://ctags.sourceforge.net
+
+Alternatively, you can use the Perl script pltags.pl, which is shipped with
+Vim in the $VIMRUNTIME/tools directory.  This script has currently more
+features than Exuberant ctags' Perl support.
+
+==============================================================================
+2. Compiling VIM with Perl interface			*perl-compiling*
+
+To compile Vim with Perl interface, you need Perl 5.004 (or later).  Perl must
+be installed before you compile Vim.  Vim's Perl interface does NOT work with
+the 5.003 version that has been officially released!  It will probably work
+with Perl 5.003_05 and later.
+
+The Perl patches for Vim were made by:
+	Sven Verdoolaege <skimo@breughel.ufsia.ac.be>
+	Matt Gerassimof
+
+Perl for MS-Windows can be found at:
+http://www.perl.com/CPAN/ports/nt/Standard/x86/
+
+==============================================================================
+3. Using the Perl interface				*perl-using*
+
+							*:perl* *:pe*
+:pe[rl] {cmd}		Execute Perl command {cmd}. The current package
+			is "main".
+
+:pe[rl] << {endpattern}
+{script}
+{endpattern}
+			Execute Perl script {script}.
+			{endpattern} must NOT be preceded by any white space.
+			If {endpattern} is omitted, it defaults to a dot '.'
+			like for the |:append| and |:insert| commands.  Using
+			'.' helps when inside a function, because "$i;" looks
+			like the start of an |:insert| command to Vim.
+			This form of the |:perl| command is mainly useful for
+			including perl code in vim scripts.
+			Note: This command doesn't work when the Perl feature
+			wasn't compiled in.  To avoid errors, see
+			|script-here|.
+
+
+Example vim script: >
+
+	function! WhitePearl()
+	perl << EOF
+		VIM::Msg("pearls are nice for necklaces");
+		VIM::Msg("rubys for rings");
+		VIM::Msg("pythons for bags");
+		VIM::Msg("tcls????");
+	EOF
+	endfunction
+<
+
+							*:perldo* *:perld*
+:[range]perld[o] {cmd}	Execute Perl command {cmd} for each line in the
+			[range], with $_ being set to the text of each line in
+			turn, without a trailing <EOL>. Setting $_ will change
+			the text, but note that it is not possible to add or
+			delete lines using this command.
+			The default for [range] is the whole file: "1,$".
+
+Here are some things you can try: >
+
+  :perl $a=1
+  :perldo $_ = reverse($_);1
+  :perl VIM::Msg("hello")
+  :perl $line = $curbuf->Get(42)
+<
+							*E299*
+Executing Perl commands in the |sandbox| is limited.  ":perldo" will not be
+possible at all.  ":perl" will be evaluated in the Safe environment, if
+possible.
+
+
+							*perl-overview*
+Here is an overview of the functions that are available to Perl: >
+
+  :perl VIM::Msg("Text")		# displays a message
+  :perl VIM::Msg("Error", "ErrorMsg")	# displays an error message
+  :perl VIM::Msg("remark", "Comment")	# displays a highlighted message
+  :perl VIM::SetOption("ai")		# sets a vim option
+  :perl $nbuf = VIM::Buffers()		# returns the number of buffers
+  :perl @buflist = VIM::Buffers()	# returns array of all buffers
+  :perl $mybuf = (VIM::Buffers('qq.c'))[0] # returns buffer object for 'qq.c'
+  :perl @winlist = VIM::Windows()	# returns array of all windows
+  :perl $nwin = VIM::Windows()		# returns the number of windows
+  :perl ($success, $v) = VIM::Eval('&path') # $v: option 'path', $success: 1
+  :perl ($success, $v) = VIM::Eval('&xyz')  # $v: '' and $success: 0
+  :perl $v = VIM::Eval('expand("<cfile>")') # expands <cfile>
+  :perl $curwin->SetHeight(10)		# sets the window height
+  :perl @pos = $curwin->Cursor()	# returns (row, col) array
+  :perl @pos = (10, 10)
+  :perl $curwin->Cursor(@pos)		# sets cursor to @pos
+  :perl $curwin->Cursor(10,10)		# sets cursor to row 10 col 10
+  :perl $mybuf = $curwin->Buffer()	# returns the buffer object for window
+  :perl $curbuf->Name()			# returns buffer name
+  :perl $curbuf->Number()		# returns buffer number
+  :perl $curbuf->Count()		# returns the number of lines
+  :perl $l = $curbuf->Get(10)		# returns line 10
+  :perl @l = $curbuf->Get(1 .. 5)	# returns lines 1 through 5
+  :perl $curbuf->Delete(10)		# deletes line 10
+  :perl $curbuf->Delete(10, 20)		# delete lines 10 through 20
+  :perl $curbuf->Append(10, "Line")	# appends a line
+  :perl $curbuf->Append(10, "Line1", "Line2", "Line3") # appends 3 lines
+  :perl @l = ("L1", "L2", "L3")
+  :perl $curbuf->Append(10, @l)		# appends L1, L2 and L3
+  :perl $curbuf->Set(10, "Line")	# replaces line 10
+  :perl $curbuf->Set(10, "Line1", "Line2")	# replaces lines 10 and 11
+  :perl $curbuf->Set(10, @l)		# replaces 3 lines
+<
+							*perl-Msg*
+VIM::Msg({msg}, {group}?)
+			Displays the message {msg}.  The optional {group}
+			argument specifies a highlight group for Vim to use
+			for the message.
+
+							*perl-SetOption*
+VIM::SetOption({arg})	Sets a vim option.  {arg} can be any argument that the
+			":set" command accepts.  Note that this means that no
+			spaces are allowed in the argument!  See |:set|.
+
+							*perl-Buffers*
+VIM::Buffers([{bn}...])	With no arguments, returns a list of all the buffers
+			in an array context or returns the number of buffers
+			in a scalar context.  For a list of buffer names or
+			numbers {bn}, returns a list of the buffers matching
+			{bn}, using the same rules as Vim's internal
+			|bufname()| function.
+
+							*perl-Windows*
+VIM::Windows([{wn}...])	With no arguments, returns a list of all the windows
+			in an array context or returns the number of windows
+			in a scalar context.  For a list of window numbers
+			{wn}, returns a list of the windows with those
+			numbers.
+
+							*perl-DoCommand*
+VIM::DoCommand({cmd})	Executes Ex command {cmd}.
+
+							*perl-Eval*
+VIM::Eval({expr})	Evaluates {expr} and returns (success, val).
+			success=1 indicates that val contains the value of
+			{expr}; success=0 indicates a failure to evaluate
+			the expression.  '@x' returns the contents of register
+			x, '&x' returns the value of option x, 'x' returns the
+			value of internal |variables| x, and '$x' is equivalent
+			to perl's $ENV{x}.  All |functions| accessible from
+			the command-line are valid for {expr}.
+
+							*perl-SetHeight*
+Window->SetHeight({height})
+			Sets the Window height to {height}, within screen
+			limits.
+
+							*perl-GetCursor*
+Window->Cursor({row}?, {col}?)
+			With no arguments, returns a (row, col) array for the
+			current cursor position in the Window.  With {row} and
+			{col} arguments, sets the Window's cursor position to
+			{row} and {col}.  Note that {col} is numbered from 0,
+			Perl-fashion, and thus is one less than the value in
+			Vim's ruler.
+
+Window->Buffer()					*perl-Buffer*
+			Returns the Buffer object corresponding to the given
+			Window.
+
+							*perl-Name*
+Buffer->Name()		Returns the filename for the Buffer.
+
+							*perl-Number*
+Buffer->Number()	Returns the number of the Buffer.
+
+							*perl-Count*
+Buffer->Count()		Returns the number of lines in the Buffer.
+
+							*perl-Get*
+Buffer->Get({lnum}, {lnum}?, ...)
+			Returns a text string of line {lnum} in the Buffer
+			for each {lnum} specified. An array can be passed
+			with a list of {lnum}'s specified.
+
+							*perl-Delete*
+Buffer->Delete({lnum}, {lnum}?)
+			Deletes line {lnum} in the Buffer.  With the second
+			{lnum}, deletes the range of lines from the first
+			{lnum} to the second {lnum}.
+
+							*perl-Append*
+Buffer->Append({lnum}, {line}, {line}?, ...)
+			Appends each {line} string after Buffer line {lnum}.
+			The list of {line}s can be an array.
+
+							*perl-Set*
+Buffer->Set({lnum}, {line}, {line}?, ...)
+			Replaces one or more Buffer lines with specified
+			{lines}s, starting at Buffer line {lnum}.  The list of
+			{line}s can be an array.  If the arguments are
+			invalid, replacement does not occur.
+
+$main::curwin
+			The current window object.
+
+$main::curbuf
+			The current buffer object.
+
+
+							*script-here*
+When using a script language in-line, you might want to skip this when the
+language isn't supported.  But this mechanism doesn't work: >
+   if has('perl')
+     perl << EOF
+       this will NOT work!
+   EOF
+   endif
+Instead, put the Perl/Python/Ruby/etc. command in a function and call that
+function: >
+    if has('perl')
+      function DefPerl()
+	perl << EOF
+	  this works
+    EOF
+      endfunction
+      call DefPerl()
+    endif
+Note that "EOF" must be at the start of the line.
+
+ vim:tw=78:ts=8:ft=help:norl: