patch 8.1.1610: there is no way to add or load a buffer without side effects
Problem: There is no way to add or load a buffer without side effects.
Solution: Add the bufadd() and bufload() functions.
diff --git a/runtime/doc/eval.txt b/runtime/doc/eval.txt
index 1154c40..7c457e3 100644
--- a/runtime/doc/eval.txt
+++ b/runtime/doc/eval.txt
@@ -2272,8 +2272,10 @@
browse({save}, {title}, {initdir}, {default})
String put up a file requester
browsedir({title}, {initdir}) String put up a directory requester
+bufadd({name}) Number add a buffer to the buffer list
bufexists({expr}) Number |TRUE| if buffer {expr} exists
buflisted({expr}) Number |TRUE| if buffer {expr} is listed
+bufload({expr}) Number load buffer {expr} if not loaded yet
bufloaded({expr}) Number |TRUE| if buffer {expr} is loaded
bufname({expr}) String Name of the buffer {expr}
bufnr({expr} [, {create}]) Number Number of the buffer {expr}
@@ -3132,6 +3134,14 @@
When the "Cancel" button is hit, something went wrong, or
browsing is not possible, an empty string is returned.
+bufadd({name}) *bufadd()*
+ Add a buffer to the buffer list with {name}.
+ If a buffer for file {name} already exists, return that buffer
+ number. Otherwise return the buffer number of the newly
+ created buffer. When {name} is an empty string then a new
+ buffer is always created.
+ The buffer will not have' 'buflisted' set.
+
bufexists({expr}) *bufexists()*
The result is a Number, which is |TRUE| if a buffer called
{expr} exists.
@@ -3161,6 +3171,15 @@
{expr} exists and is listed (has the 'buflisted' option set).
The {expr} argument is used like with |bufexists()|.
+bufload({expr}) *bufload()*
+ Ensure the buffer {expr} is loaded. When the buffer name
+ refers to an existing file then the file is read. Otherwise
+ the buffer will be empty. If the buffer was already loaded
+ then there is no change.
+ If there is an existing swap file for the file of the buffer,
+ there will be no dialog, the buffer will be loaded anyway.
+ The {expr} argument is used like with |bufexists()|.
+
bufloaded({expr}) *bufloaded()*
The result is a Number, which is |TRUE| if a buffer called
{expr} exists and is loaded (shown in a window or hidden).