blob: 4fff9d0a91aa0330bc5a4a80affe0ca7159d4ae6 [file] [log] [blame]
Bram Moolenaar57657d82006-04-21 22:12:41 +00001*eval.txt* For Vim version 7.0e. Last change: 2006 Apr 21
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002
3
4 VIM REFERENCE MANUAL by Bram Moolenaar
5
6
7Expression evaluation *expression* *expr* *E15* *eval*
8
9Using expressions is introduced in chapter 41 of the user manual |usr_41.txt|.
10
11Note: Expression evaluation can be disabled at compile time. If this has been
Bram Moolenaare2cc9702005-03-15 22:43:58 +000012done, the features in this document are not available. See |+eval| and
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +000013|no-eval-feature|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +000014
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000151. Variables |variables|
16 1.1 Variable types
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +000017 1.2 Function references |Funcref|
Bram Moolenaar7c626922005-02-07 22:01:03 +000018 1.3 Lists |Lists|
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +000019 1.4 Dictionaries |Dictionaries|
20 1.5 More about variables |more-variables|
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000212. Expression syntax |expression-syntax|
223. Internal variable |internal-variables|
234. Builtin Functions |functions|
245. Defining functions |user-functions|
256. Curly braces names |curly-braces-names|
267. Commands |expression-commands|
278. Exception handling |exception-handling|
289. Examples |eval-examples|
2910. No +eval feature |no-eval-feature|
3011. The sandbox |eval-sandbox|
Bram Moolenaarb71eaae2006-01-20 23:10:18 +00003112. Textlock |textlock|
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +000032
33{Vi does not have any of these commands}
34
35==============================================================================
361. Variables *variables*
37
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000381.1 Variable types ~
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +000039 *E712*
Bram Moolenaar39a58ca2005-06-27 22:42:44 +000040There are five types of variables:
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +000041
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +000042Number A 32 bit signed number.
43 Examples: -123 0x10 0177
44
45String A NUL terminated string of 8-bit unsigned characters (bytes).
46 Examples: "ab\txx\"--" 'x-z''a,c'
47
48Funcref A reference to a function |Funcref|.
49 Example: function("strlen")
50
51List An ordered sequence of items |List|.
52 Example: [1, 2, ['a', 'b']]
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +000053
Bram Moolenaar39a58ca2005-06-27 22:42:44 +000054Dictionary An associative, unordered array: Each entry has a key and a
55 value. |Dictionary|
56 Example: {'blue': "#0000ff", 'red': "#ff0000"}
57
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +000058The Number and String types are converted automatically, depending on how they
59are used.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +000060
61Conversion from a Number to a String is by making the ASCII representation of
62the Number. Examples: >
63 Number 123 --> String "123"
64 Number 0 --> String "0"
65 Number -1 --> String "-1"
66
67Conversion from a String to a Number is done by converting the first digits
68to a number. Hexadecimal "0xf9" and Octal "017" numbers are recognized. If
69the String doesn't start with digits, the result is zero. Examples: >
70 String "456" --> Number 456
71 String "6bar" --> Number 6
72 String "foo" --> Number 0
73 String "0xf1" --> Number 241
74 String "0100" --> Number 64
75 String "-8" --> Number -8
76 String "+8" --> Number 0
77
78To force conversion from String to Number, add zero to it: >
79 :echo "0100" + 0
Bram Moolenaar97b2ad32006-03-18 21:40:56 +000080< 64 ~
81
82To avoid a leading zero to cause octal conversion, or for using a different
83base, use |str2nr()|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +000084
85For boolean operators Numbers are used. Zero is FALSE, non-zero is TRUE.
86
87Note that in the command >
88 :if "foo"
89"foo" is converted to 0, which means FALSE. To test for a non-empty string,
90use strlen(): >
91 :if strlen("foo")
Bram Moolenaar748bf032005-02-02 23:04:36 +000092< *E745* *E728* *E703* *E729* *E730* *E731*
93List, Dictionary and Funcref types are not automatically converted.
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +000094
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +000095 *E706*
96You will get an error if you try to change the type of a variable. You need
97to |:unlet| it first to avoid this error. String and Number are considered
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +000098equivalent though. Consider this sequence of commands: >
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +000099 :let l = "string"
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +0000100 :let l = 44 " changes type from String to Number
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000101 :let l = [1, 2, 3] " error!
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000102
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000103
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +00001041.2 Function references ~
Bram Moolenaar748bf032005-02-02 23:04:36 +0000105 *Funcref* *E695* *E718*
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000106A Funcref variable is obtained with the |function()| function. It can be used
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000107in an expression in the place of a function name, before the parenthesis
108around the arguments, to invoke the function it refers to. Example: >
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000109
110 :let Fn = function("MyFunc")
111 :echo Fn()
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000112< *E704* *E705* *E707*
Bram Moolenaar910f66f2006-04-05 20:41:53 +0000113A Funcref variable must start with a capital, "s:", "w:", "t:" or "b:". You
114cannot have both a Funcref variable and a function with the same name.
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000115
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000116A special case is defining a function and directly assigning its Funcref to a
117Dictionary entry. Example: >
118 :function dict.init() dict
119 : let self.val = 0
120 :endfunction
121
122The key of the Dictionary can start with a lower case letter. The actual
123function name is not used here. Also see |numbered-function|.
124
125A Funcref can also be used with the |:call| command: >
126 :call Fn()
127 :call dict.init()
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000128
129The name of the referenced function can be obtained with |string()|. >
Bram Moolenaar383f9bc2005-01-19 22:18:32 +0000130 :let func = string(Fn)
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000131
132You can use |call()| to invoke a Funcref and use a list variable for the
133arguments: >
Bram Moolenaar383f9bc2005-01-19 22:18:32 +0000134 :let r = call(Fn, mylist)
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000135
136
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +00001371.3 Lists ~
Bram Moolenaar7c626922005-02-07 22:01:03 +0000138 *List* *Lists* *E686*
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000139A List is an ordered sequence of items. An item can be of any type. Items
140can be accessed by their index number. Items can be added and removed at any
141position in the sequence.
142
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000143
144List creation ~
145 *E696* *E697*
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000146A List is created with a comma separated list of items in square brackets.
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000147Examples: >
148 :let mylist = [1, two, 3, "four"]
149 :let emptylist = []
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000150
151An item can be any expression. Using a List for an item creates a
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000152nested List: >
153 :let nestlist = [[11, 12], [21, 22], [31, 32]]
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000154
155An extra comma after the last item is ignored.
156
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000157
158List index ~
159 *list-index* *E684*
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000160An item in the List can be accessed by putting the index in square brackets
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000161after the List. Indexes are zero-based, thus the first item has index zero. >
162 :let item = mylist[0] " get the first item: 1
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000163 :let item = mylist[2] " get the third item: 3
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000164
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +0000165When the resulting item is a list this can be repeated: >
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000166 :let item = nestlist[0][1] " get the first list, second item: 12
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000167<
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000168A negative index is counted from the end. Index -1 refers to the last item in
169the List, -2 to the last but one item, etc. >
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000170 :let last = mylist[-1] " get the last item: "four"
171
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000172To avoid an error for an invalid index use the |get()| function. When an item
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +0000173is not available it returns zero or the default value you specify: >
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000174 :echo get(mylist, idx)
175 :echo get(mylist, idx, "NONE")
176
177
178List concatenation ~
179
180Two lists can be concatenated with the "+" operator: >
181 :let longlist = mylist + [5, 6]
Bram Moolenaar383f9bc2005-01-19 22:18:32 +0000182 :let mylist += [7, 8]
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000183
184To prepend or append an item turn the item into a list by putting [] around
185it. To change a list in-place see |list-modification| below.
186
187
188Sublist ~
189
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000190A part of the List can be obtained by specifying the first and last index,
191separated by a colon in square brackets: >
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000192 :let shortlist = mylist[2:-1] " get List [3, "four"]
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000193
194Omitting the first index is similar to zero. Omitting the last index is
195similar to -1. The difference is that there is no error if the items are not
196available. >
Bram Moolenaar540d6e32005-01-09 21:20:18 +0000197 :let endlist = mylist[2:] " from item 2 to the end: [3, "four"]
198 :let shortlist = mylist[2:2] " List with one item: [3]
199 :let otherlist = mylist[:] " make a copy of the List
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000200
Bram Moolenaar9e54a0e2006-04-14 20:42:25 +0000201If the second index is equal to or greater than the length of the list there
202is no error and the length minus one is used: >
203 :let mylist = [0, 1, 2, 3]
204 :echo mylist[2:8] " result: [2, 3]
205
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000206The second index can be just before the first index. In that case the result
207is an empty list. If the second index is lower, this results in an error. >
208 :echo mylist[2:1] " result: []
209 :echo mylist[2:0] " error!
210
Bram Moolenaara7fc0102005-05-18 22:17:12 +0000211NOTE: mylist[s:e] means using the variable "s:e" as index. Watch out for
212using a single letter variable before the ":". Insert a space when needed:
213mylist[s : e].
214
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000215
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000216List identity ~
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000217 *list-identity*
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000218When variable "aa" is a list and you assign it to another variable "bb", both
219variables refer to the same list. Thus changing the list "aa" will also
220change "bb": >
221 :let aa = [1, 2, 3]
222 :let bb = aa
223 :call add(aa, 4)
224 :echo bb
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000225< [1, 2, 3, 4]
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000226
227Making a copy of a list is done with the |copy()| function. Using [:] also
228works, as explained above. This creates a shallow copy of the list: Changing
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +0000229a list item in the list will also change the item in the copied list: >
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000230 :let aa = [[1, 'a'], 2, 3]
231 :let bb = copy(aa)
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000232 :call add(aa, 4)
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000233 :let aa[0][1] = 'aaa'
234 :echo aa
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000235< [[1, aaa], 2, 3, 4] >
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000236 :echo bb
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000237< [[1, aaa], 2, 3]
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000238
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +0000239To make a completely independent list use |deepcopy()|. This also makes a
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000240copy of the values in the list, recursively. Up to a hundred levels deep.
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000241
242The operator "is" can be used to check if two variables refer to the same
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000243List. "isnot" does the opposite. In contrast "==" compares if two lists have
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +0000244the same value. >
245 :let alist = [1, 2, 3]
246 :let blist = [1, 2, 3]
247 :echo alist is blist
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000248< 0 >
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +0000249 :echo alist == blist
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000250< 1
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000251
Bram Moolenaar9ba0eb82005-06-13 22:28:56 +0000252Note about comparing lists: Two lists are considered equal if they have the
253same length and all items compare equal, as with using "==". There is one
Bram Moolenaar7d1f5db2005-07-03 21:39:27 +0000254exception: When comparing a number with a string they are considered
255different. There is no automatic type conversion, as with using "==" on
256variables. Example: >
257 echo 4 == "4"
Bram Moolenaar9ba0eb82005-06-13 22:28:56 +0000258< 1 >
Bram Moolenaar7d1f5db2005-07-03 21:39:27 +0000259 echo [4] == ["4"]
Bram Moolenaar9ba0eb82005-06-13 22:28:56 +0000260< 0
261
Bram Moolenaar7d1f5db2005-07-03 21:39:27 +0000262Thus comparing Lists is more strict than comparing numbers and strings. You
263can compare simple values this way too by putting them in a string: >
264
265 :let a = 5
266 :let b = "5"
267 echo a == b
268< 1 >
269 echo [a] == [b]
270< 0
Bram Moolenaar9ba0eb82005-06-13 22:28:56 +0000271
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000272
273List unpack ~
274
275To unpack the items in a list to individual variables, put the variables in
276square brackets, like list items: >
277 :let [var1, var2] = mylist
278
279When the number of variables does not match the number of items in the list
280this produces an error. To handle any extra items from the list append ";"
281and a variable name: >
282 :let [var1, var2; rest] = mylist
283
284This works like: >
285 :let var1 = mylist[0]
286 :let var2 = mylist[1]
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +0000287 :let rest = mylist[2:]
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000288
289Except that there is no error if there are only two items. "rest" will be an
290empty list then.
291
292
293List modification ~
294 *list-modification*
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +0000295To change a specific item of a list use |:let| this way: >
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000296 :let list[4] = "four"
297 :let listlist[0][3] = item
298
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +0000299To change part of a list you can specify the first and last item to be
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000300modified. The value must at least have the number of items in the range: >
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +0000301 :let list[3:5] = [3, 4, 5]
302
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000303Adding and removing items from a list is done with functions. Here are a few
304examples: >
305 :call insert(list, 'a') " prepend item 'a'
306 :call insert(list, 'a', 3) " insert item 'a' before list[3]
307 :call add(list, "new") " append String item
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000308 :call add(list, [1, 2]) " append a List as one new item
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000309 :call extend(list, [1, 2]) " extend the list with two more items
310 :let i = remove(list, 3) " remove item 3
Bram Moolenaar9cd15162005-01-16 22:02:49 +0000311 :unlet list[3] " idem
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000312 :let l = remove(list, 3, -1) " remove items 3 to last item
Bram Moolenaar9cd15162005-01-16 22:02:49 +0000313 :unlet list[3 : ] " idem
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000314 :call filter(list, 'v:val !~ "x"') " remove items with an 'x'
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000315
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000316Changing the order of items in a list: >
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +0000317 :call sort(list) " sort a list alphabetically
318 :call reverse(list) " reverse the order of items
319
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000320
321For loop ~
322
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +0000323The |:for| loop executes commands for each item in a list. A variable is set
324to each item in the list in sequence. Example: >
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000325 :for item in mylist
326 : call Doit(item)
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000327 :endfor
328
329This works like: >
330 :let index = 0
331 :while index < len(mylist)
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000332 : let item = mylist[index]
333 : :call Doit(item)
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000334 : let index = index + 1
335 :endwhile
336
337Note that all items in the list should be of the same type, otherwise this
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000338results in error |E706|. To avoid this |:unlet| the variable at the end of
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +0000339the loop.
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000340
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +0000341If all you want to do is modify each item in the list then the |map()|
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000342function will be a simpler method than a for loop.
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +0000343
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000344Just like the |:let| command, |:for| also accepts a list of variables. This
345requires the argument to be a list of lists. >
346 :for [lnum, col] in [[1, 3], [2, 8], [3, 0]]
347 : call Doit(lnum, col)
348 :endfor
349
350This works like a |:let| command is done for each list item. Again, the types
351must remain the same to avoid an error.
352
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000353It is also possible to put remaining items in a List variable: >
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000354 :for [i, j; rest] in listlist
355 : call Doit(i, j)
356 : if !empty(rest)
357 : echo "remainder: " . string(rest)
358 : endif
359 :endfor
360
361
362List functions ~
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000363 *E714*
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000364Functions that are useful with a List: >
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +0000365 :let r = call(funcname, list) " call a function with an argument list
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000366 :if empty(list) " check if list is empty
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000367 :let l = len(list) " number of items in list
368 :let big = max(list) " maximum value in list
369 :let small = min(list) " minimum value in list
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +0000370 :let xs = count(list, 'x') " count nr of times 'x' appears in list
371 :let i = index(list, 'x') " index of first 'x' in list
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000372 :let lines = getline(1, 10) " get ten text lines from buffer
373 :call append('$', lines) " append text lines in buffer
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +0000374 :let list = split("a b c") " create list from items in a string
375 :let string = join(list, ', ') " create string from list items
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000376 :let s = string(list) " String representation of list
377 :call map(list, '">> " . v:val') " prepend ">> " to each item
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000378
Bram Moolenaar0cb032e2005-04-23 20:52:00 +0000379Don't forget that a combination of features can make things simple. For
380example, to add up all the numbers in a list: >
381 :exe 'let sum = ' . join(nrlist, '+')
382
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000383
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +00003841.4 Dictionaries ~
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000385 *Dictionaries* *Dictionary*
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000386A Dictionary is an associative array: Each entry has a key and a value. The
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000387entry can be located with the key. The entries are stored without a specific
388ordering.
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000389
390
391Dictionary creation ~
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000392 *E720* *E721* *E722* *E723*
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000393A Dictionary is created with a comma separated list of entries in curly
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000394braces. Each entry has a key and a value, separated by a colon. Each key can
395only appear once. Examples: >
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000396 :let mydict = {1: 'one', 2: 'two', 3: 'three'}
397 :let emptydict = {}
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000398< *E713* *E716* *E717*
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000399A key is always a String. You can use a Number, it will be converted to a
400String automatically. Thus the String '4' and the number 4 will find the same
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000401entry. Note that the String '04' and the Number 04 are different, since the
402Number will be converted to the String '4'.
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000403
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000404A value can be any expression. Using a Dictionary for a value creates a
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000405nested Dictionary: >
406 :let nestdict = {1: {11: 'a', 12: 'b'}, 2: {21: 'c'}}
407
408An extra comma after the last entry is ignored.
409
410
411Accessing entries ~
412
413The normal way to access an entry is by putting the key in square brackets: >
414 :let val = mydict["one"]
415 :let mydict["four"] = 4
416
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000417You can add new entries to an existing Dictionary this way, unlike Lists.
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000418
419For keys that consist entirely of letters, digits and underscore the following
420form can be used |expr-entry|: >
421 :let val = mydict.one
422 :let mydict.four = 4
423
424Since an entry can be any type, also a List and a Dictionary, the indexing and
425key lookup can be repeated: >
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000426 :echo dict.key[idx].key
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000427
428
429Dictionary to List conversion ~
430
431You may want to loop over the entries in a dictionary. For this you need to
432turn the Dictionary into a List and pass it to |:for|.
433
434Most often you want to loop over the keys, using the |keys()| function: >
435 :for key in keys(mydict)
436 : echo key . ': ' . mydict[key]
437 :endfor
438
439The List of keys is unsorted. You may want to sort them first: >
440 :for key in sort(keys(mydict))
441
442To loop over the values use the |values()| function: >
443 :for v in values(mydict)
444 : echo "value: " . v
445 :endfor
446
447If you want both the key and the value use the |items()| function. It returns
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000448a List in which each item is a List with two items, the key and the value: >
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000449 :for entry in items(mydict)
450 : echo entry[0] . ': ' . entry[1]
451 :endfor
452
453
454Dictionary identity ~
Bram Moolenaar7c626922005-02-07 22:01:03 +0000455 *dict-identity*
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000456Just like Lists you need to use |copy()| and |deepcopy()| to make a copy of a
457Dictionary. Otherwise, assignment results in referring to the same
458Dictionary: >
459 :let onedict = {'a': 1, 'b': 2}
460 :let adict = onedict
461 :let adict['a'] = 11
462 :echo onedict['a']
463 11
464
Bram Moolenaarf3bd51a2005-06-14 22:11:18 +0000465Two Dictionaries compare equal if all the key-value pairs compare equal. For
466more info see |list-identity|.
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000467
468
469Dictionary modification ~
470 *dict-modification*
471To change an already existing entry of a Dictionary, or to add a new entry,
472use |:let| this way: >
473 :let dict[4] = "four"
474 :let dict['one'] = item
475
Bram Moolenaar9cd15162005-01-16 22:02:49 +0000476Removing an entry from a Dictionary is done with |remove()| or |:unlet|.
477Three ways to remove the entry with key "aaa" from dict: >
478 :let i = remove(dict, 'aaa')
479 :unlet dict.aaa
480 :unlet dict['aaa']
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000481
482Merging a Dictionary with another is done with |extend()|: >
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000483 :call extend(adict, bdict)
484This extends adict with all entries from bdict. Duplicate keys cause entries
485in adict to be overwritten. An optional third argument can change this.
Bram Moolenaar383f9bc2005-01-19 22:18:32 +0000486Note that the order of entries in a Dictionary is irrelevant, thus don't
487expect ":echo adict" to show the items from bdict after the older entries in
488adict.
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000489
490Weeding out entries from a Dictionary can be done with |filter()|: >
Bram Moolenaare2cc9702005-03-15 22:43:58 +0000491 :call filter(dict 'v:val =~ "x"')
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000492This removes all entries from "dict" with a value not matching 'x'.
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000493
494
495Dictionary function ~
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000496 *Dictionary-function* *self* *E725*
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000497When a function is defined with the "dict" attribute it can be used in a
498special way with a dictionary. Example: >
499 :function Mylen() dict
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000500 : return len(self.data)
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000501 :endfunction
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000502 :let mydict = {'data': [0, 1, 2, 3], 'len': function("Mylen")}
503 :echo mydict.len()
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000504
505This is like a method in object oriented programming. The entry in the
506Dictionary is a |Funcref|. The local variable "self" refers to the dictionary
507the function was invoked from.
508
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000509It is also possible to add a function without the "dict" attribute as a
510Funcref to a Dictionary, but the "self" variable is not available then.
511
Bram Moolenaar910f66f2006-04-05 20:41:53 +0000512 *numbered-function* *anonymous-function*
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000513To avoid the extra name for the function it can be defined and directly
514assigned to a Dictionary in this way: >
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000515 :let mydict = {'data': [0, 1, 2, 3]}
516 :function mydict.len() dict
517 : return len(self.data)
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000518 :endfunction
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000519 :echo mydict.len()
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000520
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000521The function will then get a number and the value of dict.len is a |Funcref|
522that references this function. The function can only be used through a
523|Funcref|. It will automatically be deleted when there is no |Funcref|
524remaining that refers to it.
525
526It is not necessary to use the "dict" attribute for a numbered function.
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000527
528
529Functions for Dictionaries ~
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000530 *E715*
531Functions that can be used with a Dictionary: >
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000532 :if has_key(dict, 'foo') " TRUE if dict has entry with key "foo"
533 :if empty(dict) " TRUE if dict is empty
534 :let l = len(dict) " number of items in dict
535 :let big = max(dict) " maximum value in dict
536 :let small = min(dict) " minimum value in dict
537 :let xs = count(dict, 'x') " count nr of times 'x' appears in dict
538 :let s = string(dict) " String representation of dict
539 :call map(dict, '">> " . v:val') " prepend ">> " to each item
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000540
541
5421.5 More about variables ~
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000543 *more-variables*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000544If you need to know the type of a variable or expression, use the |type()|
545function.
546
547When the '!' flag is included in the 'viminfo' option, global variables that
548start with an uppercase letter, and don't contain a lowercase letter, are
549stored in the viminfo file |viminfo-file|.
550
551When the 'sessionoptions' option contains "global", global variables that
552start with an uppercase letter and contain at least one lowercase letter are
553stored in the session file |session-file|.
554
555variable name can be stored where ~
556my_var_6 not
557My_Var_6 session file
558MY_VAR_6 viminfo file
559
560
561It's possible to form a variable name with curly braces, see
562|curly-braces-names|.
563
564==============================================================================
5652. Expression syntax *expression-syntax*
566
567Expression syntax summary, from least to most significant:
568
569|expr1| expr2 ? expr1 : expr1 if-then-else
570
571|expr2| expr3 || expr3 .. logical OR
572
573|expr3| expr4 && expr4 .. logical AND
574
575|expr4| expr5 == expr5 equal
576 expr5 != expr5 not equal
577 expr5 > expr5 greater than
578 expr5 >= expr5 greater than or equal
579 expr5 < expr5 smaller than
580 expr5 <= expr5 smaller than or equal
581 expr5 =~ expr5 regexp matches
582 expr5 !~ expr5 regexp doesn't match
583
584 expr5 ==? expr5 equal, ignoring case
585 expr5 ==# expr5 equal, match case
586 etc. As above, append ? for ignoring case, # for
587 matching case
588
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +0000589 expr5 is expr5 same |List| instance
590 expr5 isnot expr5 different |List| instance
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +0000591
592|expr5| expr6 + expr6 .. number addition or list concatenation
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000593 expr6 - expr6 .. number subtraction
594 expr6 . expr6 .. string concatenation
595
596|expr6| expr7 * expr7 .. number multiplication
597 expr7 / expr7 .. number division
598 expr7 % expr7 .. number modulo
599
600|expr7| ! expr7 logical NOT
601 - expr7 unary minus
602 + expr7 unary plus
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000603
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000604
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +0000605|expr8| expr8[expr1] byte of a String or item of a |List|
606 expr8[expr1 : expr1] substring of a String or sublist of a |List|
607 expr8.name entry in a |Dictionary|
608 expr8(expr1, ...) function call with |Funcref| variable
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000609
610|expr9| number number constant
Bram Moolenaar3fdfa4a2004-10-07 21:02:47 +0000611 "string" string constant, backslash is special
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000612 'string' string constant, ' is doubled
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +0000613 [expr1, ...] |List|
614 {expr1: expr1, ...} |Dictionary|
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000615 &option option value
616 (expr1) nested expression
617 variable internal variable
618 va{ria}ble internal variable with curly braces
619 $VAR environment variable
620 @r contents of register 'r'
621 function(expr1, ...) function call
622 func{ti}on(expr1, ...) function call with curly braces
623
624
625".." indicates that the operations in this level can be concatenated.
626Example: >
627 &nu || &list && &shell == "csh"
628
629All expressions within one level are parsed from left to right.
630
631
632expr1 *expr1* *E109*
633-----
634
635expr2 ? expr1 : expr1
636
637The expression before the '?' is evaluated to a number. If it evaluates to
638non-zero, the result is the value of the expression between the '?' and ':',
639otherwise the result is the value of the expression after the ':'.
640Example: >
641 :echo lnum == 1 ? "top" : lnum
642
643Since the first expression is an "expr2", it cannot contain another ?:. The
644other two expressions can, thus allow for recursive use of ?:.
645Example: >
646 :echo lnum == 1 ? "top" : lnum == 1000 ? "last" : lnum
647
648To keep this readable, using |line-continuation| is suggested: >
649 :echo lnum == 1
650 :\ ? "top"
651 :\ : lnum == 1000
652 :\ ? "last"
653 :\ : lnum
654
655
656expr2 and expr3 *expr2* *expr3*
657---------------
658
659 *expr-barbar* *expr-&&*
660The "||" and "&&" operators take one argument on each side. The arguments
661are (converted to) Numbers. The result is:
662
663 input output ~
664n1 n2 n1 || n2 n1 && n2 ~
665zero zero zero zero
666zero non-zero non-zero zero
667non-zero zero non-zero zero
668non-zero non-zero non-zero non-zero
669
670The operators can be concatenated, for example: >
671
672 &nu || &list && &shell == "csh"
673
674Note that "&&" takes precedence over "||", so this has the meaning of: >
675
676 &nu || (&list && &shell == "csh")
677
678Once the result is known, the expression "short-circuits", that is, further
679arguments are not evaluated. This is like what happens in C. For example: >
680
681 let a = 1
682 echo a || b
683
684This is valid even if there is no variable called "b" because "a" is non-zero,
685so the result must be non-zero. Similarly below: >
686
687 echo exists("b") && b == "yes"
688
689This is valid whether "b" has been defined or not. The second clause will
690only be evaluated if "b" has been defined.
691
692
693expr4 *expr4*
694-----
695
696expr5 {cmp} expr5
697
698Compare two expr5 expressions, resulting in a 0 if it evaluates to false, or 1
699if it evaluates to true.
700
701 *expr-==* *expr-!=* *expr->* *expr->=*
702 *expr-<* *expr-<=* *expr-=~* *expr-!~*
703 *expr-==#* *expr-!=#* *expr->#* *expr->=#*
704 *expr-<#* *expr-<=#* *expr-=~#* *expr-!~#*
705 *expr-==?* *expr-!=?* *expr->?* *expr->=?*
706 *expr-<?* *expr-<=?* *expr-=~?* *expr-!~?*
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +0000707 *expr-is*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000708 use 'ignorecase' match case ignore case ~
709equal == ==# ==?
710not equal != !=# !=?
711greater than > ># >?
712greater than or equal >= >=# >=?
713smaller than < <# <?
714smaller than or equal <= <=# <=?
715regexp matches =~ =~# =~?
716regexp doesn't match !~ !~# !~?
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +0000717same instance is
718different instance isnot
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000719
720Examples:
721"abc" ==# "Abc" evaluates to 0
722"abc" ==? "Abc" evaluates to 1
723"abc" == "Abc" evaluates to 1 if 'ignorecase' is set, 0 otherwise
724
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000725 *E691* *E692*
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +0000726A |List| can only be compared with a |List| and only "equal", "not equal" and
727"is" can be used. This compares the values of the list, recursively.
728Ignoring case means case is ignored when comparing item values.
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +0000729
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000730 *E735* *E736*
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +0000731A |Dictionary| can only be compared with a |Dictionary| and only "equal", "not
732equal" and "is" can be used. This compares the key/values of the |Dictionary|
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000733recursively. Ignoring case means case is ignored when comparing item values.
734
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000735 *E693* *E694*
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +0000736A |Funcref| can only be compared with a |Funcref| and only "equal" and "not
737equal" can be used. Case is never ignored.
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +0000738
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +0000739When using "is" or "isnot" with a |List| this checks if the expressions are
740referring to the same |List| instance. A copy of a |List| is different from
741the original |List|. When using "is" without a |List| it is equivalent to
742using "equal", using "isnot" equivalent to using "not equal". Except that a
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +0000743different type means the values are different. "4 == '4'" is true, "4 is '4'"
744is false.
745
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000746When comparing a String with a Number, the String is converted to a Number,
747and the comparison is done on Numbers. This means that "0 == 'x'" is TRUE,
748because 'x' converted to a Number is zero.
749
750When comparing two Strings, this is done with strcmp() or stricmp(). This
751results in the mathematical difference (comparing byte values), not
752necessarily the alphabetical difference in the local language.
753
754When using the operators with a trailing '#", or the short version and
755'ignorecase' is off, the comparing is done with strcmp().
756
757When using the operators with a trailing '?', or the short version and
758'ignorecase' is set, the comparing is done with stricmp().
759
760The "=~" and "!~" operators match the lefthand argument with the righthand
761argument, which is used as a pattern. See |pattern| for what a pattern is.
762This matching is always done like 'magic' was set and 'cpoptions' is empty, no
763matter what the actual value of 'magic' or 'cpoptions' is. This makes scripts
764portable. To avoid backslashes in the regexp pattern to be doubled, use a
765single-quote string, see |literal-string|.
766Since a string is considered to be a single line, a multi-line pattern
767(containing \n, backslash-n) will not match. However, a literal NL character
768can be matched like an ordinary character. Examples:
769 "foo\nbar" =~ "\n" evaluates to 1
770 "foo\nbar" =~ "\\n" evaluates to 0
771
772
773expr5 and expr6 *expr5* *expr6*
774---------------
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +0000775expr6 + expr6 .. Number addition or |List| concatenation *expr-+*
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +0000776expr6 - expr6 .. Number subtraction *expr--*
777expr6 . expr6 .. String concatenation *expr-.*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000778
Bram Moolenaara23ccb82006-02-27 00:08:02 +0000779For |Lists| only "+" is possible and then both expr6 must be a list. The
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +0000780result is a new list with the two lists Concatenated.
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +0000781
782expr7 * expr7 .. number multiplication *expr-star*
783expr7 / expr7 .. number division *expr-/*
784expr7 % expr7 .. number modulo *expr-%*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000785
786For all, except ".", Strings are converted to Numbers.
787
788Note the difference between "+" and ".":
789 "123" + "456" = 579
790 "123" . "456" = "123456"
791
792When the righthand side of '/' is zero, the result is 0x7fffffff.
793When the righthand side of '%' is zero, the result is 0.
794
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +0000795None of these work for |Funcref|s.
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +0000796
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000797
798expr7 *expr7*
799-----
800! expr7 logical NOT *expr-!*
801- expr7 unary minus *expr-unary--*
802+ expr7 unary plus *expr-unary-+*
803
804For '!' non-zero becomes zero, zero becomes one.
805For '-' the sign of the number is changed.
806For '+' the number is unchanged.
807
808A String will be converted to a Number first.
809
810These three can be repeated and mixed. Examples:
811 !-1 == 0
812 !!8 == 1
813 --9 == 9
814
815
816expr8 *expr8*
817-----
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +0000818expr8[expr1] item of String or |List| *expr-[]* *E111*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000819
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000820If expr8 is a Number or String this results in a String that contains the
821expr1'th single byte from expr8. expr8 is used as a String, expr1 as a
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000822Number. Note that this doesn't recognize multi-byte encodings.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000823
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000824Index zero gives the first character. This is like it works in C. Careful:
825text column numbers start with one! Example, to get the character under the
826cursor: >
Bram Moolenaar61660ea2006-04-07 21:40:07 +0000827 :let c = getline(".")[col(".") - 1]
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000828
829If the length of the String is less than the index, the result is an empty
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000830String. A negative index always results in an empty string (reason: backwards
831compatibility). Use [-1:] to get the last byte.
832
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +0000833If expr8 is a |List| then it results the item at index expr1. See |list-index|
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000834for possible index values. If the index is out of range this results in an
835error. Example: >
836 :let item = mylist[-1] " get last item
837
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +0000838Generally, if a |List| index is equal to or higher than the length of the
839|List|, or more negative than the length of the |List|, this results in an
840error.
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000841
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000842
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000843expr8[expr1a : expr1b] substring or sublist *expr-[:]*
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000844
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000845If expr8 is a Number or String this results in the substring with the bytes
846from expr1a to and including expr1b. expr8 is used as a String, expr1a and
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000847expr1b are used as a Number. Note that this doesn't recognize multi-byte
848encodings.
849
850If expr1a is omitted zero is used. If expr1b is omitted the length of the
851string minus one is used.
852
853A negative number can be used to measure from the end of the string. -1 is
854the last character, -2 the last but one, etc.
855
856If an index goes out of range for the string characters are omitted. If
857expr1b is smaller than expr1a the result is an empty string.
858
859Examples: >
860 :let c = name[-1:] " last byte of a string
861 :let c = name[-2:-2] " last but one byte of a string
862 :let s = line(".")[4:] " from the fifth byte to the end
863 :let s = s[:-3] " remove last two bytes
864
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +0000865If expr8 is a |List| this results in a new |List| with the items indicated by
866the indexes expr1a and expr1b. This works like with a String, as explained
867just above, except that indexes out of range cause an error. Examples: >
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000868 :let l = mylist[:3] " first four items
869 :let l = mylist[4:4] " List with one item
870 :let l = mylist[:] " shallow copy of a List
871
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +0000872Using expr8[expr1] or expr8[expr1a : expr1b] on a |Funcref| results in an
873error.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000874
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000875
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +0000876expr8.name entry in a |Dictionary| *expr-entry*
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000877
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +0000878If expr8 is a |Dictionary| and it is followed by a dot, then the following
879name will be used as a key in the |Dictionary|. This is just like:
880expr8[name].
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000881
882The name must consist of alphanumeric characters, just like a variable name,
883but it may start with a number. Curly braces cannot be used.
884
885There must not be white space before or after the dot.
886
887Examples: >
888 :let dict = {"one": 1, 2: "two"}
889 :echo dict.one
890 :echo dict .2
891
892Note that the dot is also used for String concatenation. To avoid confusion
893always put spaces around the dot for String concatenation.
894
895
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +0000896expr8(expr1, ...) |Funcref| function call
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000897
898When expr8 is a |Funcref| type variable, invoke the function it refers to.
899
900
901
902 *expr9*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000903number
904------
905number number constant *expr-number*
906
907Decimal, Hexadecimal (starting with 0x or 0X), or Octal (starting with 0).
908
909
910string *expr-string* *E114*
911------
912"string" string constant *expr-quote*
913
914Note that double quotes are used.
915
916A string constant accepts these special characters:
917\... three-digit octal number (e.g., "\316")
918\.. two-digit octal number (must be followed by non-digit)
919\. one-digit octal number (must be followed by non-digit)
920\x.. byte specified with two hex numbers (e.g., "\x1f")
921\x. byte specified with one hex number (must be followed by non-hex char)
922\X.. same as \x..
923\X. same as \x.
924\u.... character specified with up to 4 hex numbers, stored according to the
925 current value of 'encoding' (e.g., "\u02a4")
926\U.... same as \u....
927\b backspace <BS>
928\e escape <Esc>
929\f formfeed <FF>
930\n newline <NL>
931\r return <CR>
932\t tab <Tab>
933\\ backslash
934\" double quote
935\<xxx> Special key named "xxx". e.g. "\<C-W>" for CTRL-W.
936
937Note that "\000" and "\x00" force the end of the string.
938
939
940literal-string *literal-string* *E115*
941---------------
Bram Moolenaar3fdfa4a2004-10-07 21:02:47 +0000942'string' string constant *expr-'*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000943
944Note that single quotes are used.
945
Bram Moolenaar3fdfa4a2004-10-07 21:02:47 +0000946This string is taken as it is. No backslashes are removed or have a special
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000947meaning. The only exception is that two quotes stand for one quote.
Bram Moolenaar3fdfa4a2004-10-07 21:02:47 +0000948
949Single quoted strings are useful for patterns, so that backslashes do not need
950to be doubled. These two commands are equivalent: >
951 if a =~ "\\s*"
952 if a =~ '\s*'
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000953
954
955option *expr-option* *E112* *E113*
956------
957&option option value, local value if possible
958&g:option global option value
959&l:option local option value
960
961Examples: >
962 echo "tabstop is " . &tabstop
963 if &insertmode
964
965Any option name can be used here. See |options|. When using the local value
966and there is no buffer-local or window-local value, the global value is used
967anyway.
968
969
970register *expr-register*
971--------
972@r contents of register 'r'
973
974The result is the contents of the named register, as a single string.
975Newlines are inserted where required. To get the contents of the unnamed
Bram Moolenaare7566042005-06-17 22:00:15 +0000976register use @" or @@. See |registers| for an explanation of the available
977registers.
978
979When using the '=' register you get the expression itself, not what it
980evaluates to. Use |eval()| to evaluate it.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000981
982
983nesting *expr-nesting* *E110*
984-------
985(expr1) nested expression
986
987
988environment variable *expr-env*
989--------------------
990$VAR environment variable
991
992The String value of any environment variable. When it is not defined, the
993result is an empty string.
994 *expr-env-expand*
995Note that there is a difference between using $VAR directly and using
996expand("$VAR"). Using it directly will only expand environment variables that
997are known inside the current Vim session. Using expand() will first try using
998the environment variables known inside the current Vim session. If that
999fails, a shell will be used to expand the variable. This can be slow, but it
1000does expand all variables that the shell knows about. Example: >
1001 :echo $version
1002 :echo expand("$version")
1003The first one probably doesn't echo anything, the second echoes the $version
1004variable (if your shell supports it).
1005
1006
1007internal variable *expr-variable*
1008-----------------
1009variable internal variable
1010See below |internal-variables|.
1011
1012
Bram Moolenaar05159a02005-02-26 23:04:13 +00001013function call *expr-function* *E116* *E118* *E119* *E120*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001014-------------
1015function(expr1, ...) function call
1016See below |functions|.
1017
1018
1019==============================================================================
10203. Internal variable *internal-variables* *E121*
1021 *E461*
1022An internal variable name can be made up of letters, digits and '_'. But it
1023cannot start with a digit. It's also possible to use curly braces, see
1024|curly-braces-names|.
1025
1026An internal variable is created with the ":let" command |:let|.
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +00001027An internal variable is explicitly destroyed with the ":unlet" command
1028|:unlet|.
1029Using a name that is not an internal variable or refers to a variable that has
1030been destroyed results in an error.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001031
1032There are several name spaces for variables. Which one is to be used is
1033specified by what is prepended:
1034
1035 (nothing) In a function: local to a function; otherwise: global
1036|buffer-variable| b: Local to the current buffer.
1037|window-variable| w: Local to the current window.
Bram Moolenaar910f66f2006-04-05 20:41:53 +00001038|tabpage-variable| t: Local to the current tab page.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001039|global-variable| g: Global.
1040|local-variable| l: Local to a function.
1041|script-variable| s: Local to a |:source|'ed Vim script.
1042|function-argument| a: Function argument (only inside a function).
1043|vim-variable| v: Global, predefined by Vim.
1044
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00001045The scope name by itself can be used as a |Dictionary|. For example, to
1046delete all script-local variables: >
Bram Moolenaar8f999f12005-01-25 22:12:55 +00001047 :for k in keys(s:)
1048 : unlet s:[k]
1049 :endfor
1050<
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001051 *buffer-variable* *b:var*
1052A variable name that is preceded with "b:" is local to the current buffer.
1053Thus you can have several "b:foo" variables, one for each buffer.
1054This kind of variable is deleted when the buffer is wiped out or deleted with
1055|:bdelete|.
1056
1057One local buffer variable is predefined:
1058 *b:changedtick-variable* *changetick*
1059b:changedtick The total number of changes to the current buffer. It is
1060 incremented for each change. An undo command is also a change
1061 in this case. This can be used to perform an action only when
1062 the buffer has changed. Example: >
1063 :if my_changedtick != b:changedtick
1064 : let my_changedtick = b:changedtick
1065 : call My_Update()
1066 :endif
1067<
1068 *window-variable* *w:var*
1069A variable name that is preceded with "w:" is local to the current window. It
1070is deleted when the window is closed.
1071
Bram Moolenaar910f66f2006-04-05 20:41:53 +00001072 *tabpage-variable* *t:var*
1073A variable name that is preceded with "t:" is local to the current tab page,
1074It is deleted when the tab page is closed. {not available when compiled
1075without the +windows feature}
1076
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001077 *global-variable* *g:var*
1078Inside functions global variables are accessed with "g:". Omitting this will
1079access a variable local to a function. But "g:" can also be used in any other
1080place if you like.
1081
1082 *local-variable* *l:var*
1083Inside functions local variables are accessed without prepending anything.
1084But you can also prepend "l:" if you like.
1085
1086 *script-variable* *s:var*
1087In a Vim script variables starting with "s:" can be used. They cannot be
1088accessed from outside of the scripts, thus are local to the script.
1089
1090They can be used in:
1091- commands executed while the script is sourced
1092- functions defined in the script
1093- autocommands defined in the script
1094- functions and autocommands defined in functions and autocommands which were
1095 defined in the script (recursively)
1096- user defined commands defined in the script
1097Thus not in:
1098- other scripts sourced from this one
1099- mappings
1100- etc.
1101
1102script variables can be used to avoid conflicts with global variable names.
1103Take this example:
1104
1105 let s:counter = 0
1106 function MyCounter()
1107 let s:counter = s:counter + 1
1108 echo s:counter
1109 endfunction
1110 command Tick call MyCounter()
1111
1112You can now invoke "Tick" from any script, and the "s:counter" variable in
1113that script will not be changed, only the "s:counter" in the script where
1114"Tick" was defined is used.
1115
1116Another example that does the same: >
1117
1118 let s:counter = 0
1119 command Tick let s:counter = s:counter + 1 | echo s:counter
1120
1121When calling a function and invoking a user-defined command, the context for
Bram Moolenaar69a7cb42004-06-20 12:51:53 +00001122script variables is set to the script where the function or command was
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001123defined.
1124
1125The script variables are also available when a function is defined inside a
1126function that is defined in a script. Example: >
1127
1128 let s:counter = 0
1129 function StartCounting(incr)
1130 if a:incr
1131 function MyCounter()
1132 let s:counter = s:counter + 1
1133 endfunction
1134 else
1135 function MyCounter()
1136 let s:counter = s:counter - 1
1137 endfunction
1138 endif
1139 endfunction
1140
1141This defines the MyCounter() function either for counting up or counting down
1142when calling StartCounting(). It doesn't matter from where StartCounting() is
1143called, the s:counter variable will be accessible in MyCounter().
1144
1145When the same script is sourced again it will use the same script variables.
1146They will remain valid as long as Vim is running. This can be used to
1147maintain a counter: >
1148
1149 if !exists("s:counter")
1150 let s:counter = 1
1151 echo "script executed for the first time"
1152 else
1153 let s:counter = s:counter + 1
1154 echo "script executed " . s:counter . " times now"
1155 endif
1156
1157Note that this means that filetype plugins don't get a different set of script
1158variables for each buffer. Use local buffer variables instead |b:var|.
1159
1160
1161Predefined Vim variables: *vim-variable* *v:var*
1162
Bram Moolenaare4efc3b2005-03-07 23:16:51 +00001163 *v:beval_col* *beval_col-variable*
1164v:beval_col The number of the column, over which the mouse pointer is.
1165 This is the byte index in the |v:beval_lnum| line.
1166 Only valid while evaluating the 'balloonexpr' option.
1167
1168 *v:beval_bufnr* *beval_bufnr-variable*
1169v:beval_bufnr The number of the buffer, over which the mouse pointer is. Only
1170 valid while evaluating the 'balloonexpr' option.
1171
1172 *v:beval_lnum* *beval_lnum-variable*
1173v:beval_lnum The number of the line, over which the mouse pointer is. Only
1174 valid while evaluating the 'balloonexpr' option.
1175
1176 *v:beval_text* *beval_text-variable*
Bram Moolenaar24bbcfe2005-06-28 23:32:02 +00001177v:beval_text The text under or after the mouse pointer. Usually a word as
1178 it is useful for debugging a C program. 'iskeyword' applies,
1179 but a dot and "->" before the position is included. When on a
1180 ']' the text before it is used, including the matching '[' and
Bram Moolenaare4efc3b2005-03-07 23:16:51 +00001181 word before it. When on a Visual area within one line the
1182 highlighted text is used.
1183 Only valid while evaluating the 'balloonexpr' option.
1184
1185 *v:beval_winnr* *beval_winnr-variable*
1186v:beval_winnr The number of the window, over which the mouse pointer is. Only
1187 valid while evaluating the 'balloonexpr' option.
1188
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001189 *v:charconvert_from* *charconvert_from-variable*
1190v:charconvert_from
1191 The name of the character encoding of a file to be converted.
1192 Only valid while evaluating the 'charconvert' option.
1193
1194 *v:charconvert_to* *charconvert_to-variable*
1195v:charconvert_to
1196 The name of the character encoding of a file after conversion.
1197 Only valid while evaluating the 'charconvert' option.
1198
1199 *v:cmdarg* *cmdarg-variable*
1200v:cmdarg This variable is used for two purposes:
1201 1. The extra arguments given to a file read/write command.
1202 Currently these are "++enc=" and "++ff=". This variable is
1203 set before an autocommand event for a file read/write
1204 command is triggered. There is a leading space to make it
1205 possible to append this variable directly after the
1206 read/write command. Note: The "+cmd" argument isn't
1207 included here, because it will be executed anyway.
1208 2. When printing a PostScript file with ":hardcopy" this is
1209 the argument for the ":hardcopy" command. This can be used
1210 in 'printexpr'.
1211
1212 *v:cmdbang* *cmdbang-variable*
1213v:cmdbang Set like v:cmdarg for a file read/write command. When a "!"
1214 was used the value is 1, otherwise it is 0. Note that this
1215 can only be used in autocommands. For user commands |<bang>|
1216 can be used.
1217
1218 *v:count* *count-variable*
1219v:count The count given for the last Normal mode command. Can be used
1220 to get the count before a mapping. Read-only. Example: >
1221 :map _x :<C-U>echo "the count is " . v:count<CR>
1222< Note: The <C-U> is required to remove the line range that you
1223 get when typing ':' after a count.
Bram Moolenaar1d2ba7f2006-02-14 22:29:30 +00001224 Also used for evaluating the 'formatexpr' option.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001225 "count" also works, for backwards compatibility.
1226
1227 *v:count1* *count1-variable*
1228v:count1 Just like "v:count", but defaults to one when no count is
1229 used.
1230
1231 *v:ctype* *ctype-variable*
1232v:ctype The current locale setting for characters of the runtime
1233 environment. This allows Vim scripts to be aware of the
1234 current locale encoding. Technical: it's the value of
1235 LC_CTYPE. When not using a locale the value is "C".
1236 This variable can not be set directly, use the |:language|
1237 command.
1238 See |multi-lang|.
1239
1240 *v:dying* *dying-variable*
1241v:dying Normally zero. When a deadly signal is caught it's set to
1242 one. When multiple signals are caught the number increases.
1243 Can be used in an autocommand to check if Vim didn't
1244 terminate normally. {only works on Unix}
1245 Example: >
1246 :au VimLeave * if v:dying | echo "\nAAAAaaaarrrggghhhh!!!\n" | endif
1247<
1248 *v:errmsg* *errmsg-variable*
1249v:errmsg Last given error message. It's allowed to set this variable.
1250 Example: >
1251 :let v:errmsg = ""
1252 :silent! next
1253 :if v:errmsg != ""
1254 : ... handle error
1255< "errmsg" also works, for backwards compatibility.
1256
1257 *v:exception* *exception-variable*
1258v:exception The value of the exception most recently caught and not
1259 finished. See also |v:throwpoint| and |throw-variables|.
1260 Example: >
1261 :try
1262 : throw "oops"
1263 :catch /.*/
1264 : echo "caught" v:exception
1265 :endtry
1266< Output: "caught oops".
1267
Bram Moolenaar19a09a12005-03-04 23:39:37 +00001268 *v:fcs_reason* *fcs_reason-variable*
1269v:fcs_reason The reason why the |FileChangedShell| event was triggered.
1270 Can be used in an autocommand to decide what to do and/or what
1271 to set v:fcs_choice to. Possible values:
1272 deleted file no longer exists
1273 conflict file contents, mode or timestamp was
1274 changed and buffer is modified
1275 changed file contents has changed
1276 mode mode of file changed
1277 time only file timestamp changed
1278
1279 *v:fcs_choice* *fcs_choice-variable*
1280v:fcs_choice What should happen after a |FileChangedShell| event was
1281 triggered. Can be used in an autocommand to tell Vim what to
1282 do with the affected buffer:
1283 reload Reload the buffer (does not work if
1284 the file was deleted).
1285 ask Ask the user what to do, as if there
1286 was no autocommand. Except that when
1287 only the timestamp changed nothing
1288 will happen.
1289 <empty> Nothing, the autocommand should do
1290 everything that needs to be done.
1291 The default is empty. If another (invalid) value is used then
1292 Vim behaves like it is empty, there is no warning message.
1293
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001294 *v:fname_in* *fname_in-variable*
Bram Moolenaar4e330bb2005-12-07 21:04:31 +00001295v:fname_in The name of the input file. Valid while evaluating:
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001296 option used for ~
1297 'charconvert' file to be converted
1298 'diffexpr' original file
1299 'patchexpr' original file
1300 'printexpr' file to be printed
Bram Moolenaar2c7a29c2005-12-12 22:02:31 +00001301 And set to the swap file name for |SwapExists|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001302
1303 *v:fname_out* *fname_out-variable*
1304v:fname_out The name of the output file. Only valid while
1305 evaluating:
1306 option used for ~
1307 'charconvert' resulting converted file (*)
1308 'diffexpr' output of diff
1309 'patchexpr' resulting patched file
1310 (*) When doing conversion for a write command (e.g., ":w
1311 file") it will be equal to v:fname_in. When doing conversion
1312 for a read command (e.g., ":e file") it will be a temporary
1313 file and different from v:fname_in.
1314
1315 *v:fname_new* *fname_new-variable*
1316v:fname_new The name of the new version of the file. Only valid while
1317 evaluating 'diffexpr'.
1318
1319 *v:fname_diff* *fname_diff-variable*
1320v:fname_diff The name of the diff (patch) file. Only valid while
1321 evaluating 'patchexpr'.
1322
1323 *v:folddashes* *folddashes-variable*
1324v:folddashes Used for 'foldtext': dashes representing foldlevel of a closed
1325 fold.
Bram Moolenaar7b0294c2004-10-11 10:16:09 +00001326 Read-only in the |sandbox|. |fold-foldtext|
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001327
1328 *v:foldlevel* *foldlevel-variable*
1329v:foldlevel Used for 'foldtext': foldlevel of closed fold.
Bram Moolenaar7b0294c2004-10-11 10:16:09 +00001330 Read-only in the |sandbox|. |fold-foldtext|
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001331
1332 *v:foldend* *foldend-variable*
1333v:foldend Used for 'foldtext': last line of closed fold.
Bram Moolenaar7b0294c2004-10-11 10:16:09 +00001334 Read-only in the |sandbox|. |fold-foldtext|
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001335
1336 *v:foldstart* *foldstart-variable*
1337v:foldstart Used for 'foldtext': first line of closed fold.
Bram Moolenaar7b0294c2004-10-11 10:16:09 +00001338 Read-only in the |sandbox|. |fold-foldtext|
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001339
Bram Moolenaar843ee412004-06-30 16:16:41 +00001340 *v:insertmode* *insertmode-variable*
1341v:insertmode Used for the |InsertEnter| and |InsertChange| autocommand
1342 events. Values:
1343 i Insert mode
1344 r Replace mode
1345 v Virtual Replace mode
1346
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00001347 *v:key* *key-variable*
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00001348v:key Key of the current item of a |Dictionary|. Only valid while
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00001349 evaluating the expression used with |map()| and |filter()|.
1350 Read-only.
1351
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001352 *v:lang* *lang-variable*
1353v:lang The current locale setting for messages of the runtime
1354 environment. This allows Vim scripts to be aware of the
1355 current language. Technical: it's the value of LC_MESSAGES.
1356 The value is system dependent.
1357 This variable can not be set directly, use the |:language|
1358 command.
1359 It can be different from |v:ctype| when messages are desired
1360 in a different language than what is used for character
1361 encoding. See |multi-lang|.
1362
1363 *v:lc_time* *lc_time-variable*
1364v:lc_time The current locale setting for time messages of the runtime
1365 environment. This allows Vim scripts to be aware of the
1366 current language. Technical: it's the value of LC_TIME.
1367 This variable can not be set directly, use the |:language|
1368 command. See |multi-lang|.
1369
1370 *v:lnum* *lnum-variable*
Bram Moolenaar7b0294c2004-10-11 10:16:09 +00001371v:lnum Line number for the 'foldexpr' |fold-expr| and 'indentexpr'
Bram Moolenaar57657d82006-04-21 22:12:41 +00001372 expressions, tab page number for 'guitablabel' and
1373 'guitabtooltip'. Only valid while one of these expressions is
1374 being evaluated. Read-only when in the |sandbox|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001375
1376 *v:prevcount* *prevcount-variable*
1377v:prevcount The count given for the last but one Normal mode command.
1378 This is the v:count value of the previous command. Useful if
1379 you want to cancel Visual mode and then use the count. >
1380 :vmap % <Esc>:call MyFilter(v:prevcount)<CR>
1381< Read-only.
1382
Bram Moolenaar05159a02005-02-26 23:04:13 +00001383 *v:profiling* *profiling-variable*
1384v:profiling Normally zero. Set to one after using ":profile start".
1385 See |profiling|.
1386
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001387 *v:progname* *progname-variable*
1388v:progname Contains the name (with path removed) with which Vim was
1389 invoked. Allows you to do special initialisations for "view",
1390 "evim" etc., or any other name you might symlink to Vim.
1391 Read-only.
1392
1393 *v:register* *register-variable*
1394v:register The name of the register supplied to the last normal mode
1395 command. Empty if none were supplied. |getreg()| |setreg()|
1396
Bram Moolenaar1c7715d2005-10-03 22:02:18 +00001397 *v:scrollstart* *scrollstart-variable*
1398v:scrollstart String describing the script or function that caused the
1399 screen to scroll up. It's only set when it is empty, thus the
1400 first reason is remembered. It is set to "Unknown" for a
1401 typed command.
1402 This can be used to find out why your script causes the
1403 hit-enter prompt.
1404
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001405 *v:servername* *servername-variable*
1406v:servername The resulting registered |x11-clientserver| name if any.
1407 Read-only.
1408
1409 *v:shell_error* *shell_error-variable*
1410v:shell_error Result of the last shell command. When non-zero, the last
1411 shell command had an error. When zero, there was no problem.
1412 This only works when the shell returns the error code to Vim.
1413 The value -1 is often used when the command could not be
1414 executed. Read-only.
1415 Example: >
1416 :!mv foo bar
1417 :if v:shell_error
1418 : echo 'could not rename "foo" to "bar"!'
1419 :endif
1420< "shell_error" also works, for backwards compatibility.
1421
1422 *v:statusmsg* *statusmsg-variable*
1423v:statusmsg Last given status message. It's allowed to set this variable.
1424
Bram Moolenaar4e330bb2005-12-07 21:04:31 +00001425 *v:swapname* *swapname-variable*
1426v:swapname Only valid when executing |SwapExists| autocommands: Name of
1427 the swap file found. Read-only.
1428
1429 *v:swapchoice* *swapchoice-variable*
1430v:swapchoice |SwapExists| autocommands can set this to the selected choice
1431 for handling an existing swap file:
1432 'o' Open read-only
1433 'e' Edit anyway
1434 'r' Recover
1435 'd' Delete swapfile
1436 'q' Quit
1437 'a' Abort
1438 The value should be a single-character string. An empty value
1439 results in the user being asked, as would happen when there is
1440 no SwapExists autocommand. The default is empty.
1441
Bram Moolenaarb3480382005-12-11 21:33:32 +00001442 *v:swapcommand* *swapcommand-variable*
Bram Moolenaar4770d092006-01-12 23:22:24 +00001443v:swapcommand Normal mode command to be executed after a file has been
Bram Moolenaarb3480382005-12-11 21:33:32 +00001444 opened. Can be used for a |SwapExists| autocommand to have
1445 another Vim open the file and jump to the right place. For
1446 example, when jumping to a tag the value is ":tag tagname\r".
Bram Moolenaar1f35bf92006-03-07 22:38:47 +00001447 For ":edit +cmd file" the value is ":cmd\r".
Bram Moolenaarb3480382005-12-11 21:33:32 +00001448
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001449 *v:termresponse* *termresponse-variable*
1450v:termresponse The escape sequence returned by the terminal for the |t_RV|
1451 termcap entry. It is set when Vim receives an escape sequence
1452 that starts with ESC [ or CSI and ends in a 'c', with only
1453 digits, ';' and '.' in between.
1454 When this option is set, the TermResponse autocommand event is
1455 fired, so that you can react to the response from the
1456 terminal.
1457 The response from a new xterm is: "<Esc>[ Pp ; Pv ; Pc c". Pp
1458 is the terminal type: 0 for vt100 and 1 for vt220. Pv is the
1459 patch level (since this was introduced in patch 95, it's
1460 always 95 or bigger). Pc is always zero.
1461 {only when compiled with |+termresponse| feature}
1462
1463 *v:this_session* *this_session-variable*
1464v:this_session Full filename of the last loaded or saved session file. See
1465 |:mksession|. It is allowed to set this variable. When no
1466 session file has been saved, this variable is empty.
1467 "this_session" also works, for backwards compatibility.
1468
1469 *v:throwpoint* *throwpoint-variable*
1470v:throwpoint The point where the exception most recently caught and not
1471 finished was thrown. Not set when commands are typed. See
1472 also |v:exception| and |throw-variables|.
1473 Example: >
1474 :try
1475 : throw "oops"
1476 :catch /.*/
1477 : echo "Exception from" v:throwpoint
1478 :endtry
1479< Output: "Exception from test.vim, line 2"
1480
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00001481 *v:val* *val-variable*
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00001482v:val Value of the current item of a |List| or |Dictionary|. Only
1483 valid while evaluating the expression used with |map()| and
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00001484 |filter()|. Read-only.
1485
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001486 *v:version* *version-variable*
1487v:version Version number of Vim: Major version number times 100 plus
1488 minor version number. Version 5.0 is 500. Version 5.1 (5.01)
1489 is 501. Read-only. "version" also works, for backwards
1490 compatibility.
1491 Use |has()| to check if a certain patch was included, e.g.: >
1492 if has("patch123")
1493< Note that patch numbers are specific to the version, thus both
1494 version 5.0 and 5.1 may have a patch 123, but these are
1495 completely different.
1496
1497 *v:warningmsg* *warningmsg-variable*
1498v:warningmsg Last given warning message. It's allowed to set this variable.
1499
1500==============================================================================
15014. Builtin Functions *functions*
1502
1503See |function-list| for a list grouped by what the function is used for.
1504
Bram Moolenaar402d2fe2005-04-15 21:00:38 +00001505(Use CTRL-] on the function name to jump to the full explanation.)
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001506
1507USAGE RESULT DESCRIPTION ~
1508
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00001509add( {list}, {item}) List append {item} to |List| {list}
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001510append( {lnum}, {string}) Number append {string} below line {lnum}
Bram Moolenaar7c626922005-02-07 22:01:03 +00001511append( {lnum}, {list}) Number append lines {list} below line {lnum}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001512argc() Number number of files in the argument list
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001513argidx() Number current index in the argument list
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001514argv( {nr}) String {nr} entry of the argument list
Bram Moolenaare2f98b92006-03-29 21:18:24 +00001515argv( ) List the argument list
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001516browse( {save}, {title}, {initdir}, {default})
1517 String put up a file requester
Bram Moolenaar7b0294c2004-10-11 10:16:09 +00001518browsedir( {title}, {initdir}) String put up a directory requester
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001519bufexists( {expr}) Number TRUE if buffer {expr} exists
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001520buflisted( {expr}) Number TRUE if buffer {expr} is listed
1521bufloaded( {expr}) Number TRUE if buffer {expr} is loaded
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001522bufname( {expr}) String Name of the buffer {expr}
1523bufnr( {expr}) Number Number of the buffer {expr}
1524bufwinnr( {expr}) Number window number of buffer {expr}
1525byte2line( {byte}) Number line number at byte count {byte}
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001526byteidx( {expr}, {nr}) Number byte index of {nr}'th char in {expr}
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00001527call( {func}, {arglist} [, {dict}])
1528 any call {func} with arguments {arglist}
Bram Moolenaarca003e12006-03-17 23:19:38 +00001529changenr() Number current change number
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001530char2nr( {expr}) Number ASCII value of first char in {expr}
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001531cindent( {lnum}) Number C indent for line {lnum}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001532col( {expr}) Number column nr of cursor or mark
Bram Moolenaara94bc432006-03-10 21:42:59 +00001533complete({startcol}, {matches}) String set Insert mode completion
Bram Moolenaar572cb562005-08-05 21:35:02 +00001534complete_add( {expr}) Number add completion match
1535complete_check() Number check for key typed during completion
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001536confirm( {msg} [, {choices} [, {default} [, {type}]]])
1537 Number number of choice picked by user
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001538copy( {expr}) any make a shallow copy of {expr}
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00001539count( {list}, {expr} [, {start} [, {ic}]])
1540 Number count how many {expr} are in {list}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001541cscope_connection( [{num} , {dbpath} [, {prepend}]])
1542 Number checks existence of cscope connection
Bram Moolenaar0b238792006-03-02 22:49:12 +00001543cursor( {lnum}, {col} [, {coladd}])
1544 Number move cursor to {lnum}, {col}, {coladd}
1545cursor( {list}) Number move cursor to position in {list}
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001546deepcopy( {expr}) any make a full copy of {expr}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001547delete( {fname}) Number delete file {fname}
1548did_filetype() Number TRUE if FileType autocommand event used
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001549diff_filler( {lnum}) Number diff filler lines about {lnum}
1550diff_hlID( {lnum}, {col}) Number diff highlighting at {lnum}/{col}
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +00001551empty( {expr}) Number TRUE if {expr} is empty
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001552escape( {string}, {chars}) String escape {chars} in {string} with '\'
Bram Moolenaare2cc9702005-03-15 22:43:58 +00001553eval( {string}) any evaluate {string} into its value
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001554eventhandler( ) Number TRUE if inside an event handler
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001555executable( {expr}) Number 1 if executable {expr} exists
1556exists( {expr}) Number TRUE if {expr} exists
Bram Moolenaarc6fe9192006-04-09 21:54:49 +00001557extend({expr1}, {expr2} [, {expr3}])
1558 List/Dict insert items of {expr2} into {expr1}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001559expand( {expr}) String expand special keywords in {expr}
1560filereadable( {file}) Number TRUE if {file} is a readable file
Bram Moolenaarc6fe9192006-04-09 21:54:49 +00001561filewritable( {file}) Number TRUE if {file} is a writable file
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00001562filter( {expr}, {string}) List/Dict remove items from {expr} where
1563 {string} is 0
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00001564finddir( {name}[, {path}[, {count}]])
Bram Moolenaarc6fe9192006-04-09 21:54:49 +00001565 String find directory {name} in {path}
Bram Moolenaar89cb5e02004-07-19 20:55:54 +00001566findfile( {name}[, {path}[, {count}]])
Bram Moolenaarc6fe9192006-04-09 21:54:49 +00001567 String find file {name} in {path}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001568fnamemodify( {fname}, {mods}) String modify file name
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001569foldclosed( {lnum}) Number first line of fold at {lnum} if closed
1570foldclosedend( {lnum}) Number last line of fold at {lnum} if closed
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001571foldlevel( {lnum}) Number fold level at {lnum}
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001572foldtext( ) String line displayed for closed fold
Bram Moolenaarc6fe9192006-04-09 21:54:49 +00001573foldtextresult( {lnum}) String text for closed fold at {lnum}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001574foreground( ) Number bring the Vim window to the foreground
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001575function( {name}) Funcref reference to function {name}
Bram Moolenaarc6fe9192006-04-09 21:54:49 +00001576garbagecollect() none free memory, breaking cyclic references
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00001577get( {list}, {idx} [, {def}]) any get item {idx} from {list} or {def}
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00001578get( {dict}, {key} [, {def}]) any get item {key} from {dict} or {def}
Bram Moolenaar45360022005-07-21 21:08:21 +00001579getbufline( {expr}, {lnum} [, {end}])
1580 List lines {lnum} to {end} of buffer {expr}
Bram Moolenaarc6fe9192006-04-09 21:54:49 +00001581getbufvar( {expr}, {varname}) any variable {varname} in buffer {expr}
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001582getchar( [expr]) Number get one character from the user
1583getcharmod( ) Number modifiers for the last typed character
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001584getcmdline() String return the current command-line
1585getcmdpos() Number return cursor position in command-line
Bram Moolenaarbfd8fc02005-09-20 23:22:24 +00001586getcmdtype() String return the current command-line type
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001587getcwd() String the current working directory
Bram Moolenaar5eb86f92004-07-26 12:53:41 +00001588getfperm( {fname}) String file permissions of file {fname}
1589getfsize( {fname}) Number size in bytes of file {fname}
Bram Moolenaard8b0cf12004-12-12 11:33:30 +00001590getfontname( [{name}]) String name of font being used
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001591getftime( {fname}) Number last modification time of file
Bram Moolenaar5eb86f92004-07-26 12:53:41 +00001592getftype( {fname}) String description of type of file {fname}
Bram Moolenaar7c626922005-02-07 22:01:03 +00001593getline( {lnum}) String line {lnum} of current buffer
1594getline( {lnum}, {end}) List lines {lnum} to {end} of current buffer
Bram Moolenaar17c7c012006-01-26 22:25:15 +00001595getloclist({nr}) List list of location list items
Bram Moolenaar0b238792006-03-02 22:49:12 +00001596getpos( {expr}) List position of cursor, mark, etc.
Bram Moolenaar68b76a62005-03-25 21:53:48 +00001597getqflist() List list of quickfix items
Bram Moolenaar2389c3c2005-05-22 22:07:59 +00001598getreg( [{regname} [, 1]]) String contents of register
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001599getregtype( [{regname}]) String type of register
Bram Moolenaarc6249bb2006-04-15 20:25:09 +00001600gettabwinvar( {tabnr}, {winnr}, {name})
1601 any {name} in {winnr} in tab page {tabnr}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001602getwinposx() Number X coord in pixels of GUI Vim window
1603getwinposy() Number Y coord in pixels of GUI Vim window
Bram Moolenaarc6fe9192006-04-09 21:54:49 +00001604getwinvar( {nr}, {varname}) any variable {varname} in window {nr}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001605glob( {expr}) String expand file wildcards in {expr}
1606globpath( {path}, {expr}) String do glob({expr}) for all dirs in {path}
1607has( {feature}) Number TRUE if feature {feature} supported
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00001608has_key( {dict}, {key}) Number TRUE if {dict} has entry {key}
Bram Moolenaar97b2ad32006-03-18 21:40:56 +00001609hasmapto( {what} [, {mode} [, {abbr}]])
1610 Number TRUE if mapping to {what} exists
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001611histadd( {history},{item}) String add an item to a history
1612histdel( {history} [, {item}]) String remove an item from a history
1613histget( {history} [, {index}]) String get the item {index} from a history
1614histnr( {history}) Number highest index of a history
1615hlexists( {name}) Number TRUE if highlight group {name} exists
1616hlID( {name}) Number syntax ID of highlight group {name}
1617hostname() String name of the machine Vim is running on
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001618iconv( {expr}, {from}, {to}) String convert encoding of {expr}
1619indent( {lnum}) Number indent of line {lnum}
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00001620index( {list}, {expr} [, {start} [, {ic}]])
1621 Number index in {list} where {expr} appears
Bram Moolenaarbfd8fc02005-09-20 23:22:24 +00001622input( {prompt} [, {text} [, {completion}]])
1623 String get input from the user
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001624inputdialog( {p} [, {t} [, {c}]]) String like input() but in a GUI dialog
Bram Moolenaarc6fe9192006-04-09 21:54:49 +00001625inputlist( {textlist}) Number let the user pick from a choice list
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001626inputrestore() Number restore typeahead
1627inputsave() Number save and clear typeahead
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001628inputsecret( {prompt} [, {text}]) String like input() but hiding the text
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001629insert( {list}, {item} [, {idx}]) List insert {item} in {list} [before {idx}]
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001630isdirectory( {directory}) Number TRUE if {directory} is a directory
Bram Moolenaar2ce06f62005-01-31 19:19:04 +00001631islocked( {expr}) Number TRUE if {expr} is locked
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00001632items( {dict}) List key-value pairs in {dict}
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00001633join( {list} [, {sep}]) String join {list} items into one String
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00001634keys( {dict}) List keys in {dict}
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001635len( {expr}) Number the length of {expr}
1636libcall( {lib}, {func}, {arg}) String call {func} in library {lib} with {arg}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001637libcallnr( {lib}, {func}, {arg}) Number idem, but return a Number
1638line( {expr}) Number line nr of cursor, last line or mark
1639line2byte( {lnum}) Number byte count of line {lnum}
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001640lispindent( {lnum}) Number Lisp indent for line {lnum}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001641localtime() Number current time
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00001642map( {expr}, {string}) List/Dict change each item in {expr} to {expr}
Bram Moolenaar97b2ad32006-03-18 21:40:56 +00001643maparg( {name}[, {mode} [, {abbr}]])
1644 String rhs of mapping {name} in mode {mode}
1645mapcheck( {name}[, {mode} [, {abbr}]])
1646 String check for mappings matching {name}
Bram Moolenaar89cb5e02004-07-19 20:55:54 +00001647match( {expr}, {pat}[, {start}[, {count}]])
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001648 Number position where {pat} matches in {expr}
Bram Moolenaar910f66f2006-04-05 20:41:53 +00001649matcharg( {nr}) List arguments of |:match|
Bram Moolenaar89cb5e02004-07-19 20:55:54 +00001650matchend( {expr}, {pat}[, {start}[, {count}]])
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001651 Number position where {pat} ends in {expr}
Bram Moolenaar3a7c85b2005-02-05 21:39:53 +00001652matchlist( {expr}, {pat}[, {start}[, {count}]])
1653 List match and submatches of {pat} in {expr}
Bram Moolenaar89cb5e02004-07-19 20:55:54 +00001654matchstr( {expr}, {pat}[, {start}[, {count}]])
1655 String {count}'th match of {pat} in {expr}
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +00001656max({list}) Number maximum value of items in {list}
1657min({list}) Number minumum value of items in {list}
Bram Moolenaar26a60b42005-02-22 08:49:11 +00001658mkdir({name} [, {path} [, {prot}]])
1659 Number create directory {name}
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001660mode() String current editing mode
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001661nextnonblank( {lnum}) Number line nr of non-blank line >= {lnum}
1662nr2char( {expr}) String single char with ASCII value {expr}
Bram Moolenaar910f66f2006-04-05 20:41:53 +00001663pathshorten( {expr}) String shorten directory names in a path
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001664prevnonblank( {lnum}) Number line nr of non-blank line <= {lnum}
Bram Moolenaar4be06f92005-07-29 22:36:03 +00001665printf( {fmt}, {expr1}...) String format text
Bram Moolenaar1d2ba7f2006-02-14 22:29:30 +00001666pumvisible() Number whether popup menu is visible
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +00001667range( {expr} [, {max} [, {stride}]])
1668 List items from {expr} to {max}
Bram Moolenaar26a60b42005-02-22 08:49:11 +00001669readfile({fname} [, {binary} [, {max}]])
1670 List get list of lines from file {fname}
Bram Moolenaar433f7c82006-03-21 21:29:36 +00001671reltime( [{start} [, {end}]]) List get time value
1672reltimestr( {time}) String turn time value into a String
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001673remote_expr( {server}, {string} [, {idvar}])
1674 String send expression
1675remote_foreground( {server}) Number bring Vim server to the foreground
1676remote_peek( {serverid} [, {retvar}])
1677 Number check for reply string
1678remote_read( {serverid}) String read reply string
1679remote_send( {server}, {string} [, {idvar}])
1680 String send key sequence
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +00001681remove( {list}, {idx} [, {end}]) any remove items {idx}-{end} from {list}
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +00001682remove( {dict}, {key}) any remove entry {key} from {dict}
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001683rename( {from}, {to}) Number rename (move) file from {from} to {to}
1684repeat( {expr}, {count}) String repeat {expr} {count} times
1685resolve( {filename}) String get filename a shortcut points to
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00001686reverse( {list}) List reverse {list} in-place
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001687search( {pattern} [, {flags}]) Number search for {pattern}
Bram Moolenaarf75a9632005-09-13 21:20:47 +00001688searchdecl({name} [, {global} [, {thisblock}]])
1689 Number search for variable declaration
Bram Moolenaara23ccb82006-02-27 00:08:02 +00001690searchpair( {start}, {middle}, {end} [, {flags} [, {skip} [, {stopline}]]])
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001691 Number search for other end of start/end pair
Bram Moolenaara23ccb82006-02-27 00:08:02 +00001692searchpairpos( {start}, {middle}, {end} [, {flags} [, {skip} [, {stopline}]]])
Bram Moolenaar1d2ba7f2006-02-14 22:29:30 +00001693 List search for other end of start/end pair
Bram Moolenaara23ccb82006-02-27 00:08:02 +00001694searchpos( {pattern} [, {flags} [, {stopline}]])
Bram Moolenaar1d2ba7f2006-02-14 22:29:30 +00001695 List search for {pattern}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001696server2client( {clientid}, {string})
1697 Number send reply string
1698serverlist() String get a list of available servers
1699setbufvar( {expr}, {varname}, {val}) set {varname} in buffer {expr} to {val}
1700setcmdpos( {pos}) Number set cursor position in command-line
1701setline( {lnum}, {line}) Number set line {lnum} to {line}
Bram Moolenaar17c7c012006-01-26 22:25:15 +00001702setloclist( {nr}, {list}[, {action}])
1703 Number modify location list using {list}
Bram Moolenaarc6fe9192006-04-09 21:54:49 +00001704setpos( {expr}, {list}) none set the {expr} position to {list}
Bram Moolenaar17c7c012006-01-26 22:25:15 +00001705setqflist( {list}[, {action}]) Number modify quickfix list using {list}
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001706setreg( {n}, {v}[, {opt}]) Number set register to value and type
Bram Moolenaarc6249bb2006-04-15 20:25:09 +00001707settabwinvar( {tabnr}, {winnr}, {varname}, {val}) set {varname} in window
1708 {winnr} in tab page {tabnr} to {val}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001709setwinvar( {nr}, {varname}, {val}) set {varname} in window {nr} to {val}
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001710simplify( {filename}) String simplify filename as much as possible
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00001711sort( {list} [, {func}]) List sort {list}, using {func} to compare
Bram Moolenaar24bbcfe2005-06-28 23:32:02 +00001712soundfold( {word}) String sound-fold {word}
Bram Moolenaard857f0e2005-06-21 22:37:39 +00001713spellbadword() String badly spelled word at cursor
Bram Moolenaarc54b8a72005-09-30 21:20:29 +00001714spellsuggest( {word} [, {max} [, {capital}]])
1715 List spelling suggestions
Bram Moolenaar2389c3c2005-05-22 22:07:59 +00001716split( {expr} [, {pat} [, {keepempty}]])
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00001717 List make |List| from {pat} separated {expr}
Bram Moolenaar97b2ad32006-03-18 21:40:56 +00001718str2nr( {expr} [, {base}]) Number convert string to number
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001719strftime( {format}[, {time}]) String time in specified format
Bram Moolenaar8f999f12005-01-25 22:12:55 +00001720stridx( {haystack}, {needle}[, {start}])
1721 Number index of {needle} in {haystack}
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00001722string( {expr}) String String representation of {expr} value
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001723strlen( {expr}) Number length of the String {expr}
1724strpart( {src}, {start}[, {len}])
1725 String {len} characters of {src} at {start}
Bram Moolenaar677ee682005-01-27 14:41:15 +00001726strridx( {haystack}, {needle} [, {start}])
1727 Number last index of {needle} in {haystack}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001728strtrans( {expr}) String translate string to make it printable
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001729submatch( {nr}) String specific match in ":substitute"
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001730substitute( {expr}, {pat}, {sub}, {flags})
1731 String all {pat} in {expr} replaced with {sub}
Bram Moolenaar47136d72004-10-12 20:02:24 +00001732synID( {lnum}, {col}, {trans}) Number syntax ID at {lnum} and {col}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001733synIDattr( {synID}, {what} [, {mode}])
1734 String attribute {what} of syntax ID {synID}
1735synIDtrans( {synID}) Number translated syntax ID of {synID}
Bram Moolenaarc0197e22004-09-13 20:26:32 +00001736system( {expr} [, {input}]) String output of shell command/filter {expr}
Bram Moolenaarfaa959a2006-02-20 21:37:40 +00001737tabpagebuflist( [{arg}]) List list of buffer numbers in tab page
1738tabpagenr( [{arg}]) Number number of current or last tab page
1739tabpagewinnr( {tabarg}[, {arg}])
1740 Number number of current window in tab page
1741taglist( {expr}) List list of tags matching {expr}
Bram Moolenaare7eb9df2005-09-09 19:49:30 +00001742tagfiles() List tags files used
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001743tempname() String name for a temporary file
1744tolower( {expr}) String the String {expr} switched to lowercase
1745toupper( {expr}) String the String {expr} switched to uppercase
Bram Moolenaar8299df92004-07-10 09:47:34 +00001746tr( {src}, {fromstr}, {tostr}) String translate chars of {src} in {fromstr}
1747 to chars in {tostr}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001748type( {name}) Number type of variable {name}
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00001749values( {dict}) List values in {dict}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001750virtcol( {expr}) Number screen column of cursor or mark
1751visualmode( [expr]) String last visual mode used
1752winbufnr( {nr}) Number buffer number of window {nr}
1753wincol() Number window column of the cursor
1754winheight( {nr}) Number height of window {nr}
1755winline() Number window line of the cursor
Bram Moolenaar7e8fd632006-02-18 22:14:51 +00001756winnr( [{expr}]) Number number of current window
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001757winrestcmd() String returns command to restore window sizes
Bram Moolenaar87b5ca52006-03-04 21:55:31 +00001758winrestview({dict}) None restore view of current window
1759winsaveview() Dict save view of current window
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001760winwidth( {nr}) Number width of window {nr}
Bram Moolenaar3a7c85b2005-02-05 21:39:53 +00001761writefile({list}, {fname} [, {binary}])
1762 Number write list of lines to file {fname}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001763
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00001764add({list}, {expr}) *add()*
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00001765 Append the item {expr} to |List| {list}. Returns the
1766 resulting |List|. Examples: >
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00001767 :let alist = add([1, 2, 3], item)
1768 :call add(mylist, "woodstock")
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00001769< Note that when {expr} is a |List| it is appended as a single
Bram Moolenaara23ccb82006-02-27 00:08:02 +00001770 item. Use |extend()| to concatenate |Lists|.
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +00001771 Use |insert()| to add an item at another position.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001772
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00001773
1774append({lnum}, {expr}) *append()*
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00001775 When {expr} is a |List|: Append each item of the |List| as a
1776 text line below line {lnum} in the current buffer.
Bram Moolenaar748bf032005-02-02 23:04:36 +00001777 Otherwise append {expr} as one text line below line {lnum} in
1778 the current buffer.
1779 {lnum} can be zero to insert a line before the first one.
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00001780 Returns 1 for failure ({lnum} out of range or out of memory),
1781 0 for success. Example: >
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001782 :let failed = append(line('$'), "# THE END")
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00001783 :let failed = append(0, ["Chapter 1", "the beginning"])
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001784<
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001785 *argc()*
1786argc() The result is the number of files in the argument list of the
1787 current window. See |arglist|.
1788
1789 *argidx()*
1790argidx() The result is the current index in the argument list. 0 is
1791 the first file. argc() - 1 is the last one. See |arglist|.
1792
1793 *argv()*
Bram Moolenaare2f98b92006-03-29 21:18:24 +00001794argv([{nr}]) The result is the {nr}th file in the argument list of the
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001795 current window. See |arglist|. "argv(0)" is the first one.
1796 Example: >
1797 :let i = 0
1798 :while i < argc()
1799 : let f = escape(argv(i), '. ')
1800 : exe 'amenu Arg.' . f . ' :e ' . f . '<CR>'
1801 : let i = i + 1
1802 :endwhile
Bram Moolenaare2f98b92006-03-29 21:18:24 +00001803< Without the {nr} argument a |List| with the whole |arglist| is
1804 returned.
1805
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001806 *browse()*
1807browse({save}, {title}, {initdir}, {default})
1808 Put up a file requester. This only works when "has("browse")"
1809 returns non-zero (only in some GUI versions).
1810 The input fields are:
1811 {save} when non-zero, select file to write
1812 {title} title for the requester
1813 {initdir} directory to start browsing in
1814 {default} default file name
1815 When the "Cancel" button is hit, something went wrong, or
1816 browsing is not possible, an empty string is returned.
1817
Bram Moolenaar7b0294c2004-10-11 10:16:09 +00001818 *browsedir()*
1819browsedir({title}, {initdir})
1820 Put up a directory requester. This only works when
1821 "has("browse")" returns non-zero (only in some GUI versions).
1822 On systems where a directory browser is not supported a file
1823 browser is used. In that case: select a file in the directory
1824 to be used.
1825 The input fields are:
1826 {title} title for the requester
1827 {initdir} directory to start browsing in
1828 When the "Cancel" button is hit, something went wrong, or
1829 browsing is not possible, an empty string is returned.
1830
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001831bufexists({expr}) *bufexists()*
1832 The result is a Number, which is non-zero if a buffer called
1833 {expr} exists.
Bram Moolenaar69a7cb42004-06-20 12:51:53 +00001834 If the {expr} argument is a number, buffer numbers are used.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001835 If the {expr} argument is a string it must match a buffer name
Bram Moolenaar69a7cb42004-06-20 12:51:53 +00001836 exactly. The name can be:
1837 - Relative to the current directory.
1838 - A full path.
1839 - The name of a buffer with 'filetype' set to "nofile".
1840 - A URL name.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001841 Unlisted buffers will be found.
1842 Note that help files are listed by their short name in the
1843 output of |:buffers|, but bufexists() requires using their
1844 long name to be able to find them.
1845 Use "bufexists(0)" to test for the existence of an alternate
1846 file name.
1847 *buffer_exists()*
1848 Obsolete name: buffer_exists().
1849
1850buflisted({expr}) *buflisted()*
1851 The result is a Number, which is non-zero if a buffer called
1852 {expr} exists and is listed (has the 'buflisted' option set).
Bram Moolenaar69a7cb42004-06-20 12:51:53 +00001853 The {expr} argument is used like with |bufexists()|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001854
1855bufloaded({expr}) *bufloaded()*
1856 The result is a Number, which is non-zero if a buffer called
1857 {expr} exists and is loaded (shown in a window or hidden).
Bram Moolenaar69a7cb42004-06-20 12:51:53 +00001858 The {expr} argument is used like with |bufexists()|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001859
1860bufname({expr}) *bufname()*
1861 The result is the name of a buffer, as it is displayed by the
1862 ":ls" command.
1863 If {expr} is a Number, that buffer number's name is given.
1864 Number zero is the alternate buffer for the current window.
1865 If {expr} is a String, it is used as a |file-pattern| to match
1866 with the buffer names. This is always done like 'magic' is
1867 set and 'cpoptions' is empty. When there is more than one
1868 match an empty string is returned.
1869 "" or "%" can be used for the current buffer, "#" for the
1870 alternate buffer.
1871 A full match is preferred, otherwise a match at the start, end
1872 or middle of the buffer name is accepted.
1873 Listed buffers are found first. If there is a single match
1874 with a listed buffer, that one is returned. Next unlisted
1875 buffers are searched for.
1876 If the {expr} is a String, but you want to use it as a buffer
1877 number, force it to be a Number by adding zero to it: >
1878 :echo bufname("3" + 0)
1879< If the buffer doesn't exist, or doesn't have a name, an empty
1880 string is returned. >
1881 bufname("#") alternate buffer name
1882 bufname(3) name of buffer 3
1883 bufname("%") name of current buffer
1884 bufname("file2") name of buffer where "file2" matches.
1885< *buffer_name()*
1886 Obsolete name: buffer_name().
1887
1888 *bufnr()*
Bram Moolenaar65c923a2006-03-03 22:56:30 +00001889bufnr({expr} [, {create}])
1890 The result is the number of a buffer, as it is displayed by
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001891 the ":ls" command. For the use of {expr}, see |bufname()|
Bram Moolenaar65c923a2006-03-03 22:56:30 +00001892 above.
1893 If the buffer doesn't exist, -1 is returned. Or, if the
1894 {create} argument is present and not zero, a new, unlisted,
1895 buffer is created and its number is returned.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001896 bufnr("$") is the last buffer: >
1897 :let last_buffer = bufnr("$")
1898< The result is a Number, which is the highest buffer number
1899 of existing buffers. Note that not all buffers with a smaller
1900 number necessarily exist, because ":bwipeout" may have removed
1901 them. Use bufexists() to test for the existence of a buffer.
1902 *buffer_number()*
1903 Obsolete name: buffer_number().
1904 *last_buffer_nr()*
1905 Obsolete name for bufnr("$"): last_buffer_nr().
1906
1907bufwinnr({expr}) *bufwinnr()*
1908 The result is a Number, which is the number of the first
1909 window associated with buffer {expr}. For the use of {expr},
1910 see |bufname()| above. If buffer {expr} doesn't exist or
1911 there is no such window, -1 is returned. Example: >
1912
1913 echo "A window containing buffer 1 is " . (bufwinnr(1))
1914
1915< The number can be used with |CTRL-W_w| and ":wincmd w"
1916 |:wincmd|.
1917
1918
1919byte2line({byte}) *byte2line()*
1920 Return the line number that contains the character at byte
1921 count {byte} in the current buffer. This includes the
1922 end-of-line character, depending on the 'fileformat' option
1923 for the current buffer. The first character has byte count
1924 one.
1925 Also see |line2byte()|, |go| and |:goto|.
1926 {not available when compiled without the |+byte_offset|
1927 feature}
1928
Bram Moolenaarab79bcb2004-07-18 21:34:53 +00001929byteidx({expr}, {nr}) *byteidx()*
1930 Return byte index of the {nr}'th character in the string
1931 {expr}. Use zero for the first character, it returns zero.
1932 This function is only useful when there are multibyte
1933 characters, otherwise the returned value is equal to {nr}.
1934 Composing characters are counted as a separate character.
1935 Example : >
1936 echo matchstr(str, ".", byteidx(str, 3))
1937< will display the fourth character. Another way to do the
1938 same: >
1939 let s = strpart(str, byteidx(str, 3))
1940 echo strpart(s, 0, byteidx(s, 1))
1941< If there are less than {nr} characters -1 is returned.
1942 If there are exactly {nr} characters the length of the string
1943 is returned.
1944
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00001945call({func}, {arglist} [, {dict}]) *call()* *E699*
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00001946 Call function {func} with the items in |List| {arglist} as
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +00001947 arguments.
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00001948 {func} can either be a |Funcref| or the name of a function.
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +00001949 a:firstline and a:lastline are set to the cursor line.
1950 Returns the return value of the called function.
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00001951 {dict} is for functions with the "dict" attribute. It will be
1952 used to set the local variable "self". |Dictionary-function|
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +00001953
Bram Moolenaarca003e12006-03-17 23:19:38 +00001954changenr() *changenr()*
1955 Return the number of the most recent change. This is the same
1956 number as what is displayed with |:undolist| and can be used
1957 with the |:undo| command.
1958 When a change was made it is the number of that change. After
1959 redo it is the number of the redone change. After undo it is
1960 one less than the number of the undone change.
1961
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001962char2nr({expr}) *char2nr()*
1963 Return number value of the first char in {expr}. Examples: >
1964 char2nr(" ") returns 32
1965 char2nr("ABC") returns 65
1966< The current 'encoding' is used. Example for "utf-8": >
Bram Moolenaar98692072006-02-04 00:57:42 +00001967 char2nr("?") returns 225
1968 char2nr("?"[0]) returns 195
Bram Moolenaar402d2fe2005-04-15 21:00:38 +00001969< nr2char() does the opposite.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001970
1971cindent({lnum}) *cindent()*
1972 Get the amount of indent for line {lnum} according the C
1973 indenting rules, as with 'cindent'.
1974 The indent is counted in spaces, the value of 'tabstop' is
1975 relevant. {lnum} is used just like in |getline()|.
1976 When {lnum} is invalid or Vim was not compiled the |+cindent|
1977 feature, -1 is returned.
Bram Moolenaard5cdbeb2005-10-10 20:59:28 +00001978 See |C-indenting|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001979
1980 *col()*
Bram Moolenaarc0197e22004-09-13 20:26:32 +00001981col({expr}) The result is a Number, which is the byte index of the column
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001982 position given with {expr}. The accepted positions are:
1983 . the cursor position
1984 $ the end of the cursor line (the result is the
1985 number of characters in the cursor line plus one)
1986 'x position of mark x (if the mark is not set, 0 is
1987 returned)
Bram Moolenaar0b238792006-03-02 22:49:12 +00001988 To get the line number use |col()|. To get both use
1989 |getpos()|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001990 For the screen column position use |virtcol()|.
1991 Note that only marks in the current file can be used.
1992 Examples: >
1993 col(".") column of cursor
1994 col("$") length of cursor line plus one
1995 col("'t") column of mark t
1996 col("'" . markname) column of mark markname
1997< The first column is 1. 0 is returned for an error.
1998 For the cursor position, when 'virtualedit' is active, the
1999 column is one higher if the cursor is after the end of the
2000 line. This can be used to obtain the column in Insert mode: >
2001 :imap <F2> <C-O>:let save_ve = &ve<CR>
2002 \<C-O>:set ve=all<CR>
2003 \<C-O>:echo col(".") . "\n" <Bar>
2004 \let &ve = save_ve<CR>
2005<
Bram Moolenaar572cb562005-08-05 21:35:02 +00002006
Bram Moolenaara94bc432006-03-10 21:42:59 +00002007complete({startcol}, {matches}) *complete()* *E785*
2008 Set the matches for Insert mode completion.
2009 Can only be used in Insert mode. You need to use a mapping
2010 with an expression argument |:map-<expr>| or CTRL-R =
2011 |i_CTRL-R|. It does not work after CTRL-O.
2012 {startcol} is the byte offset in the line where the completed
2013 text start. The text up to the cursor is the original text
2014 that will be replaced by the matches. Use col('.') for an
2015 empty string. "col('.') - 1" will replace one character by a
2016 match.
2017 {matches} must be a |List|. Each |List| item is one match.
2018 See |complete-items| for the kind of items that are possible.
2019 Note that the after calling this function you need to avoid
2020 inserting anything that would completion to stop.
2021 The match can be selected with CTRL-N and CTRL-P as usual with
2022 Insert mode completion. The popup menu will appear if
2023 specified, see |ins-completion-menu|.
2024 Example: >
2025 inoremap <expr> <F5> ListMonths()
2026
2027 func! ListMonths()
2028 call complete(col('.'), ['January', 'February', 'March',
2029 \ 'April', 'May', 'June', 'July', 'August', 'September',
2030 \ 'October', 'November', 'December'])
2031 return ''
2032 endfunc
2033< This isn't very useful, but it shows how it works. Note that
2034 an empty string is returned to avoid a zero being inserted.
2035
Bram Moolenaar572cb562005-08-05 21:35:02 +00002036complete_add({expr}) *complete_add()*
2037 Add {expr} to the list of matches. Only to be used by the
2038 function specified with the 'completefunc' option.
2039 Returns 0 for failure (empty string or out of memory),
2040 1 when the match was added, 2 when the match was already in
2041 the list.
Bram Moolenaar39f05632006-03-19 22:15:26 +00002042 See |complete-functions| for an explanation of {expr}. It is
2043 the same as one item in the list that 'omnifunc' would return.
Bram Moolenaar572cb562005-08-05 21:35:02 +00002044
2045complete_check() *complete_check()*
2046 Check for a key typed while looking for completion matches.
2047 This is to be used when looking for matches takes some time.
2048 Returns non-zero when searching for matches is to be aborted,
2049 zero otherwise.
2050 Only to be used by the function specified with the
2051 'completefunc' option.
2052
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002053 *confirm()*
2054confirm({msg} [, {choices} [, {default} [, {type}]]])
2055 Confirm() offers the user a dialog, from which a choice can be
2056 made. It returns the number of the choice. For the first
2057 choice this is 1.
2058 Note: confirm() is only supported when compiled with dialog
2059 support, see |+dialog_con| and |+dialog_gui|.
2060 {msg} is displayed in a |dialog| with {choices} as the
2061 alternatives. When {choices} is missing or empty, "&OK" is
2062 used (and translated).
2063 {msg} is a String, use '\n' to include a newline. Only on
2064 some systems the string is wrapped when it doesn't fit.
2065 {choices} is a String, with the individual choices separated
2066 by '\n', e.g. >
2067 confirm("Save changes?", "&Yes\n&No\n&Cancel")
2068< The letter after the '&' is the shortcut key for that choice.
2069 Thus you can type 'c' to select "Cancel". The shortcut does
2070 not need to be the first letter: >
2071 confirm("file has been modified", "&Save\nSave &All")
2072< For the console, the first letter of each choice is used as
2073 the default shortcut key.
2074 The optional {default} argument is the number of the choice
2075 that is made if the user hits <CR>. Use 1 to make the first
2076 choice the default one. Use 0 to not set a default. If
2077 {default} is omitted, 1 is used.
2078 The optional {type} argument gives the type of dialog. This
2079 is only used for the icon of the Win32 GUI. It can be one of
2080 these values: "Error", "Question", "Info", "Warning" or
2081 "Generic". Only the first character is relevant. When {type}
2082 is omitted, "Generic" is used.
2083 If the user aborts the dialog by pressing <Esc>, CTRL-C,
2084 or another valid interrupt key, confirm() returns 0.
2085
2086 An example: >
2087 :let choice = confirm("What do you want?", "&Apples\n&Oranges\n&Bananas", 2)
2088 :if choice == 0
2089 : echo "make up your mind!"
2090 :elseif choice == 3
2091 : echo "tasteful"
2092 :else
2093 : echo "I prefer bananas myself."
2094 :endif
2095< In a GUI dialog, buttons are used. The layout of the buttons
2096 depends on the 'v' flag in 'guioptions'. If it is included,
2097 the buttons are always put vertically. Otherwise, confirm()
2098 tries to put the buttons in one horizontal line. If they
2099 don't fit, a vertical layout is used anyway. For some systems
2100 the horizontal layout is always used.
2101
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00002102 *copy()*
2103copy({expr}) Make a copy of {expr}. For Numbers and Strings this isn't
2104 different from using {expr} directly.
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00002105 When {expr} is a |List| a shallow copy is created. This means
2106 that the original |List| can be changed without changing the
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00002107 copy, and vise versa. But the items are identical, thus
Bram Moolenaara23ccb82006-02-27 00:08:02 +00002108 changing an item changes the contents of both |Lists|. Also
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00002109 see |deepcopy()|.
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00002110
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00002111count({comp}, {expr} [, {ic} [, {start}]]) *count()*
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +00002112 Return the number of times an item with value {expr} appears
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00002113 in |List| or |Dictionary| {comp}.
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00002114 If {start} is given then start with the item with this index.
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00002115 {start} can only be used with a |List|.
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +00002116 When {ic} is given and it's non-zero then case is ignored.
2117
2118
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002119 *cscope_connection()*
2120cscope_connection([{num} , {dbpath} [, {prepend}]])
2121 Checks for the existence of a |cscope| connection. If no
2122 parameters are specified, then the function returns:
2123 0, if cscope was not available (not compiled in), or
2124 if there are no cscope connections;
2125 1, if there is at least one cscope connection.
2126
2127 If parameters are specified, then the value of {num}
2128 determines how existence of a cscope connection is checked:
2129
2130 {num} Description of existence check
2131 ----- ------------------------------
2132 0 Same as no parameters (e.g., "cscope_connection()").
2133 1 Ignore {prepend}, and use partial string matches for
2134 {dbpath}.
2135 2 Ignore {prepend}, and use exact string matches for
2136 {dbpath}.
2137 3 Use {prepend}, use partial string matches for both
2138 {dbpath} and {prepend}.
2139 4 Use {prepend}, use exact string matches for both
2140 {dbpath} and {prepend}.
2141
2142 Note: All string comparisons are case sensitive!
2143
2144 Examples. Suppose we had the following (from ":cs show"): >
2145
2146 # pid database name prepend path
2147 0 27664 cscope.out /usr/local
2148<
2149 Invocation Return Val ~
2150 ---------- ---------- >
2151 cscope_connection() 1
2152 cscope_connection(1, "out") 1
2153 cscope_connection(2, "out") 0
2154 cscope_connection(3, "out") 0
2155 cscope_connection(3, "out", "local") 1
2156 cscope_connection(4, "out") 0
2157 cscope_connection(4, "out", "local") 0
2158 cscope_connection(4, "cscope.out", "/usr/local") 1
2159<
Bram Moolenaar0b238792006-03-02 22:49:12 +00002160cursor({lnum}, {col} [, {off}]) *cursor()*
2161cursor({list})
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002162 Positions the cursor at the column {col} in the line {lnum}.
Bram Moolenaar6f16eb82005-08-23 21:02:42 +00002163 The first column is one.
Bram Moolenaar0b238792006-03-02 22:49:12 +00002164 When there is one argument {list} this is used as a |List|
Bram Moolenaar65c923a2006-03-03 22:56:30 +00002165 with two or three items {lnum}, {col} and {off}. This is like
2166 the return value of |getpos()|, but without the first item.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002167 Does not change the jumplist.
2168 If {lnum} is greater than the number of lines in the buffer,
2169 the cursor will be positioned at the last line in the buffer.
2170 If {lnum} is zero, the cursor will stay in the current line.
Bram Moolenaar6f16eb82005-08-23 21:02:42 +00002171 If {col} is greater than the number of bytes in the line,
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002172 the cursor will be positioned at the last character in the
2173 line.
2174 If {col} is zero, the cursor will stay in the current column.
Bram Moolenaar0b238792006-03-02 22:49:12 +00002175 When 'virtualedit' is used {off} specifies the offset in
2176 screen columns from the start of the character. E.g., a
2177 position within a Tab or after the last character.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002178
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00002179
Bram Moolenaar4399ef42005-02-12 14:29:27 +00002180deepcopy({expr}[, {noref}]) *deepcopy()* *E698*
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00002181 Make a copy of {expr}. For Numbers and Strings this isn't
2182 different from using {expr} directly.
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00002183 When {expr} is a |List| a full copy is created. This means
2184 that the original |List| can be changed without changing the
2185 copy, and vise versa. When an item is a |List|, a copy for it
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00002186 is made, recursively. Thus changing an item in the copy does
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00002187 not change the contents of the original |List|.
2188 When {noref} is omitted or zero a contained |List| or
2189 |Dictionary| is only copied once. All references point to
2190 this single copy. With {noref} set to 1 every occurrence of a
2191 |List| or |Dictionary| results in a new copy. This also means
2192 that a cyclic reference causes deepcopy() to fail.
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00002193 *E724*
2194 Nesting is possible up to 100 levels. When there is an item
Bram Moolenaar4399ef42005-02-12 14:29:27 +00002195 that refers back to a higher level making a deep copy with
2196 {noref} set to 1 will fail.
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00002197 Also see |copy()|.
2198
2199delete({fname}) *delete()*
2200 Deletes the file by the name {fname}. The result is a Number,
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002201 which is 0 if the file was deleted successfully, and non-zero
2202 when the deletion failed.
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00002203 Use |remove()| to delete an item from a |List|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002204
2205 *did_filetype()*
2206did_filetype() Returns non-zero when autocommands are being executed and the
2207 FileType event has been triggered at least once. Can be used
2208 to avoid triggering the FileType event again in the scripts
2209 that detect the file type. |FileType|
2210 When editing another file, the counter is reset, thus this
2211 really checks if the FileType event has been triggered for the
2212 current buffer. This allows an autocommand that starts
2213 editing another buffer to set 'filetype' and load a syntax
2214 file.
2215
Bram Moolenaar47136d72004-10-12 20:02:24 +00002216diff_filler({lnum}) *diff_filler()*
2217 Returns the number of filler lines above line {lnum}.
2218 These are the lines that were inserted at this point in
2219 another diff'ed window. These filler lines are shown in the
2220 display but don't exist in the buffer.
2221 {lnum} is used like with |getline()|. Thus "." is the current
2222 line, "'m" mark m, etc.
2223 Returns 0 if the current window is not in diff mode.
2224
2225diff_hlID({lnum}, {col}) *diff_hlID()*
2226 Returns the highlight ID for diff mode at line {lnum} column
2227 {col} (byte index). When the current line does not have a
2228 diff change zero is returned.
2229 {lnum} is used like with |getline()|. Thus "." is the current
2230 line, "'m" mark m, etc.
2231 {col} is 1 for the leftmost column, {lnum} is 1 for the first
2232 line.
2233 The highlight ID can be used with |synIDattr()| to obtain
2234 syntax information about the highlighting.
2235
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +00002236empty({expr}) *empty()*
2237 Return the Number 1 if {expr} is empty, zero otherwise.
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00002238 A |List| or |Dictionary| is empty when it does not have any
2239 items. A Number is empty when its value is zero.
2240 For a long |List| this is much faster then comparing the
2241 length with zero.
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +00002242
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002243escape({string}, {chars}) *escape()*
2244 Escape the characters in {chars} that occur in {string} with a
2245 backslash. Example: >
2246 :echo escape('c:\program files\vim', ' \')
2247< results in: >
2248 c:\\program\ files\\vim
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00002249
2250< *eval()*
2251eval({string}) Evaluate {string} and return the result. Especially useful to
2252 turn the result of |string()| back into the original value.
2253 This works for Numbers, Strings and composites of them.
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00002254 Also works for |Funcref|s that refer to existing functions.
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00002255
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002256eventhandler() *eventhandler()*
2257 Returns 1 when inside an event handler. That is that Vim got
2258 interrupted while waiting for the user to type a character,
2259 e.g., when dropping a file on Vim. This means interactive
2260 commands cannot be used. Otherwise zero is returned.
2261
2262executable({expr}) *executable()*
2263 This function checks if an executable with the name {expr}
2264 exists. {expr} must be the name of the program without any
Bram Moolenaarf4b8e572004-06-24 15:53:16 +00002265 arguments.
2266 executable() uses the value of $PATH and/or the normal
2267 searchpath for programs. *PATHEXT*
2268 On MS-DOS and MS-Windows the ".exe", ".bat", etc. can
2269 optionally be included. Then the extensions in $PATHEXT are
2270 tried. Thus if "foo.exe" does not exist, "foo.exe.bat" can be
2271 found. If $PATHEXT is not set then ".exe;.com;.bat;.cmd" is
2272 used. A dot by itself can be used in $PATHEXT to try using
2273 the name without an extension. When 'shell' looks like a
2274 Unix shell, then the name is also tried without adding an
2275 extension.
2276 On MS-DOS and MS-Windows it only checks if the file exists and
2277 is not a directory, not if it's really executable.
Bram Moolenaar910f66f2006-04-05 20:41:53 +00002278 On MS-Windows an executable in the same directory as Vim is
2279 always found. Since this directory is added to $PATH it
2280 should also work to execute it |win32-PATH|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002281 The result is a Number:
2282 1 exists
2283 0 does not exist
2284 -1 not implemented on this system
2285
2286 *exists()*
2287exists({expr}) The result is a Number, which is non-zero if {expr} is
2288 defined, zero otherwise. The {expr} argument is a string,
2289 which contains one of these:
2290 &option-name Vim option (only checks if it exists,
2291 not if it really works)
2292 +option-name Vim option that works.
2293 $ENVNAME environment variable (could also be
2294 done by comparing with an empty
2295 string)
2296 *funcname built-in function (see |functions|)
2297 or user defined function (see
2298 |user-functions|).
2299 varname internal variable (see
Bram Moolenaar3a7c85b2005-02-05 21:39:53 +00002300 |internal-variables|). Also works
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00002301 for |curly-braces-names|, |Dictionary|
2302 entries, |List| items, etc. Beware
2303 that this may cause functions to be
Bram Moolenaar3a7c85b2005-02-05 21:39:53 +00002304 invoked cause an error message for an
2305 invalid expression.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002306 :cmdname Ex command: built-in command, user
2307 command or command modifier |:command|.
2308 Returns:
2309 1 for match with start of a command
2310 2 full match with a command
2311 3 matches several user commands
2312 To check for a supported command
2313 always check the return value to be 2.
2314 #event autocommand defined for this event
2315 #event#pattern autocommand defined for this event and
2316 pattern (the pattern is taken
2317 literally and compared to the
2318 autocommand patterns character by
2319 character)
Bram Moolenaara9b1e742005-12-19 22:14:58 +00002320 #group autocommand group exists
2321 #group#event autocommand defined for this group and
2322 event.
2323 #group#event#pattern
2324 autocommand defined for this group,
2325 event and pattern.
Bram Moolenaarf4cd3e82005-12-22 22:47:02 +00002326 ##event autocommand for this event is
2327 supported.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002328 For checking for a supported feature use |has()|.
2329
2330 Examples: >
2331 exists("&shortname")
2332 exists("$HOSTNAME")
2333 exists("*strftime")
2334 exists("*s:MyFunc")
2335 exists("bufcount")
2336 exists(":Make")
Bram Moolenaara9b1e742005-12-19 22:14:58 +00002337 exists("#CursorHold")
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002338 exists("#BufReadPre#*.gz")
Bram Moolenaara9b1e742005-12-19 22:14:58 +00002339 exists("#filetypeindent")
2340 exists("#filetypeindent#FileType")
2341 exists("#filetypeindent#FileType#*")
Bram Moolenaarf4cd3e82005-12-22 22:47:02 +00002342 exists("##ColorScheme")
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002343< There must be no space between the symbol (&/$/*/#) and the
2344 name.
2345 Note that the argument must be a string, not the name of the
2346 variable itself! For example: >
2347 exists(bufcount)
2348< This doesn't check for existence of the "bufcount" variable,
2349 but gets the contents of "bufcount", and checks if that
2350 exists.
2351
2352expand({expr} [, {flag}]) *expand()*
2353 Expand wildcards and the following special keywords in {expr}.
2354 The result is a String.
2355
2356 When there are several matches, they are separated by <NL>
2357 characters. [Note: in version 5.0 a space was used, which
2358 caused problems when a file name contains a space]
2359
2360 If the expansion fails, the result is an empty string. A name
2361 for a non-existing file is not included.
2362
2363 When {expr} starts with '%', '#' or '<', the expansion is done
2364 like for the |cmdline-special| variables with their associated
2365 modifiers. Here is a short overview:
2366
2367 % current file name
2368 # alternate file name
2369 #n alternate file name n
2370 <cfile> file name under the cursor
2371 <afile> autocmd file name
2372 <abuf> autocmd buffer number (as a String!)
2373 <amatch> autocmd matched name
2374 <sfile> sourced script file name
2375 <cword> word under the cursor
2376 <cWORD> WORD under the cursor
2377 <client> the {clientid} of the last received
2378 message |server2client()|
2379 Modifiers:
2380 :p expand to full path
2381 :h head (last path component removed)
2382 :t tail (last path component only)
2383 :r root (one extension removed)
2384 :e extension only
2385
2386 Example: >
2387 :let &tags = expand("%:p:h") . "/tags"
2388< Note that when expanding a string that starts with '%', '#' or
2389 '<', any following text is ignored. This does NOT work: >
2390 :let doesntwork = expand("%:h.bak")
2391< Use this: >
2392 :let doeswork = expand("%:h") . ".bak"
2393< Also note that expanding "<cfile>" and others only returns the
2394 referenced file name without further expansion. If "<cfile>"
2395 is "~/.cshrc", you need to do another expand() to have the
2396 "~/" expanded into the path of the home directory: >
2397 :echo expand(expand("<cfile>"))
2398<
2399 There cannot be white space between the variables and the
2400 following modifier. The |fnamemodify()| function can be used
2401 to modify normal file names.
2402
2403 When using '%' or '#', and the current or alternate file name
2404 is not defined, an empty string is used. Using "%:p" in a
2405 buffer with no name, results in the current directory, with a
2406 '/' added.
2407
2408 When {expr} does not start with '%', '#' or '<', it is
2409 expanded like a file name is expanded on the command line.
2410 'suffixes' and 'wildignore' are used, unless the optional
2411 {flag} argument is given and it is non-zero. Names for
Bram Moolenaar02743632005-07-25 20:42:36 +00002412 non-existing files are included. The "**" item can be used to
2413 search in a directory tree. For example, to find all "README"
2414 files in the current directory and below: >
2415 :echo expand("**/README")
2416<
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002417 Expand() can also be used to expand variables and environment
2418 variables that are only known in a shell. But this can be
2419 slow, because a shell must be started. See |expr-env-expand|.
2420 The expanded variable is still handled like a list of file
2421 names. When an environment variable cannot be expanded, it is
2422 left unchanged. Thus ":echo expand('$FOOBAR')" results in
2423 "$FOOBAR".
2424
2425 See |glob()| for finding existing files. See |system()| for
2426 getting the raw output of an external command.
2427
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00002428extend({expr1}, {expr2} [, {expr3}]) *extend()*
Bram Moolenaara23ccb82006-02-27 00:08:02 +00002429 {expr1} and {expr2} must be both |Lists| or both
2430 |Dictionaries|.
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00002431
Bram Moolenaara23ccb82006-02-27 00:08:02 +00002432 If they are |Lists|: Append {expr2} to {expr1}.
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00002433 If {expr3} is given insert the items of {expr2} before item
2434 {expr3} in {expr1}. When {expr3} is zero insert before the
2435 first item. When {expr3} is equal to len({expr1}) then
2436 {expr2} is appended.
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +00002437 Examples: >
2438 :echo sort(extend(mylist, [7, 5]))
2439 :call extend(mylist, [2, 3], 1)
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00002440< Use |add()| to concatenate one item to a list. To concatenate
2441 two lists into a new list use the + operator: >
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +00002442 :let newlist = [1, 2, 3] + [4, 5]
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00002443<
Bram Moolenaara23ccb82006-02-27 00:08:02 +00002444 If they are |Dictionaries|:
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00002445 Add all entries from {expr2} to {expr1}.
2446 If a key exists in both {expr1} and {expr2} then {expr3} is
2447 used to decide what to do:
2448 {expr3} = "keep": keep the value of {expr1}
2449 {expr3} = "force": use the value of {expr2}
Bram Moolenaar383f9bc2005-01-19 22:18:32 +00002450 {expr3} = "error": give an error message *E737*
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00002451 When {expr3} is omitted then "force" is assumed.
2452
2453 {expr1} is changed when {expr2} is not empty. If necessary
2454 make a copy of {expr1} first.
2455 {expr2} remains unchanged.
2456 Returns {expr1}.
2457
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +00002458
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002459filereadable({file}) *filereadable()*
2460 The result is a Number, which is TRUE when a file with the
2461 name {file} exists, and can be read. If {file} doesn't exist,
2462 or is a directory, the result is FALSE. {file} is any
2463 expression, which is used as a String.
2464 *file_readable()*
2465 Obsolete name: file_readable().
2466
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00002467
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00002468filter({expr}, {string}) *filter()*
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00002469 {expr} must be a |List| or a |Dictionary|.
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00002470 For each item in {expr} evaluate {string} and when the result
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00002471 is zero remove the item from the |List| or |Dictionary|.
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00002472 Inside {string} |v:val| has the value of the current item.
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00002473 For a |Dictionary| |v:key| has the key of the current item.
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00002474 Examples: >
2475 :call filter(mylist, 'v:val !~ "OLD"')
2476< Removes the items where "OLD" appears. >
2477 :call filter(mydict, 'v:key >= 8')
2478< Removes the items with a key below 8. >
2479 :call filter(var, 0)
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00002480< Removes all the items, thus clears the |List| or |Dictionary|.
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +00002481
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00002482 Note that {string} is the result of expression and is then
2483 used as an expression again. Often it is good to use a
2484 |literal-string| to avoid having to double backslashes.
2485
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00002486 The operation is done in-place. If you want a |List| or
2487 |Dictionary| to remain unmodified make a copy first: >
Bram Moolenaarafeb4fa2006-02-01 21:51:12 +00002488 :let l = filter(copy(mylist), 'v:val =~ "KEEP"')
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00002489
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00002490< Returns {expr}, the |List| or |Dictionary| that was filtered.
Bram Moolenaar280f1262006-01-30 00:14:18 +00002491 When an error is encountered while evaluating {string} no
2492 further items in {expr} are processed.
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00002493
2494
Bram Moolenaar89cb5e02004-07-19 20:55:54 +00002495finddir({name}[, {path}[, {count}]]) *finddir()*
Bram Moolenaar433f7c82006-03-21 21:29:36 +00002496 Find directory {name} in {path}. Returns the path of the
2497 first found match. When the found directory is below the
2498 current directory a relative path is returned. Otherwise a
2499 full path is returned.
Bram Moolenaar89cb5e02004-07-19 20:55:54 +00002500 If {path} is omitted or empty then 'path' is used.
2501 If the optional {count} is given, find {count}'s occurrence of
Bram Moolenaar433f7c82006-03-21 21:29:36 +00002502 {name} in {path} instead of the first one.
Bram Moolenaar899dddf2006-03-26 21:06:50 +00002503 When {count} is negative return all the matches in a |List|.
Bram Moolenaar89cb5e02004-07-19 20:55:54 +00002504 This is quite similar to the ex-command |:find|.
Bram Moolenaar89cb5e02004-07-19 20:55:54 +00002505 {only available when compiled with the +file_in_path feature}
2506
2507findfile({name}[, {path}[, {count}]]) *findfile()*
2508 Just like |finddir()|, but find a file instead of a directory.
Bram Moolenaar433f7c82006-03-21 21:29:36 +00002509 Uses 'suffixesadd'.
2510 Example: >
2511 :echo findfile("tags.vim", ".;")
2512< Searches from the current directory upwards until it finds
2513 the file "tags.vim".
Bram Moolenaar89cb5e02004-07-19 20:55:54 +00002514
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002515filewritable({file}) *filewritable()*
2516 The result is a Number, which is 1 when a file with the
2517 name {file} exists, and can be written. If {file} doesn't
2518 exist, or is not writable, the result is 0. If (file) is a
2519 directory, and we can write to it, the result is 2.
2520
2521fnamemodify({fname}, {mods}) *fnamemodify()*
2522 Modify file name {fname} according to {mods}. {mods} is a
2523 string of characters like it is used for file names on the
2524 command line. See |filename-modifiers|.
2525 Example: >
2526 :echo fnamemodify("main.c", ":p:h")
2527< results in: >
2528 /home/mool/vim/vim/src
2529< Note: Environment variables and "~" don't work in {fname}, use
2530 |expand()| first then.
2531
2532foldclosed({lnum}) *foldclosed()*
2533 The result is a Number. If the line {lnum} is in a closed
2534 fold, the result is the number of the first line in that fold.
2535 If the line {lnum} is not in a closed fold, -1 is returned.
2536
2537foldclosedend({lnum}) *foldclosedend()*
2538 The result is a Number. If the line {lnum} is in a closed
2539 fold, the result is the number of the last line in that fold.
2540 If the line {lnum} is not in a closed fold, -1 is returned.
2541
2542foldlevel({lnum}) *foldlevel()*
2543 The result is a Number, which is the foldlevel of line {lnum}
2544 in the current buffer. For nested folds the deepest level is
2545 returned. If there is no fold at line {lnum}, zero is
2546 returned. It doesn't matter if the folds are open or closed.
2547 When used while updating folds (from 'foldexpr') -1 is
2548 returned for lines where folds are still to be updated and the
2549 foldlevel is unknown. As a special case the level of the
2550 previous line is usually available.
2551
2552 *foldtext()*
2553foldtext() Returns a String, to be displayed for a closed fold. This is
2554 the default function used for the 'foldtext' option and should
2555 only be called from evaluating 'foldtext'. It uses the
2556 |v:foldstart|, |v:foldend| and |v:folddashes| variables.
2557 The returned string looks like this: >
2558 +-- 45 lines: abcdef
2559< The number of dashes depends on the foldlevel. The "45" is
2560 the number of lines in the fold. "abcdef" is the text in the
2561 first non-blank line of the fold. Leading white space, "//"
2562 or "/*" and the text from the 'foldmarker' and 'commentstring'
2563 options is removed.
2564 {not available when compiled without the |+folding| feature}
2565
Bram Moolenaar7b0294c2004-10-11 10:16:09 +00002566foldtextresult({lnum}) *foldtextresult()*
2567 Returns the text that is displayed for the closed fold at line
2568 {lnum}. Evaluates 'foldtext' in the appropriate context.
2569 When there is no closed fold at {lnum} an empty string is
2570 returned.
2571 {lnum} is used like with |getline()|. Thus "." is the current
2572 line, "'m" mark m, etc.
2573 Useful when exporting folded text, e.g., to HTML.
2574 {not available when compiled without the |+folding| feature}
2575
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002576 *foreground()*
2577foreground() Move the Vim window to the foreground. Useful when sent from
2578 a client to a Vim server. |remote_send()|
2579 On Win32 systems this might not work, the OS does not always
2580 allow a window to bring itself to the foreground. Use
2581 |remote_foreground()| instead.
2582 {only in the Win32, Athena, Motif and GTK GUI versions and the
2583 Win32 console version}
2584
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00002585
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +00002586function({name}) *function()* *E700*
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00002587 Return a |Funcref| variable that refers to function {name}.
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00002588 {name} can be a user defined function or an internal function.
2589
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00002590
Bram Moolenaar39a58ca2005-06-27 22:42:44 +00002591garbagecollect() *garbagecollect()*
Bram Moolenaara23ccb82006-02-27 00:08:02 +00002592 Cleanup unused |Lists| and |Dictionaries| that have circular
Bram Moolenaar39a58ca2005-06-27 22:42:44 +00002593 references. There is hardly ever a need to invoke this
2594 function, as it is automatically done when Vim runs out of
2595 memory or is waiting for the user to press a key after
2596 'updatetime'. Items without circular references are always
2597 freed when they become unused.
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00002598 This is useful if you have deleted a very big |List| and/or
2599 |Dictionary| with circular references in a script that runs
2600 for a long time.
Bram Moolenaar39a58ca2005-06-27 22:42:44 +00002601
Bram Moolenaar677ee682005-01-27 14:41:15 +00002602get({list}, {idx} [, {default}]) *get()*
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00002603 Get item {idx} from |List| {list}. When this item is not
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00002604 available return {default}. Return zero when {default} is
2605 omitted.
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00002606get({dict}, {key} [, {default}])
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00002607 Get item with key {key} from |Dictionary| {dict}. When this
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00002608 item is not available return {default}. Return zero when
2609 {default} is omitted.
2610
Bram Moolenaar45360022005-07-21 21:08:21 +00002611 *getbufline()*
2612getbufline({expr}, {lnum} [, {end}])
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00002613 Return a |List| with the lines starting from {lnum} to {end}
2614 (inclusive) in the buffer {expr}. If {end} is omitted, a
2615 |List| with only the line {lnum} is returned.
Bram Moolenaar45360022005-07-21 21:08:21 +00002616
2617 For the use of {expr}, see |bufname()| above.
2618
Bram Moolenaar661b1822005-07-28 22:36:45 +00002619 For {lnum} and {end} "$" can be used for the last line of the
2620 buffer. Otherwise a number must be used.
Bram Moolenaar45360022005-07-21 21:08:21 +00002621
2622 When {lnum} is smaller than 1 or bigger than the number of
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00002623 lines in the buffer, an empty |List| is returned.
Bram Moolenaar45360022005-07-21 21:08:21 +00002624
2625 When {end} is greater than the number of lines in the buffer,
2626 it is treated as {end} is set to the number of lines in the
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00002627 buffer. When {end} is before {lnum} an empty |List| is
Bram Moolenaar45360022005-07-21 21:08:21 +00002628 returned.
2629
Bram Moolenaar661b1822005-07-28 22:36:45 +00002630 This function works only for loaded buffers. For unloaded and
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00002631 non-existing buffers, an empty |List| is returned.
Bram Moolenaar45360022005-07-21 21:08:21 +00002632
2633 Example: >
2634 :let lines = getbufline(bufnr("myfile"), 1, "$")
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00002635
2636getbufvar({expr}, {varname}) *getbufvar()*
2637 The result is the value of option or local buffer variable
2638 {varname} in buffer {expr}. Note that the name without "b:"
2639 must be used.
Bram Moolenaar4317d9b2005-03-18 20:25:31 +00002640 This also works for a global or buffer-local option, but it
2641 doesn't work for a global variable, window-local variable or
2642 window-local option.
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00002643 For the use of {expr}, see |bufname()| above.
2644 When the buffer or variable doesn't exist an empty string is
2645 returned, there is no error message.
2646 Examples: >
2647 :let bufmodified = getbufvar(1, "&mod")
2648 :echo "todo myvar = " . getbufvar("todo", "myvar")
2649<
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002650getchar([expr]) *getchar()*
2651 Get a single character from the user. If it is an 8-bit
2652 character, the result is a number. Otherwise a String is
2653 returned with the encoded character. For a special key it's a
2654 sequence of bytes starting with 0x80 (decimal: 128).
2655 If [expr] is omitted, wait until a character is available.
2656 If [expr] is 0, only get a character when one is available.
2657 If [expr] is 1, only check if a character is available, it is
2658 not consumed. If a normal character is
2659 available, it is returned, otherwise a
2660 non-zero value is returned.
2661 If a normal character available, it is returned as a Number.
2662 Use nr2char() to convert it to a String.
2663 The returned value is zero if no character is available.
2664 The returned value is a string of characters for special keys
2665 and when a modifier (shift, control, alt) was used.
2666 There is no prompt, you will somehow have to make clear to the
2667 user that a character has to be typed.
2668 There is no mapping for the character.
2669 Key codes are replaced, thus when the user presses the <Del>
2670 key you get the code for the <Del> key, not the raw character
2671 sequence. Examples: >
2672 getchar() == "\<Del>"
2673 getchar() == "\<S-Left>"
2674< This example redefines "f" to ignore case: >
2675 :nmap f :call FindChar()<CR>
2676 :function FindChar()
2677 : let c = nr2char(getchar())
2678 : while col('.') < col('$') - 1
2679 : normal l
2680 : if getline('.')[col('.') - 1] ==? c
2681 : break
2682 : endif
2683 : endwhile
2684 :endfunction
2685
2686getcharmod() *getcharmod()*
2687 The result is a Number which is the state of the modifiers for
2688 the last obtained character with getchar() or in another way.
2689 These values are added together:
2690 2 shift
2691 4 control
2692 8 alt (meta)
2693 16 mouse double click
2694 32 mouse triple click
2695 64 mouse quadruple click
2696 128 Macintosh only: command
2697 Only the modifiers that have not been included in the
2698 character itself are obtained. Thus Shift-a results in "A"
2699 with no modifier.
2700
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002701getcmdline() *getcmdline()*
2702 Return the current command-line. Only works when the command
2703 line is being edited, thus requires use of |c_CTRL-\_e| or
2704 |c_CTRL-R_=|.
2705 Example: >
2706 :cmap <F7> <C-\>eescape(getcmdline(), ' \')<CR>
Bram Moolenaarbfd8fc02005-09-20 23:22:24 +00002707< Also see |getcmdtype()|, |getcmdpos()| and |setcmdpos()|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002708
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00002709getcmdpos() *getcmdpos()*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002710 Return the position of the cursor in the command line as a
2711 byte count. The first column is 1.
2712 Only works when editing the command line, thus requires use of
2713 |c_CTRL-\_e| or |c_CTRL-R_=|. Returns 0 otherwise.
Bram Moolenaarbfd8fc02005-09-20 23:22:24 +00002714 Also see |getcmdtype()|, |setcmdpos()| and |getcmdline()|.
2715
2716getcmdtype() *getcmdtype()*
2717 Return the current command-line type. Possible return values
2718 are:
Bram Moolenaar1e015462005-09-25 22:16:38 +00002719 : normal Ex command
2720 > debug mode command |debug-mode|
2721 / forward search command
2722 ? backward search command
2723 @ |input()| command
2724 - |:insert| or |:append| command
Bram Moolenaarbfd8fc02005-09-20 23:22:24 +00002725 Only works when editing the command line, thus requires use of
2726 |c_CTRL-\_e| or |c_CTRL-R_=|. Returns an empty string
2727 otherwise.
2728 Also see |getcmdpos()|, |setcmdpos()| and |getcmdline()|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002729
2730 *getcwd()*
2731getcwd() The result is a String, which is the name of the current
2732 working directory.
2733
2734getfsize({fname}) *getfsize()*
2735 The result is a Number, which is the size in bytes of the
2736 given file {fname}.
2737 If {fname} is a directory, 0 is returned.
2738 If the file {fname} can't be found, -1 is returned.
2739
Bram Moolenaard8b0cf12004-12-12 11:33:30 +00002740getfontname([{name}]) *getfontname()*
2741 Without an argument returns the name of the normal font being
2742 used. Like what is used for the Normal highlight group
2743 |hl-Normal|.
2744 With an argument a check is done whether {name} is a valid
2745 font name. If not then an empty string is returned.
2746 Otherwise the actual font name is returned, or {name} if the
2747 GUI does not support obtaining the real name.
Bram Moolenaarc6fe9192006-04-09 21:54:49 +00002748 Only works when the GUI is running, thus not in your vimrc or
Bram Moolenaard8b0cf12004-12-12 11:33:30 +00002749 gvimrc file. Use the |GUIEnter| autocommand to use this
2750 function just after the GUI has started.
Bram Moolenaar910f66f2006-04-05 20:41:53 +00002751 Note that the GTK 2 GUI accepts any font name, thus checking
2752 for a valid name does not work.
Bram Moolenaard8b0cf12004-12-12 11:33:30 +00002753
Bram Moolenaar5eb86f92004-07-26 12:53:41 +00002754getfperm({fname}) *getfperm()*
2755 The result is a String, which is the read, write, and execute
2756 permissions of the given file {fname}.
2757 If {fname} does not exist or its directory cannot be read, an
2758 empty string is returned.
2759 The result is of the form "rwxrwxrwx", where each group of
2760 "rwx" flags represent, in turn, the permissions of the owner
2761 of the file, the group the file belongs to, and other users.
2762 If a user does not have a given permission the flag for this
2763 is replaced with the string "-". Example: >
2764 :echo getfperm("/etc/passwd")
2765< This will hopefully (from a security point of view) display
2766 the string "rw-r--r--" or even "rw-------".
Bram Moolenaare2cc9702005-03-15 22:43:58 +00002767
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002768getftime({fname}) *getftime()*
2769 The result is a Number, which is the last modification time of
2770 the given file {fname}. The value is measured as seconds
2771 since 1st Jan 1970, and may be passed to strftime(). See also
2772 |localtime()| and |strftime()|.
2773 If the file {fname} can't be found -1 is returned.
2774
Bram Moolenaar5eb86f92004-07-26 12:53:41 +00002775getftype({fname}) *getftype()*
2776 The result is a String, which is a description of the kind of
2777 file of the given file {fname}.
2778 If {fname} does not exist an empty string is returned.
2779 Here is a table over different kinds of files and their
2780 results:
2781 Normal file "file"
2782 Directory "dir"
2783 Symbolic link "link"
2784 Block device "bdev"
2785 Character device "cdev"
2786 Socket "socket"
2787 FIFO "fifo"
2788 All other "other"
2789 Example: >
2790 getftype("/home")
2791< Note that a type such as "link" will only be returned on
2792 systems that support it. On some systems only "dir" and
2793 "file" are returned.
2794
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002795 *getline()*
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00002796getline({lnum} [, {end}])
2797 Without {end} the result is a String, which is line {lnum}
2798 from the current buffer. Example: >
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002799 getline(1)
2800< When {lnum} is a String that doesn't start with a
2801 digit, line() is called to translate the String into a Number.
2802 To get the line under the cursor: >
2803 getline(".")
2804< When {lnum} is smaller than 1 or bigger than the number of
2805 lines in the buffer, an empty string is returned.
2806
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00002807 When {end} is given the result is a |List| where each item is
2808 a line from the current buffer in the range {lnum} to {end},
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00002809 including line {end}.
2810 {end} is used in the same way as {lnum}.
2811 Non-existing lines are silently omitted.
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00002812 When {end} is before {lnum} an empty |List| is returned.
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00002813 Example: >
2814 :let start = line('.')
2815 :let end = search("^$") - 1
2816 :let lines = getline(start, end)
2817
Bram Moolenaar17c7c012006-01-26 22:25:15 +00002818getloclist({nr}) *getloclist()*
2819 Returns a list with all the entries in the location list for
2820 window {nr}. When {nr} is zero the current window is used.
2821 For a location list window, the displayed location list is
Bram Moolenaar280f1262006-01-30 00:14:18 +00002822 returned. For an invalid window number {nr}, an empty list is
2823 returned. Otherwise, same as getqflist().
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00002824
Bram Moolenaar68b76a62005-03-25 21:53:48 +00002825getqflist() *getqflist()*
2826 Returns a list with all the current quickfix errors. Each
2827 list item is a dictionary with these entries:
2828 bufnr number of buffer that has the file name, use
2829 bufname() to get the name
2830 lnum line number in the buffer (first line is 1)
2831 col column number (first column is 1)
Bram Moolenaar582fd852005-03-28 20:58:01 +00002832 vcol non-zero: "col" is visual column
2833 zero: "col" is byte index
Bram Moolenaar68b76a62005-03-25 21:53:48 +00002834 nr error number
2835 text description of the error
2836 type type of the error, 'E', '1', etc.
2837 valid non-zero: recognized error message
2838
Bram Moolenaare7eb9df2005-09-09 19:49:30 +00002839 When there is no error list or it's empty an empty list is
2840 returned.
2841
Bram Moolenaar68b76a62005-03-25 21:53:48 +00002842 Useful application: Find pattern matches in multiple files and
2843 do something with them: >
2844 :vimgrep /theword/jg *.c
2845 :for d in getqflist()
2846 : echo bufname(d.bufnr) ':' d.lnum '=' d.text
2847 :endfor
2848
2849
Bram Moolenaar2389c3c2005-05-22 22:07:59 +00002850getreg([{regname} [, 1]]) *getreg()*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002851 The result is a String, which is the contents of register
Bram Moolenaar402d2fe2005-04-15 21:00:38 +00002852 {regname}. Example: >
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002853 :let cliptext = getreg('*')
2854< getreg('=') returns the last evaluated value of the expression
Bram Moolenaar402d2fe2005-04-15 21:00:38 +00002855 register. (For use in maps.)
Bram Moolenaar2389c3c2005-05-22 22:07:59 +00002856 getreg('=', 1) returns the expression itself, so that it can
2857 be restored with |setreg()|. For other registers the extra
2858 argument is ignored, thus you can always give it.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002859 If {regname} is not specified, |v:register| is used.
2860
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00002861
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002862getregtype([{regname}]) *getregtype()*
2863 The result is a String, which is type of register {regname}.
2864 The value will be one of:
2865 "v" for |characterwise| text
2866 "V" for |linewise| text
2867 "<CTRL-V>{width}" for |blockwise-visual| text
2868 0 for an empty or unknown register
2869 <CTRL-V> is one character with value 0x16.
2870 If {regname} is not specified, |v:register| is used.
2871
Bram Moolenaarc6249bb2006-04-15 20:25:09 +00002872gettabwinvar({tabnr}, {winnr}, {varname}) *gettabwinvar()*
2873 Get the value of an option or local window variable {varname}
2874 in window {winnr} in tab page {tabnr}.
2875 Tabs are numbered starting with one. For the current tabpage
2876 use |getwinvar()|.
2877 When {winnr} is zero the current window is used.
2878 This also works for a global option, buffer-local option and
2879 window-local option, but it doesn't work for a global variable
2880 or buffer-local variable.
2881 Note that the name without "w:" must be used.
2882 Examples: >
2883 :let list_is_on = gettabwinvar(1, 2, '&list')
2884 :echo "myvar = " . gettabwinvar(3, 1, 'myvar')
2885
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002886 *getwinposx()*
2887getwinposx() The result is a Number, which is the X coordinate in pixels of
2888 the left hand side of the GUI Vim window. The result will be
2889 -1 if the information is not available.
2890
2891 *getwinposy()*
2892getwinposy() The result is a Number, which is the Y coordinate in pixels of
2893 the top of the GUI Vim window. The result will be -1 if the
2894 information is not available.
2895
Bram Moolenaarc6249bb2006-04-15 20:25:09 +00002896getwinvar({winnr}, {varname}) *getwinvar()*
2897 Like |gettabwinvar()| for the current tabpage.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002898 Examples: >
2899 :let list_is_on = getwinvar(2, '&list')
2900 :echo "myvar = " . getwinvar(1, 'myvar')
2901<
2902 *glob()*
2903glob({expr}) Expand the file wildcards in {expr}. The result is a String.
2904 When there are several matches, they are separated by <NL>
2905 characters.
2906 If the expansion fails, the result is an empty string.
2907 A name for a non-existing file is not included.
2908
2909 For most systems backticks can be used to get files names from
2910 any external command. Example: >
2911 :let tagfiles = glob("`find . -name tags -print`")
2912 :let &tags = substitute(tagfiles, "\n", ",", "g")
2913< The result of the program inside the backticks should be one
2914 item per line. Spaces inside an item are allowed.
2915
2916 See |expand()| for expanding special Vim variables. See
2917 |system()| for getting the raw output of an external command.
2918
2919globpath({path}, {expr}) *globpath()*
2920 Perform glob() on all directories in {path} and concatenate
2921 the results. Example: >
2922 :echo globpath(&rtp, "syntax/c.vim")
2923< {path} is a comma-separated list of directory names. Each
2924 directory name is prepended to {expr} and expanded like with
2925 glob(). A path separator is inserted when needed.
2926 To add a comma inside a directory name escape it with a
2927 backslash. Note that on MS-Windows a directory may have a
2928 trailing backslash, remove it if you put a comma after it.
2929 If the expansion fails for one of the directories, there is no
2930 error message.
2931 The 'wildignore' option applies: Names matching one of the
2932 patterns in 'wildignore' will be skipped.
2933
Bram Moolenaar02743632005-07-25 20:42:36 +00002934 The "**" item can be used to search in a directory tree.
2935 For example, to find all "README.txt" files in the directories
2936 in 'runtimepath' and below: >
2937 :echo globpath(&rtp, "**/README.txt")
2938<
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002939 *has()*
2940has({feature}) The result is a Number, which is 1 if the feature {feature} is
2941 supported, zero otherwise. The {feature} argument is a
2942 string. See |feature-list| below.
2943 Also see |exists()|.
2944
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00002945
2946has_key({dict}, {key}) *has_key()*
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00002947 The result is a Number, which is 1 if |Dictionary| {dict} has
2948 an entry with key {key}. Zero otherwise.
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00002949
2950
Bram Moolenaar97b2ad32006-03-18 21:40:56 +00002951hasmapto({what} [, {mode} [, {abbr}]]) *hasmapto()*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002952 The result is a Number, which is 1 if there is a mapping that
2953 contains {what} in somewhere in the rhs (what it is mapped to)
2954 and this mapping exists in one of the modes indicated by
2955 {mode}.
Bram Moolenaar97b2ad32006-03-18 21:40:56 +00002956 When {abbr} is there and it is non-zero use abbreviations
Bram Moolenaar39f05632006-03-19 22:15:26 +00002957 instead of mappings. Don't forget to specify Insert and/or
2958 Command-line mode.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002959 Both the global mappings and the mappings local to the current
2960 buffer are checked for a match.
2961 If no matching mapping is found 0 is returned.
2962 The following characters are recognized in {mode}:
2963 n Normal mode
2964 v Visual mode
2965 o Operator-pending mode
2966 i Insert mode
2967 l Language-Argument ("r", "f", "t", etc.)
2968 c Command-line mode
2969 When {mode} is omitted, "nvo" is used.
2970
2971 This function is useful to check if a mapping already exists
2972 to a function in a Vim script. Example: >
2973 :if !hasmapto('\ABCdoit')
2974 : map <Leader>d \ABCdoit
2975 :endif
2976< This installs the mapping to "\ABCdoit" only if there isn't
2977 already a mapping to "\ABCdoit".
2978
2979histadd({history}, {item}) *histadd()*
2980 Add the String {item} to the history {history} which can be
2981 one of: *hist-names*
2982 "cmd" or ":" command line history
2983 "search" or "/" search pattern history
2984 "expr" or "=" typed expression history
2985 "input" or "@" input line history
2986 If {item} does already exist in the history, it will be
2987 shifted to become the newest entry.
2988 The result is a Number: 1 if the operation was successful,
2989 otherwise 0 is returned.
2990
2991 Example: >
2992 :call histadd("input", strftime("%Y %b %d"))
2993 :let date=input("Enter date: ")
2994< This function is not available in the |sandbox|.
2995
2996histdel({history} [, {item}]) *histdel()*
Bram Moolenaar402d2fe2005-04-15 21:00:38 +00002997 Clear {history}, i.e. delete all its entries. See |hist-names|
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002998 for the possible values of {history}.
2999
3000 If the parameter {item} is given as String, this is seen
3001 as regular expression. All entries matching that expression
3002 will be removed from the history (if there are any).
3003 Upper/lowercase must match, unless "\c" is used |/\c|.
3004 If {item} is a Number, it will be interpreted as index, see
3005 |:history-indexing|. The respective entry will be removed
3006 if it exists.
3007
3008 The result is a Number: 1 for a successful operation,
3009 otherwise 0 is returned.
3010
3011 Examples:
3012 Clear expression register history: >
3013 :call histdel("expr")
3014<
3015 Remove all entries starting with "*" from the search history: >
3016 :call histdel("/", '^\*')
3017<
3018 The following three are equivalent: >
3019 :call histdel("search", histnr("search"))
3020 :call histdel("search", -1)
3021 :call histdel("search", '^'.histget("search", -1).'$')
3022<
3023 To delete the last search pattern and use the last-but-one for
3024 the "n" command and 'hlsearch': >
3025 :call histdel("search", -1)
3026 :let @/ = histget("search", -1)
3027
3028histget({history} [, {index}]) *histget()*
3029 The result is a String, the entry with Number {index} from
3030 {history}. See |hist-names| for the possible values of
3031 {history}, and |:history-indexing| for {index}. If there is
3032 no such entry, an empty String is returned. When {index} is
3033 omitted, the most recent item from the history is used.
3034
3035 Examples:
3036 Redo the second last search from history. >
3037 :execute '/' . histget("search", -2)
3038
3039< Define an Ex command ":H {num}" that supports re-execution of
3040 the {num}th entry from the output of |:history|. >
3041 :command -nargs=1 H execute histget("cmd", 0+<args>)
3042<
3043histnr({history}) *histnr()*
3044 The result is the Number of the current entry in {history}.
3045 See |hist-names| for the possible values of {history}.
3046 If an error occurred, -1 is returned.
3047
3048 Example: >
3049 :let inp_index = histnr("expr")
3050<
3051hlexists({name}) *hlexists()*
3052 The result is a Number, which is non-zero if a highlight group
3053 called {name} exists. This is when the group has been
3054 defined in some way. Not necessarily when highlighting has
3055 been defined for it, it may also have been used for a syntax
3056 item.
3057 *highlight_exists()*
3058 Obsolete name: highlight_exists().
3059
3060 *hlID()*
3061hlID({name}) The result is a Number, which is the ID of the highlight group
3062 with name {name}. When the highlight group doesn't exist,
3063 zero is returned.
3064 This can be used to retrieve information about the highlight
3065 group. For example, to get the background color of the
3066 "Comment" group: >
3067 :echo synIDattr(synIDtrans(hlID("Comment")), "bg")
3068< *highlightID()*
3069 Obsolete name: highlightID().
3070
3071hostname() *hostname()*
3072 The result is a String, which is the name of the machine on
Bram Moolenaar402d2fe2005-04-15 21:00:38 +00003073 which Vim is currently running. Machine names greater than
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003074 256 characters long are truncated.
3075
3076iconv({expr}, {from}, {to}) *iconv()*
3077 The result is a String, which is the text {expr} converted
3078 from encoding {from} to encoding {to}.
3079 When the conversion fails an empty string is returned.
3080 The encoding names are whatever the iconv() library function
3081 can accept, see ":!man 3 iconv".
3082 Most conversions require Vim to be compiled with the |+iconv|
3083 feature. Otherwise only UTF-8 to latin1 conversion and back
3084 can be done.
3085 This can be used to display messages with special characters,
3086 no matter what 'encoding' is set to. Write the message in
3087 UTF-8 and use: >
3088 echo iconv(utf8_str, "utf-8", &enc)
3089< Note that Vim uses UTF-8 for all Unicode encodings, conversion
3090 from/to UCS-2 is automatically changed to use UTF-8. You
3091 cannot use UCS-2 in a string anyway, because of the NUL bytes.
3092 {only available when compiled with the +multi_byte feature}
3093
3094 *indent()*
3095indent({lnum}) The result is a Number, which is indent of line {lnum} in the
3096 current buffer. The indent is counted in spaces, the value
3097 of 'tabstop' is relevant. {lnum} is used just like in
3098 |getline()|.
3099 When {lnum} is invalid -1 is returned.
3100
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +00003101
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00003102index({list}, {expr} [, {start} [, {ic}]]) *index()*
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00003103 Return the lowest index in |List| {list} where the item has a
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +00003104 value equal to {expr}.
Bram Moolenaar748bf032005-02-02 23:04:36 +00003105 If {start} is given then start looking at the item with index
3106 {start} (may be negative for an item relative to the end).
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +00003107 When {ic} is given and it is non-zero, ignore case. Otherwise
3108 case must match.
3109 -1 is returned when {expr} is not found in {list}.
3110 Example: >
3111 :let idx = index(words, "the")
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +00003112 :if index(numbers, 123) >= 0
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +00003113
3114
Bram Moolenaarbfd8fc02005-09-20 23:22:24 +00003115input({prompt} [, {text} [, {completion}]]) *input()*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003116 The result is a String, which is whatever the user typed on
3117 the command-line. The parameter is either a prompt string, or
3118 a blank string (for no prompt). A '\n' can be used in the
Bram Moolenaarbfd8fc02005-09-20 23:22:24 +00003119 prompt to start a new line.
3120 The highlighting set with |:echohl| is used for the prompt.
3121 The input is entered just like a command-line, with the same
3122 editing commands and mappings. There is a separate history
3123 for lines typed for input().
3124 Example: >
3125 :if input("Coffee or beer? ") == "beer"
3126 : echo "Cheers!"
3127 :endif
3128<
Bram Moolenaar1e015462005-09-25 22:16:38 +00003129 If the optional {text} is present and not empty, this is used
3130 for the default reply, as if the user typed this. Example: >
Bram Moolenaarbfd8fc02005-09-20 23:22:24 +00003131 :let color = input("Color? ", "white")
3132
3133< The optional {completion} argument specifies the type of
3134 completion supported for the input. Without it completion is
3135 not performed. The supported completion types are the same as
3136 that can be supplied to a user-defined command using the
3137 "-complete=" argument. Refer to |:command-completion| for
3138 more information. Example: >
3139 let fname = input("File: ", "", "file")
3140<
3141 NOTE: This function must not be used in a startup file, for
3142 the versions that only run in GUI mode (e.g., the Win32 GUI).
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003143 Note: When input() is called from within a mapping it will
3144 consume remaining characters from that mapping, because a
3145 mapping is handled like the characters were typed.
3146 Use |inputsave()| before input() and |inputrestore()|
3147 after input() to avoid that. Another solution is to avoid
3148 that further characters follow in the mapping, e.g., by using
3149 |:execute| or |:normal|.
3150
Bram Moolenaarbfd8fc02005-09-20 23:22:24 +00003151 Example with a mapping: >
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003152 :nmap \x :call GetFoo()<CR>:exe "/" . Foo<CR>
3153 :function GetFoo()
3154 : call inputsave()
3155 : let g:Foo = input("enter search pattern: ")
3156 : call inputrestore()
3157 :endfunction
3158
3159inputdialog({prompt} [, {text} [, {cancelreturn}]]) *inputdialog()*
3160 Like input(), but when the GUI is running and text dialogs are
3161 supported, a dialog window pops up to input the text.
3162 Example: >
3163 :let n = inputdialog("value for shiftwidth", &sw)
3164 :if n != ""
3165 : let &sw = n
3166 :endif
3167< When the dialog is cancelled {cancelreturn} is returned. When
3168 omitted an empty string is returned.
3169 Hitting <Enter> works like pressing the OK button. Hitting
3170 <Esc> works like pressing the Cancel button.
Bram Moolenaarbfd8fc02005-09-20 23:22:24 +00003171 NOTE: Command-line completion is not supported.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003172
Bram Moolenaar578b49e2005-09-10 19:22:57 +00003173inputlist({textlist}) *inputlist()*
Bram Moolenaar910f66f2006-04-05 20:41:53 +00003174 {textlist} must be a |List| of strings. This |List| is
3175 displayed, one string per line. The user will be prompted to
3176 enter a number, which is returned.
Bram Moolenaar578b49e2005-09-10 19:22:57 +00003177 The user can also select an item by clicking on it with the
3178 mouse. For the first string 0 is returned. When clicking
3179 above the first item a negative number is returned. When
3180 clicking on the prompt one more than the length of {textlist}
3181 is returned.
3182 Make sure {textlist} has less then 'lines' entries, otherwise
3183 it won't work. It's a good idea to put the entry number at
3184 the start of the string. Example: >
3185 let color = inputlist(['Select color:', '1. red',
3186 \ '2. green', '3. blue'])
3187
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003188inputrestore() *inputrestore()*
3189 Restore typeahead that was saved with a previous inputsave().
3190 Should be called the same number of times inputsave() is
3191 called. Calling it more often is harmless though.
3192 Returns 1 when there is nothing to restore, 0 otherwise.
3193
3194inputsave() *inputsave()*
3195 Preserve typeahead (also from mappings) and clear it, so that
3196 a following prompt gets input from the user. Should be
3197 followed by a matching inputrestore() after the prompt. Can
3198 be used several times, in which case there must be just as
3199 many inputrestore() calls.
3200 Returns 1 when out of memory, 0 otherwise.
3201
3202inputsecret({prompt} [, {text}]) *inputsecret()*
3203 This function acts much like the |input()| function with but
3204 two exceptions:
3205 a) the user's response will be displayed as a sequence of
3206 asterisks ("*") thereby keeping the entry secret, and
3207 b) the user's response will not be recorded on the input
3208 |history| stack.
3209 The result is a String, which is whatever the user actually
3210 typed on the command-line in response to the issued prompt.
Bram Moolenaarbfd8fc02005-09-20 23:22:24 +00003211 NOTE: Command-line completion is not supported.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003212
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00003213insert({list}, {item} [, {idx}]) *insert()*
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00003214 Insert {item} at the start of |List| {list}.
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00003215 If {idx} is specified insert {item} before the item with index
3216 {idx}. If {idx} is zero it goes before the first item, just
3217 like omitting {idx}. A negative {idx} is also possible, see
3218 |list-index|. -1 inserts just before the last item.
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00003219 Returns the resulting |List|. Examples: >
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00003220 :let mylist = insert([2, 3, 5], 1)
3221 :call insert(mylist, 4, -1)
3222 :call insert(mylist, 6, len(mylist))
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00003223< The last example can be done simpler with |add()|.
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00003224 Note that when {item} is a |List| it is inserted as a single
Bram Moolenaara23ccb82006-02-27 00:08:02 +00003225 item. Use |extend()| to concatenate |Lists|.
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00003226
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003227isdirectory({directory}) *isdirectory()*
3228 The result is a Number, which is non-zero when a directory
3229 with the name {directory} exists. If {directory} doesn't
3230 exist, or isn't a directory, the result is FALSE. {directory}
3231 is any expression, which is used as a String.
3232
Bram Moolenaar910f66f2006-04-05 20:41:53 +00003233islocked({expr}) *islocked()* *E786*
Bram Moolenaar2ce06f62005-01-31 19:19:04 +00003234 The result is a Number, which is non-zero when {expr} is the
3235 name of a locked variable.
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00003236 {expr} must be the name of a variable, |List| item or
3237 |Dictionary| entry, not the variable itself! Example: >
Bram Moolenaar2ce06f62005-01-31 19:19:04 +00003238 :let alist = [0, ['a', 'b'], 2, 3]
3239 :lockvar 1 alist
3240 :echo islocked('alist') " 1
3241 :echo islocked('alist[1]') " 0
3242
3243< When {expr} is a variable that does not exist you get an error
3244 message. Use |exists()| to check for existance.
3245
Bram Moolenaar677ee682005-01-27 14:41:15 +00003246items({dict}) *items()*
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00003247 Return a |List| with all the key-value pairs of {dict}. Each
3248 |List| item is a list with two items: the key of a {dict}
3249 entry and the value of this entry. The |List| is in arbitrary
3250 order.
Bram Moolenaar677ee682005-01-27 14:41:15 +00003251
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00003252
3253join({list} [, {sep}]) *join()*
3254 Join the items in {list} together into one String.
3255 When {sep} is specified it is put in between the items. If
3256 {sep} is omitted a single space is used.
3257 Note that {sep} is not added at the end. You might want to
3258 add it there too: >
3259 let lines = join(mylist, "\n") . "\n"
Bram Moolenaara23ccb82006-02-27 00:08:02 +00003260< String items are used as-is. |Lists| and |Dictionaries| are
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00003261 converted into a string like with |string()|.
3262 The opposite function is |split()|.
3263
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +00003264keys({dict}) *keys()*
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00003265 Return a |List| with all the keys of {dict}. The |List| is in
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +00003266 arbitrary order.
3267
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +00003268 *len()* *E701*
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00003269len({expr}) The result is a Number, which is the length of the argument.
3270 When {expr} is a String or a Number the length in bytes is
3271 used, as with |strlen()|.
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00003272 When {expr} is a |List| the number of items in the |List| is
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00003273 returned.
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00003274 When {expr} is a |Dictionary| the number of entries in the
3275 |Dictionary| is returned.
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00003276 Otherwise an error is given.
3277
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003278 *libcall()* *E364* *E368*
3279libcall({libname}, {funcname}, {argument})
3280 Call function {funcname} in the run-time library {libname}
3281 with single argument {argument}.
3282 This is useful to call functions in a library that you
3283 especially made to be used with Vim. Since only one argument
3284 is possible, calling standard library functions is rather
3285 limited.
3286 The result is the String returned by the function. If the
3287 function returns NULL, this will appear as an empty string ""
3288 to Vim.
3289 If the function returns a number, use libcallnr()!
3290 If {argument} is a number, it is passed to the function as an
3291 int; if {argument} is a string, it is passed as a
3292 null-terminated string.
3293 This function will fail in |restricted-mode|.
3294
3295 libcall() allows you to write your own 'plug-in' extensions to
3296 Vim without having to recompile the program. It is NOT a
3297 means to call system functions! If you try to do so Vim will
3298 very probably crash.
3299
3300 For Win32, the functions you write must be placed in a DLL
3301 and use the normal C calling convention (NOT Pascal which is
3302 used in Windows System DLLs). The function must take exactly
3303 one parameter, either a character pointer or a long integer,
3304 and must return a character pointer or NULL. The character
3305 pointer returned must point to memory that will remain valid
3306 after the function has returned (e.g. in static data in the
3307 DLL). If it points to allocated memory, that memory will
3308 leak away. Using a static buffer in the function should work,
3309 it's then freed when the DLL is unloaded.
3310
3311 WARNING: If the function returns a non-valid pointer, Vim may
3312 crash! This also happens if the function returns a number,
3313 because Vim thinks it's a pointer.
3314 For Win32 systems, {libname} should be the filename of the DLL
3315 without the ".DLL" suffix. A full path is only required if
3316 the DLL is not in the usual places.
3317 For Unix: When compiling your own plugins, remember that the
3318 object code must be compiled as position-independent ('PIC').
3319 {only in Win32 on some Unix versions, when the |+libcall|
3320 feature is present}
3321 Examples: >
3322 :echo libcall("libc.so", "getenv", "HOME")
3323 :echo libcallnr("/usr/lib/libc.so", "getpid", "")
3324<
3325 *libcallnr()*
3326libcallnr({libname}, {funcname}, {argument})
3327 Just like libcall(), but used for a function that returns an
3328 int instead of a string.
3329 {only in Win32 on some Unix versions, when the |+libcall|
3330 feature is present}
3331 Example (not very useful...): >
3332 :call libcallnr("libc.so", "printf", "Hello World!\n")
3333 :call libcallnr("libc.so", "sleep", 10)
3334<
3335 *line()*
3336line({expr}) The result is a Number, which is the line number of the file
3337 position given with {expr}. The accepted positions are:
3338 . the cursor position
3339 $ the last line in the current buffer
3340 'x position of mark x (if the mark is not set, 0 is
3341 returned)
Bram Moolenaarc7453f52006-02-10 23:20:28 +00003342 w0 first line visible in current window
3343 w$ last line visible in current window
Bram Moolenaar65c923a2006-03-03 22:56:30 +00003344 Note that a mark in another file can be used.
Bram Moolenaar0b238792006-03-02 22:49:12 +00003345 To get the column number use |col()|. To get both use
3346 |getpos()|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003347 Examples: >
3348 line(".") line number of the cursor
3349 line("'t") line number of mark t
3350 line("'" . marker) line number of mark marker
3351< *last-position-jump*
3352 This autocommand jumps to the last known position in a file
3353 just after opening it, if the '" mark is set: >
3354 :au BufReadPost * if line("'\"") > 0 && line("'\"") <= line("$") | exe "normal g'\"" | endif
Bram Moolenaar69a7cb42004-06-20 12:51:53 +00003355
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003356line2byte({lnum}) *line2byte()*
3357 Return the byte count from the start of the buffer for line
3358 {lnum}. This includes the end-of-line character, depending on
3359 the 'fileformat' option for the current buffer. The first
3360 line returns 1.
3361 This can also be used to get the byte count for the line just
3362 below the last line: >
3363 line2byte(line("$") + 1)
3364< This is the file size plus one.
3365 When {lnum} is invalid, or the |+byte_offset| feature has been
3366 disabled at compile time, -1 is returned.
3367 Also see |byte2line()|, |go| and |:goto|.
3368
3369lispindent({lnum}) *lispindent()*
3370 Get the amount of indent for line {lnum} according the lisp
3371 indenting rules, as with 'lisp'.
3372 The indent is counted in spaces, the value of 'tabstop' is
3373 relevant. {lnum} is used just like in |getline()|.
3374 When {lnum} is invalid or Vim was not compiled the
3375 |+lispindent| feature, -1 is returned.
3376
3377localtime() *localtime()*
3378 Return the current time, measured as seconds since 1st Jan
3379 1970. See also |strftime()| and |getftime()|.
3380
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00003381
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00003382map({expr}, {string}) *map()*
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00003383 {expr} must be a |List| or a |Dictionary|.
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00003384 Replace each item in {expr} with the result of evaluating
3385 {string}.
3386 Inside {string} |v:val| has the value of the current item.
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00003387 For a |Dictionary| |v:key| has the key of the current item.
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00003388 Example: >
3389 :call map(mylist, '"> " . v:val . " <"')
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00003390< This puts "> " before and " <" after each item in "mylist".
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00003391
Bram Moolenaar3a7c85b2005-02-05 21:39:53 +00003392 Note that {string} is the result of an expression and is then
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00003393 used as an expression again. Often it is good to use a
Bram Moolenaar3a7c85b2005-02-05 21:39:53 +00003394 |literal-string| to avoid having to double backslashes. You
3395 still have to double ' quotes
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00003396
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00003397 The operation is done in-place. If you want a |List| or
3398 |Dictionary| to remain unmodified make a copy first: >
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +00003399 :let tlist = map(copy(mylist), ' & . "\t"')
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00003400
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00003401< Returns {expr}, the |List| or |Dictionary| that was filtered.
Bram Moolenaar280f1262006-01-30 00:14:18 +00003402 When an error is encountered while evaluating {string} no
3403 further items in {expr} are processed.
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00003404
3405
Bram Moolenaar97b2ad32006-03-18 21:40:56 +00003406maparg({name}[, {mode} [, {abbr}]]) *maparg()*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003407 Return the rhs of mapping {name} in mode {mode}. When there
3408 is no mapping for {name}, an empty String is returned.
Bram Moolenaard12f5c12006-01-25 22:10:52 +00003409 {mode} can be one of these strings:
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003410 "n" Normal
3411 "v" Visual
3412 "o" Operator-pending
3413 "i" Insert
3414 "c" Cmd-line
3415 "l" langmap |language-mapping|
3416 "" Normal, Visual and Operator-pending
Bram Moolenaard12f5c12006-01-25 22:10:52 +00003417 When {mode} is omitted, the modes for "" are used.
Bram Moolenaar97b2ad32006-03-18 21:40:56 +00003418 When {abbr} is there and it is non-zero use abbreviations
3419 instead of mappings.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003420 The {name} can have special key names, like in the ":map"
3421 command. The returned String has special characters
3422 translated like in the output of the ":map" command listing.
3423 The mappings local to the current buffer are checked first,
3424 then the global mappings.
Bram Moolenaara40ceaf2006-01-13 22:35:40 +00003425 This function can be used to map a key even when it's already
3426 mapped, and have it do the original mapping too. Sketch: >
3427 exe 'nnoremap <Tab> ==' . maparg('<Tab>', 'n')
3428
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003429
Bram Moolenaar97b2ad32006-03-18 21:40:56 +00003430mapcheck({name}[, {mode} [, {abbr}]]) *mapcheck()*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003431 Check if there is a mapping that matches with {name} in mode
3432 {mode}. See |maparg()| for {mode} and special names in
3433 {name}.
Bram Moolenaar97b2ad32006-03-18 21:40:56 +00003434 When {abbr} is there and it is non-zero use abbreviations
3435 instead of mappings.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003436 A match happens with a mapping that starts with {name} and
3437 with a mapping which is equal to the start of {name}.
3438
3439 matches mapping "a" "ab" "abc" ~
3440 mapcheck("a") yes yes yes
3441 mapcheck("abc") yes yes yes
3442 mapcheck("ax") yes no no
3443 mapcheck("b") no no no
3444
3445 The difference with maparg() is that mapcheck() finds a
3446 mapping that matches with {name}, while maparg() only finds a
3447 mapping for {name} exactly.
3448 When there is no mapping that starts with {name}, an empty
3449 String is returned. If there is one, the rhs of that mapping
3450 is returned. If there are several mappings that start with
3451 {name}, the rhs of one of them is returned.
3452 The mappings local to the current buffer are checked first,
3453 then the global mappings.
3454 This function can be used to check if a mapping can be added
3455 without being ambiguous. Example: >
3456 :if mapcheck("_vv") == ""
3457 : map _vv :set guifont=7x13<CR>
3458 :endif
3459< This avoids adding the "_vv" mapping when there already is a
3460 mapping for "_v" or for "_vvv".
3461
Bram Moolenaar89cb5e02004-07-19 20:55:54 +00003462match({expr}, {pat}[, {start}[, {count}]]) *match()*
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00003463 When {expr} is a |List| then this returns the index of the
3464 first item where {pat} matches. Each item is used as a
Bram Moolenaara23ccb82006-02-27 00:08:02 +00003465 String, |Lists| and |Dictionaries| are used as echoed.
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00003466 Otherwise, {expr} is used as a String. The result is a
3467 Number, which gives the index (byte offset) in {expr} where
3468 {pat} matches.
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00003469 A match at the first character or |List| item returns zero.
Bram Moolenaar89cb5e02004-07-19 20:55:54 +00003470 If there is no match -1 is returned.
3471 Example: >
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00003472 :echo match("testing", "ing") " results in 4
Bram Moolenaar362e1a32006-03-06 23:29:24 +00003473 :echo match([1, 'x'], '\a') " results in 1
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00003474< See |string-match| for how {pat} is used.
Bram Moolenaar05159a02005-02-26 23:04:13 +00003475 *strpbrk()*
3476 Vim doesn't have a strpbrk() function. But you can do: >
3477 :let sepidx = match(line, '[.,;: \t]')
3478< *strcasestr()*
3479 Vim doesn't have a strcasestr() function. But you can add
3480 "\c" to the pattern to ignore case: >
3481 :let idx = match(haystack, '\cneedle')
3482<
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00003483 If {start} is given, the search starts from byte index
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00003484 {start} in a String or item {start} in a |List|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003485 The result, however, is still the index counted from the
Bram Moolenaar402d2fe2005-04-15 21:00:38 +00003486 first character/item. Example: >
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003487 :echo match("testing", "ing", 2)
3488< result is again "4". >
3489 :echo match("testing", "ing", 4)
3490< result is again "4". >
3491 :echo match("testing", "t", 2)
3492< result is "3".
Bram Moolenaar5e3cb7e2006-02-27 23:58:35 +00003493 For a String, if {start} > 0 then it is like the string starts
Bram Moolenaar0b238792006-03-02 22:49:12 +00003494 {start} bytes later, thus "^" will match at {start}. Except
3495 when {count} is given, then it's like matches before the
3496 {start} byte are ignored (this is a bit complicated to keep it
3497 backwards compatible).
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00003498 For a String, if {start} < 0, it will be set to 0. For a list
3499 the index is counted from the end.
Bram Moolenaare224ffa2006-03-01 00:01:28 +00003500 If {start} is out of range ({start} > strlen({expr}) for a
3501 String or {start} > len({expr}) for a |List|) -1 is returned.
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00003502
Bram Moolenaar5e3cb7e2006-02-27 23:58:35 +00003503 When {count} is given use the {count}'th match. When a match
Bram Moolenaare224ffa2006-03-01 00:01:28 +00003504 is found in a String the search for the next one starts one
Bram Moolenaar5e3cb7e2006-02-27 23:58:35 +00003505 character further. Thus this example results in 1: >
3506 echo match("testing", "..", 0, 2)
3507< In a |List| the search continues in the next item.
Bram Moolenaar0b238792006-03-02 22:49:12 +00003508 Note that when {count} is added the way {start} works changes,
3509 see above.
Bram Moolenaar5e3cb7e2006-02-27 23:58:35 +00003510
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003511 See |pattern| for the patterns that are accepted.
3512 The 'ignorecase' option is used to set the ignore-caseness of
3513 the pattern. 'smartcase' is NOT used. The matching is always
3514 done like 'magic' is set and 'cpoptions' is empty.
3515
Bram Moolenaar910f66f2006-04-05 20:41:53 +00003516
3517matcharg({nr}) *matcharg()*
3518 Selects the {nr} match item, as set with a |:match|,
3519 |:2match| or |:3match| command.
3520 Return a |List| with two elements:
3521 The name of the highlight group used
3522 The pattern used.
3523 When {nr} is not 1, 2 or 3 returns an empty |List|.
3524 When there is no match item set returns ['', ''].
3525 This is usef to save and restore a |:match|.
3526
3527
Bram Moolenaar89cb5e02004-07-19 20:55:54 +00003528matchend({expr}, {pat}[, {start}[, {count}]]) *matchend()*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003529 Same as match(), but return the index of first character after
3530 the match. Example: >
3531 :echo matchend("testing", "ing")
3532< results in "7".
Bram Moolenaar05159a02005-02-26 23:04:13 +00003533 *strspn()* *strcspn()*
3534 Vim doesn't have a strspn() or strcspn() function, but you can
3535 do it with matchend(): >
3536 :let span = matchend(line, '[a-zA-Z]')
3537 :let span = matchend(line, '[^a-zA-Z]')
3538< Except that -1 is returned when there are no matches.
3539
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003540 The {start}, if given, has the same meaning as for match(). >
3541 :echo matchend("testing", "ing", 2)
3542< results in "7". >
3543 :echo matchend("testing", "ing", 5)
3544< result is "-1".
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00003545 When {expr} is a |List| the result is equal to match().
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003546
Bram Moolenaar3a7c85b2005-02-05 21:39:53 +00003547matchlist({expr}, {pat}[, {start}[, {count}]]) *matchlist()*
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00003548 Same as match(), but return a |List|. The first item in the
Bram Moolenaar3a7c85b2005-02-05 21:39:53 +00003549 list is the matched string, same as what matchstr() would
3550 return. Following items are submatches, like "\1", "\2", etc.
3551 in |:substitute|.
3552 When there is no match an empty list is returned.
3553
Bram Moolenaar89cb5e02004-07-19 20:55:54 +00003554matchstr({expr}, {pat}[, {start}[, {count}]]) *matchstr()*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003555 Same as match(), but return the matched string. Example: >
3556 :echo matchstr("testing", "ing")
3557< results in "ing".
3558 When there is no match "" is returned.
3559 The {start}, if given, has the same meaning as for match(). >
3560 :echo matchstr("testing", "ing", 2)
3561< results in "ing". >
3562 :echo matchstr("testing", "ing", 5)
3563< result is "".
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00003564 When {expr} is a |List| then the matching item is returned.
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00003565 The type isn't changed, it's not necessarily a String.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003566
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +00003567 *max()*
3568max({list}) Return the maximum value of all items in {list}.
3569 If {list} is not a list or one of the items in {list} cannot
3570 be used as a Number this results in an error.
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00003571 An empty |List| results in zero.
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +00003572
3573 *min()*
3574min({list}) Return the minumum value of all items in {list}.
3575 If {list} is not a list or one of the items in {list} cannot
3576 be used as a Number this results in an error.
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00003577 An empty |List| results in zero.
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +00003578
Bram Moolenaar26a60b42005-02-22 08:49:11 +00003579 *mkdir()* *E749*
3580mkdir({name} [, {path} [, {prot}]])
3581 Create directory {name}.
3582 If {path} is "p" then intermediate directories are created as
3583 necessary. Otherwise it must be "".
3584 If {prot} is given it is used to set the protection bits of
3585 the new directory. The default is 0755 (rwxr-xr-x: r/w for
3586 the user readable for others). Use 0700 to make it unreadable
3587 for others.
3588 This function is not available in the |sandbox|.
3589 Not available on all systems. To check use: >
3590 :if exists("*mkdir")
3591<
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003592 *mode()*
3593mode() Return a string that indicates the current mode:
3594 n Normal
3595 v Visual by character
3596 V Visual by line
3597 CTRL-V Visual blockwise
3598 s Select by character
3599 S Select by line
3600 CTRL-S Select blockwise
3601 i Insert
3602 R Replace
3603 c Command-line
3604 r Hit-enter prompt
3605 This is useful in the 'statusline' option. In most other
3606 places it always returns "c" or "n".
3607
3608nextnonblank({lnum}) *nextnonblank()*
3609 Return the line number of the first line at or below {lnum}
3610 that is not blank. Example: >
3611 if getline(nextnonblank(1)) =~ "Java"
3612< When {lnum} is invalid or there is no non-blank line at or
3613 below it, zero is returned.
3614 See also |prevnonblank()|.
3615
3616nr2char({expr}) *nr2char()*
3617 Return a string with a single character, which has the number
3618 value {expr}. Examples: >
3619 nr2char(64) returns "@"
3620 nr2char(32) returns " "
3621< The current 'encoding' is used. Example for "utf-8": >
3622 nr2char(300) returns I with bow character
3623< Note that a NUL character in the file is specified with
3624 nr2char(10), because NULs are represented with newline
3625 characters. nr2char(0) is a real NUL and terminates the
Bram Moolenaar383f9bc2005-01-19 22:18:32 +00003626 string, thus results in an empty string.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003627
Bram Moolenaar0b238792006-03-02 22:49:12 +00003628 *getpos()*
Bram Moolenaar65c923a2006-03-03 22:56:30 +00003629getpos({expr}) Get the position for {expr}. For possible values of {expr}
3630 see |line()|.
3631 The result is a |List| with four numbers:
3632 [bufnum, lnum, col, off]
3633 "bufnum" is zero, unless a mark like '0 or 'A is used, then it
3634 is the buffer number of the mark.
3635 "lnum" and "col" are the position in the buffer. The first
3636 column is 1.
Bram Moolenaar0b238792006-03-02 22:49:12 +00003637 The "off" number is zero, unless 'virtualedit' is used. Then
3638 it is the offset in screen columns from the start of the
3639 character. E.g., a position within a Tab or after the last
3640 character.
3641 This can be used to save and restore the cursor position: >
3642 let save_cursor = getpos(".")
3643 MoveTheCursorAround
Bram Moolenaardb552d602006-03-23 22:59:57 +00003644 call setpos('.', save_cursor)
Bram Moolenaar65c923a2006-03-03 22:56:30 +00003645< Also see |setpos()|.
Bram Moolenaar0b238792006-03-02 22:49:12 +00003646
Bram Moolenaar910f66f2006-04-05 20:41:53 +00003647pathshorten({expr}) *pathshorten()*
3648 Shorten directory names in the path {expr} and return the
3649 result. The tail, the file name, is kept as-is. The other
3650 components in the path are reduced to single letters. Leading
3651 '~' and '.' characters are kept. Example: >
3652 :echo pathshorten('~/.vim/autoload/myfile.vim')
3653< ~/.v/a/myfile.vim ~
3654 It doesn't matter if the path exists or not.
3655
Bram Moolenaar1d2ba7f2006-02-14 22:29:30 +00003656prevnonblank({lnum}) *prevnonblank()*
3657 Return the line number of the first line at or above {lnum}
3658 that is not blank. Example: >
3659 let ind = indent(prevnonblank(v:lnum - 1))
3660< When {lnum} is invalid or there is no non-blank line at or
3661 above it, zero is returned.
3662 Also see |nextnonblank()|.
3663
3664
Bram Moolenaar4be06f92005-07-29 22:36:03 +00003665printf({fmt}, {expr1} ...) *printf()*
3666 Return a String with {fmt}, where "%" items are replaced by
3667 the formatted form of their respective arguments. Example: >
Bram Moolenaar5a8684e2005-07-30 22:43:24 +00003668 printf("%4d: E%d %.30s", lnum, errno, msg)
Bram Moolenaar4be06f92005-07-29 22:36:03 +00003669< May result in:
Bram Moolenaar5a8684e2005-07-30 22:43:24 +00003670 " 99: E42 asdfasdfasdfasdfasdfasdfasdfas" ~
Bram Moolenaar4be06f92005-07-29 22:36:03 +00003671
3672 Often used items are:
3673 %s string
Bram Moolenaar98692072006-02-04 00:57:42 +00003674 %6s string right-aligned in 6 bytes
3675 %.9s string truncated to 9 bytes
Bram Moolenaar5a8684e2005-07-30 22:43:24 +00003676 %c single byte
Bram Moolenaar4be06f92005-07-29 22:36:03 +00003677 %d decimal number
3678 %5d decimal number padded with spaces to 5 characters
3679 %x hex number
3680 %04x hex number padded with zeros to at least 4 characters
3681 %X hex number using upper case letters
3682 %o octal number
Bram Moolenaar98692072006-02-04 00:57:42 +00003683 %% the % character itself
Bram Moolenaar4be06f92005-07-29 22:36:03 +00003684
3685 Conversion specifications start with '%' and end with the
3686 conversion type. All other characters are copied unchanged to
3687 the result.
3688
3689 The "%" starts a conversion specification. The following
Bram Moolenaar5a8684e2005-07-30 22:43:24 +00003690 arguments appear in sequence:
Bram Moolenaar4be06f92005-07-29 22:36:03 +00003691
Bram Moolenaar5a8684e2005-07-30 22:43:24 +00003692 % [flags] [field-width] [.precision] type
Bram Moolenaar4be06f92005-07-29 22:36:03 +00003693
Bram Moolenaar5a8684e2005-07-30 22:43:24 +00003694 flags
3695 Zero or more of the following flags:
3696
Bram Moolenaar4be06f92005-07-29 22:36:03 +00003697 # The value should be converted to an "alternate
3698 form". For c, d, and s conversions, this option
3699 has no effect. For o conversions, the precision
3700 of the number is increased to force the first
3701 character of the output string to a zero (except
3702 if a zero value is printed with an explicit
3703 precision of zero).
3704 For x and X conversions, a non-zero result has
3705 the string "0x" (or "0X" for X conversions)
3706 prepended to it.
Bram Moolenaar5a8684e2005-07-30 22:43:24 +00003707
Bram Moolenaar4be06f92005-07-29 22:36:03 +00003708 0 (zero) Zero padding. For all conversions the converted
3709 value is padded on the left with zeros rather
3710 than blanks. If a precision is given with a
3711 numeric conversion (d, o, x, and X), the 0 flag
3712 is ignored.
Bram Moolenaar5a8684e2005-07-30 22:43:24 +00003713
Bram Moolenaar4be06f92005-07-29 22:36:03 +00003714 - A negative field width flag; the converted value
3715 is to be left adjusted on the field boundary.
3716 The converted value is padded on the right with
3717 blanks, rather than on the left with blanks or
3718 zeros. A - overrides a 0 if both are given.
Bram Moolenaar5a8684e2005-07-30 22:43:24 +00003719
Bram Moolenaar4be06f92005-07-29 22:36:03 +00003720 ' ' (space) A blank should be left before a positive
3721 number produced by a signed conversion (d).
Bram Moolenaar5a8684e2005-07-30 22:43:24 +00003722
Bram Moolenaar4be06f92005-07-29 22:36:03 +00003723 + A sign must always be placed before a number
3724 produced by a signed conversion. A + overrides
3725 a space if both are used.
Bram Moolenaar5a8684e2005-07-30 22:43:24 +00003726
3727 field-width
3728 An optional decimal digit string specifying a minimum
Bram Moolenaar98692072006-02-04 00:57:42 +00003729 field width. If the converted value has fewer bytes
3730 than the field width, it will be padded with spaces on
3731 the left (or right, if the left-adjustment flag has
3732 been given) to fill out the field width.
Bram Moolenaar5a8684e2005-07-30 22:43:24 +00003733
3734 .precision
3735 An optional precision, in the form of a period '.'
3736 followed by an optional digit string. If the digit
3737 string is omitted, the precision is taken as zero.
3738 This gives the minimum number of digits to appear for
3739 d, o, x, and X conversions, or the maximum number of
Bram Moolenaar98692072006-02-04 00:57:42 +00003740 bytes to be printed from a string for s conversions.
Bram Moolenaar5a8684e2005-07-30 22:43:24 +00003741
3742 type
3743 A character that specifies the type of conversion to
3744 be applied, see below.
3745
Bram Moolenaar4be06f92005-07-29 22:36:03 +00003746 A field width or precision, or both, may be indicated by an
3747 asterisk '*' instead of a digit string. In this case, a
3748 Number argument supplies the field width or precision. A
3749 negative field width is treated as a left adjustment flag
3750 followed by a positive field width; a negative precision is
3751 treated as though it were missing. Example: >
Bram Moolenaar5a8684e2005-07-30 22:43:24 +00003752 :echo printf("%d: %.*s", nr, width, line)
Bram Moolenaar4be06f92005-07-29 22:36:03 +00003753< This limits the length of the text used from "line" to
Bram Moolenaar5a8684e2005-07-30 22:43:24 +00003754 "width" bytes.
Bram Moolenaar4be06f92005-07-29 22:36:03 +00003755
3756 The conversion specifiers and their meanings are:
Bram Moolenaar5a8684e2005-07-30 22:43:24 +00003757
Bram Moolenaar4be06f92005-07-29 22:36:03 +00003758 doxX The Number argument is converted to signed decimal
3759 (d), unsigned octal (o), or unsigned hexadecimal (x
3760 and X) notation. The letters "abcdef" are used for
3761 x conversions; the letters "ABCDEF" are used for X
Bram Moolenaar5a8684e2005-07-30 22:43:24 +00003762 conversions.
3763 The precision, if any, gives the minimum number of
3764 digits that must appear; if the converted value
3765 requires fewer digits, it is padded on the left with
3766 zeros.
3767 In no case does a non-existent or small field width
3768 cause truncation of a numeric field; if the result of
3769 a conversion is wider than the field width, the field
3770 is expanded to contain the conversion result.
3771
3772 c The Number argument is converted to a byte, and the
3773 resulting character is written.
3774
3775 s The text of the String argument is used. If a
3776 precision is specified, no more bytes than the number
3777 specified are used.
3778
Bram Moolenaar4be06f92005-07-29 22:36:03 +00003779 % A '%' is written. No argument is converted. The
3780 complete conversion specification is "%%".
Bram Moolenaar4be06f92005-07-29 22:36:03 +00003781
Bram Moolenaar5a8684e2005-07-30 22:43:24 +00003782 Each argument can be Number or String and is converted
3783 automatically to fit the conversion specifier. Any other
3784 argument type results in an error message.
Bram Moolenaar4be06f92005-07-29 22:36:03 +00003785
Bram Moolenaar83bab712005-08-01 21:58:57 +00003786 *E766* *E767*
Bram Moolenaar4be06f92005-07-29 22:36:03 +00003787 The number of {exprN} arguments must exactly match the number
3788 of "%" items. If there are not sufficient or too many
Bram Moolenaar5a8684e2005-07-30 22:43:24 +00003789 arguments an error is given. Up to 18 arguments can be used.
Bram Moolenaar4be06f92005-07-29 22:36:03 +00003790
3791
Bram Moolenaar1d2ba7f2006-02-14 22:29:30 +00003792pumvisible() *pumvisible()*
3793 Returns non-zero when the popup menu is visible, zero
3794 otherwise. See |ins-completion-menu|.
Bram Moolenaar87b5ca52006-03-04 21:55:31 +00003795 This can be used to avoid some things that would remove the
3796 popup menu.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003797
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00003798 *E726* *E727*
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +00003799range({expr} [, {max} [, {stride}]]) *range()*
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00003800 Returns a |List| with Numbers:
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +00003801 - If only {expr} is specified: [0, 1, ..., {expr} - 1]
3802 - If {max} is specified: [{expr}, {expr} + 1, ..., {max}]
3803 - If {stride} is specified: [{expr}, {expr} + {stride}, ...,
3804 {max}] (increasing {expr} with {stride} each time, not
3805 producing a value past {max}).
Bram Moolenaare7566042005-06-17 22:00:15 +00003806 When the maximum is one before the start the result is an
3807 empty list. When the maximum is more than one before the
3808 start this is an error.
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +00003809 Examples: >
3810 range(4) " [0, 1, 2, 3]
3811 range(2, 4) " [2, 3, 4]
3812 range(2, 9, 3) " [2, 5, 8]
3813 range(2, -2, -1) " [2, 1, 0, -1, -2]
Bram Moolenaare7566042005-06-17 22:00:15 +00003814 range(0) " []
3815 range(2, 0) " error!
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +00003816<
Bram Moolenaar3a7c85b2005-02-05 21:39:53 +00003817 *readfile()*
Bram Moolenaar26a60b42005-02-22 08:49:11 +00003818readfile({fname} [, {binary} [, {max}]])
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00003819 Read file {fname} and return a |List|, each line of the file
3820 as an item. Lines broken at NL characters. Macintosh files
Bram Moolenaar3a7c85b2005-02-05 21:39:53 +00003821 separated with CR will result in a single long line (unless a
3822 NL appears somewhere).
3823 When {binary} is equal to "b" binary mode is used:
3824 - When the last line ends in a NL an extra empty list item is
3825 added.
3826 - No CR characters are removed.
3827 Otherwise:
3828 - CR characters that appear before a NL are removed.
3829 - Whether the last line ends in a NL or not does not matter.
3830 All NUL characters are replaced with a NL character.
Bram Moolenaar26a60b42005-02-22 08:49:11 +00003831 When {max} is given this specifies the maximum number of lines
3832 to be read. Useful if you only want to check the first ten
3833 lines of a file: >
3834 :for line in readfile(fname, '', 10)
3835 : if line =~ 'Date' | echo line | endif
3836 :endfor
Bram Moolenaar582fd852005-03-28 20:58:01 +00003837< When {max} is negative -{max} lines from the end of the file
3838 are returned, or as many as there are.
3839 When {max} is zero the result is an empty list.
Bram Moolenaar26a60b42005-02-22 08:49:11 +00003840 Note that without {max} the whole file is read into memory.
3841 Also note that there is no recognition of encoding. Read a
3842 file into a buffer if you need to.
Bram Moolenaar3a7c85b2005-02-05 21:39:53 +00003843 When the file can't be opened an error message is given and
3844 the result is an empty list.
3845 Also see |writefile()|.
3846
Bram Moolenaar433f7c82006-03-21 21:29:36 +00003847reltime([{start} [, {end}]]) *reltime()*
3848 Return an item that represents a time value. The format of
3849 the item depends on the system. It can be passed to
3850 |reltimestr()| to convert it to a string.
3851 Without an argument it returns the current time.
3852 With one argument is returns the time passed since the time
3853 specified in the argument.
3854 With two arguments it returns the time passed betweein {start}
3855 and {end}.
3856 The {start} and {end} arguments must be values returned by
3857 reltime().
3858 {only available when compiled with the +reltime feature}
3859
3860reltimestr({time}) *reltimestr()*
3861 Return a String that represents the time value of {time}.
3862 This is the number of seconds, a dot and the number of
3863 microseconds. Example: >
3864 let start = reltime()
3865 call MyFunction()
3866 echo reltimestr(reltime(start))
3867< Note that overhead for the commands will be added to the time.
3868 The accuracy depends on the system.
3869 Also see |profiling|.
3870 {only available when compiled with the +reltime feature}
3871
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003872 *remote_expr()* *E449*
3873remote_expr({server}, {string} [, {idvar}])
3874 Send the {string} to {server}. The string is sent as an
3875 expression and the result is returned after evaluation.
Bram Moolenaar362e1a32006-03-06 23:29:24 +00003876 The result must be a String or a |List|. A |List| is turned
3877 into a String by joining the items with a line break in
3878 between (not at the end), like with join(expr, "\n").
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003879 If {idvar} is present, it is taken as the name of a
3880 variable and a {serverid} for later use with
3881 remote_read() is stored there.
3882 See also |clientserver| |RemoteReply|.
3883 This function is not available in the |sandbox|.
3884 {only available when compiled with the |+clientserver| feature}
3885 Note: Any errors will cause a local error message to be issued
3886 and the result will be the empty string.
3887 Examples: >
3888 :echo remote_expr("gvim", "2+2")
3889 :echo remote_expr("gvim1", "b:current_syntax")
3890<
3891
3892remote_foreground({server}) *remote_foreground()*
3893 Move the Vim server with the name {server} to the foreground.
3894 This works like: >
3895 remote_expr({server}, "foreground()")
3896< Except that on Win32 systems the client does the work, to work
3897 around the problem that the OS doesn't always allow the server
3898 to bring itself to the foreground.
Bram Moolenaar9372a112005-12-06 19:59:18 +00003899 Note: This does not restore the window if it was minimized,
3900 like foreground() does.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003901 This function is not available in the |sandbox|.
3902 {only in the Win32, Athena, Motif and GTK GUI versions and the
3903 Win32 console version}
3904
3905
3906remote_peek({serverid} [, {retvar}]) *remote_peek()*
3907 Returns a positive number if there are available strings
3908 from {serverid}. Copies any reply string into the variable
3909 {retvar} if specified. {retvar} must be a string with the
3910 name of a variable.
3911 Returns zero if none are available.
3912 Returns -1 if something is wrong.
3913 See also |clientserver|.
3914 This function is not available in the |sandbox|.
3915 {only available when compiled with the |+clientserver| feature}
3916 Examples: >
3917 :let repl = ""
3918 :echo "PEEK: ".remote_peek(id, "repl").": ".repl
3919
3920remote_read({serverid}) *remote_read()*
3921 Return the oldest available reply from {serverid} and consume
3922 it. It blocks until a reply is available.
3923 See also |clientserver|.
3924 This function is not available in the |sandbox|.
3925 {only available when compiled with the |+clientserver| feature}
3926 Example: >
3927 :echo remote_read(id)
3928<
3929 *remote_send()* *E241*
3930remote_send({server}, {string} [, {idvar}])
Bram Moolenaard4755bb2004-09-02 19:12:26 +00003931 Send the {string} to {server}. The string is sent as input
3932 keys and the function returns immediately. At the Vim server
3933 the keys are not mapped |:map|.
Bram Moolenaar1d2ba7f2006-02-14 22:29:30 +00003934 If {idvar} is present, it is taken as the name of a variable
3935 and a {serverid} for later use with remote_read() is stored
3936 there.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003937 See also |clientserver| |RemoteReply|.
3938 This function is not available in the |sandbox|.
3939 {only available when compiled with the |+clientserver| feature}
3940 Note: Any errors will be reported in the server and may mess
3941 up the display.
3942 Examples: >
3943 :echo remote_send("gvim", ":DropAndReply ".file, "serverid").
3944 \ remote_read(serverid)
3945
3946 :autocmd NONE RemoteReply *
3947 \ echo remote_read(expand("<amatch>"))
3948 :echo remote_send("gvim", ":sleep 10 | echo ".
3949 \ 'server2client(expand("<client>"), "HELLO")<CR>')
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00003950<
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +00003951remove({list}, {idx} [, {end}]) *remove()*
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00003952 Without {end}: Remove the item at {idx} from |List| {list} and
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +00003953 return it.
3954 With {end}: Remove items from {idx} to {end} (inclusive) and
3955 return a list with these items. When {idx} points to the same
3956 item as {end} a list with one item is returned. When {end}
3957 points to an item before {idx} this is an error.
3958 See |list-index| for possible values of {idx} and {end}.
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00003959 Example: >
3960 :echo "last item: " . remove(mylist, -1)
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +00003961 :call remove(mylist, 0, 9)
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +00003962remove({dict}, {key})
3963 Remove the entry from {dict} with key {key}. Example: >
3964 :echo "removed " . remove(dict, "one")
3965< If there is no {key} in {dict} this is an error.
3966
3967 Use |delete()| to remove a file.
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00003968
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003969rename({from}, {to}) *rename()*
3970 Rename the file by the name {from} to the name {to}. This
3971 should also work to move files across file systems. The
3972 result is a Number, which is 0 if the file was renamed
3973 successfully, and non-zero when the renaming failed.
3974 This function is not available in the |sandbox|.
3975
Bram Moolenaarab79bcb2004-07-18 21:34:53 +00003976repeat({expr}, {count}) *repeat()*
3977 Repeat {expr} {count} times and return the concatenated
3978 result. Example: >
3979 :let seperator = repeat('-', 80)
3980< When {count} is zero or negative the result is empty.
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00003981 When {expr} is a |List| the result is {expr} concatenated
Bram Moolenaar402d2fe2005-04-15 21:00:38 +00003982 {count} times. Example: >
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +00003983 :let longlist = repeat(['a', 'b'], 3)
3984< Results in ['a', 'b', 'a', 'b', 'a', 'b'].
Bram Moolenaarab79bcb2004-07-18 21:34:53 +00003985
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00003986
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003987resolve({filename}) *resolve()* *E655*
3988 On MS-Windows, when {filename} is a shortcut (a .lnk file),
3989 returns the path the shortcut points to in a simplified form.
3990 On Unix, repeat resolving symbolic links in all path
3991 components of {filename} and return the simplified result.
3992 To cope with link cycles, resolving of symbolic links is
3993 stopped after 100 iterations.
3994 On other systems, return the simplified {filename}.
3995 The simplification step is done as by |simplify()|.
3996 resolve() keeps a leading path component specifying the
3997 current directory (provided the result is still a relative
3998 path name) and also keeps a trailing path separator.
3999
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00004000 *reverse()*
4001reverse({list}) Reverse the order of items in {list} in-place. Returns
4002 {list}.
4003 If you want a list to remain unmodified make a copy first: >
4004 :let revlist = reverse(copy(mylist))
4005
Bram Moolenaara23ccb82006-02-27 00:08:02 +00004006search({pattern} [, {flags} [, {stopline}]]) *search()*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004007 Search for regexp pattern {pattern}. The search starts at the
Bram Moolenaar383f9bc2005-01-19 22:18:32 +00004008 cursor position (you can use |cursor()| to set it).
Bram Moolenaar65c923a2006-03-03 22:56:30 +00004009
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004010 {flags} is a String, which can contain these character flags:
4011 'b' search backward instead of forward
Bram Moolenaar87b5ca52006-03-04 21:55:31 +00004012 'c' accept a match at the cursor position
4013 'e' move to the End of the match
Bram Moolenaar5eb86f92004-07-26 12:53:41 +00004014 'n' do Not move the cursor
Bram Moolenaar87b5ca52006-03-04 21:55:31 +00004015 'p' return number of matching sub-pattern (see below)
4016 's' set the ' mark at the previous location of the cursor
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004017 'w' wrap around the end of the file
4018 'W' don't wrap around the end of the file
4019 If neither 'w' or 'W' is given, the 'wrapscan' option applies.
4020
Bram Moolenaar02743632005-07-25 20:42:36 +00004021 If the 's' flag is supplied, the ' mark is set, only if the
4022 cursor is moved. The 's' flag cannot be combined with the 'n'
4023 flag.
4024
Bram Moolenaara23ccb82006-02-27 00:08:02 +00004025 When the {stopline} argument is given then the search stops
4026 after searching this line. This is useful to restrict the
4027 search to a range of lines. Examples: >
4028 let match = search('(', 'b', line("w0"))
4029 let end = search('END', '', line("w$"))
4030< When {stopline} is used and it is not zero this also implies
4031 that the search does not wrap around the end of the file.
4032
Bram Moolenaar5eb86f92004-07-26 12:53:41 +00004033 If there is no match a 0 is returned and the cursor doesn't
4034 move. No error message is given.
Bram Moolenaar362e1a32006-03-06 23:29:24 +00004035 When a match has been found its line number is returned.
4036 *search()-sub-match*
4037 With the 'p' flag the returned value is one more than the
4038 first sub-match in \(\). One if none of them matched but the
4039 whole pattern did match.
Bram Moolenaara23ccb82006-02-27 00:08:02 +00004040 To get the column number too use |searchpos()|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004041
Bram Moolenaar87b5ca52006-03-04 21:55:31 +00004042 The cursor will be positioned at the match, unless the 'n'
4043 flag is used.
4044
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004045 Example (goes over all files in the argument list): >
4046 :let n = 1
4047 :while n <= argc() " loop over all files in arglist
4048 : exe "argument " . n
4049 : " start at the last char in the file and wrap for the
4050 : " first search to find match at start of file
4051 : normal G$
4052 : let flags = "w"
4053 : while search("foo", flags) > 0
4054 : s/foo/bar/g
4055 : let flags = "W"
4056 : endwhile
4057 : update " write the file if modified
4058 : let n = n + 1
4059 :endwhile
4060<
Bram Moolenaar87b5ca52006-03-04 21:55:31 +00004061 Example for using some flags: >
4062 :echo search('\<if\|\(else\)\|\(endif\)', 'ncpe')
4063< This will search for the keywords "if", "else", and "endif"
4064 under or after the cursor. Because of the 'p' flag, it
4065 returns 1, 2, or 3 depending on which keyword is found, or 0
4066 if the search fails. With the cursor on the first word of the
4067 line:
4068 if (foo == 0) | let foo = foo + 1 | endif ~
4069 the function returns 1. Without the 'c' flag, the function
4070 finds the "endif" and returns 3. The same thing happens
4071 without the 'e' flag if the cursor is on the "f" of "if".
4072 The 'n' flag tells the function not to move the cursor.
4073
Bram Moolenaar92d640f2005-09-05 22:11:52 +00004074
Bram Moolenaarf75a9632005-09-13 21:20:47 +00004075searchdecl({name} [, {global} [, {thisblock}]]) *searchdecl()*
4076 Search for the declaration of {name}.
4077
4078 With a non-zero {global} argument it works like |gD|, find
4079 first match in the file. Otherwise it works like |gd|, find
4080 first match in the function.
4081
4082 With a non-zero {thisblock} argument matches in a {} block
4083 that ends before the cursor position are ignored. Avoids
4084 finding variable declarations only valid in another scope.
4085
Bram Moolenaar92d640f2005-09-05 22:11:52 +00004086 Moves the cursor to the found match.
4087 Returns zero for success, non-zero for failure.
4088 Example: >
4089 if searchdecl('myvar') == 0
4090 echo getline('.')
4091 endif
4092<
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004093 *searchpair()*
Bram Moolenaara23ccb82006-02-27 00:08:02 +00004094searchpair({start}, {middle}, {end} [, {flags} [, {skip} [, {stopline}]]])
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004095 Search for the match of a nested start-end pair. This can be
4096 used to find the "endif" that matches an "if", while other
4097 if/endif pairs in between are ignored.
Bram Moolenaarfaa959a2006-02-20 21:37:40 +00004098 The search starts at the cursor. The default is to search
4099 forward, include 'b' in {flags} to search backward.
4100 If a match is found, the cursor is positioned at it and the
4101 line number is returned. If no match is found 0 or -1 is
4102 returned and the cursor doesn't move. No error message is
4103 given.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004104
4105 {start}, {middle} and {end} are patterns, see |pattern|. They
4106 must not contain \( \) pairs. Use of \%( \) is allowed. When
4107 {middle} is not empty, it is found when searching from either
4108 direction, but only when not in a nested start-end pair. A
4109 typical use is: >
4110 searchpair('\<if\>', '\<else\>', '\<endif\>')
4111< By leaving {middle} empty the "else" is skipped.
4112
Bram Moolenaar87b5ca52006-03-04 21:55:31 +00004113 {flags} 'b', 'c', 'n', 's', 'w' and 'W' are used like with
4114 |search()|. Additionally:
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004115 'r' Repeat until no more matches found; will find the
4116 outer pair
4117 'm' return number of Matches instead of line number with
Bram Moolenaar87b5ca52006-03-04 21:55:31 +00004118 the match; will be > 1 when 'r' is used.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004119
4120 When a match for {start}, {middle} or {end} is found, the
4121 {skip} expression is evaluated with the cursor positioned on
4122 the start of the match. It should return non-zero if this
4123 match is to be skipped. E.g., because it is inside a comment
4124 or a string.
4125 When {skip} is omitted or empty, every match is accepted.
4126 When evaluating {skip} causes an error the search is aborted
4127 and -1 returned.
4128
Bram Moolenaara23ccb82006-02-27 00:08:02 +00004129 For {stopline} see |search()|.
4130
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004131 The value of 'ignorecase' is used. 'magic' is ignored, the
4132 patterns are used like it's on.
4133
4134 The search starts exactly at the cursor. A match with
4135 {start}, {middle} or {end} at the next character, in the
4136 direction of searching, is the first one found. Example: >
4137 if 1
4138 if 2
4139 endif 2
4140 endif 1
4141< When starting at the "if 2", with the cursor on the "i", and
4142 searching forwards, the "endif 2" is found. When starting on
4143 the character just before the "if 2", the "endif 1" will be
4144 found. That's because the "if 2" will be found first, and
4145 then this is considered to be a nested if/endif from "if 2" to
4146 "endif 2".
4147 When searching backwards and {end} is more than one character,
4148 it may be useful to put "\zs" at the end of the pattern, so
4149 that when the cursor is inside a match with the end it finds
4150 the matching start.
4151
4152 Example, to find the "endif" command in a Vim script: >
4153
4154 :echo searchpair('\<if\>', '\<el\%[seif]\>', '\<en\%[dif]\>', 'W',
4155 \ 'getline(".") =~ "^\\s*\""')
4156
4157< The cursor must be at or after the "if" for which a match is
4158 to be found. Note that single-quote strings are used to avoid
4159 having to double the backslashes. The skip expression only
4160 catches comments at the start of a line, not after a command.
4161 Also, a word "en" or "if" halfway a line is considered a
4162 match.
4163 Another example, to search for the matching "{" of a "}": >
4164
4165 :echo searchpair('{', '', '}', 'bW')
4166
4167< This works when the cursor is at or before the "}" for which a
4168 match is to be found. To reject matches that syntax
4169 highlighting recognized as strings: >
4170
4171 :echo searchpair('{', '', '}', 'bW',
4172 \ 'synIDattr(synID(line("."), col("."), 0), "name") =~? "string"')
4173<
Bram Moolenaar1d2ba7f2006-02-14 22:29:30 +00004174 *searchpairpos()*
Bram Moolenaara23ccb82006-02-27 00:08:02 +00004175searchpairpos({start}, {middle}, {end} [, {flags} [, {skip} [, {stopline}]]])
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00004176 Same as searchpair(), but returns a |List| with the line and
4177 column position of the match. The first element of the |List|
4178 is the line number and the second element is the byte index of
Bram Moolenaar1d2ba7f2006-02-14 22:29:30 +00004179 the column position of the match. If no match is found,
4180 returns [0, 0].
4181>
4182 :let [lnum,col] = searchpairpos('{', '', '}', 'n')
4183<
4184 See |match-parens| for a bigger and more useful example.
4185
Bram Moolenaara23ccb82006-02-27 00:08:02 +00004186searchpos({pattern} [, {flags} [, {stopline}]]) *searchpos()*
4187 Same as |search()|, but returns a |List| with the line and
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00004188 column position of the match. The first element of the |List|
4189 is the line number and the second element is the byte index of
4190 the column position of the match. If no match is found,
4191 returns [0, 0].
Bram Moolenaar362e1a32006-03-06 23:29:24 +00004192 Example: >
4193 :let [lnum, col] = searchpos('mypattern', 'n')
4194
4195< When the 'p' flag is given then there is an extra item with
4196 the sub-pattern match number |search()-sub-match|. Example: >
4197 :let [lnum, col, submatch] = searchpos('\(\l\)\|\(\u\)', 'np')
4198< In this example "submatch" is 2 when a lowercase letter is
4199 found |/\l|, 3 when an uppercase letter is found |/\u|.
4200
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004201server2client( {clientid}, {string}) *server2client()*
4202 Send a reply string to {clientid}. The most recent {clientid}
4203 that sent a string can be retrieved with expand("<client>").
4204 {only available when compiled with the |+clientserver| feature}
4205 Note:
4206 This id has to be stored before the next command can be
Bram Moolenaar402d2fe2005-04-15 21:00:38 +00004207 received. I.e. before returning from the received command and
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004208 before calling any commands that waits for input.
4209 See also |clientserver|.
4210 Example: >
4211 :echo server2client(expand("<client>"), "HELLO")
4212<
4213serverlist() *serverlist()*
4214 Return a list of available server names, one per line.
4215 When there are no servers or the information is not available
4216 an empty string is returned. See also |clientserver|.
4217 {only available when compiled with the |+clientserver| feature}
4218 Example: >
4219 :echo serverlist()
4220<
4221setbufvar({expr}, {varname}, {val}) *setbufvar()*
4222 Set option or local variable {varname} in buffer {expr} to
4223 {val}.
4224 This also works for a global or local window option, but it
4225 doesn't work for a global or local window variable.
4226 For a local window option the global value is unchanged.
4227 For the use of {expr}, see |bufname()| above.
4228 Note that the variable name without "b:" must be used.
4229 Examples: >
4230 :call setbufvar(1, "&mod", 1)
4231 :call setbufvar("todo", "myvar", "foobar")
4232< This function is not available in the |sandbox|.
4233
4234setcmdpos({pos}) *setcmdpos()*
4235 Set the cursor position in the command line to byte position
4236 {pos}. The first position is 1.
4237 Use |getcmdpos()| to obtain the current position.
4238 Only works while editing the command line, thus you must use
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +00004239 |c_CTRL-\_e|, |c_CTRL-R_=| or |c_CTRL-R_CTRL-R| with '='. For
4240 |c_CTRL-\_e| and |c_CTRL-R_CTRL-R| with '=' the position is
4241 set after the command line is set to the expression. For
4242 |c_CTRL-R_=| it is set after evaluating the expression but
4243 before inserting the resulting text.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004244 When the number is too big the cursor is put at the end of the
4245 line. A number smaller than one has undefined results.
4246 Returns 0 when successful, 1 when not editing the command
4247 line.
4248
4249setline({lnum}, {line}) *setline()*
Bram Moolenaar402d2fe2005-04-15 21:00:38 +00004250 Set line {lnum} of the current buffer to {line}.
4251 {lnum} is used like with |getline()|.
Bram Moolenaar2389c3c2005-05-22 22:07:59 +00004252 When {lnum} is just below the last line the {line} will be
4253 added as a new line.
Bram Moolenaar402d2fe2005-04-15 21:00:38 +00004254 If this succeeds, 0 is returned. If this fails (most likely
4255 because {lnum} is invalid) 1 is returned. Example: >
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004256 :call setline(5, strftime("%c"))
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00004257< When {line} is a |List| then line {lnum} and following lines
Bram Moolenaar2389c3c2005-05-22 22:07:59 +00004258 will be set to the items in the list. Example: >
4259 :call setline(5, ['aaa', 'bbb', 'ccc'])
4260< This is equivalent to: >
4261 :for [n, l] in [[5, 6, 7], ['aaa', 'bbb', 'ccc']]
4262 : call setline(n, l)
4263 :endfor
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004264< Note: The '[ and '] marks are not set.
4265
Bram Moolenaar17c7c012006-01-26 22:25:15 +00004266setloclist({nr}, {list} [, {action}]) *setloclist()*
4267 Create or replace or add to the location list for window {nr}.
4268 When {nr} is zero the current window is used. For a location
Bram Moolenaar280f1262006-01-30 00:14:18 +00004269 list window, the displayed location list is modified. For an
4270 invalid window number {nr}, -1 is returned.
Bram Moolenaar17c7c012006-01-26 22:25:15 +00004271 Otherwise, same as setqflist().
Bram Moolenaar68b76a62005-03-25 21:53:48 +00004272
Bram Moolenaar65c923a2006-03-03 22:56:30 +00004273 *setpos()*
4274setpos({expr}, {list})
4275 Set the position for {expr}. Possible values:
4276 . the cursor
4277 'x mark x
4278
4279 {list} must be a |List| with four numbers:
4280 [bufnum, lnum, col, off]
4281
4282 "bufnum" is the buffer number. Zero can be used for the
4283 current buffer. Setting the cursor is only possible for
4284 the current buffer. To set a mark in another buffer you can
4285 use the |bufnr()| function to turn a file name into a buffer
4286 number.
Bram Moolenaardb552d602006-03-23 22:59:57 +00004287 Does not change the jumplist.
Bram Moolenaar65c923a2006-03-03 22:56:30 +00004288
4289 "lnum" and "col" are the position in the buffer. The first
4290 column is 1. Use a zero "lnum" to delete a mark.
4291
4292 The "off" number is only used when 'virtualedit' is set. Then
4293 it is the offset in screen columns from the start of the
4294 character. E.g., a position within a Tab or after the last
4295 character.
4296
4297 Also see |getpos()|
4298
4299
Bram Moolenaar35c54e52005-05-20 21:25:31 +00004300setqflist({list} [, {action}]) *setqflist()*
Bram Moolenaar17c7c012006-01-26 22:25:15 +00004301 Create or replace or add to the quickfix list using the items
4302 in {list}. Each item in {list} is a dictionary.
4303 Non-dictionary items in {list} are ignored. Each dictionary
4304 item can contain the following entries:
Bram Moolenaar68b76a62005-03-25 21:53:48 +00004305
4306 filename name of a file
4307 lnum line number in the file
Bram Moolenaar68b76a62005-03-25 21:53:48 +00004308 pattern search pattern used to locate the error
Bram Moolenaar582fd852005-03-28 20:58:01 +00004309 col column number
4310 vcol when non-zero: "col" is visual column
4311 when zero: "col" is byte index
4312 nr error number
Bram Moolenaar68b76a62005-03-25 21:53:48 +00004313 text description of the error
Bram Moolenaar582fd852005-03-28 20:58:01 +00004314 type single-character error type, 'E', 'W', etc.
Bram Moolenaar68b76a62005-03-25 21:53:48 +00004315
Bram Moolenaar582fd852005-03-28 20:58:01 +00004316 The "col", "vcol", "nr", "type" and "text" entries are
4317 optional. Either "lnum" or "pattern" entry can be used to
4318 locate a matching error line.
Bram Moolenaar68b76a62005-03-25 21:53:48 +00004319 If the "filename" entry is not present or neither the "lnum"
4320 or "pattern" entries are present, then the item will not be
4321 handled as an error line.
4322 If both "pattern" and "lnum" are present then "pattern" will
4323 be used.
4324
Bram Moolenaar35c54e52005-05-20 21:25:31 +00004325 If {action} is set to 'a', then the items from {list} are
4326 added to the existing quickfix list. If there is no existing
4327 list, then a new list is created. If {action} is set to 'r',
4328 then the items from the current quickfix list are replaced
4329 with the items from {list}. If {action} is not present or is
4330 set to ' ', then a new list is created.
4331
Bram Moolenaar68b76a62005-03-25 21:53:48 +00004332 Returns zero for success, -1 for failure.
4333
4334 This function can be used to create a quickfix list
4335 independent of the 'errorformat' setting. Use a command like
4336 ":cc 1" to jump to the first position.
4337
4338
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004339 *setreg()*
4340setreg({regname}, {value} [,{options}])
4341 Set the register {regname} to {value}.
4342 If {options} contains "a" or {regname} is upper case,
4343 then the value is appended.
4344 {options} can also contains a register type specification:
4345 "c" or "v" |characterwise| mode
4346 "l" or "V" |linewise| mode
4347 "b" or "<CTRL-V>" |blockwise-visual| mode
4348 If a number immediately follows "b" or "<CTRL-V>" then this is
4349 used as the width of the selection - if it is not specified
4350 then the width of the block is set to the number of characters
4351 in the longest line (counting a <TAB> as 1 character).
4352
4353 If {options} contains no register settings, then the default
4354 is to use character mode unless {value} ends in a <NL>.
4355 Setting the '=' register is not possible.
4356 Returns zero for success, non-zero for failure.
4357
4358 Examples: >
4359 :call setreg(v:register, @*)
4360 :call setreg('*', @%, 'ac')
4361 :call setreg('a', "1\n2\n3", 'b5')
4362
4363< This example shows using the functions to save and restore a
4364 register. >
Bram Moolenaar2389c3c2005-05-22 22:07:59 +00004365 :let var_a = getreg('a', 1)
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004366 :let var_amode = getregtype('a')
4367 ....
4368 :call setreg('a', var_a, var_amode)
4369
4370< You can also change the type of a register by appending
4371 nothing: >
4372 :call setreg('a', '', 'al')
4373
Bram Moolenaarc6249bb2006-04-15 20:25:09 +00004374settabwinvar({tabnr}, {winnr}, {varname}, {val}) *settabwinvar()*
4375 Set option or local variable {varname} in window {winnr} to
4376 {val}.
4377 Tabs are numbered starting with one. For the current tabpage
4378 use |setwinvar()|.
4379 When {winnr} is zero the current window is used.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004380 This also works for a global or local buffer option, but it
4381 doesn't work for a global or local buffer variable.
4382 For a local buffer option the global value is unchanged.
4383 Note that the variable name without "w:" must be used.
Bram Moolenaarc6249bb2006-04-15 20:25:09 +00004384 Vim briefly goes to the tab page {tabnr}, this may trigger
4385 TabLeave and TabEnter autocommands.
4386 Examples: >
4387 :call settabwinvar(1, 1, "&list", 0)
4388 :call settabwinvar(3, 2, "myvar", "foobar")
4389< This function is not available in the |sandbox|.
4390
4391setwinvar({nr}, {varname}, {val}) *setwinvar()*
4392 Like |settabwinvar()| for the current tab page.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004393 Examples: >
4394 :call setwinvar(1, "&list", 0)
4395 :call setwinvar(2, "myvar", "foobar")
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004396
4397simplify({filename}) *simplify()*
4398 Simplify the file name as much as possible without changing
4399 the meaning. Shortcuts (on MS-Windows) or symbolic links (on
4400 Unix) are not resolved. If the first path component in
4401 {filename} designates the current directory, this will be
4402 valid for the result as well. A trailing path separator is
4403 not removed either.
4404 Example: >
4405 simplify("./dir/.././/file/") == "./file/"
4406< Note: The combination "dir/.." is only removed if "dir" is
4407 a searchable directory or does not exist. On Unix, it is also
4408 removed when "dir" is a symbolic link within the same
4409 directory. In order to resolve all the involved symbolic
4410 links before simplifying the path name, use |resolve()|.
4411
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00004412
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +00004413sort({list} [, {func}]) *sort()* *E702*
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00004414 Sort the items in {list} in-place. Returns {list}. If you
4415 want a list to remain unmodified make a copy first: >
4416 :let sortedlist = sort(copy(mylist))
4417< Uses the string representation of each item to sort on.
Bram Moolenaara23ccb82006-02-27 00:08:02 +00004418 Numbers sort after Strings, |Lists| after Numbers.
Bram Moolenaar2389c3c2005-05-22 22:07:59 +00004419 For sorting text in the current buffer use |:sort|.
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00004420 When {func} is given and it is one then case is ignored.
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00004421 When {func} is a |Funcref| or a function name, this function
4422 is called to compare items. The function is invoked with two
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00004423 items as argument and must return zero if they are equal, 1 if
4424 the first one sorts after the second one, -1 if the first one
4425 sorts before the second one. Example: >
4426 func MyCompare(i1, i2)
4427 return a:i1 == a:i2 ? 0 : a:i1 > a:i2 ? 1 : -1
4428 endfunc
4429 let sortedlist = sort(mylist, "MyCompare")
Bram Moolenaard857f0e2005-06-21 22:37:39 +00004430<
4431
Bram Moolenaar24bbcfe2005-06-28 23:32:02 +00004432 *soundfold()*
4433soundfold({word})
4434 Return the sound-folded equivalent of {word}. Uses the first
4435 language in 'spellang' for the current window that supports
Bram Moolenaar42eeac32005-06-29 22:40:58 +00004436 soundfolding. 'spell' must be set. When no sound folding is
4437 possible the {word} is returned unmodified.
Bram Moolenaar24bbcfe2005-06-28 23:32:02 +00004438 This can be used for making spelling suggestions. Note that
4439 the method can be quite slow.
4440
Bram Moolenaard857f0e2005-06-21 22:37:39 +00004441 *spellbadword()*
Bram Moolenaar1e015462005-09-25 22:16:38 +00004442spellbadword([{sentence}])
4443 Without argument: The result is the badly spelled word under
4444 or after the cursor. The cursor is moved to the start of the
4445 bad word. When no bad word is found in the cursor line the
4446 result is an empty string and the cursor doesn't move.
4447
4448 With argument: The result is the first word in {sentence} that
4449 is badly spelled. If there are no spelling mistakes the
4450 result is an empty string.
4451
4452 The return value is a list with two items:
4453 - The badly spelled word or an empty string.
4454 - The type of the spelling error:
4455 "bad" spelling mistake
4456 "rare" rare word
4457 "local" word only valid in another region
4458 "caps" word should start with Capital
4459 Example: >
4460 echo spellbadword("the quik brown fox")
4461< ['quik', 'bad'] ~
4462
4463 The spelling information for the current window is used. The
4464 'spell' option must be set and the value of 'spelllang' is
4465 used.
Bram Moolenaard857f0e2005-06-21 22:37:39 +00004466
4467 *spellsuggest()*
Bram Moolenaarc54b8a72005-09-30 21:20:29 +00004468spellsuggest({word} [, {max} [, {capital}]])
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00004469 Return a |List| with spelling suggestions to replace {word}.
Bram Moolenaard857f0e2005-06-21 22:37:39 +00004470 When {max} is given up to this number of suggestions are
4471 returned. Otherwise up to 25 suggestions are returned.
4472
Bram Moolenaarc54b8a72005-09-30 21:20:29 +00004473 When the {capital} argument is given and it's non-zero only
4474 suggestions with a leading capital will be given. Use this
4475 after a match with 'spellcapcheck'.
4476
Bram Moolenaard857f0e2005-06-21 22:37:39 +00004477 {word} can be a badly spelled word followed by other text.
4478 This allows for joining two words that were split. The
Bram Moolenaarf461c8e2005-06-25 23:04:51 +00004479 suggestions also include the following text, thus you can
4480 replace a line.
4481
4482 {word} may also be a good word. Similar words will then be
Bram Moolenaarc54b8a72005-09-30 21:20:29 +00004483 returned. {word} itself is not included in the suggestions,
4484 although it may appear capitalized.
Bram Moolenaard857f0e2005-06-21 22:37:39 +00004485
4486 The spelling information for the current window is used. The
Bram Moolenaar42eeac32005-06-29 22:40:58 +00004487 'spell' option must be set and the values of 'spelllang' and
4488 'spellsuggest' are used.
Bram Moolenaard857f0e2005-06-21 22:37:39 +00004489
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00004490
Bram Moolenaar2389c3c2005-05-22 22:07:59 +00004491split({expr} [, {pattern} [, {keepempty}]]) *split()*
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00004492 Make a |List| out of {expr}. When {pattern} is omitted or
4493 empty each white-separated sequence of characters becomes an
4494 item.
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00004495 Otherwise the string is split where {pattern} matches,
Bram Moolenaar2389c3c2005-05-22 22:07:59 +00004496 removing the matched characters.
4497 When the first or last item is empty it is omitted, unless the
4498 {keepempty} argument is given and it's non-zero.
Bram Moolenaar5c06f8b2005-05-31 22:14:58 +00004499 Other empty items are kept when {pattern} matches at least one
4500 character or when {keepempty} is non-zero.
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00004501 Example: >
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00004502 :let words = split(getline('.'), '\W\+')
Bram Moolenaar2389c3c2005-05-22 22:07:59 +00004503< To split a string in individual characters: >
Bram Moolenaar402d2fe2005-04-15 21:00:38 +00004504 :for c in split(mystring, '\zs')
Bram Moolenaar0cb032e2005-04-23 20:52:00 +00004505< If you want to keep the separator you can also use '\zs': >
4506 :echo split('abc:def:ghi', ':\zs')
4507< ['abc:', 'def:', 'ghi'] ~
Bram Moolenaar2389c3c2005-05-22 22:07:59 +00004508 Splitting a table where the first element can be empty: >
4509 :let items = split(line, ':', 1)
4510< The opposite function is |join()|.
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00004511
4512
Bram Moolenaar97b2ad32006-03-18 21:40:56 +00004513str2nr( {expr} [, {base}]) *str2nr()*
4514 Convert string {expr} to a number.
4515 {base} is the conversion base, it can be 8, 10 or 16.
4516 When {base} is omitted base 10 is used. This also means that
4517 a leading zero doesn't cause octal conversion to be used, as
4518 with the default String to Number conversion.
4519 When {base} is 16 a leading "0x" or "0X" is ignored. With a
4520 different base the result will be zero.
4521 Text after the number is silently ignored.
4522
4523
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004524strftime({format} [, {time}]) *strftime()*
4525 The result is a String, which is a formatted date and time, as
4526 specified by the {format} string. The given {time} is used,
4527 or the current time if no time is given. The accepted
4528 {format} depends on your system, thus this is not portable!
4529 See the manual page of the C function strftime() for the
4530 format. The maximum length of the result is 80 characters.
4531 See also |localtime()| and |getftime()|.
4532 The language can be changed with the |:language| command.
4533 Examples: >
4534 :echo strftime("%c") Sun Apr 27 11:49:23 1997
4535 :echo strftime("%Y %b %d %X") 1997 Apr 27 11:53:25
4536 :echo strftime("%y%m%d %T") 970427 11:53:55
4537 :echo strftime("%H:%M") 11:55
4538 :echo strftime("%c", getftime("file.c"))
4539 Show mod time of file.c.
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00004540< Not available on all systems. To check use: >
4541 :if exists("*strftime")
4542
Bram Moolenaar8f999f12005-01-25 22:12:55 +00004543stridx({haystack}, {needle} [, {start}]) *stridx()*
4544 The result is a Number, which gives the byte index in
4545 {haystack} of the first occurrence of the String {needle}.
Bram Moolenaar677ee682005-01-27 14:41:15 +00004546 If {start} is specified, the search starts at index {start}.
4547 This can be used to find a second match: >
4548 :let comma1 = stridx(line, ",")
4549 :let comma2 = stridx(line, ",", comma1 + 1)
4550< The search is done case-sensitive.
Bram Moolenaare2cc9702005-03-15 22:43:58 +00004551 For pattern searches use |match()|.
Bram Moolenaar8f999f12005-01-25 22:12:55 +00004552 -1 is returned if the {needle} does not occur in {haystack}.
Bram Moolenaar677ee682005-01-27 14:41:15 +00004553 See also |strridx()|.
4554 Examples: >
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004555 :echo stridx("An Example", "Example") 3
4556 :echo stridx("Starting point", "Start") 0
4557 :echo stridx("Starting point", "start") -1
Bram Moolenaar05159a02005-02-26 23:04:13 +00004558< *strstr()* *strchr()*
4559 stridx() works similar to the C function strstr(). When used
4560 with a single character it works similar to strchr().
4561
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00004562 *string()*
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00004563string({expr}) Return {expr} converted to a String. If {expr} is a Number,
4564 String or a composition of them, then the result can be parsed
4565 back with |eval()|.
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00004566 {expr} type result ~
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +00004567 String 'string'
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00004568 Number 123
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +00004569 Funcref function('name')
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00004570 List [item, item]
Bram Moolenaar9ba0eb82005-06-13 22:28:56 +00004571 Dictionary {key: value, key: value}
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +00004572 Note that in String values the ' character is doubled.
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00004573
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004574 *strlen()*
4575strlen({expr}) The result is a Number, which is the length of the String
Bram Moolenaare344bea2005-09-01 20:46:49 +00004576 {expr} in bytes.
4577 If you want to count the number of multi-byte characters (not
4578 counting composing characters) use something like this: >
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004579
4580 :let len = strlen(substitute(str, ".", "x", "g"))
Bram Moolenaare344bea2005-09-01 20:46:49 +00004581<
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00004582 If the argument is a Number it is first converted to a String.
4583 For other types an error is given.
4584 Also see |len()|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004585
4586strpart({src}, {start}[, {len}]) *strpart()*
4587 The result is a String, which is part of {src}, starting from
Bram Moolenaar9372a112005-12-06 19:59:18 +00004588 byte {start}, with the byte length {len}.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004589 When non-existing bytes are included, this doesn't result in
4590 an error, the bytes are simply omitted.
4591 If {len} is missing, the copy continues from {start} till the
4592 end of the {src}. >
4593 strpart("abcdefg", 3, 2) == "de"
4594 strpart("abcdefg", -2, 4) == "ab"
4595 strpart("abcdefg", 5, 4) == "fg"
4596 strpart("abcdefg", 3) == "defg"
4597< Note: To get the first character, {start} must be 0. For
4598 example, to get three bytes under and after the cursor: >
Bram Moolenaar61660ea2006-04-07 21:40:07 +00004599 strpart(getline("."), col(".") - 1, 3)
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004600<
Bram Moolenaar677ee682005-01-27 14:41:15 +00004601strridx({haystack}, {needle} [, {start}]) *strridx()*
4602 The result is a Number, which gives the byte index in
4603 {haystack} of the last occurrence of the String {needle}.
4604 When {start} is specified, matches beyond this index are
4605 ignored. This can be used to find a match before a previous
4606 match: >
4607 :let lastcomma = strridx(line, ",")
4608 :let comma2 = strridx(line, ",", lastcomma - 1)
4609< The search is done case-sensitive.
Bram Moolenaar8f999f12005-01-25 22:12:55 +00004610 For pattern searches use |match()|.
4611 -1 is returned if the {needle} does not occur in {haystack}.
Bram Moolenaard4755bb2004-09-02 19:12:26 +00004612 If the {needle} is empty the length of {haystack} is returned.
Bram Moolenaar402d2fe2005-04-15 21:00:38 +00004613 See also |stridx()|. Examples: >
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004614 :echo strridx("an angry armadillo", "an") 3
Bram Moolenaar05159a02005-02-26 23:04:13 +00004615< *strrchr()*
4616 When used with a single character it works similar to the C
4617 function strrchr().
4618
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004619strtrans({expr}) *strtrans()*
4620 The result is a String, which is {expr} with all unprintable
4621 characters translated into printable characters |'isprint'|.
4622 Like they are shown in a window. Example: >
4623 echo strtrans(@a)
4624< This displays a newline in register a as "^@" instead of
4625 starting a new line.
4626
4627submatch({nr}) *submatch()*
4628 Only for an expression in a |:substitute| command. Returns
4629 the {nr}'th submatch of the matched text. When {nr} is 0
4630 the whole matched text is returned.
4631 Example: >
4632 :s/\d\+/\=submatch(0) + 1/
4633< This finds the first number in the line and adds one to it.
4634 A line break is included as a newline character.
4635
4636substitute({expr}, {pat}, {sub}, {flags}) *substitute()*
4637 The result is a String, which is a copy of {expr}, in which
4638 the first match of {pat} is replaced with {sub}. This works
4639 like the ":substitute" command (without any flags). But the
4640 matching with {pat} is always done like the 'magic' option is
4641 set and 'cpoptions' is empty (to make scripts portable).
4642 See |string-match| for how {pat} is used.
4643 And a "~" in {sub} is not replaced with the previous {sub}.
4644 Note that some codes in {sub} have a special meaning
4645 |sub-replace-special|. For example, to replace something with
4646 "\n" (two characters), use "\\\\n" or '\\n'.
4647 When {pat} does not match in {expr}, {expr} is returned
4648 unmodified.
4649 When {flags} is "g", all matches of {pat} in {expr} are
4650 replaced. Otherwise {flags} should be "".
4651 Example: >
4652 :let &path = substitute(&path, ",\\=[^,]*$", "", "")
4653< This removes the last component of the 'path' option. >
4654 :echo substitute("testing", ".*", "\\U\\0", "")
4655< results in "TESTING".
4656
Bram Moolenaar47136d72004-10-12 20:02:24 +00004657synID({lnum}, {col}, {trans}) *synID()*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004658 The result is a Number, which is the syntax ID at the position
Bram Moolenaar47136d72004-10-12 20:02:24 +00004659 {lnum} and {col} in the current window.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004660 The syntax ID can be used with |synIDattr()| and
4661 |synIDtrans()| to obtain syntax information about text.
Bram Moolenaarce0842a2005-07-18 21:58:11 +00004662
Bram Moolenaar47136d72004-10-12 20:02:24 +00004663 {col} is 1 for the leftmost column, {lnum} is 1 for the first
Bram Moolenaarce0842a2005-07-18 21:58:11 +00004664 line. 'synmaxcol' applies, in a longer line zero is returned.
4665
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004666 When {trans} is non-zero, transparent items are reduced to the
4667 item that they reveal. This is useful when wanting to know
4668 the effective color. When {trans} is zero, the transparent
4669 item is returned. This is useful when wanting to know which
4670 syntax item is effective (e.g. inside parens).
4671 Warning: This function can be very slow. Best speed is
4672 obtained by going through the file in forward direction.
4673
4674 Example (echoes the name of the syntax item under the cursor): >
4675 :echo synIDattr(synID(line("."), col("."), 1), "name")
4676<
4677synIDattr({synID}, {what} [, {mode}]) *synIDattr()*
4678 The result is a String, which is the {what} attribute of
4679 syntax ID {synID}. This can be used to obtain information
4680 about a syntax item.
4681 {mode} can be "gui", "cterm" or "term", to get the attributes
4682 for that mode. When {mode} is omitted, or an invalid value is
4683 used, the attributes for the currently active highlighting are
4684 used (GUI, cterm or term).
4685 Use synIDtrans() to follow linked highlight groups.
4686 {what} result
4687 "name" the name of the syntax item
4688 "fg" foreground color (GUI: color name used to set
4689 the color, cterm: color number as a string,
4690 term: empty string)
4691 "bg" background color (like "fg")
4692 "fg#" like "fg", but for the GUI and the GUI is
4693 running the name in "#RRGGBB" form
4694 "bg#" like "fg#" for "bg"
4695 "bold" "1" if bold
4696 "italic" "1" if italic
4697 "reverse" "1" if reverse
4698 "inverse" "1" if inverse (= reverse)
4699 "underline" "1" if underlined
Bram Moolenaare2cc9702005-03-15 22:43:58 +00004700 "undercurl" "1" if undercurled
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004701
4702 Example (echoes the color of the syntax item under the
4703 cursor): >
4704 :echo synIDattr(synIDtrans(synID(line("."), col("."), 1)), "fg")
4705<
4706synIDtrans({synID}) *synIDtrans()*
4707 The result is a Number, which is the translated syntax ID of
4708 {synID}. This is the syntax group ID of what is being used to
4709 highlight the character. Highlight links given with
4710 ":highlight link" are followed.
4711
Bram Moolenaarc0197e22004-09-13 20:26:32 +00004712system({expr} [, {input}]) *system()* *E677*
4713 Get the output of the shell command {expr}.
4714 When {input} is given, this string is written to a file and
4715 passed as stdin to the command. The string is written as-is,
4716 you need to take care of using the correct line separators
Bram Moolenaar05159a02005-02-26 23:04:13 +00004717 yourself. Pipes are not used.
Bram Moolenaarc0197e22004-09-13 20:26:32 +00004718 Note: newlines in {expr} may cause the command to fail. The
4719 characters in 'shellquote' and 'shellxquote' may also cause
4720 trouble.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004721 This is not to be used for interactive commands.
4722 The result is a String. Example: >
4723
4724 :let files = system("ls")
4725
4726< To make the result more system-independent, the shell output
4727 is filtered to replace <CR> with <NL> for Macintosh, and
4728 <CR><NL> with <NL> for DOS-like systems.
4729 The command executed is constructed using several options:
4730 'shell' 'shellcmdflag' 'shellxquote' {expr} 'shellredir' {tmp} 'shellxquote'
4731 ({tmp} is an automatically generated file name).
4732 For Unix and OS/2 braces are put around {expr} to allow for
4733 concatenated commands.
4734
Bram Moolenaar433f7c82006-03-21 21:29:36 +00004735 The command will be executed in "cooked" mode, so that a
4736 CTRL-C will interrupt the command (on Unix at least).
4737
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004738 The resulting error code can be found in |v:shell_error|.
4739 This function will fail in |restricted-mode|.
Bram Moolenaar4770d092006-01-12 23:22:24 +00004740
4741 Note that any wrong value in the options mentioned above may
4742 make the function fail. It has also been reported to fail
4743 when using a security agent application.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004744 Unlike ":!cmd" there is no automatic check for changed files.
4745 Use |:checktime| to force a check.
4746
Bram Moolenaare2cc9702005-03-15 22:43:58 +00004747
Bram Moolenaarfaa959a2006-02-20 21:37:40 +00004748tabpagebuflist([{arg}]) *tabpagebuflist()*
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00004749 The result is a |List|, where each item is the number of the
Bram Moolenaarfaa959a2006-02-20 21:37:40 +00004750 buffer associated with each window in the current tab page.
4751 {arg} specifies the number of tab page to be used. When
4752 omitted the current tab page is used.
4753 When {arg} is invalid the number zero is returned.
4754 To get a list of all buffers in all tabs use this: >
4755 tablist = []
4756 for i in range(tabpagenr('$'))
4757 call extend(tablist, tabpagebuflist(i + 1))
4758 endfor
4759< Note that a buffer may appear in more than one window.
4760
4761
4762tabpagenr([{arg}]) *tabpagenr()*
Bram Moolenaar7e8fd632006-02-18 22:14:51 +00004763 The result is a Number, which is the number of the current
4764 tab page. The first tab page has number 1.
4765 When the optional argument is "$", the number of the last tab
4766 page is returned (the tab page count).
4767 The number can be used with the |:tab| command.
4768
4769
Bram Moolenaarfaa959a2006-02-20 21:37:40 +00004770tabpagewinnr({tabarg}, [{arg}]) *tabpagewinnr()*
4771 Like |winnr()| but for tab page {arg}.
4772 {tabarg} specifies the number of tab page to be used.
4773 {arg} is used like with |winnr()|:
4774 - When omitted the current window number is returned. This is
4775 the window which will be used when going to this tab page.
4776 - When "$" the number of windows is returned.
4777 - When "#" the previous window nr is returned.
4778 Useful examples: >
4779 tabpagewinnr(1) " current window of tab page 1
4780 tabpagewinnr(4, '$') " number of windows in tab page 4
4781< When {tabarg} is invalid zero is returned.
4782
Bram Moolenaarfa1d1402006-03-25 21:59:56 +00004783 *tagfiles()*
4784tagfiles() Returns a |List| with the file names used to search for tags
4785 for the current buffer. This is the 'tags' option expanded.
4786
4787
Bram Moolenaare2cc9702005-03-15 22:43:58 +00004788taglist({expr}) *taglist()*
4789 Returns a list of tags matching the regular expression {expr}.
Bram Moolenaard8c00872005-07-22 21:52:15 +00004790 Each list item is a dictionary with at least the following
4791 entries:
Bram Moolenaar280f1262006-01-30 00:14:18 +00004792 name Name of the tag.
4793 filename Name of the file where the tag is
Bram Moolenaare2cc9702005-03-15 22:43:58 +00004794 defined.
4795 cmd Ex command used to locate the tag in
4796 the file.
Bram Moolenaar280f1262006-01-30 00:14:18 +00004797 kind Type of the tag. The value for this
Bram Moolenaare2cc9702005-03-15 22:43:58 +00004798 entry depends on the language specific
4799 kind values generated by the ctags
4800 tool.
Bram Moolenaar280f1262006-01-30 00:14:18 +00004801 static A file specific tag. Refer to
Bram Moolenaare2cc9702005-03-15 22:43:58 +00004802 |static-tag| for more information.
Bram Moolenaar4317d9b2005-03-18 20:25:31 +00004803 The "kind" entry is only available when using Exuberant ctags
4804 generated tags file. More entries may be present, depending
4805 on the content of the tags file: access, implementation,
4806 inherits and signature. Refer to the ctags documentation for
4807 information about these fields. For C code the fields
4808 "struct", "class" and "enum" may appear, they give the name of
4809 the entity the tag is contained in.
Bram Moolenaar5a8684e2005-07-30 22:43:24 +00004810
Bram Moolenaar4317d9b2005-03-18 20:25:31 +00004811 The ex-command 'cmd' can be either an ex search pattern, a
4812 line number or a line number followed by a byte number.
Bram Moolenaare2cc9702005-03-15 22:43:58 +00004813
4814 If there are no matching tags, then an empty list is returned.
4815
4816 To get an exact tag match, the anchors '^' and '$' should be
4817 used in {expr}. Refer to |tag-regexp| for more information
4818 about the tag search regular expression pattern.
4819
4820 Refer to |'tags'| for information about how the tags file is
4821 located by Vim. Refer to |tags-file-format| for the format of
4822 the tags file generated by the different ctags tools.
4823
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004824tempname() *tempname()* *temp-file-name*
4825 The result is a String, which is the name of a file that
4826 doesn't exist. It can be used for a temporary file. The name
4827 is different for at least 26 consecutive calls. Example: >
4828 :let tmpfile = tempname()
4829 :exe "redir > " . tmpfile
4830< For Unix, the file will be in a private directory (only
4831 accessible by the current user) to avoid security problems
4832 (e.g., a symlink attack or other people reading your file).
4833 When Vim exits the directory and all files in it are deleted.
4834 For MS-Windows forward slashes are used when the 'shellslash'
4835 option is set or when 'shellcmdflag' starts with '-'.
4836
4837tolower({expr}) *tolower()*
4838 The result is a copy of the String given, with all uppercase
4839 characters turned into lowercase (just like applying |gu| to
4840 the string).
4841
4842toupper({expr}) *toupper()*
4843 The result is a copy of the String given, with all lowercase
4844 characters turned into uppercase (just like applying |gU| to
4845 the string).
4846
Bram Moolenaar8299df92004-07-10 09:47:34 +00004847tr({src}, {fromstr}, {tostr}) *tr()*
4848 The result is a copy of the {src} string with all characters
4849 which appear in {fromstr} replaced by the character in that
4850 position in the {tostr} string. Thus the first character in
4851 {fromstr} is translated into the first character in {tostr}
4852 and so on. Exactly like the unix "tr" command.
4853 This code also deals with multibyte characters properly.
4854
4855 Examples: >
4856 echo tr("hello there", "ht", "HT")
4857< returns "Hello THere" >
4858 echo tr("<blob>", "<>", "{}")
4859< returns "{blob}"
4860
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +00004861 *type()*
4862type({expr}) The result is a Number, depending on the type of {expr}:
Bram Moolenaar748bf032005-02-02 23:04:36 +00004863 Number: 0
4864 String: 1
4865 Funcref: 2
4866 List: 3
4867 Dictionary: 4
4868 To avoid the magic numbers it should be used this way: >
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +00004869 :if type(myvar) == type(0)
4870 :if type(myvar) == type("")
4871 :if type(myvar) == type(function("tr"))
4872 :if type(myvar) == type([])
Bram Moolenaar748bf032005-02-02 23:04:36 +00004873 :if type(myvar) == type({})
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004874
Bram Moolenaar677ee682005-01-27 14:41:15 +00004875values({dict}) *values()*
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00004876 Return a |List| with all the values of {dict}. The |List| is
4877 in arbitrary order.
Bram Moolenaar677ee682005-01-27 14:41:15 +00004878
4879
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004880virtcol({expr}) *virtcol()*
4881 The result is a Number, which is the screen column of the file
4882 position given with {expr}. That is, the last screen position
4883 occupied by the character at that position, when the screen
4884 would be of unlimited width. When there is a <Tab> at the
4885 position, the returned Number will be the column at the end of
4886 the <Tab>. For example, for a <Tab> in column 1, with 'ts'
4887 set to 8, it returns 8.
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00004888 For the use of {expr} see |col()|. Additionally you can use
Bram Moolenaar5c8837f2006-02-25 21:52:33 +00004889 [lnum, col]: a |List| with the line and column number. When
4890 "lnum" or "col" is out of range then virtcol() returns zero.
Bram Moolenaar0b238792006-03-02 22:49:12 +00004891 When 'virtualedit' is used it can be [lnum, col, off], where
4892 "off" is the offset in screen columns from the start of the
4893 character. E.g., a position within a Tab or after the last
4894 character.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004895 For the byte position use |col()|.
4896 When Virtual editing is active in the current mode, a position
4897 beyond the end of the line can be returned. |'virtualedit'|
4898 The accepted positions are:
4899 . the cursor position
4900 $ the end of the cursor line (the result is the
4901 number of displayed characters in the cursor line
4902 plus one)
4903 'x position of mark x (if the mark is not set, 0 is
4904 returned)
4905 Note that only marks in the current file can be used.
4906 Examples: >
4907 virtcol(".") with text "foo^Lbar", with cursor on the "^L", returns 5
4908 virtcol("$") with text "foo^Lbar", returns 9
4909 virtcol("'t") with text " there", with 't at 'h', returns 6
4910< The first column is 1. 0 is returned for an error.
4911
4912visualmode([expr]) *visualmode()*
4913 The result is a String, which describes the last Visual mode
4914 used. Initially it returns an empty string, but once Visual
4915 mode has been used, it returns "v", "V", or "<CTRL-V>" (a
4916 single CTRL-V character) for character-wise, line-wise, or
4917 block-wise Visual mode respectively.
4918 Example: >
4919 :exe "normal " . visualmode()
4920< This enters the same Visual mode as before. It is also useful
4921 in scripts if you wish to act differently depending on the
4922 Visual mode that was used.
4923
4924 If an expression is supplied that results in a non-zero number
4925 or a non-empty string, then the Visual mode will be cleared
4926 and the old value is returned. Note that " " and "0" are also
4927 non-empty strings, thus cause the mode to be cleared.
4928
4929 *winbufnr()*
4930winbufnr({nr}) The result is a Number, which is the number of the buffer
Bram Moolenaar402d2fe2005-04-15 21:00:38 +00004931 associated with window {nr}. When {nr} is zero, the number of
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004932 the buffer in the current window is returned. When window
4933 {nr} doesn't exist, -1 is returned.
4934 Example: >
4935 :echo "The file in the current window is " . bufname(winbufnr(0))
4936<
4937 *wincol()*
4938wincol() The result is a Number, which is the virtual column of the
4939 cursor in the window. This is counting screen cells from the
4940 left side of the window. The leftmost column is one.
4941
4942winheight({nr}) *winheight()*
4943 The result is a Number, which is the height of window {nr}.
4944 When {nr} is zero, the height of the current window is
4945 returned. When window {nr} doesn't exist, -1 is returned.
4946 An existing window always has a height of zero or more.
4947 Examples: >
4948 :echo "The current window has " . winheight(0) . " lines."
4949<
4950 *winline()*
4951winline() The result is a Number, which is the screen line of the cursor
4952 in the window. This is counting screen lines from the top of
4953 the window. The first line is one.
Bram Moolenaarbfd8fc02005-09-20 23:22:24 +00004954 If the cursor was moved the view on the file will be updated
4955 first, this may cause a scroll.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004956
4957 *winnr()*
Bram Moolenaar5eb86f92004-07-26 12:53:41 +00004958winnr([{arg}]) The result is a Number, which is the number of the current
4959 window. The top window has number 1.
4960 When the optional argument is "$", the number of the
Bram Moolenaar7e8fd632006-02-18 22:14:51 +00004961 last window is returned (the window count).
Bram Moolenaar5eb86f92004-07-26 12:53:41 +00004962 When the optional argument is "#", the number of the last
4963 accessed window is returned (where |CTRL-W_p| goes to).
4964 If there is no previous window 0 is returned.
4965 The number can be used with |CTRL-W_w| and ":wincmd w"
4966 |:wincmd|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004967
4968 *winrestcmd()*
4969winrestcmd() Returns a sequence of |:resize| commands that should restore
4970 the current window sizes. Only works properly when no windows
Bram Moolenaar87b5ca52006-03-04 21:55:31 +00004971 are opened or closed and the current window and tab page is
4972 unchanged.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004973 Example: >
4974 :let cmd = winrestcmd()
4975 :call MessWithWindowSizes()
4976 :exe cmd
Bram Moolenaar87b5ca52006-03-04 21:55:31 +00004977<
4978 *winrestview()*
4979winrestview({dict})
4980 Uses the |Dictionary| returned by |winsaveview()| to restore
4981 the view of the current window.
4982 If you have changed the values the result is unpredictable.
4983 If the window size changed the result won't be the same.
4984
4985 *winsaveview()*
4986winsaveview() Returns a |Dictionary| that contains information to restore
4987 the view of the current window. Use |winrestview()| to
4988 restore the view.
4989 This is useful if you have a mapping that jumps around in the
4990 buffer and you want to go back to the original view.
4991 This does not save fold information. Use the 'foldenable'
Bram Moolenaardb552d602006-03-23 22:59:57 +00004992 option to temporarily switch off folding, so that folds are
4993 not opened when moving around.
Bram Moolenaar87b5ca52006-03-04 21:55:31 +00004994 The return value includes:
4995 lnum cursor line number
4996 col cursor column
4997 coladd cursor column offset for 'virtualedit'
4998 curswant column for vertical movement
4999 topline first line in the window
5000 topfill filler lines, only in diff mode
5001 leftcol first column displayed
5002 skipcol columns skipped
5003 Note that no option values are saved.
5004
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005005
5006winwidth({nr}) *winwidth()*
5007 The result is a Number, which is the width of window {nr}.
5008 When {nr} is zero, the width of the current window is
5009 returned. When window {nr} doesn't exist, -1 is returned.
5010 An existing window always has a width of zero or more.
5011 Examples: >
5012 :echo "The current window has " . winwidth(0) . " columns."
5013 :if winwidth(0) <= 50
5014 : exe "normal 50\<C-W>|"
5015 :endif
5016<
Bram Moolenaar3a7c85b2005-02-05 21:39:53 +00005017 *writefile()*
5018writefile({list}, {fname} [, {binary}])
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00005019 Write |List| {list} to file {fname}. Each list item is
Bram Moolenaar3a7c85b2005-02-05 21:39:53 +00005020 separated with a NL. Each list item must be a String or
5021 Number.
5022 When {binary} is equal to "b" binary mode is used: There will
5023 not be a NL after the last list item. An empty item at the
5024 end does cause the last line in the file to end in a NL.
5025 All NL characters are replaced with a NUL character.
5026 Inserting CR characters needs to be done before passing {list}
5027 to writefile().
5028 An existing file is overwritten, if possible.
5029 When the write fails -1 is returned, otherwise 0. There is an
5030 error message if the file can't be created or when writing
5031 fails.
5032 Also see |readfile()|.
5033 To copy a file byte for byte: >
5034 :let fl = readfile("foo", "b")
5035 :call writefile(fl, "foocopy", "b")
5036<
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005037
5038 *feature-list*
5039There are three types of features:
50401. Features that are only supported when they have been enabled when Vim
5041 was compiled |+feature-list|. Example: >
5042 :if has("cindent")
50432. Features that are only supported when certain conditions have been met.
5044 Example: >
5045 :if has("gui_running")
5046< *has-patch*
50473. Included patches. First check |v:version| for the version of Vim.
5048 Then the "patch123" feature means that patch 123 has been included for
5049 this version. Example (checking version 6.2.148 or later): >
5050 :if v:version > 602 || v:version == 602 && has("patch148")
5051
5052all_builtin_terms Compiled with all builtin terminals enabled.
5053amiga Amiga version of Vim.
5054arabic Compiled with Arabic support |Arabic|.
5055arp Compiled with ARP support (Amiga).
Bram Moolenaara9b1e742005-12-19 22:14:58 +00005056autocmd Compiled with autocommand support. |autocommand|
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005057balloon_eval Compiled with |balloon-eval| support.
Bram Moolenaar45360022005-07-21 21:08:21 +00005058balloon_multiline GUI supports multiline balloons.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005059beos BeOS version of Vim.
5060browse Compiled with |:browse| support, and browse() will
5061 work.
5062builtin_terms Compiled with some builtin terminals.
5063byte_offset Compiled with support for 'o' in 'statusline'
5064cindent Compiled with 'cindent' support.
5065clientserver Compiled with remote invocation support |clientserver|.
5066clipboard Compiled with 'clipboard' support.
5067cmdline_compl Compiled with |cmdline-completion| support.
5068cmdline_hist Compiled with |cmdline-history| support.
5069cmdline_info Compiled with 'showcmd' and 'ruler' support.
5070comments Compiled with |'comments'| support.
5071cryptv Compiled with encryption support |encryption|.
5072cscope Compiled with |cscope| support.
5073compatible Compiled to be very Vi compatible.
5074debug Compiled with "DEBUG" defined.
5075dialog_con Compiled with console dialog support.
5076dialog_gui Compiled with GUI dialog support.
5077diff Compiled with |vimdiff| and 'diff' support.
5078digraphs Compiled with support for digraphs.
5079dnd Compiled with support for the "~ register |quote_~|.
5080dos32 32 bits DOS (DJGPP) version of Vim.
5081dos16 16 bits DOS version of Vim.
5082ebcdic Compiled on a machine with ebcdic character set.
5083emacs_tags Compiled with support for Emacs tags.
5084eval Compiled with expression evaluation support. Always
5085 true, of course!
5086ex_extra Compiled with extra Ex commands |+ex_extra|.
5087extra_search Compiled with support for |'incsearch'| and
5088 |'hlsearch'|
5089farsi Compiled with Farsi support |farsi|.
5090file_in_path Compiled with support for |gf| and |<cfile>|
Bram Moolenaar26a60b42005-02-22 08:49:11 +00005091filterpipe When 'shelltemp' is off pipes are used for shell
5092 read/write/filter commands
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005093find_in_path Compiled with support for include file searches
5094 |+find_in_path|.
5095fname_case Case in file names matters (for Amiga, MS-DOS, and
5096 Windows this is not present).
5097folding Compiled with |folding| support.
5098footer Compiled with GUI footer support. |gui-footer|
5099fork Compiled to use fork()/exec() instead of system().
5100gettext Compiled with message translation |multi-lang|
5101gui Compiled with GUI enabled.
5102gui_athena Compiled with Athena GUI.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005103gui_gtk Compiled with GTK+ GUI (any version).
5104gui_gtk2 Compiled with GTK+ 2 GUI (gui_gtk is also defined).
5105gui_mac Compiled with Macintosh GUI.
5106gui_motif Compiled with Motif GUI.
5107gui_photon Compiled with Photon GUI.
5108gui_win32 Compiled with MS Windows Win32 GUI.
5109gui_win32s idem, and Win32s system being used (Windows 3.1)
5110gui_running Vim is running in the GUI, or it will start soon.
5111hangul_input Compiled with Hangul input support. |hangul|
5112iconv Can use iconv() for conversion.
5113insert_expand Compiled with support for CTRL-X expansion commands in
5114 Insert mode.
5115jumplist Compiled with |jumplist| support.
5116keymap Compiled with 'keymap' support.
5117langmap Compiled with 'langmap' support.
5118libcall Compiled with |libcall()| support.
5119linebreak Compiled with 'linebreak', 'breakat' and 'showbreak'
5120 support.
5121lispindent Compiled with support for lisp indenting.
5122listcmds Compiled with commands for the buffer list |:files|
5123 and the argument list |arglist|.
5124localmap Compiled with local mappings and abbr. |:map-local|
5125mac Macintosh version of Vim.
5126macunix Macintosh version of Vim, using Unix files (OS-X).
5127menu Compiled with support for |:menu|.
5128mksession Compiled with support for |:mksession|.
5129modify_fname Compiled with file name modifiers. |filename-modifiers|
5130mouse Compiled with support mouse.
5131mouseshape Compiled with support for 'mouseshape'.
5132mouse_dec Compiled with support for Dec terminal mouse.
5133mouse_gpm Compiled with support for gpm (Linux console mouse)
5134mouse_netterm Compiled with support for netterm mouse.
5135mouse_pterm Compiled with support for qnx pterm mouse.
5136mouse_xterm Compiled with support for xterm mouse.
5137multi_byte Compiled with support for editing Korean et al.
5138multi_byte_ime Compiled with support for IME input method.
5139multi_lang Compiled with support for multiple languages.
Bram Moolenaar325b7a22004-07-05 15:58:32 +00005140mzscheme Compiled with MzScheme interface |mzscheme|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005141netbeans_intg Compiled with support for |netbeans|.
Bram Moolenaar009b2592004-10-24 19:18:58 +00005142netbeans_enabled Compiled with support for |netbeans| and it's used.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005143ole Compiled with OLE automation support for Win32.
5144os2 OS/2 version of Vim.
5145osfiletype Compiled with support for osfiletypes |+osfiletype|
5146path_extra Compiled with up/downwards search in 'path' and 'tags'
5147perl Compiled with Perl interface.
5148postscript Compiled with PostScript file printing.
5149printer Compiled with |:hardcopy| support.
Bram Moolenaar05159a02005-02-26 23:04:13 +00005150profile Compiled with |:profile| support.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005151python Compiled with Python interface.
5152qnx QNX version of Vim.
5153quickfix Compiled with |quickfix| support.
5154rightleft Compiled with 'rightleft' support.
5155ruby Compiled with Ruby interface |ruby|.
5156scrollbind Compiled with 'scrollbind' support.
5157showcmd Compiled with 'showcmd' support.
5158signs Compiled with |:sign| support.
5159smartindent Compiled with 'smartindent' support.
Bram Moolenaar69a7cb42004-06-20 12:51:53 +00005160sniff Compiled with SNiFF interface support.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005161statusline Compiled with support for 'statusline', 'rulerformat'
5162 and special formats of 'titlestring' and 'iconstring'.
5163sun_workshop Compiled with support for Sun |workshop|.
Bram Moolenaar82cf9b62005-06-07 21:09:25 +00005164spell Compiled with spell checking support |spell|.
5165syntax Compiled with syntax highlighting support |syntax|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005166syntax_items There are active syntax highlighting items for the
5167 current buffer.
5168system Compiled to use system() instead of fork()/exec().
5169tag_binary Compiled with binary searching in tags files
5170 |tag-binary-search|.
5171tag_old_static Compiled with support for old static tags
5172 |tag-old-static|.
5173tag_any_white Compiled with support for any white characters in tags
5174 files |tag-any-white|.
5175tcl Compiled with Tcl interface.
5176terminfo Compiled with terminfo instead of termcap.
5177termresponse Compiled with support for |t_RV| and |v:termresponse|.
5178textobjects Compiled with support for |text-objects|.
5179tgetent Compiled with tgetent support, able to use a termcap
5180 or terminfo file.
5181title Compiled with window title support |'title'|.
5182toolbar Compiled with support for |gui-toolbar|.
5183unix Unix version of Vim.
5184user_commands User-defined commands.
5185viminfo Compiled with viminfo support.
5186vim_starting True while initial source'ing takes place.
5187vertsplit Compiled with vertically split windows |:vsplit|.
5188virtualedit Compiled with 'virtualedit' option.
5189visual Compiled with Visual mode.
5190visualextra Compiled with extra Visual mode commands.
5191 |blockwise-operators|.
5192vms VMS version of Vim.
5193vreplace Compiled with |gR| and |gr| commands.
5194wildignore Compiled with 'wildignore' option.
5195wildmenu Compiled with 'wildmenu' option.
5196windows Compiled with support for more than one window.
5197winaltkeys Compiled with 'winaltkeys' option.
5198win16 Win16 version of Vim (MS-Windows 3.1).
5199win32 Win32 version of Vim (MS-Windows 95/98/ME/NT/2000/XP).
5200win64 Win64 version of Vim (MS-Windows 64 bit).
5201win32unix Win32 version of Vim, using Unix files (Cygwin)
5202win95 Win32 version for MS-Windows 95/98/ME.
5203writebackup Compiled with 'writebackup' default on.
5204xfontset Compiled with X fontset support |xfontset|.
5205xim Compiled with X input method support |xim|.
5206xsmp Compiled with X session management support.
5207xsmp_interact Compiled with interactive X session management support.
5208xterm_clipboard Compiled with support for xterm clipboard.
5209xterm_save Compiled with support for saving and restoring the
5210 xterm screen.
5211x11 Compiled with X11 support.
5212
5213 *string-match*
5214Matching a pattern in a String
5215
5216A regexp pattern as explained at |pattern| is normally used to find a match in
5217the buffer lines. When a pattern is used to find a match in a String, almost
5218everything works in the same way. The difference is that a String is handled
5219like it is one line. When it contains a "\n" character, this is not seen as a
5220line break for the pattern. It can be matched with a "\n" in the pattern, or
5221with ".". Example: >
5222 :let a = "aaaa\nxxxx"
5223 :echo matchstr(a, "..\n..")
5224 aa
5225 xx
5226 :echo matchstr(a, "a.x")
5227 a
5228 x
5229
5230Don't forget that "^" will only match at the first character of the String and
5231"$" at the last character of the string. They don't match after or before a
5232"\n".
5233
5234==============================================================================
52355. Defining functions *user-functions*
5236
5237New functions can be defined. These can be called just like builtin
5238functions. The function executes a sequence of Ex commands. Normal mode
5239commands can be executed with the |:normal| command.
5240
5241The function name must start with an uppercase letter, to avoid confusion with
5242builtin functions. To prevent from using the same name in different scripts
5243avoid obvious, short names. A good habit is to start the function name with
5244the name of the script, e.g., "HTMLcolor()".
5245
Bram Moolenaar92d640f2005-09-05 22:11:52 +00005246It's also possible to use curly braces, see |curly-braces-names|. And the
5247|autoload| facility is useful to define a function only when it's called.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005248
5249 *local-function*
5250A function local to a script must start with "s:". A local script function
5251can only be called from within the script and from functions, user commands
5252and autocommands defined in the script. It is also possible to call the
5253function from a mappings defined in the script, but then |<SID>| must be used
5254instead of "s:" when the mapping is expanded outside of the script.
5255
5256 *:fu* *:function* *E128* *E129* *E123*
5257:fu[nction] List all functions and their arguments.
5258
5259:fu[nction] {name} List function {name}.
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00005260 {name} can also be a |Dictionary| entry that is a
5261 |Funcref|: >
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00005262 :function dict.init
Bram Moolenaar92d640f2005-09-05 22:11:52 +00005263
5264:fu[nction] /{pattern} List functions with a name matching {pattern}.
5265 Example that lists all functions ending with "File": >
5266 :function /File$
Bram Moolenaar5b8d8fd2005-08-16 23:01:50 +00005267<
5268 *:function-verbose*
5269When 'verbose' is non-zero, listing a function will also display where it was
5270last defined. Example: >
5271
5272 :verbose function SetFileTypeSH
5273 function SetFileTypeSH(name)
5274 Last set from /usr/share/vim/vim-7.0/filetype.vim
5275<
Bram Moolenaar8aff23a2005-08-19 20:40:30 +00005276See |:verbose-cmd| for more information.
Bram Moolenaar5b8d8fd2005-08-16 23:01:50 +00005277
5278 *E124* *E125*
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00005279:fu[nction][!] {name}([arguments]) [range] [abort] [dict]
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005280 Define a new function by the name {name}. The name
5281 must be made of alphanumeric characters and '_', and
5282 must start with a capital or "s:" (see above).
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00005283
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00005284 {name} can also be a |Dictionary| entry that is a
5285 |Funcref|: >
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00005286 :function dict.init(arg)
5287< "dict" must be an existing dictionary. The entry
5288 "init" is added if it didn't exist yet. Otherwise [!]
5289 is required to overwrite an existing function. The
5290 result is a |Funcref| to a numbered function. The
5291 function can only be used with a |Funcref| and will be
5292 deleted if there are no more references to it.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005293 *E127* *E122*
5294 When a function by this name already exists and [!] is
5295 not used an error message is given. When [!] is used,
5296 an existing function is silently replaced. Unless it
5297 is currently being executed, that is an error.
Bram Moolenaar8f999f12005-01-25 22:12:55 +00005298
5299 For the {arguments} see |function-argument|.
5300
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005301 *a:firstline* *a:lastline*
5302 When the [range] argument is added, the function is
5303 expected to take care of a range itself. The range is
5304 passed as "a:firstline" and "a:lastline". If [range]
5305 is excluded, ":{range}call" will call the function for
5306 each line in the range, with the cursor on the start
5307 of each line. See |function-range-example|.
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00005308
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005309 When the [abort] argument is added, the function will
5310 abort as soon as an error is detected.
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00005311
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00005312 When the [dict] argument is added, the function must
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00005313 be invoked through an entry in a |Dictionary|. The
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00005314 local variable "self" will then be set to the
5315 dictionary. See |Dictionary-function|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005316
Bram Moolenaar98692072006-02-04 00:57:42 +00005317 The last used search pattern and the redo command "."
5318 will not be changed by the function.
5319
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005320 *:endf* *:endfunction* *E126* *E193*
5321:endf[unction] The end of a function definition. Must be on a line
5322 by its own, without other commands.
5323
5324 *:delf* *:delfunction* *E130* *E131*
5325:delf[unction] {name} Delete function {name}.
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00005326 {name} can also be a |Dictionary| entry that is a
5327 |Funcref|: >
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00005328 :delfunc dict.init
5329< This will remove the "init" entry from "dict". The
5330 function is deleted if there are no more references to
5331 it.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005332 *:retu* *:return* *E133*
5333:retu[rn] [expr] Return from a function. When "[expr]" is given, it is
5334 evaluated and returned as the result of the function.
5335 If "[expr]" is not given, the number 0 is returned.
5336 When a function ends without an explicit ":return",
5337 the number 0 is returned.
5338 Note that there is no check for unreachable lines,
5339 thus there is no warning if commands follow ":return".
5340
5341 If the ":return" is used after a |:try| but before the
5342 matching |:finally| (if present), the commands
5343 following the ":finally" up to the matching |:endtry|
5344 are executed first. This process applies to all
5345 nested ":try"s inside the function. The function
5346 returns at the outermost ":endtry".
5347
Bram Moolenaar8f999f12005-01-25 22:12:55 +00005348 *function-argument* *a:var*
5349An argument can be defined by giving its name. In the function this can then
5350be used as "a:name" ("a:" for argument).
5351 *a:0* *a:1* *a:000* *E740*
5352Up to 20 arguments can be given, separated by commas. After the named
5353arguments an argument "..." can be specified, which means that more arguments
5354may optionally be following. In the function the extra arguments can be used
5355as "a:1", "a:2", etc. "a:0" is set to the number of extra arguments (which
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00005356can be 0). "a:000" is set to a |List| that contains these arguments. Note
5357that "a:1" is the same as "a:000[0]".
Bram Moolenaar2ce06f62005-01-31 19:19:04 +00005358 *E742*
5359The a: scope and the variables in it cannot be changed, they are fixed.
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00005360However, if a |List| or |Dictionary| is used, you can changes their contents.
5361Thus you can pass a |List| to a function and have the function add an item to
5362it. If you want to make sure the function cannot change a |List| or
5363|Dictionary| use |:lockvar|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005364
Bram Moolenaar8f999f12005-01-25 22:12:55 +00005365When not using "...", the number of arguments in a function call must be equal
5366to the number of named arguments. When using "...", the number of arguments
5367may be larger.
5368
5369It is also possible to define a function without any arguments. You must
5370still supply the () then. The body of the function follows in the next lines,
5371until the matching |:endfunction|. It is allowed to define another function
5372inside a function body.
5373
5374 *local-variables*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005375Inside a function variables can be used. These are local variables, which
5376will disappear when the function returns. Global variables need to be
5377accessed with "g:".
5378
5379Example: >
5380 :function Table(title, ...)
5381 : echohl Title
5382 : echo a:title
5383 : echohl None
Bram Moolenaar677ee682005-01-27 14:41:15 +00005384 : echo a:0 . " items:"
5385 : for s in a:000
5386 : echon ' ' . s
5387 : endfor
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005388 :endfunction
5389
5390This function can then be called with: >
Bram Moolenaar677ee682005-01-27 14:41:15 +00005391 call Table("Table", "line1", "line2")
5392 call Table("Empty Table")
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005393
5394To return more than one value, pass the name of a global variable: >
5395 :function Compute(n1, n2, divname)
5396 : if a:n2 == 0
5397 : return "fail"
5398 : endif
5399 : let g:{a:divname} = a:n1 / a:n2
5400 : return "ok"
5401 :endfunction
5402
5403This function can then be called with: >
5404 :let success = Compute(13, 1324, "div")
5405 :if success == "ok"
5406 : echo div
5407 :endif
5408
5409An alternative is to return a command that can be executed. This also works
5410with local variables in a calling function. Example: >
5411 :function Foo()
5412 : execute Bar()
5413 : echo "line " . lnum . " column " . col
5414 :endfunction
5415
5416 :function Bar()
5417 : return "let lnum = " . line(".") . " | let col = " . col(".")
5418 :endfunction
5419
5420The names "lnum" and "col" could also be passed as argument to Bar(), to allow
5421the caller to set the names.
5422
Bram Moolenaar39f05632006-03-19 22:15:26 +00005423 *:cal* *:call* *E107* *E117*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005424:[range]cal[l] {name}([arguments])
5425 Call a function. The name of the function and its arguments
5426 are as specified with |:function|. Up to 20 arguments can be
5427 used.
5428 Without a range and for functions that accept a range, the
5429 function is called once. When a range is given the cursor is
5430 positioned at the start of the first line before executing the
5431 function.
5432 When a range is given and the function doesn't handle it
5433 itself, the function is executed for each line in the range,
5434 with the cursor in the first column of that line. The cursor
5435 is left at the last line (possibly moved by the last function
5436 call). The arguments are re-evaluated for each line. Thus
5437 this works:
5438 *function-range-example* >
5439 :function Mynumber(arg)
5440 : echo line(".") . " " . a:arg
5441 :endfunction
5442 :1,5call Mynumber(getline("."))
5443<
5444 The "a:firstline" and "a:lastline" are defined anyway, they
5445 can be used to do something different at the start or end of
5446 the range.
5447
5448 Example of a function that handles the range itself: >
5449
5450 :function Cont() range
5451 : execute (a:firstline + 1) . "," . a:lastline . 's/^/\t\\ '
5452 :endfunction
5453 :4,8call Cont()
5454<
5455 This function inserts the continuation character "\" in front
5456 of all the lines in the range, except the first one.
5457
5458 *E132*
5459The recursiveness of user functions is restricted with the |'maxfuncdepth'|
5460option.
5461
Bram Moolenaar7c626922005-02-07 22:01:03 +00005462
5463AUTOMATICALLY LOADING FUNCTIONS ~
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005464 *autoload-functions*
5465When using many or large functions, it's possible to automatically define them
Bram Moolenaar7c626922005-02-07 22:01:03 +00005466only when they are used. There are two methods: with an autocommand and with
5467the "autoload" directory in 'runtimepath'.
5468
5469
5470Using an autocommand ~
5471
Bram Moolenaar05159a02005-02-26 23:04:13 +00005472This is introduced in the user manual, section |41.14|.
5473
Bram Moolenaar7c626922005-02-07 22:01:03 +00005474The autocommand is useful if you have a plugin that is a long Vim script file.
5475You can define the autocommand and quickly quit the script with |:finish|.
5476That makes Vim startup faster. The autocommand should then load the same file
5477again, setting a variable to skip the |:finish| command.
5478
5479Use the FuncUndefined autocommand event with a pattern that matches the
5480function(s) to be defined. Example: >
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005481
5482 :au FuncUndefined BufNet* source ~/vim/bufnetfuncs.vim
5483
5484The file "~/vim/bufnetfuncs.vim" should then define functions that start with
5485"BufNet". Also see |FuncUndefined|.
5486
Bram Moolenaar7c626922005-02-07 22:01:03 +00005487
5488Using an autoload script ~
Bram Moolenaar26a60b42005-02-22 08:49:11 +00005489 *autoload* *E746*
Bram Moolenaar05159a02005-02-26 23:04:13 +00005490This is introduced in the user manual, section |41.15|.
5491
Bram Moolenaar7c626922005-02-07 22:01:03 +00005492Using a script in the "autoload" directory is simpler, but requires using
5493exactly the right file name. A function that can be autoloaded has a name
5494like this: >
5495
Bram Moolenaara7fc0102005-05-18 22:17:12 +00005496 :call filename#funcname()
Bram Moolenaar7c626922005-02-07 22:01:03 +00005497
5498When such a function is called, and it is not defined yet, Vim will search the
5499"autoload" directories in 'runtimepath' for a script file called
5500"filename.vim". For example "~/.vim/autoload/filename.vim". That file should
5501then define the function like this: >
5502
Bram Moolenaara7fc0102005-05-18 22:17:12 +00005503 function filename#funcname()
Bram Moolenaar7c626922005-02-07 22:01:03 +00005504 echo "Done!"
5505 endfunction
5506
Bram Moolenaar60a795a2005-09-16 21:55:43 +00005507The file name and the name used before the # in the function must match
Bram Moolenaar7c626922005-02-07 22:01:03 +00005508exactly, and the defined function must have the name exactly as it will be
5509called.
5510
Bram Moolenaara7fc0102005-05-18 22:17:12 +00005511It is possible to use subdirectories. Every # in the function name works like
5512a path separator. Thus when calling a function: >
Bram Moolenaar7c626922005-02-07 22:01:03 +00005513
Bram Moolenaara7fc0102005-05-18 22:17:12 +00005514 :call foo#bar#func()
Bram Moolenaar7c626922005-02-07 22:01:03 +00005515
5516Vim will look for the file "autoload/foo/bar.vim" in 'runtimepath'.
5517
Bram Moolenaar26a60b42005-02-22 08:49:11 +00005518This also works when reading a variable that has not been set yet: >
5519
Bram Moolenaara7fc0102005-05-18 22:17:12 +00005520 :let l = foo#bar#lvar
Bram Moolenaar26a60b42005-02-22 08:49:11 +00005521
Bram Moolenaara5792f52005-11-23 21:25:05 +00005522However, when the autoload script was already loaded it won't be loaded again
5523for an unknown variable.
5524
Bram Moolenaar26a60b42005-02-22 08:49:11 +00005525When assigning a value to such a variable nothing special happens. This can
5526be used to pass settings to the autoload script before it's loaded: >
5527
Bram Moolenaara7fc0102005-05-18 22:17:12 +00005528 :let foo#bar#toggle = 1
5529 :call foo#bar#func()
Bram Moolenaar26a60b42005-02-22 08:49:11 +00005530
Bram Moolenaar4399ef42005-02-12 14:29:27 +00005531Note that when you make a mistake and call a function that is supposed to be
5532defined in an autoload script, but the script doesn't actually define the
5533function, the script will be sourced every time you try to call the function.
Bram Moolenaar26a60b42005-02-22 08:49:11 +00005534And you will get an error message every time.
5535
5536Also note that if you have two script files, and one calls a function in the
5537other and vise versa, before the used function is defined, it won't work.
5538Avoid using the autoload functionality at the toplevel.
Bram Moolenaar7c626922005-02-07 22:01:03 +00005539
Bram Moolenaar433f7c82006-03-21 21:29:36 +00005540Hint: If you distribute a bunch of scripts you can pack them together with the
5541|vimball| utility. Also read the user manual |distribute-script|.
5542
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005543==============================================================================
55446. Curly braces names *curly-braces-names*
5545
5546Wherever you can use a variable, you can use a "curly braces name" variable.
5547This is a regular variable name with one or more expressions wrapped in braces
5548{} like this: >
5549 my_{adjective}_variable
5550
5551When Vim encounters this, it evaluates the expression inside the braces, puts
5552that in place of the expression, and re-interprets the whole as a variable
5553name. So in the above example, if the variable "adjective" was set to
5554"noisy", then the reference would be to "my_noisy_variable", whereas if
5555"adjective" was set to "quiet", then it would be to "my_quiet_variable".
5556
5557One application for this is to create a set of variables governed by an option
5558value. For example, the statement >
5559 echo my_{&background}_message
5560
5561would output the contents of "my_dark_message" or "my_light_message" depending
5562on the current value of 'background'.
5563
5564You can use multiple brace pairs: >
5565 echo my_{adverb}_{adjective}_message
5566..or even nest them: >
5567 echo my_{ad{end_of_word}}_message
5568where "end_of_word" is either "verb" or "jective".
5569
5570However, the expression inside the braces must evaluate to a valid single
Bram Moolenaar402d2fe2005-04-15 21:00:38 +00005571variable name, e.g. this is invalid: >
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005572 :let foo='a + b'
5573 :echo c{foo}d
5574.. since the result of expansion is "ca + bd", which is not a variable name.
5575
5576 *curly-braces-function-names*
5577You can call and define functions by an evaluated name in a similar way.
5578Example: >
5579 :let func_end='whizz'
5580 :call my_func_{func_end}(parameter)
5581
5582This would call the function "my_func_whizz(parameter)".
5583
5584==============================================================================
55857. Commands *expression-commands*
5586
5587:let {var-name} = {expr1} *:let* *E18*
5588 Set internal variable {var-name} to the result of the
5589 expression {expr1}. The variable will get the type
5590 from the {expr}. If {var-name} didn't exist yet, it
5591 is created.
5592
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +00005593:let {var-name}[{idx}] = {expr1} *E689*
5594 Set a list item to the result of the expression
5595 {expr1}. {var-name} must refer to a list and {idx}
5596 must be a valid index in that list. For nested list
5597 the index can be repeated.
5598 This cannot be used to add an item to a list.
5599
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00005600 *E711* *E719*
5601:let {var-name}[{idx1}:{idx2}] = {expr1} *E708* *E709* *E710*
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00005602 Set a sequence of items in a |List| to the result of
5603 the expression {expr1}, which must be a list with the
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +00005604 correct number of items.
5605 {idx1} can be omitted, zero is used instead.
5606 {idx2} can be omitted, meaning the end of the list.
5607 When the selected range of items is partly past the
5608 end of the list, items will be added.
5609
Bram Moolenaar748bf032005-02-02 23:04:36 +00005610 *:let+=* *:let-=* *:let.=* *E734*
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00005611:let {var} += {expr1} Like ":let {var} = {var} + {expr1}".
5612:let {var} -= {expr1} Like ":let {var} = {var} - {expr1}".
5613:let {var} .= {expr1} Like ":let {var} = {var} . {expr1}".
5614 These fail if {var} was not set yet and when the type
5615 of {var} and {expr1} don't fit the operator.
5616
5617
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005618:let ${env-name} = {expr1} *:let-environment* *:let-$*
5619 Set environment variable {env-name} to the result of
5620 the expression {expr1}. The type is always String.
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00005621:let ${env-name} .= {expr1}
5622 Append {expr1} to the environment variable {env-name}.
5623 If the environment variable didn't exist yet this
5624 works like "=".
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005625
5626:let @{reg-name} = {expr1} *:let-register* *:let-@*
5627 Write the result of the expression {expr1} in register
5628 {reg-name}. {reg-name} must be a single letter, and
5629 must be the name of a writable register (see
5630 |registers|). "@@" can be used for the unnamed
5631 register, "@/" for the search pattern.
5632 If the result of {expr1} ends in a <CR> or <NL>, the
5633 register will be linewise, otherwise it will be set to
5634 characterwise.
5635 This can be used to clear the last search pattern: >
5636 :let @/ = ""
5637< This is different from searching for an empty string,
5638 that would match everywhere.
5639
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00005640:let @{reg-name} .= {expr1}
5641 Append {expr1} to register {reg-name}. If the
5642 register was empty it's like setting it to {expr1}.
5643
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005644:let &{option-name} = {expr1} *:let-option* *:let-star*
5645 Set option {option-name} to the result of the
Bram Moolenaarfca34d62005-01-04 21:38:36 +00005646 expression {expr1}. A String or Number value is
5647 always converted to the type of the option.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005648 For an option local to a window or buffer the effect
5649 is just like using the |:set| command: both the local
Bram Moolenaara5fac542005-10-12 20:58:49 +00005650 value and the global value are changed.
Bram Moolenaarfca34d62005-01-04 21:38:36 +00005651 Example: >
5652 :let &path = &path . ',/usr/local/include'
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005653
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00005654:let &{option-name} .= {expr1}
5655 For a string option: Append {expr1} to the value.
5656 Does not insert a comma like |:set+=|.
5657
5658:let &{option-name} += {expr1}
5659:let &{option-name} -= {expr1}
5660 For a number or boolean option: Add or subtract
5661 {expr1}.
5662
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005663:let &l:{option-name} = {expr1}
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00005664:let &l:{option-name} .= {expr1}
5665:let &l:{option-name} += {expr1}
5666:let &l:{option-name} -= {expr1}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005667 Like above, but only set the local value of an option
5668 (if there is one). Works like |:setlocal|.
5669
5670:let &g:{option-name} = {expr1}
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00005671:let &g:{option-name} .= {expr1}
5672:let &g:{option-name} += {expr1}
5673:let &g:{option-name} -= {expr1}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005674 Like above, but only set the global value of an option
5675 (if there is one). Works like |:setglobal|.
5676
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +00005677:let [{name1}, {name2}, ...] = {expr1} *:let-unpack* *E687* *E688*
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00005678 {expr1} must evaluate to a |List|. The first item in
Bram Moolenaarfca34d62005-01-04 21:38:36 +00005679 the list is assigned to {name1}, the second item to
5680 {name2}, etc.
5681 The number of names must match the number of items in
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00005682 the |List|.
Bram Moolenaarfca34d62005-01-04 21:38:36 +00005683 Each name can be one of the items of the ":let"
5684 command as mentioned above.
5685 Example: >
5686 :let [s, item] = GetItem(s)
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00005687< Detail: {expr1} is evaluated first, then the
5688 assignments are done in sequence. This matters if
5689 {name2} depends on {name1}. Example: >
5690 :let x = [0, 1]
5691 :let i = 0
5692 :let [i, x[i]] = [1, 2]
5693 :echo x
5694< The result is [0, 2].
5695
5696:let [{name1}, {name2}, ...] .= {expr1}
5697:let [{name1}, {name2}, ...] += {expr1}
5698:let [{name1}, {name2}, ...] -= {expr1}
5699 Like above, but append/add/subtract the value for each
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00005700 |List| item.
Bram Moolenaarfca34d62005-01-04 21:38:36 +00005701
5702:let [{name}, ..., ; {lastname}] = {expr1}
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00005703 Like |:let-unpack| above, but the |List| may have more
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00005704 items than there are names. A list of the remaining
5705 items is assigned to {lastname}. If there are no
5706 remaining items {lastname} is set to an empty list.
Bram Moolenaarfca34d62005-01-04 21:38:36 +00005707 Example: >
5708 :let [a, b; rest] = ["aval", "bval", 3, 4]
5709<
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00005710:let [{name}, ..., ; {lastname}] .= {expr1}
5711:let [{name}, ..., ; {lastname}] += {expr1}
5712:let [{name}, ..., ; {lastname}] -= {expr1}
5713 Like above, but append/add/subtract the value for each
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00005714 |List| item.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005715 *E106*
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00005716:let {var-name} .. List the value of variable {var-name}. Multiple
Bram Moolenaardcaf10e2005-01-21 11:55:25 +00005717 variable names may be given. Special names recognized
5718 here: *E738*
Bram Moolenaarca003e12006-03-17 23:19:38 +00005719 g: global variables
5720 b: local buffer variables
5721 w: local window variables
Bram Moolenaar910f66f2006-04-05 20:41:53 +00005722 t: local tab page variables
Bram Moolenaarca003e12006-03-17 23:19:38 +00005723 s: script-local variables
5724 l: local function variables
Bram Moolenaardcaf10e2005-01-21 11:55:25 +00005725 v: Vim variables.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005726
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00005727:let List the values of all variables. The type of the
5728 variable is indicated before the value:
5729 <nothing> String
5730 # Number
5731 * Funcref
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005732
Bram Moolenaar2ce06f62005-01-31 19:19:04 +00005733
5734:unl[et][!] {name} ... *:unlet* *:unl* *E108*
5735 Remove the internal variable {name}. Several variable
5736 names can be given, they are all removed. The name
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00005737 may also be a |List| or |Dictionary| item.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005738 With [!] no error message is given for non-existing
5739 variables.
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00005740 One or more items from a |List| can be removed: >
Bram Moolenaar9cd15162005-01-16 22:02:49 +00005741 :unlet list[3] " remove fourth item
5742 :unlet list[3:] " remove fourth item to last
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00005743< One item from a |Dictionary| can be removed at a time: >
Bram Moolenaar9cd15162005-01-16 22:02:49 +00005744 :unlet dict['two']
5745 :unlet dict.two
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005746
Bram Moolenaar2ce06f62005-01-31 19:19:04 +00005747:lockv[ar][!] [depth] {name} ... *:lockvar* *:lockv*
5748 Lock the internal variable {name}. Locking means that
5749 it can no longer be changed (until it is unlocked).
5750 A locked variable can be deleted: >
5751 :lockvar v
5752 :let v = 'asdf' " fails!
5753 :unlet v
5754< *E741*
5755 If you try to change a locked variable you get an
5756 error message: "E741: Value of {name} is locked"
5757
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00005758 [depth] is relevant when locking a |List| or
5759 |Dictionary|. It specifies how deep the locking goes:
5760 1 Lock the |List| or |Dictionary| itself,
Bram Moolenaar2ce06f62005-01-31 19:19:04 +00005761 cannot add or remove items, but can
5762 still change their values.
5763 2 Also lock the values, cannot change
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00005764 the items. If an item is a |List| or
5765 |Dictionary|, cannot add or remove
Bram Moolenaar2ce06f62005-01-31 19:19:04 +00005766 items, but can still change the
5767 values.
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00005768 3 Like 2 but for the |List| /
5769 |Dictionary| in the |List| /
5770 |Dictionary|, one level deeper.
5771 The default [depth] is 2, thus when {name} is a |List|
5772 or |Dictionary| the values cannot be changed.
Bram Moolenaar2ce06f62005-01-31 19:19:04 +00005773 *E743*
5774 For unlimited depth use [!] and omit [depth].
5775 However, there is a maximum depth of 100 to catch
5776 loops.
5777
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00005778 Note that when two variables refer to the same |List|
5779 and you lock one of them, the |List| will also be
Bram Moolenaar910f66f2006-04-05 20:41:53 +00005780 locked when used through the other variable.
5781 Example: >
Bram Moolenaar2ce06f62005-01-31 19:19:04 +00005782 :let l = [0, 1, 2, 3]
5783 :let cl = l
5784 :lockvar l
5785 :let cl[1] = 99 " won't work!
5786< You may want to make a copy of a list to avoid this.
5787 See |deepcopy()|.
5788
5789
5790:unlo[ckvar][!] [depth] {name} ... *:unlockvar* *:unlo*
5791 Unlock the internal variable {name}. Does the
5792 opposite of |:lockvar|.
5793
5794
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005795:if {expr1} *:if* *:endif* *:en* *E171* *E579* *E580*
5796:en[dif] Execute the commands until the next matching ":else"
5797 or ":endif" if {expr1} evaluates to non-zero.
5798
5799 From Vim version 4.5 until 5.0, every Ex command in
5800 between the ":if" and ":endif" is ignored. These two
5801 commands were just to allow for future expansions in a
5802 backwards compatible way. Nesting was allowed. Note
5803 that any ":else" or ":elseif" was ignored, the "else"
5804 part was not executed either.
5805
5806 You can use this to remain compatible with older
5807 versions: >
5808 :if version >= 500
5809 : version-5-specific-commands
5810 :endif
5811< The commands still need to be parsed to find the
5812 "endif". Sometimes an older Vim has a problem with a
5813 new command. For example, ":silent" is recognized as
5814 a ":substitute" command. In that case ":execute" can
5815 avoid problems: >
5816 :if version >= 600
5817 : execute "silent 1,$delete"
5818 :endif
5819<
5820 NOTE: The ":append" and ":insert" commands don't work
5821 properly in between ":if" and ":endif".
5822
5823 *:else* *:el* *E581* *E583*
5824:el[se] Execute the commands until the next matching ":else"
5825 or ":endif" if they previously were not being
5826 executed.
5827
5828 *:elseif* *:elsei* *E582* *E584*
5829:elsei[f] {expr1} Short for ":else" ":if", with the addition that there
5830 is no extra ":endif".
5831
5832:wh[ile] {expr1} *:while* *:endwhile* *:wh* *:endw*
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00005833 *E170* *E585* *E588* *E733*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005834:endw[hile] Repeat the commands between ":while" and ":endwhile",
5835 as long as {expr1} evaluates to non-zero.
5836 When an error is detected from a command inside the
5837 loop, execution continues after the "endwhile".
Bram Moolenaar12805862005-01-05 22:16:17 +00005838 Example: >
5839 :let lnum = 1
5840 :while lnum <= line("$")
5841 :call FixLine(lnum)
5842 :let lnum = lnum + 1
5843 :endwhile
5844<
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005845 NOTE: The ":append" and ":insert" commands don't work
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +00005846 properly inside a ":while" and ":for" loop.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005847
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00005848:for {var} in {list} *:for* *E690* *E732*
Bram Moolenaar12805862005-01-05 22:16:17 +00005849:endfo[r] *:endfo* *:endfor*
5850 Repeat the commands between ":for" and ":endfor" for
Bram Moolenaar3a7c85b2005-02-05 21:39:53 +00005851 each item in {list}. Variable {var} is set to the
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +00005852 value of each item.
5853 When an error is detected for a command inside the
Bram Moolenaar12805862005-01-05 22:16:17 +00005854 loop, execution continues after the "endfor".
Bram Moolenaar572cb562005-08-05 21:35:02 +00005855 Changing {list} inside the loop affects what items are
5856 used. Make a copy if this is unwanted: >
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +00005857 :for item in copy(mylist)
5858< When not making a copy, Vim stores a reference to the
5859 next item in the list, before executing the commands
5860 with the current item. Thus the current item can be
5861 removed without effect. Removing any later item means
5862 it will not be found. Thus the following example
5863 works (an inefficient way to make a list empty): >
5864 :for item in mylist
Bram Moolenaar12805862005-01-05 22:16:17 +00005865 :call remove(mylist, 0)
5866 :endfor
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +00005867< Note that reordering the list (e.g., with sort() or
5868 reverse()) may have unexpected effects.
5869 Note that the type of each list item should be
Bram Moolenaar12805862005-01-05 22:16:17 +00005870 identical to avoid errors for the type of {var}
5871 changing. Unlet the variable at the end of the loop
5872 to allow multiple item types.
5873
Bram Moolenaar12805862005-01-05 22:16:17 +00005874:for [{var1}, {var2}, ...] in {listlist}
5875:endfo[r]
5876 Like ":for" above, but each item in {listlist} must be
5877 a list, of which each item is assigned to {var1},
5878 {var2}, etc. Example: >
5879 :for [lnum, col] in [[1, 3], [2, 5], [3, 8]]
5880 :echo getline(lnum)[col]
5881 :endfor
5882<
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005883 *:continue* *:con* *E586*
Bram Moolenaar12805862005-01-05 22:16:17 +00005884:con[tinue] When used inside a ":while" or ":for" loop, jumps back
5885 to the start of the loop.
5886 If it is used after a |:try| inside the loop but
5887 before the matching |:finally| (if present), the
5888 commands following the ":finally" up to the matching
5889 |:endtry| are executed first. This process applies to
5890 all nested ":try"s inside the loop. The outermost
5891 ":endtry" then jumps back to the start of the loop.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005892
5893 *:break* *:brea* *E587*
Bram Moolenaar12805862005-01-05 22:16:17 +00005894:brea[k] When used inside a ":while" or ":for" loop, skips to
5895 the command after the matching ":endwhile" or
5896 ":endfor".
5897 If it is used after a |:try| inside the loop but
5898 before the matching |:finally| (if present), the
5899 commands following the ":finally" up to the matching
5900 |:endtry| are executed first. This process applies to
5901 all nested ":try"s inside the loop. The outermost
5902 ":endtry" then jumps to the command after the loop.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005903
5904:try *:try* *:endt* *:endtry* *E600* *E601* *E602*
5905:endt[ry] Change the error handling for the commands between
5906 ":try" and ":endtry" including everything being
5907 executed across ":source" commands, function calls,
5908 or autocommand invocations.
5909
5910 When an error or interrupt is detected and there is
5911 a |:finally| command following, execution continues
5912 after the ":finally". Otherwise, or when the
5913 ":endtry" is reached thereafter, the next
5914 (dynamically) surrounding ":try" is checked for
5915 a corresponding ":finally" etc. Then the script
5916 processing is terminated. (Whether a function
5917 definition has an "abort" argument does not matter.)
5918 Example: >
5919 :try | edit too much | finally | echo "cleanup" | endtry
5920 :echo "impossible" " not reached, script terminated above
5921<
5922 Moreover, an error or interrupt (dynamically) inside
5923 ":try" and ":endtry" is converted to an exception. It
5924 can be caught as if it were thrown by a |:throw|
5925 command (see |:catch|). In this case, the script
5926 processing is not terminated.
5927
5928 The value "Vim:Interrupt" is used for an interrupt
5929 exception. An error in a Vim command is converted
5930 to a value of the form "Vim({command}):{errmsg}",
5931 other errors are converted to a value of the form
5932 "Vim:{errmsg}". {command} is the full command name,
5933 and {errmsg} is the message that is displayed if the
5934 error exception is not caught, always beginning with
5935 the error number.
5936 Examples: >
5937 :try | sleep 100 | catch /^Vim:Interrupt$/ | endtry
5938 :try | edit | catch /^Vim(edit):E\d\+/ | echo "error" | endtry
5939<
5940 *:cat* *:catch* *E603* *E604* *E605*
5941:cat[ch] /{pattern}/ The following commands until the next ":catch",
5942 |:finally|, or |:endtry| that belongs to the same
5943 |:try| as the ":catch" are executed when an exception
5944 matching {pattern} is being thrown and has not yet
5945 been caught by a previous ":catch". Otherwise, these
5946 commands are skipped.
5947 When {pattern} is omitted all errors are caught.
5948 Examples: >
5949 :catch /^Vim:Interrupt$/ " catch interrupts (CTRL-C)
5950 :catch /^Vim\%((\a\+)\)\=:E/ " catch all Vim errors
5951 :catch /^Vim\%((\a\+)\)\=:/ " catch errors and interrupts
5952 :catch /^Vim(write):/ " catch all errors in :write
5953 :catch /^Vim\%((\a\+)\)\=:E123/ " catch error E123
5954 :catch /my-exception/ " catch user exception
5955 :catch /.*/ " catch everything
5956 :catch " same as /.*/
5957<
5958 Another character can be used instead of / around the
5959 {pattern}, so long as it does not have a special
5960 meaning (e.g., '|' or '"') and doesn't occur inside
5961 {pattern}.
5962 NOTE: It is not reliable to ":catch" the TEXT of
5963 an error message because it may vary in different
5964 locales.
5965
5966 *:fina* *:finally* *E606* *E607*
5967:fina[lly] The following commands until the matching |:endtry|
5968 are executed whenever the part between the matching
5969 |:try| and the ":finally" is left: either by falling
5970 through to the ":finally" or by a |:continue|,
5971 |:break|, |:finish|, or |:return|, or by an error or
5972 interrupt or exception (see |:throw|).
5973
5974 *:th* *:throw* *E608*
5975:th[row] {expr1} The {expr1} is evaluated and thrown as an exception.
5976 If the ":throw" is used after a |:try| but before the
5977 first corresponding |:catch|, commands are skipped
5978 until the first ":catch" matching {expr1} is reached.
5979 If there is no such ":catch" or if the ":throw" is
5980 used after a ":catch" but before the |:finally|, the
5981 commands following the ":finally" (if present) up to
5982 the matching |:endtry| are executed. If the ":throw"
5983 is after the ":finally", commands up to the ":endtry"
5984 are skipped. At the ":endtry", this process applies
5985 again for the next dynamically surrounding ":try"
5986 (which may be found in a calling function or sourcing
5987 script), until a matching ":catch" has been found.
5988 If the exception is not caught, the command processing
5989 is terminated.
5990 Example: >
5991 :try | throw "oops" | catch /^oo/ | echo "caught" | endtry
5992<
5993
5994 *:ec* *:echo*
5995:ec[ho] {expr1} .. Echoes each {expr1}, with a space in between. The
5996 first {expr1} starts on a new line.
5997 Also see |:comment|.
5998 Use "\n" to start a new line. Use "\r" to move the
5999 cursor to the first column.
6000 Uses the highlighting set by the |:echohl| command.
6001 Cannot be followed by a comment.
6002 Example: >
6003 :echo "the value of 'shell' is" &shell
6004< A later redraw may make the message disappear again.
6005 To avoid that a command from before the ":echo" causes
6006 a redraw afterwards (redraws are often postponed until
6007 you type something), force a redraw with the |:redraw|
6008 command. Example: >
6009 :new | redraw | echo "there is a new window"
6010<
6011 *:echon*
6012:echon {expr1} .. Echoes each {expr1}, without anything added. Also see
6013 |:comment|.
6014 Uses the highlighting set by the |:echohl| command.
6015 Cannot be followed by a comment.
6016 Example: >
6017 :echon "the value of 'shell' is " &shell
6018<
6019 Note the difference between using ":echo", which is a
6020 Vim command, and ":!echo", which is an external shell
6021 command: >
6022 :!echo % --> filename
6023< The arguments of ":!" are expanded, see |:_%|. >
6024 :!echo "%" --> filename or "filename"
6025< Like the previous example. Whether you see the double
6026 quotes or not depends on your 'shell'. >
6027 :echo % --> nothing
6028< The '%' is an illegal character in an expression. >
6029 :echo "%" --> %
6030< This just echoes the '%' character. >
6031 :echo expand("%") --> filename
6032< This calls the expand() function to expand the '%'.
6033
6034 *:echoh* *:echohl*
6035:echoh[l] {name} Use the highlight group {name} for the following
6036 |:echo|, |:echon| and |:echomsg| commands. Also used
6037 for the |input()| prompt. Example: >
6038 :echohl WarningMsg | echo "Don't panic!" | echohl None
6039< Don't forget to set the group back to "None",
6040 otherwise all following echo's will be highlighted.
6041
6042 *:echom* *:echomsg*
6043:echom[sg] {expr1} .. Echo the expression(s) as a true message, saving the
6044 message in the |message-history|.
6045 Spaces are placed between the arguments as with the
6046 |:echo| command. But unprintable characters are
6047 displayed, not interpreted.
6048 Uses the highlighting set by the |:echohl| command.
6049 Example: >
6050 :echomsg "It's a Zizzer Zazzer Zuzz, as you can plainly see."
6051<
6052 *:echoe* *:echoerr*
6053:echoe[rr] {expr1} .. Echo the expression(s) as an error message, saving the
6054 message in the |message-history|. When used in a
6055 script or function the line number will be added.
6056 Spaces are placed between the arguments as with the
6057 :echo command. When used inside a try conditional,
6058 the message is raised as an error exception instead
6059 (see |try-echoerr|).
6060 Example: >
6061 :echoerr "This script just failed!"
6062< If you just want a highlighted message use |:echohl|.
6063 And to get a beep: >
6064 :exe "normal \<Esc>"
6065<
6066 *:exe* *:execute*
6067:exe[cute] {expr1} .. Executes the string that results from the evaluation
6068 of {expr1} as an Ex command. Multiple arguments are
6069 concatenated, with a space in between. {expr1} is
6070 used as the processed command, command line editing
6071 keys are not recognized.
6072 Cannot be followed by a comment.
6073 Examples: >
6074 :execute "buffer " nextbuf
6075 :execute "normal " count . "w"
6076<
6077 ":execute" can be used to append a command to commands
6078 that don't accept a '|'. Example: >
6079 :execute '!ls' | echo "theend"
6080
6081< ":execute" is also a nice way to avoid having to type
6082 control characters in a Vim script for a ":normal"
6083 command: >
6084 :execute "normal ixxx\<Esc>"
6085< This has an <Esc> character, see |expr-string|.
6086
6087 Note: The executed string may be any command-line, but
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +00006088 you cannot start or end a "while", "for" or "if"
6089 command. Thus this is illegal: >
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00006090 :execute 'while i > 5'
6091 :execute 'echo "test" | break'
6092<
6093 It is allowed to have a "while" or "if" command
6094 completely in the executed string: >
6095 :execute 'while i < 5 | echo i | let i = i + 1 | endwhile'
6096<
6097
6098 *:comment*
6099 ":execute", ":echo" and ":echon" cannot be followed by
6100 a comment directly, because they see the '"' as the
6101 start of a string. But, you can use '|' followed by a
6102 comment. Example: >
6103 :echo "foo" | "this is a comment
6104
6105==============================================================================
61068. Exception handling *exception-handling*
6107
6108The Vim script language comprises an exception handling feature. This section
6109explains how it can be used in a Vim script.
6110
6111Exceptions may be raised by Vim on an error or on interrupt, see
6112|catch-errors| and |catch-interrupt|. You can also explicitly throw an
6113exception by using the ":throw" command, see |throw-catch|.
6114
6115
6116TRY CONDITIONALS *try-conditionals*
6117
6118Exceptions can be caught or can cause cleanup code to be executed. You can
6119use a try conditional to specify catch clauses (that catch exceptions) and/or
6120a finally clause (to be executed for cleanup).
6121 A try conditional begins with a |:try| command and ends at the matching
6122|:endtry| command. In between, you can use a |:catch| command to start
6123a catch clause, or a |:finally| command to start a finally clause. There may
6124be none or multiple catch clauses, but there is at most one finally clause,
6125which must not be followed by any catch clauses. The lines before the catch
6126clauses and the finally clause is called a try block. >
6127
6128 :try
6129 : ...
6130 : ... TRY BLOCK
6131 : ...
6132 :catch /{pattern}/
6133 : ...
6134 : ... CATCH CLAUSE
6135 : ...
6136 :catch /{pattern}/
6137 : ...
6138 : ... CATCH CLAUSE
6139 : ...
6140 :finally
6141 : ...
6142 : ... FINALLY CLAUSE
6143 : ...
6144 :endtry
6145
6146The try conditional allows to watch code for exceptions and to take the
6147appropriate actions. Exceptions from the try block may be caught. Exceptions
6148from the try block and also the catch clauses may cause cleanup actions.
6149 When no exception is thrown during execution of the try block, the control
6150is transferred to the finally clause, if present. After its execution, the
6151script continues with the line following the ":endtry".
6152 When an exception occurs during execution of the try block, the remaining
6153lines in the try block are skipped. The exception is matched against the
6154patterns specified as arguments to the ":catch" commands. The catch clause
6155after the first matching ":catch" is taken, other catch clauses are not
6156executed. The catch clause ends when the next ":catch", ":finally", or
6157":endtry" command is reached - whatever is first. Then, the finally clause
6158(if present) is executed. When the ":endtry" is reached, the script execution
6159continues in the following line as usual.
6160 When an exception that does not match any of the patterns specified by the
6161":catch" commands is thrown in the try block, the exception is not caught by
6162that try conditional and none of the catch clauses is executed. Only the
6163finally clause, if present, is taken. The exception pends during execution of
6164the finally clause. It is resumed at the ":endtry", so that commands after
6165the ":endtry" are not executed and the exception might be caught elsewhere,
6166see |try-nesting|.
6167 When during execution of a catch clause another exception is thrown, the
6168remaining lines in that catch clause are not executed. The new exception is
6169not matched against the patterns in any of the ":catch" commands of the same
6170try conditional and none of its catch clauses is taken. If there is, however,
6171a finally clause, it is executed, and the exception pends during its
6172execution. The commands following the ":endtry" are not executed. The new
6173exception might, however, be caught elsewhere, see |try-nesting|.
6174 When during execution of the finally clause (if present) an exception is
6175thrown, the remaining lines in the finally clause are skipped. If the finally
6176clause has been taken because of an exception from the try block or one of the
6177catch clauses, the original (pending) exception is discarded. The commands
6178following the ":endtry" are not executed, and the exception from the finally
6179clause is propagated and can be caught elsewhere, see |try-nesting|.
6180
6181The finally clause is also executed, when a ":break" or ":continue" for
6182a ":while" loop enclosing the complete try conditional is executed from the
6183try block or a catch clause. Or when a ":return" or ":finish" is executed
6184from the try block or a catch clause of a try conditional in a function or
6185sourced script, respectively. The ":break", ":continue", ":return", or
6186":finish" pends during execution of the finally clause and is resumed when the
6187":endtry" is reached. It is, however, discarded when an exception is thrown
6188from the finally clause.
6189 When a ":break" or ":continue" for a ":while" loop enclosing the complete
6190try conditional or when a ":return" or ":finish" is encountered in the finally
6191clause, the rest of the finally clause is skipped, and the ":break",
6192":continue", ":return" or ":finish" is executed as usual. If the finally
6193clause has been taken because of an exception or an earlier ":break",
6194":continue", ":return", or ":finish" from the try block or a catch clause,
6195this pending exception or command is discarded.
6196
6197For examples see |throw-catch| and |try-finally|.
6198
6199
6200NESTING OF TRY CONDITIONALS *try-nesting*
6201
6202Try conditionals can be nested arbitrarily. That is, a complete try
6203conditional can be put into the try block, a catch clause, or the finally
6204clause of another try conditional. If the inner try conditional does not
6205catch an exception thrown in its try block or throws a new exception from one
6206of its catch clauses or its finally clause, the outer try conditional is
6207checked according to the rules above. If the inner try conditional is in the
6208try block of the outer try conditional, its catch clauses are checked, but
6209otherwise only the finally clause is executed. It does not matter for
6210nesting, whether the inner try conditional is directly contained in the outer
6211one, or whether the outer one sources a script or calls a function containing
6212the inner try conditional.
6213
6214When none of the active try conditionals catches an exception, just their
6215finally clauses are executed. Thereafter, the script processing terminates.
6216An error message is displayed in case of an uncaught exception explicitly
6217thrown by a ":throw" command. For uncaught error and interrupt exceptions
6218implicitly raised by Vim, the error message(s) or interrupt message are shown
6219as usual.
6220
6221For examples see |throw-catch|.
6222
6223
6224EXAMINING EXCEPTION HANDLING CODE *except-examine*
6225
6226Exception handling code can get tricky. If you are in doubt what happens, set
6227'verbose' to 13 or use the ":13verbose" command modifier when sourcing your
6228script file. Then you see when an exception is thrown, discarded, caught, or
6229finished. When using a verbosity level of at least 14, things pending in
6230a finally clause are also shown. This information is also given in debug mode
6231(see |debug-scripts|).
6232
6233
6234THROWING AND CATCHING EXCEPTIONS *throw-catch*
6235
6236You can throw any number or string as an exception. Use the |:throw| command
6237and pass the value to be thrown as argument: >
6238 :throw 4711
6239 :throw "string"
6240< *throw-expression*
6241You can also specify an expression argument. The expression is then evaluated
6242first, and the result is thrown: >
6243 :throw 4705 + strlen("string")
6244 :throw strpart("strings", 0, 6)
6245
6246An exception might be thrown during evaluation of the argument of the ":throw"
6247command. Unless it is caught there, the expression evaluation is abandoned.
6248The ":throw" command then does not throw a new exception.
6249 Example: >
6250
6251 :function! Foo(arg)
6252 : try
6253 : throw a:arg
6254 : catch /foo/
6255 : endtry
6256 : return 1
6257 :endfunction
6258 :
6259 :function! Bar()
6260 : echo "in Bar"
6261 : return 4710
6262 :endfunction
6263 :
6264 :throw Foo("arrgh") + Bar()
6265
6266This throws "arrgh", and "in Bar" is not displayed since Bar() is not
6267executed. >
6268 :throw Foo("foo") + Bar()
6269however displays "in Bar" and throws 4711.
6270
6271Any other command that takes an expression as argument might also be
6272abandoned by an (uncaught) exception during the expression evaluation. The
6273exception is then propagated to the caller of the command.
6274 Example: >
6275
6276 :if Foo("arrgh")
6277 : echo "then"
6278 :else
6279 : echo "else"
6280 :endif
6281
6282Here neither of "then" or "else" is displayed.
6283
6284 *catch-order*
6285Exceptions can be caught by a try conditional with one or more |:catch|
6286commands, see |try-conditionals|. The values to be caught by each ":catch"
6287command can be specified as a pattern argument. The subsequent catch clause
6288gets executed when a matching exception is caught.
6289 Example: >
6290
6291 :function! Foo(value)
6292 : try
6293 : throw a:value
6294 : catch /^\d\+$/
6295 : echo "Number thrown"
6296 : catch /.*/
6297 : echo "String thrown"
6298 : endtry
6299 :endfunction
6300 :
6301 :call Foo(0x1267)
6302 :call Foo('string')
6303
6304The first call to Foo() displays "Number thrown", the second "String thrown".
6305An exception is matched against the ":catch" commands in the order they are
6306specified. Only the first match counts. So you should place the more
6307specific ":catch" first. The following order does not make sense: >
6308
6309 : catch /.*/
6310 : echo "String thrown"
6311 : catch /^\d\+$/
6312 : echo "Number thrown"
6313
6314The first ":catch" here matches always, so that the second catch clause is
6315never taken.
6316
6317 *throw-variables*
6318If you catch an exception by a general pattern, you may access the exact value
6319in the variable |v:exception|: >
6320
6321 : catch /^\d\+$/
6322 : echo "Number thrown. Value is" v:exception
6323
6324You may also be interested where an exception was thrown. This is stored in
6325|v:throwpoint|. Note that "v:exception" and "v:throwpoint" are valid for the
6326exception most recently caught as long it is not finished.
6327 Example: >
6328
6329 :function! Caught()
6330 : if v:exception != ""
6331 : echo 'Caught "' . v:exception . '" in ' . v:throwpoint
6332 : else
6333 : echo 'Nothing caught'
6334 : endif
6335 :endfunction
6336 :
6337 :function! Foo()
6338 : try
6339 : try
6340 : try
6341 : throw 4711
6342 : finally
6343 : call Caught()
6344 : endtry
6345 : catch /.*/
6346 : call Caught()
6347 : throw "oops"
6348 : endtry
6349 : catch /.*/
6350 : call Caught()
6351 : finally
6352 : call Caught()
6353 : endtry
6354 :endfunction
6355 :
6356 :call Foo()
6357
6358This displays >
6359
6360 Nothing caught
6361 Caught "4711" in function Foo, line 4
6362 Caught "oops" in function Foo, line 10
6363 Nothing caught
6364
6365A practical example: The following command ":LineNumber" displays the line
6366number in the script or function where it has been used: >
6367
6368 :function! LineNumber()
6369 : return substitute(v:throwpoint, '.*\D\(\d\+\).*', '\1', "")
6370 :endfunction
6371 :command! LineNumber try | throw "" | catch | echo LineNumber() | endtry
6372<
6373 *try-nested*
6374An exception that is not caught by a try conditional can be caught by
6375a surrounding try conditional: >
6376
6377 :try
6378 : try
6379 : throw "foo"
6380 : catch /foobar/
6381 : echo "foobar"
6382 : finally
6383 : echo "inner finally"
6384 : endtry
6385 :catch /foo/
6386 : echo "foo"
6387 :endtry
6388
6389The inner try conditional does not catch the exception, just its finally
6390clause is executed. The exception is then caught by the outer try
6391conditional. The example displays "inner finally" and then "foo".
6392
6393 *throw-from-catch*
6394You can catch an exception and throw a new one to be caught elsewhere from the
6395catch clause: >
6396
6397 :function! Foo()
6398 : throw "foo"
6399 :endfunction
6400 :
6401 :function! Bar()
6402 : try
6403 : call Foo()
6404 : catch /foo/
6405 : echo "Caught foo, throw bar"
6406 : throw "bar"
6407 : endtry
6408 :endfunction
6409 :
6410 :try
6411 : call Bar()
6412 :catch /.*/
6413 : echo "Caught" v:exception
6414 :endtry
6415
6416This displays "Caught foo, throw bar" and then "Caught bar".
6417
6418 *rethrow*
6419There is no real rethrow in the Vim script language, but you may throw
6420"v:exception" instead: >
6421
6422 :function! Bar()
6423 : try
6424 : call Foo()
6425 : catch /.*/
6426 : echo "Rethrow" v:exception
6427 : throw v:exception
6428 : endtry
6429 :endfunction
6430< *try-echoerr*
6431Note that this method cannot be used to "rethrow" Vim error or interrupt
6432exceptions, because it is not possible to fake Vim internal exceptions.
6433Trying so causes an error exception. You should throw your own exception
6434denoting the situation. If you want to cause a Vim error exception containing
6435the original error exception value, you can use the |:echoerr| command: >
6436
6437 :try
6438 : try
6439 : asdf
6440 : catch /.*/
6441 : echoerr v:exception
6442 : endtry
6443 :catch /.*/
6444 : echo v:exception
6445 :endtry
6446
6447This code displays
6448
6449 Vim(echoerr):Vim:E492: Not an editor command: asdf ~
6450
6451
6452CLEANUP CODE *try-finally*
6453
6454Scripts often change global settings and restore them at their end. If the
6455user however interrupts the script by pressing CTRL-C, the settings remain in
6456an inconsistent state. The same may happen to you in the development phase of
6457a script when an error occurs or you explicitly throw an exception without
6458catching it. You can solve these problems by using a try conditional with
6459a finally clause for restoring the settings. Its execution is guaranteed on
6460normal control flow, on error, on an explicit ":throw", and on interrupt.
6461(Note that errors and interrupts from inside the try conditional are converted
6462to exceptions. When not caught, they terminate the script after the finally
6463clause has been executed.)
6464Example: >
6465
6466 :try
6467 : let s:saved_ts = &ts
6468 : set ts=17
6469 :
6470 : " Do the hard work here.
6471 :
6472 :finally
6473 : let &ts = s:saved_ts
6474 : unlet s:saved_ts
6475 :endtry
6476
6477This method should be used locally whenever a function or part of a script
6478changes global settings which need to be restored on failure or normal exit of
6479that function or script part.
6480
6481 *break-finally*
6482Cleanup code works also when the try block or a catch clause is left by
6483a ":continue", ":break", ":return", or ":finish".
6484 Example: >
6485
6486 :let first = 1
6487 :while 1
6488 : try
6489 : if first
6490 : echo "first"
6491 : let first = 0
6492 : continue
6493 : else
6494 : throw "second"
6495 : endif
6496 : catch /.*/
6497 : echo v:exception
6498 : break
6499 : finally
6500 : echo "cleanup"
6501 : endtry
6502 : echo "still in while"
6503 :endwhile
6504 :echo "end"
6505
6506This displays "first", "cleanup", "second", "cleanup", and "end". >
6507
6508 :function! Foo()
6509 : try
6510 : return 4711
6511 : finally
6512 : echo "cleanup\n"
6513 : endtry
6514 : echo "Foo still active"
6515 :endfunction
6516 :
6517 :echo Foo() "returned by Foo"
6518
6519This displays "cleanup" and "4711 returned by Foo". You don't need to add an
6520extra ":return" in the finally clause. (Above all, this would override the
6521return value.)
6522
6523 *except-from-finally*
6524Using either of ":continue", ":break", ":return", ":finish", or ":throw" in
6525a finally clause is possible, but not recommended since it abandons the
6526cleanup actions for the try conditional. But, of course, interrupt and error
6527exceptions might get raised from a finally clause.
6528 Example where an error in the finally clause stops an interrupt from
6529working correctly: >
6530
6531 :try
6532 : try
6533 : echo "Press CTRL-C for interrupt"
6534 : while 1
6535 : endwhile
6536 : finally
6537 : unlet novar
6538 : endtry
6539 :catch /novar/
6540 :endtry
6541 :echo "Script still running"
6542 :sleep 1
6543
6544If you need to put commands that could fail into a finally clause, you should
6545think about catching or ignoring the errors in these commands, see
6546|catch-errors| and |ignore-errors|.
6547
6548
6549CATCHING ERRORS *catch-errors*
6550
6551If you want to catch specific errors, you just have to put the code to be
6552watched in a try block and add a catch clause for the error message. The
6553presence of the try conditional causes all errors to be converted to an
6554exception. No message is displayed and |v:errmsg| is not set then. To find
6555the right pattern for the ":catch" command, you have to know how the format of
6556the error exception is.
6557 Error exceptions have the following format: >
6558
6559 Vim({cmdname}):{errmsg}
6560or >
6561 Vim:{errmsg}
6562
6563{cmdname} is the name of the command that failed; the second form is used when
6564the command name is not known. {errmsg} is the error message usually produced
6565when the error occurs outside try conditionals. It always begins with
6566a capital "E", followed by a two or three-digit error number, a colon, and
6567a space.
6568
6569Examples:
6570
6571The command >
6572 :unlet novar
6573normally produces the error message >
6574 E108: No such variable: "novar"
6575which is converted inside try conditionals to an exception >
6576 Vim(unlet):E108: No such variable: "novar"
6577
6578The command >
6579 :dwim
6580normally produces the error message >
6581 E492: Not an editor command: dwim
6582which is converted inside try conditionals to an exception >
6583 Vim:E492: Not an editor command: dwim
6584
6585You can catch all ":unlet" errors by a >
6586 :catch /^Vim(unlet):/
6587or all errors for misspelled command names by a >
6588 :catch /^Vim:E492:/
6589
6590Some error messages may be produced by different commands: >
6591 :function nofunc
6592and >
6593 :delfunction nofunc
6594both produce the error message >
6595 E128: Function name must start with a capital: nofunc
6596which is converted inside try conditionals to an exception >
6597 Vim(function):E128: Function name must start with a capital: nofunc
6598or >
6599 Vim(delfunction):E128: Function name must start with a capital: nofunc
6600respectively. You can catch the error by its number independently on the
6601command that caused it if you use the following pattern: >
6602 :catch /^Vim(\a\+):E128:/
6603
6604Some commands like >
6605 :let x = novar
6606produce multiple error messages, here: >
6607 E121: Undefined variable: novar
6608 E15: Invalid expression: novar
6609Only the first is used for the exception value, since it is the most specific
6610one (see |except-several-errors|). So you can catch it by >
6611 :catch /^Vim(\a\+):E121:/
6612
6613You can catch all errors related to the name "nofunc" by >
6614 :catch /\<nofunc\>/
6615
6616You can catch all Vim errors in the ":write" and ":read" commands by >
6617 :catch /^Vim(\(write\|read\)):E\d\+:/
6618
6619You can catch all Vim errors by the pattern >
6620 :catch /^Vim\((\a\+)\)\=:E\d\+:/
6621<
6622 *catch-text*
6623NOTE: You should never catch the error message text itself: >
6624 :catch /No such variable/
6625only works in the english locale, but not when the user has selected
6626a different language by the |:language| command. It is however helpful to
6627cite the message text in a comment: >
6628 :catch /^Vim(\a\+):E108:/ " No such variable
6629
6630
6631IGNORING ERRORS *ignore-errors*
6632
6633You can ignore errors in a specific Vim command by catching them locally: >
6634
6635 :try
6636 : write
6637 :catch
6638 :endtry
6639
6640But you are strongly recommended NOT to use this simple form, since it could
6641catch more than you want. With the ":write" command, some autocommands could
6642be executed and cause errors not related to writing, for instance: >
6643
6644 :au BufWritePre * unlet novar
6645
6646There could even be such errors you are not responsible for as a script
6647writer: a user of your script might have defined such autocommands. You would
6648then hide the error from the user.
6649 It is much better to use >
6650
6651 :try
6652 : write
6653 :catch /^Vim(write):/
6654 :endtry
6655
6656which only catches real write errors. So catch only what you'd like to ignore
6657intentionally.
6658
6659For a single command that does not cause execution of autocommands, you could
6660even suppress the conversion of errors to exceptions by the ":silent!"
6661command: >
6662 :silent! nunmap k
6663This works also when a try conditional is active.
6664
6665
6666CATCHING INTERRUPTS *catch-interrupt*
6667
6668When there are active try conditionals, an interrupt (CTRL-C) is converted to
6669the exception "Vim:Interrupt". You can catch it like every exception. The
6670script is not terminated, then.
6671 Example: >
6672
6673 :function! TASK1()
6674 : sleep 10
6675 :endfunction
6676
6677 :function! TASK2()
6678 : sleep 20
6679 :endfunction
6680
6681 :while 1
6682 : let command = input("Type a command: ")
6683 : try
6684 : if command == ""
6685 : continue
6686 : elseif command == "END"
6687 : break
6688 : elseif command == "TASK1"
6689 : call TASK1()
6690 : elseif command == "TASK2"
6691 : call TASK2()
6692 : else
6693 : echo "\nIllegal command:" command
6694 : continue
6695 : endif
6696 : catch /^Vim:Interrupt$/
6697 : echo "\nCommand interrupted"
6698 : " Caught the interrupt. Continue with next prompt.
6699 : endtry
6700 :endwhile
6701
6702You can interrupt a task here by pressing CTRL-C; the script then asks for
6703a new command. If you press CTRL-C at the prompt, the script is terminated.
6704
6705For testing what happens when CTRL-C would be pressed on a specific line in
6706your script, use the debug mode and execute the |>quit| or |>interrupt|
6707command on that line. See |debug-scripts|.
6708
6709
6710CATCHING ALL *catch-all*
6711
6712The commands >
6713
6714 :catch /.*/
6715 :catch //
6716 :catch
6717
6718catch everything, error exceptions, interrupt exceptions and exceptions
6719explicitly thrown by the |:throw| command. This is useful at the top level of
6720a script in order to catch unexpected things.
6721 Example: >
6722
6723 :try
6724 :
6725 : " do the hard work here
6726 :
6727 :catch /MyException/
6728 :
6729 : " handle known problem
6730 :
6731 :catch /^Vim:Interrupt$/
6732 : echo "Script interrupted"
6733 :catch /.*/
6734 : echo "Internal error (" . v:exception . ")"
6735 : echo " - occurred at " . v:throwpoint
6736 :endtry
6737 :" end of script
6738
6739Note: Catching all might catch more things than you want. Thus, you are
6740strongly encouraged to catch only for problems that you can really handle by
6741specifying a pattern argument to the ":catch".
6742 Example: Catching all could make it nearly impossible to interrupt a script
6743by pressing CTRL-C: >
6744
6745 :while 1
6746 : try
6747 : sleep 1
6748 : catch
6749 : endtry
6750 :endwhile
6751
6752
6753EXCEPTIONS AND AUTOCOMMANDS *except-autocmd*
6754
6755Exceptions may be used during execution of autocommands. Example: >
6756
6757 :autocmd User x try
6758 :autocmd User x throw "Oops!"
6759 :autocmd User x catch
6760 :autocmd User x echo v:exception
6761 :autocmd User x endtry
6762 :autocmd User x throw "Arrgh!"
6763 :autocmd User x echo "Should not be displayed"
6764 :
6765 :try
6766 : doautocmd User x
6767 :catch
6768 : echo v:exception
6769 :endtry
6770
6771This displays "Oops!" and "Arrgh!".
6772
6773 *except-autocmd-Pre*
6774For some commands, autocommands get executed before the main action of the
6775command takes place. If an exception is thrown and not caught in the sequence
6776of autocommands, the sequence and the command that caused its execution are
6777abandoned and the exception is propagated to the caller of the command.
6778 Example: >
6779
6780 :autocmd BufWritePre * throw "FAIL"
6781 :autocmd BufWritePre * echo "Should not be displayed"
6782 :
6783 :try
6784 : write
6785 :catch
6786 : echo "Caught:" v:exception "from" v:throwpoint
6787 :endtry
6788
6789Here, the ":write" command does not write the file currently being edited (as
6790you can see by checking 'modified'), since the exception from the BufWritePre
6791autocommand abandons the ":write". The exception is then caught and the
6792script displays: >
6793
6794 Caught: FAIL from BufWrite Auto commands for "*"
6795<
6796 *except-autocmd-Post*
6797For some commands, autocommands get executed after the main action of the
6798command has taken place. If this main action fails and the command is inside
6799an active try conditional, the autocommands are skipped and an error exception
6800is thrown that can be caught by the caller of the command.
6801 Example: >
6802
6803 :autocmd BufWritePost * echo "File successfully written!"
6804 :
6805 :try
6806 : write /i/m/p/o/s/s/i/b/l/e
6807 :catch
6808 : echo v:exception
6809 :endtry
6810
6811This just displays: >
6812
6813 Vim(write):E212: Can't open file for writing (/i/m/p/o/s/s/i/b/l/e)
6814
6815If you really need to execute the autocommands even when the main action
6816fails, trigger the event from the catch clause.
6817 Example: >
6818
6819 :autocmd BufWritePre * set noreadonly
6820 :autocmd BufWritePost * set readonly
6821 :
6822 :try
6823 : write /i/m/p/o/s/s/i/b/l/e
6824 :catch
6825 : doautocmd BufWritePost /i/m/p/o/s/s/i/b/l/e
6826 :endtry
6827<
6828You can also use ":silent!": >
6829
6830 :let x = "ok"
6831 :let v:errmsg = ""
6832 :autocmd BufWritePost * if v:errmsg != ""
6833 :autocmd BufWritePost * let x = "after fail"
6834 :autocmd BufWritePost * endif
6835 :try
6836 : silent! write /i/m/p/o/s/s/i/b/l/e
6837 :catch
6838 :endtry
6839 :echo x
6840
6841This displays "after fail".
6842
6843If the main action of the command does not fail, exceptions from the
6844autocommands will be catchable by the caller of the command: >
6845
6846 :autocmd BufWritePost * throw ":-("
6847 :autocmd BufWritePost * echo "Should not be displayed"
6848 :
6849 :try
6850 : write
6851 :catch
6852 : echo v:exception
6853 :endtry
6854<
6855 *except-autocmd-Cmd*
6856For some commands, the normal action can be replaced by a sequence of
6857autocommands. Exceptions from that sequence will be catchable by the caller
6858of the command.
6859 Example: For the ":write" command, the caller cannot know whether the file
6860had actually been written when the exception occurred. You need to tell it in
6861some way. >
6862
6863 :if !exists("cnt")
6864 : let cnt = 0
6865 :
6866 : autocmd BufWriteCmd * if &modified
6867 : autocmd BufWriteCmd * let cnt = cnt + 1
6868 : autocmd BufWriteCmd * if cnt % 3 == 2
6869 : autocmd BufWriteCmd * throw "BufWriteCmdError"
6870 : autocmd BufWriteCmd * endif
6871 : autocmd BufWriteCmd * write | set nomodified
6872 : autocmd BufWriteCmd * if cnt % 3 == 0
6873 : autocmd BufWriteCmd * throw "BufWriteCmdError"
6874 : autocmd BufWriteCmd * endif
6875 : autocmd BufWriteCmd * echo "File successfully written!"
6876 : autocmd BufWriteCmd * endif
6877 :endif
6878 :
6879 :try
6880 : write
6881 :catch /^BufWriteCmdError$/
6882 : if &modified
6883 : echo "Error on writing (file contents not changed)"
6884 : else
6885 : echo "Error after writing"
6886 : endif
6887 :catch /^Vim(write):/
6888 : echo "Error on writing"
6889 :endtry
6890
6891When this script is sourced several times after making changes, it displays
6892first >
6893 File successfully written!
6894then >
6895 Error on writing (file contents not changed)
6896then >
6897 Error after writing
6898etc.
6899
6900 *except-autocmd-ill*
6901You cannot spread a try conditional over autocommands for different events.
6902The following code is ill-formed: >
6903
6904 :autocmd BufWritePre * try
6905 :
6906 :autocmd BufWritePost * catch
6907 :autocmd BufWritePost * echo v:exception
6908 :autocmd BufWritePost * endtry
6909 :
6910 :write
6911
6912
6913EXCEPTION HIERARCHIES AND PARAMETERIZED EXCEPTIONS *except-hier-param*
6914
6915Some programming languages allow to use hierarchies of exception classes or to
6916pass additional information with the object of an exception class. You can do
6917similar things in Vim.
6918 In order to throw an exception from a hierarchy, just throw the complete
6919class name with the components separated by a colon, for instance throw the
6920string "EXCEPT:MATHERR:OVERFLOW" for an overflow in a mathematical library.
6921 When you want to pass additional information with your exception class, add
6922it in parentheses, for instance throw the string "EXCEPT:IO:WRITEERR(myfile)"
6923for an error when writing "myfile".
6924 With the appropriate patterns in the ":catch" command, you can catch for
6925base classes or derived classes of your hierarchy. Additional information in
6926parentheses can be cut out from |v:exception| with the ":substitute" command.
6927 Example: >
6928
6929 :function! CheckRange(a, func)
6930 : if a:a < 0
6931 : throw "EXCEPT:MATHERR:RANGE(" . a:func . ")"
6932 : endif
6933 :endfunction
6934 :
6935 :function! Add(a, b)
6936 : call CheckRange(a:a, "Add")
6937 : call CheckRange(a:b, "Add")
6938 : let c = a:a + a:b
6939 : if c < 0
6940 : throw "EXCEPT:MATHERR:OVERFLOW"
6941 : endif
6942 : return c
6943 :endfunction
6944 :
6945 :function! Div(a, b)
6946 : call CheckRange(a:a, "Div")
6947 : call CheckRange(a:b, "Div")
6948 : if (a:b == 0)
6949 : throw "EXCEPT:MATHERR:ZERODIV"
6950 : endif
6951 : return a:a / a:b
6952 :endfunction
6953 :
6954 :function! Write(file)
6955 : try
6956 : execute "write" a:file
6957 : catch /^Vim(write):/
6958 : throw "EXCEPT:IO(" . getcwd() . ", " . a:file . "):WRITEERR"
6959 : endtry
6960 :endfunction
6961 :
6962 :try
6963 :
6964 : " something with arithmetics and I/O
6965 :
6966 :catch /^EXCEPT:MATHERR:RANGE/
6967 : let function = substitute(v:exception, '.*(\(\a\+\)).*', '\1', "")
6968 : echo "Range error in" function
6969 :
6970 :catch /^EXCEPT:MATHERR/ " catches OVERFLOW and ZERODIV
6971 : echo "Math error"
6972 :
6973 :catch /^EXCEPT:IO/
6974 : let dir = substitute(v:exception, '.*(\(.\+\),\s*.\+).*', '\1', "")
6975 : let file = substitute(v:exception, '.*(.\+,\s*\(.\+\)).*', '\1', "")
6976 : if file !~ '^/'
6977 : let file = dir . "/" . file
6978 : endif
6979 : echo 'I/O error for "' . file . '"'
6980 :
6981 :catch /^EXCEPT/
6982 : echo "Unspecified error"
6983 :
6984 :endtry
6985
6986The exceptions raised by Vim itself (on error or when pressing CTRL-C) use
6987a flat hierarchy: they are all in the "Vim" class. You cannot throw yourself
6988exceptions with the "Vim" prefix; they are reserved for Vim.
6989 Vim error exceptions are parameterized with the name of the command that
6990failed, if known. See |catch-errors|.
6991
6992
6993PECULIARITIES
6994 *except-compat*
6995The exception handling concept requires that the command sequence causing the
6996exception is aborted immediately and control is transferred to finally clauses
6997and/or a catch clause.
6998
6999In the Vim script language there are cases where scripts and functions
7000continue after an error: in functions without the "abort" flag or in a command
7001after ":silent!", control flow goes to the following line, and outside
7002functions, control flow goes to the line following the outermost ":endwhile"
7003or ":endif". On the other hand, errors should be catchable as exceptions
7004(thus, requiring the immediate abortion).
7005
7006This problem has been solved by converting errors to exceptions and using
7007immediate abortion (if not suppressed by ":silent!") only when a try
7008conditional is active. This is no restriction since an (error) exception can
7009be caught only from an active try conditional. If you want an immediate
7010termination without catching the error, just use a try conditional without
7011catch clause. (You can cause cleanup code being executed before termination
7012by specifying a finally clause.)
7013
7014When no try conditional is active, the usual abortion and continuation
7015behavior is used instead of immediate abortion. This ensures compatibility of
7016scripts written for Vim 6.1 and earlier.
7017
7018However, when sourcing an existing script that does not use exception handling
7019commands (or when calling one of its functions) from inside an active try
7020conditional of a new script, you might change the control flow of the existing
7021script on error. You get the immediate abortion on error and can catch the
7022error in the new script. If however the sourced script suppresses error
7023messages by using the ":silent!" command (checking for errors by testing
7024|v:errmsg| if appropriate), its execution path is not changed. The error is
7025not converted to an exception. (See |:silent|.) So the only remaining cause
7026where this happens is for scripts that don't care about errors and produce
7027error messages. You probably won't want to use such code from your new
7028scripts.
7029
7030 *except-syntax-err*
7031Syntax errors in the exception handling commands are never caught by any of
7032the ":catch" commands of the try conditional they belong to. Its finally
7033clauses, however, is executed.
7034 Example: >
7035
7036 :try
7037 : try
7038 : throw 4711
7039 : catch /\(/
7040 : echo "in catch with syntax error"
7041 : catch
7042 : echo "inner catch-all"
7043 : finally
7044 : echo "inner finally"
7045 : endtry
7046 :catch
7047 : echo 'outer catch-all caught "' . v:exception . '"'
7048 : finally
7049 : echo "outer finally"
7050 :endtry
7051
7052This displays: >
7053 inner finally
7054 outer catch-all caught "Vim(catch):E54: Unmatched \("
7055 outer finally
7056The original exception is discarded and an error exception is raised, instead.
7057
7058 *except-single-line*
7059The ":try", ":catch", ":finally", and ":endtry" commands can be put on
7060a single line, but then syntax errors may make it difficult to recognize the
7061"catch" line, thus you better avoid this.
7062 Example: >
7063 :try | unlet! foo # | catch | endtry
7064raises an error exception for the trailing characters after the ":unlet!"
7065argument, but does not see the ":catch" and ":endtry" commands, so that the
7066error exception is discarded and the "E488: Trailing characters" message gets
7067displayed.
7068
7069 *except-several-errors*
7070When several errors appear in a single command, the first error message is
7071usually the most specific one and therefor converted to the error exception.
7072 Example: >
7073 echo novar
7074causes >
7075 E121: Undefined variable: novar
7076 E15: Invalid expression: novar
7077The value of the error exception inside try conditionals is: >
7078 Vim(echo):E121: Undefined variable: novar
7079< *except-syntax-error*
7080But when a syntax error is detected after a normal error in the same command,
7081the syntax error is used for the exception being thrown.
7082 Example: >
7083 unlet novar #
7084causes >
7085 E108: No such variable: "novar"
7086 E488: Trailing characters
7087The value of the error exception inside try conditionals is: >
7088 Vim(unlet):E488: Trailing characters
7089This is done because the syntax error might change the execution path in a way
7090not intended by the user. Example: >
7091 try
7092 try | unlet novar # | catch | echo v:exception | endtry
7093 catch /.*/
7094 echo "outer catch:" v:exception
7095 endtry
7096This displays "outer catch: Vim(unlet):E488: Trailing characters", and then
7097a "E600: Missing :endtry" error message is given, see |except-single-line|.
7098
7099==============================================================================
71009. Examples *eval-examples*
7101
7102Printing in Hex ~
7103>
7104 :" The function Nr2Hex() returns the Hex string of a number.
7105 :func Nr2Hex(nr)
7106 : let n = a:nr
7107 : let r = ""
7108 : while n
7109 : let r = '0123456789ABCDEF'[n % 16] . r
7110 : let n = n / 16
7111 : endwhile
7112 : return r
7113 :endfunc
7114
7115 :" The function String2Hex() converts each character in a string to a two
7116 :" character Hex string.
7117 :func String2Hex(str)
7118 : let out = ''
7119 : let ix = 0
7120 : while ix < strlen(a:str)
7121 : let out = out . Nr2Hex(char2nr(a:str[ix]))
7122 : let ix = ix + 1
7123 : endwhile
7124 : return out
7125 :endfunc
7126
7127Example of its use: >
7128 :echo Nr2Hex(32)
7129result: "20" >
7130 :echo String2Hex("32")
7131result: "3332"
7132
7133
7134Sorting lines (by Robert Webb) ~
7135
7136Here is a Vim script to sort lines. Highlight the lines in Vim and type
7137":Sort". This doesn't call any external programs so it'll work on any
7138platform. The function Sort() actually takes the name of a comparison
7139function as its argument, like qsort() does in C. So you could supply it
7140with different comparison functions in order to sort according to date etc.
7141>
7142 :" Function for use with Sort(), to compare two strings.
7143 :func! Strcmp(str1, str2)
7144 : if (a:str1 < a:str2)
7145 : return -1
7146 : elseif (a:str1 > a:str2)
7147 : return 1
7148 : else
7149 : return 0
7150 : endif
7151 :endfunction
7152
7153 :" Sort lines. SortR() is called recursively.
7154 :func! SortR(start, end, cmp)
7155 : if (a:start >= a:end)
7156 : return
7157 : endif
7158 : let partition = a:start - 1
7159 : let middle = partition
7160 : let partStr = getline((a:start + a:end) / 2)
7161 : let i = a:start
7162 : while (i <= a:end)
7163 : let str = getline(i)
7164 : exec "let result = " . a:cmp . "(str, partStr)"
7165 : if (result <= 0)
7166 : " Need to put it before the partition. Swap lines i and partition.
7167 : let partition = partition + 1
7168 : if (result == 0)
7169 : let middle = partition
7170 : endif
7171 : if (i != partition)
7172 : let str2 = getline(partition)
7173 : call setline(i, str2)
7174 : call setline(partition, str)
7175 : endif
7176 : endif
7177 : let i = i + 1
7178 : endwhile
7179
7180 : " Now we have a pointer to the "middle" element, as far as partitioning
7181 : " goes, which could be anywhere before the partition. Make sure it is at
7182 : " the end of the partition.
7183 : if (middle != partition)
7184 : let str = getline(middle)
7185 : let str2 = getline(partition)
7186 : call setline(middle, str2)
7187 : call setline(partition, str)
7188 : endif
7189 : call SortR(a:start, partition - 1, a:cmp)
7190 : call SortR(partition + 1, a:end, a:cmp)
7191 :endfunc
7192
7193 :" To Sort a range of lines, pass the range to Sort() along with the name of a
7194 :" function that will compare two lines.
7195 :func! Sort(cmp) range
7196 : call SortR(a:firstline, a:lastline, a:cmp)
7197 :endfunc
7198
7199 :" :Sort takes a range of lines and sorts them.
7200 :command! -nargs=0 -range Sort <line1>,<line2>call Sort("Strcmp")
7201<
7202 *sscanf*
7203There is no sscanf() function in Vim. If you need to extract parts from a
7204line, you can use matchstr() and substitute() to do it. This example shows
7205how to get the file name, line number and column number out of a line like
7206"foobar.txt, 123, 45". >
7207 :" Set up the match bit
7208 :let mx='\(\f\+\),\s*\(\d\+\),\s*\(\d\+\)'
7209 :"get the part matching the whole expression
7210 :let l = matchstr(line, mx)
7211 :"get each item out of the match
7212 :let file = substitute(l, mx, '\1', '')
7213 :let lnum = substitute(l, mx, '\2', '')
7214 :let col = substitute(l, mx, '\3', '')
7215
7216The input is in the variable "line", the results in the variables "file",
7217"lnum" and "col". (idea from Michael Geddes)
7218
7219==============================================================================
722010. No +eval feature *no-eval-feature*
7221
7222When the |+eval| feature was disabled at compile time, none of the expression
7223evaluation commands are available. To prevent this from causing Vim scripts
7224to generate all kinds of errors, the ":if" and ":endif" commands are still
7225recognized, though the argument of the ":if" and everything between the ":if"
7226and the matching ":endif" is ignored. Nesting of ":if" blocks is allowed, but
7227only if the commands are at the start of the line. The ":else" command is not
7228recognized.
7229
7230Example of how to avoid executing commands when the |+eval| feature is
7231missing: >
7232
7233 :if 1
7234 : echo "Expression evaluation is compiled in"
7235 :else
7236 : echo "You will _never_ see this message"
7237 :endif
7238
7239==============================================================================
724011. The sandbox *eval-sandbox* *sandbox* *E48*
7241
7242The 'foldexpr', 'includeexpr', 'indentexpr', 'statusline' and 'foldtext'
7243options are evaluated in a sandbox. This means that you are protected from
7244these expressions having nasty side effects. This gives some safety for when
7245these options are set from a modeline. It is also used when the command from
Bram Moolenaarebefac62005-12-28 22:39:57 +00007246a tags file is executed and for CTRL-R = in the command line.
Bram Moolenaar7b0294c2004-10-11 10:16:09 +00007247The sandbox is also used for the |:sandbox| command.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00007248
7249These items are not allowed in the sandbox:
7250 - changing the buffer text
7251 - defining or changing mapping, autocommands, functions, user commands
7252 - setting certain options (see |option-summary|)
7253 - executing a shell command
7254 - reading or writing a file
7255 - jumping to another buffer or editing a file
Bram Moolenaar4770d092006-01-12 23:22:24 +00007256 - executing Python, Perl, etc. commands
Bram Moolenaar7b0294c2004-10-11 10:16:09 +00007257This is not guaranteed 100% secure, but it should block most attacks.
7258
7259 *:san* *:sandbox*
Bram Moolenaar045e82d2005-07-08 22:25:33 +00007260:san[dbox] {cmd} Execute {cmd} in the sandbox. Useful to evaluate an
Bram Moolenaar7b0294c2004-10-11 10:16:09 +00007261 option that may have been set from a modeline, e.g.
7262 'foldexpr'.
7263
Bram Moolenaarb71eaae2006-01-20 23:10:18 +00007264 *sandbox-option*
7265A few options contain an expression. When this expression is evaluated it may
Bram Moolenaar9b2200a2006-03-20 21:55:45 +00007266have to be done in the sandbox to avoid a security risk. But the sandbox is
Bram Moolenaarb71eaae2006-01-20 23:10:18 +00007267restrictive, thus this only happens when the option was set from an insecure
7268location. Insecure in this context are:
7269- sourcing a .vimrc or .exrc in the current directlry
7270- while executing in the sandbox
7271- value coming from a modeline
7272
7273Note that when in the sandbox and saving an option value and restoring it, the
7274option will still be marked as it was set in the sandbox.
7275
7276==============================================================================
727712. Textlock *textlock*
7278
7279In a few situations it is not allowed to change the text in the buffer, jump
7280to another window and some other things that might confuse or break what Vim
7281is currently doing. This mostly applies to things that happen when Vim is
7282actually doing something else. For example, evaluating the 'balloonexpr' may
7283happen any moment the mouse cursor is resting at some position.
7284
7285This is not allowed when the textlock is active:
7286 - changing the buffer text
7287 - jumping to another buffer or window
7288 - editing another file
7289 - closing a window or quitting Vim
7290 - etc.
7291
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00007292
7293 vim:tw=78:ts=8:ft=help:norl: