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Bram Moolenaar68b76a62005-03-25 21:53:48 +00001*eval.txt* For Vim version 7.0aa. Last change: 2005 Mar 25
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 Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +000031
32{Vi does not have any of these commands}
33
34==============================================================================
351. Variables *variables*
36
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000371.1 Variable types ~
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +000038 *E712*
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +000039There are four types of variables:
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +000040
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +000041Number A 32 bit signed number.
42 Examples: -123 0x10 0177
43
44String A NUL terminated string of 8-bit unsigned characters (bytes).
45 Examples: "ab\txx\"--" 'x-z''a,c'
46
47Funcref A reference to a function |Funcref|.
48 Example: function("strlen")
49
50List An ordered sequence of items |List|.
51 Example: [1, 2, ['a', 'b']]
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +000052
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +000053The Number and String types are converted automatically, depending on how they
54are used.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +000055
56Conversion from a Number to a String is by making the ASCII representation of
57the Number. Examples: >
58 Number 123 --> String "123"
59 Number 0 --> String "0"
60 Number -1 --> String "-1"
61
62Conversion from a String to a Number is done by converting the first digits
63to a number. Hexadecimal "0xf9" and Octal "017" numbers are recognized. If
64the String doesn't start with digits, the result is zero. Examples: >
65 String "456" --> Number 456
66 String "6bar" --> Number 6
67 String "foo" --> Number 0
68 String "0xf1" --> Number 241
69 String "0100" --> Number 64
70 String "-8" --> Number -8
71 String "+8" --> Number 0
72
73To force conversion from String to Number, add zero to it: >
74 :echo "0100" + 0
75
76For boolean operators Numbers are used. Zero is FALSE, non-zero is TRUE.
77
78Note that in the command >
79 :if "foo"
80"foo" is converted to 0, which means FALSE. To test for a non-empty string,
81use strlen(): >
82 :if strlen("foo")
Bram Moolenaar748bf032005-02-02 23:04:36 +000083< *E745* *E728* *E703* *E729* *E730* *E731*
84List, Dictionary and Funcref types are not automatically converted.
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +000085
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +000086 *E706*
87You will get an error if you try to change the type of a variable. You need
88to |:unlet| it first to avoid this error. String and Number are considered
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +000089equivalent though. Consider this sequence of commands: >
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +000090 :let l = "string"
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +000091 :let l = 44 " changes type from String to Number
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +000092 :let l = [1, 2, 3] " error!
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +000093
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +000094
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +0000951.2 Function references ~
Bram Moolenaar748bf032005-02-02 23:04:36 +000096 *Funcref* *E695* *E718*
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +000097A Funcref variable is obtained with the |function()| function. It can be used
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +000098in an expression in the place of a function name, before the parenthesis
99around the arguments, to invoke the function it refers to. Example: >
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000100
101 :let Fn = function("MyFunc")
102 :echo Fn()
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000103< *E704* *E705* *E707*
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000104A Funcref variable must start with a capital, "s:", "w:" or "b:". You cannot
105have both a Funcref variable and a function with the same name.
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000106
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000107A special case is defining a function and directly assigning its Funcref to a
108Dictionary entry. Example: >
109 :function dict.init() dict
110 : let self.val = 0
111 :endfunction
112
113The key of the Dictionary can start with a lower case letter. The actual
114function name is not used here. Also see |numbered-function|.
115
116A Funcref can also be used with the |:call| command: >
117 :call Fn()
118 :call dict.init()
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000119
120The name of the referenced function can be obtained with |string()|. >
Bram Moolenaar383f9bc2005-01-19 22:18:32 +0000121 :let func = string(Fn)
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000122
123You can use |call()| to invoke a Funcref and use a list variable for the
124arguments: >
Bram Moolenaar383f9bc2005-01-19 22:18:32 +0000125 :let r = call(Fn, mylist)
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000126
127
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +00001281.3 Lists ~
Bram Moolenaar7c626922005-02-07 22:01:03 +0000129 *List* *Lists* *E686*
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000130A List is an ordered sequence of items. An item can be of any type. Items
131can be accessed by their index number. Items can be added and removed at any
132position in the sequence.
133
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000134
135List creation ~
136 *E696* *E697*
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000137A List is created with a comma separated list of items in square brackets.
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000138Examples: >
139 :let mylist = [1, two, 3, "four"]
140 :let emptylist = []
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000141
142An item can be any expression. Using a List for an item creates a
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000143nested List: >
144 :let nestlist = [[11, 12], [21, 22], [31, 32]]
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000145
146An extra comma after the last item is ignored.
147
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000148
149List index ~
150 *list-index* *E684*
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000151An item in the List can be accessed by putting the index in square brackets
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000152after the List. Indexes are zero-based, thus the first item has index zero. >
153 :let item = mylist[0] " get the first item: 1
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000154 :let item = mylist[2] " get the third item: 3
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000155
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +0000156When the resulting item is a list this can be repeated: >
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000157 :let item = nestlist[0][1] " get the first list, second item: 12
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000158<
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000159A negative index is counted from the end. Index -1 refers to the last item in
160the List, -2 to the last but one item, etc. >
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000161 :let last = mylist[-1] " get the last item: "four"
162
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000163To avoid an error for an invalid index use the |get()| function. When an item
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +0000164is not available it returns zero or the default value you specify: >
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000165 :echo get(mylist, idx)
166 :echo get(mylist, idx, "NONE")
167
168
169List concatenation ~
170
171Two lists can be concatenated with the "+" operator: >
172 :let longlist = mylist + [5, 6]
Bram Moolenaar383f9bc2005-01-19 22:18:32 +0000173 :let mylist += [7, 8]
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000174
175To prepend or append an item turn the item into a list by putting [] around
176it. To change a list in-place see |list-modification| below.
177
178
179Sublist ~
180
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000181A part of the List can be obtained by specifying the first and last index,
182separated by a colon in square brackets: >
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000183 :let shortlist = mylist[2:-1] " get List [3, "four"]
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000184
185Omitting the first index is similar to zero. Omitting the last index is
186similar to -1. The difference is that there is no error if the items are not
187available. >
Bram Moolenaar540d6e32005-01-09 21:20:18 +0000188 :let endlist = mylist[2:] " from item 2 to the end: [3, "four"]
189 :let shortlist = mylist[2:2] " List with one item: [3]
190 :let otherlist = mylist[:] " make a copy of the List
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000191
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000192The second index can be just before the first index. In that case the result
193is an empty list. If the second index is lower, this results in an error. >
194 :echo mylist[2:1] " result: []
195 :echo mylist[2:0] " error!
196
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000197
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000198List identity ~
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000199 *list-identity*
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000200When variable "aa" is a list and you assign it to another variable "bb", both
201variables refer to the same list. Thus changing the list "aa" will also
202change "bb": >
203 :let aa = [1, 2, 3]
204 :let bb = aa
205 :call add(aa, 4)
206 :echo bb
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000207< [1, 2, 3, 4]
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000208
209Making a copy of a list is done with the |copy()| function. Using [:] also
210works, as explained above. This creates a shallow copy of the list: Changing
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +0000211a list item in the list will also change the item in the copied list: >
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000212 :let aa = [[1, 'a'], 2, 3]
213 :let bb = copy(aa)
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000214 :call add(aa, 4)
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000215 :let aa[0][1] = 'aaa'
216 :echo aa
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000217< [[1, aaa], 2, 3, 4] >
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000218 :echo bb
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000219< [[1, aaa], 2, 3]
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000220
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +0000221To make a completely independent list use |deepcopy()|. This also makes a
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000222copy of the values in the list, recursively. Up to a hundred levels deep.
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000223
224The operator "is" can be used to check if two variables refer to the same
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000225List. "isnot" does the opposite. In contrast "==" compares if two lists have
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +0000226the same value. >
227 :let alist = [1, 2, 3]
228 :let blist = [1, 2, 3]
229 :echo alist is blist
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000230< 0 >
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +0000231 :echo alist == blist
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000232< 1
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000233
234
235List unpack ~
236
237To unpack the items in a list to individual variables, put the variables in
238square brackets, like list items: >
239 :let [var1, var2] = mylist
240
241When the number of variables does not match the number of items in the list
242this produces an error. To handle any extra items from the list append ";"
243and a variable name: >
244 :let [var1, var2; rest] = mylist
245
246This works like: >
247 :let var1 = mylist[0]
248 :let var2 = mylist[1]
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +0000249 :let rest = mylist[2:]
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000250
251Except that there is no error if there are only two items. "rest" will be an
252empty list then.
253
254
255List modification ~
256 *list-modification*
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +0000257To change a specific item of a list use |:let| this way: >
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000258 :let list[4] = "four"
259 :let listlist[0][3] = item
260
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +0000261To change part of a list you can specify the first and last item to be
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000262modified. The value must at least have the number of items in the range: >
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +0000263 :let list[3:5] = [3, 4, 5]
264
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000265Adding and removing items from a list is done with functions. Here are a few
266examples: >
267 :call insert(list, 'a') " prepend item 'a'
268 :call insert(list, 'a', 3) " insert item 'a' before list[3]
269 :call add(list, "new") " append String item
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000270 :call add(list, [1, 2]) " append a List as one new item
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000271 :call extend(list, [1, 2]) " extend the list with two more items
272 :let i = remove(list, 3) " remove item 3
Bram Moolenaar9cd15162005-01-16 22:02:49 +0000273 :unlet list[3] " idem
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000274 :let l = remove(list, 3, -1) " remove items 3 to last item
Bram Moolenaar9cd15162005-01-16 22:02:49 +0000275 :unlet list[3 : ] " idem
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000276 :call filter(list, 'v:val !~ "x"') " remove items with an 'x'
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000277
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000278Changing the order of items in a list: >
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +0000279 :call sort(list) " sort a list alphabetically
280 :call reverse(list) " reverse the order of items
281
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000282
283For loop ~
284
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +0000285The |:for| loop executes commands for each item in a list. A variable is set
286to each item in the list in sequence. Example: >
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000287 :for item in mylist
288 : call Doit(item)
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000289 :endfor
290
291This works like: >
292 :let index = 0
293 :while index < len(mylist)
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000294 : let item = mylist[index]
295 : :call Doit(item)
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000296 : let index = index + 1
297 :endwhile
298
299Note that all items in the list should be of the same type, otherwise this
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000300results in error |E706|. To avoid this |:unlet| the variable at the end of
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +0000301the loop.
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000302
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +0000303If all you want to do is modify each item in the list then the |map()|
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000304function will be a simpler method than a for loop.
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +0000305
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000306Just like the |:let| command, |:for| also accepts a list of variables. This
307requires the argument to be a list of lists. >
308 :for [lnum, col] in [[1, 3], [2, 8], [3, 0]]
309 : call Doit(lnum, col)
310 :endfor
311
312This works like a |:let| command is done for each list item. Again, the types
313must remain the same to avoid an error.
314
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000315It is also possible to put remaining items in a List variable: >
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000316 :for [i, j; rest] in listlist
317 : call Doit(i, j)
318 : if !empty(rest)
319 : echo "remainder: " . string(rest)
320 : endif
321 :endfor
322
323
324List functions ~
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000325 *E714*
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000326Functions that are useful with a List: >
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +0000327 :let r = call(funcname, list) " call a function with an argument list
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000328 :if empty(list) " check if list is empty
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000329 :let l = len(list) " number of items in list
330 :let big = max(list) " maximum value in list
331 :let small = min(list) " minimum value in list
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +0000332 :let xs = count(list, 'x') " count nr of times 'x' appears in list
333 :let i = index(list, 'x') " index of first 'x' in list
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000334 :let lines = getline(1, 10) " get ten text lines from buffer
335 :call append('$', lines) " append text lines in buffer
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +0000336 :let list = split("a b c") " create list from items in a string
337 :let string = join(list, ', ') " create string from list items
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000338 :let s = string(list) " String representation of list
339 :call map(list, '">> " . v:val') " prepend ">> " to each item
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000340
341
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +00003421.4 Dictionaries ~
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000343 *Dictionaries* *Dictionary*
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000344A Dictionary is an associative array: Each entry has a key and a value. The
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000345entry can be located with the key. The entries are stored without a specific
346ordering.
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000347
348
349Dictionary creation ~
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000350 *E720* *E721* *E722* *E723*
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000351A Dictionary is created with a comma separated list of entries in curly
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000352braces. Each entry has a key and a value, separated by a colon. Each key can
353only appear once. Examples: >
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000354 :let mydict = {1: 'one', 2: 'two', 3: 'three'}
355 :let emptydict = {}
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000356< *E713* *E716* *E717*
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000357A key is always a String. You can use a Number, it will be converted to a
358String automatically. Thus the String '4' and the number 4 will find the same
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000359entry. Note that the String '04' and the Number 04 are different, since the
360Number will be converted to the String '4'.
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000361
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000362A value can be any expression. Using a Dictionary for a value creates a
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000363nested Dictionary: >
364 :let nestdict = {1: {11: 'a', 12: 'b'}, 2: {21: 'c'}}
365
366An extra comma after the last entry is ignored.
367
368
369Accessing entries ~
370
371The normal way to access an entry is by putting the key in square brackets: >
372 :let val = mydict["one"]
373 :let mydict["four"] = 4
374
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000375You can add new entries to an existing Dictionary this way, unlike Lists.
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000376
377For keys that consist entirely of letters, digits and underscore the following
378form can be used |expr-entry|: >
379 :let val = mydict.one
380 :let mydict.four = 4
381
382Since an entry can be any type, also a List and a Dictionary, the indexing and
383key lookup can be repeated: >
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000384 :echo dict.key[idx].key
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000385
386
387Dictionary to List conversion ~
388
389You may want to loop over the entries in a dictionary. For this you need to
390turn the Dictionary into a List and pass it to |:for|.
391
392Most often you want to loop over the keys, using the |keys()| function: >
393 :for key in keys(mydict)
394 : echo key . ': ' . mydict[key]
395 :endfor
396
397The List of keys is unsorted. You may want to sort them first: >
398 :for key in sort(keys(mydict))
399
400To loop over the values use the |values()| function: >
401 :for v in values(mydict)
402 : echo "value: " . v
403 :endfor
404
405If you want both the key and the value use the |items()| function. It returns
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000406a List in which each item is a List with two items, the key and the value: >
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000407 :for entry in items(mydict)
408 : echo entry[0] . ': ' . entry[1]
409 :endfor
410
411
412Dictionary identity ~
Bram Moolenaar7c626922005-02-07 22:01:03 +0000413 *dict-identity*
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000414Just like Lists you need to use |copy()| and |deepcopy()| to make a copy of a
415Dictionary. Otherwise, assignment results in referring to the same
416Dictionary: >
417 :let onedict = {'a': 1, 'b': 2}
418 :let adict = onedict
419 :let adict['a'] = 11
420 :echo onedict['a']
421 11
422
423For more info see |list-identity|.
424
425
426Dictionary modification ~
427 *dict-modification*
428To change an already existing entry of a Dictionary, or to add a new entry,
429use |:let| this way: >
430 :let dict[4] = "four"
431 :let dict['one'] = item
432
Bram Moolenaar9cd15162005-01-16 22:02:49 +0000433Removing an entry from a Dictionary is done with |remove()| or |:unlet|.
434Three ways to remove the entry with key "aaa" from dict: >
435 :let i = remove(dict, 'aaa')
436 :unlet dict.aaa
437 :unlet dict['aaa']
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000438
439Merging a Dictionary with another is done with |extend()|: >
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000440 :call extend(adict, bdict)
441This extends adict with all entries from bdict. Duplicate keys cause entries
442in adict to be overwritten. An optional third argument can change this.
Bram Moolenaar383f9bc2005-01-19 22:18:32 +0000443Note that the order of entries in a Dictionary is irrelevant, thus don't
444expect ":echo adict" to show the items from bdict after the older entries in
445adict.
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000446
447Weeding out entries from a Dictionary can be done with |filter()|: >
Bram Moolenaare2cc9702005-03-15 22:43:58 +0000448 :call filter(dict 'v:val =~ "x"')
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000449This removes all entries from "dict" with a value not matching 'x'.
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000450
451
452Dictionary function ~
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000453 *Dictionary-function* *self* *E725*
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000454When a function is defined with the "dict" attribute it can be used in a
455special way with a dictionary. Example: >
456 :function Mylen() dict
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000457 : return len(self.data)
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000458 :endfunction
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000459 :let mydict = {'data': [0, 1, 2, 3], 'len': function("Mylen")}
460 :echo mydict.len()
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000461
462This is like a method in object oriented programming. The entry in the
463Dictionary is a |Funcref|. The local variable "self" refers to the dictionary
464the function was invoked from.
465
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000466It is also possible to add a function without the "dict" attribute as a
467Funcref to a Dictionary, but the "self" variable is not available then.
468
469 *numbered-function*
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000470To avoid the extra name for the function it can be defined and directly
471assigned to a Dictionary in this way: >
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000472 :let mydict = {'data': [0, 1, 2, 3]}
473 :function mydict.len() dict
474 : return len(self.data)
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000475 :endfunction
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000476 :echo mydict.len()
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000477
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000478The function will then get a number and the value of dict.len is a |Funcref|
479that references this function. The function can only be used through a
480|Funcref|. It will automatically be deleted when there is no |Funcref|
481remaining that refers to it.
482
483It is not necessary to use the "dict" attribute for a numbered function.
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000484
485
486Functions for Dictionaries ~
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000487 *E715*
488Functions that can be used with a Dictionary: >
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000489 :if has_key(dict, 'foo') " TRUE if dict has entry with key "foo"
490 :if empty(dict) " TRUE if dict is empty
491 :let l = len(dict) " number of items in dict
492 :let big = max(dict) " maximum value in dict
493 :let small = min(dict) " minimum value in dict
494 :let xs = count(dict, 'x') " count nr of times 'x' appears in dict
495 :let s = string(dict) " String representation of dict
496 :call map(dict, '">> " . v:val') " prepend ">> " to each item
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000497
498
4991.5 More about variables ~
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000500 *more-variables*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000501If you need to know the type of a variable or expression, use the |type()|
502function.
503
504When the '!' flag is included in the 'viminfo' option, global variables that
505start with an uppercase letter, and don't contain a lowercase letter, are
506stored in the viminfo file |viminfo-file|.
507
508When the 'sessionoptions' option contains "global", global variables that
509start with an uppercase letter and contain at least one lowercase letter are
510stored in the session file |session-file|.
511
512variable name can be stored where ~
513my_var_6 not
514My_Var_6 session file
515MY_VAR_6 viminfo file
516
517
518It's possible to form a variable name with curly braces, see
519|curly-braces-names|.
520
521==============================================================================
5222. Expression syntax *expression-syntax*
523
524Expression syntax summary, from least to most significant:
525
526|expr1| expr2 ? expr1 : expr1 if-then-else
527
528|expr2| expr3 || expr3 .. logical OR
529
530|expr3| expr4 && expr4 .. logical AND
531
532|expr4| expr5 == expr5 equal
533 expr5 != expr5 not equal
534 expr5 > expr5 greater than
535 expr5 >= expr5 greater than or equal
536 expr5 < expr5 smaller than
537 expr5 <= expr5 smaller than or equal
538 expr5 =~ expr5 regexp matches
539 expr5 !~ expr5 regexp doesn't match
540
541 expr5 ==? expr5 equal, ignoring case
542 expr5 ==# expr5 equal, match case
543 etc. As above, append ? for ignoring case, # for
544 matching case
545
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +0000546 expr5 is expr5 same List instance
547 expr5 isnot expr5 different List instance
548
549|expr5| expr6 + expr6 .. number addition or list concatenation
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000550 expr6 - expr6 .. number subtraction
551 expr6 . expr6 .. string concatenation
552
553|expr6| expr7 * expr7 .. number multiplication
554 expr7 / expr7 .. number division
555 expr7 % expr7 .. number modulo
556
557|expr7| ! expr7 logical NOT
558 - expr7 unary minus
559 + expr7 unary plus
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000560
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000561
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000562|expr8| expr8[expr1] byte of a String or item of a List
563 expr8[expr1 : expr1] substring of a String or sublist of a List
564 expr8.name entry in a Dictionary
565 expr8(expr1, ...) function call with Funcref variable
566
567|expr9| number number constant
Bram Moolenaar3fdfa4a2004-10-07 21:02:47 +0000568 "string" string constant, backslash is special
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000569 'string' string constant, ' is doubled
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000570 [expr1, ...] List
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000571 {expr1: expr1, ...} Dictionary
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000572 &option option value
573 (expr1) nested expression
574 variable internal variable
575 va{ria}ble internal variable with curly braces
576 $VAR environment variable
577 @r contents of register 'r'
578 function(expr1, ...) function call
579 func{ti}on(expr1, ...) function call with curly braces
580
581
582".." indicates that the operations in this level can be concatenated.
583Example: >
584 &nu || &list && &shell == "csh"
585
586All expressions within one level are parsed from left to right.
587
588
589expr1 *expr1* *E109*
590-----
591
592expr2 ? expr1 : expr1
593
594The expression before the '?' is evaluated to a number. If it evaluates to
595non-zero, the result is the value of the expression between the '?' and ':',
596otherwise the result is the value of the expression after the ':'.
597Example: >
598 :echo lnum == 1 ? "top" : lnum
599
600Since the first expression is an "expr2", it cannot contain another ?:. The
601other two expressions can, thus allow for recursive use of ?:.
602Example: >
603 :echo lnum == 1 ? "top" : lnum == 1000 ? "last" : lnum
604
605To keep this readable, using |line-continuation| is suggested: >
606 :echo lnum == 1
607 :\ ? "top"
608 :\ : lnum == 1000
609 :\ ? "last"
610 :\ : lnum
611
612
613expr2 and expr3 *expr2* *expr3*
614---------------
615
616 *expr-barbar* *expr-&&*
617The "||" and "&&" operators take one argument on each side. The arguments
618are (converted to) Numbers. The result is:
619
620 input output ~
621n1 n2 n1 || n2 n1 && n2 ~
622zero zero zero zero
623zero non-zero non-zero zero
624non-zero zero non-zero zero
625non-zero non-zero non-zero non-zero
626
627The operators can be concatenated, for example: >
628
629 &nu || &list && &shell == "csh"
630
631Note that "&&" takes precedence over "||", so this has the meaning of: >
632
633 &nu || (&list && &shell == "csh")
634
635Once the result is known, the expression "short-circuits", that is, further
636arguments are not evaluated. This is like what happens in C. For example: >
637
638 let a = 1
639 echo a || b
640
641This is valid even if there is no variable called "b" because "a" is non-zero,
642so the result must be non-zero. Similarly below: >
643
644 echo exists("b") && b == "yes"
645
646This is valid whether "b" has been defined or not. The second clause will
647only be evaluated if "b" has been defined.
648
649
650expr4 *expr4*
651-----
652
653expr5 {cmp} expr5
654
655Compare two expr5 expressions, resulting in a 0 if it evaluates to false, or 1
656if it evaluates to true.
657
658 *expr-==* *expr-!=* *expr->* *expr->=*
659 *expr-<* *expr-<=* *expr-=~* *expr-!~*
660 *expr-==#* *expr-!=#* *expr->#* *expr->=#*
661 *expr-<#* *expr-<=#* *expr-=~#* *expr-!~#*
662 *expr-==?* *expr-!=?* *expr->?* *expr->=?*
663 *expr-<?* *expr-<=?* *expr-=~?* *expr-!~?*
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +0000664 *expr-is*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000665 use 'ignorecase' match case ignore case ~
666equal == ==# ==?
667not equal != !=# !=?
668greater than > ># >?
669greater than or equal >= >=# >=?
670smaller than < <# <?
671smaller than or equal <= <=# <=?
672regexp matches =~ =~# =~?
673regexp doesn't match !~ !~# !~?
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +0000674same instance is
675different instance isnot
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000676
677Examples:
678"abc" ==# "Abc" evaluates to 0
679"abc" ==? "Abc" evaluates to 1
680"abc" == "Abc" evaluates to 1 if 'ignorecase' is set, 0 otherwise
681
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000682 *E691* *E692*
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +0000683A List can only be compared with a List and only "equal", "not equal" and "is"
684can be used. This compares the values of the list, recursively. Ignoring
685case means case is ignored when comparing item values.
686
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000687 *E735* *E736*
688A Dictionary can only be compared with a Dictionary and only "equal", "not
689equal" and "is" can be used. This compares the key/values of the Dictionary,
690recursively. Ignoring case means case is ignored when comparing item values.
691
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000692 *E693* *E694*
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +0000693A Funcref can only be compared with a Funcref and only "equal" and "not equal"
694can be used. Case is never ignored.
695
696When using "is" or "isnot" with a List this checks if the expressions are
697referring to the same List instance. A copy of a List is different from the
698original List. When using "is" without a List it is equivalent to using
699"equal", using "isnot" equivalent to using "not equal". Except that a
700different type means the values are different. "4 == '4'" is true, "4 is '4'"
701is false.
702
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000703When comparing a String with a Number, the String is converted to a Number,
704and the comparison is done on Numbers. This means that "0 == 'x'" is TRUE,
705because 'x' converted to a Number is zero.
706
707When comparing two Strings, this is done with strcmp() or stricmp(). This
708results in the mathematical difference (comparing byte values), not
709necessarily the alphabetical difference in the local language.
710
711When using the operators with a trailing '#", or the short version and
712'ignorecase' is off, the comparing is done with strcmp().
713
714When using the operators with a trailing '?', or the short version and
715'ignorecase' is set, the comparing is done with stricmp().
716
717The "=~" and "!~" operators match the lefthand argument with the righthand
718argument, which is used as a pattern. See |pattern| for what a pattern is.
719This matching is always done like 'magic' was set and 'cpoptions' is empty, no
720matter what the actual value of 'magic' or 'cpoptions' is. This makes scripts
721portable. To avoid backslashes in the regexp pattern to be doubled, use a
722single-quote string, see |literal-string|.
723Since a string is considered to be a single line, a multi-line pattern
724(containing \n, backslash-n) will not match. However, a literal NL character
725can be matched like an ordinary character. Examples:
726 "foo\nbar" =~ "\n" evaluates to 1
727 "foo\nbar" =~ "\\n" evaluates to 0
728
729
730expr5 and expr6 *expr5* *expr6*
731---------------
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +0000732expr6 + expr6 .. Number addition or List concatenation *expr-+*
733expr6 - expr6 .. Number subtraction *expr--*
734expr6 . expr6 .. String concatenation *expr-.*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000735
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +0000736For Lists only "+" is possible and then both expr6 must be a list. The result
737is a new list with the two lists Concatenated.
738
739expr7 * expr7 .. number multiplication *expr-star*
740expr7 / expr7 .. number division *expr-/*
741expr7 % expr7 .. number modulo *expr-%*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000742
743For all, except ".", Strings are converted to Numbers.
744
745Note the difference between "+" and ".":
746 "123" + "456" = 579
747 "123" . "456" = "123456"
748
749When the righthand side of '/' is zero, the result is 0x7fffffff.
750When the righthand side of '%' is zero, the result is 0.
751
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +0000752None of these work for Funcrefs.
753
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000754
755expr7 *expr7*
756-----
757! expr7 logical NOT *expr-!*
758- expr7 unary minus *expr-unary--*
759+ expr7 unary plus *expr-unary-+*
760
761For '!' non-zero becomes zero, zero becomes one.
762For '-' the sign of the number is changed.
763For '+' the number is unchanged.
764
765A String will be converted to a Number first.
766
767These three can be repeated and mixed. Examples:
768 !-1 == 0
769 !!8 == 1
770 --9 == 9
771
772
773expr8 *expr8*
774-----
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000775expr8[expr1] item of String or List *expr-[]* *E111*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000776
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000777If expr8 is a Number or String this results in a String that contains the
778expr1'th single byte from expr8. expr8 is used as a String, expr1 as a
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000779Number. Note that this doesn't recognize multi-byte encodings.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000780
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000781Index zero gives the first character. This is like it works in C. Careful:
782text column numbers start with one! Example, to get the character under the
783cursor: >
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000784 :let c = getline(line("."))[col(".") - 1]
785
786If the length of the String is less than the index, the result is an empty
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000787String. A negative index always results in an empty string (reason: backwards
788compatibility). Use [-1:] to get the last byte.
789
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000790If expr8 is a List then it results the item at index expr1. See |list-index|
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000791for possible index values. If the index is out of range this results in an
792error. Example: >
793 :let item = mylist[-1] " get last item
794
795Generally, if a List index is equal to or higher than the length of the List,
796or more negative than the length of the List, this results in an error.
797
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000798
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000799expr8[expr1a : expr1b] substring or sublist *expr-[:]*
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000800
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000801If expr8 is a Number or String this results in the substring with the bytes
802from expr1a to and including expr1b. expr8 is used as a String, expr1a and
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000803expr1b are used as a Number. Note that this doesn't recognize multi-byte
804encodings.
805
806If expr1a is omitted zero is used. If expr1b is omitted the length of the
807string minus one is used.
808
809A negative number can be used to measure from the end of the string. -1 is
810the last character, -2 the last but one, etc.
811
812If an index goes out of range for the string characters are omitted. If
813expr1b is smaller than expr1a the result is an empty string.
814
815Examples: >
816 :let c = name[-1:] " last byte of a string
817 :let c = name[-2:-2] " last but one byte of a string
818 :let s = line(".")[4:] " from the fifth byte to the end
819 :let s = s[:-3] " remove last two bytes
820
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000821If expr8 is a List this results in a new List with the items indicated by the
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000822indexes expr1a and expr1b. This works like with a String, as explained just
823above, except that indexes out of range cause an error. Examples: >
824 :let l = mylist[:3] " first four items
825 :let l = mylist[4:4] " List with one item
826 :let l = mylist[:] " shallow copy of a List
827
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000828Using expr8[expr1] or expr8[expr1a : expr1b] on a Funcref results in an error.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000829
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000830
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000831expr8.name entry in a Dictionary *expr-entry*
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000832
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000833If expr8 is a Dictionary and it is followed by a dot, then the following name
834will be used as a key in the Dictionary. This is just like: expr8[name].
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000835
836The name must consist of alphanumeric characters, just like a variable name,
837but it may start with a number. Curly braces cannot be used.
838
839There must not be white space before or after the dot.
840
841Examples: >
842 :let dict = {"one": 1, 2: "two"}
843 :echo dict.one
844 :echo dict .2
845
846Note that the dot is also used for String concatenation. To avoid confusion
847always put spaces around the dot for String concatenation.
848
849
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000850expr8(expr1, ...) Funcref function call
851
852When expr8 is a |Funcref| type variable, invoke the function it refers to.
853
854
855
856 *expr9*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000857number
858------
859number number constant *expr-number*
860
861Decimal, Hexadecimal (starting with 0x or 0X), or Octal (starting with 0).
862
863
864string *expr-string* *E114*
865------
866"string" string constant *expr-quote*
867
868Note that double quotes are used.
869
870A string constant accepts these special characters:
871\... three-digit octal number (e.g., "\316")
872\.. two-digit octal number (must be followed by non-digit)
873\. one-digit octal number (must be followed by non-digit)
874\x.. byte specified with two hex numbers (e.g., "\x1f")
875\x. byte specified with one hex number (must be followed by non-hex char)
876\X.. same as \x..
877\X. same as \x.
878\u.... character specified with up to 4 hex numbers, stored according to the
879 current value of 'encoding' (e.g., "\u02a4")
880\U.... same as \u....
881\b backspace <BS>
882\e escape <Esc>
883\f formfeed <FF>
884\n newline <NL>
885\r return <CR>
886\t tab <Tab>
887\\ backslash
888\" double quote
889\<xxx> Special key named "xxx". e.g. "\<C-W>" for CTRL-W.
890
891Note that "\000" and "\x00" force the end of the string.
892
893
894literal-string *literal-string* *E115*
895---------------
Bram Moolenaar3fdfa4a2004-10-07 21:02:47 +0000896'string' string constant *expr-'*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000897
898Note that single quotes are used.
899
Bram Moolenaar3fdfa4a2004-10-07 21:02:47 +0000900This string is taken as it is. No backslashes are removed or have a special
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000901meaning. The only exception is that two quotes stand for one quote.
Bram Moolenaar3fdfa4a2004-10-07 21:02:47 +0000902
903Single quoted strings are useful for patterns, so that backslashes do not need
904to be doubled. These two commands are equivalent: >
905 if a =~ "\\s*"
906 if a =~ '\s*'
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000907
908
909option *expr-option* *E112* *E113*
910------
911&option option value, local value if possible
912&g:option global option value
913&l:option local option value
914
915Examples: >
916 echo "tabstop is " . &tabstop
917 if &insertmode
918
919Any option name can be used here. See |options|. When using the local value
920and there is no buffer-local or window-local value, the global value is used
921anyway.
922
923
924register *expr-register*
925--------
926@r contents of register 'r'
927
928The result is the contents of the named register, as a single string.
929Newlines are inserted where required. To get the contents of the unnamed
930register use @" or @@. The '=' register can not be used here. See
931|registers| for an explanation of the available registers.
932
933
934nesting *expr-nesting* *E110*
935-------
936(expr1) nested expression
937
938
939environment variable *expr-env*
940--------------------
941$VAR environment variable
942
943The String value of any environment variable. When it is not defined, the
944result is an empty string.
945 *expr-env-expand*
946Note that there is a difference between using $VAR directly and using
947expand("$VAR"). Using it directly will only expand environment variables that
948are known inside the current Vim session. Using expand() will first try using
949the environment variables known inside the current Vim session. If that
950fails, a shell will be used to expand the variable. This can be slow, but it
951does expand all variables that the shell knows about. Example: >
952 :echo $version
953 :echo expand("$version")
954The first one probably doesn't echo anything, the second echoes the $version
955variable (if your shell supports it).
956
957
958internal variable *expr-variable*
959-----------------
960variable internal variable
961See below |internal-variables|.
962
963
Bram Moolenaar05159a02005-02-26 23:04:13 +0000964function call *expr-function* *E116* *E118* *E119* *E120*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000965-------------
966function(expr1, ...) function call
967See below |functions|.
968
969
970==============================================================================
9713. Internal variable *internal-variables* *E121*
972 *E461*
973An internal variable name can be made up of letters, digits and '_'. But it
974cannot start with a digit. It's also possible to use curly braces, see
975|curly-braces-names|.
976
977An internal variable is created with the ":let" command |:let|.
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +0000978An internal variable is explicitly destroyed with the ":unlet" command
979|:unlet|.
980Using a name that is not an internal variable or refers to a variable that has
981been destroyed results in an error.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000982
983There are several name spaces for variables. Which one is to be used is
984specified by what is prepended:
985
986 (nothing) In a function: local to a function; otherwise: global
987|buffer-variable| b: Local to the current buffer.
988|window-variable| w: Local to the current window.
989|global-variable| g: Global.
990|local-variable| l: Local to a function.
991|script-variable| s: Local to a |:source|'ed Vim script.
992|function-argument| a: Function argument (only inside a function).
993|vim-variable| v: Global, predefined by Vim.
994
Bram Moolenaar8f999f12005-01-25 22:12:55 +0000995The scope name by itself can be used as a Dictionary. For example, to delete
996all script-local variables: >
997 :for k in keys(s:)
998 : unlet s:[k]
999 :endfor
1000<
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001001 *buffer-variable* *b:var*
1002A variable name that is preceded with "b:" is local to the current buffer.
1003Thus you can have several "b:foo" variables, one for each buffer.
1004This kind of variable is deleted when the buffer is wiped out or deleted with
1005|:bdelete|.
1006
1007One local buffer variable is predefined:
1008 *b:changedtick-variable* *changetick*
1009b:changedtick The total number of changes to the current buffer. It is
1010 incremented for each change. An undo command is also a change
1011 in this case. This can be used to perform an action only when
1012 the buffer has changed. Example: >
1013 :if my_changedtick != b:changedtick
1014 : let my_changedtick = b:changedtick
1015 : call My_Update()
1016 :endif
1017<
1018 *window-variable* *w:var*
1019A variable name that is preceded with "w:" is local to the current window. It
1020is deleted when the window is closed.
1021
1022 *global-variable* *g:var*
1023Inside functions global variables are accessed with "g:". Omitting this will
1024access a variable local to a function. But "g:" can also be used in any other
1025place if you like.
1026
1027 *local-variable* *l:var*
1028Inside functions local variables are accessed without prepending anything.
1029But you can also prepend "l:" if you like.
1030
1031 *script-variable* *s:var*
1032In a Vim script variables starting with "s:" can be used. They cannot be
1033accessed from outside of the scripts, thus are local to the script.
1034
1035They can be used in:
1036- commands executed while the script is sourced
1037- functions defined in the script
1038- autocommands defined in the script
1039- functions and autocommands defined in functions and autocommands which were
1040 defined in the script (recursively)
1041- user defined commands defined in the script
1042Thus not in:
1043- other scripts sourced from this one
1044- mappings
1045- etc.
1046
1047script variables can be used to avoid conflicts with global variable names.
1048Take this example:
1049
1050 let s:counter = 0
1051 function MyCounter()
1052 let s:counter = s:counter + 1
1053 echo s:counter
1054 endfunction
1055 command Tick call MyCounter()
1056
1057You can now invoke "Tick" from any script, and the "s:counter" variable in
1058that script will not be changed, only the "s:counter" in the script where
1059"Tick" was defined is used.
1060
1061Another example that does the same: >
1062
1063 let s:counter = 0
1064 command Tick let s:counter = s:counter + 1 | echo s:counter
1065
1066When calling a function and invoking a user-defined command, the context for
Bram Moolenaar69a7cb42004-06-20 12:51:53 +00001067script variables is set to the script where the function or command was
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001068defined.
1069
1070The script variables are also available when a function is defined inside a
1071function that is defined in a script. Example: >
1072
1073 let s:counter = 0
1074 function StartCounting(incr)
1075 if a:incr
1076 function MyCounter()
1077 let s:counter = s:counter + 1
1078 endfunction
1079 else
1080 function MyCounter()
1081 let s:counter = s:counter - 1
1082 endfunction
1083 endif
1084 endfunction
1085
1086This defines the MyCounter() function either for counting up or counting down
1087when calling StartCounting(). It doesn't matter from where StartCounting() is
1088called, the s:counter variable will be accessible in MyCounter().
1089
1090When the same script is sourced again it will use the same script variables.
1091They will remain valid as long as Vim is running. This can be used to
1092maintain a counter: >
1093
1094 if !exists("s:counter")
1095 let s:counter = 1
1096 echo "script executed for the first time"
1097 else
1098 let s:counter = s:counter + 1
1099 echo "script executed " . s:counter . " times now"
1100 endif
1101
1102Note that this means that filetype plugins don't get a different set of script
1103variables for each buffer. Use local buffer variables instead |b:var|.
1104
1105
1106Predefined Vim variables: *vim-variable* *v:var*
1107
Bram Moolenaare4efc3b2005-03-07 23:16:51 +00001108 *v:beval_col* *beval_col-variable*
1109v:beval_col The number of the column, over which the mouse pointer is.
1110 This is the byte index in the |v:beval_lnum| line.
1111 Only valid while evaluating the 'balloonexpr' option.
1112
1113 *v:beval_bufnr* *beval_bufnr-variable*
1114v:beval_bufnr The number of the buffer, over which the mouse pointer is. Only
1115 valid while evaluating the 'balloonexpr' option.
1116
1117 *v:beval_lnum* *beval_lnum-variable*
1118v:beval_lnum The number of the line, over which the mouse pointer is. Only
1119 valid while evaluating the 'balloonexpr' option.
1120
1121 *v:beval_text* *beval_text-variable*
1122v:beval_text The text under or after the mouse pointer. Usually a word as it is
1123 useful for debugging a C program. 'iskeyword' applies, but a
1124 dot and "->" before the position is included. When on a ']'
1125 the text before it is used, including the matching '[' and
1126 word before it. When on a Visual area within one line the
1127 highlighted text is used.
1128 Only valid while evaluating the 'balloonexpr' option.
1129
1130 *v:beval_winnr* *beval_winnr-variable*
1131v:beval_winnr The number of the window, over which the mouse pointer is. Only
1132 valid while evaluating the 'balloonexpr' option.
1133
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001134 *v:charconvert_from* *charconvert_from-variable*
1135v:charconvert_from
1136 The name of the character encoding of a file to be converted.
1137 Only valid while evaluating the 'charconvert' option.
1138
1139 *v:charconvert_to* *charconvert_to-variable*
1140v:charconvert_to
1141 The name of the character encoding of a file after conversion.
1142 Only valid while evaluating the 'charconvert' option.
1143
1144 *v:cmdarg* *cmdarg-variable*
1145v:cmdarg This variable is used for two purposes:
1146 1. The extra arguments given to a file read/write command.
1147 Currently these are "++enc=" and "++ff=". This variable is
1148 set before an autocommand event for a file read/write
1149 command is triggered. There is a leading space to make it
1150 possible to append this variable directly after the
1151 read/write command. Note: The "+cmd" argument isn't
1152 included here, because it will be executed anyway.
1153 2. When printing a PostScript file with ":hardcopy" this is
1154 the argument for the ":hardcopy" command. This can be used
1155 in 'printexpr'.
1156
1157 *v:cmdbang* *cmdbang-variable*
1158v:cmdbang Set like v:cmdarg for a file read/write command. When a "!"
1159 was used the value is 1, otherwise it is 0. Note that this
1160 can only be used in autocommands. For user commands |<bang>|
1161 can be used.
1162
1163 *v:count* *count-variable*
1164v:count The count given for the last Normal mode command. Can be used
1165 to get the count before a mapping. Read-only. Example: >
1166 :map _x :<C-U>echo "the count is " . v:count<CR>
1167< Note: The <C-U> is required to remove the line range that you
1168 get when typing ':' after a count.
1169 "count" also works, for backwards compatibility.
1170
1171 *v:count1* *count1-variable*
1172v:count1 Just like "v:count", but defaults to one when no count is
1173 used.
1174
1175 *v:ctype* *ctype-variable*
1176v:ctype The current locale setting for characters of the runtime
1177 environment. This allows Vim scripts to be aware of the
1178 current locale encoding. Technical: it's the value of
1179 LC_CTYPE. When not using a locale the value is "C".
1180 This variable can not be set directly, use the |:language|
1181 command.
1182 See |multi-lang|.
1183
1184 *v:dying* *dying-variable*
1185v:dying Normally zero. When a deadly signal is caught it's set to
1186 one. When multiple signals are caught the number increases.
1187 Can be used in an autocommand to check if Vim didn't
1188 terminate normally. {only works on Unix}
1189 Example: >
1190 :au VimLeave * if v:dying | echo "\nAAAAaaaarrrggghhhh!!!\n" | endif
1191<
1192 *v:errmsg* *errmsg-variable*
1193v:errmsg Last given error message. It's allowed to set this variable.
1194 Example: >
1195 :let v:errmsg = ""
1196 :silent! next
1197 :if v:errmsg != ""
1198 : ... handle error
1199< "errmsg" also works, for backwards compatibility.
1200
1201 *v:exception* *exception-variable*
1202v:exception The value of the exception most recently caught and not
1203 finished. See also |v:throwpoint| and |throw-variables|.
1204 Example: >
1205 :try
1206 : throw "oops"
1207 :catch /.*/
1208 : echo "caught" v:exception
1209 :endtry
1210< Output: "caught oops".
1211
Bram Moolenaar19a09a12005-03-04 23:39:37 +00001212 *v:fcs_reason* *fcs_reason-variable*
1213v:fcs_reason The reason why the |FileChangedShell| event was triggered.
1214 Can be used in an autocommand to decide what to do and/or what
1215 to set v:fcs_choice to. Possible values:
1216 deleted file no longer exists
1217 conflict file contents, mode or timestamp was
1218 changed and buffer is modified
1219 changed file contents has changed
1220 mode mode of file changed
1221 time only file timestamp changed
1222
1223 *v:fcs_choice* *fcs_choice-variable*
1224v:fcs_choice What should happen after a |FileChangedShell| event was
1225 triggered. Can be used in an autocommand to tell Vim what to
1226 do with the affected buffer:
1227 reload Reload the buffer (does not work if
1228 the file was deleted).
1229 ask Ask the user what to do, as if there
1230 was no autocommand. Except that when
1231 only the timestamp changed nothing
1232 will happen.
1233 <empty> Nothing, the autocommand should do
1234 everything that needs to be done.
1235 The default is empty. If another (invalid) value is used then
1236 Vim behaves like it is empty, there is no warning message.
1237
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001238 *v:fname_in* *fname_in-variable*
1239v:fname_in The name of the input file. Only valid while evaluating:
1240 option used for ~
1241 'charconvert' file to be converted
1242 'diffexpr' original file
1243 'patchexpr' original file
1244 'printexpr' file to be printed
1245
1246 *v:fname_out* *fname_out-variable*
1247v:fname_out The name of the output file. Only valid while
1248 evaluating:
1249 option used for ~
1250 'charconvert' resulting converted file (*)
1251 'diffexpr' output of diff
1252 'patchexpr' resulting patched file
1253 (*) When doing conversion for a write command (e.g., ":w
1254 file") it will be equal to v:fname_in. When doing conversion
1255 for a read command (e.g., ":e file") it will be a temporary
1256 file and different from v:fname_in.
1257
1258 *v:fname_new* *fname_new-variable*
1259v:fname_new The name of the new version of the file. Only valid while
1260 evaluating 'diffexpr'.
1261
1262 *v:fname_diff* *fname_diff-variable*
1263v:fname_diff The name of the diff (patch) file. Only valid while
1264 evaluating 'patchexpr'.
1265
1266 *v:folddashes* *folddashes-variable*
1267v:folddashes Used for 'foldtext': dashes representing foldlevel of a closed
1268 fold.
Bram Moolenaar7b0294c2004-10-11 10:16:09 +00001269 Read-only in the |sandbox|. |fold-foldtext|
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001270
1271 *v:foldlevel* *foldlevel-variable*
1272v:foldlevel Used for 'foldtext': foldlevel of closed fold.
Bram Moolenaar7b0294c2004-10-11 10:16:09 +00001273 Read-only in the |sandbox|. |fold-foldtext|
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001274
1275 *v:foldend* *foldend-variable*
1276v:foldend Used for 'foldtext': last line of closed fold.
Bram Moolenaar7b0294c2004-10-11 10:16:09 +00001277 Read-only in the |sandbox|. |fold-foldtext|
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001278
1279 *v:foldstart* *foldstart-variable*
1280v:foldstart Used for 'foldtext': first line of closed fold.
Bram Moolenaar7b0294c2004-10-11 10:16:09 +00001281 Read-only in the |sandbox|. |fold-foldtext|
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001282
Bram Moolenaar843ee412004-06-30 16:16:41 +00001283 *v:insertmode* *insertmode-variable*
1284v:insertmode Used for the |InsertEnter| and |InsertChange| autocommand
1285 events. Values:
1286 i Insert mode
1287 r Replace mode
1288 v Virtual Replace mode
1289
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00001290 *v:key* *key-variable*
1291v:key Key of the current item of a Dictionary. Only valid while
1292 evaluating the expression used with |map()| and |filter()|.
1293 Read-only.
1294
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001295 *v:lang* *lang-variable*
1296v:lang The current locale setting for messages of the runtime
1297 environment. This allows Vim scripts to be aware of the
1298 current language. Technical: it's the value of LC_MESSAGES.
1299 The value is system dependent.
1300 This variable can not be set directly, use the |:language|
1301 command.
1302 It can be different from |v:ctype| when messages are desired
1303 in a different language than what is used for character
1304 encoding. See |multi-lang|.
1305
1306 *v:lc_time* *lc_time-variable*
1307v:lc_time The current locale setting for time messages of the runtime
1308 environment. This allows Vim scripts to be aware of the
1309 current language. Technical: it's the value of LC_TIME.
1310 This variable can not be set directly, use the |:language|
1311 command. See |multi-lang|.
1312
1313 *v:lnum* *lnum-variable*
Bram Moolenaar7b0294c2004-10-11 10:16:09 +00001314v:lnum Line number for the 'foldexpr' |fold-expr| and 'indentexpr'
1315 expressions. Only valid while one of these expressions is
1316 being evaluated. Read-only when in the |sandbox|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001317
1318 *v:prevcount* *prevcount-variable*
1319v:prevcount The count given for the last but one Normal mode command.
1320 This is the v:count value of the previous command. Useful if
1321 you want to cancel Visual mode and then use the count. >
1322 :vmap % <Esc>:call MyFilter(v:prevcount)<CR>
1323< Read-only.
1324
Bram Moolenaar05159a02005-02-26 23:04:13 +00001325 *v:profiling* *profiling-variable*
1326v:profiling Normally zero. Set to one after using ":profile start".
1327 See |profiling|.
1328
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001329 *v:progname* *progname-variable*
1330v:progname Contains the name (with path removed) with which Vim was
1331 invoked. Allows you to do special initialisations for "view",
1332 "evim" etc., or any other name you might symlink to Vim.
1333 Read-only.
1334
1335 *v:register* *register-variable*
1336v:register The name of the register supplied to the last normal mode
1337 command. Empty if none were supplied. |getreg()| |setreg()|
1338
1339 *v:servername* *servername-variable*
1340v:servername The resulting registered |x11-clientserver| name if any.
1341 Read-only.
1342
1343 *v:shell_error* *shell_error-variable*
1344v:shell_error Result of the last shell command. When non-zero, the last
1345 shell command had an error. When zero, there was no problem.
1346 This only works when the shell returns the error code to Vim.
1347 The value -1 is often used when the command could not be
1348 executed. Read-only.
1349 Example: >
1350 :!mv foo bar
1351 :if v:shell_error
1352 : echo 'could not rename "foo" to "bar"!'
1353 :endif
1354< "shell_error" also works, for backwards compatibility.
1355
1356 *v:statusmsg* *statusmsg-variable*
1357v:statusmsg Last given status message. It's allowed to set this variable.
1358
1359 *v:termresponse* *termresponse-variable*
1360v:termresponse The escape sequence returned by the terminal for the |t_RV|
1361 termcap entry. It is set when Vim receives an escape sequence
1362 that starts with ESC [ or CSI and ends in a 'c', with only
1363 digits, ';' and '.' in between.
1364 When this option is set, the TermResponse autocommand event is
1365 fired, so that you can react to the response from the
1366 terminal.
1367 The response from a new xterm is: "<Esc>[ Pp ; Pv ; Pc c". Pp
1368 is the terminal type: 0 for vt100 and 1 for vt220. Pv is the
1369 patch level (since this was introduced in patch 95, it's
1370 always 95 or bigger). Pc is always zero.
1371 {only when compiled with |+termresponse| feature}
1372
1373 *v:this_session* *this_session-variable*
1374v:this_session Full filename of the last loaded or saved session file. See
1375 |:mksession|. It is allowed to set this variable. When no
1376 session file has been saved, this variable is empty.
1377 "this_session" also works, for backwards compatibility.
1378
1379 *v:throwpoint* *throwpoint-variable*
1380v:throwpoint The point where the exception most recently caught and not
1381 finished was thrown. Not set when commands are typed. See
1382 also |v:exception| and |throw-variables|.
1383 Example: >
1384 :try
1385 : throw "oops"
1386 :catch /.*/
1387 : echo "Exception from" v:throwpoint
1388 :endtry
1389< Output: "Exception from test.vim, line 2"
1390
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00001391 *v:val* *val-variable*
1392v:val Value of the current item of a List or Dictionary. Only valid
1393 while evaluating the expression used with |map()| and
1394 |filter()|. Read-only.
1395
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001396 *v:version* *version-variable*
1397v:version Version number of Vim: Major version number times 100 plus
1398 minor version number. Version 5.0 is 500. Version 5.1 (5.01)
1399 is 501. Read-only. "version" also works, for backwards
1400 compatibility.
1401 Use |has()| to check if a certain patch was included, e.g.: >
1402 if has("patch123")
1403< Note that patch numbers are specific to the version, thus both
1404 version 5.0 and 5.1 may have a patch 123, but these are
1405 completely different.
1406
1407 *v:warningmsg* *warningmsg-variable*
1408v:warningmsg Last given warning message. It's allowed to set this variable.
1409
1410==============================================================================
14114. Builtin Functions *functions*
1412
1413See |function-list| for a list grouped by what the function is used for.
1414
1415(Use CTRL-] on the function name to jump to the full explanation)
1416
1417USAGE RESULT DESCRIPTION ~
1418
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00001419add( {list}, {item}) List append {item} to List {list}
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001420append( {lnum}, {string}) Number append {string} below line {lnum}
Bram Moolenaar7c626922005-02-07 22:01:03 +00001421append( {lnum}, {list}) Number append lines {list} below line {lnum}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001422argc() Number number of files in the argument list
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001423argidx() Number current index in the argument list
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001424argv( {nr}) String {nr} entry of the argument list
1425browse( {save}, {title}, {initdir}, {default})
1426 String put up a file requester
Bram Moolenaar7b0294c2004-10-11 10:16:09 +00001427browsedir( {title}, {initdir}) String put up a directory requester
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001428bufexists( {expr}) Number TRUE if buffer {expr} exists
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001429buflisted( {expr}) Number TRUE if buffer {expr} is listed
1430bufloaded( {expr}) Number TRUE if buffer {expr} is loaded
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001431bufname( {expr}) String Name of the buffer {expr}
1432bufnr( {expr}) Number Number of the buffer {expr}
1433bufwinnr( {expr}) Number window number of buffer {expr}
1434byte2line( {byte}) Number line number at byte count {byte}
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001435byteidx( {expr}, {nr}) Number byte index of {nr}'th char in {expr}
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00001436call( {func}, {arglist} [, {dict}])
1437 any call {func} with arguments {arglist}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001438char2nr( {expr}) Number ASCII value of first char in {expr}
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001439cindent( {lnum}) Number C indent for line {lnum}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001440col( {expr}) Number column nr of cursor or mark
1441confirm( {msg} [, {choices} [, {default} [, {type}]]])
1442 Number number of choice picked by user
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001443copy( {expr}) any make a shallow copy of {expr}
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00001444count( {list}, {expr} [, {start} [, {ic}]])
1445 Number count how many {expr} are in {list}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001446cscope_connection( [{num} , {dbpath} [, {prepend}]])
1447 Number checks existence of cscope connection
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001448cursor( {lnum}, {col}) Number position cursor at {lnum}, {col}
1449deepcopy( {expr}) any make a full copy of {expr}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001450delete( {fname}) Number delete file {fname}
1451did_filetype() Number TRUE if FileType autocommand event used
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001452diff_filler( {lnum}) Number diff filler lines about {lnum}
1453diff_hlID( {lnum}, {col}) Number diff highlighting at {lnum}/{col}
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +00001454empty( {expr}) Number TRUE if {expr} is empty
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001455escape( {string}, {chars}) String escape {chars} in {string} with '\'
Bram Moolenaare2cc9702005-03-15 22:43:58 +00001456eval( {string}) any evaluate {string} into its value
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001457eventhandler( ) Number TRUE if inside an event handler
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001458executable( {expr}) Number 1 if executable {expr} exists
1459exists( {expr}) Number TRUE if {expr} exists
1460expand( {expr}) String expand special keywords in {expr}
1461filereadable( {file}) Number TRUE if {file} is a readable file
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00001462filter( {expr}, {string}) List/Dict remove items from {expr} where
1463 {string} is 0
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00001464finddir( {name}[, {path}[, {count}]])
1465 String Find directory {name} in {path}
Bram Moolenaar89cb5e02004-07-19 20:55:54 +00001466findfile( {name}[, {path}[, {count}]])
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00001467 String Find file {name} in {path}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001468filewritable( {file}) Number TRUE if {file} is a writable file
1469fnamemodify( {fname}, {mods}) String modify file name
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001470foldclosed( {lnum}) Number first line of fold at {lnum} if closed
1471foldclosedend( {lnum}) Number last line of fold at {lnum} if closed
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001472foldlevel( {lnum}) Number fold level at {lnum}
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001473foldtext( ) String line displayed for closed fold
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001474foreground( ) Number bring the Vim window to the foreground
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001475function( {name}) Funcref reference to function {name}
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00001476get( {list}, {idx} [, {def}]) any get item {idx} from {list} or {def}
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00001477get( {dict}, {key} [, {def}]) any get item {key} from {dict} or {def}
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001478getchar( [expr]) Number get one character from the user
1479getcharmod( ) Number modifiers for the last typed character
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001480getbufvar( {expr}, {varname}) variable {varname} in buffer {expr}
1481getcmdline() String return the current command-line
1482getcmdpos() Number return cursor position in command-line
1483getcwd() String the current working directory
Bram Moolenaar5eb86f92004-07-26 12:53:41 +00001484getfperm( {fname}) String file permissions of file {fname}
1485getfsize( {fname}) Number size in bytes of file {fname}
Bram Moolenaard8b0cf12004-12-12 11:33:30 +00001486getfontname( [{name}]) String name of font being used
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001487getftime( {fname}) Number last modification time of file
Bram Moolenaar5eb86f92004-07-26 12:53:41 +00001488getftype( {fname}) String description of type of file {fname}
Bram Moolenaar7c626922005-02-07 22:01:03 +00001489getline( {lnum}) String line {lnum} of current buffer
1490getline( {lnum}, {end}) List lines {lnum} to {end} of current buffer
Bram Moolenaar68b76a62005-03-25 21:53:48 +00001491getqflist() List list of quickfix items
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001492getreg( [{regname}]) String contents of register
1493getregtype( [{regname}]) String type of register
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001494getwinposx() Number X coord in pixels of GUI Vim window
1495getwinposy() Number Y coord in pixels of GUI Vim window
1496getwinvar( {nr}, {varname}) variable {varname} in window {nr}
1497glob( {expr}) String expand file wildcards in {expr}
1498globpath( {path}, {expr}) String do glob({expr}) for all dirs in {path}
1499has( {feature}) Number TRUE if feature {feature} supported
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00001500has_key( {dict}, {key}) Number TRUE if {dict} has entry {key}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001501hasmapto( {what} [, {mode}]) Number TRUE if mapping to {what} exists
1502histadd( {history},{item}) String add an item to a history
1503histdel( {history} [, {item}]) String remove an item from a history
1504histget( {history} [, {index}]) String get the item {index} from a history
1505histnr( {history}) Number highest index of a history
1506hlexists( {name}) Number TRUE if highlight group {name} exists
1507hlID( {name}) Number syntax ID of highlight group {name}
1508hostname() String name of the machine Vim is running on
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001509iconv( {expr}, {from}, {to}) String convert encoding of {expr}
1510indent( {lnum}) Number indent of line {lnum}
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00001511index( {list}, {expr} [, {start} [, {ic}]])
1512 Number index in {list} where {expr} appears
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001513input( {prompt} [, {text}]) String get input from the user
1514inputdialog( {p} [, {t} [, {c}]]) String like input() but in a GUI dialog
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001515inputrestore() Number restore typeahead
1516inputsave() Number save and clear typeahead
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001517inputsecret( {prompt} [, {text}]) String like input() but hiding the text
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001518insert( {list}, {item} [, {idx}]) List insert {item} in {list} [before {idx}]
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001519isdirectory( {directory}) Number TRUE if {directory} is a directory
Bram Moolenaar2ce06f62005-01-31 19:19:04 +00001520islocked( {expr}) Number TRUE if {expr} is locked
Bram Moolenaar677ee682005-01-27 14:41:15 +00001521items( {dict}) List List of key-value pairs in {dict}
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00001522join( {list} [, {sep}]) String join {list} items into one String
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +00001523keys( {dict}) List List of keys in {dict}
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001524len( {expr}) Number the length of {expr}
1525libcall( {lib}, {func}, {arg}) String call {func} in library {lib} with {arg}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001526libcallnr( {lib}, {func}, {arg}) Number idem, but return a Number
1527line( {expr}) Number line nr of cursor, last line or mark
1528line2byte( {lnum}) Number byte count of line {lnum}
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001529lispindent( {lnum}) Number Lisp indent for line {lnum}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001530localtime() Number current time
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00001531map( {expr}, {string}) List/Dict change each item in {expr} to {expr}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001532maparg( {name}[, {mode}]) String rhs of mapping {name} in mode {mode}
1533mapcheck( {name}[, {mode}]) String check for mappings matching {name}
Bram Moolenaar89cb5e02004-07-19 20:55:54 +00001534match( {expr}, {pat}[, {start}[, {count}]])
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001535 Number position where {pat} matches in {expr}
Bram Moolenaar89cb5e02004-07-19 20:55:54 +00001536matchend( {expr}, {pat}[, {start}[, {count}]])
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001537 Number position where {pat} ends in {expr}
Bram Moolenaar3a7c85b2005-02-05 21:39:53 +00001538matchlist( {expr}, {pat}[, {start}[, {count}]])
1539 List match and submatches of {pat} in {expr}
Bram Moolenaar89cb5e02004-07-19 20:55:54 +00001540matchstr( {expr}, {pat}[, {start}[, {count}]])
1541 String {count}'th match of {pat} in {expr}
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +00001542max({list}) Number maximum value of items in {list}
1543min({list}) Number minumum value of items in {list}
Bram Moolenaar26a60b42005-02-22 08:49:11 +00001544mkdir({name} [, {path} [, {prot}]])
1545 Number create directory {name}
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001546mode() String current editing mode
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001547nextnonblank( {lnum}) Number line nr of non-blank line >= {lnum}
1548nr2char( {expr}) String single char with ASCII value {expr}
1549prevnonblank( {lnum}) Number line nr of non-blank line <= {lnum}
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +00001550range( {expr} [, {max} [, {stride}]])
1551 List items from {expr} to {max}
Bram Moolenaar26a60b42005-02-22 08:49:11 +00001552readfile({fname} [, {binary} [, {max}]])
1553 List get list of lines from file {fname}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001554remote_expr( {server}, {string} [, {idvar}])
1555 String send expression
1556remote_foreground( {server}) Number bring Vim server to the foreground
1557remote_peek( {serverid} [, {retvar}])
1558 Number check for reply string
1559remote_read( {serverid}) String read reply string
1560remote_send( {server}, {string} [, {idvar}])
1561 String send key sequence
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +00001562remove( {list}, {idx} [, {end}]) any remove items {idx}-{end} from {list}
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +00001563remove( {dict}, {key}) any remove entry {key} from {dict}
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001564rename( {from}, {to}) Number rename (move) file from {from} to {to}
1565repeat( {expr}, {count}) String repeat {expr} {count} times
1566resolve( {filename}) String get filename a shortcut points to
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00001567reverse( {list}) List reverse {list} in-place
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001568search( {pattern} [, {flags}]) Number search for {pattern}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001569searchpair( {start}, {middle}, {end} [, {flags} [, {skip}]])
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001570 Number search for other end of start/end pair
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001571server2client( {clientid}, {string})
1572 Number send reply string
1573serverlist() String get a list of available servers
1574setbufvar( {expr}, {varname}, {val}) set {varname} in buffer {expr} to {val}
1575setcmdpos( {pos}) Number set cursor position in command-line
1576setline( {lnum}, {line}) Number set line {lnum} to {line}
Bram Moolenaar68b76a62005-03-25 21:53:48 +00001577setqflist( {list} ) Number set list of quickfix items using {list}
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001578setreg( {n}, {v}[, {opt}]) Number set register to value and type
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001579setwinvar( {nr}, {varname}, {val}) set {varname} in window {nr} to {val}
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001580simplify( {filename}) String simplify filename as much as possible
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00001581sort( {list} [, {func}]) List sort {list}, using {func} to compare
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00001582split( {expr} [, {pat}]) List make List from {pat} separated {expr}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001583strftime( {format}[, {time}]) String time in specified format
Bram Moolenaar8f999f12005-01-25 22:12:55 +00001584stridx( {haystack}, {needle}[, {start}])
1585 Number index of {needle} in {haystack}
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00001586string( {expr}) String String representation of {expr} value
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001587strlen( {expr}) Number length of the String {expr}
1588strpart( {src}, {start}[, {len}])
1589 String {len} characters of {src} at {start}
Bram Moolenaar677ee682005-01-27 14:41:15 +00001590strridx( {haystack}, {needle} [, {start}])
1591 Number last index of {needle} in {haystack}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001592strtrans( {expr}) String translate string to make it printable
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001593submatch( {nr}) String specific match in ":substitute"
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001594substitute( {expr}, {pat}, {sub}, {flags})
1595 String all {pat} in {expr} replaced with {sub}
Bram Moolenaar47136d72004-10-12 20:02:24 +00001596synID( {lnum}, {col}, {trans}) Number syntax ID at {lnum} and {col}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001597synIDattr( {synID}, {what} [, {mode}])
1598 String attribute {what} of syntax ID {synID}
1599synIDtrans( {synID}) Number translated syntax ID of {synID}
Bram Moolenaarc0197e22004-09-13 20:26:32 +00001600system( {expr} [, {input}]) String output of shell command/filter {expr}
Bram Moolenaare2cc9702005-03-15 22:43:58 +00001601taglist({expr}) List list of tags matching {expr}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001602tempname() String name for a temporary file
1603tolower( {expr}) String the String {expr} switched to lowercase
1604toupper( {expr}) String the String {expr} switched to uppercase
Bram Moolenaar8299df92004-07-10 09:47:34 +00001605tr( {src}, {fromstr}, {tostr}) String translate chars of {src} in {fromstr}
1606 to chars in {tostr}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001607type( {name}) Number type of variable {name}
Bram Moolenaar677ee682005-01-27 14:41:15 +00001608values( {dict}) List List of values in {dict}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001609virtcol( {expr}) Number screen column of cursor or mark
1610visualmode( [expr]) String last visual mode used
1611winbufnr( {nr}) Number buffer number of window {nr}
1612wincol() Number window column of the cursor
1613winheight( {nr}) Number height of window {nr}
1614winline() Number window line of the cursor
1615winnr() Number number of current window
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001616winrestcmd() String returns command to restore window sizes
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001617winwidth( {nr}) Number width of window {nr}
Bram Moolenaar3a7c85b2005-02-05 21:39:53 +00001618writefile({list}, {fname} [, {binary}])
1619 Number write list of lines to file {fname}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001620
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00001621add({list}, {expr}) *add()*
1622 Append the item {expr} to List {list}. Returns the resulting
1623 List. Examples: >
1624 :let alist = add([1, 2, 3], item)
1625 :call add(mylist, "woodstock")
1626< Note that when {expr} is a List it is appended as a single
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001627 item. Use |extend()| to concatenate Lists.
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +00001628 Use |insert()| to add an item at another position.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001629
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00001630
1631append({lnum}, {expr}) *append()*
Bram Moolenaar748bf032005-02-02 23:04:36 +00001632 When {expr} is a List: Append each item of the List as a text
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00001633 line below line {lnum} in the current buffer.
Bram Moolenaar748bf032005-02-02 23:04:36 +00001634 Otherwise append {expr} as one text line below line {lnum} in
1635 the current buffer.
1636 {lnum} can be zero to insert a line before the first one.
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00001637 Returns 1 for failure ({lnum} out of range or out of memory),
1638 0 for success. Example: >
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001639 :let failed = append(line('$'), "# THE END")
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00001640 :let failed = append(0, ["Chapter 1", "the beginning"])
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001641<
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001642 *argc()*
1643argc() The result is the number of files in the argument list of the
1644 current window. See |arglist|.
1645
1646 *argidx()*
1647argidx() The result is the current index in the argument list. 0 is
1648 the first file. argc() - 1 is the last one. See |arglist|.
1649
1650 *argv()*
1651argv({nr}) The result is the {nr}th file in the argument list of the
1652 current window. See |arglist|. "argv(0)" is the first one.
1653 Example: >
1654 :let i = 0
1655 :while i < argc()
1656 : let f = escape(argv(i), '. ')
1657 : exe 'amenu Arg.' . f . ' :e ' . f . '<CR>'
1658 : let i = i + 1
1659 :endwhile
1660<
1661 *browse()*
1662browse({save}, {title}, {initdir}, {default})
1663 Put up a file requester. This only works when "has("browse")"
1664 returns non-zero (only in some GUI versions).
1665 The input fields are:
1666 {save} when non-zero, select file to write
1667 {title} title for the requester
1668 {initdir} directory to start browsing in
1669 {default} default file name
1670 When the "Cancel" button is hit, something went wrong, or
1671 browsing is not possible, an empty string is returned.
1672
Bram Moolenaar7b0294c2004-10-11 10:16:09 +00001673 *browsedir()*
1674browsedir({title}, {initdir})
1675 Put up a directory requester. This only works when
1676 "has("browse")" returns non-zero (only in some GUI versions).
1677 On systems where a directory browser is not supported a file
1678 browser is used. In that case: select a file in the directory
1679 to be used.
1680 The input fields are:
1681 {title} title for the requester
1682 {initdir} directory to start browsing in
1683 When the "Cancel" button is hit, something went wrong, or
1684 browsing is not possible, an empty string is returned.
1685
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001686bufexists({expr}) *bufexists()*
1687 The result is a Number, which is non-zero if a buffer called
1688 {expr} exists.
Bram Moolenaar69a7cb42004-06-20 12:51:53 +00001689 If the {expr} argument is a number, buffer numbers are used.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001690 If the {expr} argument is a string it must match a buffer name
Bram Moolenaar69a7cb42004-06-20 12:51:53 +00001691 exactly. The name can be:
1692 - Relative to the current directory.
1693 - A full path.
1694 - The name of a buffer with 'filetype' set to "nofile".
1695 - A URL name.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001696 Unlisted buffers will be found.
1697 Note that help files are listed by their short name in the
1698 output of |:buffers|, but bufexists() requires using their
1699 long name to be able to find them.
1700 Use "bufexists(0)" to test for the existence of an alternate
1701 file name.
1702 *buffer_exists()*
1703 Obsolete name: buffer_exists().
1704
1705buflisted({expr}) *buflisted()*
1706 The result is a Number, which is non-zero if a buffer called
1707 {expr} exists and is listed (has the 'buflisted' option set).
Bram Moolenaar69a7cb42004-06-20 12:51:53 +00001708 The {expr} argument is used like with |bufexists()|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001709
1710bufloaded({expr}) *bufloaded()*
1711 The result is a Number, which is non-zero if a buffer called
1712 {expr} exists and is loaded (shown in a window or hidden).
Bram Moolenaar69a7cb42004-06-20 12:51:53 +00001713 The {expr} argument is used like with |bufexists()|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001714
1715bufname({expr}) *bufname()*
1716 The result is the name of a buffer, as it is displayed by the
1717 ":ls" command.
1718 If {expr} is a Number, that buffer number's name is given.
1719 Number zero is the alternate buffer for the current window.
1720 If {expr} is a String, it is used as a |file-pattern| to match
1721 with the buffer names. This is always done like 'magic' is
1722 set and 'cpoptions' is empty. When there is more than one
1723 match an empty string is returned.
1724 "" or "%" can be used for the current buffer, "#" for the
1725 alternate buffer.
1726 A full match is preferred, otherwise a match at the start, end
1727 or middle of the buffer name is accepted.
1728 Listed buffers are found first. If there is a single match
1729 with a listed buffer, that one is returned. Next unlisted
1730 buffers are searched for.
1731 If the {expr} is a String, but you want to use it as a buffer
1732 number, force it to be a Number by adding zero to it: >
1733 :echo bufname("3" + 0)
1734< If the buffer doesn't exist, or doesn't have a name, an empty
1735 string is returned. >
1736 bufname("#") alternate buffer name
1737 bufname(3) name of buffer 3
1738 bufname("%") name of current buffer
1739 bufname("file2") name of buffer where "file2" matches.
1740< *buffer_name()*
1741 Obsolete name: buffer_name().
1742
1743 *bufnr()*
1744bufnr({expr}) The result is the number of a buffer, as it is displayed by
1745 the ":ls" command. For the use of {expr}, see |bufname()|
1746 above. If the buffer doesn't exist, -1 is returned.
1747 bufnr("$") is the last buffer: >
1748 :let last_buffer = bufnr("$")
1749< The result is a Number, which is the highest buffer number
1750 of existing buffers. Note that not all buffers with a smaller
1751 number necessarily exist, because ":bwipeout" may have removed
1752 them. Use bufexists() to test for the existence of a buffer.
1753 *buffer_number()*
1754 Obsolete name: buffer_number().
1755 *last_buffer_nr()*
1756 Obsolete name for bufnr("$"): last_buffer_nr().
1757
1758bufwinnr({expr}) *bufwinnr()*
1759 The result is a Number, which is the number of the first
1760 window associated with buffer {expr}. For the use of {expr},
1761 see |bufname()| above. If buffer {expr} doesn't exist or
1762 there is no such window, -1 is returned. Example: >
1763
1764 echo "A window containing buffer 1 is " . (bufwinnr(1))
1765
1766< The number can be used with |CTRL-W_w| and ":wincmd w"
1767 |:wincmd|.
1768
1769
1770byte2line({byte}) *byte2line()*
1771 Return the line number that contains the character at byte
1772 count {byte} in the current buffer. This includes the
1773 end-of-line character, depending on the 'fileformat' option
1774 for the current buffer. The first character has byte count
1775 one.
1776 Also see |line2byte()|, |go| and |:goto|.
1777 {not available when compiled without the |+byte_offset|
1778 feature}
1779
Bram Moolenaarab79bcb2004-07-18 21:34:53 +00001780byteidx({expr}, {nr}) *byteidx()*
1781 Return byte index of the {nr}'th character in the string
1782 {expr}. Use zero for the first character, it returns zero.
1783 This function is only useful when there are multibyte
1784 characters, otherwise the returned value is equal to {nr}.
1785 Composing characters are counted as a separate character.
1786 Example : >
1787 echo matchstr(str, ".", byteidx(str, 3))
1788< will display the fourth character. Another way to do the
1789 same: >
1790 let s = strpart(str, byteidx(str, 3))
1791 echo strpart(s, 0, byteidx(s, 1))
1792< If there are less than {nr} characters -1 is returned.
1793 If there are exactly {nr} characters the length of the string
1794 is returned.
1795
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00001796call({func}, {arglist} [, {dict}]) *call()* *E699*
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +00001797 Call function {func} with the items in List {arglist} as
1798 arguments.
1799 {func} can either be a Funcref or the name of a function.
1800 a:firstline and a:lastline are set to the cursor line.
1801 Returns the return value of the called function.
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00001802 {dict} is for functions with the "dict" attribute. It will be
1803 used to set the local variable "self". |Dictionary-function|
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +00001804
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001805char2nr({expr}) *char2nr()*
1806 Return number value of the first char in {expr}. Examples: >
1807 char2nr(" ") returns 32
1808 char2nr("ABC") returns 65
1809< The current 'encoding' is used. Example for "utf-8": >
1810 char2nr("á") returns 225
1811 char2nr("á"[0]) returns 195
1812
1813cindent({lnum}) *cindent()*
1814 Get the amount of indent for line {lnum} according the C
1815 indenting rules, as with 'cindent'.
1816 The indent is counted in spaces, the value of 'tabstop' is
1817 relevant. {lnum} is used just like in |getline()|.
1818 When {lnum} is invalid or Vim was not compiled the |+cindent|
1819 feature, -1 is returned.
1820
1821 *col()*
Bram Moolenaarc0197e22004-09-13 20:26:32 +00001822col({expr}) The result is a Number, which is the byte index of the column
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001823 position given with {expr}. The accepted positions are:
1824 . the cursor position
1825 $ the end of the cursor line (the result is the
1826 number of characters in the cursor line plus one)
1827 'x position of mark x (if the mark is not set, 0 is
1828 returned)
1829 For the screen column position use |virtcol()|.
1830 Note that only marks in the current file can be used.
1831 Examples: >
1832 col(".") column of cursor
1833 col("$") length of cursor line plus one
1834 col("'t") column of mark t
1835 col("'" . markname) column of mark markname
1836< The first column is 1. 0 is returned for an error.
1837 For the cursor position, when 'virtualedit' is active, the
1838 column is one higher if the cursor is after the end of the
1839 line. This can be used to obtain the column in Insert mode: >
1840 :imap <F2> <C-O>:let save_ve = &ve<CR>
1841 \<C-O>:set ve=all<CR>
1842 \<C-O>:echo col(".") . "\n" <Bar>
1843 \let &ve = save_ve<CR>
1844<
1845 *confirm()*
1846confirm({msg} [, {choices} [, {default} [, {type}]]])
1847 Confirm() offers the user a dialog, from which a choice can be
1848 made. It returns the number of the choice. For the first
1849 choice this is 1.
1850 Note: confirm() is only supported when compiled with dialog
1851 support, see |+dialog_con| and |+dialog_gui|.
1852 {msg} is displayed in a |dialog| with {choices} as the
1853 alternatives. When {choices} is missing or empty, "&OK" is
1854 used (and translated).
1855 {msg} is a String, use '\n' to include a newline. Only on
1856 some systems the string is wrapped when it doesn't fit.
1857 {choices} is a String, with the individual choices separated
1858 by '\n', e.g. >
1859 confirm("Save changes?", "&Yes\n&No\n&Cancel")
1860< The letter after the '&' is the shortcut key for that choice.
1861 Thus you can type 'c' to select "Cancel". The shortcut does
1862 not need to be the first letter: >
1863 confirm("file has been modified", "&Save\nSave &All")
1864< For the console, the first letter of each choice is used as
1865 the default shortcut key.
1866 The optional {default} argument is the number of the choice
1867 that is made if the user hits <CR>. Use 1 to make the first
1868 choice the default one. Use 0 to not set a default. If
1869 {default} is omitted, 1 is used.
1870 The optional {type} argument gives the type of dialog. This
1871 is only used for the icon of the Win32 GUI. It can be one of
1872 these values: "Error", "Question", "Info", "Warning" or
1873 "Generic". Only the first character is relevant. When {type}
1874 is omitted, "Generic" is used.
1875 If the user aborts the dialog by pressing <Esc>, CTRL-C,
1876 or another valid interrupt key, confirm() returns 0.
1877
1878 An example: >
1879 :let choice = confirm("What do you want?", "&Apples\n&Oranges\n&Bananas", 2)
1880 :if choice == 0
1881 : echo "make up your mind!"
1882 :elseif choice == 3
1883 : echo "tasteful"
1884 :else
1885 : echo "I prefer bananas myself."
1886 :endif
1887< In a GUI dialog, buttons are used. The layout of the buttons
1888 depends on the 'v' flag in 'guioptions'. If it is included,
1889 the buttons are always put vertically. Otherwise, confirm()
1890 tries to put the buttons in one horizontal line. If they
1891 don't fit, a vertical layout is used anyway. For some systems
1892 the horizontal layout is always used.
1893
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001894 *copy()*
1895copy({expr}) Make a copy of {expr}. For Numbers and Strings this isn't
1896 different from using {expr} directly.
1897 When {expr} is a List a shallow copy is created. This means
1898 that the original List can be changed without changing the
1899 copy, and vise versa. But the items are identical, thus
1900 changing an item changes the contents of both Lists. Also see
1901 |deepcopy()|.
1902
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00001903count({comp}, {expr} [, {ic} [, {start}]]) *count()*
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +00001904 Return the number of times an item with value {expr} appears
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00001905 in List or Dictionary {comp}.
1906 If {start} is given then start with the item with this index.
1907 {start} can only be used with a List.
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +00001908 When {ic} is given and it's non-zero then case is ignored.
1909
1910
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001911 *cscope_connection()*
1912cscope_connection([{num} , {dbpath} [, {prepend}]])
1913 Checks for the existence of a |cscope| connection. If no
1914 parameters are specified, then the function returns:
1915 0, if cscope was not available (not compiled in), or
1916 if there are no cscope connections;
1917 1, if there is at least one cscope connection.
1918
1919 If parameters are specified, then the value of {num}
1920 determines how existence of a cscope connection is checked:
1921
1922 {num} Description of existence check
1923 ----- ------------------------------
1924 0 Same as no parameters (e.g., "cscope_connection()").
1925 1 Ignore {prepend}, and use partial string matches for
1926 {dbpath}.
1927 2 Ignore {prepend}, and use exact string matches for
1928 {dbpath}.
1929 3 Use {prepend}, use partial string matches for both
1930 {dbpath} and {prepend}.
1931 4 Use {prepend}, use exact string matches for both
1932 {dbpath} and {prepend}.
1933
1934 Note: All string comparisons are case sensitive!
1935
1936 Examples. Suppose we had the following (from ":cs show"): >
1937
1938 # pid database name prepend path
1939 0 27664 cscope.out /usr/local
1940<
1941 Invocation Return Val ~
1942 ---------- ---------- >
1943 cscope_connection() 1
1944 cscope_connection(1, "out") 1
1945 cscope_connection(2, "out") 0
1946 cscope_connection(3, "out") 0
1947 cscope_connection(3, "out", "local") 1
1948 cscope_connection(4, "out") 0
1949 cscope_connection(4, "out", "local") 0
1950 cscope_connection(4, "cscope.out", "/usr/local") 1
1951<
1952cursor({lnum}, {col}) *cursor()*
1953 Positions the cursor at the column {col} in the line {lnum}.
1954 Does not change the jumplist.
1955 If {lnum} is greater than the number of lines in the buffer,
1956 the cursor will be positioned at the last line in the buffer.
1957 If {lnum} is zero, the cursor will stay in the current line.
1958 If {col} is greater than the number of characters in the line,
1959 the cursor will be positioned at the last character in the
1960 line.
1961 If {col} is zero, the cursor will stay in the current column.
1962
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001963
Bram Moolenaar4399ef42005-02-12 14:29:27 +00001964deepcopy({expr}[, {noref}]) *deepcopy()* *E698*
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001965 Make a copy of {expr}. For Numbers and Strings this isn't
1966 different from using {expr} directly.
1967 When {expr} is a List a full copy is created. This means
1968 that the original List can be changed without changing the
1969 copy, and vise versa. When an item is a List, a copy for it
1970 is made, recursively. Thus changing an item in the copy does
1971 not change the contents of the original List.
Bram Moolenaar4399ef42005-02-12 14:29:27 +00001972 When {noref} is omitted or zero a contained List or Dictionary
1973 is only copied once. All references point to this single
1974 copy. With {noref} set to 1 every occurrence of a List or
1975 Dictionary results in a new copy. This also means that a
1976 cyclic reference causes deepcopy() to fail.
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00001977 *E724*
1978 Nesting is possible up to 100 levels. When there is an item
Bram Moolenaar4399ef42005-02-12 14:29:27 +00001979 that refers back to a higher level making a deep copy with
1980 {noref} set to 1 will fail.
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001981 Also see |copy()|.
1982
1983delete({fname}) *delete()*
1984 Deletes the file by the name {fname}. The result is a Number,
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001985 which is 0 if the file was deleted successfully, and non-zero
1986 when the deletion failed.
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001987 Use |remove()| to delete an item from a List.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001988
1989 *did_filetype()*
1990did_filetype() Returns non-zero when autocommands are being executed and the
1991 FileType event has been triggered at least once. Can be used
1992 to avoid triggering the FileType event again in the scripts
1993 that detect the file type. |FileType|
1994 When editing another file, the counter is reset, thus this
1995 really checks if the FileType event has been triggered for the
1996 current buffer. This allows an autocommand that starts
1997 editing another buffer to set 'filetype' and load a syntax
1998 file.
1999
Bram Moolenaar47136d72004-10-12 20:02:24 +00002000diff_filler({lnum}) *diff_filler()*
2001 Returns the number of filler lines above line {lnum}.
2002 These are the lines that were inserted at this point in
2003 another diff'ed window. These filler lines are shown in the
2004 display but don't exist in the buffer.
2005 {lnum} is used like with |getline()|. Thus "." is the current
2006 line, "'m" mark m, etc.
2007 Returns 0 if the current window is not in diff mode.
2008
2009diff_hlID({lnum}, {col}) *diff_hlID()*
2010 Returns the highlight ID for diff mode at line {lnum} column
2011 {col} (byte index). When the current line does not have a
2012 diff change zero is returned.
2013 {lnum} is used like with |getline()|. Thus "." is the current
2014 line, "'m" mark m, etc.
2015 {col} is 1 for the leftmost column, {lnum} is 1 for the first
2016 line.
2017 The highlight ID can be used with |synIDattr()| to obtain
2018 syntax information about the highlighting.
2019
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +00002020empty({expr}) *empty()*
2021 Return the Number 1 if {expr} is empty, zero otherwise.
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00002022 A List or Dictionary is empty when it does not have any items.
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +00002023 A Number is empty when its value is zero.
2024 For a long List this is much faster then comparing the length
2025 with zero.
2026
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002027escape({string}, {chars}) *escape()*
2028 Escape the characters in {chars} that occur in {string} with a
2029 backslash. Example: >
2030 :echo escape('c:\program files\vim', ' \')
2031< results in: >
2032 c:\\program\ files\\vim
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00002033
2034< *eval()*
2035eval({string}) Evaluate {string} and return the result. Especially useful to
2036 turn the result of |string()| back into the original value.
2037 This works for Numbers, Strings and composites of them.
2038 Also works for Funcrefs that refer to existing functions.
2039
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002040eventhandler() *eventhandler()*
2041 Returns 1 when inside an event handler. That is that Vim got
2042 interrupted while waiting for the user to type a character,
2043 e.g., when dropping a file on Vim. This means interactive
2044 commands cannot be used. Otherwise zero is returned.
2045
2046executable({expr}) *executable()*
2047 This function checks if an executable with the name {expr}
2048 exists. {expr} must be the name of the program without any
Bram Moolenaarf4b8e572004-06-24 15:53:16 +00002049 arguments.
2050 executable() uses the value of $PATH and/or the normal
2051 searchpath for programs. *PATHEXT*
2052 On MS-DOS and MS-Windows the ".exe", ".bat", etc. can
2053 optionally be included. Then the extensions in $PATHEXT are
2054 tried. Thus if "foo.exe" does not exist, "foo.exe.bat" can be
2055 found. If $PATHEXT is not set then ".exe;.com;.bat;.cmd" is
2056 used. A dot by itself can be used in $PATHEXT to try using
2057 the name without an extension. When 'shell' looks like a
2058 Unix shell, then the name is also tried without adding an
2059 extension.
2060 On MS-DOS and MS-Windows it only checks if the file exists and
2061 is not a directory, not if it's really executable.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002062 The result is a Number:
2063 1 exists
2064 0 does not exist
2065 -1 not implemented on this system
2066
2067 *exists()*
2068exists({expr}) The result is a Number, which is non-zero if {expr} is
2069 defined, zero otherwise. The {expr} argument is a string,
2070 which contains one of these:
2071 &option-name Vim option (only checks if it exists,
2072 not if it really works)
2073 +option-name Vim option that works.
2074 $ENVNAME environment variable (could also be
2075 done by comparing with an empty
2076 string)
2077 *funcname built-in function (see |functions|)
2078 or user defined function (see
2079 |user-functions|).
2080 varname internal variable (see
Bram Moolenaar3a7c85b2005-02-05 21:39:53 +00002081 |internal-variables|). Also works
2082 for |curly-braces-names|, Dictionary
2083 entries, List items, etc. Beware that
2084 this may cause functions to be
2085 invoked cause an error message for an
2086 invalid expression.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002087 :cmdname Ex command: built-in command, user
2088 command or command modifier |:command|.
2089 Returns:
2090 1 for match with start of a command
2091 2 full match with a command
2092 3 matches several user commands
2093 To check for a supported command
2094 always check the return value to be 2.
2095 #event autocommand defined for this event
2096 #event#pattern autocommand defined for this event and
2097 pattern (the pattern is taken
2098 literally and compared to the
2099 autocommand patterns character by
2100 character)
2101 For checking for a supported feature use |has()|.
2102
2103 Examples: >
2104 exists("&shortname")
2105 exists("$HOSTNAME")
2106 exists("*strftime")
2107 exists("*s:MyFunc")
2108 exists("bufcount")
2109 exists(":Make")
2110 exists("#CursorHold");
2111 exists("#BufReadPre#*.gz")
2112< There must be no space between the symbol (&/$/*/#) and the
2113 name.
2114 Note that the argument must be a string, not the name of the
2115 variable itself! For example: >
2116 exists(bufcount)
2117< This doesn't check for existence of the "bufcount" variable,
2118 but gets the contents of "bufcount", and checks if that
2119 exists.
2120
2121expand({expr} [, {flag}]) *expand()*
2122 Expand wildcards and the following special keywords in {expr}.
2123 The result is a String.
2124
2125 When there are several matches, they are separated by <NL>
2126 characters. [Note: in version 5.0 a space was used, which
2127 caused problems when a file name contains a space]
2128
2129 If the expansion fails, the result is an empty string. A name
2130 for a non-existing file is not included.
2131
2132 When {expr} starts with '%', '#' or '<', the expansion is done
2133 like for the |cmdline-special| variables with their associated
2134 modifiers. Here is a short overview:
2135
2136 % current file name
2137 # alternate file name
2138 #n alternate file name n
2139 <cfile> file name under the cursor
2140 <afile> autocmd file name
2141 <abuf> autocmd buffer number (as a String!)
2142 <amatch> autocmd matched name
2143 <sfile> sourced script file name
2144 <cword> word under the cursor
2145 <cWORD> WORD under the cursor
2146 <client> the {clientid} of the last received
2147 message |server2client()|
2148 Modifiers:
2149 :p expand to full path
2150 :h head (last path component removed)
2151 :t tail (last path component only)
2152 :r root (one extension removed)
2153 :e extension only
2154
2155 Example: >
2156 :let &tags = expand("%:p:h") . "/tags"
2157< Note that when expanding a string that starts with '%', '#' or
2158 '<', any following text is ignored. This does NOT work: >
2159 :let doesntwork = expand("%:h.bak")
2160< Use this: >
2161 :let doeswork = expand("%:h") . ".bak"
2162< Also note that expanding "<cfile>" and others only returns the
2163 referenced file name without further expansion. If "<cfile>"
2164 is "~/.cshrc", you need to do another expand() to have the
2165 "~/" expanded into the path of the home directory: >
2166 :echo expand(expand("<cfile>"))
2167<
2168 There cannot be white space between the variables and the
2169 following modifier. The |fnamemodify()| function can be used
2170 to modify normal file names.
2171
2172 When using '%' or '#', and the current or alternate file name
2173 is not defined, an empty string is used. Using "%:p" in a
2174 buffer with no name, results in the current directory, with a
2175 '/' added.
2176
2177 When {expr} does not start with '%', '#' or '<', it is
2178 expanded like a file name is expanded on the command line.
2179 'suffixes' and 'wildignore' are used, unless the optional
2180 {flag} argument is given and it is non-zero. Names for
2181 non-existing files are included.
2182
2183 Expand() can also be used to expand variables and environment
2184 variables that are only known in a shell. But this can be
2185 slow, because a shell must be started. See |expr-env-expand|.
2186 The expanded variable is still handled like a list of file
2187 names. When an environment variable cannot be expanded, it is
2188 left unchanged. Thus ":echo expand('$FOOBAR')" results in
2189 "$FOOBAR".
2190
2191 See |glob()| for finding existing files. See |system()| for
2192 getting the raw output of an external command.
2193
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00002194extend({expr1}, {expr2} [, {expr3}]) *extend()*
2195 {expr1} and {expr2} must be both Lists or both Dictionaries.
2196
2197 If they are Lists: Append {expr2} to {expr1}.
2198 If {expr3} is given insert the items of {expr2} before item
2199 {expr3} in {expr1}. When {expr3} is zero insert before the
2200 first item. When {expr3} is equal to len({expr1}) then
2201 {expr2} is appended.
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +00002202 Examples: >
2203 :echo sort(extend(mylist, [7, 5]))
2204 :call extend(mylist, [2, 3], 1)
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00002205< Use |add()| to concatenate one item to a list. To concatenate
2206 two lists into a new list use the + operator: >
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +00002207 :let newlist = [1, 2, 3] + [4, 5]
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00002208<
2209 If they are Dictionaries:
2210 Add all entries from {expr2} to {expr1}.
2211 If a key exists in both {expr1} and {expr2} then {expr3} is
2212 used to decide what to do:
2213 {expr3} = "keep": keep the value of {expr1}
2214 {expr3} = "force": use the value of {expr2}
Bram Moolenaar383f9bc2005-01-19 22:18:32 +00002215 {expr3} = "error": give an error message *E737*
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00002216 When {expr3} is omitted then "force" is assumed.
2217
2218 {expr1} is changed when {expr2} is not empty. If necessary
2219 make a copy of {expr1} first.
2220 {expr2} remains unchanged.
2221 Returns {expr1}.
2222
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +00002223
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002224filereadable({file}) *filereadable()*
2225 The result is a Number, which is TRUE when a file with the
2226 name {file} exists, and can be read. If {file} doesn't exist,
2227 or is a directory, the result is FALSE. {file} is any
2228 expression, which is used as a String.
2229 *file_readable()*
2230 Obsolete name: file_readable().
2231
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00002232
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00002233filter({expr}, {string}) *filter()*
2234 {expr} must be a List or a Dictionary.
2235 For each item in {expr} evaluate {string} and when the result
2236 is zero remove the item from the List or Dictionary.
2237 Inside {string} |v:val| has the value of the current item.
2238 For a Dictionary |v:key| has the key of the current item.
2239 Examples: >
2240 :call filter(mylist, 'v:val !~ "OLD"')
2241< Removes the items where "OLD" appears. >
2242 :call filter(mydict, 'v:key >= 8')
2243< Removes the items with a key below 8. >
2244 :call filter(var, 0)
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +00002245< Removes all the items, thus clears the List or Dictionary.
2246
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00002247 Note that {string} is the result of expression and is then
2248 used as an expression again. Often it is good to use a
2249 |literal-string| to avoid having to double backslashes.
2250
2251 The operation is done in-place. If you want a List or
2252 Dictionary to remain unmodified make a copy first: >
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +00002253 :let l = filter(copy(mylist), '& =~ "KEEP"')
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00002254
2255< Returns {expr}, the List or Dictionary that was filtered.
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00002256
2257
Bram Moolenaar89cb5e02004-07-19 20:55:54 +00002258finddir({name}[, {path}[, {count}]]) *finddir()*
2259 Find directory {name} in {path}.
2260 If {path} is omitted or empty then 'path' is used.
2261 If the optional {count} is given, find {count}'s occurrence of
2262 {name} in {path}.
2263 This is quite similar to the ex-command |:find|.
2264 When the found directory is below the current directory a
2265 relative path is returned. Otherwise a full path is returned.
2266 Example: >
2267 :echo findfile("tags.vim", ".;")
2268< Searches from the current directory upwards until it finds
2269 the file "tags.vim".
2270 {only available when compiled with the +file_in_path feature}
2271
2272findfile({name}[, {path}[, {count}]]) *findfile()*
2273 Just like |finddir()|, but find a file instead of a directory.
2274
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002275filewritable({file}) *filewritable()*
2276 The result is a Number, which is 1 when a file with the
2277 name {file} exists, and can be written. If {file} doesn't
2278 exist, or is not writable, the result is 0. If (file) is a
2279 directory, and we can write to it, the result is 2.
2280
2281fnamemodify({fname}, {mods}) *fnamemodify()*
2282 Modify file name {fname} according to {mods}. {mods} is a
2283 string of characters like it is used for file names on the
2284 command line. See |filename-modifiers|.
2285 Example: >
2286 :echo fnamemodify("main.c", ":p:h")
2287< results in: >
2288 /home/mool/vim/vim/src
2289< Note: Environment variables and "~" don't work in {fname}, use
2290 |expand()| first then.
2291
2292foldclosed({lnum}) *foldclosed()*
2293 The result is a Number. If the line {lnum} is in a closed
2294 fold, the result is the number of the first line in that fold.
2295 If the line {lnum} is not in a closed fold, -1 is returned.
2296
2297foldclosedend({lnum}) *foldclosedend()*
2298 The result is a Number. If the line {lnum} is in a closed
2299 fold, the result is the number of the last line in that fold.
2300 If the line {lnum} is not in a closed fold, -1 is returned.
2301
2302foldlevel({lnum}) *foldlevel()*
2303 The result is a Number, which is the foldlevel of line {lnum}
2304 in the current buffer. For nested folds the deepest level is
2305 returned. If there is no fold at line {lnum}, zero is
2306 returned. It doesn't matter if the folds are open or closed.
2307 When used while updating folds (from 'foldexpr') -1 is
2308 returned for lines where folds are still to be updated and the
2309 foldlevel is unknown. As a special case the level of the
2310 previous line is usually available.
2311
2312 *foldtext()*
2313foldtext() Returns a String, to be displayed for a closed fold. This is
2314 the default function used for the 'foldtext' option and should
2315 only be called from evaluating 'foldtext'. It uses the
2316 |v:foldstart|, |v:foldend| and |v:folddashes| variables.
2317 The returned string looks like this: >
2318 +-- 45 lines: abcdef
2319< The number of dashes depends on the foldlevel. The "45" is
2320 the number of lines in the fold. "abcdef" is the text in the
2321 first non-blank line of the fold. Leading white space, "//"
2322 or "/*" and the text from the 'foldmarker' and 'commentstring'
2323 options is removed.
2324 {not available when compiled without the |+folding| feature}
2325
Bram Moolenaar7b0294c2004-10-11 10:16:09 +00002326foldtextresult({lnum}) *foldtextresult()*
2327 Returns the text that is displayed for the closed fold at line
2328 {lnum}. Evaluates 'foldtext' in the appropriate context.
2329 When there is no closed fold at {lnum} an empty string is
2330 returned.
2331 {lnum} is used like with |getline()|. Thus "." is the current
2332 line, "'m" mark m, etc.
2333 Useful when exporting folded text, e.g., to HTML.
2334 {not available when compiled without the |+folding| feature}
2335
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002336 *foreground()*
2337foreground() Move the Vim window to the foreground. Useful when sent from
2338 a client to a Vim server. |remote_send()|
2339 On Win32 systems this might not work, the OS does not always
2340 allow a window to bring itself to the foreground. Use
2341 |remote_foreground()| instead.
2342 {only in the Win32, Athena, Motif and GTK GUI versions and the
2343 Win32 console version}
2344
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00002345
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +00002346function({name}) *function()* *E700*
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00002347 Return a Funcref variable that refers to function {name}.
2348 {name} can be a user defined function or an internal function.
2349
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00002350
Bram Moolenaar677ee682005-01-27 14:41:15 +00002351get({list}, {idx} [, {default}]) *get()*
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00002352 Get item {idx} from List {list}. When this item is not
2353 available return {default}. Return zero when {default} is
2354 omitted.
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00002355get({dict}, {key} [, {default}])
2356 Get item with key {key} from Dictionary {dict}. When this
2357 item is not available return {default}. Return zero when
2358 {default} is omitted.
2359
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00002360
2361getbufvar({expr}, {varname}) *getbufvar()*
2362 The result is the value of option or local buffer variable
2363 {varname} in buffer {expr}. Note that the name without "b:"
2364 must be used.
Bram Moolenaar4317d9b2005-03-18 20:25:31 +00002365 This also works for a global or buffer-local option, but it
2366 doesn't work for a global variable, window-local variable or
2367 window-local option.
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00002368 For the use of {expr}, see |bufname()| above.
2369 When the buffer or variable doesn't exist an empty string is
2370 returned, there is no error message.
2371 Examples: >
2372 :let bufmodified = getbufvar(1, "&mod")
2373 :echo "todo myvar = " . getbufvar("todo", "myvar")
2374<
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002375getchar([expr]) *getchar()*
2376 Get a single character from the user. If it is an 8-bit
2377 character, the result is a number. Otherwise a String is
2378 returned with the encoded character. For a special key it's a
2379 sequence of bytes starting with 0x80 (decimal: 128).
2380 If [expr] is omitted, wait until a character is available.
2381 If [expr] is 0, only get a character when one is available.
2382 If [expr] is 1, only check if a character is available, it is
2383 not consumed. If a normal character is
2384 available, it is returned, otherwise a
2385 non-zero value is returned.
2386 If a normal character available, it is returned as a Number.
2387 Use nr2char() to convert it to a String.
2388 The returned value is zero if no character is available.
2389 The returned value is a string of characters for special keys
2390 and when a modifier (shift, control, alt) was used.
2391 There is no prompt, you will somehow have to make clear to the
2392 user that a character has to be typed.
2393 There is no mapping for the character.
2394 Key codes are replaced, thus when the user presses the <Del>
2395 key you get the code for the <Del> key, not the raw character
2396 sequence. Examples: >
2397 getchar() == "\<Del>"
2398 getchar() == "\<S-Left>"
2399< This example redefines "f" to ignore case: >
2400 :nmap f :call FindChar()<CR>
2401 :function FindChar()
2402 : let c = nr2char(getchar())
2403 : while col('.') < col('$') - 1
2404 : normal l
2405 : if getline('.')[col('.') - 1] ==? c
2406 : break
2407 : endif
2408 : endwhile
2409 :endfunction
2410
2411getcharmod() *getcharmod()*
2412 The result is a Number which is the state of the modifiers for
2413 the last obtained character with getchar() or in another way.
2414 These values are added together:
2415 2 shift
2416 4 control
2417 8 alt (meta)
2418 16 mouse double click
2419 32 mouse triple click
2420 64 mouse quadruple click
2421 128 Macintosh only: command
2422 Only the modifiers that have not been included in the
2423 character itself are obtained. Thus Shift-a results in "A"
2424 with no modifier.
2425
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002426getcmdline() *getcmdline()*
2427 Return the current command-line. Only works when the command
2428 line is being edited, thus requires use of |c_CTRL-\_e| or
2429 |c_CTRL-R_=|.
2430 Example: >
2431 :cmap <F7> <C-\>eescape(getcmdline(), ' \')<CR>
2432< Also see |getcmdpos()| and |setcmdpos()|.
2433
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00002434getcmdpos() *getcmdpos()*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002435 Return the position of the cursor in the command line as a
2436 byte count. The first column is 1.
2437 Only works when editing the command line, thus requires use of
2438 |c_CTRL-\_e| or |c_CTRL-R_=|. Returns 0 otherwise.
2439 Also see |setcmdpos()| and |getcmdline()|.
2440
2441 *getcwd()*
2442getcwd() The result is a String, which is the name of the current
2443 working directory.
2444
2445getfsize({fname}) *getfsize()*
2446 The result is a Number, which is the size in bytes of the
2447 given file {fname}.
2448 If {fname} is a directory, 0 is returned.
2449 If the file {fname} can't be found, -1 is returned.
2450
Bram Moolenaard8b0cf12004-12-12 11:33:30 +00002451getfontname([{name}]) *getfontname()*
2452 Without an argument returns the name of the normal font being
2453 used. Like what is used for the Normal highlight group
2454 |hl-Normal|.
2455 With an argument a check is done whether {name} is a valid
2456 font name. If not then an empty string is returned.
2457 Otherwise the actual font name is returned, or {name} if the
2458 GUI does not support obtaining the real name.
2459 Only works when the GUI is running, thus not you your vimrc or
2460 Note that the GTK 2 GUI accepts any font name, thus checking
2461 for a valid name does not work.
2462 gvimrc file. Use the |GUIEnter| autocommand to use this
2463 function just after the GUI has started.
2464
Bram Moolenaar5eb86f92004-07-26 12:53:41 +00002465getfperm({fname}) *getfperm()*
2466 The result is a String, which is the read, write, and execute
2467 permissions of the given file {fname}.
2468 If {fname} does not exist or its directory cannot be read, an
2469 empty string is returned.
2470 The result is of the form "rwxrwxrwx", where each group of
2471 "rwx" flags represent, in turn, the permissions of the owner
2472 of the file, the group the file belongs to, and other users.
2473 If a user does not have a given permission the flag for this
2474 is replaced with the string "-". Example: >
2475 :echo getfperm("/etc/passwd")
2476< This will hopefully (from a security point of view) display
2477 the string "rw-r--r--" or even "rw-------".
Bram Moolenaare2cc9702005-03-15 22:43:58 +00002478
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002479getftime({fname}) *getftime()*
2480 The result is a Number, which is the last modification time of
2481 the given file {fname}. The value is measured as seconds
2482 since 1st Jan 1970, and may be passed to strftime(). See also
2483 |localtime()| and |strftime()|.
2484 If the file {fname} can't be found -1 is returned.
2485
Bram Moolenaar5eb86f92004-07-26 12:53:41 +00002486getftype({fname}) *getftype()*
2487 The result is a String, which is a description of the kind of
2488 file of the given file {fname}.
2489 If {fname} does not exist an empty string is returned.
2490 Here is a table over different kinds of files and their
2491 results:
2492 Normal file "file"
2493 Directory "dir"
2494 Symbolic link "link"
2495 Block device "bdev"
2496 Character device "cdev"
2497 Socket "socket"
2498 FIFO "fifo"
2499 All other "other"
2500 Example: >
2501 getftype("/home")
2502< Note that a type such as "link" will only be returned on
2503 systems that support it. On some systems only "dir" and
2504 "file" are returned.
2505
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002506 *getline()*
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00002507getline({lnum} [, {end}])
2508 Without {end} the result is a String, which is line {lnum}
2509 from the current buffer. Example: >
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002510 getline(1)
2511< When {lnum} is a String that doesn't start with a
2512 digit, line() is called to translate the String into a Number.
2513 To get the line under the cursor: >
2514 getline(".")
2515< When {lnum} is smaller than 1 or bigger than the number of
2516 lines in the buffer, an empty string is returned.
2517
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00002518 When {end} is given the result is a List where each item is a
2519 line from the current buffer in the range {lnum} to {end},
2520 including line {end}.
2521 {end} is used in the same way as {lnum}.
2522 Non-existing lines are silently omitted.
2523 When {end} is before {lnum} an error is given.
2524 Example: >
2525 :let start = line('.')
2526 :let end = search("^$") - 1
2527 :let lines = getline(start, end)
2528
2529
Bram Moolenaar68b76a62005-03-25 21:53:48 +00002530getqflist() *getqflist()*
2531 Returns a list with all the current quickfix errors. Each
2532 list item is a dictionary with these entries:
2533 bufnr number of buffer that has the file name, use
2534 bufname() to get the name
2535 lnum line number in the buffer (first line is 1)
2536 col column number (first column is 1)
2537 vcol non-zero: column number is visual column
2538 zero: column number is byte index
2539 nr error number
2540 text description of the error
2541 type type of the error, 'E', '1', etc.
2542 valid non-zero: recognized error message
2543
2544 Useful application: Find pattern matches in multiple files and
2545 do something with them: >
2546 :vimgrep /theword/jg *.c
2547 :for d in getqflist()
2548 : echo bufname(d.bufnr) ':' d.lnum '=' d.text
2549 :endfor
2550
2551
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002552getreg([{regname}]) *getreg()*
2553 The result is a String, which is the contents of register
2554 {regname}. Example: >
2555 :let cliptext = getreg('*')
2556< getreg('=') returns the last evaluated value of the expression
2557 register. (For use in maps).
2558 If {regname} is not specified, |v:register| is used.
2559
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00002560
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002561getregtype([{regname}]) *getregtype()*
2562 The result is a String, which is type of register {regname}.
2563 The value will be one of:
2564 "v" for |characterwise| text
2565 "V" for |linewise| text
2566 "<CTRL-V>{width}" for |blockwise-visual| text
2567 0 for an empty or unknown register
2568 <CTRL-V> is one character with value 0x16.
2569 If {regname} is not specified, |v:register| is used.
2570
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00002571
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002572 *getwinposx()*
2573getwinposx() The result is a Number, which is the X coordinate in pixels of
2574 the left hand side of the GUI Vim window. The result will be
2575 -1 if the information is not available.
2576
2577 *getwinposy()*
2578getwinposy() The result is a Number, which is the Y coordinate in pixels of
2579 the top of the GUI Vim window. The result will be -1 if the
2580 information is not available.
2581
2582getwinvar({nr}, {varname}) *getwinvar()*
2583 The result is the value of option or local window variable
2584 {varname} in window {nr}.
Bram Moolenaar4317d9b2005-03-18 20:25:31 +00002585 This also works for a global option, buffer-local option and
2586 window-local option, but it doesn't work for a global variable
2587 or buffer-local variable.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002588 Note that the name without "w:" must be used.
2589 Examples: >
2590 :let list_is_on = getwinvar(2, '&list')
2591 :echo "myvar = " . getwinvar(1, 'myvar')
2592<
2593 *glob()*
2594glob({expr}) Expand the file wildcards in {expr}. The result is a String.
2595 When there are several matches, they are separated by <NL>
2596 characters.
2597 If the expansion fails, the result is an empty string.
2598 A name for a non-existing file is not included.
2599
2600 For most systems backticks can be used to get files names from
2601 any external command. Example: >
2602 :let tagfiles = glob("`find . -name tags -print`")
2603 :let &tags = substitute(tagfiles, "\n", ",", "g")
2604< The result of the program inside the backticks should be one
2605 item per line. Spaces inside an item are allowed.
2606
2607 See |expand()| for expanding special Vim variables. See
2608 |system()| for getting the raw output of an external command.
2609
2610globpath({path}, {expr}) *globpath()*
2611 Perform glob() on all directories in {path} and concatenate
2612 the results. Example: >
2613 :echo globpath(&rtp, "syntax/c.vim")
2614< {path} is a comma-separated list of directory names. Each
2615 directory name is prepended to {expr} and expanded like with
2616 glob(). A path separator is inserted when needed.
2617 To add a comma inside a directory name escape it with a
2618 backslash. Note that on MS-Windows a directory may have a
2619 trailing backslash, remove it if you put a comma after it.
2620 If the expansion fails for one of the directories, there is no
2621 error message.
2622 The 'wildignore' option applies: Names matching one of the
2623 patterns in 'wildignore' will be skipped.
2624
2625 *has()*
2626has({feature}) The result is a Number, which is 1 if the feature {feature} is
2627 supported, zero otherwise. The {feature} argument is a
2628 string. See |feature-list| below.
2629 Also see |exists()|.
2630
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00002631
2632has_key({dict}, {key}) *has_key()*
2633 The result is a Number, which is 1 if Dictionary {dict} has an
2634 entry with key {key}. Zero otherwise.
2635
2636
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002637hasmapto({what} [, {mode}]) *hasmapto()*
2638 The result is a Number, which is 1 if there is a mapping that
2639 contains {what} in somewhere in the rhs (what it is mapped to)
2640 and this mapping exists in one of the modes indicated by
2641 {mode}.
2642 Both the global mappings and the mappings local to the current
2643 buffer are checked for a match.
2644 If no matching mapping is found 0 is returned.
2645 The following characters are recognized in {mode}:
2646 n Normal mode
2647 v Visual mode
2648 o Operator-pending mode
2649 i Insert mode
2650 l Language-Argument ("r", "f", "t", etc.)
2651 c Command-line mode
2652 When {mode} is omitted, "nvo" is used.
2653
2654 This function is useful to check if a mapping already exists
2655 to a function in a Vim script. Example: >
2656 :if !hasmapto('\ABCdoit')
2657 : map <Leader>d \ABCdoit
2658 :endif
2659< This installs the mapping to "\ABCdoit" only if there isn't
2660 already a mapping to "\ABCdoit".
2661
2662histadd({history}, {item}) *histadd()*
2663 Add the String {item} to the history {history} which can be
2664 one of: *hist-names*
2665 "cmd" or ":" command line history
2666 "search" or "/" search pattern history
2667 "expr" or "=" typed expression history
2668 "input" or "@" input line history
2669 If {item} does already exist in the history, it will be
2670 shifted to become the newest entry.
2671 The result is a Number: 1 if the operation was successful,
2672 otherwise 0 is returned.
2673
2674 Example: >
2675 :call histadd("input", strftime("%Y %b %d"))
2676 :let date=input("Enter date: ")
2677< This function is not available in the |sandbox|.
2678
2679histdel({history} [, {item}]) *histdel()*
2680 Clear {history}, ie. delete all its entries. See |hist-names|
2681 for the possible values of {history}.
2682
2683 If the parameter {item} is given as String, this is seen
2684 as regular expression. All entries matching that expression
2685 will be removed from the history (if there are any).
2686 Upper/lowercase must match, unless "\c" is used |/\c|.
2687 If {item} is a Number, it will be interpreted as index, see
2688 |:history-indexing|. The respective entry will be removed
2689 if it exists.
2690
2691 The result is a Number: 1 for a successful operation,
2692 otherwise 0 is returned.
2693
2694 Examples:
2695 Clear expression register history: >
2696 :call histdel("expr")
2697<
2698 Remove all entries starting with "*" from the search history: >
2699 :call histdel("/", '^\*')
2700<
2701 The following three are equivalent: >
2702 :call histdel("search", histnr("search"))
2703 :call histdel("search", -1)
2704 :call histdel("search", '^'.histget("search", -1).'$')
2705<
2706 To delete the last search pattern and use the last-but-one for
2707 the "n" command and 'hlsearch': >
2708 :call histdel("search", -1)
2709 :let @/ = histget("search", -1)
2710
2711histget({history} [, {index}]) *histget()*
2712 The result is a String, the entry with Number {index} from
2713 {history}. See |hist-names| for the possible values of
2714 {history}, and |:history-indexing| for {index}. If there is
2715 no such entry, an empty String is returned. When {index} is
2716 omitted, the most recent item from the history is used.
2717
2718 Examples:
2719 Redo the second last search from history. >
2720 :execute '/' . histget("search", -2)
2721
2722< Define an Ex command ":H {num}" that supports re-execution of
2723 the {num}th entry from the output of |:history|. >
2724 :command -nargs=1 H execute histget("cmd", 0+<args>)
2725<
2726histnr({history}) *histnr()*
2727 The result is the Number of the current entry in {history}.
2728 See |hist-names| for the possible values of {history}.
2729 If an error occurred, -1 is returned.
2730
2731 Example: >
2732 :let inp_index = histnr("expr")
2733<
2734hlexists({name}) *hlexists()*
2735 The result is a Number, which is non-zero if a highlight group
2736 called {name} exists. This is when the group has been
2737 defined in some way. Not necessarily when highlighting has
2738 been defined for it, it may also have been used for a syntax
2739 item.
2740 *highlight_exists()*
2741 Obsolete name: highlight_exists().
2742
2743 *hlID()*
2744hlID({name}) The result is a Number, which is the ID of the highlight group
2745 with name {name}. When the highlight group doesn't exist,
2746 zero is returned.
2747 This can be used to retrieve information about the highlight
2748 group. For example, to get the background color of the
2749 "Comment" group: >
2750 :echo synIDattr(synIDtrans(hlID("Comment")), "bg")
2751< *highlightID()*
2752 Obsolete name: highlightID().
2753
2754hostname() *hostname()*
2755 The result is a String, which is the name of the machine on
2756 which Vim is currently running. Machine names greater than
2757 256 characters long are truncated.
2758
2759iconv({expr}, {from}, {to}) *iconv()*
2760 The result is a String, which is the text {expr} converted
2761 from encoding {from} to encoding {to}.
2762 When the conversion fails an empty string is returned.
2763 The encoding names are whatever the iconv() library function
2764 can accept, see ":!man 3 iconv".
2765 Most conversions require Vim to be compiled with the |+iconv|
2766 feature. Otherwise only UTF-8 to latin1 conversion and back
2767 can be done.
2768 This can be used to display messages with special characters,
2769 no matter what 'encoding' is set to. Write the message in
2770 UTF-8 and use: >
2771 echo iconv(utf8_str, "utf-8", &enc)
2772< Note that Vim uses UTF-8 for all Unicode encodings, conversion
2773 from/to UCS-2 is automatically changed to use UTF-8. You
2774 cannot use UCS-2 in a string anyway, because of the NUL bytes.
2775 {only available when compiled with the +multi_byte feature}
2776
2777 *indent()*
2778indent({lnum}) The result is a Number, which is indent of line {lnum} in the
2779 current buffer. The indent is counted in spaces, the value
2780 of 'tabstop' is relevant. {lnum} is used just like in
2781 |getline()|.
2782 When {lnum} is invalid -1 is returned.
2783
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +00002784
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00002785index({list}, {expr} [, {start} [, {ic}]]) *index()*
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +00002786 Return the lowest index in List {list} where the item has a
2787 value equal to {expr}.
Bram Moolenaar748bf032005-02-02 23:04:36 +00002788 If {start} is given then start looking at the item with index
2789 {start} (may be negative for an item relative to the end).
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +00002790 When {ic} is given and it is non-zero, ignore case. Otherwise
2791 case must match.
2792 -1 is returned when {expr} is not found in {list}.
2793 Example: >
2794 :let idx = index(words, "the")
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +00002795 :if index(numbers, 123) >= 0
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +00002796
2797
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002798input({prompt} [, {text}]) *input()*
2799 The result is a String, which is whatever the user typed on
2800 the command-line. The parameter is either a prompt string, or
2801 a blank string (for no prompt). A '\n' can be used in the
2802 prompt to start a new line. The highlighting set with
2803 |:echohl| is used for the prompt. The input is entered just
2804 like a command-line, with the same editing commands and
2805 mappings. There is a separate history for lines typed for
2806 input().
2807 If the optional {text} is present, this is used for the
2808 default reply, as if the user typed this.
2809 NOTE: This must not be used in a startup file, for the
2810 versions that only run in GUI mode (e.g., the Win32 GUI).
2811 Note: When input() is called from within a mapping it will
2812 consume remaining characters from that mapping, because a
2813 mapping is handled like the characters were typed.
2814 Use |inputsave()| before input() and |inputrestore()|
2815 after input() to avoid that. Another solution is to avoid
2816 that further characters follow in the mapping, e.g., by using
2817 |:execute| or |:normal|.
2818
2819 Example: >
2820 :if input("Coffee or beer? ") == "beer"
2821 : echo "Cheers!"
2822 :endif
2823< Example with default text: >
2824 :let color = input("Color? ", "white")
2825< Example with a mapping: >
2826 :nmap \x :call GetFoo()<CR>:exe "/" . Foo<CR>
2827 :function GetFoo()
2828 : call inputsave()
2829 : let g:Foo = input("enter search pattern: ")
2830 : call inputrestore()
2831 :endfunction
2832
2833inputdialog({prompt} [, {text} [, {cancelreturn}]]) *inputdialog()*
2834 Like input(), but when the GUI is running and text dialogs are
2835 supported, a dialog window pops up to input the text.
2836 Example: >
2837 :let n = inputdialog("value for shiftwidth", &sw)
2838 :if n != ""
2839 : let &sw = n
2840 :endif
2841< When the dialog is cancelled {cancelreturn} is returned. When
2842 omitted an empty string is returned.
2843 Hitting <Enter> works like pressing the OK button. Hitting
2844 <Esc> works like pressing the Cancel button.
2845
2846inputrestore() *inputrestore()*
2847 Restore typeahead that was saved with a previous inputsave().
2848 Should be called the same number of times inputsave() is
2849 called. Calling it more often is harmless though.
2850 Returns 1 when there is nothing to restore, 0 otherwise.
2851
2852inputsave() *inputsave()*
2853 Preserve typeahead (also from mappings) and clear it, so that
2854 a following prompt gets input from the user. Should be
2855 followed by a matching inputrestore() after the prompt. Can
2856 be used several times, in which case there must be just as
2857 many inputrestore() calls.
2858 Returns 1 when out of memory, 0 otherwise.
2859
2860inputsecret({prompt} [, {text}]) *inputsecret()*
2861 This function acts much like the |input()| function with but
2862 two exceptions:
2863 a) the user's response will be displayed as a sequence of
2864 asterisks ("*") thereby keeping the entry secret, and
2865 b) the user's response will not be recorded on the input
2866 |history| stack.
2867 The result is a String, which is whatever the user actually
2868 typed on the command-line in response to the issued prompt.
2869
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00002870insert({list}, {item} [, {idx}]) *insert()*
2871 Insert {item} at the start of List {list}.
2872 If {idx} is specified insert {item} before the item with index
2873 {idx}. If {idx} is zero it goes before the first item, just
2874 like omitting {idx}. A negative {idx} is also possible, see
2875 |list-index|. -1 inserts just before the last item.
2876 Returns the resulting List. Examples: >
2877 :let mylist = insert([2, 3, 5], 1)
2878 :call insert(mylist, 4, -1)
2879 :call insert(mylist, 6, len(mylist))
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00002880< The last example can be done simpler with |add()|.
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00002881 Note that when {item} is a List it is inserted as a single
2882 item. Use |extend()| to concatenate Lists.
2883
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002884isdirectory({directory}) *isdirectory()*
2885 The result is a Number, which is non-zero when a directory
2886 with the name {directory} exists. If {directory} doesn't
2887 exist, or isn't a directory, the result is FALSE. {directory}
2888 is any expression, which is used as a String.
2889
Bram Moolenaar2ce06f62005-01-31 19:19:04 +00002890islocked({expr}) *islocked()*
2891 The result is a Number, which is non-zero when {expr} is the
2892 name of a locked variable.
2893 {expr} must be the name of a variable, List item or Dictionary
2894 entry, not the variable itself! Example: >
2895 :let alist = [0, ['a', 'b'], 2, 3]
2896 :lockvar 1 alist
2897 :echo islocked('alist') " 1
2898 :echo islocked('alist[1]') " 0
2899
2900< When {expr} is a variable that does not exist you get an error
2901 message. Use |exists()| to check for existance.
2902
Bram Moolenaar677ee682005-01-27 14:41:15 +00002903items({dict}) *items()*
2904 Return a List with all the key-value pairs of {dict}. Each
2905 List item is a list with two items: the key of a {dict} entry
2906 and the value of this entry. The List is in arbitrary order.
2907
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00002908
2909join({list} [, {sep}]) *join()*
2910 Join the items in {list} together into one String.
2911 When {sep} is specified it is put in between the items. If
2912 {sep} is omitted a single space is used.
2913 Note that {sep} is not added at the end. You might want to
2914 add it there too: >
2915 let lines = join(mylist, "\n") . "\n"
2916< String items are used as-is. Lists and Dictionaries are
2917 converted into a string like with |string()|.
2918 The opposite function is |split()|.
2919
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +00002920keys({dict}) *keys()*
2921 Return a List with all the keys of {dict}. The List is in
2922 arbitrary order.
2923
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +00002924 *len()* *E701*
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00002925len({expr}) The result is a Number, which is the length of the argument.
2926 When {expr} is a String or a Number the length in bytes is
2927 used, as with |strlen()|.
2928 When {expr} is a List the number of items in the List is
2929 returned.
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00002930 When {expr} is a Dictionary the number of entries in the
2931 Dictionary is returned.
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00002932 Otherwise an error is given.
2933
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002934 *libcall()* *E364* *E368*
2935libcall({libname}, {funcname}, {argument})
2936 Call function {funcname} in the run-time library {libname}
2937 with single argument {argument}.
2938 This is useful to call functions in a library that you
2939 especially made to be used with Vim. Since only one argument
2940 is possible, calling standard library functions is rather
2941 limited.
2942 The result is the String returned by the function. If the
2943 function returns NULL, this will appear as an empty string ""
2944 to Vim.
2945 If the function returns a number, use libcallnr()!
2946 If {argument} is a number, it is passed to the function as an
2947 int; if {argument} is a string, it is passed as a
2948 null-terminated string.
2949 This function will fail in |restricted-mode|.
2950
2951 libcall() allows you to write your own 'plug-in' extensions to
2952 Vim without having to recompile the program. It is NOT a
2953 means to call system functions! If you try to do so Vim will
2954 very probably crash.
2955
2956 For Win32, the functions you write must be placed in a DLL
2957 and use the normal C calling convention (NOT Pascal which is
2958 used in Windows System DLLs). The function must take exactly
2959 one parameter, either a character pointer or a long integer,
2960 and must return a character pointer or NULL. The character
2961 pointer returned must point to memory that will remain valid
2962 after the function has returned (e.g. in static data in the
2963 DLL). If it points to allocated memory, that memory will
2964 leak away. Using a static buffer in the function should work,
2965 it's then freed when the DLL is unloaded.
2966
2967 WARNING: If the function returns a non-valid pointer, Vim may
2968 crash! This also happens if the function returns a number,
2969 because Vim thinks it's a pointer.
2970 For Win32 systems, {libname} should be the filename of the DLL
2971 without the ".DLL" suffix. A full path is only required if
2972 the DLL is not in the usual places.
2973 For Unix: When compiling your own plugins, remember that the
2974 object code must be compiled as position-independent ('PIC').
2975 {only in Win32 on some Unix versions, when the |+libcall|
2976 feature is present}
2977 Examples: >
2978 :echo libcall("libc.so", "getenv", "HOME")
2979 :echo libcallnr("/usr/lib/libc.so", "getpid", "")
2980<
2981 *libcallnr()*
2982libcallnr({libname}, {funcname}, {argument})
2983 Just like libcall(), but used for a function that returns an
2984 int instead of a string.
2985 {only in Win32 on some Unix versions, when the |+libcall|
2986 feature is present}
2987 Example (not very useful...): >
2988 :call libcallnr("libc.so", "printf", "Hello World!\n")
2989 :call libcallnr("libc.so", "sleep", 10)
2990<
2991 *line()*
2992line({expr}) The result is a Number, which is the line number of the file
2993 position given with {expr}. The accepted positions are:
2994 . the cursor position
2995 $ the last line in the current buffer
2996 'x position of mark x (if the mark is not set, 0 is
2997 returned)
2998 Note that only marks in the current file can be used.
2999 Examples: >
3000 line(".") line number of the cursor
3001 line("'t") line number of mark t
3002 line("'" . marker) line number of mark marker
3003< *last-position-jump*
3004 This autocommand jumps to the last known position in a file
3005 just after opening it, if the '" mark is set: >
3006 :au BufReadPost * if line("'\"") > 0 && line("'\"") <= line("$") | exe "normal g'\"" | endif
Bram Moolenaar69a7cb42004-06-20 12:51:53 +00003007
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003008line2byte({lnum}) *line2byte()*
3009 Return the byte count from the start of the buffer for line
3010 {lnum}. This includes the end-of-line character, depending on
3011 the 'fileformat' option for the current buffer. The first
3012 line returns 1.
3013 This can also be used to get the byte count for the line just
3014 below the last line: >
3015 line2byte(line("$") + 1)
3016< This is the file size plus one.
3017 When {lnum} is invalid, or the |+byte_offset| feature has been
3018 disabled at compile time, -1 is returned.
3019 Also see |byte2line()|, |go| and |:goto|.
3020
3021lispindent({lnum}) *lispindent()*
3022 Get the amount of indent for line {lnum} according the lisp
3023 indenting rules, as with 'lisp'.
3024 The indent is counted in spaces, the value of 'tabstop' is
3025 relevant. {lnum} is used just like in |getline()|.
3026 When {lnum} is invalid or Vim was not compiled the
3027 |+lispindent| feature, -1 is returned.
3028
3029localtime() *localtime()*
3030 Return the current time, measured as seconds since 1st Jan
3031 1970. See also |strftime()| and |getftime()|.
3032
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00003033
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00003034map({expr}, {string}) *map()*
3035 {expr} must be a List or a Dictionary.
3036 Replace each item in {expr} with the result of evaluating
3037 {string}.
3038 Inside {string} |v:val| has the value of the current item.
3039 For a Dictionary |v:key| has the key of the current item.
3040 Example: >
3041 :call map(mylist, '"> " . v:val . " <"')
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00003042< This puts "> " before and " <" after each item in "mylist".
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00003043
Bram Moolenaar3a7c85b2005-02-05 21:39:53 +00003044 Note that {string} is the result of an expression and is then
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00003045 used as an expression again. Often it is good to use a
Bram Moolenaar3a7c85b2005-02-05 21:39:53 +00003046 |literal-string| to avoid having to double backslashes. You
3047 still have to double ' quotes
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00003048
3049 The operation is done in-place. If you want a List or
3050 Dictionary to remain unmodified make a copy first: >
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +00003051 :let tlist = map(copy(mylist), ' & . "\t"')
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00003052
3053< Returns {expr}, the List or Dictionary that was filtered.
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00003054
3055
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003056maparg({name}[, {mode}]) *maparg()*
3057 Return the rhs of mapping {name} in mode {mode}. When there
3058 is no mapping for {name}, an empty String is returned.
3059 These characters can be used for {mode}:
3060 "n" Normal
3061 "v" Visual
3062 "o" Operator-pending
3063 "i" Insert
3064 "c" Cmd-line
3065 "l" langmap |language-mapping|
3066 "" Normal, Visual and Operator-pending
3067 When {mode} is omitted, the modes from "" are used.
3068 The {name} can have special key names, like in the ":map"
3069 command. The returned String has special characters
3070 translated like in the output of the ":map" command listing.
3071 The mappings local to the current buffer are checked first,
3072 then the global mappings.
3073
3074mapcheck({name}[, {mode}]) *mapcheck()*
3075 Check if there is a mapping that matches with {name} in mode
3076 {mode}. See |maparg()| for {mode} and special names in
3077 {name}.
3078 A match happens with a mapping that starts with {name} and
3079 with a mapping which is equal to the start of {name}.
3080
3081 matches mapping "a" "ab" "abc" ~
3082 mapcheck("a") yes yes yes
3083 mapcheck("abc") yes yes yes
3084 mapcheck("ax") yes no no
3085 mapcheck("b") no no no
3086
3087 The difference with maparg() is that mapcheck() finds a
3088 mapping that matches with {name}, while maparg() only finds a
3089 mapping for {name} exactly.
3090 When there is no mapping that starts with {name}, an empty
3091 String is returned. If there is one, the rhs of that mapping
3092 is returned. If there are several mappings that start with
3093 {name}, the rhs of one of them is returned.
3094 The mappings local to the current buffer are checked first,
3095 then the global mappings.
3096 This function can be used to check if a mapping can be added
3097 without being ambiguous. Example: >
3098 :if mapcheck("_vv") == ""
3099 : map _vv :set guifont=7x13<CR>
3100 :endif
3101< This avoids adding the "_vv" mapping when there already is a
3102 mapping for "_v" or for "_vvv".
3103
Bram Moolenaar89cb5e02004-07-19 20:55:54 +00003104match({expr}, {pat}[, {start}[, {count}]]) *match()*
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00003105 When {expr} is a List then this returns the index of the first
3106 item where {pat} matches. Each item is used as a String,
3107 Lists and Dictionaries are used as echoed.
3108 Otherwise, {expr} is used as a String. The result is a
3109 Number, which gives the index (byte offset) in {expr} where
3110 {pat} matches.
3111 A match at the first character or List item returns zero.
Bram Moolenaar89cb5e02004-07-19 20:55:54 +00003112 If there is no match -1 is returned.
3113 Example: >
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00003114 :echo match("testing", "ing") " results in 4
3115 :echo match([1, 'x'], '\a') " results in 2
3116< See |string-match| for how {pat} is used.
Bram Moolenaar05159a02005-02-26 23:04:13 +00003117 *strpbrk()*
3118 Vim doesn't have a strpbrk() function. But you can do: >
3119 :let sepidx = match(line, '[.,;: \t]')
3120< *strcasestr()*
3121 Vim doesn't have a strcasestr() function. But you can add
3122 "\c" to the pattern to ignore case: >
3123 :let idx = match(haystack, '\cneedle')
3124<
Bram Moolenaar89cb5e02004-07-19 20:55:54 +00003125 When {count} is given use the {count}'th match. When a match
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00003126 is found in a String the search for the next one starts on
3127 character further. Thus this example results in 1: >
Bram Moolenaar89cb5e02004-07-19 20:55:54 +00003128 echo match("testing", "..", 0, 2)
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00003129< In a List the search continues in the next item.
3130
3131 If {start} is given, the search starts from byte index
3132 {start} in a String or item {start} in a List.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003133 The result, however, is still the index counted from the
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00003134 first character/item. Example: >
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003135 :echo match("testing", "ing", 2)
3136< result is again "4". >
3137 :echo match("testing", "ing", 4)
3138< result is again "4". >
3139 :echo match("testing", "t", 2)
3140< result is "3".
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00003141 For a String, if {start} < 0, it will be set to 0. For a list
3142 the index is counted from the end.
3143 If {start} is out of range (> strlen({expr} for a String or
3144 > len({expr} for a List) -1 is returned.
3145
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003146 See |pattern| for the patterns that are accepted.
3147 The 'ignorecase' option is used to set the ignore-caseness of
3148 the pattern. 'smartcase' is NOT used. The matching is always
3149 done like 'magic' is set and 'cpoptions' is empty.
3150
Bram Moolenaar89cb5e02004-07-19 20:55:54 +00003151matchend({expr}, {pat}[, {start}[, {count}]]) *matchend()*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003152 Same as match(), but return the index of first character after
3153 the match. Example: >
3154 :echo matchend("testing", "ing")
3155< results in "7".
Bram Moolenaar05159a02005-02-26 23:04:13 +00003156 *strspn()* *strcspn()*
3157 Vim doesn't have a strspn() or strcspn() function, but you can
3158 do it with matchend(): >
3159 :let span = matchend(line, '[a-zA-Z]')
3160 :let span = matchend(line, '[^a-zA-Z]')
3161< Except that -1 is returned when there are no matches.
3162
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003163 The {start}, if given, has the same meaning as for match(). >
3164 :echo matchend("testing", "ing", 2)
3165< results in "7". >
3166 :echo matchend("testing", "ing", 5)
3167< result is "-1".
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00003168 When {expr} is a List the result is equal to match().
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003169
Bram Moolenaar3a7c85b2005-02-05 21:39:53 +00003170matchlist({expr}, {pat}[, {start}[, {count}]]) *matchlist()*
3171 Same as match(), but return a List. The first item in the
3172 list is the matched string, same as what matchstr() would
3173 return. Following items are submatches, like "\1", "\2", etc.
3174 in |:substitute|.
3175 When there is no match an empty list is returned.
3176
Bram Moolenaar89cb5e02004-07-19 20:55:54 +00003177matchstr({expr}, {pat}[, {start}[, {count}]]) *matchstr()*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003178 Same as match(), but return the matched string. Example: >
3179 :echo matchstr("testing", "ing")
3180< results in "ing".
3181 When there is no match "" is returned.
3182 The {start}, if given, has the same meaning as for match(). >
3183 :echo matchstr("testing", "ing", 2)
3184< results in "ing". >
3185 :echo matchstr("testing", "ing", 5)
3186< result is "".
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00003187 When {expr} is a List then the matching item is returned.
3188 The type isn't changed, it's not necessarily a String.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003189
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +00003190 *max()*
3191max({list}) Return the maximum value of all items in {list}.
3192 If {list} is not a list or one of the items in {list} cannot
3193 be used as a Number this results in an error.
3194 An empty List results in zero.
3195
3196 *min()*
3197min({list}) Return the minumum value of all items in {list}.
3198 If {list} is not a list or one of the items in {list} cannot
3199 be used as a Number this results in an error.
3200 An empty List results in zero.
3201
Bram Moolenaar26a60b42005-02-22 08:49:11 +00003202 *mkdir()* *E749*
3203mkdir({name} [, {path} [, {prot}]])
3204 Create directory {name}.
3205 If {path} is "p" then intermediate directories are created as
3206 necessary. Otherwise it must be "".
3207 If {prot} is given it is used to set the protection bits of
3208 the new directory. The default is 0755 (rwxr-xr-x: r/w for
3209 the user readable for others). Use 0700 to make it unreadable
3210 for others.
3211 This function is not available in the |sandbox|.
3212 Not available on all systems. To check use: >
3213 :if exists("*mkdir")
3214<
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003215 *mode()*
3216mode() Return a string that indicates the current mode:
3217 n Normal
3218 v Visual by character
3219 V Visual by line
3220 CTRL-V Visual blockwise
3221 s Select by character
3222 S Select by line
3223 CTRL-S Select blockwise
3224 i Insert
3225 R Replace
3226 c Command-line
3227 r Hit-enter prompt
3228 This is useful in the 'statusline' option. In most other
3229 places it always returns "c" or "n".
3230
3231nextnonblank({lnum}) *nextnonblank()*
3232 Return the line number of the first line at or below {lnum}
3233 that is not blank. Example: >
3234 if getline(nextnonblank(1)) =~ "Java"
3235< When {lnum} is invalid or there is no non-blank line at or
3236 below it, zero is returned.
3237 See also |prevnonblank()|.
3238
3239nr2char({expr}) *nr2char()*
3240 Return a string with a single character, which has the number
3241 value {expr}. Examples: >
3242 nr2char(64) returns "@"
3243 nr2char(32) returns " "
3244< The current 'encoding' is used. Example for "utf-8": >
3245 nr2char(300) returns I with bow character
3246< Note that a NUL character in the file is specified with
3247 nr2char(10), because NULs are represented with newline
3248 characters. nr2char(0) is a real NUL and terminates the
Bram Moolenaar383f9bc2005-01-19 22:18:32 +00003249 string, thus results in an empty string.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003250
3251prevnonblank({lnum}) *prevnonblank()*
3252 Return the line number of the first line at or above {lnum}
3253 that is not blank. Example: >
3254 let ind = indent(prevnonblank(v:lnum - 1))
3255< When {lnum} is invalid or there is no non-blank line at or
3256 above it, zero is returned.
3257 Also see |nextnonblank()|.
3258
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00003259 *E726* *E727*
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +00003260range({expr} [, {max} [, {stride}]]) *range()*
3261 Returns a List with Numbers:
3262 - If only {expr} is specified: [0, 1, ..., {expr} - 1]
3263 - If {max} is specified: [{expr}, {expr} + 1, ..., {max}]
3264 - If {stride} is specified: [{expr}, {expr} + {stride}, ...,
3265 {max}] (increasing {expr} with {stride} each time, not
3266 producing a value past {max}).
3267 Examples: >
3268 range(4) " [0, 1, 2, 3]
3269 range(2, 4) " [2, 3, 4]
3270 range(2, 9, 3) " [2, 5, 8]
3271 range(2, -2, -1) " [2, 1, 0, -1, -2]
3272<
Bram Moolenaar3a7c85b2005-02-05 21:39:53 +00003273 *readfile()*
Bram Moolenaar26a60b42005-02-22 08:49:11 +00003274readfile({fname} [, {binary} [, {max}]])
Bram Moolenaar3a7c85b2005-02-05 21:39:53 +00003275 Read file {fname} and return a List, each line of the file as
3276 an item. Lines broken at NL characters. Macintosh files
3277 separated with CR will result in a single long line (unless a
3278 NL appears somewhere).
3279 When {binary} is equal to "b" binary mode is used:
3280 - When the last line ends in a NL an extra empty list item is
3281 added.
3282 - No CR characters are removed.
3283 Otherwise:
3284 - CR characters that appear before a NL are removed.
3285 - Whether the last line ends in a NL or not does not matter.
3286 All NUL characters are replaced with a NL character.
Bram Moolenaar26a60b42005-02-22 08:49:11 +00003287 When {max} is given this specifies the maximum number of lines
3288 to be read. Useful if you only want to check the first ten
3289 lines of a file: >
3290 :for line in readfile(fname, '', 10)
3291 : if line =~ 'Date' | echo line | endif
3292 :endfor
3293< When {max} is zero or negative the result is an empty list.
3294 Note that without {max} the whole file is read into memory.
3295 Also note that there is no recognition of encoding. Read a
3296 file into a buffer if you need to.
Bram Moolenaar3a7c85b2005-02-05 21:39:53 +00003297 When the file can't be opened an error message is given and
3298 the result is an empty list.
3299 Also see |writefile()|.
3300
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003301 *remote_expr()* *E449*
3302remote_expr({server}, {string} [, {idvar}])
3303 Send the {string} to {server}. The string is sent as an
3304 expression and the result is returned after evaluation.
3305 If {idvar} is present, it is taken as the name of a
3306 variable and a {serverid} for later use with
3307 remote_read() is stored there.
3308 See also |clientserver| |RemoteReply|.
3309 This function is not available in the |sandbox|.
3310 {only available when compiled with the |+clientserver| feature}
3311 Note: Any errors will cause a local error message to be issued
3312 and the result will be the empty string.
3313 Examples: >
3314 :echo remote_expr("gvim", "2+2")
3315 :echo remote_expr("gvim1", "b:current_syntax")
3316<
3317
3318remote_foreground({server}) *remote_foreground()*
3319 Move the Vim server with the name {server} to the foreground.
3320 This works like: >
3321 remote_expr({server}, "foreground()")
3322< Except that on Win32 systems the client does the work, to work
3323 around the problem that the OS doesn't always allow the server
3324 to bring itself to the foreground.
3325 This function is not available in the |sandbox|.
3326 {only in the Win32, Athena, Motif and GTK GUI versions and the
3327 Win32 console version}
3328
3329
3330remote_peek({serverid} [, {retvar}]) *remote_peek()*
3331 Returns a positive number if there are available strings
3332 from {serverid}. Copies any reply string into the variable
3333 {retvar} if specified. {retvar} must be a string with the
3334 name of a variable.
3335 Returns zero if none are available.
3336 Returns -1 if something is wrong.
3337 See also |clientserver|.
3338 This function is not available in the |sandbox|.
3339 {only available when compiled with the |+clientserver| feature}
3340 Examples: >
3341 :let repl = ""
3342 :echo "PEEK: ".remote_peek(id, "repl").": ".repl
3343
3344remote_read({serverid}) *remote_read()*
3345 Return the oldest available reply from {serverid} and consume
3346 it. It blocks until a reply is available.
3347 See also |clientserver|.
3348 This function is not available in the |sandbox|.
3349 {only available when compiled with the |+clientserver| feature}
3350 Example: >
3351 :echo remote_read(id)
3352<
3353 *remote_send()* *E241*
3354remote_send({server}, {string} [, {idvar}])
Bram Moolenaard4755bb2004-09-02 19:12:26 +00003355 Send the {string} to {server}. The string is sent as input
3356 keys and the function returns immediately. At the Vim server
3357 the keys are not mapped |:map|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003358 If {idvar} is present, it is taken as the name of a
3359 variable and a {serverid} for later use with
3360 remote_read() is stored there.
3361 See also |clientserver| |RemoteReply|.
3362 This function is not available in the |sandbox|.
3363 {only available when compiled with the |+clientserver| feature}
3364 Note: Any errors will be reported in the server and may mess
3365 up the display.
3366 Examples: >
3367 :echo remote_send("gvim", ":DropAndReply ".file, "serverid").
3368 \ remote_read(serverid)
3369
3370 :autocmd NONE RemoteReply *
3371 \ echo remote_read(expand("<amatch>"))
3372 :echo remote_send("gvim", ":sleep 10 | echo ".
3373 \ 'server2client(expand("<client>"), "HELLO")<CR>')
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00003374<
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +00003375remove({list}, {idx} [, {end}]) *remove()*
3376 Without {end}: Remove the item at {idx} from List {list} and
3377 return it.
3378 With {end}: Remove items from {idx} to {end} (inclusive) and
3379 return a list with these items. When {idx} points to the same
3380 item as {end} a list with one item is returned. When {end}
3381 points to an item before {idx} this is an error.
3382 See |list-index| for possible values of {idx} and {end}.
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00003383 Example: >
3384 :echo "last item: " . remove(mylist, -1)
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +00003385 :call remove(mylist, 0, 9)
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +00003386remove({dict}, {key})
3387 Remove the entry from {dict} with key {key}. Example: >
3388 :echo "removed " . remove(dict, "one")
3389< If there is no {key} in {dict} this is an error.
3390
3391 Use |delete()| to remove a file.
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00003392
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003393rename({from}, {to}) *rename()*
3394 Rename the file by the name {from} to the name {to}. This
3395 should also work to move files across file systems. The
3396 result is a Number, which is 0 if the file was renamed
3397 successfully, and non-zero when the renaming failed.
3398 This function is not available in the |sandbox|.
3399
Bram Moolenaarab79bcb2004-07-18 21:34:53 +00003400repeat({expr}, {count}) *repeat()*
3401 Repeat {expr} {count} times and return the concatenated
3402 result. Example: >
3403 :let seperator = repeat('-', 80)
3404< When {count} is zero or negative the result is empty.
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +00003405 When {expr} is a List the result is {expr} concatenated
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +00003406 {count} times. Example: >
3407 :let longlist = repeat(['a', 'b'], 3)
3408< Results in ['a', 'b', 'a', 'b', 'a', 'b'].
Bram Moolenaarab79bcb2004-07-18 21:34:53 +00003409
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00003410
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003411resolve({filename}) *resolve()* *E655*
3412 On MS-Windows, when {filename} is a shortcut (a .lnk file),
3413 returns the path the shortcut points to in a simplified form.
3414 On Unix, repeat resolving symbolic links in all path
3415 components of {filename} and return the simplified result.
3416 To cope with link cycles, resolving of symbolic links is
3417 stopped after 100 iterations.
3418 On other systems, return the simplified {filename}.
3419 The simplification step is done as by |simplify()|.
3420 resolve() keeps a leading path component specifying the
3421 current directory (provided the result is still a relative
3422 path name) and also keeps a trailing path separator.
3423
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00003424 *reverse()*
3425reverse({list}) Reverse the order of items in {list} in-place. Returns
3426 {list}.
3427 If you want a list to remain unmodified make a copy first: >
3428 :let revlist = reverse(copy(mylist))
3429
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003430search({pattern} [, {flags}]) *search()*
3431 Search for regexp pattern {pattern}. The search starts at the
Bram Moolenaar383f9bc2005-01-19 22:18:32 +00003432 cursor position (you can use |cursor()| to set it).
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003433 {flags} is a String, which can contain these character flags:
3434 'b' search backward instead of forward
Bram Moolenaar5eb86f92004-07-26 12:53:41 +00003435 'n' do Not move the cursor
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003436 'w' wrap around the end of the file
3437 'W' don't wrap around the end of the file
3438 If neither 'w' or 'W' is given, the 'wrapscan' option applies.
3439
Bram Moolenaar5eb86f92004-07-26 12:53:41 +00003440 When a match has been found its line number is returned.
3441 The cursor will be positioned at the match, unless the 'n'
3442 flag is used).
3443 If there is no match a 0 is returned and the cursor doesn't
3444 move. No error message is given.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003445
3446 Example (goes over all files in the argument list): >
3447 :let n = 1
3448 :while n <= argc() " loop over all files in arglist
3449 : exe "argument " . n
3450 : " start at the last char in the file and wrap for the
3451 : " first search to find match at start of file
3452 : normal G$
3453 : let flags = "w"
3454 : while search("foo", flags) > 0
3455 : s/foo/bar/g
3456 : let flags = "W"
3457 : endwhile
3458 : update " write the file if modified
3459 : let n = n + 1
3460 :endwhile
3461<
3462 *searchpair()*
3463searchpair({start}, {middle}, {end} [, {flags} [, {skip}]])
3464 Search for the match of a nested start-end pair. This can be
3465 used to find the "endif" that matches an "if", while other
3466 if/endif pairs in between are ignored.
3467 The search starts at the cursor. If a match is found, the
3468 cursor is positioned at it and the line number is returned.
3469 If no match is found 0 or -1 is returned and the cursor
3470 doesn't move. No error message is given.
3471
3472 {start}, {middle} and {end} are patterns, see |pattern|. They
3473 must not contain \( \) pairs. Use of \%( \) is allowed. When
3474 {middle} is not empty, it is found when searching from either
3475 direction, but only when not in a nested start-end pair. A
3476 typical use is: >
3477 searchpair('\<if\>', '\<else\>', '\<endif\>')
3478< By leaving {middle} empty the "else" is skipped.
3479
3480 {flags} are used like with |search()|. Additionally:
3481 'n' do Not move the cursor
3482 'r' Repeat until no more matches found; will find the
3483 outer pair
3484 'm' return number of Matches instead of line number with
3485 the match; will only be > 1 when 'r' is used.
3486
3487 When a match for {start}, {middle} or {end} is found, the
3488 {skip} expression is evaluated with the cursor positioned on
3489 the start of the match. It should return non-zero if this
3490 match is to be skipped. E.g., because it is inside a comment
3491 or a string.
3492 When {skip} is omitted or empty, every match is accepted.
3493 When evaluating {skip} causes an error the search is aborted
3494 and -1 returned.
3495
3496 The value of 'ignorecase' is used. 'magic' is ignored, the
3497 patterns are used like it's on.
3498
3499 The search starts exactly at the cursor. A match with
3500 {start}, {middle} or {end} at the next character, in the
3501 direction of searching, is the first one found. Example: >
3502 if 1
3503 if 2
3504 endif 2
3505 endif 1
3506< When starting at the "if 2", with the cursor on the "i", and
3507 searching forwards, the "endif 2" is found. When starting on
3508 the character just before the "if 2", the "endif 1" will be
3509 found. That's because the "if 2" will be found first, and
3510 then this is considered to be a nested if/endif from "if 2" to
3511 "endif 2".
3512 When searching backwards and {end} is more than one character,
3513 it may be useful to put "\zs" at the end of the pattern, so
3514 that when the cursor is inside a match with the end it finds
3515 the matching start.
3516
3517 Example, to find the "endif" command in a Vim script: >
3518
3519 :echo searchpair('\<if\>', '\<el\%[seif]\>', '\<en\%[dif]\>', 'W',
3520 \ 'getline(".") =~ "^\\s*\""')
3521
3522< The cursor must be at or after the "if" for which a match is
3523 to be found. Note that single-quote strings are used to avoid
3524 having to double the backslashes. The skip expression only
3525 catches comments at the start of a line, not after a command.
3526 Also, a word "en" or "if" halfway a line is considered a
3527 match.
3528 Another example, to search for the matching "{" of a "}": >
3529
3530 :echo searchpair('{', '', '}', 'bW')
3531
3532< This works when the cursor is at or before the "}" for which a
3533 match is to be found. To reject matches that syntax
3534 highlighting recognized as strings: >
3535
3536 :echo searchpair('{', '', '}', 'bW',
3537 \ 'synIDattr(synID(line("."), col("."), 0), "name") =~? "string"')
3538<
3539server2client( {clientid}, {string}) *server2client()*
3540 Send a reply string to {clientid}. The most recent {clientid}
3541 that sent a string can be retrieved with expand("<client>").
3542 {only available when compiled with the |+clientserver| feature}
3543 Note:
3544 This id has to be stored before the next command can be
3545 received. Ie. before returning from the received command and
3546 before calling any commands that waits for input.
3547 See also |clientserver|.
3548 Example: >
3549 :echo server2client(expand("<client>"), "HELLO")
3550<
3551serverlist() *serverlist()*
3552 Return a list of available server names, one per line.
3553 When there are no servers or the information is not available
3554 an empty string is returned. See also |clientserver|.
3555 {only available when compiled with the |+clientserver| feature}
3556 Example: >
3557 :echo serverlist()
3558<
3559setbufvar({expr}, {varname}, {val}) *setbufvar()*
3560 Set option or local variable {varname} in buffer {expr} to
3561 {val}.
3562 This also works for a global or local window option, but it
3563 doesn't work for a global or local window variable.
3564 For a local window option the global value is unchanged.
3565 For the use of {expr}, see |bufname()| above.
3566 Note that the variable name without "b:" must be used.
3567 Examples: >
3568 :call setbufvar(1, "&mod", 1)
3569 :call setbufvar("todo", "myvar", "foobar")
3570< This function is not available in the |sandbox|.
3571
3572setcmdpos({pos}) *setcmdpos()*
3573 Set the cursor position in the command line to byte position
3574 {pos}. The first position is 1.
3575 Use |getcmdpos()| to obtain the current position.
3576 Only works while editing the command line, thus you must use
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +00003577 |c_CTRL-\_e|, |c_CTRL-R_=| or |c_CTRL-R_CTRL-R| with '='. For
3578 |c_CTRL-\_e| and |c_CTRL-R_CTRL-R| with '=' the position is
3579 set after the command line is set to the expression. For
3580 |c_CTRL-R_=| it is set after evaluating the expression but
3581 before inserting the resulting text.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003582 When the number is too big the cursor is put at the end of the
3583 line. A number smaller than one has undefined results.
3584 Returns 0 when successful, 1 when not editing the command
3585 line.
3586
3587setline({lnum}, {line}) *setline()*
3588 Set line {lnum} of the current buffer to {line}. If this
3589 succeeds, 0 is returned. If this fails (most likely because
3590 {lnum} is invalid) 1 is returned. Example: >
3591 :call setline(5, strftime("%c"))
3592< Note: The '[ and '] marks are not set.
3593
Bram Moolenaar68b76a62005-03-25 21:53:48 +00003594
3595setqflist({list}) *setqflist()*
3596 Creates a quickfix list using the items in {list}. Each item
3597 in {list} is a dictionary. Non-dictionary items in {list} are
3598 ignored. Each dictionary item can contain the following
3599 entries:
3600
3601 filename name of a file
3602 lnum line number in the file
3603 col column number
3604 pattern search pattern used to locate the error
3605 text description of the error
3606
3607 The "col" and "text" entries are optional. Either "lnum" or
3608 "pattern" entry can be used to locate a matching error line.
3609 If the "filename" entry is not present or neither the "lnum"
3610 or "pattern" entries are present, then the item will not be
3611 handled as an error line.
3612 If both "pattern" and "lnum" are present then "pattern" will
3613 be used.
3614
3615 Returns zero for success, -1 for failure.
3616
3617 This function can be used to create a quickfix list
3618 independent of the 'errorformat' setting. Use a command like
3619 ":cc 1" to jump to the first position.
3620
3621
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003622 *setreg()*
3623setreg({regname}, {value} [,{options}])
3624 Set the register {regname} to {value}.
3625 If {options} contains "a" or {regname} is upper case,
3626 then the value is appended.
3627 {options} can also contains a register type specification:
3628 "c" or "v" |characterwise| mode
3629 "l" or "V" |linewise| mode
3630 "b" or "<CTRL-V>" |blockwise-visual| mode
3631 If a number immediately follows "b" or "<CTRL-V>" then this is
3632 used as the width of the selection - if it is not specified
3633 then the width of the block is set to the number of characters
3634 in the longest line (counting a <TAB> as 1 character).
3635
3636 If {options} contains no register settings, then the default
3637 is to use character mode unless {value} ends in a <NL>.
3638 Setting the '=' register is not possible.
3639 Returns zero for success, non-zero for failure.
3640
3641 Examples: >
3642 :call setreg(v:register, @*)
3643 :call setreg('*', @%, 'ac')
3644 :call setreg('a', "1\n2\n3", 'b5')
3645
3646< This example shows using the functions to save and restore a
3647 register. >
3648 :let var_a = getreg('a')
3649 :let var_amode = getregtype('a')
3650 ....
3651 :call setreg('a', var_a, var_amode)
3652
3653< You can also change the type of a register by appending
3654 nothing: >
3655 :call setreg('a', '', 'al')
3656
3657setwinvar({nr}, {varname}, {val}) *setwinvar()*
3658 Set option or local variable {varname} in window {nr} to
3659 {val}.
3660 This also works for a global or local buffer option, but it
3661 doesn't work for a global or local buffer variable.
3662 For a local buffer option the global value is unchanged.
3663 Note that the variable name without "w:" must be used.
3664 Examples: >
3665 :call setwinvar(1, "&list", 0)
3666 :call setwinvar(2, "myvar", "foobar")
3667< This function is not available in the |sandbox|.
3668
3669simplify({filename}) *simplify()*
3670 Simplify the file name as much as possible without changing
3671 the meaning. Shortcuts (on MS-Windows) or symbolic links (on
3672 Unix) are not resolved. If the first path component in
3673 {filename} designates the current directory, this will be
3674 valid for the result as well. A trailing path separator is
3675 not removed either.
3676 Example: >
3677 simplify("./dir/.././/file/") == "./file/"
3678< Note: The combination "dir/.." is only removed if "dir" is
3679 a searchable directory or does not exist. On Unix, it is also
3680 removed when "dir" is a symbolic link within the same
3681 directory. In order to resolve all the involved symbolic
3682 links before simplifying the path name, use |resolve()|.
3683
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00003684
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +00003685sort({list} [, {func}]) *sort()* *E702*
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00003686 Sort the items in {list} in-place. Returns {list}. If you
3687 want a list to remain unmodified make a copy first: >
3688 :let sortedlist = sort(copy(mylist))
3689< Uses the string representation of each item to sort on.
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00003690 Numbers sort after Strings, Lists after Numbers.
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00003691 When {func} is given and it is one then case is ignored.
3692 When {func} is a Funcref or a function name, this function is
3693 called to compare items. The function is invoked with two
3694 items as argument and must return zero if they are equal, 1 if
3695 the first one sorts after the second one, -1 if the first one
3696 sorts before the second one. Example: >
3697 func MyCompare(i1, i2)
3698 return a:i1 == a:i2 ? 0 : a:i1 > a:i2 ? 1 : -1
3699 endfunc
3700 let sortedlist = sort(mylist, "MyCompare")
3701
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00003702split({expr} [, {pattern}]) *split()*
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00003703 Make a List out of {expr}. When {pattern} is omitted each
3704 white-separated sequence of characters becomes an item.
3705 Otherwise the string is split where {pattern} matches,
3706 removing the matched characters. Empty strings are omitted.
3707 Example: >
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00003708 :let words = split(getline('.'), '\W\+')
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00003709< Since empty strings are not added the "\+" isn't required but
3710 it makes the function work a bit faster.
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00003711 The opposite function is |join()|.
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00003712
3713
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003714strftime({format} [, {time}]) *strftime()*
3715 The result is a String, which is a formatted date and time, as
3716 specified by the {format} string. The given {time} is used,
3717 or the current time if no time is given. The accepted
3718 {format} depends on your system, thus this is not portable!
3719 See the manual page of the C function strftime() for the
3720 format. The maximum length of the result is 80 characters.
3721 See also |localtime()| and |getftime()|.
3722 The language can be changed with the |:language| command.
3723 Examples: >
3724 :echo strftime("%c") Sun Apr 27 11:49:23 1997
3725 :echo strftime("%Y %b %d %X") 1997 Apr 27 11:53:25
3726 :echo strftime("%y%m%d %T") 970427 11:53:55
3727 :echo strftime("%H:%M") 11:55
3728 :echo strftime("%c", getftime("file.c"))
3729 Show mod time of file.c.
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00003730< Not available on all systems. To check use: >
3731 :if exists("*strftime")
3732
Bram Moolenaar8f999f12005-01-25 22:12:55 +00003733stridx({haystack}, {needle} [, {start}]) *stridx()*
3734 The result is a Number, which gives the byte index in
3735 {haystack} of the first occurrence of the String {needle}.
Bram Moolenaar677ee682005-01-27 14:41:15 +00003736 If {start} is specified, the search starts at index {start}.
3737 This can be used to find a second match: >
3738 :let comma1 = stridx(line, ",")
3739 :let comma2 = stridx(line, ",", comma1 + 1)
3740< The search is done case-sensitive.
Bram Moolenaare2cc9702005-03-15 22:43:58 +00003741 For pattern searches use |match()|.
Bram Moolenaar8f999f12005-01-25 22:12:55 +00003742 -1 is returned if the {needle} does not occur in {haystack}.
Bram Moolenaar677ee682005-01-27 14:41:15 +00003743 See also |strridx()|.
3744 Examples: >
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003745 :echo stridx("An Example", "Example") 3
3746 :echo stridx("Starting point", "Start") 0
3747 :echo stridx("Starting point", "start") -1
Bram Moolenaar05159a02005-02-26 23:04:13 +00003748< *strstr()* *strchr()*
3749 stridx() works similar to the C function strstr(). When used
3750 with a single character it works similar to strchr().
3751
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00003752 *string()*
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00003753string({expr}) Return {expr} converted to a String. If {expr} is a Number,
3754 String or a composition of them, then the result can be parsed
3755 back with |eval()|.
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00003756 {expr} type result ~
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +00003757 String 'string'
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00003758 Number 123
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +00003759 Funcref function('name')
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00003760 List [item, item]
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +00003761 Note that in String values the ' character is doubled.
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00003762
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003763 *strlen()*
3764strlen({expr}) The result is a Number, which is the length of the String
3765 {expr} in bytes. If you want to count the number of
3766 multi-byte characters use something like this: >
3767
3768 :let len = strlen(substitute(str, ".", "x", "g"))
3769
3770< Composing characters are not counted.
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00003771 If the argument is a Number it is first converted to a String.
3772 For other types an error is given.
3773 Also see |len()|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003774
3775strpart({src}, {start}[, {len}]) *strpart()*
3776 The result is a String, which is part of {src}, starting from
3777 byte {start}, with the length {len}.
3778 When non-existing bytes are included, this doesn't result in
3779 an error, the bytes are simply omitted.
3780 If {len} is missing, the copy continues from {start} till the
3781 end of the {src}. >
3782 strpart("abcdefg", 3, 2) == "de"
3783 strpart("abcdefg", -2, 4) == "ab"
3784 strpart("abcdefg", 5, 4) == "fg"
3785 strpart("abcdefg", 3) == "defg"
3786< Note: To get the first character, {start} must be 0. For
3787 example, to get three bytes under and after the cursor: >
3788 strpart(getline(line(".")), col(".") - 1, 3)
3789<
Bram Moolenaar677ee682005-01-27 14:41:15 +00003790strridx({haystack}, {needle} [, {start}]) *strridx()*
3791 The result is a Number, which gives the byte index in
3792 {haystack} of the last occurrence of the String {needle}.
3793 When {start} is specified, matches beyond this index are
3794 ignored. This can be used to find a match before a previous
3795 match: >
3796 :let lastcomma = strridx(line, ",")
3797 :let comma2 = strridx(line, ",", lastcomma - 1)
3798< The search is done case-sensitive.
Bram Moolenaar8f999f12005-01-25 22:12:55 +00003799 For pattern searches use |match()|.
3800 -1 is returned if the {needle} does not occur in {haystack}.
Bram Moolenaard4755bb2004-09-02 19:12:26 +00003801 If the {needle} is empty the length of {haystack} is returned.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003802 See also |stridx()|. Examples: >
3803 :echo strridx("an angry armadillo", "an") 3
Bram Moolenaar05159a02005-02-26 23:04:13 +00003804< *strrchr()*
3805 When used with a single character it works similar to the C
3806 function strrchr().
3807
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003808strtrans({expr}) *strtrans()*
3809 The result is a String, which is {expr} with all unprintable
3810 characters translated into printable characters |'isprint'|.
3811 Like they are shown in a window. Example: >
3812 echo strtrans(@a)
3813< This displays a newline in register a as "^@" instead of
3814 starting a new line.
3815
3816submatch({nr}) *submatch()*
3817 Only for an expression in a |:substitute| command. Returns
3818 the {nr}'th submatch of the matched text. When {nr} is 0
3819 the whole matched text is returned.
3820 Example: >
3821 :s/\d\+/\=submatch(0) + 1/
3822< This finds the first number in the line and adds one to it.
3823 A line break is included as a newline character.
3824
3825substitute({expr}, {pat}, {sub}, {flags}) *substitute()*
3826 The result is a String, which is a copy of {expr}, in which
3827 the first match of {pat} is replaced with {sub}. This works
3828 like the ":substitute" command (without any flags). But the
3829 matching with {pat} is always done like the 'magic' option is
3830 set and 'cpoptions' is empty (to make scripts portable).
3831 See |string-match| for how {pat} is used.
3832 And a "~" in {sub} is not replaced with the previous {sub}.
3833 Note that some codes in {sub} have a special meaning
3834 |sub-replace-special|. For example, to replace something with
3835 "\n" (two characters), use "\\\\n" or '\\n'.
3836 When {pat} does not match in {expr}, {expr} is returned
3837 unmodified.
3838 When {flags} is "g", all matches of {pat} in {expr} are
3839 replaced. Otherwise {flags} should be "".
3840 Example: >
3841 :let &path = substitute(&path, ",\\=[^,]*$", "", "")
3842< This removes the last component of the 'path' option. >
3843 :echo substitute("testing", ".*", "\\U\\0", "")
3844< results in "TESTING".
3845
Bram Moolenaar47136d72004-10-12 20:02:24 +00003846synID({lnum}, {col}, {trans}) *synID()*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003847 The result is a Number, which is the syntax ID at the position
Bram Moolenaar47136d72004-10-12 20:02:24 +00003848 {lnum} and {col} in the current window.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003849 The syntax ID can be used with |synIDattr()| and
3850 |synIDtrans()| to obtain syntax information about text.
Bram Moolenaar47136d72004-10-12 20:02:24 +00003851 {col} is 1 for the leftmost column, {lnum} is 1 for the first
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003852 line.
3853 When {trans} is non-zero, transparent items are reduced to the
3854 item that they reveal. This is useful when wanting to know
3855 the effective color. When {trans} is zero, the transparent
3856 item is returned. This is useful when wanting to know which
3857 syntax item is effective (e.g. inside parens).
3858 Warning: This function can be very slow. Best speed is
3859 obtained by going through the file in forward direction.
3860
3861 Example (echoes the name of the syntax item under the cursor): >
3862 :echo synIDattr(synID(line("."), col("."), 1), "name")
3863<
3864synIDattr({synID}, {what} [, {mode}]) *synIDattr()*
3865 The result is a String, which is the {what} attribute of
3866 syntax ID {synID}. This can be used to obtain information
3867 about a syntax item.
3868 {mode} can be "gui", "cterm" or "term", to get the attributes
3869 for that mode. When {mode} is omitted, or an invalid value is
3870 used, the attributes for the currently active highlighting are
3871 used (GUI, cterm or term).
3872 Use synIDtrans() to follow linked highlight groups.
3873 {what} result
3874 "name" the name of the syntax item
3875 "fg" foreground color (GUI: color name used to set
3876 the color, cterm: color number as a string,
3877 term: empty string)
3878 "bg" background color (like "fg")
3879 "fg#" like "fg", but for the GUI and the GUI is
3880 running the name in "#RRGGBB" form
3881 "bg#" like "fg#" for "bg"
3882 "bold" "1" if bold
3883 "italic" "1" if italic
3884 "reverse" "1" if reverse
3885 "inverse" "1" if inverse (= reverse)
3886 "underline" "1" if underlined
Bram Moolenaare2cc9702005-03-15 22:43:58 +00003887 "undercurl" "1" if undercurled
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003888
3889 Example (echoes the color of the syntax item under the
3890 cursor): >
3891 :echo synIDattr(synIDtrans(synID(line("."), col("."), 1)), "fg")
3892<
3893synIDtrans({synID}) *synIDtrans()*
3894 The result is a Number, which is the translated syntax ID of
3895 {synID}. This is the syntax group ID of what is being used to
3896 highlight the character. Highlight links given with
3897 ":highlight link" are followed.
3898
Bram Moolenaarc0197e22004-09-13 20:26:32 +00003899system({expr} [, {input}]) *system()* *E677*
3900 Get the output of the shell command {expr}.
3901 When {input} is given, this string is written to a file and
3902 passed as stdin to the command. The string is written as-is,
3903 you need to take care of using the correct line separators
Bram Moolenaar05159a02005-02-26 23:04:13 +00003904 yourself. Pipes are not used.
Bram Moolenaarc0197e22004-09-13 20:26:32 +00003905 Note: newlines in {expr} may cause the command to fail. The
3906 characters in 'shellquote' and 'shellxquote' may also cause
3907 trouble.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003908 This is not to be used for interactive commands.
3909 The result is a String. Example: >
3910
3911 :let files = system("ls")
3912
3913< To make the result more system-independent, the shell output
3914 is filtered to replace <CR> with <NL> for Macintosh, and
3915 <CR><NL> with <NL> for DOS-like systems.
3916 The command executed is constructed using several options:
3917 'shell' 'shellcmdflag' 'shellxquote' {expr} 'shellredir' {tmp} 'shellxquote'
3918 ({tmp} is an automatically generated file name).
3919 For Unix and OS/2 braces are put around {expr} to allow for
3920 concatenated commands.
3921
3922 The resulting error code can be found in |v:shell_error|.
3923 This function will fail in |restricted-mode|.
3924 Unlike ":!cmd" there is no automatic check for changed files.
3925 Use |:checktime| to force a check.
3926
Bram Moolenaare2cc9702005-03-15 22:43:58 +00003927
3928taglist({expr}) *taglist()*
3929 Returns a list of tags matching the regular expression {expr}.
3930 Each list item is a dictionary with the following entries:
3931 name name of the tag.
3932 filename name of the file where the tag is
3933 defined.
3934 cmd Ex command used to locate the tag in
3935 the file.
3936 kind type of the tag. The value for this
3937 entry depends on the language specific
3938 kind values generated by the ctags
3939 tool.
3940 static a file specific tag. Refer to
3941 |static-tag| for more information.
Bram Moolenaar4317d9b2005-03-18 20:25:31 +00003942 The "kind" entry is only available when using Exuberant ctags
3943 generated tags file. More entries may be present, depending
3944 on the content of the tags file: access, implementation,
3945 inherits and signature. Refer to the ctags documentation for
3946 information about these fields. For C code the fields
3947 "struct", "class" and "enum" may appear, they give the name of
3948 the entity the tag is contained in.
3949
3950 The ex-command 'cmd' can be either an ex search pattern, a
3951 line number or a line number followed by a byte number.
Bram Moolenaare2cc9702005-03-15 22:43:58 +00003952
3953 If there are no matching tags, then an empty list is returned.
3954
3955 To get an exact tag match, the anchors '^' and '$' should be
3956 used in {expr}. Refer to |tag-regexp| for more information
3957 about the tag search regular expression pattern.
3958
3959 Refer to |'tags'| for information about how the tags file is
3960 located by Vim. Refer to |tags-file-format| for the format of
3961 the tags file generated by the different ctags tools.
3962
3963
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003964tempname() *tempname()* *temp-file-name*
3965 The result is a String, which is the name of a file that
3966 doesn't exist. It can be used for a temporary file. The name
3967 is different for at least 26 consecutive calls. Example: >
3968 :let tmpfile = tempname()
3969 :exe "redir > " . tmpfile
3970< For Unix, the file will be in a private directory (only
3971 accessible by the current user) to avoid security problems
3972 (e.g., a symlink attack or other people reading your file).
3973 When Vim exits the directory and all files in it are deleted.
3974 For MS-Windows forward slashes are used when the 'shellslash'
3975 option is set or when 'shellcmdflag' starts with '-'.
3976
3977tolower({expr}) *tolower()*
3978 The result is a copy of the String given, with all uppercase
3979 characters turned into lowercase (just like applying |gu| to
3980 the string).
3981
3982toupper({expr}) *toupper()*
3983 The result is a copy of the String given, with all lowercase
3984 characters turned into uppercase (just like applying |gU| to
3985 the string).
3986
Bram Moolenaar8299df92004-07-10 09:47:34 +00003987tr({src}, {fromstr}, {tostr}) *tr()*
3988 The result is a copy of the {src} string with all characters
3989 which appear in {fromstr} replaced by the character in that
3990 position in the {tostr} string. Thus the first character in
3991 {fromstr} is translated into the first character in {tostr}
3992 and so on. Exactly like the unix "tr" command.
3993 This code also deals with multibyte characters properly.
3994
3995 Examples: >
3996 echo tr("hello there", "ht", "HT")
3997< returns "Hello THere" >
3998 echo tr("<blob>", "<>", "{}")
3999< returns "{blob}"
4000
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +00004001 *type()*
4002type({expr}) The result is a Number, depending on the type of {expr}:
Bram Moolenaar748bf032005-02-02 23:04:36 +00004003 Number: 0
4004 String: 1
4005 Funcref: 2
4006 List: 3
4007 Dictionary: 4
4008 To avoid the magic numbers it should be used this way: >
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +00004009 :if type(myvar) == type(0)
4010 :if type(myvar) == type("")
4011 :if type(myvar) == type(function("tr"))
4012 :if type(myvar) == type([])
Bram Moolenaar748bf032005-02-02 23:04:36 +00004013 :if type(myvar) == type({})
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004014
Bram Moolenaar677ee682005-01-27 14:41:15 +00004015values({dict}) *values()*
4016 Return a List with all the values of {dict}. The List is in
4017 arbitrary order.
4018
4019
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004020virtcol({expr}) *virtcol()*
4021 The result is a Number, which is the screen column of the file
4022 position given with {expr}. That is, the last screen position
4023 occupied by the character at that position, when the screen
4024 would be of unlimited width. When there is a <Tab> at the
4025 position, the returned Number will be the column at the end of
4026 the <Tab>. For example, for a <Tab> in column 1, with 'ts'
4027 set to 8, it returns 8.
4028 For the byte position use |col()|.
4029 When Virtual editing is active in the current mode, a position
4030 beyond the end of the line can be returned. |'virtualedit'|
4031 The accepted positions are:
4032 . the cursor position
4033 $ the end of the cursor line (the result is the
4034 number of displayed characters in the cursor line
4035 plus one)
4036 'x position of mark x (if the mark is not set, 0 is
4037 returned)
4038 Note that only marks in the current file can be used.
4039 Examples: >
4040 virtcol(".") with text "foo^Lbar", with cursor on the "^L", returns 5
4041 virtcol("$") with text "foo^Lbar", returns 9
4042 virtcol("'t") with text " there", with 't at 'h', returns 6
4043< The first column is 1. 0 is returned for an error.
4044
4045visualmode([expr]) *visualmode()*
4046 The result is a String, which describes the last Visual mode
4047 used. Initially it returns an empty string, but once Visual
4048 mode has been used, it returns "v", "V", or "<CTRL-V>" (a
4049 single CTRL-V character) for character-wise, line-wise, or
4050 block-wise Visual mode respectively.
4051 Example: >
4052 :exe "normal " . visualmode()
4053< This enters the same Visual mode as before. It is also useful
4054 in scripts if you wish to act differently depending on the
4055 Visual mode that was used.
4056
4057 If an expression is supplied that results in a non-zero number
4058 or a non-empty string, then the Visual mode will be cleared
4059 and the old value is returned. Note that " " and "0" are also
4060 non-empty strings, thus cause the mode to be cleared.
4061
4062 *winbufnr()*
4063winbufnr({nr}) The result is a Number, which is the number of the buffer
4064 associated with window {nr}. When {nr} is zero, the number of
4065 the buffer in the current window is returned. When window
4066 {nr} doesn't exist, -1 is returned.
4067 Example: >
4068 :echo "The file in the current window is " . bufname(winbufnr(0))
4069<
4070 *wincol()*
4071wincol() The result is a Number, which is the virtual column of the
4072 cursor in the window. This is counting screen cells from the
4073 left side of the window. The leftmost column is one.
4074
4075winheight({nr}) *winheight()*
4076 The result is a Number, which is the height of window {nr}.
4077 When {nr} is zero, the height of the current window is
4078 returned. When window {nr} doesn't exist, -1 is returned.
4079 An existing window always has a height of zero or more.
4080 Examples: >
4081 :echo "The current window has " . winheight(0) . " lines."
4082<
4083 *winline()*
4084winline() The result is a Number, which is the screen line of the cursor
4085 in the window. This is counting screen lines from the top of
4086 the window. The first line is one.
4087
4088 *winnr()*
Bram Moolenaar5eb86f92004-07-26 12:53:41 +00004089winnr([{arg}]) The result is a Number, which is the number of the current
4090 window. The top window has number 1.
4091 When the optional argument is "$", the number of the
4092 last window is returnd (the window count).
4093 When the optional argument is "#", the number of the last
4094 accessed window is returned (where |CTRL-W_p| goes to).
4095 If there is no previous window 0 is returned.
4096 The number can be used with |CTRL-W_w| and ":wincmd w"
4097 |:wincmd|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004098
4099 *winrestcmd()*
4100winrestcmd() Returns a sequence of |:resize| commands that should restore
4101 the current window sizes. Only works properly when no windows
4102 are opened or closed and the current window is unchanged.
4103 Example: >
4104 :let cmd = winrestcmd()
4105 :call MessWithWindowSizes()
4106 :exe cmd
4107
4108winwidth({nr}) *winwidth()*
4109 The result is a Number, which is the width of window {nr}.
4110 When {nr} is zero, the width of the current window is
4111 returned. When window {nr} doesn't exist, -1 is returned.
4112 An existing window always has a width of zero or more.
4113 Examples: >
4114 :echo "The current window has " . winwidth(0) . " columns."
4115 :if winwidth(0) <= 50
4116 : exe "normal 50\<C-W>|"
4117 :endif
4118<
Bram Moolenaar3a7c85b2005-02-05 21:39:53 +00004119 *writefile()*
4120writefile({list}, {fname} [, {binary}])
4121 Write List {list} to file {fname}. Each list item is
4122 separated with a NL. Each list item must be a String or
4123 Number.
4124 When {binary} is equal to "b" binary mode is used: There will
4125 not be a NL after the last list item. An empty item at the
4126 end does cause the last line in the file to end in a NL.
4127 All NL characters are replaced with a NUL character.
4128 Inserting CR characters needs to be done before passing {list}
4129 to writefile().
4130 An existing file is overwritten, if possible.
4131 When the write fails -1 is returned, otherwise 0. There is an
4132 error message if the file can't be created or when writing
4133 fails.
4134 Also see |readfile()|.
4135 To copy a file byte for byte: >
4136 :let fl = readfile("foo", "b")
4137 :call writefile(fl, "foocopy", "b")
4138<
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004139
4140 *feature-list*
4141There are three types of features:
41421. Features that are only supported when they have been enabled when Vim
4143 was compiled |+feature-list|. Example: >
4144 :if has("cindent")
41452. Features that are only supported when certain conditions have been met.
4146 Example: >
4147 :if has("gui_running")
4148< *has-patch*
41493. Included patches. First check |v:version| for the version of Vim.
4150 Then the "patch123" feature means that patch 123 has been included for
4151 this version. Example (checking version 6.2.148 or later): >
4152 :if v:version > 602 || v:version == 602 && has("patch148")
4153
4154all_builtin_terms Compiled with all builtin terminals enabled.
4155amiga Amiga version of Vim.
4156arabic Compiled with Arabic support |Arabic|.
4157arp Compiled with ARP support (Amiga).
4158autocmd Compiled with autocommands support.
4159balloon_eval Compiled with |balloon-eval| support.
4160beos BeOS version of Vim.
4161browse Compiled with |:browse| support, and browse() will
4162 work.
4163builtin_terms Compiled with some builtin terminals.
4164byte_offset Compiled with support for 'o' in 'statusline'
4165cindent Compiled with 'cindent' support.
4166clientserver Compiled with remote invocation support |clientserver|.
4167clipboard Compiled with 'clipboard' support.
4168cmdline_compl Compiled with |cmdline-completion| support.
4169cmdline_hist Compiled with |cmdline-history| support.
4170cmdline_info Compiled with 'showcmd' and 'ruler' support.
4171comments Compiled with |'comments'| support.
4172cryptv Compiled with encryption support |encryption|.
4173cscope Compiled with |cscope| support.
4174compatible Compiled to be very Vi compatible.
4175debug Compiled with "DEBUG" defined.
4176dialog_con Compiled with console dialog support.
4177dialog_gui Compiled with GUI dialog support.
4178diff Compiled with |vimdiff| and 'diff' support.
4179digraphs Compiled with support for digraphs.
4180dnd Compiled with support for the "~ register |quote_~|.
4181dos32 32 bits DOS (DJGPP) version of Vim.
4182dos16 16 bits DOS version of Vim.
4183ebcdic Compiled on a machine with ebcdic character set.
4184emacs_tags Compiled with support for Emacs tags.
4185eval Compiled with expression evaluation support. Always
4186 true, of course!
4187ex_extra Compiled with extra Ex commands |+ex_extra|.
4188extra_search Compiled with support for |'incsearch'| and
4189 |'hlsearch'|
4190farsi Compiled with Farsi support |farsi|.
4191file_in_path Compiled with support for |gf| and |<cfile>|
Bram Moolenaar26a60b42005-02-22 08:49:11 +00004192filterpipe When 'shelltemp' is off pipes are used for shell
4193 read/write/filter commands
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004194find_in_path Compiled with support for include file searches
4195 |+find_in_path|.
4196fname_case Case in file names matters (for Amiga, MS-DOS, and
4197 Windows this is not present).
4198folding Compiled with |folding| support.
4199footer Compiled with GUI footer support. |gui-footer|
4200fork Compiled to use fork()/exec() instead of system().
4201gettext Compiled with message translation |multi-lang|
4202gui Compiled with GUI enabled.
4203gui_athena Compiled with Athena GUI.
Bram Moolenaar69a7cb42004-06-20 12:51:53 +00004204gui_beos Compiled with BeOS GUI.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004205gui_gtk Compiled with GTK+ GUI (any version).
4206gui_gtk2 Compiled with GTK+ 2 GUI (gui_gtk is also defined).
Bram Moolenaar843ee412004-06-30 16:16:41 +00004207gui_kde Compiled with KDE GUI |KVim|
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004208gui_mac Compiled with Macintosh GUI.
4209gui_motif Compiled with Motif GUI.
4210gui_photon Compiled with Photon GUI.
4211gui_win32 Compiled with MS Windows Win32 GUI.
4212gui_win32s idem, and Win32s system being used (Windows 3.1)
4213gui_running Vim is running in the GUI, or it will start soon.
4214hangul_input Compiled with Hangul input support. |hangul|
4215iconv Can use iconv() for conversion.
4216insert_expand Compiled with support for CTRL-X expansion commands in
4217 Insert mode.
4218jumplist Compiled with |jumplist| support.
4219keymap Compiled with 'keymap' support.
4220langmap Compiled with 'langmap' support.
4221libcall Compiled with |libcall()| support.
4222linebreak Compiled with 'linebreak', 'breakat' and 'showbreak'
4223 support.
4224lispindent Compiled with support for lisp indenting.
4225listcmds Compiled with commands for the buffer list |:files|
4226 and the argument list |arglist|.
4227localmap Compiled with local mappings and abbr. |:map-local|
4228mac Macintosh version of Vim.
4229macunix Macintosh version of Vim, using Unix files (OS-X).
4230menu Compiled with support for |:menu|.
4231mksession Compiled with support for |:mksession|.
4232modify_fname Compiled with file name modifiers. |filename-modifiers|
4233mouse Compiled with support mouse.
4234mouseshape Compiled with support for 'mouseshape'.
4235mouse_dec Compiled with support for Dec terminal mouse.
4236mouse_gpm Compiled with support for gpm (Linux console mouse)
4237mouse_netterm Compiled with support for netterm mouse.
4238mouse_pterm Compiled with support for qnx pterm mouse.
4239mouse_xterm Compiled with support for xterm mouse.
4240multi_byte Compiled with support for editing Korean et al.
4241multi_byte_ime Compiled with support for IME input method.
4242multi_lang Compiled with support for multiple languages.
Bram Moolenaar325b7a22004-07-05 15:58:32 +00004243mzscheme Compiled with MzScheme interface |mzscheme|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004244netbeans_intg Compiled with support for |netbeans|.
Bram Moolenaar009b2592004-10-24 19:18:58 +00004245netbeans_enabled Compiled with support for |netbeans| and it's used.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004246ole Compiled with OLE automation support for Win32.
4247os2 OS/2 version of Vim.
4248osfiletype Compiled with support for osfiletypes |+osfiletype|
4249path_extra Compiled with up/downwards search in 'path' and 'tags'
4250perl Compiled with Perl interface.
4251postscript Compiled with PostScript file printing.
4252printer Compiled with |:hardcopy| support.
Bram Moolenaar05159a02005-02-26 23:04:13 +00004253profile Compiled with |:profile| support.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004254python Compiled with Python interface.
4255qnx QNX version of Vim.
4256quickfix Compiled with |quickfix| support.
4257rightleft Compiled with 'rightleft' support.
4258ruby Compiled with Ruby interface |ruby|.
4259scrollbind Compiled with 'scrollbind' support.
4260showcmd Compiled with 'showcmd' support.
4261signs Compiled with |:sign| support.
4262smartindent Compiled with 'smartindent' support.
Bram Moolenaar69a7cb42004-06-20 12:51:53 +00004263sniff Compiled with SNiFF interface support.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004264statusline Compiled with support for 'statusline', 'rulerformat'
4265 and special formats of 'titlestring' and 'iconstring'.
4266sun_workshop Compiled with support for Sun |workshop|.
4267syntax Compiled with syntax highlighting support.
4268syntax_items There are active syntax highlighting items for the
4269 current buffer.
4270system Compiled to use system() instead of fork()/exec().
4271tag_binary Compiled with binary searching in tags files
4272 |tag-binary-search|.
4273tag_old_static Compiled with support for old static tags
4274 |tag-old-static|.
4275tag_any_white Compiled with support for any white characters in tags
4276 files |tag-any-white|.
4277tcl Compiled with Tcl interface.
4278terminfo Compiled with terminfo instead of termcap.
4279termresponse Compiled with support for |t_RV| and |v:termresponse|.
4280textobjects Compiled with support for |text-objects|.
4281tgetent Compiled with tgetent support, able to use a termcap
4282 or terminfo file.
4283title Compiled with window title support |'title'|.
4284toolbar Compiled with support for |gui-toolbar|.
4285unix Unix version of Vim.
4286user_commands User-defined commands.
4287viminfo Compiled with viminfo support.
4288vim_starting True while initial source'ing takes place.
4289vertsplit Compiled with vertically split windows |:vsplit|.
4290virtualedit Compiled with 'virtualedit' option.
4291visual Compiled with Visual mode.
4292visualextra Compiled with extra Visual mode commands.
4293 |blockwise-operators|.
4294vms VMS version of Vim.
4295vreplace Compiled with |gR| and |gr| commands.
4296wildignore Compiled with 'wildignore' option.
4297wildmenu Compiled with 'wildmenu' option.
4298windows Compiled with support for more than one window.
4299winaltkeys Compiled with 'winaltkeys' option.
4300win16 Win16 version of Vim (MS-Windows 3.1).
4301win32 Win32 version of Vim (MS-Windows 95/98/ME/NT/2000/XP).
4302win64 Win64 version of Vim (MS-Windows 64 bit).
4303win32unix Win32 version of Vim, using Unix files (Cygwin)
4304win95 Win32 version for MS-Windows 95/98/ME.
4305writebackup Compiled with 'writebackup' default on.
4306xfontset Compiled with X fontset support |xfontset|.
4307xim Compiled with X input method support |xim|.
4308xsmp Compiled with X session management support.
4309xsmp_interact Compiled with interactive X session management support.
4310xterm_clipboard Compiled with support for xterm clipboard.
4311xterm_save Compiled with support for saving and restoring the
4312 xterm screen.
4313x11 Compiled with X11 support.
4314
4315 *string-match*
4316Matching a pattern in a String
4317
4318A regexp pattern as explained at |pattern| is normally used to find a match in
4319the buffer lines. When a pattern is used to find a match in a String, almost
4320everything works in the same way. The difference is that a String is handled
4321like it is one line. When it contains a "\n" character, this is not seen as a
4322line break for the pattern. It can be matched with a "\n" in the pattern, or
4323with ".". Example: >
4324 :let a = "aaaa\nxxxx"
4325 :echo matchstr(a, "..\n..")
4326 aa
4327 xx
4328 :echo matchstr(a, "a.x")
4329 a
4330 x
4331
4332Don't forget that "^" will only match at the first character of the String and
4333"$" at the last character of the string. They don't match after or before a
4334"\n".
4335
4336==============================================================================
43375. Defining functions *user-functions*
4338
4339New functions can be defined. These can be called just like builtin
4340functions. The function executes a sequence of Ex commands. Normal mode
4341commands can be executed with the |:normal| command.
4342
4343The function name must start with an uppercase letter, to avoid confusion with
4344builtin functions. To prevent from using the same name in different scripts
4345avoid obvious, short names. A good habit is to start the function name with
4346the name of the script, e.g., "HTMLcolor()".
4347
4348It's also possible to use curly braces, see |curly-braces-names|.
4349
4350 *local-function*
4351A function local to a script must start with "s:". A local script function
4352can only be called from within the script and from functions, user commands
4353and autocommands defined in the script. It is also possible to call the
4354function from a mappings defined in the script, but then |<SID>| must be used
4355instead of "s:" when the mapping is expanded outside of the script.
4356
4357 *:fu* *:function* *E128* *E129* *E123*
4358:fu[nction] List all functions and their arguments.
4359
4360:fu[nction] {name} List function {name}.
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00004361 {name} can also be a Dictionary entry that is a
4362 Funcref: >
4363 :function dict.init
4364< *E124* *E125*
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00004365:fu[nction][!] {name}([arguments]) [range] [abort] [dict]
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004366 Define a new function by the name {name}. The name
4367 must be made of alphanumeric characters and '_', and
4368 must start with a capital or "s:" (see above).
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00004369
4370 {name} can also be a Dictionary entry that is a
4371 Funcref: >
4372 :function dict.init(arg)
4373< "dict" must be an existing dictionary. The entry
4374 "init" is added if it didn't exist yet. Otherwise [!]
4375 is required to overwrite an existing function. The
4376 result is a |Funcref| to a numbered function. The
4377 function can only be used with a |Funcref| and will be
4378 deleted if there are no more references to it.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004379 *E127* *E122*
4380 When a function by this name already exists and [!] is
4381 not used an error message is given. When [!] is used,
4382 an existing function is silently replaced. Unless it
4383 is currently being executed, that is an error.
Bram Moolenaar8f999f12005-01-25 22:12:55 +00004384
4385 For the {arguments} see |function-argument|.
4386
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004387 *a:firstline* *a:lastline*
4388 When the [range] argument is added, the function is
4389 expected to take care of a range itself. The range is
4390 passed as "a:firstline" and "a:lastline". If [range]
4391 is excluded, ":{range}call" will call the function for
4392 each line in the range, with the cursor on the start
4393 of each line. See |function-range-example|.
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00004394
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004395 When the [abort] argument is added, the function will
4396 abort as soon as an error is detected.
4397 The last used search pattern and the redo command "."
4398 will not be changed by the function.
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00004399
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00004400 When the [dict] argument is added, the function must
4401 be invoked through an entry in a Dictionary. The
4402 local variable "self" will then be set to the
4403 dictionary. See |Dictionary-function|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004404
4405 *:endf* *:endfunction* *E126* *E193*
4406:endf[unction] The end of a function definition. Must be on a line
4407 by its own, without other commands.
4408
4409 *:delf* *:delfunction* *E130* *E131*
4410:delf[unction] {name} Delete function {name}.
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00004411 {name} can also be a Dictionary entry that is a
4412 Funcref: >
4413 :delfunc dict.init
4414< This will remove the "init" entry from "dict". The
4415 function is deleted if there are no more references to
4416 it.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004417 *:retu* *:return* *E133*
4418:retu[rn] [expr] Return from a function. When "[expr]" is given, it is
4419 evaluated and returned as the result of the function.
4420 If "[expr]" is not given, the number 0 is returned.
4421 When a function ends without an explicit ":return",
4422 the number 0 is returned.
4423 Note that there is no check for unreachable lines,
4424 thus there is no warning if commands follow ":return".
4425
4426 If the ":return" is used after a |:try| but before the
4427 matching |:finally| (if present), the commands
4428 following the ":finally" up to the matching |:endtry|
4429 are executed first. This process applies to all
4430 nested ":try"s inside the function. The function
4431 returns at the outermost ":endtry".
4432
Bram Moolenaar8f999f12005-01-25 22:12:55 +00004433 *function-argument* *a:var*
4434An argument can be defined by giving its name. In the function this can then
4435be used as "a:name" ("a:" for argument).
4436 *a:0* *a:1* *a:000* *E740*
4437Up to 20 arguments can be given, separated by commas. After the named
4438arguments an argument "..." can be specified, which means that more arguments
4439may optionally be following. In the function the extra arguments can be used
4440as "a:1", "a:2", etc. "a:0" is set to the number of extra arguments (which
Bram Moolenaar2ce06f62005-01-31 19:19:04 +00004441can be 0). "a:000" is set to a List that contains these arguments. Note that
4442"a:1" is the same as "a:000[0]".
4443 *E742*
4444The a: scope and the variables in it cannot be changed, they are fixed.
4445However, if a List or Dictionary is used, you can changes their contents.
4446Thus you can pass a List to a function and have the function add an item to
4447it. If you want to make sure the function cannot change a List or Dictionary
4448use |:lockvar|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004449
Bram Moolenaar8f999f12005-01-25 22:12:55 +00004450When not using "...", the number of arguments in a function call must be equal
4451to the number of named arguments. When using "...", the number of arguments
4452may be larger.
4453
4454It is also possible to define a function without any arguments. You must
4455still supply the () then. The body of the function follows in the next lines,
4456until the matching |:endfunction|. It is allowed to define another function
4457inside a function body.
4458
4459 *local-variables*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004460Inside a function variables can be used. These are local variables, which
4461will disappear when the function returns. Global variables need to be
4462accessed with "g:".
4463
4464Example: >
4465 :function Table(title, ...)
4466 : echohl Title
4467 : echo a:title
4468 : echohl None
Bram Moolenaar677ee682005-01-27 14:41:15 +00004469 : echo a:0 . " items:"
4470 : for s in a:000
4471 : echon ' ' . s
4472 : endfor
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004473 :endfunction
4474
4475This function can then be called with: >
Bram Moolenaar677ee682005-01-27 14:41:15 +00004476 call Table("Table", "line1", "line2")
4477 call Table("Empty Table")
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004478
4479To return more than one value, pass the name of a global variable: >
4480 :function Compute(n1, n2, divname)
4481 : if a:n2 == 0
4482 : return "fail"
4483 : endif
4484 : let g:{a:divname} = a:n1 / a:n2
4485 : return "ok"
4486 :endfunction
4487
4488This function can then be called with: >
4489 :let success = Compute(13, 1324, "div")
4490 :if success == "ok"
4491 : echo div
4492 :endif
4493
4494An alternative is to return a command that can be executed. This also works
4495with local variables in a calling function. Example: >
4496 :function Foo()
4497 : execute Bar()
4498 : echo "line " . lnum . " column " . col
4499 :endfunction
4500
4501 :function Bar()
4502 : return "let lnum = " . line(".") . " | let col = " . col(".")
4503 :endfunction
4504
4505The names "lnum" and "col" could also be passed as argument to Bar(), to allow
4506the caller to set the names.
4507
4508 *:cal* *:call* *E107*
4509:[range]cal[l] {name}([arguments])
4510 Call a function. The name of the function and its arguments
4511 are as specified with |:function|. Up to 20 arguments can be
4512 used.
4513 Without a range and for functions that accept a range, the
4514 function is called once. When a range is given the cursor is
4515 positioned at the start of the first line before executing the
4516 function.
4517 When a range is given and the function doesn't handle it
4518 itself, the function is executed for each line in the range,
4519 with the cursor in the first column of that line. The cursor
4520 is left at the last line (possibly moved by the last function
4521 call). The arguments are re-evaluated for each line. Thus
4522 this works:
4523 *function-range-example* >
4524 :function Mynumber(arg)
4525 : echo line(".") . " " . a:arg
4526 :endfunction
4527 :1,5call Mynumber(getline("."))
4528<
4529 The "a:firstline" and "a:lastline" are defined anyway, they
4530 can be used to do something different at the start or end of
4531 the range.
4532
4533 Example of a function that handles the range itself: >
4534
4535 :function Cont() range
4536 : execute (a:firstline + 1) . "," . a:lastline . 's/^/\t\\ '
4537 :endfunction
4538 :4,8call Cont()
4539<
4540 This function inserts the continuation character "\" in front
4541 of all the lines in the range, except the first one.
4542
4543 *E132*
4544The recursiveness of user functions is restricted with the |'maxfuncdepth'|
4545option.
4546
Bram Moolenaar7c626922005-02-07 22:01:03 +00004547
4548AUTOMATICALLY LOADING FUNCTIONS ~
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004549 *autoload-functions*
4550When using many or large functions, it's possible to automatically define them
Bram Moolenaar7c626922005-02-07 22:01:03 +00004551only when they are used. There are two methods: with an autocommand and with
4552the "autoload" directory in 'runtimepath'.
4553
4554
4555Using an autocommand ~
4556
Bram Moolenaar05159a02005-02-26 23:04:13 +00004557This is introduced in the user manual, section |41.14|.
4558
Bram Moolenaar7c626922005-02-07 22:01:03 +00004559The autocommand is useful if you have a plugin that is a long Vim script file.
4560You can define the autocommand and quickly quit the script with |:finish|.
4561That makes Vim startup faster. The autocommand should then load the same file
4562again, setting a variable to skip the |:finish| command.
4563
4564Use the FuncUndefined autocommand event with a pattern that matches the
4565function(s) to be defined. Example: >
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004566
4567 :au FuncUndefined BufNet* source ~/vim/bufnetfuncs.vim
4568
4569The file "~/vim/bufnetfuncs.vim" should then define functions that start with
4570"BufNet". Also see |FuncUndefined|.
4571
Bram Moolenaar7c626922005-02-07 22:01:03 +00004572
4573Using an autoload script ~
Bram Moolenaar26a60b42005-02-22 08:49:11 +00004574 *autoload* *E746*
Bram Moolenaar05159a02005-02-26 23:04:13 +00004575This is introduced in the user manual, section |41.15|.
4576
Bram Moolenaar7c626922005-02-07 22:01:03 +00004577Using a script in the "autoload" directory is simpler, but requires using
4578exactly the right file name. A function that can be autoloaded has a name
4579like this: >
4580
4581 :call filename:funcname()
4582
4583When such a function is called, and it is not defined yet, Vim will search the
4584"autoload" directories in 'runtimepath' for a script file called
4585"filename.vim". For example "~/.vim/autoload/filename.vim". That file should
4586then define the function like this: >
4587
4588 function filename:funcname()
4589 echo "Done!"
4590 endfunction
4591
4592The file name and the name used before the colon in the function must match
4593exactly, and the defined function must have the name exactly as it will be
4594called.
4595
4596It is possible to use subdirectories. Every colon in the function name works
4597like a path separator. Thus when calling a function: >
4598
4599 :call foo:bar:func()
4600
4601Vim will look for the file "autoload/foo/bar.vim" in 'runtimepath'.
4602
4603The name before the first colon must be at least two characters long,
4604otherwise it looks like a scope, such as "s:".
4605
Bram Moolenaar26a60b42005-02-22 08:49:11 +00004606This also works when reading a variable that has not been set yet: >
4607
4608 :let l = foo:bar:lvar
4609
4610When assigning a value to such a variable nothing special happens. This can
4611be used to pass settings to the autoload script before it's loaded: >
4612
4613 :let foo:bar:toggle = 1
4614 :call foo:bar:func()
4615
Bram Moolenaar4399ef42005-02-12 14:29:27 +00004616Note that when you make a mistake and call a function that is supposed to be
4617defined in an autoload script, but the script doesn't actually define the
4618function, the script will be sourced every time you try to call the function.
Bram Moolenaar26a60b42005-02-22 08:49:11 +00004619And you will get an error message every time.
4620
4621Also note that if you have two script files, and one calls a function in the
4622other and vise versa, before the used function is defined, it won't work.
4623Avoid using the autoload functionality at the toplevel.
Bram Moolenaar7c626922005-02-07 22:01:03 +00004624
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004625==============================================================================
46266. Curly braces names *curly-braces-names*
4627
4628Wherever you can use a variable, you can use a "curly braces name" variable.
4629This is a regular variable name with one or more expressions wrapped in braces
4630{} like this: >
4631 my_{adjective}_variable
4632
4633When Vim encounters this, it evaluates the expression inside the braces, puts
4634that in place of the expression, and re-interprets the whole as a variable
4635name. So in the above example, if the variable "adjective" was set to
4636"noisy", then the reference would be to "my_noisy_variable", whereas if
4637"adjective" was set to "quiet", then it would be to "my_quiet_variable".
4638
4639One application for this is to create a set of variables governed by an option
4640value. For example, the statement >
4641 echo my_{&background}_message
4642
4643would output the contents of "my_dark_message" or "my_light_message" depending
4644on the current value of 'background'.
4645
4646You can use multiple brace pairs: >
4647 echo my_{adverb}_{adjective}_message
4648..or even nest them: >
4649 echo my_{ad{end_of_word}}_message
4650where "end_of_word" is either "verb" or "jective".
4651
4652However, the expression inside the braces must evaluate to a valid single
4653variable name. e.g. this is invalid: >
4654 :let foo='a + b'
4655 :echo c{foo}d
4656.. since the result of expansion is "ca + bd", which is not a variable name.
4657
4658 *curly-braces-function-names*
4659You can call and define functions by an evaluated name in a similar way.
4660Example: >
4661 :let func_end='whizz'
4662 :call my_func_{func_end}(parameter)
4663
4664This would call the function "my_func_whizz(parameter)".
4665
4666==============================================================================
46677. Commands *expression-commands*
4668
4669:let {var-name} = {expr1} *:let* *E18*
4670 Set internal variable {var-name} to the result of the
4671 expression {expr1}. The variable will get the type
4672 from the {expr}. If {var-name} didn't exist yet, it
4673 is created.
4674
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +00004675:let {var-name}[{idx}] = {expr1} *E689*
4676 Set a list item to the result of the expression
4677 {expr1}. {var-name} must refer to a list and {idx}
4678 must be a valid index in that list. For nested list
4679 the index can be repeated.
4680 This cannot be used to add an item to a list.
4681
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00004682 *E711* *E719*
4683:let {var-name}[{idx1}:{idx2}] = {expr1} *E708* *E709* *E710*
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +00004684 Set a sequence of items in a List to the result of the
4685 expression {expr1}, which must be a list with the
4686 correct number of items.
4687 {idx1} can be omitted, zero is used instead.
4688 {idx2} can be omitted, meaning the end of the list.
4689 When the selected range of items is partly past the
4690 end of the list, items will be added.
4691
Bram Moolenaar748bf032005-02-02 23:04:36 +00004692 *:let+=* *:let-=* *:let.=* *E734*
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00004693:let {var} += {expr1} Like ":let {var} = {var} + {expr1}".
4694:let {var} -= {expr1} Like ":let {var} = {var} - {expr1}".
4695:let {var} .= {expr1} Like ":let {var} = {var} . {expr1}".
4696 These fail if {var} was not set yet and when the type
4697 of {var} and {expr1} don't fit the operator.
4698
4699
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004700:let ${env-name} = {expr1} *:let-environment* *:let-$*
4701 Set environment variable {env-name} to the result of
4702 the expression {expr1}. The type is always String.
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00004703:let ${env-name} .= {expr1}
4704 Append {expr1} to the environment variable {env-name}.
4705 If the environment variable didn't exist yet this
4706 works like "=".
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004707
4708:let @{reg-name} = {expr1} *:let-register* *:let-@*
4709 Write the result of the expression {expr1} in register
4710 {reg-name}. {reg-name} must be a single letter, and
4711 must be the name of a writable register (see
4712 |registers|). "@@" can be used for the unnamed
4713 register, "@/" for the search pattern.
4714 If the result of {expr1} ends in a <CR> or <NL>, the
4715 register will be linewise, otherwise it will be set to
4716 characterwise.
4717 This can be used to clear the last search pattern: >
4718 :let @/ = ""
4719< This is different from searching for an empty string,
4720 that would match everywhere.
4721
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00004722:let @{reg-name} .= {expr1}
4723 Append {expr1} to register {reg-name}. If the
4724 register was empty it's like setting it to {expr1}.
4725
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004726:let &{option-name} = {expr1} *:let-option* *:let-star*
4727 Set option {option-name} to the result of the
Bram Moolenaarfca34d62005-01-04 21:38:36 +00004728 expression {expr1}. A String or Number value is
4729 always converted to the type of the option.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004730 For an option local to a window or buffer the effect
4731 is just like using the |:set| command: both the local
4732 value and the global value is changed.
Bram Moolenaarfca34d62005-01-04 21:38:36 +00004733 Example: >
4734 :let &path = &path . ',/usr/local/include'
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004735
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00004736:let &{option-name} .= {expr1}
4737 For a string option: Append {expr1} to the value.
4738 Does not insert a comma like |:set+=|.
4739
4740:let &{option-name} += {expr1}
4741:let &{option-name} -= {expr1}
4742 For a number or boolean option: Add or subtract
4743 {expr1}.
4744
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004745:let &l:{option-name} = {expr1}
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00004746:let &l:{option-name} .= {expr1}
4747:let &l:{option-name} += {expr1}
4748:let &l:{option-name} -= {expr1}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004749 Like above, but only set the local value of an option
4750 (if there is one). Works like |:setlocal|.
4751
4752:let &g:{option-name} = {expr1}
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00004753:let &g:{option-name} .= {expr1}
4754:let &g:{option-name} += {expr1}
4755:let &g:{option-name} -= {expr1}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004756 Like above, but only set the global value of an option
4757 (if there is one). Works like |:setglobal|.
4758
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +00004759:let [{name1}, {name2}, ...] = {expr1} *:let-unpack* *E687* *E688*
Bram Moolenaarfca34d62005-01-04 21:38:36 +00004760 {expr1} must evaluate to a List. The first item in
4761 the list is assigned to {name1}, the second item to
4762 {name2}, etc.
4763 The number of names must match the number of items in
4764 the List.
4765 Each name can be one of the items of the ":let"
4766 command as mentioned above.
4767 Example: >
4768 :let [s, item] = GetItem(s)
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00004769< Detail: {expr1} is evaluated first, then the
4770 assignments are done in sequence. This matters if
4771 {name2} depends on {name1}. Example: >
4772 :let x = [0, 1]
4773 :let i = 0
4774 :let [i, x[i]] = [1, 2]
4775 :echo x
4776< The result is [0, 2].
4777
4778:let [{name1}, {name2}, ...] .= {expr1}
4779:let [{name1}, {name2}, ...] += {expr1}
4780:let [{name1}, {name2}, ...] -= {expr1}
4781 Like above, but append/add/subtract the value for each
4782 List item.
Bram Moolenaarfca34d62005-01-04 21:38:36 +00004783
4784:let [{name}, ..., ; {lastname}] = {expr1}
Bram Moolenaar677ee682005-01-27 14:41:15 +00004785 Like |:let-unpack| above, but the List may have more
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00004786 items than there are names. A list of the remaining
4787 items is assigned to {lastname}. If there are no
4788 remaining items {lastname} is set to an empty list.
Bram Moolenaarfca34d62005-01-04 21:38:36 +00004789 Example: >
4790 :let [a, b; rest] = ["aval", "bval", 3, 4]
4791<
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00004792:let [{name}, ..., ; {lastname}] .= {expr1}
4793:let [{name}, ..., ; {lastname}] += {expr1}
4794:let [{name}, ..., ; {lastname}] -= {expr1}
4795 Like above, but append/add/subtract the value for each
4796 List item.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004797 *E106*
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00004798:let {var-name} .. List the value of variable {var-name}. Multiple
Bram Moolenaardcaf10e2005-01-21 11:55:25 +00004799 variable names may be given. Special names recognized
4800 here: *E738*
4801 g: global variables.
4802 b: local buffer variables.
4803 w: local window variables.
4804 v: Vim variables.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004805
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00004806:let List the values of all variables. The type of the
4807 variable is indicated before the value:
4808 <nothing> String
4809 # Number
4810 * Funcref
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004811
Bram Moolenaar2ce06f62005-01-31 19:19:04 +00004812
4813:unl[et][!] {name} ... *:unlet* *:unl* *E108*
4814 Remove the internal variable {name}. Several variable
4815 names can be given, they are all removed. The name
4816 may also be a List or Dictionary item.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004817 With [!] no error message is given for non-existing
4818 variables.
Bram Moolenaar9cd15162005-01-16 22:02:49 +00004819 One or more items from a List can be removed: >
4820 :unlet list[3] " remove fourth item
4821 :unlet list[3:] " remove fourth item to last
4822< One item from a Dictionary can be removed at a time: >
4823 :unlet dict['two']
4824 :unlet dict.two
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004825
Bram Moolenaar2ce06f62005-01-31 19:19:04 +00004826:lockv[ar][!] [depth] {name} ... *:lockvar* *:lockv*
4827 Lock the internal variable {name}. Locking means that
4828 it can no longer be changed (until it is unlocked).
4829 A locked variable can be deleted: >
4830 :lockvar v
4831 :let v = 'asdf' " fails!
4832 :unlet v
4833< *E741*
4834 If you try to change a locked variable you get an
4835 error message: "E741: Value of {name} is locked"
4836
4837 [depth] is relevant when locking a List or Dictionary.
4838 It specifies how deep the locking goes:
4839 1 Lock the List or Dictionary itself,
4840 cannot add or remove items, but can
4841 still change their values.
4842 2 Also lock the values, cannot change
4843 the items. If an item is a List or
4844 Dictionary, cannot add or remove
4845 items, but can still change the
4846 values.
4847 3 Like 2 but for the List/Dictionary in
4848 the List/Dictionary, one level deeper.
4849 The default [depth] is 2, thus when {name} is a List
4850 or Dictionary the values cannot be changed.
4851 *E743*
4852 For unlimited depth use [!] and omit [depth].
4853 However, there is a maximum depth of 100 to catch
4854 loops.
4855
4856 Note that when two variables refer to the same List
4857 and you lock one of them, the List will also be locked
4858 when used through the other variable. Example: >
4859 :let l = [0, 1, 2, 3]
4860 :let cl = l
4861 :lockvar l
4862 :let cl[1] = 99 " won't work!
4863< You may want to make a copy of a list to avoid this.
4864 See |deepcopy()|.
4865
4866
4867:unlo[ckvar][!] [depth] {name} ... *:unlockvar* *:unlo*
4868 Unlock the internal variable {name}. Does the
4869 opposite of |:lockvar|.
4870
4871
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004872:if {expr1} *:if* *:endif* *:en* *E171* *E579* *E580*
4873:en[dif] Execute the commands until the next matching ":else"
4874 or ":endif" if {expr1} evaluates to non-zero.
4875
4876 From Vim version 4.5 until 5.0, every Ex command in
4877 between the ":if" and ":endif" is ignored. These two
4878 commands were just to allow for future expansions in a
4879 backwards compatible way. Nesting was allowed. Note
4880 that any ":else" or ":elseif" was ignored, the "else"
4881 part was not executed either.
4882
4883 You can use this to remain compatible with older
4884 versions: >
4885 :if version >= 500
4886 : version-5-specific-commands
4887 :endif
4888< The commands still need to be parsed to find the
4889 "endif". Sometimes an older Vim has a problem with a
4890 new command. For example, ":silent" is recognized as
4891 a ":substitute" command. In that case ":execute" can
4892 avoid problems: >
4893 :if version >= 600
4894 : execute "silent 1,$delete"
4895 :endif
4896<
4897 NOTE: The ":append" and ":insert" commands don't work
4898 properly in between ":if" and ":endif".
4899
4900 *:else* *:el* *E581* *E583*
4901:el[se] Execute the commands until the next matching ":else"
4902 or ":endif" if they previously were not being
4903 executed.
4904
4905 *:elseif* *:elsei* *E582* *E584*
4906:elsei[f] {expr1} Short for ":else" ":if", with the addition that there
4907 is no extra ":endif".
4908
4909:wh[ile] {expr1} *:while* *:endwhile* *:wh* *:endw*
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00004910 *E170* *E585* *E588* *E733*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004911:endw[hile] Repeat the commands between ":while" and ":endwhile",
4912 as long as {expr1} evaluates to non-zero.
4913 When an error is detected from a command inside the
4914 loop, execution continues after the "endwhile".
Bram Moolenaar12805862005-01-05 22:16:17 +00004915 Example: >
4916 :let lnum = 1
4917 :while lnum <= line("$")
4918 :call FixLine(lnum)
4919 :let lnum = lnum + 1
4920 :endwhile
4921<
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004922 NOTE: The ":append" and ":insert" commands don't work
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +00004923 properly inside a ":while" and ":for" loop.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004924
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00004925:for {var} in {list} *:for* *E690* *E732*
Bram Moolenaar12805862005-01-05 22:16:17 +00004926:endfo[r] *:endfo* *:endfor*
4927 Repeat the commands between ":for" and ":endfor" for
Bram Moolenaar3a7c85b2005-02-05 21:39:53 +00004928 each item in {list}. Variable {var} is set to the
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +00004929 value of each item.
4930 When an error is detected for a command inside the
Bram Moolenaar12805862005-01-05 22:16:17 +00004931 loop, execution continues after the "endfor".
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +00004932 Changing {list} affects what items are used. Make a
4933 copy if this is unwanted: >
4934 :for item in copy(mylist)
4935< When not making a copy, Vim stores a reference to the
4936 next item in the list, before executing the commands
4937 with the current item. Thus the current item can be
4938 removed without effect. Removing any later item means
4939 it will not be found. Thus the following example
4940 works (an inefficient way to make a list empty): >
4941 :for item in mylist
Bram Moolenaar12805862005-01-05 22:16:17 +00004942 :call remove(mylist, 0)
4943 :endfor
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +00004944< Note that reordering the list (e.g., with sort() or
4945 reverse()) may have unexpected effects.
4946 Note that the type of each list item should be
Bram Moolenaar12805862005-01-05 22:16:17 +00004947 identical to avoid errors for the type of {var}
4948 changing. Unlet the variable at the end of the loop
4949 to allow multiple item types.
4950
4951:for {var} in {string}
4952:endfo[r] Like ":for" above, but use each character in {string}
4953 as a list item.
4954 Composing characters are used as separate characters.
4955 A Number is first converted to a String.
4956
4957:for [{var1}, {var2}, ...] in {listlist}
4958:endfo[r]
4959 Like ":for" above, but each item in {listlist} must be
4960 a list, of which each item is assigned to {var1},
4961 {var2}, etc. Example: >
4962 :for [lnum, col] in [[1, 3], [2, 5], [3, 8]]
4963 :echo getline(lnum)[col]
4964 :endfor
4965<
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004966 *:continue* *:con* *E586*
Bram Moolenaar12805862005-01-05 22:16:17 +00004967:con[tinue] When used inside a ":while" or ":for" loop, jumps back
4968 to the start of the loop.
4969 If it is used after a |:try| inside the loop but
4970 before the matching |:finally| (if present), the
4971 commands following the ":finally" up to the matching
4972 |:endtry| are executed first. This process applies to
4973 all nested ":try"s inside the loop. The outermost
4974 ":endtry" then jumps back to the start of the loop.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004975
4976 *:break* *:brea* *E587*
Bram Moolenaar12805862005-01-05 22:16:17 +00004977:brea[k] When used inside a ":while" or ":for" loop, skips to
4978 the command after the matching ":endwhile" or
4979 ":endfor".
4980 If it is used after a |:try| inside the loop but
4981 before the matching |:finally| (if present), the
4982 commands following the ":finally" up to the matching
4983 |:endtry| are executed first. This process applies to
4984 all nested ":try"s inside the loop. The outermost
4985 ":endtry" then jumps to the command after the loop.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004986
4987:try *:try* *:endt* *:endtry* *E600* *E601* *E602*
4988:endt[ry] Change the error handling for the commands between
4989 ":try" and ":endtry" including everything being
4990 executed across ":source" commands, function calls,
4991 or autocommand invocations.
4992
4993 When an error or interrupt is detected and there is
4994 a |:finally| command following, execution continues
4995 after the ":finally". Otherwise, or when the
4996 ":endtry" is reached thereafter, the next
4997 (dynamically) surrounding ":try" is checked for
4998 a corresponding ":finally" etc. Then the script
4999 processing is terminated. (Whether a function
5000 definition has an "abort" argument does not matter.)
5001 Example: >
5002 :try | edit too much | finally | echo "cleanup" | endtry
5003 :echo "impossible" " not reached, script terminated above
5004<
5005 Moreover, an error or interrupt (dynamically) inside
5006 ":try" and ":endtry" is converted to an exception. It
5007 can be caught as if it were thrown by a |:throw|
5008 command (see |:catch|). In this case, the script
5009 processing is not terminated.
5010
5011 The value "Vim:Interrupt" is used for an interrupt
5012 exception. An error in a Vim command is converted
5013 to a value of the form "Vim({command}):{errmsg}",
5014 other errors are converted to a value of the form
5015 "Vim:{errmsg}". {command} is the full command name,
5016 and {errmsg} is the message that is displayed if the
5017 error exception is not caught, always beginning with
5018 the error number.
5019 Examples: >
5020 :try | sleep 100 | catch /^Vim:Interrupt$/ | endtry
5021 :try | edit | catch /^Vim(edit):E\d\+/ | echo "error" | endtry
5022<
5023 *:cat* *:catch* *E603* *E604* *E605*
5024:cat[ch] /{pattern}/ The following commands until the next ":catch",
5025 |:finally|, or |:endtry| that belongs to the same
5026 |:try| as the ":catch" are executed when an exception
5027 matching {pattern} is being thrown and has not yet
5028 been caught by a previous ":catch". Otherwise, these
5029 commands are skipped.
5030 When {pattern} is omitted all errors are caught.
5031 Examples: >
5032 :catch /^Vim:Interrupt$/ " catch interrupts (CTRL-C)
5033 :catch /^Vim\%((\a\+)\)\=:E/ " catch all Vim errors
5034 :catch /^Vim\%((\a\+)\)\=:/ " catch errors and interrupts
5035 :catch /^Vim(write):/ " catch all errors in :write
5036 :catch /^Vim\%((\a\+)\)\=:E123/ " catch error E123
5037 :catch /my-exception/ " catch user exception
5038 :catch /.*/ " catch everything
5039 :catch " same as /.*/
5040<
5041 Another character can be used instead of / around the
5042 {pattern}, so long as it does not have a special
5043 meaning (e.g., '|' or '"') and doesn't occur inside
5044 {pattern}.
5045 NOTE: It is not reliable to ":catch" the TEXT of
5046 an error message because it may vary in different
5047 locales.
5048
5049 *:fina* *:finally* *E606* *E607*
5050:fina[lly] The following commands until the matching |:endtry|
5051 are executed whenever the part between the matching
5052 |:try| and the ":finally" is left: either by falling
5053 through to the ":finally" or by a |:continue|,
5054 |:break|, |:finish|, or |:return|, or by an error or
5055 interrupt or exception (see |:throw|).
5056
5057 *:th* *:throw* *E608*
5058:th[row] {expr1} The {expr1} is evaluated and thrown as an exception.
5059 If the ":throw" is used after a |:try| but before the
5060 first corresponding |:catch|, commands are skipped
5061 until the first ":catch" matching {expr1} is reached.
5062 If there is no such ":catch" or if the ":throw" is
5063 used after a ":catch" but before the |:finally|, the
5064 commands following the ":finally" (if present) up to
5065 the matching |:endtry| are executed. If the ":throw"
5066 is after the ":finally", commands up to the ":endtry"
5067 are skipped. At the ":endtry", this process applies
5068 again for the next dynamically surrounding ":try"
5069 (which may be found in a calling function or sourcing
5070 script), until a matching ":catch" has been found.
5071 If the exception is not caught, the command processing
5072 is terminated.
5073 Example: >
5074 :try | throw "oops" | catch /^oo/ | echo "caught" | endtry
5075<
5076
5077 *:ec* *:echo*
5078:ec[ho] {expr1} .. Echoes each {expr1}, with a space in between. The
5079 first {expr1} starts on a new line.
5080 Also see |:comment|.
5081 Use "\n" to start a new line. Use "\r" to move the
5082 cursor to the first column.
5083 Uses the highlighting set by the |:echohl| command.
5084 Cannot be followed by a comment.
5085 Example: >
5086 :echo "the value of 'shell' is" &shell
5087< A later redraw may make the message disappear again.
5088 To avoid that a command from before the ":echo" causes
5089 a redraw afterwards (redraws are often postponed until
5090 you type something), force a redraw with the |:redraw|
5091 command. Example: >
5092 :new | redraw | echo "there is a new window"
5093<
5094 *:echon*
5095:echon {expr1} .. Echoes each {expr1}, without anything added. Also see
5096 |:comment|.
5097 Uses the highlighting set by the |:echohl| command.
5098 Cannot be followed by a comment.
5099 Example: >
5100 :echon "the value of 'shell' is " &shell
5101<
5102 Note the difference between using ":echo", which is a
5103 Vim command, and ":!echo", which is an external shell
5104 command: >
5105 :!echo % --> filename
5106< The arguments of ":!" are expanded, see |:_%|. >
5107 :!echo "%" --> filename or "filename"
5108< Like the previous example. Whether you see the double
5109 quotes or not depends on your 'shell'. >
5110 :echo % --> nothing
5111< The '%' is an illegal character in an expression. >
5112 :echo "%" --> %
5113< This just echoes the '%' character. >
5114 :echo expand("%") --> filename
5115< This calls the expand() function to expand the '%'.
5116
5117 *:echoh* *:echohl*
5118:echoh[l] {name} Use the highlight group {name} for the following
5119 |:echo|, |:echon| and |:echomsg| commands. Also used
5120 for the |input()| prompt. Example: >
5121 :echohl WarningMsg | echo "Don't panic!" | echohl None
5122< Don't forget to set the group back to "None",
5123 otherwise all following echo's will be highlighted.
5124
5125 *:echom* *:echomsg*
5126:echom[sg] {expr1} .. Echo the expression(s) as a true message, saving the
5127 message in the |message-history|.
5128 Spaces are placed between the arguments as with the
5129 |:echo| command. But unprintable characters are
5130 displayed, not interpreted.
5131 Uses the highlighting set by the |:echohl| command.
5132 Example: >
5133 :echomsg "It's a Zizzer Zazzer Zuzz, as you can plainly see."
5134<
5135 *:echoe* *:echoerr*
5136:echoe[rr] {expr1} .. Echo the expression(s) as an error message, saving the
5137 message in the |message-history|. When used in a
5138 script or function the line number will be added.
5139 Spaces are placed between the arguments as with the
5140 :echo command. When used inside a try conditional,
5141 the message is raised as an error exception instead
5142 (see |try-echoerr|).
5143 Example: >
5144 :echoerr "This script just failed!"
5145< If you just want a highlighted message use |:echohl|.
5146 And to get a beep: >
5147 :exe "normal \<Esc>"
5148<
5149 *:exe* *:execute*
5150:exe[cute] {expr1} .. Executes the string that results from the evaluation
5151 of {expr1} as an Ex command. Multiple arguments are
5152 concatenated, with a space in between. {expr1} is
5153 used as the processed command, command line editing
5154 keys are not recognized.
5155 Cannot be followed by a comment.
5156 Examples: >
5157 :execute "buffer " nextbuf
5158 :execute "normal " count . "w"
5159<
5160 ":execute" can be used to append a command to commands
5161 that don't accept a '|'. Example: >
5162 :execute '!ls' | echo "theend"
5163
5164< ":execute" is also a nice way to avoid having to type
5165 control characters in a Vim script for a ":normal"
5166 command: >
5167 :execute "normal ixxx\<Esc>"
5168< This has an <Esc> character, see |expr-string|.
5169
5170 Note: The executed string may be any command-line, but
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +00005171 you cannot start or end a "while", "for" or "if"
5172 command. Thus this is illegal: >
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005173 :execute 'while i > 5'
5174 :execute 'echo "test" | break'
5175<
5176 It is allowed to have a "while" or "if" command
5177 completely in the executed string: >
5178 :execute 'while i < 5 | echo i | let i = i + 1 | endwhile'
5179<
5180
5181 *:comment*
5182 ":execute", ":echo" and ":echon" cannot be followed by
5183 a comment directly, because they see the '"' as the
5184 start of a string. But, you can use '|' followed by a
5185 comment. Example: >
5186 :echo "foo" | "this is a comment
5187
5188==============================================================================
51898. Exception handling *exception-handling*
5190
5191The Vim script language comprises an exception handling feature. This section
5192explains how it can be used in a Vim script.
5193
5194Exceptions may be raised by Vim on an error or on interrupt, see
5195|catch-errors| and |catch-interrupt|. You can also explicitly throw an
5196exception by using the ":throw" command, see |throw-catch|.
5197
5198
5199TRY CONDITIONALS *try-conditionals*
5200
5201Exceptions can be caught or can cause cleanup code to be executed. You can
5202use a try conditional to specify catch clauses (that catch exceptions) and/or
5203a finally clause (to be executed for cleanup).
5204 A try conditional begins with a |:try| command and ends at the matching
5205|:endtry| command. In between, you can use a |:catch| command to start
5206a catch clause, or a |:finally| command to start a finally clause. There may
5207be none or multiple catch clauses, but there is at most one finally clause,
5208which must not be followed by any catch clauses. The lines before the catch
5209clauses and the finally clause is called a try block. >
5210
5211 :try
5212 : ...
5213 : ... TRY BLOCK
5214 : ...
5215 :catch /{pattern}/
5216 : ...
5217 : ... CATCH CLAUSE
5218 : ...
5219 :catch /{pattern}/
5220 : ...
5221 : ... CATCH CLAUSE
5222 : ...
5223 :finally
5224 : ...
5225 : ... FINALLY CLAUSE
5226 : ...
5227 :endtry
5228
5229The try conditional allows to watch code for exceptions and to take the
5230appropriate actions. Exceptions from the try block may be caught. Exceptions
5231from the try block and also the catch clauses may cause cleanup actions.
5232 When no exception is thrown during execution of the try block, the control
5233is transferred to the finally clause, if present. After its execution, the
5234script continues with the line following the ":endtry".
5235 When an exception occurs during execution of the try block, the remaining
5236lines in the try block are skipped. The exception is matched against the
5237patterns specified as arguments to the ":catch" commands. The catch clause
5238after the first matching ":catch" is taken, other catch clauses are not
5239executed. The catch clause ends when the next ":catch", ":finally", or
5240":endtry" command is reached - whatever is first. Then, the finally clause
5241(if present) is executed. When the ":endtry" is reached, the script execution
5242continues in the following line as usual.
5243 When an exception that does not match any of the patterns specified by the
5244":catch" commands is thrown in the try block, the exception is not caught by
5245that try conditional and none of the catch clauses is executed. Only the
5246finally clause, if present, is taken. The exception pends during execution of
5247the finally clause. It is resumed at the ":endtry", so that commands after
5248the ":endtry" are not executed and the exception might be caught elsewhere,
5249see |try-nesting|.
5250 When during execution of a catch clause another exception is thrown, the
5251remaining lines in that catch clause are not executed. The new exception is
5252not matched against the patterns in any of the ":catch" commands of the same
5253try conditional and none of its catch clauses is taken. If there is, however,
5254a finally clause, it is executed, and the exception pends during its
5255execution. The commands following the ":endtry" are not executed. The new
5256exception might, however, be caught elsewhere, see |try-nesting|.
5257 When during execution of the finally clause (if present) an exception is
5258thrown, the remaining lines in the finally clause are skipped. If the finally
5259clause has been taken because of an exception from the try block or one of the
5260catch clauses, the original (pending) exception is discarded. The commands
5261following the ":endtry" are not executed, and the exception from the finally
5262clause is propagated and can be caught elsewhere, see |try-nesting|.
5263
5264The finally clause is also executed, when a ":break" or ":continue" for
5265a ":while" loop enclosing the complete try conditional is executed from the
5266try block or a catch clause. Or when a ":return" or ":finish" is executed
5267from the try block or a catch clause of a try conditional in a function or
5268sourced script, respectively. The ":break", ":continue", ":return", or
5269":finish" pends during execution of the finally clause and is resumed when the
5270":endtry" is reached. It is, however, discarded when an exception is thrown
5271from the finally clause.
5272 When a ":break" or ":continue" for a ":while" loop enclosing the complete
5273try conditional or when a ":return" or ":finish" is encountered in the finally
5274clause, the rest of the finally clause is skipped, and the ":break",
5275":continue", ":return" or ":finish" is executed as usual. If the finally
5276clause has been taken because of an exception or an earlier ":break",
5277":continue", ":return", or ":finish" from the try block or a catch clause,
5278this pending exception or command is discarded.
5279
5280For examples see |throw-catch| and |try-finally|.
5281
5282
5283NESTING OF TRY CONDITIONALS *try-nesting*
5284
5285Try conditionals can be nested arbitrarily. That is, a complete try
5286conditional can be put into the try block, a catch clause, or the finally
5287clause of another try conditional. If the inner try conditional does not
5288catch an exception thrown in its try block or throws a new exception from one
5289of its catch clauses or its finally clause, the outer try conditional is
5290checked according to the rules above. If the inner try conditional is in the
5291try block of the outer try conditional, its catch clauses are checked, but
5292otherwise only the finally clause is executed. It does not matter for
5293nesting, whether the inner try conditional is directly contained in the outer
5294one, or whether the outer one sources a script or calls a function containing
5295the inner try conditional.
5296
5297When none of the active try conditionals catches an exception, just their
5298finally clauses are executed. Thereafter, the script processing terminates.
5299An error message is displayed in case of an uncaught exception explicitly
5300thrown by a ":throw" command. For uncaught error and interrupt exceptions
5301implicitly raised by Vim, the error message(s) or interrupt message are shown
5302as usual.
5303
5304For examples see |throw-catch|.
5305
5306
5307EXAMINING EXCEPTION HANDLING CODE *except-examine*
5308
5309Exception handling code can get tricky. If you are in doubt what happens, set
5310'verbose' to 13 or use the ":13verbose" command modifier when sourcing your
5311script file. Then you see when an exception is thrown, discarded, caught, or
5312finished. When using a verbosity level of at least 14, things pending in
5313a finally clause are also shown. This information is also given in debug mode
5314(see |debug-scripts|).
5315
5316
5317THROWING AND CATCHING EXCEPTIONS *throw-catch*
5318
5319You can throw any number or string as an exception. Use the |:throw| command
5320and pass the value to be thrown as argument: >
5321 :throw 4711
5322 :throw "string"
5323< *throw-expression*
5324You can also specify an expression argument. The expression is then evaluated
5325first, and the result is thrown: >
5326 :throw 4705 + strlen("string")
5327 :throw strpart("strings", 0, 6)
5328
5329An exception might be thrown during evaluation of the argument of the ":throw"
5330command. Unless it is caught there, the expression evaluation is abandoned.
5331The ":throw" command then does not throw a new exception.
5332 Example: >
5333
5334 :function! Foo(arg)
5335 : try
5336 : throw a:arg
5337 : catch /foo/
5338 : endtry
5339 : return 1
5340 :endfunction
5341 :
5342 :function! Bar()
5343 : echo "in Bar"
5344 : return 4710
5345 :endfunction
5346 :
5347 :throw Foo("arrgh") + Bar()
5348
5349This throws "arrgh", and "in Bar" is not displayed since Bar() is not
5350executed. >
5351 :throw Foo("foo") + Bar()
5352however displays "in Bar" and throws 4711.
5353
5354Any other command that takes an expression as argument might also be
5355abandoned by an (uncaught) exception during the expression evaluation. The
5356exception is then propagated to the caller of the command.
5357 Example: >
5358
5359 :if Foo("arrgh")
5360 : echo "then"
5361 :else
5362 : echo "else"
5363 :endif
5364
5365Here neither of "then" or "else" is displayed.
5366
5367 *catch-order*
5368Exceptions can be caught by a try conditional with one or more |:catch|
5369commands, see |try-conditionals|. The values to be caught by each ":catch"
5370command can be specified as a pattern argument. The subsequent catch clause
5371gets executed when a matching exception is caught.
5372 Example: >
5373
5374 :function! Foo(value)
5375 : try
5376 : throw a:value
5377 : catch /^\d\+$/
5378 : echo "Number thrown"
5379 : catch /.*/
5380 : echo "String thrown"
5381 : endtry
5382 :endfunction
5383 :
5384 :call Foo(0x1267)
5385 :call Foo('string')
5386
5387The first call to Foo() displays "Number thrown", the second "String thrown".
5388An exception is matched against the ":catch" commands in the order they are
5389specified. Only the first match counts. So you should place the more
5390specific ":catch" first. The following order does not make sense: >
5391
5392 : catch /.*/
5393 : echo "String thrown"
5394 : catch /^\d\+$/
5395 : echo "Number thrown"
5396
5397The first ":catch" here matches always, so that the second catch clause is
5398never taken.
5399
5400 *throw-variables*
5401If you catch an exception by a general pattern, you may access the exact value
5402in the variable |v:exception|: >
5403
5404 : catch /^\d\+$/
5405 : echo "Number thrown. Value is" v:exception
5406
5407You may also be interested where an exception was thrown. This is stored in
5408|v:throwpoint|. Note that "v:exception" and "v:throwpoint" are valid for the
5409exception most recently caught as long it is not finished.
5410 Example: >
5411
5412 :function! Caught()
5413 : if v:exception != ""
5414 : echo 'Caught "' . v:exception . '" in ' . v:throwpoint
5415 : else
5416 : echo 'Nothing caught'
5417 : endif
5418 :endfunction
5419 :
5420 :function! Foo()
5421 : try
5422 : try
5423 : try
5424 : throw 4711
5425 : finally
5426 : call Caught()
5427 : endtry
5428 : catch /.*/
5429 : call Caught()
5430 : throw "oops"
5431 : endtry
5432 : catch /.*/
5433 : call Caught()
5434 : finally
5435 : call Caught()
5436 : endtry
5437 :endfunction
5438 :
5439 :call Foo()
5440
5441This displays >
5442
5443 Nothing caught
5444 Caught "4711" in function Foo, line 4
5445 Caught "oops" in function Foo, line 10
5446 Nothing caught
5447
5448A practical example: The following command ":LineNumber" displays the line
5449number in the script or function where it has been used: >
5450
5451 :function! LineNumber()
5452 : return substitute(v:throwpoint, '.*\D\(\d\+\).*', '\1', "")
5453 :endfunction
5454 :command! LineNumber try | throw "" | catch | echo LineNumber() | endtry
5455<
5456 *try-nested*
5457An exception that is not caught by a try conditional can be caught by
5458a surrounding try conditional: >
5459
5460 :try
5461 : try
5462 : throw "foo"
5463 : catch /foobar/
5464 : echo "foobar"
5465 : finally
5466 : echo "inner finally"
5467 : endtry
5468 :catch /foo/
5469 : echo "foo"
5470 :endtry
5471
5472The inner try conditional does not catch the exception, just its finally
5473clause is executed. The exception is then caught by the outer try
5474conditional. The example displays "inner finally" and then "foo".
5475
5476 *throw-from-catch*
5477You can catch an exception and throw a new one to be caught elsewhere from the
5478catch clause: >
5479
5480 :function! Foo()
5481 : throw "foo"
5482 :endfunction
5483 :
5484 :function! Bar()
5485 : try
5486 : call Foo()
5487 : catch /foo/
5488 : echo "Caught foo, throw bar"
5489 : throw "bar"
5490 : endtry
5491 :endfunction
5492 :
5493 :try
5494 : call Bar()
5495 :catch /.*/
5496 : echo "Caught" v:exception
5497 :endtry
5498
5499This displays "Caught foo, throw bar" and then "Caught bar".
5500
5501 *rethrow*
5502There is no real rethrow in the Vim script language, but you may throw
5503"v:exception" instead: >
5504
5505 :function! Bar()
5506 : try
5507 : call Foo()
5508 : catch /.*/
5509 : echo "Rethrow" v:exception
5510 : throw v:exception
5511 : endtry
5512 :endfunction
5513< *try-echoerr*
5514Note that this method cannot be used to "rethrow" Vim error or interrupt
5515exceptions, because it is not possible to fake Vim internal exceptions.
5516Trying so causes an error exception. You should throw your own exception
5517denoting the situation. If you want to cause a Vim error exception containing
5518the original error exception value, you can use the |:echoerr| command: >
5519
5520 :try
5521 : try
5522 : asdf
5523 : catch /.*/
5524 : echoerr v:exception
5525 : endtry
5526 :catch /.*/
5527 : echo v:exception
5528 :endtry
5529
5530This code displays
5531
5532 Vim(echoerr):Vim:E492: Not an editor command: asdf ~
5533
5534
5535CLEANUP CODE *try-finally*
5536
5537Scripts often change global settings and restore them at their end. If the
5538user however interrupts the script by pressing CTRL-C, the settings remain in
5539an inconsistent state. The same may happen to you in the development phase of
5540a script when an error occurs or you explicitly throw an exception without
5541catching it. You can solve these problems by using a try conditional with
5542a finally clause for restoring the settings. Its execution is guaranteed on
5543normal control flow, on error, on an explicit ":throw", and on interrupt.
5544(Note that errors and interrupts from inside the try conditional are converted
5545to exceptions. When not caught, they terminate the script after the finally
5546clause has been executed.)
5547Example: >
5548
5549 :try
5550 : let s:saved_ts = &ts
5551 : set ts=17
5552 :
5553 : " Do the hard work here.
5554 :
5555 :finally
5556 : let &ts = s:saved_ts
5557 : unlet s:saved_ts
5558 :endtry
5559
5560This method should be used locally whenever a function or part of a script
5561changes global settings which need to be restored on failure or normal exit of
5562that function or script part.
5563
5564 *break-finally*
5565Cleanup code works also when the try block or a catch clause is left by
5566a ":continue", ":break", ":return", or ":finish".
5567 Example: >
5568
5569 :let first = 1
5570 :while 1
5571 : try
5572 : if first
5573 : echo "first"
5574 : let first = 0
5575 : continue
5576 : else
5577 : throw "second"
5578 : endif
5579 : catch /.*/
5580 : echo v:exception
5581 : break
5582 : finally
5583 : echo "cleanup"
5584 : endtry
5585 : echo "still in while"
5586 :endwhile
5587 :echo "end"
5588
5589This displays "first", "cleanup", "second", "cleanup", and "end". >
5590
5591 :function! Foo()
5592 : try
5593 : return 4711
5594 : finally
5595 : echo "cleanup\n"
5596 : endtry
5597 : echo "Foo still active"
5598 :endfunction
5599 :
5600 :echo Foo() "returned by Foo"
5601
5602This displays "cleanup" and "4711 returned by Foo". You don't need to add an
5603extra ":return" in the finally clause. (Above all, this would override the
5604return value.)
5605
5606 *except-from-finally*
5607Using either of ":continue", ":break", ":return", ":finish", or ":throw" in
5608a finally clause is possible, but not recommended since it abandons the
5609cleanup actions for the try conditional. But, of course, interrupt and error
5610exceptions might get raised from a finally clause.
5611 Example where an error in the finally clause stops an interrupt from
5612working correctly: >
5613
5614 :try
5615 : try
5616 : echo "Press CTRL-C for interrupt"
5617 : while 1
5618 : endwhile
5619 : finally
5620 : unlet novar
5621 : endtry
5622 :catch /novar/
5623 :endtry
5624 :echo "Script still running"
5625 :sleep 1
5626
5627If you need to put commands that could fail into a finally clause, you should
5628think about catching or ignoring the errors in these commands, see
5629|catch-errors| and |ignore-errors|.
5630
5631
5632CATCHING ERRORS *catch-errors*
5633
5634If you want to catch specific errors, you just have to put the code to be
5635watched in a try block and add a catch clause for the error message. The
5636presence of the try conditional causes all errors to be converted to an
5637exception. No message is displayed and |v:errmsg| is not set then. To find
5638the right pattern for the ":catch" command, you have to know how the format of
5639the error exception is.
5640 Error exceptions have the following format: >
5641
5642 Vim({cmdname}):{errmsg}
5643or >
5644 Vim:{errmsg}
5645
5646{cmdname} is the name of the command that failed; the second form is used when
5647the command name is not known. {errmsg} is the error message usually produced
5648when the error occurs outside try conditionals. It always begins with
5649a capital "E", followed by a two or three-digit error number, a colon, and
5650a space.
5651
5652Examples:
5653
5654The command >
5655 :unlet novar
5656normally produces the error message >
5657 E108: No such variable: "novar"
5658which is converted inside try conditionals to an exception >
5659 Vim(unlet):E108: No such variable: "novar"
5660
5661The command >
5662 :dwim
5663normally produces the error message >
5664 E492: Not an editor command: dwim
5665which is converted inside try conditionals to an exception >
5666 Vim:E492: Not an editor command: dwim
5667
5668You can catch all ":unlet" errors by a >
5669 :catch /^Vim(unlet):/
5670or all errors for misspelled command names by a >
5671 :catch /^Vim:E492:/
5672
5673Some error messages may be produced by different commands: >
5674 :function nofunc
5675and >
5676 :delfunction nofunc
5677both produce the error message >
5678 E128: Function name must start with a capital: nofunc
5679which is converted inside try conditionals to an exception >
5680 Vim(function):E128: Function name must start with a capital: nofunc
5681or >
5682 Vim(delfunction):E128: Function name must start with a capital: nofunc
5683respectively. You can catch the error by its number independently on the
5684command that caused it if you use the following pattern: >
5685 :catch /^Vim(\a\+):E128:/
5686
5687Some commands like >
5688 :let x = novar
5689produce multiple error messages, here: >
5690 E121: Undefined variable: novar
5691 E15: Invalid expression: novar
5692Only the first is used for the exception value, since it is the most specific
5693one (see |except-several-errors|). So you can catch it by >
5694 :catch /^Vim(\a\+):E121:/
5695
5696You can catch all errors related to the name "nofunc" by >
5697 :catch /\<nofunc\>/
5698
5699You can catch all Vim errors in the ":write" and ":read" commands by >
5700 :catch /^Vim(\(write\|read\)):E\d\+:/
5701
5702You can catch all Vim errors by the pattern >
5703 :catch /^Vim\((\a\+)\)\=:E\d\+:/
5704<
5705 *catch-text*
5706NOTE: You should never catch the error message text itself: >
5707 :catch /No such variable/
5708only works in the english locale, but not when the user has selected
5709a different language by the |:language| command. It is however helpful to
5710cite the message text in a comment: >
5711 :catch /^Vim(\a\+):E108:/ " No such variable
5712
5713
5714IGNORING ERRORS *ignore-errors*
5715
5716You can ignore errors in a specific Vim command by catching them locally: >
5717
5718 :try
5719 : write
5720 :catch
5721 :endtry
5722
5723But you are strongly recommended NOT to use this simple form, since it could
5724catch more than you want. With the ":write" command, some autocommands could
5725be executed and cause errors not related to writing, for instance: >
5726
5727 :au BufWritePre * unlet novar
5728
5729There could even be such errors you are not responsible for as a script
5730writer: a user of your script might have defined such autocommands. You would
5731then hide the error from the user.
5732 It is much better to use >
5733
5734 :try
5735 : write
5736 :catch /^Vim(write):/
5737 :endtry
5738
5739which only catches real write errors. So catch only what you'd like to ignore
5740intentionally.
5741
5742For a single command that does not cause execution of autocommands, you could
5743even suppress the conversion of errors to exceptions by the ":silent!"
5744command: >
5745 :silent! nunmap k
5746This works also when a try conditional is active.
5747
5748
5749CATCHING INTERRUPTS *catch-interrupt*
5750
5751When there are active try conditionals, an interrupt (CTRL-C) is converted to
5752the exception "Vim:Interrupt". You can catch it like every exception. The
5753script is not terminated, then.
5754 Example: >
5755
5756 :function! TASK1()
5757 : sleep 10
5758 :endfunction
5759
5760 :function! TASK2()
5761 : sleep 20
5762 :endfunction
5763
5764 :while 1
5765 : let command = input("Type a command: ")
5766 : try
5767 : if command == ""
5768 : continue
5769 : elseif command == "END"
5770 : break
5771 : elseif command == "TASK1"
5772 : call TASK1()
5773 : elseif command == "TASK2"
5774 : call TASK2()
5775 : else
5776 : echo "\nIllegal command:" command
5777 : continue
5778 : endif
5779 : catch /^Vim:Interrupt$/
5780 : echo "\nCommand interrupted"
5781 : " Caught the interrupt. Continue with next prompt.
5782 : endtry
5783 :endwhile
5784
5785You can interrupt a task here by pressing CTRL-C; the script then asks for
5786a new command. If you press CTRL-C at the prompt, the script is terminated.
5787
5788For testing what happens when CTRL-C would be pressed on a specific line in
5789your script, use the debug mode and execute the |>quit| or |>interrupt|
5790command on that line. See |debug-scripts|.
5791
5792
5793CATCHING ALL *catch-all*
5794
5795The commands >
5796
5797 :catch /.*/
5798 :catch //
5799 :catch
5800
5801catch everything, error exceptions, interrupt exceptions and exceptions
5802explicitly thrown by the |:throw| command. This is useful at the top level of
5803a script in order to catch unexpected things.
5804 Example: >
5805
5806 :try
5807 :
5808 : " do the hard work here
5809 :
5810 :catch /MyException/
5811 :
5812 : " handle known problem
5813 :
5814 :catch /^Vim:Interrupt$/
5815 : echo "Script interrupted"
5816 :catch /.*/
5817 : echo "Internal error (" . v:exception . ")"
5818 : echo " - occurred at " . v:throwpoint
5819 :endtry
5820 :" end of script
5821
5822Note: Catching all might catch more things than you want. Thus, you are
5823strongly encouraged to catch only for problems that you can really handle by
5824specifying a pattern argument to the ":catch".
5825 Example: Catching all could make it nearly impossible to interrupt a script
5826by pressing CTRL-C: >
5827
5828 :while 1
5829 : try
5830 : sleep 1
5831 : catch
5832 : endtry
5833 :endwhile
5834
5835
5836EXCEPTIONS AND AUTOCOMMANDS *except-autocmd*
5837
5838Exceptions may be used during execution of autocommands. Example: >
5839
5840 :autocmd User x try
5841 :autocmd User x throw "Oops!"
5842 :autocmd User x catch
5843 :autocmd User x echo v:exception
5844 :autocmd User x endtry
5845 :autocmd User x throw "Arrgh!"
5846 :autocmd User x echo "Should not be displayed"
5847 :
5848 :try
5849 : doautocmd User x
5850 :catch
5851 : echo v:exception
5852 :endtry
5853
5854This displays "Oops!" and "Arrgh!".
5855
5856 *except-autocmd-Pre*
5857For some commands, autocommands get executed before the main action of the
5858command takes place. If an exception is thrown and not caught in the sequence
5859of autocommands, the sequence and the command that caused its execution are
5860abandoned and the exception is propagated to the caller of the command.
5861 Example: >
5862
5863 :autocmd BufWritePre * throw "FAIL"
5864 :autocmd BufWritePre * echo "Should not be displayed"
5865 :
5866 :try
5867 : write
5868 :catch
5869 : echo "Caught:" v:exception "from" v:throwpoint
5870 :endtry
5871
5872Here, the ":write" command does not write the file currently being edited (as
5873you can see by checking 'modified'), since the exception from the BufWritePre
5874autocommand abandons the ":write". The exception is then caught and the
5875script displays: >
5876
5877 Caught: FAIL from BufWrite Auto commands for "*"
5878<
5879 *except-autocmd-Post*
5880For some commands, autocommands get executed after the main action of the
5881command has taken place. If this main action fails and the command is inside
5882an active try conditional, the autocommands are skipped and an error exception
5883is thrown that can be caught by the caller of the command.
5884 Example: >
5885
5886 :autocmd BufWritePost * echo "File successfully written!"
5887 :
5888 :try
5889 : write /i/m/p/o/s/s/i/b/l/e
5890 :catch
5891 : echo v:exception
5892 :endtry
5893
5894This just displays: >
5895
5896 Vim(write):E212: Can't open file for writing (/i/m/p/o/s/s/i/b/l/e)
5897
5898If you really need to execute the autocommands even when the main action
5899fails, trigger the event from the catch clause.
5900 Example: >
5901
5902 :autocmd BufWritePre * set noreadonly
5903 :autocmd BufWritePost * set readonly
5904 :
5905 :try
5906 : write /i/m/p/o/s/s/i/b/l/e
5907 :catch
5908 : doautocmd BufWritePost /i/m/p/o/s/s/i/b/l/e
5909 :endtry
5910<
5911You can also use ":silent!": >
5912
5913 :let x = "ok"
5914 :let v:errmsg = ""
5915 :autocmd BufWritePost * if v:errmsg != ""
5916 :autocmd BufWritePost * let x = "after fail"
5917 :autocmd BufWritePost * endif
5918 :try
5919 : silent! write /i/m/p/o/s/s/i/b/l/e
5920 :catch
5921 :endtry
5922 :echo x
5923
5924This displays "after fail".
5925
5926If the main action of the command does not fail, exceptions from the
5927autocommands will be catchable by the caller of the command: >
5928
5929 :autocmd BufWritePost * throw ":-("
5930 :autocmd BufWritePost * echo "Should not be displayed"
5931 :
5932 :try
5933 : write
5934 :catch
5935 : echo v:exception
5936 :endtry
5937<
5938 *except-autocmd-Cmd*
5939For some commands, the normal action can be replaced by a sequence of
5940autocommands. Exceptions from that sequence will be catchable by the caller
5941of the command.
5942 Example: For the ":write" command, the caller cannot know whether the file
5943had actually been written when the exception occurred. You need to tell it in
5944some way. >
5945
5946 :if !exists("cnt")
5947 : let cnt = 0
5948 :
5949 : autocmd BufWriteCmd * if &modified
5950 : autocmd BufWriteCmd * let cnt = cnt + 1
5951 : autocmd BufWriteCmd * if cnt % 3 == 2
5952 : autocmd BufWriteCmd * throw "BufWriteCmdError"
5953 : autocmd BufWriteCmd * endif
5954 : autocmd BufWriteCmd * write | set nomodified
5955 : autocmd BufWriteCmd * if cnt % 3 == 0
5956 : autocmd BufWriteCmd * throw "BufWriteCmdError"
5957 : autocmd BufWriteCmd * endif
5958 : autocmd BufWriteCmd * echo "File successfully written!"
5959 : autocmd BufWriteCmd * endif
5960 :endif
5961 :
5962 :try
5963 : write
5964 :catch /^BufWriteCmdError$/
5965 : if &modified
5966 : echo "Error on writing (file contents not changed)"
5967 : else
5968 : echo "Error after writing"
5969 : endif
5970 :catch /^Vim(write):/
5971 : echo "Error on writing"
5972 :endtry
5973
5974When this script is sourced several times after making changes, it displays
5975first >
5976 File successfully written!
5977then >
5978 Error on writing (file contents not changed)
5979then >
5980 Error after writing
5981etc.
5982
5983 *except-autocmd-ill*
5984You cannot spread a try conditional over autocommands for different events.
5985The following code is ill-formed: >
5986
5987 :autocmd BufWritePre * try
5988 :
5989 :autocmd BufWritePost * catch
5990 :autocmd BufWritePost * echo v:exception
5991 :autocmd BufWritePost * endtry
5992 :
5993 :write
5994
5995
5996EXCEPTION HIERARCHIES AND PARAMETERIZED EXCEPTIONS *except-hier-param*
5997
5998Some programming languages allow to use hierarchies of exception classes or to
5999pass additional information with the object of an exception class. You can do
6000similar things in Vim.
6001 In order to throw an exception from a hierarchy, just throw the complete
6002class name with the components separated by a colon, for instance throw the
6003string "EXCEPT:MATHERR:OVERFLOW" for an overflow in a mathematical library.
6004 When you want to pass additional information with your exception class, add
6005it in parentheses, for instance throw the string "EXCEPT:IO:WRITEERR(myfile)"
6006for an error when writing "myfile".
6007 With the appropriate patterns in the ":catch" command, you can catch for
6008base classes or derived classes of your hierarchy. Additional information in
6009parentheses can be cut out from |v:exception| with the ":substitute" command.
6010 Example: >
6011
6012 :function! CheckRange(a, func)
6013 : if a:a < 0
6014 : throw "EXCEPT:MATHERR:RANGE(" . a:func . ")"
6015 : endif
6016 :endfunction
6017 :
6018 :function! Add(a, b)
6019 : call CheckRange(a:a, "Add")
6020 : call CheckRange(a:b, "Add")
6021 : let c = a:a + a:b
6022 : if c < 0
6023 : throw "EXCEPT:MATHERR:OVERFLOW"
6024 : endif
6025 : return c
6026 :endfunction
6027 :
6028 :function! Div(a, b)
6029 : call CheckRange(a:a, "Div")
6030 : call CheckRange(a:b, "Div")
6031 : if (a:b == 0)
6032 : throw "EXCEPT:MATHERR:ZERODIV"
6033 : endif
6034 : return a:a / a:b
6035 :endfunction
6036 :
6037 :function! Write(file)
6038 : try
6039 : execute "write" a:file
6040 : catch /^Vim(write):/
6041 : throw "EXCEPT:IO(" . getcwd() . ", " . a:file . "):WRITEERR"
6042 : endtry
6043 :endfunction
6044 :
6045 :try
6046 :
6047 : " something with arithmetics and I/O
6048 :
6049 :catch /^EXCEPT:MATHERR:RANGE/
6050 : let function = substitute(v:exception, '.*(\(\a\+\)).*', '\1', "")
6051 : echo "Range error in" function
6052 :
6053 :catch /^EXCEPT:MATHERR/ " catches OVERFLOW and ZERODIV
6054 : echo "Math error"
6055 :
6056 :catch /^EXCEPT:IO/
6057 : let dir = substitute(v:exception, '.*(\(.\+\),\s*.\+).*', '\1', "")
6058 : let file = substitute(v:exception, '.*(.\+,\s*\(.\+\)).*', '\1', "")
6059 : if file !~ '^/'
6060 : let file = dir . "/" . file
6061 : endif
6062 : echo 'I/O error for "' . file . '"'
6063 :
6064 :catch /^EXCEPT/
6065 : echo "Unspecified error"
6066 :
6067 :endtry
6068
6069The exceptions raised by Vim itself (on error or when pressing CTRL-C) use
6070a flat hierarchy: they are all in the "Vim" class. You cannot throw yourself
6071exceptions with the "Vim" prefix; they are reserved for Vim.
6072 Vim error exceptions are parameterized with the name of the command that
6073failed, if known. See |catch-errors|.
6074
6075
6076PECULIARITIES
6077 *except-compat*
6078The exception handling concept requires that the command sequence causing the
6079exception is aborted immediately and control is transferred to finally clauses
6080and/or a catch clause.
6081
6082In the Vim script language there are cases where scripts and functions
6083continue after an error: in functions without the "abort" flag or in a command
6084after ":silent!", control flow goes to the following line, and outside
6085functions, control flow goes to the line following the outermost ":endwhile"
6086or ":endif". On the other hand, errors should be catchable as exceptions
6087(thus, requiring the immediate abortion).
6088
6089This problem has been solved by converting errors to exceptions and using
6090immediate abortion (if not suppressed by ":silent!") only when a try
6091conditional is active. This is no restriction since an (error) exception can
6092be caught only from an active try conditional. If you want an immediate
6093termination without catching the error, just use a try conditional without
6094catch clause. (You can cause cleanup code being executed before termination
6095by specifying a finally clause.)
6096
6097When no try conditional is active, the usual abortion and continuation
6098behavior is used instead of immediate abortion. This ensures compatibility of
6099scripts written for Vim 6.1 and earlier.
6100
6101However, when sourcing an existing script that does not use exception handling
6102commands (or when calling one of its functions) from inside an active try
6103conditional of a new script, you might change the control flow of the existing
6104script on error. You get the immediate abortion on error and can catch the
6105error in the new script. If however the sourced script suppresses error
6106messages by using the ":silent!" command (checking for errors by testing
6107|v:errmsg| if appropriate), its execution path is not changed. The error is
6108not converted to an exception. (See |:silent|.) So the only remaining cause
6109where this happens is for scripts that don't care about errors and produce
6110error messages. You probably won't want to use such code from your new
6111scripts.
6112
6113 *except-syntax-err*
6114Syntax errors in the exception handling commands are never caught by any of
6115the ":catch" commands of the try conditional they belong to. Its finally
6116clauses, however, is executed.
6117 Example: >
6118
6119 :try
6120 : try
6121 : throw 4711
6122 : catch /\(/
6123 : echo "in catch with syntax error"
6124 : catch
6125 : echo "inner catch-all"
6126 : finally
6127 : echo "inner finally"
6128 : endtry
6129 :catch
6130 : echo 'outer catch-all caught "' . v:exception . '"'
6131 : finally
6132 : echo "outer finally"
6133 :endtry
6134
6135This displays: >
6136 inner finally
6137 outer catch-all caught "Vim(catch):E54: Unmatched \("
6138 outer finally
6139The original exception is discarded and an error exception is raised, instead.
6140
6141 *except-single-line*
6142The ":try", ":catch", ":finally", and ":endtry" commands can be put on
6143a single line, but then syntax errors may make it difficult to recognize the
6144"catch" line, thus you better avoid this.
6145 Example: >
6146 :try | unlet! foo # | catch | endtry
6147raises an error exception for the trailing characters after the ":unlet!"
6148argument, but does not see the ":catch" and ":endtry" commands, so that the
6149error exception is discarded and the "E488: Trailing characters" message gets
6150displayed.
6151
6152 *except-several-errors*
6153When several errors appear in a single command, the first error message is
6154usually the most specific one and therefor converted to the error exception.
6155 Example: >
6156 echo novar
6157causes >
6158 E121: Undefined variable: novar
6159 E15: Invalid expression: novar
6160The value of the error exception inside try conditionals is: >
6161 Vim(echo):E121: Undefined variable: novar
6162< *except-syntax-error*
6163But when a syntax error is detected after a normal error in the same command,
6164the syntax error is used for the exception being thrown.
6165 Example: >
6166 unlet novar #
6167causes >
6168 E108: No such variable: "novar"
6169 E488: Trailing characters
6170The value of the error exception inside try conditionals is: >
6171 Vim(unlet):E488: Trailing characters
6172This is done because the syntax error might change the execution path in a way
6173not intended by the user. Example: >
6174 try
6175 try | unlet novar # | catch | echo v:exception | endtry
6176 catch /.*/
6177 echo "outer catch:" v:exception
6178 endtry
6179This displays "outer catch: Vim(unlet):E488: Trailing characters", and then
6180a "E600: Missing :endtry" error message is given, see |except-single-line|.
6181
6182==============================================================================
61839. Examples *eval-examples*
6184
6185Printing in Hex ~
6186>
6187 :" The function Nr2Hex() returns the Hex string of a number.
6188 :func Nr2Hex(nr)
6189 : let n = a:nr
6190 : let r = ""
6191 : while n
6192 : let r = '0123456789ABCDEF'[n % 16] . r
6193 : let n = n / 16
6194 : endwhile
6195 : return r
6196 :endfunc
6197
6198 :" The function String2Hex() converts each character in a string to a two
6199 :" character Hex string.
6200 :func String2Hex(str)
6201 : let out = ''
6202 : let ix = 0
6203 : while ix < strlen(a:str)
6204 : let out = out . Nr2Hex(char2nr(a:str[ix]))
6205 : let ix = ix + 1
6206 : endwhile
6207 : return out
6208 :endfunc
6209
6210Example of its use: >
6211 :echo Nr2Hex(32)
6212result: "20" >
6213 :echo String2Hex("32")
6214result: "3332"
6215
6216
6217Sorting lines (by Robert Webb) ~
6218
6219Here is a Vim script to sort lines. Highlight the lines in Vim and type
6220":Sort". This doesn't call any external programs so it'll work on any
6221platform. The function Sort() actually takes the name of a comparison
6222function as its argument, like qsort() does in C. So you could supply it
6223with different comparison functions in order to sort according to date etc.
6224>
6225 :" Function for use with Sort(), to compare two strings.
6226 :func! Strcmp(str1, str2)
6227 : if (a:str1 < a:str2)
6228 : return -1
6229 : elseif (a:str1 > a:str2)
6230 : return 1
6231 : else
6232 : return 0
6233 : endif
6234 :endfunction
6235
6236 :" Sort lines. SortR() is called recursively.
6237 :func! SortR(start, end, cmp)
6238 : if (a:start >= a:end)
6239 : return
6240 : endif
6241 : let partition = a:start - 1
6242 : let middle = partition
6243 : let partStr = getline((a:start + a:end) / 2)
6244 : let i = a:start
6245 : while (i <= a:end)
6246 : let str = getline(i)
6247 : exec "let result = " . a:cmp . "(str, partStr)"
6248 : if (result <= 0)
6249 : " Need to put it before the partition. Swap lines i and partition.
6250 : let partition = partition + 1
6251 : if (result == 0)
6252 : let middle = partition
6253 : endif
6254 : if (i != partition)
6255 : let str2 = getline(partition)
6256 : call setline(i, str2)
6257 : call setline(partition, str)
6258 : endif
6259 : endif
6260 : let i = i + 1
6261 : endwhile
6262
6263 : " Now we have a pointer to the "middle" element, as far as partitioning
6264 : " goes, which could be anywhere before the partition. Make sure it is at
6265 : " the end of the partition.
6266 : if (middle != partition)
6267 : let str = getline(middle)
6268 : let str2 = getline(partition)
6269 : call setline(middle, str2)
6270 : call setline(partition, str)
6271 : endif
6272 : call SortR(a:start, partition - 1, a:cmp)
6273 : call SortR(partition + 1, a:end, a:cmp)
6274 :endfunc
6275
6276 :" To Sort a range of lines, pass the range to Sort() along with the name of a
6277 :" function that will compare two lines.
6278 :func! Sort(cmp) range
6279 : call SortR(a:firstline, a:lastline, a:cmp)
6280 :endfunc
6281
6282 :" :Sort takes a range of lines and sorts them.
6283 :command! -nargs=0 -range Sort <line1>,<line2>call Sort("Strcmp")
6284<
6285 *sscanf*
6286There is no sscanf() function in Vim. If you need to extract parts from a
6287line, you can use matchstr() and substitute() to do it. This example shows
6288how to get the file name, line number and column number out of a line like
6289"foobar.txt, 123, 45". >
6290 :" Set up the match bit
6291 :let mx='\(\f\+\),\s*\(\d\+\),\s*\(\d\+\)'
6292 :"get the part matching the whole expression
6293 :let l = matchstr(line, mx)
6294 :"get each item out of the match
6295 :let file = substitute(l, mx, '\1', '')
6296 :let lnum = substitute(l, mx, '\2', '')
6297 :let col = substitute(l, mx, '\3', '')
6298
6299The input is in the variable "line", the results in the variables "file",
6300"lnum" and "col". (idea from Michael Geddes)
6301
6302==============================================================================
630310. No +eval feature *no-eval-feature*
6304
6305When the |+eval| feature was disabled at compile time, none of the expression
6306evaluation commands are available. To prevent this from causing Vim scripts
6307to generate all kinds of errors, the ":if" and ":endif" commands are still
6308recognized, though the argument of the ":if" and everything between the ":if"
6309and the matching ":endif" is ignored. Nesting of ":if" blocks is allowed, but
6310only if the commands are at the start of the line. The ":else" command is not
6311recognized.
6312
6313Example of how to avoid executing commands when the |+eval| feature is
6314missing: >
6315
6316 :if 1
6317 : echo "Expression evaluation is compiled in"
6318 :else
6319 : echo "You will _never_ see this message"
6320 :endif
6321
6322==============================================================================
632311. The sandbox *eval-sandbox* *sandbox* *E48*
6324
6325The 'foldexpr', 'includeexpr', 'indentexpr', 'statusline' and 'foldtext'
6326options are evaluated in a sandbox. This means that you are protected from
6327these expressions having nasty side effects. This gives some safety for when
6328these options are set from a modeline. It is also used when the command from
6329a tags file is executed.
Bram Moolenaar7b0294c2004-10-11 10:16:09 +00006330The sandbox is also used for the |:sandbox| command.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00006331
6332These items are not allowed in the sandbox:
6333 - changing the buffer text
6334 - defining or changing mapping, autocommands, functions, user commands
6335 - setting certain options (see |option-summary|)
6336 - executing a shell command
6337 - reading or writing a file
6338 - jumping to another buffer or editing a file
Bram Moolenaar7b0294c2004-10-11 10:16:09 +00006339This is not guaranteed 100% secure, but it should block most attacks.
6340
6341 *:san* *:sandbox*
6342:sandbox {cmd} Execute {cmd} in the sandbox. Useful to evaluate an
6343 option that may have been set from a modeline, e.g.
6344 'foldexpr'.
6345
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00006346
6347 vim:tw=78:ts=8:ft=help:norl: