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Bram Moolenaar483c5d82010-10-20 18:45:33 +02001*eval.txt* For Vim version 7.3. Last change: 2010 Oct 18
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002
3
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00004 VIM REFERENCE MANUAL by Bram Moolenaar
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005
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 Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +000012done, the features in this document are not available. See |+eval| and
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +000013|no-eval-feature|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +000014
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000151. Variables |variables|
16 1.1 Variable types
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +000017 1.2 Function references |Funcref|
Bram Moolenaar7c626922005-02-07 22:01:03 +000018 1.3 Lists |Lists|
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +000019 1.4 Dictionaries |Dictionaries|
20 1.5 More about variables |more-variables|
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000212. Expression syntax |expression-syntax|
223. Internal variable |internal-variables|
234. Builtin Functions |functions|
245. Defining functions |user-functions|
256. Curly braces names |curly-braces-names|
267. Commands |expression-commands|
278. Exception handling |exception-handling|
289. Examples |eval-examples|
2910. No +eval feature |no-eval-feature|
3011. The sandbox |eval-sandbox|
Bram Moolenaarb71eaae2006-01-20 23:10:18 +00003112. Textlock |textlock|
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +000032
33{Vi does not have any of these commands}
34
35==============================================================================
361. Variables *variables*
37
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000381.1 Variable types ~
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +000039 *E712*
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +000040There are six types of variables:
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +000041
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +000042Number A 32 bit signed number. |expr-number| *Number*
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +000043 Examples: -123 0x10 0177
44
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +000045Float A floating point number. |floating-point-format| *Float*
46 {only when compiled with the |+float| feature}
47 Examples: 123.456 1.15e-6 -1.1e3
48
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +000049String A NUL terminated string of 8-bit unsigned characters (bytes).
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +000050 |expr-string| Examples: "ab\txx\"--" 'x-z''a,c'
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +000051
52Funcref A reference to a function |Funcref|.
53 Example: function("strlen")
54
55List An ordered sequence of items |List|.
56 Example: [1, 2, ['a', 'b']]
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +000057
Bram Moolenaar39a58ca2005-06-27 22:42:44 +000058Dictionary An associative, unordered array: Each entry has a key and a
59 value. |Dictionary|
60 Example: {'blue': "#0000ff", 'red': "#ff0000"}
61
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +000062The Number and String types are converted automatically, depending on how they
63are used.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +000064
65Conversion from a Number to a String is by making the ASCII representation of
Bram Moolenaar24ea3ba2010-09-19 19:01:21 +020066the Number. Examples:
67 Number 123 --> String "123" ~
68 Number 0 --> String "0" ~
69 Number -1 --> String "-1" ~
Bram Moolenaar00a927d2010-05-14 23:24:24 +020070 *octal*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +000071Conversion from a String to a Number is done by converting the first digits
72to a number. Hexadecimal "0xf9" and Octal "017" numbers are recognized. If
Bram Moolenaar24ea3ba2010-09-19 19:01:21 +020073the String doesn't start with digits, the result is zero. Examples:
74 String "456" --> Number 456 ~
75 String "6bar" --> Number 6 ~
76 String "foo" --> Number 0 ~
77 String "0xf1" --> Number 241 ~
78 String "0100" --> Number 64 ~
79 String "-8" --> Number -8 ~
80 String "+8" --> Number 0 ~
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +000081
82To force conversion from String to Number, add zero to it: >
83 :echo "0100" + 0
Bram Moolenaar97b2ad32006-03-18 21:40:56 +000084< 64 ~
85
86To avoid a leading zero to cause octal conversion, or for using a different
87base, use |str2nr()|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +000088
89For boolean operators Numbers are used. Zero is FALSE, non-zero is TRUE.
90
91Note that in the command >
92 :if "foo"
93"foo" is converted to 0, which means FALSE. To test for a non-empty string,
94use strlen(): >
95 :if strlen("foo")
Bram Moolenaar748bf032005-02-02 23:04:36 +000096< *E745* *E728* *E703* *E729* *E730* *E731*
97List, Dictionary and Funcref types are not automatically converted.
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +000098
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +000099 *E805* *E806* *E808*
100When mixing Number and Float the Number is converted to Float. Otherwise
101there is no automatic conversion of Float. You can use str2float() for String
102to Float, printf() for Float to String and float2nr() for Float to Number.
103
104 *E706* *sticky-type-checking*
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000105You will get an error if you try to change the type of a variable. You need
106to |:unlet| it first to avoid this error. String and Number are considered
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +0000107equivalent though, as well are Float and Number. Consider this sequence of
108commands: >
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000109 :let l = "string"
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +0000110 :let l = 44 " changes type from String to Number
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +0000111 :let l = [1, 2, 3] " error! l is still a Number
112 :let l = 4.4 " changes type from Number to Float
113 :let l = "string" " error!
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000114
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000115
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +00001161.2 Function references ~
Bram Moolenaar748bf032005-02-02 23:04:36 +0000117 *Funcref* *E695* *E718*
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +0000118A Funcref variable is obtained with the |function()| function. It can be used
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000119in an expression in the place of a function name, before the parenthesis
120around the arguments, to invoke the function it refers to. Example: >
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000121
122 :let Fn = function("MyFunc")
123 :echo Fn()
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000124< *E704* *E705* *E707*
Bram Moolenaar910f66f2006-04-05 20:41:53 +0000125A Funcref variable must start with a capital, "s:", "w:", "t:" or "b:". You
126cannot have both a Funcref variable and a function with the same name.
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000127
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000128A special case is defining a function and directly assigning its Funcref to a
129Dictionary entry. Example: >
130 :function dict.init() dict
131 : let self.val = 0
132 :endfunction
133
134The key of the Dictionary can start with a lower case letter. The actual
135function name is not used here. Also see |numbered-function|.
136
137A Funcref can also be used with the |:call| command: >
138 :call Fn()
139 :call dict.init()
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000140
141The name of the referenced function can be obtained with |string()|. >
Bram Moolenaar383f9bc2005-01-19 22:18:32 +0000142 :let func = string(Fn)
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000143
144You can use |call()| to invoke a Funcref and use a list variable for the
145arguments: >
Bram Moolenaar383f9bc2005-01-19 22:18:32 +0000146 :let r = call(Fn, mylist)
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000147
148
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +00001491.3 Lists ~
Bram Moolenaar7c626922005-02-07 22:01:03 +0000150 *List* *Lists* *E686*
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000151A List is an ordered sequence of items. An item can be of any type. Items
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +0000152can be accessed by their index number. Items can be added and removed at any
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000153position in the sequence.
154
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000155
156List creation ~
157 *E696* *E697*
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000158A List is created with a comma separated list of items in square brackets.
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000159Examples: >
160 :let mylist = [1, two, 3, "four"]
161 :let emptylist = []
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000162
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +0000163An item can be any expression. Using a List for an item creates a
Bram Moolenaarf9393ef2006-04-24 19:47:27 +0000164List of Lists: >
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000165 :let nestlist = [[11, 12], [21, 22], [31, 32]]
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000166
167An extra comma after the last item is ignored.
168
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000169
170List index ~
171 *list-index* *E684*
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000172An item in the List can be accessed by putting the index in square brackets
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000173after the List. Indexes are zero-based, thus the first item has index zero. >
174 :let item = mylist[0] " get the first item: 1
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000175 :let item = mylist[2] " get the third item: 3
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000176
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +0000177When the resulting item is a list this can be repeated: >
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000178 :let item = nestlist[0][1] " get the first list, second item: 12
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000179<
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000180A negative index is counted from the end. Index -1 refers to the last item in
181the List, -2 to the last but one item, etc. >
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000182 :let last = mylist[-1] " get the last item: "four"
183
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000184To avoid an error for an invalid index use the |get()| function. When an item
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +0000185is not available it returns zero or the default value you specify: >
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000186 :echo get(mylist, idx)
187 :echo get(mylist, idx, "NONE")
188
189
190List concatenation ~
191
192Two lists can be concatenated with the "+" operator: >
193 :let longlist = mylist + [5, 6]
Bram Moolenaar383f9bc2005-01-19 22:18:32 +0000194 :let mylist += [7, 8]
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000195
196To prepend or append an item turn the item into a list by putting [] around
197it. To change a list in-place see |list-modification| below.
198
199
200Sublist ~
201
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000202A part of the List can be obtained by specifying the first and last index,
203separated by a colon in square brackets: >
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000204 :let shortlist = mylist[2:-1] " get List [3, "four"]
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000205
206Omitting the first index is similar to zero. Omitting the last index is
Bram Moolenaaref2f6562007-05-06 13:32:59 +0000207similar to -1. >
Bram Moolenaar540d6e32005-01-09 21:20:18 +0000208 :let endlist = mylist[2:] " from item 2 to the end: [3, "four"]
209 :let shortlist = mylist[2:2] " List with one item: [3]
210 :let otherlist = mylist[:] " make a copy of the List
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000211
Bram Moolenaarf9393ef2006-04-24 19:47:27 +0000212If the first index is beyond the last item of the List or the second item is
213before the first item, the result is an empty list. There is no error
214message.
215
216If the second index is equal to or greater than the length of the list the
217length minus one is used: >
Bram Moolenaar9e54a0e2006-04-14 20:42:25 +0000218 :let mylist = [0, 1, 2, 3]
219 :echo mylist[2:8] " result: [2, 3]
220
Bram Moolenaara7fc0102005-05-18 22:17:12 +0000221NOTE: mylist[s:e] means using the variable "s:e" as index. Watch out for
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +0000222using a single letter variable before the ":". Insert a space when needed:
Bram Moolenaara7fc0102005-05-18 22:17:12 +0000223mylist[s : e].
224
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000225
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000226List identity ~
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000227 *list-identity*
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000228When variable "aa" is a list and you assign it to another variable "bb", both
229variables refer to the same list. Thus changing the list "aa" will also
230change "bb": >
231 :let aa = [1, 2, 3]
232 :let bb = aa
233 :call add(aa, 4)
234 :echo bb
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000235< [1, 2, 3, 4]
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000236
237Making a copy of a list is done with the |copy()| function. Using [:] also
238works, as explained above. This creates a shallow copy of the list: Changing
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +0000239a list item in the list will also change the item in the copied list: >
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000240 :let aa = [[1, 'a'], 2, 3]
241 :let bb = copy(aa)
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000242 :call add(aa, 4)
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000243 :let aa[0][1] = 'aaa'
244 :echo aa
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000245< [[1, aaa], 2, 3, 4] >
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000246 :echo bb
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000247< [[1, aaa], 2, 3]
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000248
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +0000249To make a completely independent list use |deepcopy()|. This also makes a
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000250copy of the values in the list, recursively. Up to a hundred levels deep.
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000251
252The operator "is" can be used to check if two variables refer to the same
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000253List. "isnot" does the opposite. In contrast "==" compares if two lists have
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +0000254the same value. >
255 :let alist = [1, 2, 3]
256 :let blist = [1, 2, 3]
257 :echo alist is blist
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000258< 0 >
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +0000259 :echo alist == blist
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000260< 1
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000261
Bram Moolenaar9ba0eb82005-06-13 22:28:56 +0000262Note about comparing lists: Two lists are considered equal if they have the
263same length and all items compare equal, as with using "==". There is one
Bram Moolenaar7d1f5db2005-07-03 21:39:27 +0000264exception: When comparing a number with a string they are considered
265different. There is no automatic type conversion, as with using "==" on
266variables. Example: >
267 echo 4 == "4"
Bram Moolenaar9ba0eb82005-06-13 22:28:56 +0000268< 1 >
Bram Moolenaar7d1f5db2005-07-03 21:39:27 +0000269 echo [4] == ["4"]
Bram Moolenaar9ba0eb82005-06-13 22:28:56 +0000270< 0
271
Bram Moolenaar7d1f5db2005-07-03 21:39:27 +0000272Thus comparing Lists is more strict than comparing numbers and strings. You
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +0000273can compare simple values this way too by putting them in a list: >
Bram Moolenaar7d1f5db2005-07-03 21:39:27 +0000274
275 :let a = 5
276 :let b = "5"
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +0000277 :echo a == b
Bram Moolenaar7d1f5db2005-07-03 21:39:27 +0000278< 1 >
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +0000279 :echo [a] == [b]
Bram Moolenaar7d1f5db2005-07-03 21:39:27 +0000280< 0
Bram Moolenaar9ba0eb82005-06-13 22:28:56 +0000281
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000282
283List unpack ~
284
285To unpack the items in a list to individual variables, put the variables in
286square brackets, like list items: >
287 :let [var1, var2] = mylist
288
289When the number of variables does not match the number of items in the list
290this produces an error. To handle any extra items from the list append ";"
291and a variable name: >
292 :let [var1, var2; rest] = mylist
293
294This works like: >
295 :let var1 = mylist[0]
296 :let var2 = mylist[1]
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +0000297 :let rest = mylist[2:]
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000298
299Except that there is no error if there are only two items. "rest" will be an
300empty list then.
301
302
303List modification ~
304 *list-modification*
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +0000305To change a specific item of a list use |:let| this way: >
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000306 :let list[4] = "four"
307 :let listlist[0][3] = item
308
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +0000309To change part of a list you can specify the first and last item to be
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000310modified. The value must at least have the number of items in the range: >
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +0000311 :let list[3:5] = [3, 4, 5]
312
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000313Adding and removing items from a list is done with functions. Here are a few
314examples: >
315 :call insert(list, 'a') " prepend item 'a'
316 :call insert(list, 'a', 3) " insert item 'a' before list[3]
317 :call add(list, "new") " append String item
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000318 :call add(list, [1, 2]) " append a List as one new item
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000319 :call extend(list, [1, 2]) " extend the list with two more items
320 :let i = remove(list, 3) " remove item 3
Bram Moolenaar9cd15162005-01-16 22:02:49 +0000321 :unlet list[3] " idem
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000322 :let l = remove(list, 3, -1) " remove items 3 to last item
Bram Moolenaar9cd15162005-01-16 22:02:49 +0000323 :unlet list[3 : ] " idem
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000324 :call filter(list, 'v:val !~ "x"') " remove items with an 'x'
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000325
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000326Changing the order of items in a list: >
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +0000327 :call sort(list) " sort a list alphabetically
328 :call reverse(list) " reverse the order of items
329
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000330
331For loop ~
332
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +0000333The |:for| loop executes commands for each item in a list. A variable is set
334to each item in the list in sequence. Example: >
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000335 :for item in mylist
336 : call Doit(item)
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000337 :endfor
338
339This works like: >
340 :let index = 0
341 :while index < len(mylist)
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000342 : let item = mylist[index]
343 : :call Doit(item)
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000344 : let index = index + 1
345 :endwhile
346
347Note that all items in the list should be of the same type, otherwise this
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000348results in error |E706|. To avoid this |:unlet| the variable at the end of
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +0000349the loop.
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000350
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +0000351If all you want to do is modify each item in the list then the |map()|
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000352function will be a simpler method than a for loop.
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +0000353
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +0000354Just like the |:let| command, |:for| also accepts a list of variables. This
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000355requires the argument to be a list of lists. >
356 :for [lnum, col] in [[1, 3], [2, 8], [3, 0]]
357 : call Doit(lnum, col)
358 :endfor
359
360This works like a |:let| command is done for each list item. Again, the types
361must remain the same to avoid an error.
362
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000363It is also possible to put remaining items in a List variable: >
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000364 :for [i, j; rest] in listlist
365 : call Doit(i, j)
366 : if !empty(rest)
367 : echo "remainder: " . string(rest)
368 : endif
369 :endfor
370
371
372List functions ~
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000373 *E714*
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000374Functions that are useful with a List: >
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +0000375 :let r = call(funcname, list) " call a function with an argument list
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000376 :if empty(list) " check if list is empty
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000377 :let l = len(list) " number of items in list
378 :let big = max(list) " maximum value in list
379 :let small = min(list) " minimum value in list
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +0000380 :let xs = count(list, 'x') " count nr of times 'x' appears in list
381 :let i = index(list, 'x') " index of first 'x' in list
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000382 :let lines = getline(1, 10) " get ten text lines from buffer
383 :call append('$', lines) " append text lines in buffer
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +0000384 :let list = split("a b c") " create list from items in a string
385 :let string = join(list, ', ') " create string from list items
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000386 :let s = string(list) " String representation of list
387 :call map(list, '">> " . v:val') " prepend ">> " to each item
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000388
Bram Moolenaar0cb032e2005-04-23 20:52:00 +0000389Don't forget that a combination of features can make things simple. For
390example, to add up all the numbers in a list: >
391 :exe 'let sum = ' . join(nrlist, '+')
392
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000393
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +00003941.4 Dictionaries ~
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000395 *Dictionaries* *Dictionary*
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000396A Dictionary is an associative array: Each entry has a key and a value. The
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000397entry can be located with the key. The entries are stored without a specific
398ordering.
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000399
400
401Dictionary creation ~
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000402 *E720* *E721* *E722* *E723*
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000403A Dictionary is created with a comma separated list of entries in curly
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000404braces. Each entry has a key and a value, separated by a colon. Each key can
405only appear once. Examples: >
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000406 :let mydict = {1: 'one', 2: 'two', 3: 'three'}
407 :let emptydict = {}
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000408< *E713* *E716* *E717*
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000409A key is always a String. You can use a Number, it will be converted to a
410String automatically. Thus the String '4' and the number 4 will find the same
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +0000411entry. Note that the String '04' and the Number 04 are different, since the
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000412Number will be converted to the String '4'.
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000413
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +0000414A value can be any expression. Using a Dictionary for a value creates a
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000415nested Dictionary: >
416 :let nestdict = {1: {11: 'a', 12: 'b'}, 2: {21: 'c'}}
417
418An extra comma after the last entry is ignored.
419
420
421Accessing entries ~
422
423The normal way to access an entry is by putting the key in square brackets: >
424 :let val = mydict["one"]
425 :let mydict["four"] = 4
426
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000427You can add new entries to an existing Dictionary this way, unlike Lists.
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000428
429For keys that consist entirely of letters, digits and underscore the following
430form can be used |expr-entry|: >
431 :let val = mydict.one
432 :let mydict.four = 4
433
434Since an entry can be any type, also a List and a Dictionary, the indexing and
435key lookup can be repeated: >
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000436 :echo dict.key[idx].key
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000437
438
439Dictionary to List conversion ~
440
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +0000441You may want to loop over the entries in a dictionary. For this you need to
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000442turn the Dictionary into a List and pass it to |:for|.
443
444Most often you want to loop over the keys, using the |keys()| function: >
445 :for key in keys(mydict)
446 : echo key . ': ' . mydict[key]
447 :endfor
448
449The List of keys is unsorted. You may want to sort them first: >
450 :for key in sort(keys(mydict))
451
452To loop over the values use the |values()| function: >
453 :for v in values(mydict)
454 : echo "value: " . v
455 :endfor
456
457If you want both the key and the value use the |items()| function. It returns
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +0000458a List in which each item is a List with two items, the key and the value: >
Bram Moolenaaref2f6562007-05-06 13:32:59 +0000459 :for [key, value] in items(mydict)
460 : echo key . ': ' . value
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000461 :endfor
462
463
464Dictionary identity ~
Bram Moolenaar7c626922005-02-07 22:01:03 +0000465 *dict-identity*
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000466Just like Lists you need to use |copy()| and |deepcopy()| to make a copy of a
467Dictionary. Otherwise, assignment results in referring to the same
468Dictionary: >
469 :let onedict = {'a': 1, 'b': 2}
470 :let adict = onedict
471 :let adict['a'] = 11
472 :echo onedict['a']
473 11
474
Bram Moolenaarf3bd51a2005-06-14 22:11:18 +0000475Two Dictionaries compare equal if all the key-value pairs compare equal. For
476more info see |list-identity|.
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000477
478
479Dictionary modification ~
480 *dict-modification*
481To change an already existing entry of a Dictionary, or to add a new entry,
482use |:let| this way: >
483 :let dict[4] = "four"
484 :let dict['one'] = item
485
Bram Moolenaar9cd15162005-01-16 22:02:49 +0000486Removing an entry from a Dictionary is done with |remove()| or |:unlet|.
487Three ways to remove the entry with key "aaa" from dict: >
488 :let i = remove(dict, 'aaa')
489 :unlet dict.aaa
490 :unlet dict['aaa']
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000491
492Merging a Dictionary with another is done with |extend()|: >
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000493 :call extend(adict, bdict)
494This extends adict with all entries from bdict. Duplicate keys cause entries
495in adict to be overwritten. An optional third argument can change this.
Bram Moolenaar383f9bc2005-01-19 22:18:32 +0000496Note that the order of entries in a Dictionary is irrelevant, thus don't
497expect ":echo adict" to show the items from bdict after the older entries in
498adict.
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000499
500Weeding out entries from a Dictionary can be done with |filter()|: >
Bram Moolenaaref2f6562007-05-06 13:32:59 +0000501 :call filter(dict, 'v:val =~ "x"')
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000502This removes all entries from "dict" with a value not matching 'x'.
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000503
504
505Dictionary function ~
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000506 *Dictionary-function* *self* *E725*
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000507When a function is defined with the "dict" attribute it can be used in a
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +0000508special way with a dictionary. Example: >
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000509 :function Mylen() dict
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000510 : return len(self.data)
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000511 :endfunction
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000512 :let mydict = {'data': [0, 1, 2, 3], 'len': function("Mylen")}
513 :echo mydict.len()
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000514
515This is like a method in object oriented programming. The entry in the
516Dictionary is a |Funcref|. The local variable "self" refers to the dictionary
517the function was invoked from.
518
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000519It is also possible to add a function without the "dict" attribute as a
520Funcref to a Dictionary, but the "self" variable is not available then.
521
Bram Moolenaar910f66f2006-04-05 20:41:53 +0000522 *numbered-function* *anonymous-function*
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000523To avoid the extra name for the function it can be defined and directly
524assigned to a Dictionary in this way: >
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000525 :let mydict = {'data': [0, 1, 2, 3]}
526 :function mydict.len() dict
527 : return len(self.data)
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000528 :endfunction
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000529 :echo mydict.len()
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000530
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000531The function will then get a number and the value of dict.len is a |Funcref|
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +0000532that references this function. The function can only be used through a
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000533|Funcref|. It will automatically be deleted when there is no |Funcref|
534remaining that refers to it.
535
536It is not necessary to use the "dict" attribute for a numbered function.
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000537
Bram Moolenaar1affd722010-08-04 17:49:30 +0200538If you get an error for a numbered function, you can find out what it is with
539a trick. Assuming the function is 42, the command is: >
540 :function {42}
541
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000542
543Functions for Dictionaries ~
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000544 *E715*
545Functions that can be used with a Dictionary: >
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000546 :if has_key(dict, 'foo') " TRUE if dict has entry with key "foo"
547 :if empty(dict) " TRUE if dict is empty
548 :let l = len(dict) " number of items in dict
549 :let big = max(dict) " maximum value in dict
550 :let small = min(dict) " minimum value in dict
551 :let xs = count(dict, 'x') " count nr of times 'x' appears in dict
552 :let s = string(dict) " String representation of dict
553 :call map(dict, '">> " . v:val') " prepend ">> " to each item
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000554
555
5561.5 More about variables ~
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000557 *more-variables*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000558If you need to know the type of a variable or expression, use the |type()|
559function.
560
561When the '!' flag is included in the 'viminfo' option, global variables that
562start with an uppercase letter, and don't contain a lowercase letter, are
563stored in the viminfo file |viminfo-file|.
564
565When the 'sessionoptions' option contains "global", global variables that
566start with an uppercase letter and contain at least one lowercase letter are
567stored in the session file |session-file|.
568
569variable name can be stored where ~
570my_var_6 not
571My_Var_6 session file
572MY_VAR_6 viminfo file
573
574
575It's possible to form a variable name with curly braces, see
576|curly-braces-names|.
577
578==============================================================================
5792. Expression syntax *expression-syntax*
580
581Expression syntax summary, from least to most significant:
582
583|expr1| expr2 ? expr1 : expr1 if-then-else
584
585|expr2| expr3 || expr3 .. logical OR
586
587|expr3| expr4 && expr4 .. logical AND
588
589|expr4| expr5 == expr5 equal
590 expr5 != expr5 not equal
591 expr5 > expr5 greater than
592 expr5 >= expr5 greater than or equal
593 expr5 < expr5 smaller than
594 expr5 <= expr5 smaller than or equal
595 expr5 =~ expr5 regexp matches
596 expr5 !~ expr5 regexp doesn't match
597
598 expr5 ==? expr5 equal, ignoring case
599 expr5 ==# expr5 equal, match case
600 etc. As above, append ? for ignoring case, # for
601 matching case
602
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +0000603 expr5 is expr5 same |List| instance
604 expr5 isnot expr5 different |List| instance
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +0000605
606|expr5| expr6 + expr6 .. number addition or list concatenation
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000607 expr6 - expr6 .. number subtraction
608 expr6 . expr6 .. string concatenation
609
610|expr6| expr7 * expr7 .. number multiplication
611 expr7 / expr7 .. number division
612 expr7 % expr7 .. number modulo
613
614|expr7| ! expr7 logical NOT
615 - expr7 unary minus
616 + expr7 unary plus
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000617
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000618
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +0000619|expr8| expr8[expr1] byte of a String or item of a |List|
620 expr8[expr1 : expr1] substring of a String or sublist of a |List|
621 expr8.name entry in a |Dictionary|
622 expr8(expr1, ...) function call with |Funcref| variable
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000623
624|expr9| number number constant
Bram Moolenaar3fdfa4a2004-10-07 21:02:47 +0000625 "string" string constant, backslash is special
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000626 'string' string constant, ' is doubled
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +0000627 [expr1, ...] |List|
628 {expr1: expr1, ...} |Dictionary|
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000629 &option option value
630 (expr1) nested expression
631 variable internal variable
632 va{ria}ble internal variable with curly braces
633 $VAR environment variable
634 @r contents of register 'r'
635 function(expr1, ...) function call
636 func{ti}on(expr1, ...) function call with curly braces
637
638
639".." indicates that the operations in this level can be concatenated.
640Example: >
641 &nu || &list && &shell == "csh"
642
643All expressions within one level are parsed from left to right.
644
645
646expr1 *expr1* *E109*
647-----
648
649expr2 ? expr1 : expr1
650
651The expression before the '?' is evaluated to a number. If it evaluates to
652non-zero, the result is the value of the expression between the '?' and ':',
653otherwise the result is the value of the expression after the ':'.
654Example: >
655 :echo lnum == 1 ? "top" : lnum
656
657Since the first expression is an "expr2", it cannot contain another ?:. The
658other two expressions can, thus allow for recursive use of ?:.
659Example: >
660 :echo lnum == 1 ? "top" : lnum == 1000 ? "last" : lnum
661
662To keep this readable, using |line-continuation| is suggested: >
663 :echo lnum == 1
664 :\ ? "top"
665 :\ : lnum == 1000
666 :\ ? "last"
667 :\ : lnum
668
Bram Moolenaaref2f6562007-05-06 13:32:59 +0000669You should always put a space before the ':', otherwise it can be mistaken for
670use in a variable such as "a:1".
671
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000672
673expr2 and expr3 *expr2* *expr3*
674---------------
675
676 *expr-barbar* *expr-&&*
677The "||" and "&&" operators take one argument on each side. The arguments
678are (converted to) Numbers. The result is:
679
680 input output ~
681n1 n2 n1 || n2 n1 && n2 ~
682zero zero zero zero
683zero non-zero non-zero zero
684non-zero zero non-zero zero
685non-zero non-zero non-zero non-zero
686
687The operators can be concatenated, for example: >
688
689 &nu || &list && &shell == "csh"
690
691Note that "&&" takes precedence over "||", so this has the meaning of: >
692
693 &nu || (&list && &shell == "csh")
694
695Once the result is known, the expression "short-circuits", that is, further
696arguments are not evaluated. This is like what happens in C. For example: >
697
698 let a = 1
699 echo a || b
700
701This is valid even if there is no variable called "b" because "a" is non-zero,
702so the result must be non-zero. Similarly below: >
703
704 echo exists("b") && b == "yes"
705
706This is valid whether "b" has been defined or not. The second clause will
707only be evaluated if "b" has been defined.
708
709
710expr4 *expr4*
711-----
712
713expr5 {cmp} expr5
714
715Compare two expr5 expressions, resulting in a 0 if it evaluates to false, or 1
716if it evaluates to true.
717
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +0000718 *expr-==* *expr-!=* *expr->* *expr->=*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000719 *expr-<* *expr-<=* *expr-=~* *expr-!~*
720 *expr-==#* *expr-!=#* *expr->#* *expr->=#*
721 *expr-<#* *expr-<=#* *expr-=~#* *expr-!~#*
722 *expr-==?* *expr-!=?* *expr->?* *expr->=?*
723 *expr-<?* *expr-<=?* *expr-=~?* *expr-!~?*
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +0000724 *expr-is*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000725 use 'ignorecase' match case ignore case ~
726equal == ==# ==?
727not equal != !=# !=?
728greater than > ># >?
729greater than or equal >= >=# >=?
730smaller than < <# <?
731smaller than or equal <= <=# <=?
732regexp matches =~ =~# =~?
733regexp doesn't match !~ !~# !~?
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +0000734same instance is
735different instance isnot
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000736
737Examples:
738"abc" ==# "Abc" evaluates to 0
739"abc" ==? "Abc" evaluates to 1
740"abc" == "Abc" evaluates to 1 if 'ignorecase' is set, 0 otherwise
741
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000742 *E691* *E692*
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +0000743A |List| can only be compared with a |List| and only "equal", "not equal" and
744"is" can be used. This compares the values of the list, recursively.
745Ignoring case means case is ignored when comparing item values.
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +0000746
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000747 *E735* *E736*
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +0000748A |Dictionary| can only be compared with a |Dictionary| and only "equal", "not
749equal" and "is" can be used. This compares the key/values of the |Dictionary|
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000750recursively. Ignoring case means case is ignored when comparing item values.
751
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000752 *E693* *E694*
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +0000753A |Funcref| can only be compared with a |Funcref| and only "equal" and "not
754equal" can be used. Case is never ignored.
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +0000755
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +0000756When using "is" or "isnot" with a |List| this checks if the expressions are
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +0000757referring to the same |List| instance. A copy of a |List| is different from
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +0000758the original |List|. When using "is" without a |List| it is equivalent to
759using "equal", using "isnot" equivalent to using "not equal". Except that a
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +0000760different type means the values are different. "4 == '4'" is true, "4 is '4'"
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +0000761is false.
762
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000763When comparing a String with a Number, the String is converted to a Number,
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +0000764and the comparison is done on Numbers. This means that "0 == 'x'" is TRUE,
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000765because 'x' converted to a Number is zero.
766
767When comparing two Strings, this is done with strcmp() or stricmp(). This
768results in the mathematical difference (comparing byte values), not
769necessarily the alphabetical difference in the local language.
770
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +0000771When using the operators with a trailing '#', or the short version and
Bram Moolenaaref2f6562007-05-06 13:32:59 +0000772'ignorecase' is off, the comparing is done with strcmp(): case matters.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000773
774When using the operators with a trailing '?', or the short version and
Bram Moolenaaref2f6562007-05-06 13:32:59 +0000775'ignorecase' is set, the comparing is done with stricmp(): case is ignored.
776
777'smartcase' is not used.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000778
779The "=~" and "!~" operators match the lefthand argument with the righthand
780argument, which is used as a pattern. See |pattern| for what a pattern is.
781This matching is always done like 'magic' was set and 'cpoptions' is empty, no
782matter what the actual value of 'magic' or 'cpoptions' is. This makes scripts
783portable. To avoid backslashes in the regexp pattern to be doubled, use a
784single-quote string, see |literal-string|.
785Since a string is considered to be a single line, a multi-line pattern
786(containing \n, backslash-n) will not match. However, a literal NL character
787can be matched like an ordinary character. Examples:
788 "foo\nbar" =~ "\n" evaluates to 1
789 "foo\nbar" =~ "\\n" evaluates to 0
790
791
792expr5 and expr6 *expr5* *expr6*
793---------------
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +0000794expr6 + expr6 .. Number addition or |List| concatenation *expr-+*
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +0000795expr6 - expr6 .. Number subtraction *expr--*
796expr6 . expr6 .. String concatenation *expr-.*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000797
Bram Moolenaara23ccb82006-02-27 00:08:02 +0000798For |Lists| only "+" is possible and then both expr6 must be a list. The
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +0000799result is a new list with the two lists Concatenated.
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +0000800
801expr7 * expr7 .. number multiplication *expr-star*
802expr7 / expr7 .. number division *expr-/*
803expr7 % expr7 .. number modulo *expr-%*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000804
805For all, except ".", Strings are converted to Numbers.
806
807Note the difference between "+" and ".":
808 "123" + "456" = 579
809 "123" . "456" = "123456"
810
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +0000811Since '.' has the same precedence as '+' and '-', you need to read: >
812 1 . 90 + 90.0
813As: >
814 (1 . 90) + 90.0
815That works, since the String "190" is automatically converted to the Number
816190, which can be added to the Float 90.0. However: >
817 1 . 90 * 90.0
818Should be read as: >
819 1 . (90 * 90.0)
820Since '.' has lower precedence than '*'. This does NOT work, since this
821attempts to concatenate a Float and a String.
822
823When dividing a Number by zero the result depends on the value:
824 0 / 0 = -0x80000000 (like NaN for Float)
825 >0 / 0 = 0x7fffffff (like positive infinity)
826 <0 / 0 = -0x7fffffff (like negative infinity)
827 (before Vim 7.2 it was always 0x7fffffff)
828
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000829When the righthand side of '%' is zero, the result is 0.
830
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +0000831None of these work for |Funcref|s.
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +0000832
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +0000833. and % do not work for Float. *E804*
834
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000835
836expr7 *expr7*
837-----
838! expr7 logical NOT *expr-!*
839- expr7 unary minus *expr-unary--*
840+ expr7 unary plus *expr-unary-+*
841
842For '!' non-zero becomes zero, zero becomes one.
843For '-' the sign of the number is changed.
844For '+' the number is unchanged.
845
846A String will be converted to a Number first.
847
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +0000848These three can be repeated and mixed. Examples:
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000849 !-1 == 0
850 !!8 == 1
851 --9 == 9
852
853
854expr8 *expr8*
855-----
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +0000856expr8[expr1] item of String or |List| *expr-[]* *E111*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000857
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000858If expr8 is a Number or String this results in a String that contains the
859expr1'th single byte from expr8. expr8 is used as a String, expr1 as a
Bram Moolenaar8f3f58f2010-01-06 20:52:26 +0100860Number. This doesn't recognize multi-byte encodings, see |byteidx()| for
861an alternative.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000862
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000863Index zero gives the first character. This is like it works in C. Careful:
864text column numbers start with one! Example, to get the character under the
865cursor: >
Bram Moolenaar61660ea2006-04-07 21:40:07 +0000866 :let c = getline(".")[col(".") - 1]
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000867
868If the length of the String is less than the index, the result is an empty
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000869String. A negative index always results in an empty string (reason: backwards
870compatibility). Use [-1:] to get the last byte.
871
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +0000872If expr8 is a |List| then it results the item at index expr1. See |list-index|
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000873for possible index values. If the index is out of range this results in an
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +0000874error. Example: >
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000875 :let item = mylist[-1] " get last item
876
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +0000877Generally, if a |List| index is equal to or higher than the length of the
878|List|, or more negative than the length of the |List|, this results in an
879error.
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000880
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000881
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000882expr8[expr1a : expr1b] substring or sublist *expr-[:]*
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000883
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000884If expr8 is a Number or String this results in the substring with the bytes
885from expr1a to and including expr1b. expr8 is used as a String, expr1a and
Bram Moolenaar8f3f58f2010-01-06 20:52:26 +0100886expr1b are used as a Number. This doesn't recognize multi-byte encodings, see
887|byteidx()| for computing the indexes.
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000888
889If expr1a is omitted zero is used. If expr1b is omitted the length of the
890string minus one is used.
891
892A negative number can be used to measure from the end of the string. -1 is
893the last character, -2 the last but one, etc.
894
895If an index goes out of range for the string characters are omitted. If
896expr1b is smaller than expr1a the result is an empty string.
897
898Examples: >
899 :let c = name[-1:] " last byte of a string
900 :let c = name[-2:-2] " last but one byte of a string
901 :let s = line(".")[4:] " from the fifth byte to the end
902 :let s = s[:-3] " remove last two bytes
Bram Moolenaar8f3f58f2010-01-06 20:52:26 +0100903<
904 *sublist* *slice*
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +0000905If expr8 is a |List| this results in a new |List| with the items indicated by
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +0000906the indexes expr1a and expr1b. This works like with a String, as explained
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +0000907just above, except that indexes out of range cause an error. Examples: >
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000908 :let l = mylist[:3] " first four items
909 :let l = mylist[4:4] " List with one item
910 :let l = mylist[:] " shallow copy of a List
911
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +0000912Using expr8[expr1] or expr8[expr1a : expr1b] on a |Funcref| results in an
913error.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000914
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000915
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +0000916expr8.name entry in a |Dictionary| *expr-entry*
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000917
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +0000918If expr8 is a |Dictionary| and it is followed by a dot, then the following
919name will be used as a key in the |Dictionary|. This is just like:
920expr8[name].
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000921
922The name must consist of alphanumeric characters, just like a variable name,
923but it may start with a number. Curly braces cannot be used.
924
925There must not be white space before or after the dot.
926
927Examples: >
928 :let dict = {"one": 1, 2: "two"}
929 :echo dict.one
930 :echo dict .2
931
932Note that the dot is also used for String concatenation. To avoid confusion
933always put spaces around the dot for String concatenation.
934
935
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +0000936expr8(expr1, ...) |Funcref| function call
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000937
938When expr8 is a |Funcref| type variable, invoke the function it refers to.
939
940
941
942 *expr9*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000943number
944------
945number number constant *expr-number*
946
947Decimal, Hexadecimal (starting with 0x or 0X), or Octal (starting with 0).
948
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +0000949 *floating-point-format*
950Floating point numbers can be written in two forms:
951
952 [-+]{N}.{M}
953 [-+]{N}.{M}e[-+]{exp}
954
955{N} and {M} are numbers. Both {N} and {M} must be present and can only
956contain digits.
957[-+] means there is an optional plus or minus sign.
958{exp} is the exponent, power of 10.
959Only a decimal point is accepted, not a comma. No matter what the current
960locale is.
961{only when compiled with the |+float| feature}
962
963Examples:
964 123.456
965 +0.0001
966 55.0
967 -0.123
968 1.234e03
969 1.0E-6
970 -3.1416e+88
971
972These are INVALID:
973 3. empty {M}
974 1e40 missing .{M}
975
Bram Moolenaare37d50a2008-08-06 17:06:04 +0000976 *float-pi* *float-e*
977A few useful values to copy&paste: >
978 :let pi = 3.14159265359
979 :let e = 2.71828182846
980
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +0000981Rationale:
982Before floating point was introduced, the text "123.456" was interpreted as
983the two numbers "123" and "456", both converted to a string and concatenated,
984resulting in the string "123456". Since this was considered pointless, and we
Bram Moolenaare37d50a2008-08-06 17:06:04 +0000985could not find it intentionally being used in Vim scripts, this backwards
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +0000986incompatibility was accepted in favor of being able to use the normal notation
987for floating point numbers.
988
989 *floating-point-precision*
990The precision and range of floating points numbers depends on what "double"
991means in the library Vim was compiled with. There is no way to change this at
992runtime.
993
994The default for displaying a |Float| is to use 6 decimal places, like using
995printf("%g", f). You can select something else when using the |printf()|
996function. Example: >
997 :echo printf('%.15e', atan(1))
998< 7.853981633974483e-01
999
1000
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001001
1002string *expr-string* *E114*
1003------
1004"string" string constant *expr-quote*
1005
1006Note that double quotes are used.
1007
1008A string constant accepts these special characters:
1009\... three-digit octal number (e.g., "\316")
1010\.. two-digit octal number (must be followed by non-digit)
1011\. one-digit octal number (must be followed by non-digit)
1012\x.. byte specified with two hex numbers (e.g., "\x1f")
1013\x. byte specified with one hex number (must be followed by non-hex char)
1014\X.. same as \x..
1015\X. same as \x.
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00001016\u.... character specified with up to 4 hex numbers, stored according to the
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001017 current value of 'encoding' (e.g., "\u02a4")
1018\U.... same as \u....
1019\b backspace <BS>
1020\e escape <Esc>
1021\f formfeed <FF>
1022\n newline <NL>
1023\r return <CR>
1024\t tab <Tab>
1025\\ backslash
1026\" double quote
Bram Moolenaar00a927d2010-05-14 23:24:24 +02001027\<xxx> Special key named "xxx". e.g. "\<C-W>" for CTRL-W. This is for use
1028 in mappings, the 0x80 byte is escaped. Don't use <Char-xxxx> to get a
1029 utf-8 character, use \uxxxx as mentioned above.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001030
Bram Moolenaaref2f6562007-05-06 13:32:59 +00001031Note that "\xff" is stored as the byte 255, which may be invalid in some
1032encodings. Use "\u00ff" to store character 255 according to the current value
1033of 'encoding'.
1034
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001035Note that "\000" and "\x00" force the end of the string.
1036
1037
1038literal-string *literal-string* *E115*
1039---------------
Bram Moolenaar3fdfa4a2004-10-07 21:02:47 +00001040'string' string constant *expr-'*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001041
1042Note that single quotes are used.
1043
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00001044This string is taken as it is. No backslashes are removed or have a special
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +00001045meaning. The only exception is that two quotes stand for one quote.
Bram Moolenaar3fdfa4a2004-10-07 21:02:47 +00001046
1047Single quoted strings are useful for patterns, so that backslashes do not need
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00001048to be doubled. These two commands are equivalent: >
Bram Moolenaar3fdfa4a2004-10-07 21:02:47 +00001049 if a =~ "\\s*"
1050 if a =~ '\s*'
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001051
1052
1053option *expr-option* *E112* *E113*
1054------
1055&option option value, local value if possible
1056&g:option global option value
1057&l:option local option value
1058
1059Examples: >
1060 echo "tabstop is " . &tabstop
1061 if &insertmode
1062
1063Any option name can be used here. See |options|. When using the local value
1064and there is no buffer-local or window-local value, the global value is used
1065anyway.
1066
1067
Bram Moolenaaref2f6562007-05-06 13:32:59 +00001068register *expr-register* *@r*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001069--------
1070@r contents of register 'r'
1071
1072The result is the contents of the named register, as a single string.
1073Newlines are inserted where required. To get the contents of the unnamed
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00001074register use @" or @@. See |registers| for an explanation of the available
Bram Moolenaare7566042005-06-17 22:00:15 +00001075registers.
1076
1077When using the '=' register you get the expression itself, not what it
1078evaluates to. Use |eval()| to evaluate it.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001079
1080
1081nesting *expr-nesting* *E110*
1082-------
1083(expr1) nested expression
1084
1085
1086environment variable *expr-env*
1087--------------------
1088$VAR environment variable
1089
1090The String value of any environment variable. When it is not defined, the
1091result is an empty string.
1092 *expr-env-expand*
1093Note that there is a difference between using $VAR directly and using
1094expand("$VAR"). Using it directly will only expand environment variables that
1095are known inside the current Vim session. Using expand() will first try using
1096the environment variables known inside the current Vim session. If that
1097fails, a shell will be used to expand the variable. This can be slow, but it
1098does expand all variables that the shell knows about. Example: >
1099 :echo $version
1100 :echo expand("$version")
1101The first one probably doesn't echo anything, the second echoes the $version
1102variable (if your shell supports it).
1103
1104
1105internal variable *expr-variable*
1106-----------------
1107variable internal variable
1108See below |internal-variables|.
1109
1110
Bram Moolenaar05159a02005-02-26 23:04:13 +00001111function call *expr-function* *E116* *E118* *E119* *E120*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001112-------------
1113function(expr1, ...) function call
1114See below |functions|.
1115
1116
1117==============================================================================
Bram Moolenaar4a748032010-09-30 21:47:56 +020011183. Internal variable *internal-variables* *E461*
1119
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001120An internal variable name can be made up of letters, digits and '_'. But it
1121cannot start with a digit. It's also possible to use curly braces, see
1122|curly-braces-names|.
1123
1124An internal variable is created with the ":let" command |:let|.
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +00001125An internal variable is explicitly destroyed with the ":unlet" command
1126|:unlet|.
1127Using a name that is not an internal variable or refers to a variable that has
1128been destroyed results in an error.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001129
1130There are several name spaces for variables. Which one is to be used is
1131specified by what is prepended:
1132
1133 (nothing) In a function: local to a function; otherwise: global
1134|buffer-variable| b: Local to the current buffer.
1135|window-variable| w: Local to the current window.
Bram Moolenaar910f66f2006-04-05 20:41:53 +00001136|tabpage-variable| t: Local to the current tab page.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001137|global-variable| g: Global.
1138|local-variable| l: Local to a function.
1139|script-variable| s: Local to a |:source|'ed Vim script.
1140|function-argument| a: Function argument (only inside a function).
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00001141|vim-variable| v: Global, predefined by Vim.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001142
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00001143The scope name by itself can be used as a |Dictionary|. For example, to
1144delete all script-local variables: >
Bram Moolenaar8f999f12005-01-25 22:12:55 +00001145 :for k in keys(s:)
1146 : unlet s:[k]
1147 :endfor
1148<
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001149 *buffer-variable* *b:var*
1150A variable name that is preceded with "b:" is local to the current buffer.
1151Thus you can have several "b:foo" variables, one for each buffer.
1152This kind of variable is deleted when the buffer is wiped out or deleted with
1153|:bdelete|.
1154
1155One local buffer variable is predefined:
1156 *b:changedtick-variable* *changetick*
1157b:changedtick The total number of changes to the current buffer. It is
1158 incremented for each change. An undo command is also a change
1159 in this case. This can be used to perform an action only when
1160 the buffer has changed. Example: >
1161 :if my_changedtick != b:changedtick
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00001162 : let my_changedtick = b:changedtick
1163 : call My_Update()
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001164 :endif
1165<
1166 *window-variable* *w:var*
1167A variable name that is preceded with "w:" is local to the current window. It
1168is deleted when the window is closed.
1169
Bram Moolenaar910f66f2006-04-05 20:41:53 +00001170 *tabpage-variable* *t:var*
1171A variable name that is preceded with "t:" is local to the current tab page,
1172It is deleted when the tab page is closed. {not available when compiled
Bram Moolenaardb84e452010-08-15 13:50:43 +02001173without the |+windows| feature}
Bram Moolenaar910f66f2006-04-05 20:41:53 +00001174
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001175 *global-variable* *g:var*
1176Inside functions global variables are accessed with "g:". Omitting this will
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00001177access a variable local to a function. But "g:" can also be used in any other
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001178place if you like.
1179
1180 *local-variable* *l:var*
1181Inside functions local variables are accessed without prepending anything.
Bram Moolenaaref2f6562007-05-06 13:32:59 +00001182But you can also prepend "l:" if you like. However, without prepending "l:"
1183you may run into reserved variable names. For example "count". By itself it
1184refers to "v:count". Using "l:count" you can have a local variable with the
1185same name.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001186
1187 *script-variable* *s:var*
1188In a Vim script variables starting with "s:" can be used. They cannot be
1189accessed from outside of the scripts, thus are local to the script.
1190
1191They can be used in:
1192- commands executed while the script is sourced
1193- functions defined in the script
1194- autocommands defined in the script
1195- functions and autocommands defined in functions and autocommands which were
1196 defined in the script (recursively)
1197- user defined commands defined in the script
1198Thus not in:
1199- other scripts sourced from this one
1200- mappings
Bram Moolenaar8f3f58f2010-01-06 20:52:26 +01001201- menus
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001202- etc.
1203
Bram Moolenaaref2f6562007-05-06 13:32:59 +00001204Script variables can be used to avoid conflicts with global variable names.
1205Take this example: >
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001206
1207 let s:counter = 0
1208 function MyCounter()
1209 let s:counter = s:counter + 1
1210 echo s:counter
1211 endfunction
1212 command Tick call MyCounter()
1213
1214You can now invoke "Tick" from any script, and the "s:counter" variable in
1215that script will not be changed, only the "s:counter" in the script where
1216"Tick" was defined is used.
1217
1218Another example that does the same: >
1219
1220 let s:counter = 0
1221 command Tick let s:counter = s:counter + 1 | echo s:counter
1222
1223When calling a function and invoking a user-defined command, the context for
Bram Moolenaar69a7cb42004-06-20 12:51:53 +00001224script variables is set to the script where the function or command was
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001225defined.
1226
1227The script variables are also available when a function is defined inside a
1228function that is defined in a script. Example: >
1229
1230 let s:counter = 0
1231 function StartCounting(incr)
1232 if a:incr
1233 function MyCounter()
1234 let s:counter = s:counter + 1
1235 endfunction
1236 else
1237 function MyCounter()
1238 let s:counter = s:counter - 1
1239 endfunction
1240 endif
1241 endfunction
1242
1243This defines the MyCounter() function either for counting up or counting down
1244when calling StartCounting(). It doesn't matter from where StartCounting() is
1245called, the s:counter variable will be accessible in MyCounter().
1246
1247When the same script is sourced again it will use the same script variables.
1248They will remain valid as long as Vim is running. This can be used to
1249maintain a counter: >
1250
1251 if !exists("s:counter")
1252 let s:counter = 1
1253 echo "script executed for the first time"
1254 else
1255 let s:counter = s:counter + 1
1256 echo "script executed " . s:counter . " times now"
1257 endif
1258
1259Note that this means that filetype plugins don't get a different set of script
1260variables for each buffer. Use local buffer variables instead |b:var|.
1261
1262
1263Predefined Vim variables: *vim-variable* *v:var*
1264
Bram Moolenaare4efc3b2005-03-07 23:16:51 +00001265 *v:beval_col* *beval_col-variable*
1266v:beval_col The number of the column, over which the mouse pointer is.
1267 This is the byte index in the |v:beval_lnum| line.
1268 Only valid while evaluating the 'balloonexpr' option.
1269
1270 *v:beval_bufnr* *beval_bufnr-variable*
1271v:beval_bufnr The number of the buffer, over which the mouse pointer is. Only
1272 valid while evaluating the 'balloonexpr' option.
1273
1274 *v:beval_lnum* *beval_lnum-variable*
1275v:beval_lnum The number of the line, over which the mouse pointer is. Only
1276 valid while evaluating the 'balloonexpr' option.
1277
1278 *v:beval_text* *beval_text-variable*
Bram Moolenaar24bbcfe2005-06-28 23:32:02 +00001279v:beval_text The text under or after the mouse pointer. Usually a word as
1280 it is useful for debugging a C program. 'iskeyword' applies,
1281 but a dot and "->" before the position is included. When on a
1282 ']' the text before it is used, including the matching '[' and
Bram Moolenaare4efc3b2005-03-07 23:16:51 +00001283 word before it. When on a Visual area within one line the
1284 highlighted text is used.
1285 Only valid while evaluating the 'balloonexpr' option.
1286
1287 *v:beval_winnr* *beval_winnr-variable*
1288v:beval_winnr The number of the window, over which the mouse pointer is. Only
1289 valid while evaluating the 'balloonexpr' option.
1290
Bram Moolenaarf193fff2006-04-27 00:02:13 +00001291 *v:char* *char-variable*
Bram Moolenaar8f3f58f2010-01-06 20:52:26 +01001292v:char Argument for evaluating 'formatexpr' and used for the typed
Bram Moolenaar945e2db2010-06-05 17:43:32 +02001293 character when using <expr> in an abbreviation |:map-<expr>|.
Bram Moolenaarf193fff2006-04-27 00:02:13 +00001294
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001295 *v:charconvert_from* *charconvert_from-variable*
1296v:charconvert_from
1297 The name of the character encoding of a file to be converted.
1298 Only valid while evaluating the 'charconvert' option.
1299
1300 *v:charconvert_to* *charconvert_to-variable*
1301v:charconvert_to
1302 The name of the character encoding of a file after conversion.
1303 Only valid while evaluating the 'charconvert' option.
1304
1305 *v:cmdarg* *cmdarg-variable*
1306v:cmdarg This variable is used for two purposes:
1307 1. The extra arguments given to a file read/write command.
1308 Currently these are "++enc=" and "++ff=". This variable is
1309 set before an autocommand event for a file read/write
1310 command is triggered. There is a leading space to make it
1311 possible to append this variable directly after the
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00001312 read/write command. Note: The "+cmd" argument isn't
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001313 included here, because it will be executed anyway.
1314 2. When printing a PostScript file with ":hardcopy" this is
1315 the argument for the ":hardcopy" command. This can be used
1316 in 'printexpr'.
1317
1318 *v:cmdbang* *cmdbang-variable*
1319v:cmdbang Set like v:cmdarg for a file read/write command. When a "!"
1320 was used the value is 1, otherwise it is 0. Note that this
1321 can only be used in autocommands. For user commands |<bang>|
1322 can be used.
1323
1324 *v:count* *count-variable*
1325v:count The count given for the last Normal mode command. Can be used
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00001326 to get the count before a mapping. Read-only. Example: >
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001327 :map _x :<C-U>echo "the count is " . v:count<CR>
1328< Note: The <C-U> is required to remove the line range that you
1329 get when typing ':' after a count.
Bram Moolenaar8f3f58f2010-01-06 20:52:26 +01001330 When there are two counts, as in "3d2w", they are multiplied,
1331 just like what happens in the command, "d6w" for the example.
Bram Moolenaar1d2ba7f2006-02-14 22:29:30 +00001332 Also used for evaluating the 'formatexpr' option.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001333 "count" also works, for backwards compatibility.
1334
1335 *v:count1* *count1-variable*
1336v:count1 Just like "v:count", but defaults to one when no count is
1337 used.
1338
1339 *v:ctype* *ctype-variable*
1340v:ctype The current locale setting for characters of the runtime
1341 environment. This allows Vim scripts to be aware of the
1342 current locale encoding. Technical: it's the value of
1343 LC_CTYPE. When not using a locale the value is "C".
1344 This variable can not be set directly, use the |:language|
1345 command.
1346 See |multi-lang|.
1347
1348 *v:dying* *dying-variable*
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00001349v:dying Normally zero. When a deadly signal is caught it's set to
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001350 one. When multiple signals are caught the number increases.
1351 Can be used in an autocommand to check if Vim didn't
1352 terminate normally. {only works on Unix}
1353 Example: >
1354 :au VimLeave * if v:dying | echo "\nAAAAaaaarrrggghhhh!!!\n" | endif
Bram Moolenaar0e1e25f2010-05-28 21:07:08 +02001355< Note: if another deadly signal is caught when v:dying is one,
1356 VimLeave autocommands will not be executed.
1357
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001358 *v:errmsg* *errmsg-variable*
1359v:errmsg Last given error message. It's allowed to set this variable.
1360 Example: >
1361 :let v:errmsg = ""
1362 :silent! next
1363 :if v:errmsg != ""
1364 : ... handle error
1365< "errmsg" also works, for backwards compatibility.
1366
1367 *v:exception* *exception-variable*
1368v:exception The value of the exception most recently caught and not
1369 finished. See also |v:throwpoint| and |throw-variables|.
1370 Example: >
1371 :try
1372 : throw "oops"
1373 :catch /.*/
1374 : echo "caught" v:exception
1375 :endtry
1376< Output: "caught oops".
1377
Bram Moolenaar19a09a12005-03-04 23:39:37 +00001378 *v:fcs_reason* *fcs_reason-variable*
1379v:fcs_reason The reason why the |FileChangedShell| event was triggered.
1380 Can be used in an autocommand to decide what to do and/or what
1381 to set v:fcs_choice to. Possible values:
1382 deleted file no longer exists
1383 conflict file contents, mode or timestamp was
1384 changed and buffer is modified
1385 changed file contents has changed
1386 mode mode of file changed
1387 time only file timestamp changed
1388
1389 *v:fcs_choice* *fcs_choice-variable*
1390v:fcs_choice What should happen after a |FileChangedShell| event was
1391 triggered. Can be used in an autocommand to tell Vim what to
1392 do with the affected buffer:
1393 reload Reload the buffer (does not work if
1394 the file was deleted).
1395 ask Ask the user what to do, as if there
1396 was no autocommand. Except that when
1397 only the timestamp changed nothing
1398 will happen.
1399 <empty> Nothing, the autocommand should do
1400 everything that needs to be done.
1401 The default is empty. If another (invalid) value is used then
1402 Vim behaves like it is empty, there is no warning message.
1403
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001404 *v:fname_in* *fname_in-variable*
Bram Moolenaar4e330bb2005-12-07 21:04:31 +00001405v:fname_in The name of the input file. Valid while evaluating:
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001406 option used for ~
1407 'charconvert' file to be converted
1408 'diffexpr' original file
1409 'patchexpr' original file
1410 'printexpr' file to be printed
Bram Moolenaar2c7a29c2005-12-12 22:02:31 +00001411 And set to the swap file name for |SwapExists|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001412
1413 *v:fname_out* *fname_out-variable*
1414v:fname_out The name of the output file. Only valid while
1415 evaluating:
1416 option used for ~
1417 'charconvert' resulting converted file (*)
1418 'diffexpr' output of diff
1419 'patchexpr' resulting patched file
1420 (*) When doing conversion for a write command (e.g., ":w
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00001421 file") it will be equal to v:fname_in. When doing conversion
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001422 for a read command (e.g., ":e file") it will be a temporary
1423 file and different from v:fname_in.
1424
1425 *v:fname_new* *fname_new-variable*
1426v:fname_new The name of the new version of the file. Only valid while
1427 evaluating 'diffexpr'.
1428
1429 *v:fname_diff* *fname_diff-variable*
1430v:fname_diff The name of the diff (patch) file. Only valid while
1431 evaluating 'patchexpr'.
1432
1433 *v:folddashes* *folddashes-variable*
1434v:folddashes Used for 'foldtext': dashes representing foldlevel of a closed
1435 fold.
Bram Moolenaar7b0294c2004-10-11 10:16:09 +00001436 Read-only in the |sandbox|. |fold-foldtext|
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001437
1438 *v:foldlevel* *foldlevel-variable*
1439v:foldlevel Used for 'foldtext': foldlevel of closed fold.
Bram Moolenaar7b0294c2004-10-11 10:16:09 +00001440 Read-only in the |sandbox|. |fold-foldtext|
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001441
1442 *v:foldend* *foldend-variable*
1443v:foldend Used for 'foldtext': last line of closed fold.
Bram Moolenaar7b0294c2004-10-11 10:16:09 +00001444 Read-only in the |sandbox|. |fold-foldtext|
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001445
1446 *v:foldstart* *foldstart-variable*
1447v:foldstart Used for 'foldtext': first line of closed fold.
Bram Moolenaar7b0294c2004-10-11 10:16:09 +00001448 Read-only in the |sandbox|. |fold-foldtext|
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001449
Bram Moolenaar843ee412004-06-30 16:16:41 +00001450 *v:insertmode* *insertmode-variable*
1451v:insertmode Used for the |InsertEnter| and |InsertChange| autocommand
1452 events. Values:
1453 i Insert mode
1454 r Replace mode
1455 v Virtual Replace mode
1456
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00001457 *v:key* *key-variable*
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00001458v:key Key of the current item of a |Dictionary|. Only valid while
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00001459 evaluating the expression used with |map()| and |filter()|.
1460 Read-only.
1461
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001462 *v:lang* *lang-variable*
1463v:lang The current locale setting for messages of the runtime
1464 environment. This allows Vim scripts to be aware of the
1465 current language. Technical: it's the value of LC_MESSAGES.
1466 The value is system dependent.
1467 This variable can not be set directly, use the |:language|
1468 command.
1469 It can be different from |v:ctype| when messages are desired
1470 in a different language than what is used for character
1471 encoding. See |multi-lang|.
1472
1473 *v:lc_time* *lc_time-variable*
1474v:lc_time The current locale setting for time messages of the runtime
1475 environment. This allows Vim scripts to be aware of the
1476 current language. Technical: it's the value of LC_TIME.
1477 This variable can not be set directly, use the |:language|
1478 command. See |multi-lang|.
1479
1480 *v:lnum* *lnum-variable*
Bram Moolenaar368373e2010-07-19 20:46:22 +02001481v:lnum Line number for the 'foldexpr' |fold-expr|, 'formatexpr' and
1482 'indentexpr' expressions, tab page number for 'guitablabel'
1483 and 'guitabtooltip'. Only valid while one of these
1484 expressions is being evaluated. Read-only when in the
1485 |sandbox|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001486
Bram Moolenaar219b8702006-11-01 14:32:36 +00001487 *v:mouse_win* *mouse_win-variable*
1488v:mouse_win Window number for a mouse click obtained with |getchar()|.
1489 First window has number 1, like with |winnr()|. The value is
1490 zero when there was no mouse button click.
1491
1492 *v:mouse_lnum* *mouse_lnum-variable*
1493v:mouse_lnum Line number for a mouse click obtained with |getchar()|.
1494 This is the text line number, not the screen line number. The
1495 value is zero when there was no mouse button click.
1496
1497 *v:mouse_col* *mouse_col-variable*
1498v:mouse_col Column number for a mouse click obtained with |getchar()|.
1499 This is the screen column number, like with |virtcol()|. The
1500 value is zero when there was no mouse button click.
1501
Bram Moolenaard812df62008-11-09 12:46:09 +00001502 *v:oldfiles* *oldfiles-variable*
1503v:oldfiles List of file names that is loaded from the |viminfo| file on
1504 startup. These are the files that Vim remembers marks for.
1505 The length of the List is limited by the ' argument of the
1506 'viminfo' option (default is 100).
1507 Also see |:oldfiles| and |c_#<|.
1508 The List can be modified, but this has no effect on what is
1509 stored in the |viminfo| file later. If you use values other
1510 than String this will cause trouble.
Bram Moolenaardb84e452010-08-15 13:50:43 +02001511 {only when compiled with the |+viminfo| feature}
Bram Moolenaard812df62008-11-09 12:46:09 +00001512
Bram Moolenaar8af1fbf2008-01-05 12:35:21 +00001513 *v:operator* *operator-variable*
1514v:operator The last operator given in Normal mode. This is a single
1515 character except for commands starting with <g> or <z>,
1516 in which case it is two characters. Best used alongside
1517 |v:prevcount| and |v:register|. Useful if you want to cancel
1518 Operator-pending mode and then use the operator, e.g.: >
1519 :omap O <Esc>:call MyMotion(v:operator)<CR>
1520< The value remains set until another operator is entered, thus
1521 don't expect it to be empty.
1522 v:operator is not set for |:delete|, |:yank| or other Ex
1523 commands.
1524 Read-only.
1525
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001526 *v:prevcount* *prevcount-variable*
1527v:prevcount The count given for the last but one Normal mode command.
1528 This is the v:count value of the previous command. Useful if
Bram Moolenaar8af1fbf2008-01-05 12:35:21 +00001529 you want to cancel Visual or Operator-pending mode and then
1530 use the count, e.g.: >
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001531 :vmap % <Esc>:call MyFilter(v:prevcount)<CR>
1532< Read-only.
1533
Bram Moolenaar05159a02005-02-26 23:04:13 +00001534 *v:profiling* *profiling-variable*
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00001535v:profiling Normally zero. Set to one after using ":profile start".
Bram Moolenaar05159a02005-02-26 23:04:13 +00001536 See |profiling|.
1537
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001538 *v:progname* *progname-variable*
1539v:progname Contains the name (with path removed) with which Vim was
1540 invoked. Allows you to do special initialisations for "view",
1541 "evim" etc., or any other name you might symlink to Vim.
1542 Read-only.
1543
1544 *v:register* *register-variable*
1545v:register The name of the register supplied to the last normal mode
1546 command. Empty if none were supplied. |getreg()| |setreg()|
1547
Bram Moolenaar1c7715d2005-10-03 22:02:18 +00001548 *v:scrollstart* *scrollstart-variable*
1549v:scrollstart String describing the script or function that caused the
1550 screen to scroll up. It's only set when it is empty, thus the
1551 first reason is remembered. It is set to "Unknown" for a
1552 typed command.
1553 This can be used to find out why your script causes the
1554 hit-enter prompt.
1555
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001556 *v:servername* *servername-variable*
1557v:servername The resulting registered |x11-clientserver| name if any.
1558 Read-only.
1559
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00001560
1561v:searchforward *v:searchforward* *searchforward-variable*
1562 Search direction: 1 after a forward search, 0 after a
1563 backward search. It is reset to forward when directly setting
1564 the last search pattern, see |quote/|.
1565 Note that the value is restored when returning from a
1566 function. |function-search-undo|.
1567 Read-write.
1568
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001569 *v:shell_error* *shell_error-variable*
1570v:shell_error Result of the last shell command. When non-zero, the last
1571 shell command had an error. When zero, there was no problem.
1572 This only works when the shell returns the error code to Vim.
1573 The value -1 is often used when the command could not be
1574 executed. Read-only.
1575 Example: >
1576 :!mv foo bar
1577 :if v:shell_error
1578 : echo 'could not rename "foo" to "bar"!'
1579 :endif
1580< "shell_error" also works, for backwards compatibility.
1581
1582 *v:statusmsg* *statusmsg-variable*
1583v:statusmsg Last given status message. It's allowed to set this variable.
1584
Bram Moolenaar4e330bb2005-12-07 21:04:31 +00001585 *v:swapname* *swapname-variable*
1586v:swapname Only valid when executing |SwapExists| autocommands: Name of
1587 the swap file found. Read-only.
1588
1589 *v:swapchoice* *swapchoice-variable*
1590v:swapchoice |SwapExists| autocommands can set this to the selected choice
1591 for handling an existing swap file:
1592 'o' Open read-only
1593 'e' Edit anyway
1594 'r' Recover
1595 'd' Delete swapfile
1596 'q' Quit
1597 'a' Abort
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00001598 The value should be a single-character string. An empty value
Bram Moolenaar4e330bb2005-12-07 21:04:31 +00001599 results in the user being asked, as would happen when there is
1600 no SwapExists autocommand. The default is empty.
1601
Bram Moolenaarb3480382005-12-11 21:33:32 +00001602 *v:swapcommand* *swapcommand-variable*
Bram Moolenaar4770d092006-01-12 23:22:24 +00001603v:swapcommand Normal mode command to be executed after a file has been
Bram Moolenaarb3480382005-12-11 21:33:32 +00001604 opened. Can be used for a |SwapExists| autocommand to have
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00001605 another Vim open the file and jump to the right place. For
Bram Moolenaarb3480382005-12-11 21:33:32 +00001606 example, when jumping to a tag the value is ":tag tagname\r".
Bram Moolenaar1f35bf92006-03-07 22:38:47 +00001607 For ":edit +cmd file" the value is ":cmd\r".
Bram Moolenaarb3480382005-12-11 21:33:32 +00001608
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001609 *v:termresponse* *termresponse-variable*
1610v:termresponse The escape sequence returned by the terminal for the |t_RV|
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00001611 termcap entry. It is set when Vim receives an escape sequence
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001612 that starts with ESC [ or CSI and ends in a 'c', with only
1613 digits, ';' and '.' in between.
1614 When this option is set, the TermResponse autocommand event is
1615 fired, so that you can react to the response from the
1616 terminal.
1617 The response from a new xterm is: "<Esc>[ Pp ; Pv ; Pc c". Pp
1618 is the terminal type: 0 for vt100 and 1 for vt220. Pv is the
1619 patch level (since this was introduced in patch 95, it's
1620 always 95 or bigger). Pc is always zero.
1621 {only when compiled with |+termresponse| feature}
1622
1623 *v:this_session* *this_session-variable*
1624v:this_session Full filename of the last loaded or saved session file. See
1625 |:mksession|. It is allowed to set this variable. When no
1626 session file has been saved, this variable is empty.
1627 "this_session" also works, for backwards compatibility.
1628
1629 *v:throwpoint* *throwpoint-variable*
1630v:throwpoint The point where the exception most recently caught and not
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00001631 finished was thrown. Not set when commands are typed. See
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001632 also |v:exception| and |throw-variables|.
1633 Example: >
1634 :try
1635 : throw "oops"
1636 :catch /.*/
1637 : echo "Exception from" v:throwpoint
1638 :endtry
1639< Output: "Exception from test.vim, line 2"
1640
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00001641 *v:val* *val-variable*
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00001642v:val Value of the current item of a |List| or |Dictionary|. Only
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00001643 valid while evaluating the expression used with |map()| and
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00001644 |filter()|. Read-only.
1645
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001646 *v:version* *version-variable*
1647v:version Version number of Vim: Major version number times 100 plus
1648 minor version number. Version 5.0 is 500. Version 5.1 (5.01)
1649 is 501. Read-only. "version" also works, for backwards
1650 compatibility.
1651 Use |has()| to check if a certain patch was included, e.g.: >
1652 if has("patch123")
1653< Note that patch numbers are specific to the version, thus both
1654 version 5.0 and 5.1 may have a patch 123, but these are
1655 completely different.
1656
1657 *v:warningmsg* *warningmsg-variable*
1658v:warningmsg Last given warning message. It's allowed to set this variable.
1659
Bram Moolenaar727c8762010-10-20 19:17:48 +02001660 *v:windowid* *windowid-variable*
1661v:windowid When any X11 based GUI is running or when running in a
1662 terminal and Vim connects to the X server (|-X|) this will be
1663 set to the window ID. Otherwise the value is zero.
1664
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001665==============================================================================
16664. Builtin Functions *functions*
1667
1668See |function-list| for a list grouped by what the function is used for.
1669
Bram Moolenaar402d2fe2005-04-15 21:00:38 +00001670(Use CTRL-] on the function name to jump to the full explanation.)
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001671
1672USAGE RESULT DESCRIPTION ~
1673
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00001674abs( {expr}) Float or Number absolute value of {expr}
Bram Moolenaardb7c6862010-05-21 16:33:48 +02001675acos( {expr}) Float arc cosine of {expr}
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00001676add( {list}, {item}) List append {item} to |List| {list}
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001677append( {lnum}, {string}) Number append {string} below line {lnum}
Bram Moolenaar7c626922005-02-07 22:01:03 +00001678append( {lnum}, {list}) Number append lines {list} below line {lnum}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001679argc() Number number of files in the argument list
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001680argidx() Number current index in the argument list
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001681argv( {nr}) String {nr} entry of the argument list
Bram Moolenaare2f98b92006-03-29 21:18:24 +00001682argv( ) List the argument list
Bram Moolenaardb7c6862010-05-21 16:33:48 +02001683asin( {expr}) Float arc sine of {expr}
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00001684atan( {expr}) Float arc tangent of {expr}
Bram Moolenaardb7c6862010-05-21 16:33:48 +02001685atan2( {expr}, {expr}) Float arc tangent of {expr1} / {expr2}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001686browse( {save}, {title}, {initdir}, {default})
1687 String put up a file requester
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00001688browsedir( {title}, {initdir}) String put up a directory requester
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001689bufexists( {expr}) Number TRUE if buffer {expr} exists
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001690buflisted( {expr}) Number TRUE if buffer {expr} is listed
1691bufloaded( {expr}) Number TRUE if buffer {expr} is loaded
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001692bufname( {expr}) String Name of the buffer {expr}
1693bufnr( {expr}) Number Number of the buffer {expr}
1694bufwinnr( {expr}) Number window number of buffer {expr}
1695byte2line( {byte}) Number line number at byte count {byte}
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001696byteidx( {expr}, {nr}) Number byte index of {nr}'th char in {expr}
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00001697call( {func}, {arglist} [, {dict}])
1698 any call {func} with arguments {arglist}
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00001699ceil( {expr}) Float round {expr} up
1700changenr() Number current change number
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001701char2nr( {expr}) Number ASCII value of first char in {expr}
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001702cindent( {lnum}) Number C indent for line {lnum}
Bram Moolenaar8f3f58f2010-01-06 20:52:26 +01001703clearmatches() none clear all matches
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001704col( {expr}) Number column nr of cursor or mark
Bram Moolenaar8f3f58f2010-01-06 20:52:26 +01001705complete( {startcol}, {matches}) none set Insert mode completion
Bram Moolenaar572cb562005-08-05 21:35:02 +00001706complete_add( {expr}) Number add completion match
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00001707complete_check() Number check for key typed during completion
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001708confirm( {msg} [, {choices} [, {default} [, {type}]]])
1709 Number number of choice picked by user
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001710copy( {expr}) any make a shallow copy of {expr}
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00001711cos( {expr}) Float cosine of {expr}
Bram Moolenaardb7c6862010-05-21 16:33:48 +02001712cosh( {expr}) Float hyperbolic cosine of {expr}
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00001713count( {list}, {expr} [, {start} [, {ic}]])
1714 Number count how many {expr} are in {list}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001715cscope_connection( [{num} , {dbpath} [, {prepend}]])
1716 Number checks existence of cscope connection
Bram Moolenaar0b238792006-03-02 22:49:12 +00001717cursor( {lnum}, {col} [, {coladd}])
1718 Number move cursor to {lnum}, {col}, {coladd}
1719cursor( {list}) Number move cursor to position in {list}
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001720deepcopy( {expr}) any make a full copy of {expr}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001721delete( {fname}) Number delete file {fname}
1722did_filetype() Number TRUE if FileType autocommand event used
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001723diff_filler( {lnum}) Number diff filler lines about {lnum}
1724diff_hlID( {lnum}, {col}) Number diff highlighting at {lnum}/{col}
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +00001725empty( {expr}) Number TRUE if {expr} is empty
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001726escape( {string}, {chars}) String escape {chars} in {string} with '\'
Bram Moolenaare2cc9702005-03-15 22:43:58 +00001727eval( {string}) any evaluate {string} into its value
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001728eventhandler( ) Number TRUE if inside an event handler
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001729executable( {expr}) Number 1 if executable {expr} exists
1730exists( {expr}) Number TRUE if {expr} exists
Bram Moolenaar8f3f58f2010-01-06 20:52:26 +01001731extend( {expr1}, {expr2} [, {expr3}])
Bram Moolenaarc6fe9192006-04-09 21:54:49 +00001732 List/Dict insert items of {expr2} into {expr1}
Bram Moolenaardb7c6862010-05-21 16:33:48 +02001733exp( {expr}) Float exponential of {expr}
Bram Moolenaarbb5ddda2008-11-28 10:01:10 +00001734expand( {expr} [, {flag}]) String expand special keywords in {expr}
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00001735feedkeys( {string} [, {mode}]) Number add key sequence to typeahead buffer
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001736filereadable( {file}) Number TRUE if {file} is a readable file
Bram Moolenaarc6fe9192006-04-09 21:54:49 +00001737filewritable( {file}) Number TRUE if {file} is a writable file
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00001738filter( {expr}, {string}) List/Dict remove items from {expr} where
1739 {string} is 0
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00001740finddir( {name}[, {path}[, {count}]])
Bram Moolenaarc6fe9192006-04-09 21:54:49 +00001741 String find directory {name} in {path}
Bram Moolenaar89cb5e02004-07-19 20:55:54 +00001742findfile( {name}[, {path}[, {count}]])
Bram Moolenaarc6fe9192006-04-09 21:54:49 +00001743 String find file {name} in {path}
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00001744float2nr( {expr}) Number convert Float {expr} to a Number
1745floor( {expr}) Float round {expr} down
Bram Moolenaardb7c6862010-05-21 16:33:48 +02001746fmod( {expr1}, {expr2}) Float remainder of {expr1} / {expr2}
Bram Moolenaaraebaf892008-05-28 14:49:58 +00001747fnameescape( {fname}) String escape special characters in {fname}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001748fnamemodify( {fname}, {mods}) String modify file name
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001749foldclosed( {lnum}) Number first line of fold at {lnum} if closed
1750foldclosedend( {lnum}) Number last line of fold at {lnum} if closed
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001751foldlevel( {lnum}) Number fold level at {lnum}
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001752foldtext( ) String line displayed for closed fold
Bram Moolenaarc6fe9192006-04-09 21:54:49 +00001753foldtextresult( {lnum}) String text for closed fold at {lnum}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001754foreground( ) Number bring the Vim window to the foreground
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001755function( {name}) Funcref reference to function {name}
Bram Moolenaar9d2c8c12007-09-25 16:00:00 +00001756garbagecollect( [at_exit]) none free memory, breaking cyclic references
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00001757get( {list}, {idx} [, {def}]) any get item {idx} from {list} or {def}
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00001758get( {dict}, {key} [, {def}]) any get item {key} from {dict} or {def}
Bram Moolenaar45360022005-07-21 21:08:21 +00001759getbufline( {expr}, {lnum} [, {end}])
1760 List lines {lnum} to {end} of buffer {expr}
Bram Moolenaarc6fe9192006-04-09 21:54:49 +00001761getbufvar( {expr}, {varname}) any variable {varname} in buffer {expr}
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001762getchar( [expr]) Number get one character from the user
1763getcharmod( ) Number modifiers for the last typed character
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001764getcmdline() String return the current command-line
1765getcmdpos() Number return cursor position in command-line
Bram Moolenaarbfd8fc02005-09-20 23:22:24 +00001766getcmdtype() String return the current command-line type
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001767getcwd() String the current working directory
Bram Moolenaar5eb86f92004-07-26 12:53:41 +00001768getfperm( {fname}) String file permissions of file {fname}
1769getfsize( {fname}) Number size in bytes of file {fname}
Bram Moolenaard8b0cf12004-12-12 11:33:30 +00001770getfontname( [{name}]) String name of font being used
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001771getftime( {fname}) Number last modification time of file
Bram Moolenaar5eb86f92004-07-26 12:53:41 +00001772getftype( {fname}) String description of type of file {fname}
Bram Moolenaar7c626922005-02-07 22:01:03 +00001773getline( {lnum}) String line {lnum} of current buffer
1774getline( {lnum}, {end}) List lines {lnum} to {end} of current buffer
Bram Moolenaar8f3f58f2010-01-06 20:52:26 +01001775getloclist( {nr}) List list of location list items
Bram Moolenaar6ee10162007-07-26 20:58:42 +00001776getmatches() List list of current matches
Bram Moolenaar18081e32008-02-20 19:11:07 +00001777getpid() Number process ID of Vim
Bram Moolenaar0b238792006-03-02 22:49:12 +00001778getpos( {expr}) List position of cursor, mark, etc.
Bram Moolenaar68b76a62005-03-25 21:53:48 +00001779getqflist() List list of quickfix items
Bram Moolenaar2389c3c2005-05-22 22:07:59 +00001780getreg( [{regname} [, 1]]) String contents of register
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001781getregtype( [{regname}]) String type of register
Bram Moolenaar06b5d512010-05-22 15:37:44 +02001782gettabvar( {nr}, {varname}) any variable {varname} in tab {nr}
Bram Moolenaarc6249bb2006-04-15 20:25:09 +00001783gettabwinvar( {tabnr}, {winnr}, {name})
1784 any {name} in {winnr} in tab page {tabnr}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001785getwinposx() Number X coord in pixels of GUI Vim window
1786getwinposy() Number Y coord in pixels of GUI Vim window
Bram Moolenaarc6fe9192006-04-09 21:54:49 +00001787getwinvar( {nr}, {varname}) any variable {varname} in window {nr}
Bram Moolenaarbb5ddda2008-11-28 10:01:10 +00001788glob( {expr} [, {flag}]) String expand file wildcards in {expr}
1789globpath( {path}, {expr} [, {flag}])
1790 String do glob({expr}) for all dirs in {path}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001791has( {feature}) Number TRUE if feature {feature} supported
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00001792has_key( {dict}, {key}) Number TRUE if {dict} has entry {key}
Bram Moolenaard267b9c2007-04-26 15:06:45 +00001793haslocaldir() Number TRUE if current window executed |:lcd|
Bram Moolenaar97b2ad32006-03-18 21:40:56 +00001794hasmapto( {what} [, {mode} [, {abbr}]])
1795 Number TRUE if mapping to {what} exists
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001796histadd( {history},{item}) String add an item to a history
1797histdel( {history} [, {item}]) String remove an item from a history
1798histget( {history} [, {index}]) String get the item {index} from a history
1799histnr( {history}) Number highest index of a history
1800hlexists( {name}) Number TRUE if highlight group {name} exists
1801hlID( {name}) Number syntax ID of highlight group {name}
1802hostname() String name of the machine Vim is running on
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001803iconv( {expr}, {from}, {to}) String convert encoding of {expr}
1804indent( {lnum}) Number indent of line {lnum}
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00001805index( {list}, {expr} [, {start} [, {ic}]])
1806 Number index in {list} where {expr} appears
Bram Moolenaarbfd8fc02005-09-20 23:22:24 +00001807input( {prompt} [, {text} [, {completion}]])
1808 String get input from the user
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001809inputdialog( {p} [, {t} [, {c}]]) String like input() but in a GUI dialog
Bram Moolenaarc6fe9192006-04-09 21:54:49 +00001810inputlist( {textlist}) Number let the user pick from a choice list
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001811inputrestore() Number restore typeahead
1812inputsave() Number save and clear typeahead
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001813inputsecret( {prompt} [, {text}]) String like input() but hiding the text
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001814insert( {list}, {item} [, {idx}]) List insert {item} in {list} [before {idx}]
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001815isdirectory( {directory}) Number TRUE if {directory} is a directory
Bram Moolenaar2ce06f62005-01-31 19:19:04 +00001816islocked( {expr}) Number TRUE if {expr} is locked
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00001817items( {dict}) List key-value pairs in {dict}
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00001818join( {list} [, {sep}]) String join {list} items into one String
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00001819keys( {dict}) List keys in {dict}
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001820len( {expr}) Number the length of {expr}
1821libcall( {lib}, {func}, {arg}) String call {func} in library {lib} with {arg}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001822libcallnr( {lib}, {func}, {arg}) Number idem, but return a Number
1823line( {expr}) Number line nr of cursor, last line or mark
1824line2byte( {lnum}) Number byte count of line {lnum}
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001825lispindent( {lnum}) Number Lisp indent for line {lnum}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001826localtime() Number current time
Bram Moolenaardb7c6862010-05-21 16:33:48 +02001827log( {expr}) Float natural logarithm (base e) of {expr}
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00001828log10( {expr}) Float logarithm of Float {expr} to base 10
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00001829map( {expr}, {string}) List/Dict change each item in {expr} to {expr}
Bram Moolenaar97b2ad32006-03-18 21:40:56 +00001830maparg( {name}[, {mode} [, {abbr}]])
1831 String rhs of mapping {name} in mode {mode}
1832mapcheck( {name}[, {mode} [, {abbr}]])
1833 String check for mappings matching {name}
Bram Moolenaar89cb5e02004-07-19 20:55:54 +00001834match( {expr}, {pat}[, {start}[, {count}]])
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001835 Number position where {pat} matches in {expr}
Bram Moolenaar6ee10162007-07-26 20:58:42 +00001836matchadd( {group}, {pattern}[, {priority}[, {id}]])
1837 Number highlight {pattern} with {group}
Bram Moolenaar910f66f2006-04-05 20:41:53 +00001838matcharg( {nr}) List arguments of |:match|
Bram Moolenaar6ee10162007-07-26 20:58:42 +00001839matchdelete( {id}) Number delete match identified by {id}
Bram Moolenaar89cb5e02004-07-19 20:55:54 +00001840matchend( {expr}, {pat}[, {start}[, {count}]])
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001841 Number position where {pat} ends in {expr}
Bram Moolenaar3a7c85b2005-02-05 21:39:53 +00001842matchlist( {expr}, {pat}[, {start}[, {count}]])
1843 List match and submatches of {pat} in {expr}
Bram Moolenaar89cb5e02004-07-19 20:55:54 +00001844matchstr( {expr}, {pat}[, {start}[, {count}]])
1845 String {count}'th match of {pat} in {expr}
Bram Moolenaar8f3f58f2010-01-06 20:52:26 +01001846max( {list}) Number maximum value of items in {list}
1847min( {list}) Number minimum value of items in {list}
1848mkdir( {name} [, {path} [, {prot}]])
Bram Moolenaar26a60b42005-02-22 08:49:11 +00001849 Number create directory {name}
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00001850mode( [expr]) String current editing mode
Bram Moolenaar7e506b62010-01-19 15:55:06 +01001851mzeval( {expr}) any evaluate |MzScheme| expression
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001852nextnonblank( {lnum}) Number line nr of non-blank line >= {lnum}
1853nr2char( {expr}) String single char with ASCII value {expr}
Bram Moolenaar910f66f2006-04-05 20:41:53 +00001854pathshorten( {expr}) String shorten directory names in a path
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00001855pow( {x}, {y}) Float {x} to the power of {y}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001856prevnonblank( {lnum}) Number line nr of non-blank line <= {lnum}
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00001857printf( {fmt}, {expr1}...) String format text
1858pumvisible() Number whether popup menu is visible
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +00001859range( {expr} [, {max} [, {stride}]])
1860 List items from {expr} to {max}
Bram Moolenaar8f3f58f2010-01-06 20:52:26 +01001861readfile( {fname} [, {binary} [, {max}]])
Bram Moolenaar26a60b42005-02-22 08:49:11 +00001862 List get list of lines from file {fname}
Bram Moolenaar433f7c82006-03-21 21:29:36 +00001863reltime( [{start} [, {end}]]) List get time value
1864reltimestr( {time}) String turn time value into a String
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001865remote_expr( {server}, {string} [, {idvar}])
1866 String send expression
1867remote_foreground( {server}) Number bring Vim server to the foreground
1868remote_peek( {serverid} [, {retvar}])
1869 Number check for reply string
1870remote_read( {serverid}) String read reply string
1871remote_send( {server}, {string} [, {idvar}])
1872 String send key sequence
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +00001873remove( {list}, {idx} [, {end}]) any remove items {idx}-{end} from {list}
Bram Moolenaarc9b4b052006-04-30 18:54:39 +00001874remove( {dict}, {key}) any remove entry {key} from {dict}
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001875rename( {from}, {to}) Number rename (move) file from {from} to {to}
1876repeat( {expr}, {count}) String repeat {expr} {count} times
1877resolve( {filename}) String get filename a shortcut points to
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00001878reverse( {list}) List reverse {list} in-place
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00001879round( {expr}) Float round off {expr}
Bram Moolenaar76929292008-01-06 19:07:36 +00001880search( {pattern} [, {flags} [, {stopline} [, {timeout}]]])
1881 Number search for {pattern}
Bram Moolenaar8f3f58f2010-01-06 20:52:26 +01001882searchdecl( {name} [, {global} [, {thisblock}]])
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00001883 Number search for variable declaration
Bram Moolenaar76929292008-01-06 19:07:36 +00001884searchpair( {start}, {middle}, {end} [, {flags} [, {skip} [...]]])
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001885 Number search for other end of start/end pair
Bram Moolenaar76929292008-01-06 19:07:36 +00001886searchpairpos( {start}, {middle}, {end} [, {flags} [, {skip} [...]]])
Bram Moolenaar1d2ba7f2006-02-14 22:29:30 +00001887 List search for other end of start/end pair
Bram Moolenaar76929292008-01-06 19:07:36 +00001888searchpos( {pattern} [, {flags} [, {stopline} [, {timeout}]]])
Bram Moolenaar1d2ba7f2006-02-14 22:29:30 +00001889 List search for {pattern}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001890server2client( {clientid}, {string})
1891 Number send reply string
1892serverlist() String get a list of available servers
1893setbufvar( {expr}, {varname}, {val}) set {varname} in buffer {expr} to {val}
1894setcmdpos( {pos}) Number set cursor position in command-line
1895setline( {lnum}, {line}) Number set line {lnum} to {line}
Bram Moolenaar17c7c012006-01-26 22:25:15 +00001896setloclist( {nr}, {list}[, {action}])
1897 Number modify location list using {list}
Bram Moolenaar6ee10162007-07-26 20:58:42 +00001898setmatches( {list}) Number restore a list of matches
Bram Moolenaar8f3f58f2010-01-06 20:52:26 +01001899setpos( {expr}, {list}) Number set the {expr} position to {list}
Bram Moolenaar17c7c012006-01-26 22:25:15 +00001900setqflist( {list}[, {action}]) Number modify quickfix list using {list}
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001901setreg( {n}, {v}[, {opt}]) Number set register to value and type
Bram Moolenaar06b5d512010-05-22 15:37:44 +02001902settabvar( {nr}, {varname}, {val}) set {varname} in tab page {nr} to {val}
Bram Moolenaarc6249bb2006-04-15 20:25:09 +00001903settabwinvar( {tabnr}, {winnr}, {varname}, {val}) set {varname} in window
1904 {winnr} in tab page {tabnr} to {val}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001905setwinvar( {nr}, {varname}, {val}) set {varname} in window {nr} to {val}
Bram Moolenaar05bb9532008-07-04 09:44:11 +00001906shellescape( {string} [, {special}])
1907 String escape {string} for use as shell
Bram Moolenaar60a495f2006-10-03 12:44:42 +00001908 command argument
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001909simplify( {filename}) String simplify filename as much as possible
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00001910sin( {expr}) Float sine of {expr}
Bram Moolenaardb7c6862010-05-21 16:33:48 +02001911sinh( {expr}) Float hyperbolic sine of {expr}
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00001912sort( {list} [, {func}]) List sort {list}, using {func} to compare
Bram Moolenaar24bbcfe2005-06-28 23:32:02 +00001913soundfold( {word}) String sound-fold {word}
Bram Moolenaard857f0e2005-06-21 22:37:39 +00001914spellbadword() String badly spelled word at cursor
Bram Moolenaarc54b8a72005-09-30 21:20:29 +00001915spellsuggest( {word} [, {max} [, {capital}]])
1916 List spelling suggestions
Bram Moolenaar2389c3c2005-05-22 22:07:59 +00001917split( {expr} [, {pat} [, {keepempty}]])
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00001918 List make |List| from {pat} separated {expr}
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00001919sqrt( {expr} Float squar root of {expr}
1920str2float( {expr}) Float convert String to Float
1921str2nr( {expr} [, {base}]) Number convert String to Number
Bram Moolenaar72597a52010-07-18 15:31:08 +02001922strchars( {expr}) Number character length of the String {expr}
Bram Moolenaardc536092010-07-18 15:45:49 +02001923strdisplaywidth( {expr} [, {col}]) Number display length of the String {expr}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001924strftime( {format}[, {time}]) String time in specified format
Bram Moolenaar8f999f12005-01-25 22:12:55 +00001925stridx( {haystack}, {needle}[, {start}])
1926 Number index of {needle} in {haystack}
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00001927string( {expr}) String String representation of {expr} value
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001928strlen( {expr}) Number length of the String {expr}
1929strpart( {src}, {start}[, {len}])
1930 String {len} characters of {src} at {start}
Bram Moolenaar677ee682005-01-27 14:41:15 +00001931strridx( {haystack}, {needle} [, {start}])
1932 Number last index of {needle} in {haystack}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001933strtrans( {expr}) String translate string to make it printable
Bram Moolenaar72597a52010-07-18 15:31:08 +02001934strwidth( {expr}) Number display cell length of the String {expr}
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001935submatch( {nr}) String specific match in ":substitute"
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001936substitute( {expr}, {pat}, {sub}, {flags})
1937 String all {pat} in {expr} replaced with {sub}
Bram Moolenaar47136d72004-10-12 20:02:24 +00001938synID( {lnum}, {col}, {trans}) Number syntax ID at {lnum} and {col}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001939synIDattr( {synID}, {what} [, {mode}])
1940 String attribute {what} of syntax ID {synID}
1941synIDtrans( {synID}) Number translated syntax ID of {synID}
Bram Moolenaar483c5d82010-10-20 18:45:33 +02001942synconcealed( {lnum}, {col}) List info about concealing
Bram Moolenaar8f3f58f2010-01-06 20:52:26 +01001943synstack( {lnum}, {col}) List stack of syntax IDs at {lnum} and {col}
Bram Moolenaarc0197e22004-09-13 20:26:32 +00001944system( {expr} [, {input}]) String output of shell command/filter {expr}
Bram Moolenaarfaa959a2006-02-20 21:37:40 +00001945tabpagebuflist( [{arg}]) List list of buffer numbers in tab page
1946tabpagenr( [{arg}]) Number number of current or last tab page
1947tabpagewinnr( {tabarg}[, {arg}])
1948 Number number of current window in tab page
1949taglist( {expr}) List list of tags matching {expr}
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00001950tagfiles() List tags files used
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001951tempname() String name for a temporary file
Bram Moolenaardb7c6862010-05-21 16:33:48 +02001952tan( {expr}) Float tangent of {expr}
1953tanh( {expr}) Float hyperbolic tangent of {expr}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001954tolower( {expr}) String the String {expr} switched to lowercase
1955toupper( {expr}) String the String {expr} switched to uppercase
Bram Moolenaar8299df92004-07-10 09:47:34 +00001956tr( {src}, {fromstr}, {tostr}) String translate chars of {src} in {fromstr}
1957 to chars in {tostr}
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00001958trunc( {expr} Float truncate Float {expr}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001959type( {name}) Number type of variable {name}
Bram Moolenaara17d4c12010-05-30 18:30:36 +02001960undofile( {name}) String undo file name for {name}
Bram Moolenaara800b422010-06-27 01:15:55 +02001961undotree() List undo file tree
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00001962values( {dict}) List values in {dict}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001963virtcol( {expr}) Number screen column of cursor or mark
1964visualmode( [expr]) String last visual mode used
1965winbufnr( {nr}) Number buffer number of window {nr}
1966wincol() Number window column of the cursor
1967winheight( {nr}) Number height of window {nr}
1968winline() Number window line of the cursor
Bram Moolenaar7e8fd632006-02-18 22:14:51 +00001969winnr( [{expr}]) Number number of current window
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001970winrestcmd() String returns command to restore window sizes
Bram Moolenaar8f3f58f2010-01-06 20:52:26 +01001971winrestview( {dict}) none restore view of current window
Bram Moolenaar87b5ca52006-03-04 21:55:31 +00001972winsaveview() Dict save view of current window
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001973winwidth( {nr}) Number width of window {nr}
Bram Moolenaar8f3f58f2010-01-06 20:52:26 +01001974writefile( {list}, {fname} [, {binary}])
Bram Moolenaar3a7c85b2005-02-05 21:39:53 +00001975 Number write list of lines to file {fname}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001976
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00001977abs({expr}) *abs()*
1978 Return the absolute value of {expr}. When {expr} evaluates to
1979 a |Float| abs() returns a |Float|. When {expr} can be
1980 converted to a |Number| abs() returns a |Number|. Otherwise
1981 abs() gives an error message and returns -1.
1982 Examples: >
1983 echo abs(1.456)
1984< 1.456 >
1985 echo abs(-5.456)
1986< 5.456 >
1987 echo abs(-4)
1988< 4
1989 {only available when compiled with the |+float| feature}
1990
Bram Moolenaardb7c6862010-05-21 16:33:48 +02001991
1992acos({expr}) *acos()*
1993 Return the arc cosine of {expr} measured in radians, as a
Bram Moolenaar9855d6b2010-07-18 14:34:51 +02001994 |Float| in the range of [0, pi].
1995 {expr} must evaluate to a |Float| or a |Number| in the range
Bram Moolenaardb7c6862010-05-21 16:33:48 +02001996 [-1, 1].
1997 Examples: >
1998 :echo acos(0)
1999< 1.570796 >
2000 :echo acos(-0.5)
2001< 2.094395
Bram Moolenaardb84e452010-08-15 13:50:43 +02002002 {only available when compiled with the |+float| feature}
Bram Moolenaardb7c6862010-05-21 16:33:48 +02002003
2004
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00002005add({list}, {expr}) *add()*
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00002006 Append the item {expr} to |List| {list}. Returns the
2007 resulting |List|. Examples: >
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00002008 :let alist = add([1, 2, 3], item)
2009 :call add(mylist, "woodstock")
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00002010< Note that when {expr} is a |List| it is appended as a single
Bram Moolenaara23ccb82006-02-27 00:08:02 +00002011 item. Use |extend()| to concatenate |Lists|.
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +00002012 Use |insert()| to add an item at another position.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002013
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00002014
2015append({lnum}, {expr}) *append()*
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00002016 When {expr} is a |List|: Append each item of the |List| as a
2017 text line below line {lnum} in the current buffer.
Bram Moolenaar748bf032005-02-02 23:04:36 +00002018 Otherwise append {expr} as one text line below line {lnum} in
2019 the current buffer.
2020 {lnum} can be zero to insert a line before the first one.
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00002021 Returns 1 for failure ({lnum} out of range or out of memory),
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00002022 0 for success. Example: >
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00002023 :let failed = append(line('$'), "# THE END")
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00002024 :let failed = append(0, ["Chapter 1", "the beginning"])
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00002025<
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002026 *argc()*
2027argc() The result is the number of files in the argument list of the
2028 current window. See |arglist|.
2029
2030 *argidx()*
2031argidx() The result is the current index in the argument list. 0 is
2032 the first file. argc() - 1 is the last one. See |arglist|.
2033
2034 *argv()*
Bram Moolenaare2f98b92006-03-29 21:18:24 +00002035argv([{nr}]) The result is the {nr}th file in the argument list of the
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002036 current window. See |arglist|. "argv(0)" is the first one.
2037 Example: >
2038 :let i = 0
2039 :while i < argc()
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00002040 : let f = escape(fnameescape(argv(i)), '.')
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002041 : exe 'amenu Arg.' . f . ' :e ' . f . '<CR>'
2042 : let i = i + 1
2043 :endwhile
Bram Moolenaare2f98b92006-03-29 21:18:24 +00002044< Without the {nr} argument a |List| with the whole |arglist| is
2045 returned.
2046
Bram Moolenaardb7c6862010-05-21 16:33:48 +02002047asin({expr}) *asin()*
Bram Moolenaar9855d6b2010-07-18 14:34:51 +02002048 Return the arc sine of {expr} measured in radians, as a |Float|
Bram Moolenaardb7c6862010-05-21 16:33:48 +02002049 in the range of [-pi/2, pi/2].
Bram Moolenaar9855d6b2010-07-18 14:34:51 +02002050 {expr} must evaluate to a |Float| or a |Number| in the range
Bram Moolenaardb7c6862010-05-21 16:33:48 +02002051 [-1, 1].
2052 Examples: >
2053 :echo asin(0.8)
2054< 0.927295 >
2055 :echo asin(-0.5)
2056< -0.523599
Bram Moolenaardb84e452010-08-15 13:50:43 +02002057 {only available when compiled with the |+float| feature}
Bram Moolenaardb7c6862010-05-21 16:33:48 +02002058
2059
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00002060atan({expr}) *atan()*
2061 Return the principal value of the arc tangent of {expr}, in
2062 the range [-pi/2, +pi/2] radians, as a |Float|.
2063 {expr} must evaluate to a |Float| or a |Number|.
2064 Examples: >
2065 :echo atan(100)
2066< 1.560797 >
2067 :echo atan(-4.01)
2068< -1.326405
2069 {only available when compiled with the |+float| feature}
2070
Bram Moolenaardb7c6862010-05-21 16:33:48 +02002071
2072atan2({expr1}, {expr2}) *atan2()*
2073 Return the arc tangent of {expr1} / {expr2}, measured in
Bram Moolenaar9855d6b2010-07-18 14:34:51 +02002074 radians, as a |Float| in the range [-pi, pi].
2075 {expr1} and {expr2} must evaluate to a |Float| or a |Number|.
Bram Moolenaardb7c6862010-05-21 16:33:48 +02002076 Examples: >
2077 :echo atan2(-1, 1)
2078< -0.785398 >
2079 :echo atan2(1, -1)
2080< 2.356194
Bram Moolenaardb84e452010-08-15 13:50:43 +02002081 {only available when compiled with the |+float| feature}
Bram Moolenaardb7c6862010-05-21 16:33:48 +02002082
2083
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002084 *browse()*
2085browse({save}, {title}, {initdir}, {default})
2086 Put up a file requester. This only works when "has("browse")"
2087 returns non-zero (only in some GUI versions).
2088 The input fields are:
2089 {save} when non-zero, select file to write
2090 {title} title for the requester
2091 {initdir} directory to start browsing in
2092 {default} default file name
2093 When the "Cancel" button is hit, something went wrong, or
2094 browsing is not possible, an empty string is returned.
2095
Bram Moolenaar7b0294c2004-10-11 10:16:09 +00002096 *browsedir()*
2097browsedir({title}, {initdir})
2098 Put up a directory requester. This only works when
2099 "has("browse")" returns non-zero (only in some GUI versions).
2100 On systems where a directory browser is not supported a file
2101 browser is used. In that case: select a file in the directory
2102 to be used.
2103 The input fields are:
2104 {title} title for the requester
2105 {initdir} directory to start browsing in
2106 When the "Cancel" button is hit, something went wrong, or
2107 browsing is not possible, an empty string is returned.
2108
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002109bufexists({expr}) *bufexists()*
2110 The result is a Number, which is non-zero if a buffer called
2111 {expr} exists.
Bram Moolenaar69a7cb42004-06-20 12:51:53 +00002112 If the {expr} argument is a number, buffer numbers are used.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002113 If the {expr} argument is a string it must match a buffer name
Bram Moolenaar69a7cb42004-06-20 12:51:53 +00002114 exactly. The name can be:
2115 - Relative to the current directory.
2116 - A full path.
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00002117 - The name of a buffer with 'buftype' set to "nofile".
Bram Moolenaar69a7cb42004-06-20 12:51:53 +00002118 - A URL name.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002119 Unlisted buffers will be found.
2120 Note that help files are listed by their short name in the
2121 output of |:buffers|, but bufexists() requires using their
2122 long name to be able to find them.
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00002123 bufexists() may report a buffer exists, but to use the name
2124 with a |:buffer| command you may need to use |expand()|. Esp
2125 for MS-Windows 8.3 names in the form "c:\DOCUME~1"
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002126 Use "bufexists(0)" to test for the existence of an alternate
2127 file name.
2128 *buffer_exists()*
2129 Obsolete name: buffer_exists().
2130
2131buflisted({expr}) *buflisted()*
2132 The result is a Number, which is non-zero if a buffer called
2133 {expr} exists and is listed (has the 'buflisted' option set).
Bram Moolenaar69a7cb42004-06-20 12:51:53 +00002134 The {expr} argument is used like with |bufexists()|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002135
2136bufloaded({expr}) *bufloaded()*
2137 The result is a Number, which is non-zero if a buffer called
2138 {expr} exists and is loaded (shown in a window or hidden).
Bram Moolenaar69a7cb42004-06-20 12:51:53 +00002139 The {expr} argument is used like with |bufexists()|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002140
2141bufname({expr}) *bufname()*
2142 The result is the name of a buffer, as it is displayed by the
2143 ":ls" command.
2144 If {expr} is a Number, that buffer number's name is given.
2145 Number zero is the alternate buffer for the current window.
2146 If {expr} is a String, it is used as a |file-pattern| to match
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00002147 with the buffer names. This is always done like 'magic' is
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002148 set and 'cpoptions' is empty. When there is more than one
2149 match an empty string is returned.
2150 "" or "%" can be used for the current buffer, "#" for the
2151 alternate buffer.
2152 A full match is preferred, otherwise a match at the start, end
Bram Moolenaaref2f6562007-05-06 13:32:59 +00002153 or middle of the buffer name is accepted. If you only want a
2154 full match then put "^" at the start and "$" at the end of the
2155 pattern.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002156 Listed buffers are found first. If there is a single match
2157 with a listed buffer, that one is returned. Next unlisted
2158 buffers are searched for.
2159 If the {expr} is a String, but you want to use it as a buffer
2160 number, force it to be a Number by adding zero to it: >
2161 :echo bufname("3" + 0)
2162< If the buffer doesn't exist, or doesn't have a name, an empty
2163 string is returned. >
2164 bufname("#") alternate buffer name
2165 bufname(3) name of buffer 3
2166 bufname("%") name of current buffer
2167 bufname("file2") name of buffer where "file2" matches.
2168< *buffer_name()*
2169 Obsolete name: buffer_name().
2170
2171 *bufnr()*
Bram Moolenaar65c923a2006-03-03 22:56:30 +00002172bufnr({expr} [, {create}])
2173 The result is the number of a buffer, as it is displayed by
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002174 the ":ls" command. For the use of {expr}, see |bufname()|
Bram Moolenaar65c923a2006-03-03 22:56:30 +00002175 above.
2176 If the buffer doesn't exist, -1 is returned. Or, if the
2177 {create} argument is present and not zero, a new, unlisted,
2178 buffer is created and its number is returned.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002179 bufnr("$") is the last buffer: >
2180 :let last_buffer = bufnr("$")
2181< The result is a Number, which is the highest buffer number
2182 of existing buffers. Note that not all buffers with a smaller
2183 number necessarily exist, because ":bwipeout" may have removed
2184 them. Use bufexists() to test for the existence of a buffer.
2185 *buffer_number()*
2186 Obsolete name: buffer_number().
2187 *last_buffer_nr()*
2188 Obsolete name for bufnr("$"): last_buffer_nr().
2189
2190bufwinnr({expr}) *bufwinnr()*
2191 The result is a Number, which is the number of the first
2192 window associated with buffer {expr}. For the use of {expr},
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00002193 see |bufname()| above. If buffer {expr} doesn't exist or
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002194 there is no such window, -1 is returned. Example: >
2195
2196 echo "A window containing buffer 1 is " . (bufwinnr(1))
2197
2198< The number can be used with |CTRL-W_w| and ":wincmd w"
2199 |:wincmd|.
Bram Moolenaaref2f6562007-05-06 13:32:59 +00002200 Only deals with the current tab page.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002201
2202
2203byte2line({byte}) *byte2line()*
2204 Return the line number that contains the character at byte
2205 count {byte} in the current buffer. This includes the
2206 end-of-line character, depending on the 'fileformat' option
2207 for the current buffer. The first character has byte count
2208 one.
2209 Also see |line2byte()|, |go| and |:goto|.
2210 {not available when compiled without the |+byte_offset|
2211 feature}
2212
Bram Moolenaarab79bcb2004-07-18 21:34:53 +00002213byteidx({expr}, {nr}) *byteidx()*
2214 Return byte index of the {nr}'th character in the string
2215 {expr}. Use zero for the first character, it returns zero.
2216 This function is only useful when there are multibyte
2217 characters, otherwise the returned value is equal to {nr}.
2218 Composing characters are counted as a separate character.
2219 Example : >
2220 echo matchstr(str, ".", byteidx(str, 3))
2221< will display the fourth character. Another way to do the
2222 same: >
2223 let s = strpart(str, byteidx(str, 3))
2224 echo strpart(s, 0, byteidx(s, 1))
2225< If there are less than {nr} characters -1 is returned.
2226 If there are exactly {nr} characters the length of the string
2227 is returned.
2228
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00002229call({func}, {arglist} [, {dict}]) *call()* *E699*
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00002230 Call function {func} with the items in |List| {arglist} as
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +00002231 arguments.
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00002232 {func} can either be a |Funcref| or the name of a function.
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +00002233 a:firstline and a:lastline are set to the cursor line.
2234 Returns the return value of the called function.
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00002235 {dict} is for functions with the "dict" attribute. It will be
2236 used to set the local variable "self". |Dictionary-function|
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +00002237
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00002238ceil({expr}) *ceil()*
2239 Return the smallest integral value greater than or equal to
2240 {expr} as a |Float| (round up).
2241 {expr} must evaluate to a |Float| or a |Number|.
2242 Examples: >
2243 echo ceil(1.456)
2244< 2.0 >
2245 echo ceil(-5.456)
2246< -5.0 >
2247 echo ceil(4.0)
2248< 4.0
2249 {only available when compiled with the |+float| feature}
2250
Bram Moolenaarca003e12006-03-17 23:19:38 +00002251changenr() *changenr()*
2252 Return the number of the most recent change. This is the same
2253 number as what is displayed with |:undolist| and can be used
2254 with the |:undo| command.
2255 When a change was made it is the number of that change. After
2256 redo it is the number of the redone change. After undo it is
2257 one less than the number of the undone change.
2258
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002259char2nr({expr}) *char2nr()*
2260 Return number value of the first char in {expr}. Examples: >
2261 char2nr(" ") returns 32
2262 char2nr("ABC") returns 65
2263< The current 'encoding' is used. Example for "utf-8": >
Bram Moolenaaref2f6562007-05-06 13:32:59 +00002264 char2nr("á") returns 225
2265 char2nr("á"[0]) returns 195
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00002266< |nr2char()| does the opposite.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002267
2268cindent({lnum}) *cindent()*
2269 Get the amount of indent for line {lnum} according the C
2270 indenting rules, as with 'cindent'.
2271 The indent is counted in spaces, the value of 'tabstop' is
2272 relevant. {lnum} is used just like in |getline()|.
2273 When {lnum} is invalid or Vim was not compiled the |+cindent|
2274 feature, -1 is returned.
Bram Moolenaard5cdbeb2005-10-10 20:59:28 +00002275 See |C-indenting|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002276
Bram Moolenaar6ee10162007-07-26 20:58:42 +00002277clearmatches() *clearmatches()*
2278 Clears all matches previously defined by |matchadd()| and the
2279 |:match| commands.
2280
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002281 *col()*
Bram Moolenaarc0197e22004-09-13 20:26:32 +00002282col({expr}) The result is a Number, which is the byte index of the column
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002283 position given with {expr}. The accepted positions are:
2284 . the cursor position
2285 $ the end of the cursor line (the result is the
2286 number of characters in the cursor line plus one)
2287 'x position of mark x (if the mark is not set, 0 is
2288 returned)
Bram Moolenaar477933c2007-07-17 14:32:23 +00002289 Additionally {expr} can be [lnum, col]: a |List| with the line
2290 and column number. Most useful when the column is "$", to get
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00002291 the last column of a specific line. When "lnum" or "col" is
Bram Moolenaar477933c2007-07-17 14:32:23 +00002292 out of range then col() returns zero.
Bram Moolenaaref2f6562007-05-06 13:32:59 +00002293 To get the line number use |line()|. To get both use
Bram Moolenaar0b238792006-03-02 22:49:12 +00002294 |getpos()|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002295 For the screen column position use |virtcol()|.
2296 Note that only marks in the current file can be used.
2297 Examples: >
2298 col(".") column of cursor
2299 col("$") length of cursor line plus one
2300 col("'t") column of mark t
2301 col("'" . markname) column of mark markname
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00002302< The first column is 1. 0 is returned for an error.
Bram Moolenaaref2f6562007-05-06 13:32:59 +00002303 For an uppercase mark the column may actually be in another
2304 buffer.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002305 For the cursor position, when 'virtualedit' is active, the
2306 column is one higher if the cursor is after the end of the
2307 line. This can be used to obtain the column in Insert mode: >
2308 :imap <F2> <C-O>:let save_ve = &ve<CR>
2309 \<C-O>:set ve=all<CR>
2310 \<C-O>:echo col(".") . "\n" <Bar>
2311 \let &ve = save_ve<CR>
2312<
Bram Moolenaar572cb562005-08-05 21:35:02 +00002313
Bram Moolenaara94bc432006-03-10 21:42:59 +00002314complete({startcol}, {matches}) *complete()* *E785*
2315 Set the matches for Insert mode completion.
2316 Can only be used in Insert mode. You need to use a mapping
Bram Moolenaaref2f6562007-05-06 13:32:59 +00002317 with CTRL-R = |i_CTRL-R|. It does not work after CTRL-O or
2318 with an expression mapping.
Bram Moolenaara94bc432006-03-10 21:42:59 +00002319 {startcol} is the byte offset in the line where the completed
2320 text start. The text up to the cursor is the original text
2321 that will be replaced by the matches. Use col('.') for an
2322 empty string. "col('.') - 1" will replace one character by a
2323 match.
2324 {matches} must be a |List|. Each |List| item is one match.
2325 See |complete-items| for the kind of items that are possible.
2326 Note that the after calling this function you need to avoid
Bram Moolenaar8f3f58f2010-01-06 20:52:26 +01002327 inserting anything that would cause completion to stop.
Bram Moolenaara94bc432006-03-10 21:42:59 +00002328 The match can be selected with CTRL-N and CTRL-P as usual with
2329 Insert mode completion. The popup menu will appear if
2330 specified, see |ins-completion-menu|.
2331 Example: >
Bram Moolenaaref2f6562007-05-06 13:32:59 +00002332 inoremap <F5> <C-R>=ListMonths()<CR>
Bram Moolenaara94bc432006-03-10 21:42:59 +00002333
2334 func! ListMonths()
2335 call complete(col('.'), ['January', 'February', 'March',
2336 \ 'April', 'May', 'June', 'July', 'August', 'September',
2337 \ 'October', 'November', 'December'])
2338 return ''
2339 endfunc
2340< This isn't very useful, but it shows how it works. Note that
2341 an empty string is returned to avoid a zero being inserted.
2342
Bram Moolenaar572cb562005-08-05 21:35:02 +00002343complete_add({expr}) *complete_add()*
2344 Add {expr} to the list of matches. Only to be used by the
2345 function specified with the 'completefunc' option.
2346 Returns 0 for failure (empty string or out of memory),
2347 1 when the match was added, 2 when the match was already in
2348 the list.
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00002349 See |complete-functions| for an explanation of {expr}. It is
Bram Moolenaar39f05632006-03-19 22:15:26 +00002350 the same as one item in the list that 'omnifunc' would return.
Bram Moolenaar572cb562005-08-05 21:35:02 +00002351
2352complete_check() *complete_check()*
2353 Check for a key typed while looking for completion matches.
2354 This is to be used when looking for matches takes some time.
2355 Returns non-zero when searching for matches is to be aborted,
2356 zero otherwise.
2357 Only to be used by the function specified with the
2358 'completefunc' option.
2359
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002360 *confirm()*
2361confirm({msg} [, {choices} [, {default} [, {type}]]])
2362 Confirm() offers the user a dialog, from which a choice can be
2363 made. It returns the number of the choice. For the first
2364 choice this is 1.
2365 Note: confirm() is only supported when compiled with dialog
2366 support, see |+dialog_con| and |+dialog_gui|.
Bram Moolenaara800b422010-06-27 01:15:55 +02002367
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002368 {msg} is displayed in a |dialog| with {choices} as the
2369 alternatives. When {choices} is missing or empty, "&OK" is
2370 used (and translated).
2371 {msg} is a String, use '\n' to include a newline. Only on
2372 some systems the string is wrapped when it doesn't fit.
Bram Moolenaara800b422010-06-27 01:15:55 +02002373
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002374 {choices} is a String, with the individual choices separated
2375 by '\n', e.g. >
2376 confirm("Save changes?", "&Yes\n&No\n&Cancel")
2377< The letter after the '&' is the shortcut key for that choice.
2378 Thus you can type 'c' to select "Cancel". The shortcut does
2379 not need to be the first letter: >
2380 confirm("file has been modified", "&Save\nSave &All")
2381< For the console, the first letter of each choice is used as
2382 the default shortcut key.
Bram Moolenaara800b422010-06-27 01:15:55 +02002383
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002384 The optional {default} argument is the number of the choice
2385 that is made if the user hits <CR>. Use 1 to make the first
2386 choice the default one. Use 0 to not set a default. If
2387 {default} is omitted, 1 is used.
Bram Moolenaara800b422010-06-27 01:15:55 +02002388
2389 The optional {type} argument gives the type of dialog. This
2390 is only used for the icon of the GTK, Mac, Motif and Win32
2391 GUI. It can be one of these values: "Error", "Question",
2392 "Info", "Warning" or "Generic". Only the first character is
2393 relevant. When {type} is omitted, "Generic" is used.
2394
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002395 If the user aborts the dialog by pressing <Esc>, CTRL-C,
2396 or another valid interrupt key, confirm() returns 0.
2397
2398 An example: >
2399 :let choice = confirm("What do you want?", "&Apples\n&Oranges\n&Bananas", 2)
2400 :if choice == 0
2401 : echo "make up your mind!"
2402 :elseif choice == 3
2403 : echo "tasteful"
2404 :else
2405 : echo "I prefer bananas myself."
2406 :endif
2407< In a GUI dialog, buttons are used. The layout of the buttons
2408 depends on the 'v' flag in 'guioptions'. If it is included,
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00002409 the buttons are always put vertically. Otherwise, confirm()
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002410 tries to put the buttons in one horizontal line. If they
2411 don't fit, a vertical layout is used anyway. For some systems
2412 the horizontal layout is always used.
2413
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00002414 *copy()*
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00002415copy({expr}) Make a copy of {expr}. For Numbers and Strings this isn't
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00002416 different from using {expr} directly.
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00002417 When {expr} is a |List| a shallow copy is created. This means
2418 that the original |List| can be changed without changing the
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00002419 copy, and vice versa. But the items are identical, thus
2420 changing an item changes the contents of both |Lists|. Also
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00002421 see |deepcopy()|.
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00002422
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00002423cos({expr}) *cos()*
2424 Return the cosine of {expr}, measured in radians, as a |Float|.
2425 {expr} must evaluate to a |Float| or a |Number|.
2426 Examples: >
2427 :echo cos(100)
2428< 0.862319 >
2429 :echo cos(-4.01)
2430< -0.646043
2431 {only available when compiled with the |+float| feature}
2432
Bram Moolenaardb7c6862010-05-21 16:33:48 +02002433
2434cosh({expr}) *cosh()*
Bram Moolenaar9855d6b2010-07-18 14:34:51 +02002435 Return the hyperbolic cosine of {expr} as a |Float| in the range
Bram Moolenaardb7c6862010-05-21 16:33:48 +02002436 [1, inf].
Bram Moolenaar9855d6b2010-07-18 14:34:51 +02002437 {expr} must evaluate to a |Float| or a |Number|.
Bram Moolenaardb7c6862010-05-21 16:33:48 +02002438 Examples: >
2439 :echo cosh(0.5)
2440< 1.127626 >
2441 :echo cosh(-0.5)
2442< -1.127626
Bram Moolenaardb84e452010-08-15 13:50:43 +02002443 {only available when compiled with the |+float| feature}
Bram Moolenaardb7c6862010-05-21 16:33:48 +02002444
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00002445
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00002446count({comp}, {expr} [, {ic} [, {start}]]) *count()*
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +00002447 Return the number of times an item with value {expr} appears
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00002448 in |List| or |Dictionary| {comp}.
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00002449 If {start} is given then start with the item with this index.
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00002450 {start} can only be used with a |List|.
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +00002451 When {ic} is given and it's non-zero then case is ignored.
2452
2453
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002454 *cscope_connection()*
2455cscope_connection([{num} , {dbpath} [, {prepend}]])
2456 Checks for the existence of a |cscope| connection. If no
2457 parameters are specified, then the function returns:
2458 0, if cscope was not available (not compiled in), or
2459 if there are no cscope connections;
2460 1, if there is at least one cscope connection.
2461
2462 If parameters are specified, then the value of {num}
2463 determines how existence of a cscope connection is checked:
2464
2465 {num} Description of existence check
2466 ----- ------------------------------
2467 0 Same as no parameters (e.g., "cscope_connection()").
2468 1 Ignore {prepend}, and use partial string matches for
2469 {dbpath}.
2470 2 Ignore {prepend}, and use exact string matches for
2471 {dbpath}.
2472 3 Use {prepend}, use partial string matches for both
2473 {dbpath} and {prepend}.
2474 4 Use {prepend}, use exact string matches for both
2475 {dbpath} and {prepend}.
2476
2477 Note: All string comparisons are case sensitive!
2478
2479 Examples. Suppose we had the following (from ":cs show"): >
2480
2481 # pid database name prepend path
2482 0 27664 cscope.out /usr/local
2483<
2484 Invocation Return Val ~
2485 ---------- ---------- >
2486 cscope_connection() 1
2487 cscope_connection(1, "out") 1
2488 cscope_connection(2, "out") 0
2489 cscope_connection(3, "out") 0
2490 cscope_connection(3, "out", "local") 1
2491 cscope_connection(4, "out") 0
2492 cscope_connection(4, "out", "local") 0
2493 cscope_connection(4, "cscope.out", "/usr/local") 1
2494<
Bram Moolenaar0b238792006-03-02 22:49:12 +00002495cursor({lnum}, {col} [, {off}]) *cursor()*
2496cursor({list})
Bram Moolenaaref2f6562007-05-06 13:32:59 +00002497 Positions the cursor at the column (byte count) {col} in the
2498 line {lnum}. The first column is one.
Bram Moolenaar0b238792006-03-02 22:49:12 +00002499 When there is one argument {list} this is used as a |List|
Bram Moolenaar65c923a2006-03-03 22:56:30 +00002500 with two or three items {lnum}, {col} and {off}. This is like
2501 the return value of |getpos()|, but without the first item.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002502 Does not change the jumplist.
2503 If {lnum} is greater than the number of lines in the buffer,
2504 the cursor will be positioned at the last line in the buffer.
2505 If {lnum} is zero, the cursor will stay in the current line.
Bram Moolenaar6f16eb82005-08-23 21:02:42 +00002506 If {col} is greater than the number of bytes in the line,
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002507 the cursor will be positioned at the last character in the
2508 line.
2509 If {col} is zero, the cursor will stay in the current column.
Bram Moolenaar0b238792006-03-02 22:49:12 +00002510 When 'virtualedit' is used {off} specifies the offset in
2511 screen columns from the start of the character. E.g., a
Bram Moolenaard46bbc72007-05-12 14:38:41 +00002512 position within a <Tab> or after the last character.
Bram Moolenaar798b30b2009-04-22 10:56:16 +00002513 Returns 0 when the position could be set, -1 otherwise.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002514
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00002515
Bram Moolenaar4399ef42005-02-12 14:29:27 +00002516deepcopy({expr}[, {noref}]) *deepcopy()* *E698*
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00002517 Make a copy of {expr}. For Numbers and Strings this isn't
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00002518 different from using {expr} directly.
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00002519 When {expr} is a |List| a full copy is created. This means
2520 that the original |List| can be changed without changing the
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00002521 copy, and vice versa. When an item is a |List|, a copy for it
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00002522 is made, recursively. Thus changing an item in the copy does
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00002523 not change the contents of the original |List|.
2524 When {noref} is omitted or zero a contained |List| or
2525 |Dictionary| is only copied once. All references point to
2526 this single copy. With {noref} set to 1 every occurrence of a
2527 |List| or |Dictionary| results in a new copy. This also means
2528 that a cyclic reference causes deepcopy() to fail.
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00002529 *E724*
2530 Nesting is possible up to 100 levels. When there is an item
Bram Moolenaar4399ef42005-02-12 14:29:27 +00002531 that refers back to a higher level making a deep copy with
2532 {noref} set to 1 will fail.
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00002533 Also see |copy()|.
2534
2535delete({fname}) *delete()*
2536 Deletes the file by the name {fname}. The result is a Number,
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002537 which is 0 if the file was deleted successfully, and non-zero
2538 when the deletion failed.
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00002539 Use |remove()| to delete an item from a |List|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002540
2541 *did_filetype()*
2542did_filetype() Returns non-zero when autocommands are being executed and the
2543 FileType event has been triggered at least once. Can be used
2544 to avoid triggering the FileType event again in the scripts
2545 that detect the file type. |FileType|
2546 When editing another file, the counter is reset, thus this
2547 really checks if the FileType event has been triggered for the
2548 current buffer. This allows an autocommand that starts
2549 editing another buffer to set 'filetype' and load a syntax
2550 file.
2551
Bram Moolenaar47136d72004-10-12 20:02:24 +00002552diff_filler({lnum}) *diff_filler()*
2553 Returns the number of filler lines above line {lnum}.
2554 These are the lines that were inserted at this point in
2555 another diff'ed window. These filler lines are shown in the
2556 display but don't exist in the buffer.
2557 {lnum} is used like with |getline()|. Thus "." is the current
2558 line, "'m" mark m, etc.
2559 Returns 0 if the current window is not in diff mode.
2560
2561diff_hlID({lnum}, {col}) *diff_hlID()*
2562 Returns the highlight ID for diff mode at line {lnum} column
2563 {col} (byte index). When the current line does not have a
2564 diff change zero is returned.
2565 {lnum} is used like with |getline()|. Thus "." is the current
2566 line, "'m" mark m, etc.
2567 {col} is 1 for the leftmost column, {lnum} is 1 for the first
2568 line.
2569 The highlight ID can be used with |synIDattr()| to obtain
2570 syntax information about the highlighting.
2571
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +00002572empty({expr}) *empty()*
2573 Return the Number 1 if {expr} is empty, zero otherwise.
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00002574 A |List| or |Dictionary| is empty when it does not have any
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00002575 items. A Number is empty when its value is zero.
Bram Moolenaar8f3f58f2010-01-06 20:52:26 +01002576 For a long |List| this is much faster than comparing the
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00002577 length with zero.
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +00002578
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002579escape({string}, {chars}) *escape()*
2580 Escape the characters in {chars} that occur in {string} with a
2581 backslash. Example: >
2582 :echo escape('c:\program files\vim', ' \')
2583< results in: >
2584 c:\\program\ files\\vim
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00002585< Also see |shellescape()|.
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00002586
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00002587 *eval()*
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00002588eval({string}) Evaluate {string} and return the result. Especially useful to
2589 turn the result of |string()| back into the original value.
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00002590 This works for Numbers, Floats, Strings and composites of
2591 them. Also works for |Funcref|s that refer to existing
2592 functions.
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00002593
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002594eventhandler() *eventhandler()*
2595 Returns 1 when inside an event handler. That is that Vim got
2596 interrupted while waiting for the user to type a character,
2597 e.g., when dropping a file on Vim. This means interactive
2598 commands cannot be used. Otherwise zero is returned.
2599
2600executable({expr}) *executable()*
2601 This function checks if an executable with the name {expr}
2602 exists. {expr} must be the name of the program without any
Bram Moolenaarf4b8e572004-06-24 15:53:16 +00002603 arguments.
2604 executable() uses the value of $PATH and/or the normal
2605 searchpath for programs. *PATHEXT*
2606 On MS-DOS and MS-Windows the ".exe", ".bat", etc. can
2607 optionally be included. Then the extensions in $PATHEXT are
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00002608 tried. Thus if "foo.exe" does not exist, "foo.exe.bat" can be
2609 found. If $PATHEXT is not set then ".exe;.com;.bat;.cmd" is
Bram Moolenaarf4b8e572004-06-24 15:53:16 +00002610 used. A dot by itself can be used in $PATHEXT to try using
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00002611 the name without an extension. When 'shell' looks like a
Bram Moolenaarf4b8e572004-06-24 15:53:16 +00002612 Unix shell, then the name is also tried without adding an
2613 extension.
2614 On MS-DOS and MS-Windows it only checks if the file exists and
2615 is not a directory, not if it's really executable.
Bram Moolenaar910f66f2006-04-05 20:41:53 +00002616 On MS-Windows an executable in the same directory as Vim is
2617 always found. Since this directory is added to $PATH it
2618 should also work to execute it |win32-PATH|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002619 The result is a Number:
2620 1 exists
2621 0 does not exist
2622 -1 not implemented on this system
2623
2624 *exists()*
2625exists({expr}) The result is a Number, which is non-zero if {expr} is
2626 defined, zero otherwise. The {expr} argument is a string,
2627 which contains one of these:
2628 &option-name Vim option (only checks if it exists,
2629 not if it really works)
2630 +option-name Vim option that works.
2631 $ENVNAME environment variable (could also be
2632 done by comparing with an empty
2633 string)
2634 *funcname built-in function (see |functions|)
2635 or user defined function (see
2636 |user-functions|).
2637 varname internal variable (see
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00002638 |internal-variables|). Also works
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00002639 for |curly-braces-names|, |Dictionary|
2640 entries, |List| items, etc. Beware
Bram Moolenaarc236c162008-07-13 17:41:49 +00002641 that evaluating an index may cause an
2642 error message for an invalid
2643 expression. E.g.: >
2644 :let l = [1, 2, 3]
2645 :echo exists("l[5]")
2646< 0 >
2647 :echo exists("l[xx]")
2648< E121: Undefined variable: xx
2649 0
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002650 :cmdname Ex command: built-in command, user
2651 command or command modifier |:command|.
2652 Returns:
2653 1 for match with start of a command
2654 2 full match with a command
2655 3 matches several user commands
2656 To check for a supported command
2657 always check the return value to be 2.
Bram Moolenaar14716812006-05-04 21:54:08 +00002658 :2match The |:2match| command.
2659 :3match The |:3match| command.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002660 #event autocommand defined for this event
2661 #event#pattern autocommand defined for this event and
2662 pattern (the pattern is taken
2663 literally and compared to the
2664 autocommand patterns character by
2665 character)
Bram Moolenaara9b1e742005-12-19 22:14:58 +00002666 #group autocommand group exists
2667 #group#event autocommand defined for this group and
2668 event.
2669 #group#event#pattern
Bram Moolenaarc9b4b052006-04-30 18:54:39 +00002670 autocommand defined for this group,
Bram Moolenaara9b1e742005-12-19 22:14:58 +00002671 event and pattern.
Bram Moolenaarf4cd3e82005-12-22 22:47:02 +00002672 ##event autocommand for this event is
2673 supported.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002674 For checking for a supported feature use |has()|.
2675
2676 Examples: >
2677 exists("&shortname")
2678 exists("$HOSTNAME")
2679 exists("*strftime")
2680 exists("*s:MyFunc")
2681 exists("bufcount")
2682 exists(":Make")
Bram Moolenaara9b1e742005-12-19 22:14:58 +00002683 exists("#CursorHold")
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002684 exists("#BufReadPre#*.gz")
Bram Moolenaara9b1e742005-12-19 22:14:58 +00002685 exists("#filetypeindent")
2686 exists("#filetypeindent#FileType")
2687 exists("#filetypeindent#FileType#*")
Bram Moolenaarf4cd3e82005-12-22 22:47:02 +00002688 exists("##ColorScheme")
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002689< There must be no space between the symbol (&/$/*/#) and the
2690 name.
Bram Moolenaar91170f82006-05-05 21:15:17 +00002691 There must be no extra characters after the name, although in
2692 a few cases this is ignored. That may become more strict in
2693 the future, thus don't count on it!
2694 Working example: >
2695 exists(":make")
2696< NOT working example: >
2697 exists(":make install")
Bram Moolenaar9c102382006-05-03 21:26:49 +00002698
2699< Note that the argument must be a string, not the name of the
2700 variable itself. For example: >
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002701 exists(bufcount)
2702< This doesn't check for existence of the "bufcount" variable,
Bram Moolenaar06a89a52006-04-29 22:01:03 +00002703 but gets the value of "bufcount", and checks if that exists.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002704
Bram Moolenaardb7c6862010-05-21 16:33:48 +02002705exp({expr}) *exp()*
Bram Moolenaar9855d6b2010-07-18 14:34:51 +02002706 Return the exponential of {expr} as a |Float| in the range
Bram Moolenaardb7c6862010-05-21 16:33:48 +02002707 [0, inf].
Bram Moolenaar9855d6b2010-07-18 14:34:51 +02002708 {expr} must evaluate to a |Float| or a |Number|.
Bram Moolenaardb7c6862010-05-21 16:33:48 +02002709 Examples: >
2710 :echo exp(2)
2711< 7.389056 >
2712 :echo exp(-1)
2713< 0.367879
Bram Moolenaardb84e452010-08-15 13:50:43 +02002714 {only available when compiled with the |+float| feature}
Bram Moolenaardb7c6862010-05-21 16:33:48 +02002715
2716
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002717expand({expr} [, {flag}]) *expand()*
2718 Expand wildcards and the following special keywords in {expr}.
2719 The result is a String.
2720
2721 When there are several matches, they are separated by <NL>
2722 characters. [Note: in version 5.0 a space was used, which
2723 caused problems when a file name contains a space]
2724
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00002725 If the expansion fails, the result is an empty string. A name
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002726 for a non-existing file is not included.
2727
2728 When {expr} starts with '%', '#' or '<', the expansion is done
2729 like for the |cmdline-special| variables with their associated
2730 modifiers. Here is a short overview:
2731
2732 % current file name
2733 # alternate file name
2734 #n alternate file name n
2735 <cfile> file name under the cursor
2736 <afile> autocmd file name
2737 <abuf> autocmd buffer number (as a String!)
2738 <amatch> autocmd matched name
2739 <sfile> sourced script file name
2740 <cword> word under the cursor
2741 <cWORD> WORD under the cursor
2742 <client> the {clientid} of the last received
2743 message |server2client()|
2744 Modifiers:
2745 :p expand to full path
2746 :h head (last path component removed)
2747 :t tail (last path component only)
2748 :r root (one extension removed)
2749 :e extension only
2750
2751 Example: >
2752 :let &tags = expand("%:p:h") . "/tags"
2753< Note that when expanding a string that starts with '%', '#' or
2754 '<', any following text is ignored. This does NOT work: >
2755 :let doesntwork = expand("%:h.bak")
2756< Use this: >
2757 :let doeswork = expand("%:h") . ".bak"
2758< Also note that expanding "<cfile>" and others only returns the
2759 referenced file name without further expansion. If "<cfile>"
2760 is "~/.cshrc", you need to do another expand() to have the
2761 "~/" expanded into the path of the home directory: >
2762 :echo expand(expand("<cfile>"))
2763<
2764 There cannot be white space between the variables and the
2765 following modifier. The |fnamemodify()| function can be used
2766 to modify normal file names.
2767
2768 When using '%' or '#', and the current or alternate file name
2769 is not defined, an empty string is used. Using "%:p" in a
2770 buffer with no name, results in the current directory, with a
2771 '/' added.
2772
2773 When {expr} does not start with '%', '#' or '<', it is
2774 expanded like a file name is expanded on the command line.
2775 'suffixes' and 'wildignore' are used, unless the optional
2776 {flag} argument is given and it is non-zero. Names for
Bram Moolenaar02743632005-07-25 20:42:36 +00002777 non-existing files are included. The "**" item can be used to
2778 search in a directory tree. For example, to find all "README"
2779 files in the current directory and below: >
2780 :echo expand("**/README")
2781<
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002782 Expand() can also be used to expand variables and environment
2783 variables that are only known in a shell. But this can be
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00002784 slow, because a shell must be started. See |expr-env-expand|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002785 The expanded variable is still handled like a list of file
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00002786 names. When an environment variable cannot be expanded, it is
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002787 left unchanged. Thus ":echo expand('$FOOBAR')" results in
2788 "$FOOBAR".
2789
2790 See |glob()| for finding existing files. See |system()| for
2791 getting the raw output of an external command.
2792
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00002793extend({expr1}, {expr2} [, {expr3}]) *extend()*
Bram Moolenaara23ccb82006-02-27 00:08:02 +00002794 {expr1} and {expr2} must be both |Lists| or both
2795 |Dictionaries|.
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00002796
Bram Moolenaara23ccb82006-02-27 00:08:02 +00002797 If they are |Lists|: Append {expr2} to {expr1}.
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00002798 If {expr3} is given insert the items of {expr2} before item
2799 {expr3} in {expr1}. When {expr3} is zero insert before the
2800 first item. When {expr3} is equal to len({expr1}) then
2801 {expr2} is appended.
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +00002802 Examples: >
2803 :echo sort(extend(mylist, [7, 5]))
2804 :call extend(mylist, [2, 3], 1)
Bram Moolenaardc9cf9c2008-08-08 10:36:31 +00002805< When {expr1} is the same List as {expr2} then the number of
2806 items copied is equal to the original length of the List.
2807 E.g., when {expr3} is 1 you get N new copies of the first item
2808 (where N is the original length of the List).
2809 Use |add()| to concatenate one item to a list. To concatenate
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00002810 two lists into a new list use the + operator: >
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +00002811 :let newlist = [1, 2, 3] + [4, 5]
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00002812<
Bram Moolenaara23ccb82006-02-27 00:08:02 +00002813 If they are |Dictionaries|:
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00002814 Add all entries from {expr2} to {expr1}.
2815 If a key exists in both {expr1} and {expr2} then {expr3} is
2816 used to decide what to do:
2817 {expr3} = "keep": keep the value of {expr1}
2818 {expr3} = "force": use the value of {expr2}
Bram Moolenaarc9b4b052006-04-30 18:54:39 +00002819 {expr3} = "error": give an error message *E737*
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00002820 When {expr3} is omitted then "force" is assumed.
2821
2822 {expr1} is changed when {expr2} is not empty. If necessary
2823 make a copy of {expr1} first.
2824 {expr2} remains unchanged.
2825 Returns {expr1}.
2826
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +00002827
Bram Moolenaarf9393ef2006-04-24 19:47:27 +00002828feedkeys({string} [, {mode}]) *feedkeys()*
2829 Characters in {string} are queued for processing as if they
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00002830 come from a mapping or were typed by the user. They are added
Bram Moolenaaref2f6562007-05-06 13:32:59 +00002831 to the end of the typeahead buffer, thus if a mapping is still
Bram Moolenaarf9393ef2006-04-24 19:47:27 +00002832 being executed these characters come after them.
2833 The function does not wait for processing of keys contained in
2834 {string}.
2835 To include special keys into {string}, use double-quotes
2836 and "\..." notation |expr-quote|. For example,
Bram Moolenaar79166c42007-05-10 18:29:51 +00002837 feedkeys("\<CR>") simulates pressing of the <Enter> key. But
Bram Moolenaarf9393ef2006-04-24 19:47:27 +00002838 feedkeys('\<CR>') pushes 5 characters.
2839 If {mode} is absent, keys are remapped.
2840 {mode} is a String, which can contain these character flags:
Bram Moolenaar551dbcc2006-04-25 22:13:59 +00002841 'm' Remap keys. This is default.
2842 'n' Do not remap keys.
2843 't' Handle keys as if typed; otherwise they are handled as
2844 if coming from a mapping. This matters for undo,
2845 opening folds, etc.
Bram Moolenaarf9393ef2006-04-24 19:47:27 +00002846 Return value is always 0.
2847
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002848filereadable({file}) *filereadable()*
2849 The result is a Number, which is TRUE when a file with the
2850 name {file} exists, and can be read. If {file} doesn't exist,
2851 or is a directory, the result is FALSE. {file} is any
2852 expression, which is used as a String.
Bram Moolenaaref2f6562007-05-06 13:32:59 +00002853 If you don't care about the file being readable you can use
2854 |glob()|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002855 *file_readable()*
2856 Obsolete name: file_readable().
2857
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00002858
Bram Moolenaaref2f6562007-05-06 13:32:59 +00002859filewritable({file}) *filewritable()*
2860 The result is a Number, which is 1 when a file with the
2861 name {file} exists, and can be written. If {file} doesn't
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00002862 exist, or is not writable, the result is 0. If {file} is a
Bram Moolenaaref2f6562007-05-06 13:32:59 +00002863 directory, and we can write to it, the result is 2.
2864
2865
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00002866filter({expr}, {string}) *filter()*
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00002867 {expr} must be a |List| or a |Dictionary|.
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00002868 For each item in {expr} evaluate {string} and when the result
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00002869 is zero remove the item from the |List| or |Dictionary|.
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00002870 Inside {string} |v:val| has the value of the current item.
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00002871 For a |Dictionary| |v:key| has the key of the current item.
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00002872 Examples: >
2873 :call filter(mylist, 'v:val !~ "OLD"')
2874< Removes the items where "OLD" appears. >
2875 :call filter(mydict, 'v:key >= 8')
2876< Removes the items with a key below 8. >
2877 :call filter(var, 0)
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00002878< Removes all the items, thus clears the |List| or |Dictionary|.
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +00002879
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00002880 Note that {string} is the result of expression and is then
2881 used as an expression again. Often it is good to use a
2882 |literal-string| to avoid having to double backslashes.
2883
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00002884 The operation is done in-place. If you want a |List| or
2885 |Dictionary| to remain unmodified make a copy first: >
Bram Moolenaarafeb4fa2006-02-01 21:51:12 +00002886 :let l = filter(copy(mylist), 'v:val =~ "KEEP"')
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00002887
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00002888< Returns {expr}, the |List| or |Dictionary| that was filtered.
Bram Moolenaar280f1262006-01-30 00:14:18 +00002889 When an error is encountered while evaluating {string} no
2890 further items in {expr} are processed.
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00002891
2892
Bram Moolenaar89cb5e02004-07-19 20:55:54 +00002893finddir({name}[, {path}[, {count}]]) *finddir()*
Bram Moolenaar5b6b1ca2007-03-27 08:19:43 +00002894 Find directory {name} in {path}. Supports both downwards and
2895 upwards recursive directory searches. See |file-searching|
2896 for the syntax of {path}.
2897 Returns the path of the first found match. When the found
2898 directory is below the current directory a relative path is
2899 returned. Otherwise a full path is returned.
Bram Moolenaar89cb5e02004-07-19 20:55:54 +00002900 If {path} is omitted or empty then 'path' is used.
2901 If the optional {count} is given, find {count}'s occurrence of
Bram Moolenaar433f7c82006-03-21 21:29:36 +00002902 {name} in {path} instead of the first one.
Bram Moolenaar899dddf2006-03-26 21:06:50 +00002903 When {count} is negative return all the matches in a |List|.
Bram Moolenaar89cb5e02004-07-19 20:55:54 +00002904 This is quite similar to the ex-command |:find|.
Bram Moolenaardb84e452010-08-15 13:50:43 +02002905 {only available when compiled with the |+file_in_path|
2906 feature}
Bram Moolenaar89cb5e02004-07-19 20:55:54 +00002907
2908findfile({name}[, {path}[, {count}]]) *findfile()*
2909 Just like |finddir()|, but find a file instead of a directory.
Bram Moolenaar433f7c82006-03-21 21:29:36 +00002910 Uses 'suffixesadd'.
2911 Example: >
2912 :echo findfile("tags.vim", ".;")
Bram Moolenaaref2f6562007-05-06 13:32:59 +00002913< Searches from the directory of the current file upwards until
2914 it finds the file "tags.vim".
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002915
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00002916float2nr({expr}) *float2nr()*
2917 Convert {expr} to a Number by omitting the part after the
2918 decimal point.
2919 {expr} must evaluate to a |Float| or a Number.
2920 When the value of {expr} is out of range for a |Number| the
2921 result is truncated to 0x7fffffff or -0x7fffffff. NaN results
2922 in -0x80000000.
2923 Examples: >
2924 echo float2nr(3.95)
2925< 3 >
2926 echo float2nr(-23.45)
2927< -23 >
2928 echo float2nr(1.0e100)
2929< 2147483647 >
2930 echo float2nr(-1.0e150)
2931< -2147483647 >
2932 echo float2nr(1.0e-100)
2933< 0
2934 {only available when compiled with the |+float| feature}
2935
2936
2937floor({expr}) *floor()*
2938 Return the largest integral value less than or equal to
2939 {expr} as a |Float| (round down).
2940 {expr} must evaluate to a |Float| or a |Number|.
2941 Examples: >
2942 echo floor(1.856)
2943< 1.0 >
2944 echo floor(-5.456)
2945< -6.0 >
2946 echo floor(4.0)
2947< 4.0
2948 {only available when compiled with the |+float| feature}
2949
Bram Moolenaardb7c6862010-05-21 16:33:48 +02002950
2951fmod({expr1}, {expr2}) *fmod()*
2952 Return the remainder of {expr1} / {expr2}, even if the
2953 division is not representable. Returns {expr1} - i * {expr2}
2954 for some integer i such that if {expr2} is non-zero, the
2955 result has the same sign as {expr1} and magnitude less than
2956 the magnitude of {expr2}. If {expr2} is zero, the value
Bram Moolenaar9855d6b2010-07-18 14:34:51 +02002957 returned is zero. The value returned is a |Float|.
2958 {expr1} and {expr2} must evaluate to a |Float| or a |Number|.
Bram Moolenaardb7c6862010-05-21 16:33:48 +02002959 Examples: >
2960 :echo fmod(12.33, 1.22)
2961< 0.13 >
2962 :echo fmod(-12.33, 1.22)
2963< -0.13
Bram Moolenaardb84e452010-08-15 13:50:43 +02002964 {only available when compiled with |+float| feature}
Bram Moolenaardb7c6862010-05-21 16:33:48 +02002965
2966
Bram Moolenaaraebaf892008-05-28 14:49:58 +00002967fnameescape({string}) *fnameescape()*
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00002968 Escape {string} for use as file name command argument. All
Bram Moolenaaraebaf892008-05-28 14:49:58 +00002969 characters that have a special meaning, such as '%' and '|'
2970 are escaped with a backslash.
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00002971 For most systems the characters escaped are
2972 " \t\n*?[{`$\\%#'\"|!<". For systems where a backslash
2973 appears in a filename, it depends on the value of 'isfname'.
Bram Moolenaar1b24e4b2008-08-08 10:59:17 +00002974 A leading '+' and '>' is also escaped (special after |:edit|
2975 and |:write|). And a "-" by itself (special after |:cd|).
Bram Moolenaaraebaf892008-05-28 14:49:58 +00002976 Example: >
Bram Moolenaar1b24e4b2008-08-08 10:59:17 +00002977 :let fname = '+some str%nge|name'
Bram Moolenaaraebaf892008-05-28 14:49:58 +00002978 :exe "edit " . fnameescape(fname)
2979< results in executing: >
Bram Moolenaar1b24e4b2008-08-08 10:59:17 +00002980 edit \+some\ str\%nge\|name
Bram Moolenaaraebaf892008-05-28 14:49:58 +00002981
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002982fnamemodify({fname}, {mods}) *fnamemodify()*
2983 Modify file name {fname} according to {mods}. {mods} is a
2984 string of characters like it is used for file names on the
2985 command line. See |filename-modifiers|.
2986 Example: >
2987 :echo fnamemodify("main.c", ":p:h")
2988< results in: >
2989 /home/mool/vim/vim/src
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00002990< Note: Environment variables don't work in {fname}, use
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002991 |expand()| first then.
2992
2993foldclosed({lnum}) *foldclosed()*
2994 The result is a Number. If the line {lnum} is in a closed
2995 fold, the result is the number of the first line in that fold.
2996 If the line {lnum} is not in a closed fold, -1 is returned.
2997
2998foldclosedend({lnum}) *foldclosedend()*
2999 The result is a Number. If the line {lnum} is in a closed
3000 fold, the result is the number of the last line in that fold.
3001 If the line {lnum} is not in a closed fold, -1 is returned.
3002
3003foldlevel({lnum}) *foldlevel()*
3004 The result is a Number, which is the foldlevel of line {lnum}
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00003005 in the current buffer. For nested folds the deepest level is
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003006 returned. If there is no fold at line {lnum}, zero is
3007 returned. It doesn't matter if the folds are open or closed.
3008 When used while updating folds (from 'foldexpr') -1 is
3009 returned for lines where folds are still to be updated and the
3010 foldlevel is unknown. As a special case the level of the
3011 previous line is usually available.
3012
3013 *foldtext()*
3014foldtext() Returns a String, to be displayed for a closed fold. This is
3015 the default function used for the 'foldtext' option and should
3016 only be called from evaluating 'foldtext'. It uses the
3017 |v:foldstart|, |v:foldend| and |v:folddashes| variables.
3018 The returned string looks like this: >
3019 +-- 45 lines: abcdef
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00003020< The number of dashes depends on the foldlevel. The "45" is
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003021 the number of lines in the fold. "abcdef" is the text in the
3022 first non-blank line of the fold. Leading white space, "//"
3023 or "/*" and the text from the 'foldmarker' and 'commentstring'
3024 options is removed.
3025 {not available when compiled without the |+folding| feature}
3026
Bram Moolenaar7b0294c2004-10-11 10:16:09 +00003027foldtextresult({lnum}) *foldtextresult()*
3028 Returns the text that is displayed for the closed fold at line
3029 {lnum}. Evaluates 'foldtext' in the appropriate context.
3030 When there is no closed fold at {lnum} an empty string is
3031 returned.
3032 {lnum} is used like with |getline()|. Thus "." is the current
3033 line, "'m" mark m, etc.
3034 Useful when exporting folded text, e.g., to HTML.
3035 {not available when compiled without the |+folding| feature}
3036
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003037 *foreground()*
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00003038foreground() Move the Vim window to the foreground. Useful when sent from
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003039 a client to a Vim server. |remote_send()|
3040 On Win32 systems this might not work, the OS does not always
3041 allow a window to bring itself to the foreground. Use
3042 |remote_foreground()| instead.
3043 {only in the Win32, Athena, Motif and GTK GUI versions and the
3044 Win32 console version}
3045
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00003046
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +00003047function({name}) *function()* *E700*
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00003048 Return a |Funcref| variable that refers to function {name}.
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00003049 {name} can be a user defined function or an internal function.
3050
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00003051
Bram Moolenaar9d2c8c12007-09-25 16:00:00 +00003052garbagecollect([at_exit]) *garbagecollect()*
Bram Moolenaara23ccb82006-02-27 00:08:02 +00003053 Cleanup unused |Lists| and |Dictionaries| that have circular
Bram Moolenaar39a58ca2005-06-27 22:42:44 +00003054 references. There is hardly ever a need to invoke this
3055 function, as it is automatically done when Vim runs out of
3056 memory or is waiting for the user to press a key after
3057 'updatetime'. Items without circular references are always
3058 freed when they become unused.
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00003059 This is useful if you have deleted a very big |List| and/or
3060 |Dictionary| with circular references in a script that runs
3061 for a long time.
Bram Moolenaar9d2c8c12007-09-25 16:00:00 +00003062 When the optional "at_exit" argument is one, garbage
3063 collection will also be done when exiting Vim, if it wasn't
3064 done before. This is useful when checking for memory leaks.
Bram Moolenaar39a58ca2005-06-27 22:42:44 +00003065
Bram Moolenaar677ee682005-01-27 14:41:15 +00003066get({list}, {idx} [, {default}]) *get()*
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00003067 Get item {idx} from |List| {list}. When this item is not
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00003068 available return {default}. Return zero when {default} is
3069 omitted.
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00003070get({dict}, {key} [, {default}])
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00003071 Get item with key {key} from |Dictionary| {dict}. When this
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00003072 item is not available return {default}. Return zero when
3073 {default} is omitted.
3074
Bram Moolenaar45360022005-07-21 21:08:21 +00003075 *getbufline()*
3076getbufline({expr}, {lnum} [, {end}])
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00003077 Return a |List| with the lines starting from {lnum} to {end}
3078 (inclusive) in the buffer {expr}. If {end} is omitted, a
3079 |List| with only the line {lnum} is returned.
Bram Moolenaar45360022005-07-21 21:08:21 +00003080
3081 For the use of {expr}, see |bufname()| above.
3082
Bram Moolenaar661b1822005-07-28 22:36:45 +00003083 For {lnum} and {end} "$" can be used for the last line of the
3084 buffer. Otherwise a number must be used.
Bram Moolenaar45360022005-07-21 21:08:21 +00003085
3086 When {lnum} is smaller than 1 or bigger than the number of
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00003087 lines in the buffer, an empty |List| is returned.
Bram Moolenaar45360022005-07-21 21:08:21 +00003088
3089 When {end} is greater than the number of lines in the buffer,
3090 it is treated as {end} is set to the number of lines in the
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00003091 buffer. When {end} is before {lnum} an empty |List| is
Bram Moolenaar45360022005-07-21 21:08:21 +00003092 returned.
3093
Bram Moolenaar661b1822005-07-28 22:36:45 +00003094 This function works only for loaded buffers. For unloaded and
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00003095 non-existing buffers, an empty |List| is returned.
Bram Moolenaar45360022005-07-21 21:08:21 +00003096
3097 Example: >
3098 :let lines = getbufline(bufnr("myfile"), 1, "$")
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00003099
3100getbufvar({expr}, {varname}) *getbufvar()*
3101 The result is the value of option or local buffer variable
3102 {varname} in buffer {expr}. Note that the name without "b:"
3103 must be used.
Bram Moolenaarc236c162008-07-13 17:41:49 +00003104 When {varname} is empty returns a dictionary with all the
3105 buffer-local variables.
Bram Moolenaar4317d9b2005-03-18 20:25:31 +00003106 This also works for a global or buffer-local option, but it
3107 doesn't work for a global variable, window-local variable or
3108 window-local option.
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00003109 For the use of {expr}, see |bufname()| above.
3110 When the buffer or variable doesn't exist an empty string is
3111 returned, there is no error message.
3112 Examples: >
3113 :let bufmodified = getbufvar(1, "&mod")
3114 :echo "todo myvar = " . getbufvar("todo", "myvar")
3115<
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003116getchar([expr]) *getchar()*
Bram Moolenaar91170f82006-05-05 21:15:17 +00003117 Get a single character from the user or input stream.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003118 If [expr] is omitted, wait until a character is available.
3119 If [expr] is 0, only get a character when one is available.
Bram Moolenaar91170f82006-05-05 21:15:17 +00003120 Return zero otherwise.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003121 If [expr] is 1, only check if a character is available, it is
Bram Moolenaar91170f82006-05-05 21:15:17 +00003122 not consumed. Return zero if no character available.
3123
3124 Without {expr} and when {expr} is 0 a whole character or
3125 special key is returned. If it is an 8-bit character, the
3126 result is a number. Use nr2char() to convert it to a String.
3127 Otherwise a String is returned with the encoded character.
3128 For a special key it's a sequence of bytes starting with 0x80
Bram Moolenaar56a907a2006-05-06 21:44:30 +00003129 (decimal: 128). This is the same value as the string
3130 "\<Key>", e.g., "\<Left>". The returned value is also a
3131 String when a modifier (shift, control, alt) was used that is
3132 not included in the character.
Bram Moolenaar91170f82006-05-05 21:15:17 +00003133
3134 When {expr} is 1 only the first byte is returned. For a
Bram Moolenaar56a907a2006-05-06 21:44:30 +00003135 one-byte character it is the character itself as a number.
3136 Use nr2char() to convert it to a String.
Bram Moolenaar91170f82006-05-05 21:15:17 +00003137
Bram Moolenaar219b8702006-11-01 14:32:36 +00003138 When the user clicks a mouse button, the mouse event will be
3139 returned. The position can then be found in |v:mouse_col|,
3140 |v:mouse_lnum| and |v:mouse_win|. This example positions the
3141 mouse as it would normally happen: >
3142 let c = getchar()
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00003143 if c == "\<LeftMouse>" && v:mouse_win > 0
Bram Moolenaar219b8702006-11-01 14:32:36 +00003144 exe v:mouse_win . "wincmd w"
3145 exe v:mouse_lnum
3146 exe "normal " . v:mouse_col . "|"
3147 endif
3148<
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003149 There is no prompt, you will somehow have to make clear to the
3150 user that a character has to be typed.
3151 There is no mapping for the character.
3152 Key codes are replaced, thus when the user presses the <Del>
3153 key you get the code for the <Del> key, not the raw character
3154 sequence. Examples: >
3155 getchar() == "\<Del>"
3156 getchar() == "\<S-Left>"
3157< This example redefines "f" to ignore case: >
3158 :nmap f :call FindChar()<CR>
3159 :function FindChar()
3160 : let c = nr2char(getchar())
3161 : while col('.') < col('$') - 1
3162 : normal l
3163 : if getline('.')[col('.') - 1] ==? c
3164 : break
3165 : endif
3166 : endwhile
3167 :endfunction
3168
3169getcharmod() *getcharmod()*
3170 The result is a Number which is the state of the modifiers for
3171 the last obtained character with getchar() or in another way.
3172 These values are added together:
3173 2 shift
3174 4 control
3175 8 alt (meta)
3176 16 mouse double click
3177 32 mouse triple click
3178 64 mouse quadruple click
3179 128 Macintosh only: command
3180 Only the modifiers that have not been included in the
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00003181 character itself are obtained. Thus Shift-a results in "A"
Bram Moolenaar8f3f58f2010-01-06 20:52:26 +01003182 without a modifier.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003183
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003184getcmdline() *getcmdline()*
3185 Return the current command-line. Only works when the command
3186 line is being edited, thus requires use of |c_CTRL-\_e| or
3187 |c_CTRL-R_=|.
3188 Example: >
3189 :cmap <F7> <C-\>eescape(getcmdline(), ' \')<CR>
Bram Moolenaarbfd8fc02005-09-20 23:22:24 +00003190< Also see |getcmdtype()|, |getcmdpos()| and |setcmdpos()|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003191
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00003192getcmdpos() *getcmdpos()*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003193 Return the position of the cursor in the command line as a
3194 byte count. The first column is 1.
3195 Only works when editing the command line, thus requires use of
3196 |c_CTRL-\_e| or |c_CTRL-R_=|. Returns 0 otherwise.
Bram Moolenaarbfd8fc02005-09-20 23:22:24 +00003197 Also see |getcmdtype()|, |setcmdpos()| and |getcmdline()|.
3198
3199getcmdtype() *getcmdtype()*
3200 Return the current command-line type. Possible return values
3201 are:
Bram Moolenaar1e015462005-09-25 22:16:38 +00003202 : normal Ex command
3203 > debug mode command |debug-mode|
3204 / forward search command
3205 ? backward search command
3206 @ |input()| command
3207 - |:insert| or |:append| command
Bram Moolenaarbfd8fc02005-09-20 23:22:24 +00003208 Only works when editing the command line, thus requires use of
3209 |c_CTRL-\_e| or |c_CTRL-R_=|. Returns an empty string
3210 otherwise.
3211 Also see |getcmdpos()|, |setcmdpos()| and |getcmdline()|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003212
3213 *getcwd()*
3214getcwd() The result is a String, which is the name of the current
3215 working directory.
3216
3217getfsize({fname}) *getfsize()*
3218 The result is a Number, which is the size in bytes of the
3219 given file {fname}.
3220 If {fname} is a directory, 0 is returned.
3221 If the file {fname} can't be found, -1 is returned.
Bram Moolenaard827ada2007-06-19 15:19:55 +00003222 If the size of {fname} is too big to fit in a Number then -2
3223 is returned.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003224
Bram Moolenaard8b0cf12004-12-12 11:33:30 +00003225getfontname([{name}]) *getfontname()*
3226 Without an argument returns the name of the normal font being
3227 used. Like what is used for the Normal highlight group
3228 |hl-Normal|.
3229 With an argument a check is done whether {name} is a valid
3230 font name. If not then an empty string is returned.
3231 Otherwise the actual font name is returned, or {name} if the
3232 GUI does not support obtaining the real name.
Bram Moolenaarc6fe9192006-04-09 21:54:49 +00003233 Only works when the GUI is running, thus not in your vimrc or
Bram Moolenaard8b0cf12004-12-12 11:33:30 +00003234 gvimrc file. Use the |GUIEnter| autocommand to use this
3235 function just after the GUI has started.
Bram Moolenaar910f66f2006-04-05 20:41:53 +00003236 Note that the GTK 2 GUI accepts any font name, thus checking
3237 for a valid name does not work.
Bram Moolenaard8b0cf12004-12-12 11:33:30 +00003238
Bram Moolenaar5eb86f92004-07-26 12:53:41 +00003239getfperm({fname}) *getfperm()*
3240 The result is a String, which is the read, write, and execute
3241 permissions of the given file {fname}.
3242 If {fname} does not exist or its directory cannot be read, an
3243 empty string is returned.
3244 The result is of the form "rwxrwxrwx", where each group of
3245 "rwx" flags represent, in turn, the permissions of the owner
3246 of the file, the group the file belongs to, and other users.
3247 If a user does not have a given permission the flag for this
3248 is replaced with the string "-". Example: >
3249 :echo getfperm("/etc/passwd")
3250< This will hopefully (from a security point of view) display
3251 the string "rw-r--r--" or even "rw-------".
Bram Moolenaare2cc9702005-03-15 22:43:58 +00003252
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003253getftime({fname}) *getftime()*
3254 The result is a Number, which is the last modification time of
3255 the given file {fname}. The value is measured as seconds
3256 since 1st Jan 1970, and may be passed to strftime(). See also
3257 |localtime()| and |strftime()|.
3258 If the file {fname} can't be found -1 is returned.
3259
Bram Moolenaar5eb86f92004-07-26 12:53:41 +00003260getftype({fname}) *getftype()*
3261 The result is a String, which is a description of the kind of
3262 file of the given file {fname}.
3263 If {fname} does not exist an empty string is returned.
3264 Here is a table over different kinds of files and their
3265 results:
3266 Normal file "file"
3267 Directory "dir"
3268 Symbolic link "link"
3269 Block device "bdev"
3270 Character device "cdev"
3271 Socket "socket"
3272 FIFO "fifo"
3273 All other "other"
3274 Example: >
3275 getftype("/home")
3276< Note that a type such as "link" will only be returned on
3277 systems that support it. On some systems only "dir" and
3278 "file" are returned.
3279
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003280 *getline()*
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00003281getline({lnum} [, {end}])
3282 Without {end} the result is a String, which is line {lnum}
3283 from the current buffer. Example: >
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003284 getline(1)
3285< When {lnum} is a String that doesn't start with a
3286 digit, line() is called to translate the String into a Number.
3287 To get the line under the cursor: >
3288 getline(".")
3289< When {lnum} is smaller than 1 or bigger than the number of
3290 lines in the buffer, an empty string is returned.
3291
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00003292 When {end} is given the result is a |List| where each item is
3293 a line from the current buffer in the range {lnum} to {end},
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00003294 including line {end}.
3295 {end} is used in the same way as {lnum}.
3296 Non-existing lines are silently omitted.
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00003297 When {end} is before {lnum} an empty |List| is returned.
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00003298 Example: >
3299 :let start = line('.')
3300 :let end = search("^$") - 1
3301 :let lines = getline(start, end)
3302
Bram Moolenaaref2f6562007-05-06 13:32:59 +00003303< To get lines from another buffer see |getbufline()|
3304
Bram Moolenaar17c7c012006-01-26 22:25:15 +00003305getloclist({nr}) *getloclist()*
3306 Returns a list with all the entries in the location list for
3307 window {nr}. When {nr} is zero the current window is used.
3308 For a location list window, the displayed location list is
Bram Moolenaar280f1262006-01-30 00:14:18 +00003309 returned. For an invalid window number {nr}, an empty list is
Bram Moolenaar8f3f58f2010-01-06 20:52:26 +01003310 returned. Otherwise, same as |getqflist()|.
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00003311
Bram Moolenaar6ee10162007-07-26 20:58:42 +00003312getmatches() *getmatches()*
3313 Returns a |List| with all matches previously defined by
3314 |matchadd()| and the |:match| commands. |getmatches()| is
3315 useful in combination with |setmatches()|, as |setmatches()|
3316 can restore a list of matches saved by |getmatches()|.
3317 Example: >
3318 :echo getmatches()
3319< [{'group': 'MyGroup1', 'pattern': 'TODO',
3320 'priority': 10, 'id': 1}, {'group': 'MyGroup2',
3321 'pattern': 'FIXME', 'priority': 10, 'id': 2}] >
3322 :let m = getmatches()
3323 :call clearmatches()
3324 :echo getmatches()
3325< [] >
3326 :call setmatches(m)
3327 :echo getmatches()
3328< [{'group': 'MyGroup1', 'pattern': 'TODO',
3329 'priority': 10, 'id': 1}, {'group': 'MyGroup2',
3330 'pattern': 'FIXME', 'priority': 10, 'id': 2}] >
3331 :unlet m
3332<
3333
Bram Moolenaar68b76a62005-03-25 21:53:48 +00003334getqflist() *getqflist()*
3335 Returns a list with all the current quickfix errors. Each
3336 list item is a dictionary with these entries:
3337 bufnr number of buffer that has the file name, use
3338 bufname() to get the name
3339 lnum line number in the buffer (first line is 1)
3340 col column number (first column is 1)
Bram Moolenaar582fd852005-03-28 20:58:01 +00003341 vcol non-zero: "col" is visual column
3342 zero: "col" is byte index
Bram Moolenaar68b76a62005-03-25 21:53:48 +00003343 nr error number
Bram Moolenaar48b66fb2007-02-04 01:58:18 +00003344 pattern search pattern used to locate the error
Bram Moolenaar68b76a62005-03-25 21:53:48 +00003345 text description of the error
3346 type type of the error, 'E', '1', etc.
3347 valid non-zero: recognized error message
3348
Bram Moolenaare7eb9df2005-09-09 19:49:30 +00003349 When there is no error list or it's empty an empty list is
Bram Moolenaar48b66fb2007-02-04 01:58:18 +00003350 returned. Quickfix list entries with non-existing buffer
3351 number are returned with "bufnr" set to zero.
Bram Moolenaare7eb9df2005-09-09 19:49:30 +00003352
Bram Moolenaar68b76a62005-03-25 21:53:48 +00003353 Useful application: Find pattern matches in multiple files and
3354 do something with them: >
3355 :vimgrep /theword/jg *.c
3356 :for d in getqflist()
3357 : echo bufname(d.bufnr) ':' d.lnum '=' d.text
3358 :endfor
3359
3360
Bram Moolenaar2389c3c2005-05-22 22:07:59 +00003361getreg([{regname} [, 1]]) *getreg()*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003362 The result is a String, which is the contents of register
Bram Moolenaar402d2fe2005-04-15 21:00:38 +00003363 {regname}. Example: >
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003364 :let cliptext = getreg('*')
3365< getreg('=') returns the last evaluated value of the expression
Bram Moolenaar402d2fe2005-04-15 21:00:38 +00003366 register. (For use in maps.)
Bram Moolenaar2389c3c2005-05-22 22:07:59 +00003367 getreg('=', 1) returns the expression itself, so that it can
3368 be restored with |setreg()|. For other registers the extra
3369 argument is ignored, thus you can always give it.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003370 If {regname} is not specified, |v:register| is used.
3371
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00003372
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003373getregtype([{regname}]) *getregtype()*
3374 The result is a String, which is type of register {regname}.
3375 The value will be one of:
3376 "v" for |characterwise| text
3377 "V" for |linewise| text
3378 "<CTRL-V>{width}" for |blockwise-visual| text
3379 0 for an empty or unknown register
3380 <CTRL-V> is one character with value 0x16.
3381 If {regname} is not specified, |v:register| is used.
3382
Bram Moolenaar06b5d512010-05-22 15:37:44 +02003383gettabvar({tabnr}, {varname}) *gettabvar()*
3384 Get the value of a tab-local variable {varname} in tab page
3385 {tabnr}. |t:var|
3386 Tabs are numbered starting with one.
3387 Note that the name without "t:" must be used.
3388
Bram Moolenaarc6249bb2006-04-15 20:25:09 +00003389gettabwinvar({tabnr}, {winnr}, {varname}) *gettabwinvar()*
Bram Moolenaaref2f6562007-05-06 13:32:59 +00003390 Get the value of window-local variable {varname} in window
3391 {winnr} in tab page {tabnr}.
3392 When {varname} starts with "&" get the value of a window-local
3393 option.
Bram Moolenaarc6249bb2006-04-15 20:25:09 +00003394 Tabs are numbered starting with one. For the current tabpage
3395 use |getwinvar()|.
3396 When {winnr} is zero the current window is used.
3397 This also works for a global option, buffer-local option and
3398 window-local option, but it doesn't work for a global variable
3399 or buffer-local variable.
Bram Moolenaaref2f6562007-05-06 13:32:59 +00003400 When {varname} is empty a dictionary with all window-local
3401 variables is returned.
3402 Note that {varname} must be the name without "w:".
Bram Moolenaarc6249bb2006-04-15 20:25:09 +00003403 Examples: >
3404 :let list_is_on = gettabwinvar(1, 2, '&list')
3405 :echo "myvar = " . gettabwinvar(3, 1, 'myvar')
Bram Moolenaard46bbc72007-05-12 14:38:41 +00003406<
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003407 *getwinposx()*
3408getwinposx() The result is a Number, which is the X coordinate in pixels of
3409 the left hand side of the GUI Vim window. The result will be
3410 -1 if the information is not available.
3411
3412 *getwinposy()*
3413getwinposy() The result is a Number, which is the Y coordinate in pixels of
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00003414 the top of the GUI Vim window. The result will be -1 if the
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003415 information is not available.
3416
Bram Moolenaarc6249bb2006-04-15 20:25:09 +00003417getwinvar({winnr}, {varname}) *getwinvar()*
3418 Like |gettabwinvar()| for the current tabpage.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003419 Examples: >
3420 :let list_is_on = getwinvar(2, '&list')
3421 :echo "myvar = " . getwinvar(1, 'myvar')
3422<
Bram Moolenaarbb5ddda2008-11-28 10:01:10 +00003423glob({expr} [, {flag}]) *glob()*
3424 Expand the file wildcards in {expr}. See |wildcards| for the
Bram Moolenaaref2f6562007-05-06 13:32:59 +00003425 use of special characters.
3426 The result is a String.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003427 When there are several matches, they are separated by <NL>
3428 characters.
Bram Moolenaarbb5ddda2008-11-28 10:01:10 +00003429 Unless the optional {flag} argument is given and is non-zero,
3430 the 'suffixes' and 'wildignore' options apply: Names matching
3431 one of the patterns in 'wildignore' will be skipped and
3432 'suffixes' affect the ordering of matches.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003433 If the expansion fails, the result is an empty string.
3434 A name for a non-existing file is not included.
3435
3436 For most systems backticks can be used to get files names from
3437 any external command. Example: >
3438 :let tagfiles = glob("`find . -name tags -print`")
3439 :let &tags = substitute(tagfiles, "\n", ",", "g")
3440< The result of the program inside the backticks should be one
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00003441 item per line. Spaces inside an item are allowed.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003442
3443 See |expand()| for expanding special Vim variables. See
3444 |system()| for getting the raw output of an external command.
3445
Bram Moolenaarbb5ddda2008-11-28 10:01:10 +00003446globpath({path}, {expr} [, {flag}]) *globpath()*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003447 Perform glob() on all directories in {path} and concatenate
3448 the results. Example: >
3449 :echo globpath(&rtp, "syntax/c.vim")
3450< {path} is a comma-separated list of directory names. Each
3451 directory name is prepended to {expr} and expanded like with
Bram Moolenaarbb5ddda2008-11-28 10:01:10 +00003452 |glob()|. A path separator is inserted when needed.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003453 To add a comma inside a directory name escape it with a
3454 backslash. Note that on MS-Windows a directory may have a
3455 trailing backslash, remove it if you put a comma after it.
3456 If the expansion fails for one of the directories, there is no
3457 error message.
Bram Moolenaarbb5ddda2008-11-28 10:01:10 +00003458 Unless the optional {flag} argument is given and is non-zero,
3459 the 'suffixes' and 'wildignore' options apply: Names matching
3460 one of the patterns in 'wildignore' will be skipped and
3461 'suffixes' affect the ordering of matches.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003462
Bram Moolenaar02743632005-07-25 20:42:36 +00003463 The "**" item can be used to search in a directory tree.
3464 For example, to find all "README.txt" files in the directories
3465 in 'runtimepath' and below: >
3466 :echo globpath(&rtp, "**/README.txt")
Bram Moolenaarc236c162008-07-13 17:41:49 +00003467< Upwards search and limiting the depth of "**" is not
3468 supported, thus using 'path' will not always work properly.
3469
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003470 *has()*
3471has({feature}) The result is a Number, which is 1 if the feature {feature} is
3472 supported, zero otherwise. The {feature} argument is a
3473 string. See |feature-list| below.
3474 Also see |exists()|.
3475
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00003476
3477has_key({dict}, {key}) *has_key()*
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00003478 The result is a Number, which is 1 if |Dictionary| {dict} has
3479 an entry with key {key}. Zero otherwise.
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00003480
Bram Moolenaard267b9c2007-04-26 15:06:45 +00003481haslocaldir() *haslocaldir()*
3482 The result is a Number, which is 1 when the current
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00003483 window has set a local path via |:lcd|, and 0 otherwise.
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00003484
Bram Moolenaar97b2ad32006-03-18 21:40:56 +00003485hasmapto({what} [, {mode} [, {abbr}]]) *hasmapto()*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003486 The result is a Number, which is 1 if there is a mapping that
3487 contains {what} in somewhere in the rhs (what it is mapped to)
3488 and this mapping exists in one of the modes indicated by
3489 {mode}.
Bram Moolenaar97b2ad32006-03-18 21:40:56 +00003490 When {abbr} is there and it is non-zero use abbreviations
Bram Moolenaar39f05632006-03-19 22:15:26 +00003491 instead of mappings. Don't forget to specify Insert and/or
3492 Command-line mode.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003493 Both the global mappings and the mappings local to the current
3494 buffer are checked for a match.
3495 If no matching mapping is found 0 is returned.
3496 The following characters are recognized in {mode}:
3497 n Normal mode
3498 v Visual mode
3499 o Operator-pending mode
3500 i Insert mode
3501 l Language-Argument ("r", "f", "t", etc.)
3502 c Command-line mode
3503 When {mode} is omitted, "nvo" is used.
3504
3505 This function is useful to check if a mapping already exists
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00003506 to a function in a Vim script. Example: >
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003507 :if !hasmapto('\ABCdoit')
3508 : map <Leader>d \ABCdoit
3509 :endif
3510< This installs the mapping to "\ABCdoit" only if there isn't
3511 already a mapping to "\ABCdoit".
3512
3513histadd({history}, {item}) *histadd()*
3514 Add the String {item} to the history {history} which can be
3515 one of: *hist-names*
3516 "cmd" or ":" command line history
3517 "search" or "/" search pattern history
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00003518 "expr" or "=" typed expression history
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003519 "input" or "@" input line history
3520 If {item} does already exist in the history, it will be
3521 shifted to become the newest entry.
3522 The result is a Number: 1 if the operation was successful,
3523 otherwise 0 is returned.
3524
3525 Example: >
3526 :call histadd("input", strftime("%Y %b %d"))
3527 :let date=input("Enter date: ")
3528< This function is not available in the |sandbox|.
3529
3530histdel({history} [, {item}]) *histdel()*
Bram Moolenaar402d2fe2005-04-15 21:00:38 +00003531 Clear {history}, i.e. delete all its entries. See |hist-names|
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003532 for the possible values of {history}.
3533
Bram Moolenaarc236c162008-07-13 17:41:49 +00003534 If the parameter {item} evaluates to a String, it is used as a
3535 regular expression. All entries matching that expression will
3536 be removed from the history (if there are any).
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003537 Upper/lowercase must match, unless "\c" is used |/\c|.
Bram Moolenaarc236c162008-07-13 17:41:49 +00003538 If {item} evaluates to a Number, it will be interpreted as
3539 an index, see |:history-indexing|. The respective entry will
3540 be removed if it exists.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003541
3542 The result is a Number: 1 for a successful operation,
3543 otherwise 0 is returned.
3544
3545 Examples:
3546 Clear expression register history: >
3547 :call histdel("expr")
3548<
3549 Remove all entries starting with "*" from the search history: >
3550 :call histdel("/", '^\*')
3551<
3552 The following three are equivalent: >
3553 :call histdel("search", histnr("search"))
3554 :call histdel("search", -1)
3555 :call histdel("search", '^'.histget("search", -1).'$')
3556<
3557 To delete the last search pattern and use the last-but-one for
3558 the "n" command and 'hlsearch': >
3559 :call histdel("search", -1)
3560 :let @/ = histget("search", -1)
3561
3562histget({history} [, {index}]) *histget()*
3563 The result is a String, the entry with Number {index} from
3564 {history}. See |hist-names| for the possible values of
3565 {history}, and |:history-indexing| for {index}. If there is
3566 no such entry, an empty String is returned. When {index} is
3567 omitted, the most recent item from the history is used.
3568
3569 Examples:
3570 Redo the second last search from history. >
3571 :execute '/' . histget("search", -2)
3572
3573< Define an Ex command ":H {num}" that supports re-execution of
3574 the {num}th entry from the output of |:history|. >
3575 :command -nargs=1 H execute histget("cmd", 0+<args>)
3576<
3577histnr({history}) *histnr()*
3578 The result is the Number of the current entry in {history}.
3579 See |hist-names| for the possible values of {history}.
3580 If an error occurred, -1 is returned.
3581
3582 Example: >
3583 :let inp_index = histnr("expr")
3584<
3585hlexists({name}) *hlexists()*
3586 The result is a Number, which is non-zero if a highlight group
3587 called {name} exists. This is when the group has been
3588 defined in some way. Not necessarily when highlighting has
3589 been defined for it, it may also have been used for a syntax
3590 item.
3591 *highlight_exists()*
3592 Obsolete name: highlight_exists().
3593
3594 *hlID()*
3595hlID({name}) The result is a Number, which is the ID of the highlight group
3596 with name {name}. When the highlight group doesn't exist,
3597 zero is returned.
3598 This can be used to retrieve information about the highlight
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00003599 group. For example, to get the background color of the
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003600 "Comment" group: >
3601 :echo synIDattr(synIDtrans(hlID("Comment")), "bg")
3602< *highlightID()*
3603 Obsolete name: highlightID().
3604
3605hostname() *hostname()*
3606 The result is a String, which is the name of the machine on
Bram Moolenaar402d2fe2005-04-15 21:00:38 +00003607 which Vim is currently running. Machine names greater than
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003608 256 characters long are truncated.
3609
3610iconv({expr}, {from}, {to}) *iconv()*
3611 The result is a String, which is the text {expr} converted
3612 from encoding {from} to encoding {to}.
Bram Moolenaar8f3f58f2010-01-06 20:52:26 +01003613 When the conversion completely fails an empty string is
3614 returned. When some characters could not be converted they
3615 are replaced with "?".
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003616 The encoding names are whatever the iconv() library function
3617 can accept, see ":!man 3 iconv".
3618 Most conversions require Vim to be compiled with the |+iconv|
3619 feature. Otherwise only UTF-8 to latin1 conversion and back
3620 can be done.
3621 This can be used to display messages with special characters,
3622 no matter what 'encoding' is set to. Write the message in
3623 UTF-8 and use: >
3624 echo iconv(utf8_str, "utf-8", &enc)
3625< Note that Vim uses UTF-8 for all Unicode encodings, conversion
3626 from/to UCS-2 is automatically changed to use UTF-8. You
3627 cannot use UCS-2 in a string anyway, because of the NUL bytes.
Bram Moolenaardb84e452010-08-15 13:50:43 +02003628 {only available when compiled with the |+multi_byte| feature}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003629
3630 *indent()*
3631indent({lnum}) The result is a Number, which is indent of line {lnum} in the
3632 current buffer. The indent is counted in spaces, the value
3633 of 'tabstop' is relevant. {lnum} is used just like in
3634 |getline()|.
3635 When {lnum} is invalid -1 is returned.
3636
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +00003637
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00003638index({list}, {expr} [, {start} [, {ic}]]) *index()*
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00003639 Return the lowest index in |List| {list} where the item has a
Bram Moolenaar8f3f58f2010-01-06 20:52:26 +01003640 value equal to {expr}. There is no automatic conversion, so
3641 the String "4" is different from the Number 4. And the number
3642 4 is different from the Float 4.0. The value of 'ignorecase'
3643 is not used here, case always matters.
Bram Moolenaar748bf032005-02-02 23:04:36 +00003644 If {start} is given then start looking at the item with index
3645 {start} (may be negative for an item relative to the end).
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +00003646 When {ic} is given and it is non-zero, ignore case. Otherwise
3647 case must match.
3648 -1 is returned when {expr} is not found in {list}.
3649 Example: >
3650 :let idx = index(words, "the")
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +00003651 :if index(numbers, 123) >= 0
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +00003652
3653
Bram Moolenaarbfd8fc02005-09-20 23:22:24 +00003654input({prompt} [, {text} [, {completion}]]) *input()*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003655 The result is a String, which is whatever the user typed on
Bram Moolenaar8f3f58f2010-01-06 20:52:26 +01003656 the command-line. The {prompt} argument is either a prompt
3657 string, or a blank string (for no prompt). A '\n' can be used
3658 in the prompt to start a new line.
Bram Moolenaarbfd8fc02005-09-20 23:22:24 +00003659 The highlighting set with |:echohl| is used for the prompt.
3660 The input is entered just like a command-line, with the same
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00003661 editing commands and mappings. There is a separate history
Bram Moolenaarbfd8fc02005-09-20 23:22:24 +00003662 for lines typed for input().
3663 Example: >
3664 :if input("Coffee or beer? ") == "beer"
3665 : echo "Cheers!"
3666 :endif
3667<
Bram Moolenaar8f3f58f2010-01-06 20:52:26 +01003668 If the optional {text} argument is present and not empty, this
3669 is used for the default reply, as if the user typed this.
3670 Example: >
Bram Moolenaarbfd8fc02005-09-20 23:22:24 +00003671 :let color = input("Color? ", "white")
3672
3673< The optional {completion} argument specifies the type of
3674 completion supported for the input. Without it completion is
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00003675 not performed. The supported completion types are the same as
Bram Moolenaarbfd8fc02005-09-20 23:22:24 +00003676 that can be supplied to a user-defined command using the
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00003677 "-complete=" argument. Refer to |:command-completion| for
Bram Moolenaarbfd8fc02005-09-20 23:22:24 +00003678 more information. Example: >
3679 let fname = input("File: ", "", "file")
3680<
3681 NOTE: This function must not be used in a startup file, for
3682 the versions that only run in GUI mode (e.g., the Win32 GUI).
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003683 Note: When input() is called from within a mapping it will
3684 consume remaining characters from that mapping, because a
3685 mapping is handled like the characters were typed.
3686 Use |inputsave()| before input() and |inputrestore()|
3687 after input() to avoid that. Another solution is to avoid
3688 that further characters follow in the mapping, e.g., by using
3689 |:execute| or |:normal|.
3690
Bram Moolenaarbfd8fc02005-09-20 23:22:24 +00003691 Example with a mapping: >
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003692 :nmap \x :call GetFoo()<CR>:exe "/" . Foo<CR>
3693 :function GetFoo()
3694 : call inputsave()
3695 : let g:Foo = input("enter search pattern: ")
3696 : call inputrestore()
3697 :endfunction
3698
3699inputdialog({prompt} [, {text} [, {cancelreturn}]]) *inputdialog()*
Bram Moolenaar8f3f58f2010-01-06 20:52:26 +01003700 Like |input()|, but when the GUI is running and text dialogs
3701 are supported, a dialog window pops up to input the text.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003702 Example: >
3703 :let n = inputdialog("value for shiftwidth", &sw)
3704 :if n != ""
3705 : let &sw = n
3706 :endif
3707< When the dialog is cancelled {cancelreturn} is returned. When
3708 omitted an empty string is returned.
3709 Hitting <Enter> works like pressing the OK button. Hitting
3710 <Esc> works like pressing the Cancel button.
Bram Moolenaarbfd8fc02005-09-20 23:22:24 +00003711 NOTE: Command-line completion is not supported.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003712
Bram Moolenaar578b49e2005-09-10 19:22:57 +00003713inputlist({textlist}) *inputlist()*
Bram Moolenaar910f66f2006-04-05 20:41:53 +00003714 {textlist} must be a |List| of strings. This |List| is
3715 displayed, one string per line. The user will be prompted to
3716 enter a number, which is returned.
Bram Moolenaar578b49e2005-09-10 19:22:57 +00003717 The user can also select an item by clicking on it with the
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00003718 mouse. For the first string 0 is returned. When clicking
Bram Moolenaar578b49e2005-09-10 19:22:57 +00003719 above the first item a negative number is returned. When
3720 clicking on the prompt one more than the length of {textlist}
3721 is returned.
Bram Moolenaar8f3f58f2010-01-06 20:52:26 +01003722 Make sure {textlist} has less than 'lines' entries, otherwise
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00003723 it won't work. It's a good idea to put the entry number at
Bram Moolenaaref2f6562007-05-06 13:32:59 +00003724 the start of the string. And put a prompt in the first item.
3725 Example: >
Bram Moolenaar578b49e2005-09-10 19:22:57 +00003726 let color = inputlist(['Select color:', '1. red',
3727 \ '2. green', '3. blue'])
3728
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003729inputrestore() *inputrestore()*
Bram Moolenaar8f3f58f2010-01-06 20:52:26 +01003730 Restore typeahead that was saved with a previous |inputsave()|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003731 Should be called the same number of times inputsave() is
3732 called. Calling it more often is harmless though.
3733 Returns 1 when there is nothing to restore, 0 otherwise.
3734
3735inputsave() *inputsave()*
3736 Preserve typeahead (also from mappings) and clear it, so that
3737 a following prompt gets input from the user. Should be
3738 followed by a matching inputrestore() after the prompt. Can
3739 be used several times, in which case there must be just as
3740 many inputrestore() calls.
3741 Returns 1 when out of memory, 0 otherwise.
3742
3743inputsecret({prompt} [, {text}]) *inputsecret()*
3744 This function acts much like the |input()| function with but
3745 two exceptions:
3746 a) the user's response will be displayed as a sequence of
3747 asterisks ("*") thereby keeping the entry secret, and
3748 b) the user's response will not be recorded on the input
3749 |history| stack.
3750 The result is a String, which is whatever the user actually
3751 typed on the command-line in response to the issued prompt.
Bram Moolenaarbfd8fc02005-09-20 23:22:24 +00003752 NOTE: Command-line completion is not supported.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003753
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00003754insert({list}, {item} [, {idx}]) *insert()*
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00003755 Insert {item} at the start of |List| {list}.
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00003756 If {idx} is specified insert {item} before the item with index
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00003757 {idx}. If {idx} is zero it goes before the first item, just
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00003758 like omitting {idx}. A negative {idx} is also possible, see
3759 |list-index|. -1 inserts just before the last item.
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00003760 Returns the resulting |List|. Examples: >
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00003761 :let mylist = insert([2, 3, 5], 1)
3762 :call insert(mylist, 4, -1)
3763 :call insert(mylist, 6, len(mylist))
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00003764< The last example can be done simpler with |add()|.
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00003765 Note that when {item} is a |List| it is inserted as a single
Bram Moolenaara23ccb82006-02-27 00:08:02 +00003766 item. Use |extend()| to concatenate |Lists|.
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00003767
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003768isdirectory({directory}) *isdirectory()*
3769 The result is a Number, which is non-zero when a directory
3770 with the name {directory} exists. If {directory} doesn't
3771 exist, or isn't a directory, the result is FALSE. {directory}
3772 is any expression, which is used as a String.
3773
Bram Moolenaar910f66f2006-04-05 20:41:53 +00003774islocked({expr}) *islocked()* *E786*
Bram Moolenaar2ce06f62005-01-31 19:19:04 +00003775 The result is a Number, which is non-zero when {expr} is the
3776 name of a locked variable.
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00003777 {expr} must be the name of a variable, |List| item or
3778 |Dictionary| entry, not the variable itself! Example: >
Bram Moolenaar2ce06f62005-01-31 19:19:04 +00003779 :let alist = [0, ['a', 'b'], 2, 3]
3780 :lockvar 1 alist
3781 :echo islocked('alist') " 1
3782 :echo islocked('alist[1]') " 0
3783
3784< When {expr} is a variable that does not exist you get an error
Bram Moolenaar551dbcc2006-04-25 22:13:59 +00003785 message. Use |exists()| to check for existence.
Bram Moolenaar2ce06f62005-01-31 19:19:04 +00003786
Bram Moolenaar677ee682005-01-27 14:41:15 +00003787items({dict}) *items()*
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00003788 Return a |List| with all the key-value pairs of {dict}. Each
3789 |List| item is a list with two items: the key of a {dict}
3790 entry and the value of this entry. The |List| is in arbitrary
3791 order.
Bram Moolenaar677ee682005-01-27 14:41:15 +00003792
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00003793
3794join({list} [, {sep}]) *join()*
3795 Join the items in {list} together into one String.
3796 When {sep} is specified it is put in between the items. If
3797 {sep} is omitted a single space is used.
3798 Note that {sep} is not added at the end. You might want to
3799 add it there too: >
3800 let lines = join(mylist, "\n") . "\n"
Bram Moolenaara23ccb82006-02-27 00:08:02 +00003801< String items are used as-is. |Lists| and |Dictionaries| are
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00003802 converted into a string like with |string()|.
3803 The opposite function is |split()|.
3804
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +00003805keys({dict}) *keys()*
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00003806 Return a |List| with all the keys of {dict}. The |List| is in
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +00003807 arbitrary order.
3808
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +00003809 *len()* *E701*
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00003810len({expr}) The result is a Number, which is the length of the argument.
3811 When {expr} is a String or a Number the length in bytes is
3812 used, as with |strlen()|.
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00003813 When {expr} is a |List| the number of items in the |List| is
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00003814 returned.
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00003815 When {expr} is a |Dictionary| the number of entries in the
3816 |Dictionary| is returned.
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00003817 Otherwise an error is given.
3818
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003819 *libcall()* *E364* *E368*
3820libcall({libname}, {funcname}, {argument})
3821 Call function {funcname} in the run-time library {libname}
3822 with single argument {argument}.
3823 This is useful to call functions in a library that you
3824 especially made to be used with Vim. Since only one argument
3825 is possible, calling standard library functions is rather
3826 limited.
3827 The result is the String returned by the function. If the
3828 function returns NULL, this will appear as an empty string ""
3829 to Vim.
3830 If the function returns a number, use libcallnr()!
3831 If {argument} is a number, it is passed to the function as an
3832 int; if {argument} is a string, it is passed as a
3833 null-terminated string.
3834 This function will fail in |restricted-mode|.
3835
3836 libcall() allows you to write your own 'plug-in' extensions to
3837 Vim without having to recompile the program. It is NOT a
3838 means to call system functions! If you try to do so Vim will
3839 very probably crash.
3840
3841 For Win32, the functions you write must be placed in a DLL
3842 and use the normal C calling convention (NOT Pascal which is
3843 used in Windows System DLLs). The function must take exactly
3844 one parameter, either a character pointer or a long integer,
3845 and must return a character pointer or NULL. The character
3846 pointer returned must point to memory that will remain valid
3847 after the function has returned (e.g. in static data in the
3848 DLL). If it points to allocated memory, that memory will
3849 leak away. Using a static buffer in the function should work,
3850 it's then freed when the DLL is unloaded.
3851
3852 WARNING: If the function returns a non-valid pointer, Vim may
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00003853 crash! This also happens if the function returns a number,
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003854 because Vim thinks it's a pointer.
3855 For Win32 systems, {libname} should be the filename of the DLL
3856 without the ".DLL" suffix. A full path is only required if
3857 the DLL is not in the usual places.
3858 For Unix: When compiling your own plugins, remember that the
3859 object code must be compiled as position-independent ('PIC').
Bram Moolenaar8f3f58f2010-01-06 20:52:26 +01003860 {only in Win32 and some Unix versions, when the |+libcall|
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003861 feature is present}
3862 Examples: >
3863 :echo libcall("libc.so", "getenv", "HOME")
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003864<
3865 *libcallnr()*
3866libcallnr({libname}, {funcname}, {argument})
Bram Moolenaar8f3f58f2010-01-06 20:52:26 +01003867 Just like |libcall()|, but used for a function that returns an
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003868 int instead of a string.
3869 {only in Win32 on some Unix versions, when the |+libcall|
3870 feature is present}
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00003871 Examples: >
3872 :echo libcallnr("/usr/lib/libc.so", "getpid", "")
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003873 :call libcallnr("libc.so", "printf", "Hello World!\n")
3874 :call libcallnr("libc.so", "sleep", 10)
3875<
3876 *line()*
3877line({expr}) The result is a Number, which is the line number of the file
3878 position given with {expr}. The accepted positions are:
3879 . the cursor position
3880 $ the last line in the current buffer
3881 'x position of mark x (if the mark is not set, 0 is
3882 returned)
Bram Moolenaarc7453f52006-02-10 23:20:28 +00003883 w0 first line visible in current window
3884 w$ last line visible in current window
Bram Moolenaar9ecd0232008-06-20 15:31:51 +00003885 v In Visual mode: the start of the Visual area (the
3886 cursor is the end). When not in Visual mode
3887 returns the cursor position. Differs from |'<| in
3888 that it's updated right away.
Bram Moolenaaref2f6562007-05-06 13:32:59 +00003889 Note that a mark in another file can be used. The line number
3890 then applies to another buffer.
Bram Moolenaar0b238792006-03-02 22:49:12 +00003891 To get the column number use |col()|. To get both use
3892 |getpos()|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003893 Examples: >
3894 line(".") line number of the cursor
3895 line("'t") line number of mark t
3896 line("'" . marker) line number of mark marker
3897< *last-position-jump*
3898 This autocommand jumps to the last known position in a file
3899 just after opening it, if the '" mark is set: >
Bram Moolenaar8f3f58f2010-01-06 20:52:26 +01003900 :au BufReadPost * if line("'\"") > 1 && line("'\"") <= line("$") | exe "normal! g`\"" | endif
Bram Moolenaar69a7cb42004-06-20 12:51:53 +00003901
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003902line2byte({lnum}) *line2byte()*
3903 Return the byte count from the start of the buffer for line
3904 {lnum}. This includes the end-of-line character, depending on
3905 the 'fileformat' option for the current buffer. The first
3906 line returns 1.
3907 This can also be used to get the byte count for the line just
3908 below the last line: >
3909 line2byte(line("$") + 1)
3910< This is the file size plus one.
3911 When {lnum} is invalid, or the |+byte_offset| feature has been
3912 disabled at compile time, -1 is returned.
3913 Also see |byte2line()|, |go| and |:goto|.
3914
3915lispindent({lnum}) *lispindent()*
3916 Get the amount of indent for line {lnum} according the lisp
3917 indenting rules, as with 'lisp'.
3918 The indent is counted in spaces, the value of 'tabstop' is
3919 relevant. {lnum} is used just like in |getline()|.
3920 When {lnum} is invalid or Vim was not compiled the
3921 |+lispindent| feature, -1 is returned.
3922
3923localtime() *localtime()*
3924 Return the current time, measured as seconds since 1st Jan
3925 1970. See also |strftime()| and |getftime()|.
3926
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00003927
Bram Moolenaardb7c6862010-05-21 16:33:48 +02003928log({expr}) *log()*
Bram Moolenaar9855d6b2010-07-18 14:34:51 +02003929 Return the natural logarithm (base e) of {expr} as a |Float|.
3930 {expr} must evaluate to a |Float| or a |Number| in the range
Bram Moolenaardb7c6862010-05-21 16:33:48 +02003931 (0, inf].
3932 Examples: >
3933 :echo log(10)
3934< 2.302585 >
3935 :echo log(exp(5))
3936< 5.0
Bram Moolenaardb84e452010-08-15 13:50:43 +02003937 {only available when compiled with the |+float| feature}
Bram Moolenaardb7c6862010-05-21 16:33:48 +02003938
3939
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00003940log10({expr}) *log10()*
3941 Return the logarithm of Float {expr} to base 10 as a |Float|.
3942 {expr} must evaluate to a |Float| or a |Number|.
3943 Examples: >
3944 :echo log10(1000)
3945< 3.0 >
3946 :echo log10(0.01)
3947< -2.0
3948 {only available when compiled with the |+float| feature}
3949
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00003950map({expr}, {string}) *map()*
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00003951 {expr} must be a |List| or a |Dictionary|.
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00003952 Replace each item in {expr} with the result of evaluating
3953 {string}.
3954 Inside {string} |v:val| has the value of the current item.
Bram Moolenaar627b1d32009-11-17 11:20:35 +00003955 For a |Dictionary| |v:key| has the key of the current item
3956 and for a |List| |v:key| has the index of the current item.
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00003957 Example: >
3958 :call map(mylist, '"> " . v:val . " <"')
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00003959< This puts "> " before and " <" after each item in "mylist".
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00003960
Bram Moolenaar3a7c85b2005-02-05 21:39:53 +00003961 Note that {string} is the result of an expression and is then
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00003962 used as an expression again. Often it is good to use a
Bram Moolenaar3a7c85b2005-02-05 21:39:53 +00003963 |literal-string| to avoid having to double backslashes. You
3964 still have to double ' quotes
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00003965
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00003966 The operation is done in-place. If you want a |List| or
3967 |Dictionary| to remain unmodified make a copy first: >
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +00003968 :let tlist = map(copy(mylist), ' & . "\t"')
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00003969
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00003970< Returns {expr}, the |List| or |Dictionary| that was filtered.
Bram Moolenaar280f1262006-01-30 00:14:18 +00003971 When an error is encountered while evaluating {string} no
3972 further items in {expr} are processed.
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00003973
3974
Bram Moolenaar97b2ad32006-03-18 21:40:56 +00003975maparg({name}[, {mode} [, {abbr}]]) *maparg()*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003976 Return the rhs of mapping {name} in mode {mode}. When there
3977 is no mapping for {name}, an empty String is returned.
Bram Moolenaard12f5c12006-01-25 22:10:52 +00003978 {mode} can be one of these strings:
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003979 "n" Normal
3980 "v" Visual
3981 "o" Operator-pending
3982 "i" Insert
3983 "c" Cmd-line
3984 "l" langmap |language-mapping|
3985 "" Normal, Visual and Operator-pending
Bram Moolenaard12f5c12006-01-25 22:10:52 +00003986 When {mode} is omitted, the modes for "" are used.
Bram Moolenaar97b2ad32006-03-18 21:40:56 +00003987 When {abbr} is there and it is non-zero use abbreviations
3988 instead of mappings.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003989 The {name} can have special key names, like in the ":map"
3990 command. The returned String has special characters
3991 translated like in the output of the ":map" command listing.
3992 The mappings local to the current buffer are checked first,
3993 then the global mappings.
Bram Moolenaara40ceaf2006-01-13 22:35:40 +00003994 This function can be used to map a key even when it's already
3995 mapped, and have it do the original mapping too. Sketch: >
3996 exe 'nnoremap <Tab> ==' . maparg('<Tab>', 'n')
3997
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003998
Bram Moolenaar97b2ad32006-03-18 21:40:56 +00003999mapcheck({name}[, {mode} [, {abbr}]]) *mapcheck()*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004000 Check if there is a mapping that matches with {name} in mode
4001 {mode}. See |maparg()| for {mode} and special names in
4002 {name}.
Bram Moolenaar97b2ad32006-03-18 21:40:56 +00004003 When {abbr} is there and it is non-zero use abbreviations
4004 instead of mappings.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004005 A match happens with a mapping that starts with {name} and
4006 with a mapping which is equal to the start of {name}.
4007
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00004008 matches mapping "a" "ab" "abc" ~
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004009 mapcheck("a") yes yes yes
4010 mapcheck("abc") yes yes yes
4011 mapcheck("ax") yes no no
4012 mapcheck("b") no no no
4013
4014 The difference with maparg() is that mapcheck() finds a
4015 mapping that matches with {name}, while maparg() only finds a
4016 mapping for {name} exactly.
4017 When there is no mapping that starts with {name}, an empty
4018 String is returned. If there is one, the rhs of that mapping
4019 is returned. If there are several mappings that start with
4020 {name}, the rhs of one of them is returned.
4021 The mappings local to the current buffer are checked first,
4022 then the global mappings.
4023 This function can be used to check if a mapping can be added
4024 without being ambiguous. Example: >
4025 :if mapcheck("_vv") == ""
4026 : map _vv :set guifont=7x13<CR>
4027 :endif
4028< This avoids adding the "_vv" mapping when there already is a
4029 mapping for "_v" or for "_vvv".
4030
Bram Moolenaar89cb5e02004-07-19 20:55:54 +00004031match({expr}, {pat}[, {start}[, {count}]]) *match()*
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00004032 When {expr} is a |List| then this returns the index of the
4033 first item where {pat} matches. Each item is used as a
Bram Moolenaara23ccb82006-02-27 00:08:02 +00004034 String, |Lists| and |Dictionaries| are used as echoed.
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00004035 Otherwise, {expr} is used as a String. The result is a
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00004036 Number, which gives the index (byte offset) in {expr} where
4037 {pat} matches.
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00004038 A match at the first character or |List| item returns zero.
Bram Moolenaar89cb5e02004-07-19 20:55:54 +00004039 If there is no match -1 is returned.
4040 Example: >
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00004041 :echo match("testing", "ing") " results in 4
Bram Moolenaar362e1a32006-03-06 23:29:24 +00004042 :echo match([1, 'x'], '\a') " results in 1
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00004043< See |string-match| for how {pat} is used.
Bram Moolenaar05159a02005-02-26 23:04:13 +00004044 *strpbrk()*
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00004045 Vim doesn't have a strpbrk() function. But you can do: >
Bram Moolenaar05159a02005-02-26 23:04:13 +00004046 :let sepidx = match(line, '[.,;: \t]')
4047< *strcasestr()*
4048 Vim doesn't have a strcasestr() function. But you can add
4049 "\c" to the pattern to ignore case: >
4050 :let idx = match(haystack, '\cneedle')
4051<
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00004052 If {start} is given, the search starts from byte index
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00004053 {start} in a String or item {start} in a |List|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004054 The result, however, is still the index counted from the
Bram Moolenaar402d2fe2005-04-15 21:00:38 +00004055 first character/item. Example: >
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004056 :echo match("testing", "ing", 2)
4057< result is again "4". >
4058 :echo match("testing", "ing", 4)
4059< result is again "4". >
4060 :echo match("testing", "t", 2)
4061< result is "3".
Bram Moolenaar5e3cb7e2006-02-27 23:58:35 +00004062 For a String, if {start} > 0 then it is like the string starts
Bram Moolenaar0b238792006-03-02 22:49:12 +00004063 {start} bytes later, thus "^" will match at {start}. Except
4064 when {count} is given, then it's like matches before the
4065 {start} byte are ignored (this is a bit complicated to keep it
4066 backwards compatible).
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00004067 For a String, if {start} < 0, it will be set to 0. For a list
4068 the index is counted from the end.
Bram Moolenaare224ffa2006-03-01 00:01:28 +00004069 If {start} is out of range ({start} > strlen({expr}) for a
4070 String or {start} > len({expr}) for a |List|) -1 is returned.
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00004071
Bram Moolenaar5e3cb7e2006-02-27 23:58:35 +00004072 When {count} is given use the {count}'th match. When a match
Bram Moolenaare224ffa2006-03-01 00:01:28 +00004073 is found in a String the search for the next one starts one
Bram Moolenaar5e3cb7e2006-02-27 23:58:35 +00004074 character further. Thus this example results in 1: >
4075 echo match("testing", "..", 0, 2)
4076< In a |List| the search continues in the next item.
Bram Moolenaar0b238792006-03-02 22:49:12 +00004077 Note that when {count} is added the way {start} works changes,
4078 see above.
Bram Moolenaar5e3cb7e2006-02-27 23:58:35 +00004079
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004080 See |pattern| for the patterns that are accepted.
4081 The 'ignorecase' option is used to set the ignore-caseness of
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00004082 the pattern. 'smartcase' is NOT used. The matching is always
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004083 done like 'magic' is set and 'cpoptions' is empty.
4084
Bram Moolenaar6ee10162007-07-26 20:58:42 +00004085 *matchadd()* *E798* *E799* *E801*
4086matchadd({group}, {pattern}[, {priority}[, {id}]])
4087 Defines a pattern to be highlighted in the current window (a
4088 "match"). It will be highlighted with {group}. Returns an
4089 identification number (ID), which can be used to delete the
4090 match using |matchdelete()|.
4091
4092 The optional {priority} argument assigns a priority to the
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00004093 match. A match with a high priority will have its
Bram Moolenaar6ee10162007-07-26 20:58:42 +00004094 highlighting overrule that of a match with a lower priority.
4095 A priority is specified as an integer (negative numbers are no
4096 exception). If the {priority} argument is not specified, the
4097 default priority is 10. The priority of 'hlsearch' is zero,
4098 hence all matches with a priority greater than zero will
4099 overrule it. Syntax highlighting (see 'syntax') is a separate
4100 mechanism, and regardless of the chosen priority a match will
4101 always overrule syntax highlighting.
4102
4103 The optional {id} argument allows the request for a specific
4104 match ID. If a specified ID is already taken, an error
4105 message will appear and the match will not be added. An ID
4106 is specified as a positive integer (zero excluded). IDs 1, 2
4107 and 3 are reserved for |:match|, |:2match| and |:3match|,
4108 respectively. If the {id} argument is not specified,
4109 |matchadd()| automatically chooses a free ID.
4110
4111 The number of matches is not limited, as it is the case with
4112 the |:match| commands.
4113
4114 Example: >
4115 :highlight MyGroup ctermbg=green guibg=green
4116 :let m = matchadd("MyGroup", "TODO")
4117< Deletion of the pattern: >
4118 :call matchdelete(m)
4119
4120< A list of matches defined by |matchadd()| and |:match| are
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00004121 available from |getmatches()|. All matches can be deleted in
Bram Moolenaar6ee10162007-07-26 20:58:42 +00004122 one operation by |clearmatches()|.
Bram Moolenaar910f66f2006-04-05 20:41:53 +00004123
4124matcharg({nr}) *matcharg()*
Bram Moolenaarc9b4b052006-04-30 18:54:39 +00004125 Selects the {nr} match item, as set with a |:match|,
Bram Moolenaar910f66f2006-04-05 20:41:53 +00004126 |:2match| or |:3match| command.
4127 Return a |List| with two elements:
4128 The name of the highlight group used
4129 The pattern used.
4130 When {nr} is not 1, 2 or 3 returns an empty |List|.
4131 When there is no match item set returns ['', ''].
Bram Moolenaar6ee10162007-07-26 20:58:42 +00004132 This is useful to save and restore a |:match|.
4133 Highlighting matches using the |:match| commands are limited
4134 to three matches. |matchadd()| does not have this limitation.
Bram Moolenaar910f66f2006-04-05 20:41:53 +00004135
Bram Moolenaar6ee10162007-07-26 20:58:42 +00004136matchdelete({id}) *matchdelete()* *E802* *E803*
4137 Deletes a match with ID {id} previously defined by |matchadd()|
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00004138 or one of the |:match| commands. Returns 0 if successful,
Bram Moolenaar6ee10162007-07-26 20:58:42 +00004139 otherwise -1. See example for |matchadd()|. All matches can
4140 be deleted in one operation by |clearmatches()|.
Bram Moolenaar910f66f2006-04-05 20:41:53 +00004141
Bram Moolenaar89cb5e02004-07-19 20:55:54 +00004142matchend({expr}, {pat}[, {start}[, {count}]]) *matchend()*
Bram Moolenaar8f3f58f2010-01-06 20:52:26 +01004143 Same as |match()|, but return the index of first character
4144 after the match. Example: >
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004145 :echo matchend("testing", "ing")
4146< results in "7".
Bram Moolenaar05159a02005-02-26 23:04:13 +00004147 *strspn()* *strcspn()*
4148 Vim doesn't have a strspn() or strcspn() function, but you can
4149 do it with matchend(): >
4150 :let span = matchend(line, '[a-zA-Z]')
4151 :let span = matchend(line, '[^a-zA-Z]')
4152< Except that -1 is returned when there are no matches.
4153
Bram Moolenaar8f3f58f2010-01-06 20:52:26 +01004154 The {start}, if given, has the same meaning as for |match()|. >
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004155 :echo matchend("testing", "ing", 2)
4156< results in "7". >
4157 :echo matchend("testing", "ing", 5)
4158< result is "-1".
Bram Moolenaar8f3f58f2010-01-06 20:52:26 +01004159 When {expr} is a |List| the result is equal to |match()|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004160
Bram Moolenaar3a7c85b2005-02-05 21:39:53 +00004161matchlist({expr}, {pat}[, {start}[, {count}]]) *matchlist()*
Bram Moolenaar8f3f58f2010-01-06 20:52:26 +01004162 Same as |match()|, but return a |List|. The first item in the
Bram Moolenaar3a7c85b2005-02-05 21:39:53 +00004163 list is the matched string, same as what matchstr() would
4164 return. Following items are submatches, like "\1", "\2", etc.
Bram Moolenaarf9393ef2006-04-24 19:47:27 +00004165 in |:substitute|. When an optional submatch didn't match an
4166 empty string is used. Example: >
4167 echo matchlist('acd', '\(a\)\?\(b\)\?\(c\)\?\(.*\)')
4168< Results in: ['acd', 'a', '', 'c', 'd', '', '', '', '', '']
Bram Moolenaar3a7c85b2005-02-05 21:39:53 +00004169 When there is no match an empty list is returned.
4170
Bram Moolenaar89cb5e02004-07-19 20:55:54 +00004171matchstr({expr}, {pat}[, {start}[, {count}]]) *matchstr()*
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00004172 Same as |match()|, but return the matched string. Example: >
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004173 :echo matchstr("testing", "ing")
4174< results in "ing".
4175 When there is no match "" is returned.
Bram Moolenaar8f3f58f2010-01-06 20:52:26 +01004176 The {start}, if given, has the same meaning as for |match()|. >
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004177 :echo matchstr("testing", "ing", 2)
4178< results in "ing". >
4179 :echo matchstr("testing", "ing", 5)
4180< result is "".
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00004181 When {expr} is a |List| then the matching item is returned.
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00004182 The type isn't changed, it's not necessarily a String.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004183
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +00004184 *max()*
4185max({list}) Return the maximum value of all items in {list}.
4186 If {list} is not a list or one of the items in {list} cannot
4187 be used as a Number this results in an error.
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00004188 An empty |List| results in zero.
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +00004189
4190 *min()*
Bram Moolenaar79166c42007-05-10 18:29:51 +00004191min({list}) Return the minimum value of all items in {list}.
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +00004192 If {list} is not a list or one of the items in {list} cannot
4193 be used as a Number this results in an error.
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00004194 An empty |List| results in zero.
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +00004195
Bram Moolenaar551dbcc2006-04-25 22:13:59 +00004196 *mkdir()* *E739*
Bram Moolenaar26a60b42005-02-22 08:49:11 +00004197mkdir({name} [, {path} [, {prot}]])
4198 Create directory {name}.
4199 If {path} is "p" then intermediate directories are created as
4200 necessary. Otherwise it must be "".
4201 If {prot} is given it is used to set the protection bits of
4202 the new directory. The default is 0755 (rwxr-xr-x: r/w for
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00004203 the user readable for others). Use 0700 to make it unreadable
Bram Moolenaared39e1d2008-08-09 17:55:22 +00004204 for others. This is only used for the last part of {name}.
4205 Thus if you create /tmp/foo/bar then /tmp/foo will be created
4206 with 0755.
4207 Example: >
4208 :call mkdir($HOME . "/tmp/foo/bar", "p", 0700)
4209< This function is not available in the |sandbox|.
Bram Moolenaar26a60b42005-02-22 08:49:11 +00004210 Not available on all systems. To check use: >
4211 :if exists("*mkdir")
4212<
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004213 *mode()*
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00004214mode([expr]) Return a string that indicates the current mode.
Bram Moolenaar05bb9532008-07-04 09:44:11 +00004215 If [expr] is supplied and it evaluates to a non-zero Number or
4216 a non-empty String (|non-zero-arg|), then the full mode is
4217 returned, otherwise only the first letter is returned. Note
4218 that " " and "0" are also non-empty strings.
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00004219
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004220 n Normal
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00004221 no Operator-pending
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004222 v Visual by character
4223 V Visual by line
4224 CTRL-V Visual blockwise
4225 s Select by character
4226 S Select by line
4227 CTRL-S Select blockwise
4228 i Insert
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00004229 R Replace |R|
4230 Rv Virtual Replace |gR|
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004231 c Command-line
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00004232 cv Vim Ex mode |gQ|
4233 ce Normal Ex mode |Q|
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004234 r Hit-enter prompt
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00004235 rm The -- more -- prompt
4236 r? A |:confirm| query of some sort
4237 ! Shell or external command is executing
4238 This is useful in the 'statusline' option or when used
4239 with |remote_expr()| In most other places it always returns
4240 "c" or "n".
4241 Also see |visualmode()|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004242
Bram Moolenaar7e506b62010-01-19 15:55:06 +01004243mzeval({expr}) *mzeval()*
4244 Evaluate MzScheme expression {expr} and return its result
4245 convert to Vim data structures.
4246 Numbers and strings are returned as they are.
4247 Pairs (including lists and improper lists) and vectors are
4248 returned as Vim |Lists|.
4249 Hash tables are represented as Vim |Dictionary| type with keys
4250 converted to strings.
4251 All other types are converted to string with display function.
4252 Examples: >
4253 :mz (define l (list 1 2 3))
4254 :mz (define h (make-hash)) (hash-set! h "list" l)
4255 :echo mzeval("l")
4256 :echo mzeval("h")
4257<
4258 {only available when compiled with the |+mzscheme| feature}
4259
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004260nextnonblank({lnum}) *nextnonblank()*
4261 Return the line number of the first line at or below {lnum}
4262 that is not blank. Example: >
4263 if getline(nextnonblank(1)) =~ "Java"
4264< When {lnum} is invalid or there is no non-blank line at or
4265 below it, zero is returned.
4266 See also |prevnonblank()|.
4267
4268nr2char({expr}) *nr2char()*
4269 Return a string with a single character, which has the number
4270 value {expr}. Examples: >
4271 nr2char(64) returns "@"
4272 nr2char(32) returns " "
4273< The current 'encoding' is used. Example for "utf-8": >
4274 nr2char(300) returns I with bow character
4275< Note that a NUL character in the file is specified with
4276 nr2char(10), because NULs are represented with newline
4277 characters. nr2char(0) is a real NUL and terminates the
Bram Moolenaar383f9bc2005-01-19 22:18:32 +00004278 string, thus results in an empty string.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004279
Bram Moolenaar18081e32008-02-20 19:11:07 +00004280 *getpid()*
4281getpid() Return a Number which is the process ID of the Vim process.
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00004282 On Unix and MS-Windows this is a unique number, until Vim
4283 exits. On MS-DOS it's always zero.
Bram Moolenaar18081e32008-02-20 19:11:07 +00004284
Bram Moolenaar0b238792006-03-02 22:49:12 +00004285 *getpos()*
Bram Moolenaar65c923a2006-03-03 22:56:30 +00004286getpos({expr}) Get the position for {expr}. For possible values of {expr}
4287 see |line()|.
4288 The result is a |List| with four numbers:
4289 [bufnum, lnum, col, off]
4290 "bufnum" is zero, unless a mark like '0 or 'A is used, then it
4291 is the buffer number of the mark.
4292 "lnum" and "col" are the position in the buffer. The first
4293 column is 1.
Bram Moolenaar0b238792006-03-02 22:49:12 +00004294 The "off" number is zero, unless 'virtualedit' is used. Then
4295 it is the offset in screen columns from the start of the
Bram Moolenaard46bbc72007-05-12 14:38:41 +00004296 character. E.g., a position within a <Tab> or after the last
Bram Moolenaar0b238792006-03-02 22:49:12 +00004297 character.
4298 This can be used to save and restore the cursor position: >
4299 let save_cursor = getpos(".")
4300 MoveTheCursorAround
Bram Moolenaardb552d602006-03-23 22:59:57 +00004301 call setpos('.', save_cursor)
Bram Moolenaar65c923a2006-03-03 22:56:30 +00004302< Also see |setpos()|.
Bram Moolenaar0b238792006-03-02 22:49:12 +00004303
Bram Moolenaar910f66f2006-04-05 20:41:53 +00004304pathshorten({expr}) *pathshorten()*
4305 Shorten directory names in the path {expr} and return the
4306 result. The tail, the file name, is kept as-is. The other
4307 components in the path are reduced to single letters. Leading
4308 '~' and '.' characters are kept. Example: >
4309 :echo pathshorten('~/.vim/autoload/myfile.vim')
4310< ~/.v/a/myfile.vim ~
4311 It doesn't matter if the path exists or not.
4312
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00004313pow({x}, {y}) *pow()*
4314 Return the power of {x} to the exponent {y} as a |Float|.
4315 {x} and {y} must evaluate to a |Float| or a |Number|.
4316 Examples: >
4317 :echo pow(3, 3)
4318< 27.0 >
4319 :echo pow(2, 16)
4320< 65536.0 >
4321 :echo pow(32, 0.20)
4322< 2.0
4323 {only available when compiled with the |+float| feature}
4324
Bram Moolenaar1d2ba7f2006-02-14 22:29:30 +00004325prevnonblank({lnum}) *prevnonblank()*
4326 Return the line number of the first line at or above {lnum}
4327 that is not blank. Example: >
4328 let ind = indent(prevnonblank(v:lnum - 1))
4329< When {lnum} is invalid or there is no non-blank line at or
4330 above it, zero is returned.
4331 Also see |nextnonblank()|.
4332
4333
Bram Moolenaar4be06f92005-07-29 22:36:03 +00004334printf({fmt}, {expr1} ...) *printf()*
4335 Return a String with {fmt}, where "%" items are replaced by
4336 the formatted form of their respective arguments. Example: >
Bram Moolenaar5a8684e2005-07-30 22:43:24 +00004337 printf("%4d: E%d %.30s", lnum, errno, msg)
Bram Moolenaar4be06f92005-07-29 22:36:03 +00004338< May result in:
Bram Moolenaar5a8684e2005-07-30 22:43:24 +00004339 " 99: E42 asdfasdfasdfasdfasdfasdfasdfas" ~
Bram Moolenaar4be06f92005-07-29 22:36:03 +00004340
4341 Often used items are:
Bram Moolenaarc9b4b052006-04-30 18:54:39 +00004342 %s string
Bram Moolenaar98692072006-02-04 00:57:42 +00004343 %6s string right-aligned in 6 bytes
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00004344 %.9s string truncated to 9 bytes
4345 %c single byte
4346 %d decimal number
4347 %5d decimal number padded with spaces to 5 characters
4348 %x hex number
4349 %04x hex number padded with zeros to at least 4 characters
4350 %X hex number using upper case letters
4351 %o octal number
4352 %f floating point number in the form 123.456
4353 %e floating point number in the form 1.234e3
4354 %E floating point number in the form 1.234E3
4355 %g floating point number, as %f or %e depending on value
4356 %G floating point number, as %f or %E depending on value
4357 %% the % character itself
Bram Moolenaar4be06f92005-07-29 22:36:03 +00004358
4359 Conversion specifications start with '%' and end with the
4360 conversion type. All other characters are copied unchanged to
4361 the result.
4362
4363 The "%" starts a conversion specification. The following
Bram Moolenaar5a8684e2005-07-30 22:43:24 +00004364 arguments appear in sequence:
Bram Moolenaar4be06f92005-07-29 22:36:03 +00004365
Bram Moolenaar5a8684e2005-07-30 22:43:24 +00004366 % [flags] [field-width] [.precision] type
Bram Moolenaar4be06f92005-07-29 22:36:03 +00004367
Bram Moolenaarc9b4b052006-04-30 18:54:39 +00004368 flags
Bram Moolenaar5a8684e2005-07-30 22:43:24 +00004369 Zero or more of the following flags:
4370
Bram Moolenaar4be06f92005-07-29 22:36:03 +00004371 # The value should be converted to an "alternate
4372 form". For c, d, and s conversions, this option
4373 has no effect. For o conversions, the precision
4374 of the number is increased to force the first
4375 character of the output string to a zero (except
4376 if a zero value is printed with an explicit
4377 precision of zero).
4378 For x and X conversions, a non-zero result has
4379 the string "0x" (or "0X" for X conversions)
4380 prepended to it.
Bram Moolenaar5a8684e2005-07-30 22:43:24 +00004381
Bram Moolenaar4be06f92005-07-29 22:36:03 +00004382 0 (zero) Zero padding. For all conversions the converted
4383 value is padded on the left with zeros rather
4384 than blanks. If a precision is given with a
4385 numeric conversion (d, o, x, and X), the 0 flag
4386 is ignored.
Bram Moolenaar5a8684e2005-07-30 22:43:24 +00004387
Bram Moolenaar4be06f92005-07-29 22:36:03 +00004388 - A negative field width flag; the converted value
4389 is to be left adjusted on the field boundary.
4390 The converted value is padded on the right with
4391 blanks, rather than on the left with blanks or
4392 zeros. A - overrides a 0 if both are given.
Bram Moolenaar5a8684e2005-07-30 22:43:24 +00004393
Bram Moolenaar4be06f92005-07-29 22:36:03 +00004394 ' ' (space) A blank should be left before a positive
4395 number produced by a signed conversion (d).
Bram Moolenaar5a8684e2005-07-30 22:43:24 +00004396
Bram Moolenaar4be06f92005-07-29 22:36:03 +00004397 + A sign must always be placed before a number
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00004398 produced by a signed conversion. A + overrides
Bram Moolenaar4be06f92005-07-29 22:36:03 +00004399 a space if both are used.
Bram Moolenaar5a8684e2005-07-30 22:43:24 +00004400
4401 field-width
4402 An optional decimal digit string specifying a minimum
Bram Moolenaar98692072006-02-04 00:57:42 +00004403 field width. If the converted value has fewer bytes
4404 than the field width, it will be padded with spaces on
4405 the left (or right, if the left-adjustment flag has
4406 been given) to fill out the field width.
Bram Moolenaar5a8684e2005-07-30 22:43:24 +00004407
4408 .precision
4409 An optional precision, in the form of a period '.'
4410 followed by an optional digit string. If the digit
4411 string is omitted, the precision is taken as zero.
4412 This gives the minimum number of digits to appear for
4413 d, o, x, and X conversions, or the maximum number of
Bram Moolenaar98692072006-02-04 00:57:42 +00004414 bytes to be printed from a string for s conversions.
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00004415 For floating point it is the number of digits after
4416 the decimal point.
Bram Moolenaar5a8684e2005-07-30 22:43:24 +00004417
4418 type
4419 A character that specifies the type of conversion to
4420 be applied, see below.
4421
Bram Moolenaar4be06f92005-07-29 22:36:03 +00004422 A field width or precision, or both, may be indicated by an
4423 asterisk '*' instead of a digit string. In this case, a
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00004424 Number argument supplies the field width or precision. A
Bram Moolenaar4be06f92005-07-29 22:36:03 +00004425 negative field width is treated as a left adjustment flag
4426 followed by a positive field width; a negative precision is
4427 treated as though it were missing. Example: >
Bram Moolenaar5a8684e2005-07-30 22:43:24 +00004428 :echo printf("%d: %.*s", nr, width, line)
Bram Moolenaar4be06f92005-07-29 22:36:03 +00004429< This limits the length of the text used from "line" to
Bram Moolenaar5a8684e2005-07-30 22:43:24 +00004430 "width" bytes.
Bram Moolenaar4be06f92005-07-29 22:36:03 +00004431
Bram Moolenaarc9b4b052006-04-30 18:54:39 +00004432 The conversion specifiers and their meanings are:
Bram Moolenaar5a8684e2005-07-30 22:43:24 +00004433
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00004434 *printf-d* *printf-o* *printf-x* *printf-X*
4435 doxX The Number argument is converted to signed decimal
Bram Moolenaar4be06f92005-07-29 22:36:03 +00004436 (d), unsigned octal (o), or unsigned hexadecimal (x
4437 and X) notation. The letters "abcdef" are used for
4438 x conversions; the letters "ABCDEF" are used for X
Bram Moolenaar5a8684e2005-07-30 22:43:24 +00004439 conversions.
4440 The precision, if any, gives the minimum number of
4441 digits that must appear; if the converted value
4442 requires fewer digits, it is padded on the left with
4443 zeros.
4444 In no case does a non-existent or small field width
4445 cause truncation of a numeric field; if the result of
4446 a conversion is wider than the field width, the field
4447 is expanded to contain the conversion result.
4448
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00004449 *printf-c*
Bram Moolenaar5a8684e2005-07-30 22:43:24 +00004450 c The Number argument is converted to a byte, and the
4451 resulting character is written.
4452
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00004453 *printf-s*
Bram Moolenaar5a8684e2005-07-30 22:43:24 +00004454 s The text of the String argument is used. If a
4455 precision is specified, no more bytes than the number
4456 specified are used.
4457
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00004458 *printf-f* *E807*
4459 f The Float argument is converted into a string of the
4460 form 123.456. The precision specifies the number of
4461 digits after the decimal point. When the precision is
4462 zero the decimal point is omitted. When the precision
4463 is not specified 6 is used. A really big number
4464 (out of range or dividing by zero) results in "inf".
4465 "0.0 / 0.0" results in "nan".
4466 Example: >
4467 echo printf("%.2f", 12.115)
4468< 12.12
4469 Note that roundoff depends on the system libraries.
4470 Use |round()| when in doubt.
4471
4472 *printf-e* *printf-E*
4473 e E The Float argument is converted into a string of the
4474 form 1.234e+03 or 1.234E+03 when using 'E'. The
4475 precision specifies the number of digits after the
4476 decimal point, like with 'f'.
4477
4478 *printf-g* *printf-G*
4479 g G The Float argument is converted like with 'f' if the
4480 value is between 0.001 (inclusive) and 10000000.0
4481 (exclusive). Otherwise 'e' is used for 'g' and 'E'
4482 for 'G'. When no precision is specified superfluous
4483 zeroes and '+' signs are removed, except for the zero
4484 immediately after the decimal point. Thus 10000000.0
4485 results in 1.0e7.
4486
4487 *printf-%*
Bram Moolenaar4be06f92005-07-29 22:36:03 +00004488 % A '%' is written. No argument is converted. The
4489 complete conversion specification is "%%".
Bram Moolenaar4be06f92005-07-29 22:36:03 +00004490
Bram Moolenaarc236c162008-07-13 17:41:49 +00004491 When a Number argument is expected a String argument is also
4492 accepted and automatically converted.
4493 When a Float or String argument is expected a Number argument
4494 is also accepted and automatically converted.
4495 Any other argument type results in an error message.
Bram Moolenaar4be06f92005-07-29 22:36:03 +00004496
Bram Moolenaar83bab712005-08-01 21:58:57 +00004497 *E766* *E767*
Bram Moolenaar4be06f92005-07-29 22:36:03 +00004498 The number of {exprN} arguments must exactly match the number
4499 of "%" items. If there are not sufficient or too many
Bram Moolenaar5a8684e2005-07-30 22:43:24 +00004500 arguments an error is given. Up to 18 arguments can be used.
Bram Moolenaar4be06f92005-07-29 22:36:03 +00004501
4502
Bram Moolenaar1d2ba7f2006-02-14 22:29:30 +00004503pumvisible() *pumvisible()*
4504 Returns non-zero when the popup menu is visible, zero
4505 otherwise. See |ins-completion-menu|.
Bram Moolenaar87b5ca52006-03-04 21:55:31 +00004506 This can be used to avoid some things that would remove the
4507 popup menu.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004508
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00004509 *E726* *E727*
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +00004510range({expr} [, {max} [, {stride}]]) *range()*
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00004511 Returns a |List| with Numbers:
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +00004512 - If only {expr} is specified: [0, 1, ..., {expr} - 1]
4513 - If {max} is specified: [{expr}, {expr} + 1, ..., {max}]
4514 - If {stride} is specified: [{expr}, {expr} + {stride}, ...,
4515 {max}] (increasing {expr} with {stride} each time, not
4516 producing a value past {max}).
Bram Moolenaare7566042005-06-17 22:00:15 +00004517 When the maximum is one before the start the result is an
4518 empty list. When the maximum is more than one before the
4519 start this is an error.
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +00004520 Examples: >
Bram Moolenaarc9b4b052006-04-30 18:54:39 +00004521 range(4) " [0, 1, 2, 3]
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +00004522 range(2, 4) " [2, 3, 4]
4523 range(2, 9, 3) " [2, 5, 8]
Bram Moolenaarc9b4b052006-04-30 18:54:39 +00004524 range(2, -2, -1) " [2, 1, 0, -1, -2]
Bram Moolenaare7566042005-06-17 22:00:15 +00004525 range(0) " []
4526 range(2, 0) " error!
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +00004527<
Bram Moolenaar3a7c85b2005-02-05 21:39:53 +00004528 *readfile()*
Bram Moolenaar26a60b42005-02-22 08:49:11 +00004529readfile({fname} [, {binary} [, {max}]])
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00004530 Read file {fname} and return a |List|, each line of the file
4531 as an item. Lines broken at NL characters. Macintosh files
Bram Moolenaar3a7c85b2005-02-05 21:39:53 +00004532 separated with CR will result in a single long line (unless a
4533 NL appears somewhere).
Bram Moolenaar06583f12010-08-07 20:30:49 +02004534 All NUL characters are replaced with a NL character.
Bram Moolenaar3a7c85b2005-02-05 21:39:53 +00004535 When {binary} is equal to "b" binary mode is used:
4536 - When the last line ends in a NL an extra empty list item is
4537 added.
4538 - No CR characters are removed.
4539 Otherwise:
4540 - CR characters that appear before a NL are removed.
4541 - Whether the last line ends in a NL or not does not matter.
Bram Moolenaar06583f12010-08-07 20:30:49 +02004542 - When 'encoding' is Unicode any UTF-8 byte order mark is
4543 removed from the text.
Bram Moolenaar26a60b42005-02-22 08:49:11 +00004544 When {max} is given this specifies the maximum number of lines
4545 to be read. Useful if you only want to check the first ten
4546 lines of a file: >
4547 :for line in readfile(fname, '', 10)
4548 : if line =~ 'Date' | echo line | endif
4549 :endfor
Bram Moolenaar582fd852005-03-28 20:58:01 +00004550< When {max} is negative -{max} lines from the end of the file
4551 are returned, or as many as there are.
4552 When {max} is zero the result is an empty list.
Bram Moolenaar26a60b42005-02-22 08:49:11 +00004553 Note that without {max} the whole file is read into memory.
4554 Also note that there is no recognition of encoding. Read a
4555 file into a buffer if you need to.
Bram Moolenaar3a7c85b2005-02-05 21:39:53 +00004556 When the file can't be opened an error message is given and
4557 the result is an empty list.
4558 Also see |writefile()|.
4559
Bram Moolenaar433f7c82006-03-21 21:29:36 +00004560reltime([{start} [, {end}]]) *reltime()*
4561 Return an item that represents a time value. The format of
4562 the item depends on the system. It can be passed to
4563 |reltimestr()| to convert it to a string.
4564 Without an argument it returns the current time.
4565 With one argument is returns the time passed since the time
4566 specified in the argument.
Bram Moolenaar551dbcc2006-04-25 22:13:59 +00004567 With two arguments it returns the time passed between {start}
Bram Moolenaar433f7c82006-03-21 21:29:36 +00004568 and {end}.
4569 The {start} and {end} arguments must be values returned by
4570 reltime().
Bram Moolenaardb84e452010-08-15 13:50:43 +02004571 {only available when compiled with the |+reltime| feature}
Bram Moolenaar433f7c82006-03-21 21:29:36 +00004572
4573reltimestr({time}) *reltimestr()*
4574 Return a String that represents the time value of {time}.
4575 This is the number of seconds, a dot and the number of
4576 microseconds. Example: >
4577 let start = reltime()
4578 call MyFunction()
4579 echo reltimestr(reltime(start))
4580< Note that overhead for the commands will be added to the time.
4581 The accuracy depends on the system.
Bram Moolenaaref2f6562007-05-06 13:32:59 +00004582 Leading spaces are used to make the string align nicely. You
4583 can use split() to remove it. >
4584 echo split(reltimestr(reltime(start)))[0]
4585< Also see |profiling|.
Bram Moolenaardb84e452010-08-15 13:50:43 +02004586 {only available when compiled with the |+reltime| feature}
Bram Moolenaar433f7c82006-03-21 21:29:36 +00004587
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004588 *remote_expr()* *E449*
4589remote_expr({server}, {string} [, {idvar}])
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00004590 Send the {string} to {server}. The string is sent as an
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004591 expression and the result is returned after evaluation.
Bram Moolenaar362e1a32006-03-06 23:29:24 +00004592 The result must be a String or a |List|. A |List| is turned
4593 into a String by joining the items with a line break in
4594 between (not at the end), like with join(expr, "\n").
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004595 If {idvar} is present, it is taken as the name of a
4596 variable and a {serverid} for later use with
4597 remote_read() is stored there.
4598 See also |clientserver| |RemoteReply|.
4599 This function is not available in the |sandbox|.
4600 {only available when compiled with the |+clientserver| feature}
4601 Note: Any errors will cause a local error message to be issued
4602 and the result will be the empty string.
4603 Examples: >
4604 :echo remote_expr("gvim", "2+2")
4605 :echo remote_expr("gvim1", "b:current_syntax")
4606<
4607
4608remote_foreground({server}) *remote_foreground()*
4609 Move the Vim server with the name {server} to the foreground.
4610 This works like: >
4611 remote_expr({server}, "foreground()")
4612< Except that on Win32 systems the client does the work, to work
4613 around the problem that the OS doesn't always allow the server
4614 to bring itself to the foreground.
Bram Moolenaar9372a112005-12-06 19:59:18 +00004615 Note: This does not restore the window if it was minimized,
4616 like foreground() does.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004617 This function is not available in the |sandbox|.
4618 {only in the Win32, Athena, Motif and GTK GUI versions and the
4619 Win32 console version}
4620
4621
4622remote_peek({serverid} [, {retvar}]) *remote_peek()*
4623 Returns a positive number if there are available strings
4624 from {serverid}. Copies any reply string into the variable
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00004625 {retvar} if specified. {retvar} must be a string with the
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004626 name of a variable.
4627 Returns zero if none are available.
4628 Returns -1 if something is wrong.
4629 See also |clientserver|.
4630 This function is not available in the |sandbox|.
4631 {only available when compiled with the |+clientserver| feature}
4632 Examples: >
4633 :let repl = ""
4634 :echo "PEEK: ".remote_peek(id, "repl").": ".repl
4635
4636remote_read({serverid}) *remote_read()*
4637 Return the oldest available reply from {serverid} and consume
4638 it. It blocks until a reply is available.
4639 See also |clientserver|.
4640 This function is not available in the |sandbox|.
4641 {only available when compiled with the |+clientserver| feature}
4642 Example: >
4643 :echo remote_read(id)
4644<
4645 *remote_send()* *E241*
4646remote_send({server}, {string} [, {idvar}])
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00004647 Send the {string} to {server}. The string is sent as input
Bram Moolenaard4755bb2004-09-02 19:12:26 +00004648 keys and the function returns immediately. At the Vim server
4649 the keys are not mapped |:map|.
Bram Moolenaar1d2ba7f2006-02-14 22:29:30 +00004650 If {idvar} is present, it is taken as the name of a variable
4651 and a {serverid} for later use with remote_read() is stored
4652 there.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004653 See also |clientserver| |RemoteReply|.
4654 This function is not available in the |sandbox|.
4655 {only available when compiled with the |+clientserver| feature}
4656 Note: Any errors will be reported in the server and may mess
4657 up the display.
4658 Examples: >
4659 :echo remote_send("gvim", ":DropAndReply ".file, "serverid").
4660 \ remote_read(serverid)
4661
4662 :autocmd NONE RemoteReply *
4663 \ echo remote_read(expand("<amatch>"))
4664 :echo remote_send("gvim", ":sleep 10 | echo ".
4665 \ 'server2client(expand("<client>"), "HELLO")<CR>')
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00004666<
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +00004667remove({list}, {idx} [, {end}]) *remove()*
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00004668 Without {end}: Remove the item at {idx} from |List| {list} and
Bram Moolenaar8f3f58f2010-01-06 20:52:26 +01004669 return the item.
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +00004670 With {end}: Remove items from {idx} to {end} (inclusive) and
Bram Moolenaar8f3f58f2010-01-06 20:52:26 +01004671 return a List with these items. When {idx} points to the same
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +00004672 item as {end} a list with one item is returned. When {end}
4673 points to an item before {idx} this is an error.
4674 See |list-index| for possible values of {idx} and {end}.
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00004675 Example: >
4676 :echo "last item: " . remove(mylist, -1)
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +00004677 :call remove(mylist, 0, 9)
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +00004678remove({dict}, {key})
4679 Remove the entry from {dict} with key {key}. Example: >
4680 :echo "removed " . remove(dict, "one")
4681< If there is no {key} in {dict} this is an error.
4682
4683 Use |delete()| to remove a file.
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00004684
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004685rename({from}, {to}) *rename()*
4686 Rename the file by the name {from} to the name {to}. This
4687 should also work to move files across file systems. The
4688 result is a Number, which is 0 if the file was renamed
4689 successfully, and non-zero when the renaming failed.
Bram Moolenaar798b30b2009-04-22 10:56:16 +00004690 NOTE: If {to} exists it is overwritten without warning.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004691 This function is not available in the |sandbox|.
4692
Bram Moolenaarab79bcb2004-07-18 21:34:53 +00004693repeat({expr}, {count}) *repeat()*
4694 Repeat {expr} {count} times and return the concatenated
4695 result. Example: >
Bram Moolenaar551dbcc2006-04-25 22:13:59 +00004696 :let separator = repeat('-', 80)
Bram Moolenaarab79bcb2004-07-18 21:34:53 +00004697< When {count} is zero or negative the result is empty.
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00004698 When {expr} is a |List| the result is {expr} concatenated
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00004699 {count} times. Example: >
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +00004700 :let longlist = repeat(['a', 'b'], 3)
4701< Results in ['a', 'b', 'a', 'b', 'a', 'b'].
Bram Moolenaarab79bcb2004-07-18 21:34:53 +00004702
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00004703
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004704resolve({filename}) *resolve()* *E655*
4705 On MS-Windows, when {filename} is a shortcut (a .lnk file),
4706 returns the path the shortcut points to in a simplified form.
4707 On Unix, repeat resolving symbolic links in all path
4708 components of {filename} and return the simplified result.
4709 To cope with link cycles, resolving of symbolic links is
4710 stopped after 100 iterations.
4711 On other systems, return the simplified {filename}.
4712 The simplification step is done as by |simplify()|.
4713 resolve() keeps a leading path component specifying the
4714 current directory (provided the result is still a relative
4715 path name) and also keeps a trailing path separator.
4716
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00004717 *reverse()*
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00004718reverse({list}) Reverse the order of items in {list} in-place. Returns
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00004719 {list}.
4720 If you want a list to remain unmodified make a copy first: >
4721 :let revlist = reverse(copy(mylist))
4722
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00004723round({expr}) *round()*
Bram Moolenaarc236c162008-07-13 17:41:49 +00004724 Round off {expr} to the nearest integral value and return it
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00004725 as a |Float|. If {expr} lies halfway between two integral
4726 values, then use the larger one (away from zero).
4727 {expr} must evaluate to a |Float| or a |Number|.
4728 Examples: >
4729 echo round(0.456)
4730< 0.0 >
4731 echo round(4.5)
4732< 5.0 >
4733 echo round(-4.5)
4734< -5.0
4735 {only available when compiled with the |+float| feature}
4736
4737
Bram Moolenaar76929292008-01-06 19:07:36 +00004738search({pattern} [, {flags} [, {stopline} [, {timeout}]]]) *search()*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004739 Search for regexp pattern {pattern}. The search starts at the
Bram Moolenaar383f9bc2005-01-19 22:18:32 +00004740 cursor position (you can use |cursor()| to set it).
Bram Moolenaar65c923a2006-03-03 22:56:30 +00004741
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004742 {flags} is a String, which can contain these character flags:
4743 'b' search backward instead of forward
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00004744 'c' accept a match at the cursor position
Bram Moolenaar87b5ca52006-03-04 21:55:31 +00004745 'e' move to the End of the match
Bram Moolenaar5eb86f92004-07-26 12:53:41 +00004746 'n' do Not move the cursor
Bram Moolenaar87b5ca52006-03-04 21:55:31 +00004747 'p' return number of matching sub-pattern (see below)
4748 's' set the ' mark at the previous location of the cursor
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004749 'w' wrap around the end of the file
4750 'W' don't wrap around the end of the file
4751 If neither 'w' or 'W' is given, the 'wrapscan' option applies.
4752
Bram Moolenaar02743632005-07-25 20:42:36 +00004753 If the 's' flag is supplied, the ' mark is set, only if the
4754 cursor is moved. The 's' flag cannot be combined with the 'n'
4755 flag.
4756
Bram Moolenaaref2f6562007-05-06 13:32:59 +00004757 'ignorecase', 'smartcase' and 'magic' are used.
4758
Bram Moolenaara23ccb82006-02-27 00:08:02 +00004759 When the {stopline} argument is given then the search stops
4760 after searching this line. This is useful to restrict the
4761 search to a range of lines. Examples: >
4762 let match = search('(', 'b', line("w0"))
4763 let end = search('END', '', line("w$"))
4764< When {stopline} is used and it is not zero this also implies
4765 that the search does not wrap around the end of the file.
Bram Moolenaar76929292008-01-06 19:07:36 +00004766 A zero value is equal to not giving the argument.
4767
4768 When the {timeout} argument is given the search stops when
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00004769 more than this many milli seconds have passed. Thus when
Bram Moolenaar76929292008-01-06 19:07:36 +00004770 {timeout} is 500 the search stops after half a second.
4771 The value must not be negative. A zero value is like not
4772 giving the argument.
Bram Moolenaardb84e452010-08-15 13:50:43 +02004773 {only available when compiled with the |+reltime| feature}
Bram Moolenaara23ccb82006-02-27 00:08:02 +00004774
Bram Moolenaar5eb86f92004-07-26 12:53:41 +00004775 If there is no match a 0 is returned and the cursor doesn't
4776 move. No error message is given.
Bram Moolenaar362e1a32006-03-06 23:29:24 +00004777 When a match has been found its line number is returned.
4778 *search()-sub-match*
4779 With the 'p' flag the returned value is one more than the
4780 first sub-match in \(\). One if none of them matched but the
4781 whole pattern did match.
Bram Moolenaara23ccb82006-02-27 00:08:02 +00004782 To get the column number too use |searchpos()|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004783
Bram Moolenaar87b5ca52006-03-04 21:55:31 +00004784 The cursor will be positioned at the match, unless the 'n'
4785 flag is used.
4786
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004787 Example (goes over all files in the argument list): >
4788 :let n = 1
4789 :while n <= argc() " loop over all files in arglist
4790 : exe "argument " . n
4791 : " start at the last char in the file and wrap for the
4792 : " first search to find match at start of file
4793 : normal G$
4794 : let flags = "w"
4795 : while search("foo", flags) > 0
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00004796 : s/foo/bar/g
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004797 : let flags = "W"
4798 : endwhile
4799 : update " write the file if modified
4800 : let n = n + 1
4801 :endwhile
4802<
Bram Moolenaar87b5ca52006-03-04 21:55:31 +00004803 Example for using some flags: >
4804 :echo search('\<if\|\(else\)\|\(endif\)', 'ncpe')
4805< This will search for the keywords "if", "else", and "endif"
4806 under or after the cursor. Because of the 'p' flag, it
4807 returns 1, 2, or 3 depending on which keyword is found, or 0
4808 if the search fails. With the cursor on the first word of the
4809 line:
4810 if (foo == 0) | let foo = foo + 1 | endif ~
4811 the function returns 1. Without the 'c' flag, the function
4812 finds the "endif" and returns 3. The same thing happens
4813 without the 'e' flag if the cursor is on the "f" of "if".
4814 The 'n' flag tells the function not to move the cursor.
4815
Bram Moolenaar92d640f2005-09-05 22:11:52 +00004816
Bram Moolenaarf75a9632005-09-13 21:20:47 +00004817searchdecl({name} [, {global} [, {thisblock}]]) *searchdecl()*
4818 Search for the declaration of {name}.
Bram Moolenaarc9b4b052006-04-30 18:54:39 +00004819
Bram Moolenaarf75a9632005-09-13 21:20:47 +00004820 With a non-zero {global} argument it works like |gD|, find
4821 first match in the file. Otherwise it works like |gd|, find
4822 first match in the function.
4823
4824 With a non-zero {thisblock} argument matches in a {} block
4825 that ends before the cursor position are ignored. Avoids
4826 finding variable declarations only valid in another scope.
4827
Bram Moolenaar92d640f2005-09-05 22:11:52 +00004828 Moves the cursor to the found match.
4829 Returns zero for success, non-zero for failure.
4830 Example: >
4831 if searchdecl('myvar') == 0
4832 echo getline('.')
4833 endif
4834<
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004835 *searchpair()*
Bram Moolenaar76929292008-01-06 19:07:36 +00004836searchpair({start}, {middle}, {end} [, {flags} [, {skip}
4837 [, {stopline} [, {timeout}]]]])
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004838 Search for the match of a nested start-end pair. This can be
4839 used to find the "endif" that matches an "if", while other
4840 if/endif pairs in between are ignored.
Bram Moolenaarfaa959a2006-02-20 21:37:40 +00004841 The search starts at the cursor. The default is to search
4842 forward, include 'b' in {flags} to search backward.
4843 If a match is found, the cursor is positioned at it and the
4844 line number is returned. If no match is found 0 or -1 is
4845 returned and the cursor doesn't move. No error message is
4846 given.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004847
4848 {start}, {middle} and {end} are patterns, see |pattern|. They
4849 must not contain \( \) pairs. Use of \%( \) is allowed. When
4850 {middle} is not empty, it is found when searching from either
4851 direction, but only when not in a nested start-end pair. A
4852 typical use is: >
4853 searchpair('\<if\>', '\<else\>', '\<endif\>')
4854< By leaving {middle} empty the "else" is skipped.
4855
Bram Moolenaar87b5ca52006-03-04 21:55:31 +00004856 {flags} 'b', 'c', 'n', 's', 'w' and 'W' are used like with
4857 |search()|. Additionally:
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004858 'r' Repeat until no more matches found; will find the
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00004859 outer pair. Implies the 'W' flag.
4860 'm' Return number of matches instead of line number with
Bram Moolenaar87b5ca52006-03-04 21:55:31 +00004861 the match; will be > 1 when 'r' is used.
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00004862 Note: it's nearly always a good idea to use the 'W' flag, to
4863 avoid wrapping around the end of the file.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004864
4865 When a match for {start}, {middle} or {end} is found, the
4866 {skip} expression is evaluated with the cursor positioned on
4867 the start of the match. It should return non-zero if this
4868 match is to be skipped. E.g., because it is inside a comment
4869 or a string.
4870 When {skip} is omitted or empty, every match is accepted.
4871 When evaluating {skip} causes an error the search is aborted
4872 and -1 returned.
4873
Bram Moolenaar76929292008-01-06 19:07:36 +00004874 For {stopline} and {timeout} see |search()|.
Bram Moolenaara23ccb82006-02-27 00:08:02 +00004875
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004876 The value of 'ignorecase' is used. 'magic' is ignored, the
4877 patterns are used like it's on.
4878
4879 The search starts exactly at the cursor. A match with
4880 {start}, {middle} or {end} at the next character, in the
4881 direction of searching, is the first one found. Example: >
4882 if 1
4883 if 2
4884 endif 2
4885 endif 1
4886< When starting at the "if 2", with the cursor on the "i", and
4887 searching forwards, the "endif 2" is found. When starting on
4888 the character just before the "if 2", the "endif 1" will be
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00004889 found. That's because the "if 2" will be found first, and
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004890 then this is considered to be a nested if/endif from "if 2" to
4891 "endif 2".
4892 When searching backwards and {end} is more than one character,
4893 it may be useful to put "\zs" at the end of the pattern, so
4894 that when the cursor is inside a match with the end it finds
4895 the matching start.
4896
4897 Example, to find the "endif" command in a Vim script: >
4898
4899 :echo searchpair('\<if\>', '\<el\%[seif]\>', '\<en\%[dif]\>', 'W',
4900 \ 'getline(".") =~ "^\\s*\""')
4901
4902< The cursor must be at or after the "if" for which a match is
4903 to be found. Note that single-quote strings are used to avoid
4904 having to double the backslashes. The skip expression only
4905 catches comments at the start of a line, not after a command.
4906 Also, a word "en" or "if" halfway a line is considered a
4907 match.
4908 Another example, to search for the matching "{" of a "}": >
4909
4910 :echo searchpair('{', '', '}', 'bW')
4911
4912< This works when the cursor is at or before the "}" for which a
4913 match is to be found. To reject matches that syntax
4914 highlighting recognized as strings: >
4915
4916 :echo searchpair('{', '', '}', 'bW',
4917 \ 'synIDattr(synID(line("."), col("."), 0), "name") =~? "string"')
4918<
Bram Moolenaar1d2ba7f2006-02-14 22:29:30 +00004919 *searchpairpos()*
Bram Moolenaar76929292008-01-06 19:07:36 +00004920searchpairpos({start}, {middle}, {end} [, {flags} [, {skip}
4921 [, {stopline} [, {timeout}]]]])
Bram Moolenaar8f3f58f2010-01-06 20:52:26 +01004922 Same as |searchpair()|, but returns a |List| with the line and
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00004923 column position of the match. The first element of the |List|
4924 is the line number and the second element is the byte index of
Bram Moolenaar1d2ba7f2006-02-14 22:29:30 +00004925 the column position of the match. If no match is found,
Bram Moolenaar9855d6b2010-07-18 14:34:51 +02004926 returns [0, 0]. >
4927
Bram Moolenaar1d2ba7f2006-02-14 22:29:30 +00004928 :let [lnum,col] = searchpairpos('{', '', '}', 'n')
4929<
4930 See |match-parens| for a bigger and more useful example.
4931
Bram Moolenaar76929292008-01-06 19:07:36 +00004932searchpos({pattern} [, {flags} [, {stopline} [, {timeout}]]]) *searchpos()*
Bram Moolenaara23ccb82006-02-27 00:08:02 +00004933 Same as |search()|, but returns a |List| with the line and
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00004934 column position of the match. The first element of the |List|
4935 is the line number and the second element is the byte index of
4936 the column position of the match. If no match is found,
4937 returns [0, 0].
Bram Moolenaar362e1a32006-03-06 23:29:24 +00004938 Example: >
4939 :let [lnum, col] = searchpos('mypattern', 'n')
4940
4941< When the 'p' flag is given then there is an extra item with
4942 the sub-pattern match number |search()-sub-match|. Example: >
4943 :let [lnum, col, submatch] = searchpos('\(\l\)\|\(\u\)', 'np')
4944< In this example "submatch" is 2 when a lowercase letter is
4945 found |/\l|, 3 when an uppercase letter is found |/\u|.
4946
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004947server2client( {clientid}, {string}) *server2client()*
4948 Send a reply string to {clientid}. The most recent {clientid}
4949 that sent a string can be retrieved with expand("<client>").
4950 {only available when compiled with the |+clientserver| feature}
4951 Note:
4952 This id has to be stored before the next command can be
Bram Moolenaar402d2fe2005-04-15 21:00:38 +00004953 received. I.e. before returning from the received command and
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004954 before calling any commands that waits for input.
4955 See also |clientserver|.
4956 Example: >
4957 :echo server2client(expand("<client>"), "HELLO")
4958<
4959serverlist() *serverlist()*
4960 Return a list of available server names, one per line.
4961 When there are no servers or the information is not available
4962 an empty string is returned. See also |clientserver|.
4963 {only available when compiled with the |+clientserver| feature}
4964 Example: >
4965 :echo serverlist()
4966<
4967setbufvar({expr}, {varname}, {val}) *setbufvar()*
4968 Set option or local variable {varname} in buffer {expr} to
4969 {val}.
4970 This also works for a global or local window option, but it
4971 doesn't work for a global or local window variable.
4972 For a local window option the global value is unchanged.
4973 For the use of {expr}, see |bufname()| above.
4974 Note that the variable name without "b:" must be used.
4975 Examples: >
4976 :call setbufvar(1, "&mod", 1)
4977 :call setbufvar("todo", "myvar", "foobar")
4978< This function is not available in the |sandbox|.
4979
4980setcmdpos({pos}) *setcmdpos()*
4981 Set the cursor position in the command line to byte position
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00004982 {pos}. The first position is 1.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004983 Use |getcmdpos()| to obtain the current position.
4984 Only works while editing the command line, thus you must use
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +00004985 |c_CTRL-\_e|, |c_CTRL-R_=| or |c_CTRL-R_CTRL-R| with '='. For
4986 |c_CTRL-\_e| and |c_CTRL-R_CTRL-R| with '=' the position is
4987 set after the command line is set to the expression. For
4988 |c_CTRL-R_=| it is set after evaluating the expression but
4989 before inserting the resulting text.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004990 When the number is too big the cursor is put at the end of the
4991 line. A number smaller than one has undefined results.
4992 Returns 0 when successful, 1 when not editing the command
4993 line.
4994
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00004995setline({lnum}, {text}) *setline()*
4996 Set line {lnum} of the current buffer to {text}.
Bram Moolenaar402d2fe2005-04-15 21:00:38 +00004997 {lnum} is used like with |getline()|.
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00004998 When {lnum} is just below the last line the {text} will be
Bram Moolenaar2389c3c2005-05-22 22:07:59 +00004999 added as a new line.
Bram Moolenaar402d2fe2005-04-15 21:00:38 +00005000 If this succeeds, 0 is returned. If this fails (most likely
5001 because {lnum} is invalid) 1 is returned. Example: >
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005002 :call setline(5, strftime("%c"))
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00005003< When {text} is a |List| then line {lnum} and following lines
Bram Moolenaar2389c3c2005-05-22 22:07:59 +00005004 will be set to the items in the list. Example: >
5005 :call setline(5, ['aaa', 'bbb', 'ccc'])
5006< This is equivalent to: >
5007 :for [n, l] in [[5, 6, 7], ['aaa', 'bbb', 'ccc']]
5008 : call setline(n, l)
5009 :endfor
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005010< Note: The '[ and '] marks are not set.
5011
Bram Moolenaar17c7c012006-01-26 22:25:15 +00005012setloclist({nr}, {list} [, {action}]) *setloclist()*
5013 Create or replace or add to the location list for window {nr}.
5014 When {nr} is zero the current window is used. For a location
Bram Moolenaar280f1262006-01-30 00:14:18 +00005015 list window, the displayed location list is modified. For an
5016 invalid window number {nr}, -1 is returned.
Bram Moolenaar6ee10162007-07-26 20:58:42 +00005017 Otherwise, same as |setqflist()|.
5018 Also see |location-list|.
5019
5020setmatches({list}) *setmatches()*
5021 Restores a list of matches saved by |getmatches()|. Returns 0
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00005022 if successful, otherwise -1. All current matches are cleared
Bram Moolenaar6ee10162007-07-26 20:58:42 +00005023 before the list is restored. See example for |getmatches()|.
Bram Moolenaar68b76a62005-03-25 21:53:48 +00005024
Bram Moolenaar65c923a2006-03-03 22:56:30 +00005025 *setpos()*
5026setpos({expr}, {list})
5027 Set the position for {expr}. Possible values:
5028 . the cursor
5029 'x mark x
5030
5031 {list} must be a |List| with four numbers:
5032 [bufnum, lnum, col, off]
5033
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00005034 "bufnum" is the buffer number. Zero can be used for the
Bram Moolenaarc9b4b052006-04-30 18:54:39 +00005035 current buffer. Setting the cursor is only possible for
Bram Moolenaar65c923a2006-03-03 22:56:30 +00005036 the current buffer. To set a mark in another buffer you can
5037 use the |bufnr()| function to turn a file name into a buffer
5038 number.
Bram Moolenaardb552d602006-03-23 22:59:57 +00005039 Does not change the jumplist.
Bram Moolenaar65c923a2006-03-03 22:56:30 +00005040
5041 "lnum" and "col" are the position in the buffer. The first
Bram Moolenaar8f3f58f2010-01-06 20:52:26 +01005042 column is 1. Use a zero "lnum" to delete a mark. If "col" is
5043 smaller than 1 then 1 is used.
Bram Moolenaar65c923a2006-03-03 22:56:30 +00005044
5045 The "off" number is only used when 'virtualedit' is set. Then
5046 it is the offset in screen columns from the start of the
Bram Moolenaard46bbc72007-05-12 14:38:41 +00005047 character. E.g., a position within a <Tab> or after the last
Bram Moolenaar65c923a2006-03-03 22:56:30 +00005048 character.
5049
Bram Moolenaar08250432008-02-13 11:42:46 +00005050 Returns 0 when the position could be set, -1 otherwise.
5051 An error message is given if {expr} is invalid.
5052
Bram Moolenaar65c923a2006-03-03 22:56:30 +00005053 Also see |getpos()|
5054
Bram Moolenaaref2f6562007-05-06 13:32:59 +00005055 This does not restore the preferred column for moving
5056 vertically. See |winrestview()| for that.
5057
Bram Moolenaar65c923a2006-03-03 22:56:30 +00005058
Bram Moolenaar35c54e52005-05-20 21:25:31 +00005059setqflist({list} [, {action}]) *setqflist()*
Bram Moolenaar17c7c012006-01-26 22:25:15 +00005060 Create or replace or add to the quickfix list using the items
5061 in {list}. Each item in {list} is a dictionary.
5062 Non-dictionary items in {list} are ignored. Each dictionary
5063 item can contain the following entries:
Bram Moolenaar68b76a62005-03-25 21:53:48 +00005064
Bram Moolenaar48b66fb2007-02-04 01:58:18 +00005065 bufnr buffer number; must be the number of a valid
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00005066 buffer
Bram Moolenaar48b66fb2007-02-04 01:58:18 +00005067 filename name of a file; only used when "bufnr" is not
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00005068 present or it is invalid.
Bram Moolenaar68b76a62005-03-25 21:53:48 +00005069 lnum line number in the file
Bram Moolenaar68b76a62005-03-25 21:53:48 +00005070 pattern search pattern used to locate the error
Bram Moolenaar582fd852005-03-28 20:58:01 +00005071 col column number
5072 vcol when non-zero: "col" is visual column
Bram Moolenaarc9b4b052006-04-30 18:54:39 +00005073 when zero: "col" is byte index
Bram Moolenaar582fd852005-03-28 20:58:01 +00005074 nr error number
Bram Moolenaar68b76a62005-03-25 21:53:48 +00005075 text description of the error
Bram Moolenaar582fd852005-03-28 20:58:01 +00005076 type single-character error type, 'E', 'W', etc.
Bram Moolenaar68b76a62005-03-25 21:53:48 +00005077
Bram Moolenaar582fd852005-03-28 20:58:01 +00005078 The "col", "vcol", "nr", "type" and "text" entries are
5079 optional. Either "lnum" or "pattern" entry can be used to
5080 locate a matching error line.
Bram Moolenaar48b66fb2007-02-04 01:58:18 +00005081 If the "filename" and "bufnr" entries are not present or
5082 neither the "lnum" or "pattern" entries are present, then the
5083 item will not be handled as an error line.
Bram Moolenaar68b76a62005-03-25 21:53:48 +00005084 If both "pattern" and "lnum" are present then "pattern" will
5085 be used.
Bram Moolenaar00a927d2010-05-14 23:24:24 +02005086 If you supply an empty {list}, the quickfix list will be
5087 cleared.
Bram Moolenaar48b66fb2007-02-04 01:58:18 +00005088 Note that the list is not exactly the same as what
5089 |getqflist()| returns.
Bram Moolenaar68b76a62005-03-25 21:53:48 +00005090
Bram Moolenaar35c54e52005-05-20 21:25:31 +00005091 If {action} is set to 'a', then the items from {list} are
5092 added to the existing quickfix list. If there is no existing
5093 list, then a new list is created. If {action} is set to 'r',
5094 then the items from the current quickfix list are replaced
5095 with the items from {list}. If {action} is not present or is
5096 set to ' ', then a new list is created.
5097
Bram Moolenaar68b76a62005-03-25 21:53:48 +00005098 Returns zero for success, -1 for failure.
5099
5100 This function can be used to create a quickfix list
5101 independent of the 'errorformat' setting. Use a command like
5102 ":cc 1" to jump to the first position.
5103
5104
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005105 *setreg()*
5106setreg({regname}, {value} [,{options}])
5107 Set the register {regname} to {value}.
5108 If {options} contains "a" or {regname} is upper case,
5109 then the value is appended.
Bram Moolenaarc6485bc2010-07-28 17:02:55 +02005110 {options} can also contain a register type specification:
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005111 "c" or "v" |characterwise| mode
5112 "l" or "V" |linewise| mode
5113 "b" or "<CTRL-V>" |blockwise-visual| mode
5114 If a number immediately follows "b" or "<CTRL-V>" then this is
5115 used as the width of the selection - if it is not specified
5116 then the width of the block is set to the number of characters
Bram Moolenaard46bbc72007-05-12 14:38:41 +00005117 in the longest line (counting a <Tab> as 1 character).
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005118
5119 If {options} contains no register settings, then the default
5120 is to use character mode unless {value} ends in a <NL>.
5121 Setting the '=' register is not possible.
5122 Returns zero for success, non-zero for failure.
5123
5124 Examples: >
5125 :call setreg(v:register, @*)
5126 :call setreg('*', @%, 'ac')
5127 :call setreg('a', "1\n2\n3", 'b5')
5128
5129< This example shows using the functions to save and restore a
5130 register. >
Bram Moolenaar2389c3c2005-05-22 22:07:59 +00005131 :let var_a = getreg('a', 1)
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005132 :let var_amode = getregtype('a')
5133 ....
5134 :call setreg('a', var_a, var_amode)
5135
5136< You can also change the type of a register by appending
5137 nothing: >
5138 :call setreg('a', '', 'al')
5139
Bram Moolenaar06b5d512010-05-22 15:37:44 +02005140settabvar({tabnr}, {varname}, {val}) *settabvar()*
5141 Set tab-local variable {varname} to {val} in tab page {tabnr}.
5142 |t:var|
5143 Note that the variable name without "t:" must be used.
5144 Tabs are numbered starting with one.
5145 Vim briefly goes to the tab page {tabnr}, this may trigger
5146 TabLeave and TabEnter autocommands.
5147 This function is not available in the |sandbox|.
5148
Bram Moolenaarc6249bb2006-04-15 20:25:09 +00005149settabwinvar({tabnr}, {winnr}, {varname}, {val}) *settabwinvar()*
5150 Set option or local variable {varname} in window {winnr} to
5151 {val}.
5152 Tabs are numbered starting with one. For the current tabpage
5153 use |setwinvar()|.
5154 When {winnr} is zero the current window is used.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005155 This also works for a global or local buffer option, but it
5156 doesn't work for a global or local buffer variable.
5157 For a local buffer option the global value is unchanged.
5158 Note that the variable name without "w:" must be used.
Bram Moolenaarc6249bb2006-04-15 20:25:09 +00005159 Vim briefly goes to the tab page {tabnr}, this may trigger
5160 TabLeave and TabEnter autocommands.
5161 Examples: >
5162 :call settabwinvar(1, 1, "&list", 0)
5163 :call settabwinvar(3, 2, "myvar", "foobar")
5164< This function is not available in the |sandbox|.
5165
5166setwinvar({nr}, {varname}, {val}) *setwinvar()*
5167 Like |settabwinvar()| for the current tab page.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005168 Examples: >
5169 :call setwinvar(1, "&list", 0)
5170 :call setwinvar(2, "myvar", "foobar")
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005171
Bram Moolenaar05bb9532008-07-04 09:44:11 +00005172shellescape({string} [, {special}]) *shellescape()*
Bram Moolenaar8f3f58f2010-01-06 20:52:26 +01005173 Escape {string} for use as a shell command argument.
Bram Moolenaar60a495f2006-10-03 12:44:42 +00005174 On MS-Windows and MS-DOS, when 'shellslash' is not set, it
Bram Moolenaar05bb9532008-07-04 09:44:11 +00005175 will enclose {string} in double quotes and double all double
Bram Moolenaar60a495f2006-10-03 12:44:42 +00005176 quotes within {string}.
5177 For other systems, it will enclose {string} in single quotes
5178 and replace all "'" with "'\''".
Bram Moolenaar05bb9532008-07-04 09:44:11 +00005179 When the {special} argument is present and it's a non-zero
5180 Number or a non-empty String (|non-zero-arg|), then special
Bram Moolenaare37d50a2008-08-06 17:06:04 +00005181 items such as "!", "%", "#" and "<cword>" will be preceded by
5182 a backslash. This backslash will be removed again by the |:!|
Bram Moolenaar05bb9532008-07-04 09:44:11 +00005183 command.
Bram Moolenaare37d50a2008-08-06 17:06:04 +00005184 The "!" character will be escaped (again with a |non-zero-arg|
5185 {special}) when 'shell' contains "csh" in the tail. That is
5186 because for csh and tcsh "!" is used for history replacement
5187 even when inside single quotes.
5188 The <NL> character is also escaped. With a |non-zero-arg|
5189 {special} and 'shell' containing "csh" in the tail it's
5190 escaped a second time.
Bram Moolenaar05bb9532008-07-04 09:44:11 +00005191 Example of use with a |:!| command: >
5192 :exe '!dir ' . shellescape(expand('<cfile>'), 1)
5193< This results in a directory listing for the file under the
5194 cursor. Example of use with |system()|: >
5195 :call system("chmod +w -- " . shellescape(expand("%")))
Bram Moolenaar60a495f2006-10-03 12:44:42 +00005196
5197
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005198simplify({filename}) *simplify()*
5199 Simplify the file name as much as possible without changing
5200 the meaning. Shortcuts (on MS-Windows) or symbolic links (on
5201 Unix) are not resolved. If the first path component in
5202 {filename} designates the current directory, this will be
5203 valid for the result as well. A trailing path separator is
5204 not removed either.
5205 Example: >
5206 simplify("./dir/.././/file/") == "./file/"
5207< Note: The combination "dir/.." is only removed if "dir" is
5208 a searchable directory or does not exist. On Unix, it is also
5209 removed when "dir" is a symbolic link within the same
5210 directory. In order to resolve all the involved symbolic
5211 links before simplifying the path name, use |resolve()|.
5212
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00005213
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00005214sin({expr}) *sin()*
5215 Return the sine of {expr}, measured in radians, as a |Float|.
5216 {expr} must evaluate to a |Float| or a |Number|.
5217 Examples: >
5218 :echo sin(100)
5219< -0.506366 >
5220 :echo sin(-4.01)
5221< 0.763301
5222 {only available when compiled with the |+float| feature}
5223
5224
Bram Moolenaardb7c6862010-05-21 16:33:48 +02005225sinh({expr}) *sinh()*
Bram Moolenaar9855d6b2010-07-18 14:34:51 +02005226 Return the hyperbolic sine of {expr} as a |Float| in the range
Bram Moolenaardb7c6862010-05-21 16:33:48 +02005227 [-inf, inf].
Bram Moolenaar9855d6b2010-07-18 14:34:51 +02005228 {expr} must evaluate to a |Float| or a |Number|.
Bram Moolenaardb7c6862010-05-21 16:33:48 +02005229 Examples: >
5230 :echo sinh(0.5)
5231< 0.521095 >
5232 :echo sinh(-0.9)
5233< -1.026517
Bram Moolenaardb84e452010-08-15 13:50:43 +02005234 {only available when compiled with the |+float| feature}
Bram Moolenaardb7c6862010-05-21 16:33:48 +02005235
5236
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +00005237sort({list} [, {func}]) *sort()* *E702*
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00005238 Sort the items in {list} in-place. Returns {list}. If you
5239 want a list to remain unmodified make a copy first: >
5240 :let sortedlist = sort(copy(mylist))
5241< Uses the string representation of each item to sort on.
Bram Moolenaara23ccb82006-02-27 00:08:02 +00005242 Numbers sort after Strings, |Lists| after Numbers.
Bram Moolenaar2389c3c2005-05-22 22:07:59 +00005243 For sorting text in the current buffer use |:sort|.
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00005244 When {func} is given and it is one then case is ignored.
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00005245 When {func} is a |Funcref| or a function name, this function
5246 is called to compare items. The function is invoked with two
Bram Moolenaar8f3f58f2010-01-06 20:52:26 +01005247 items as argument and must return zero if they are equal, 1 or
5248 bigger if the first one sorts after the second one, -1 or
5249 smaller if the first one sorts before the second one.
5250 Example: >
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00005251 func MyCompare(i1, i2)
5252 return a:i1 == a:i2 ? 0 : a:i1 > a:i2 ? 1 : -1
5253 endfunc
5254 let sortedlist = sort(mylist, "MyCompare")
Bram Moolenaar8f3f58f2010-01-06 20:52:26 +01005255< A shorter compare version for this specific simple case, which
5256 ignores overflow: >
5257 func MyCompare(i1, i2)
5258 return a:i1 - a:i2
5259 endfunc
Bram Moolenaard857f0e2005-06-21 22:37:39 +00005260<
Bram Moolenaar24bbcfe2005-06-28 23:32:02 +00005261 *soundfold()*
5262soundfold({word})
5263 Return the sound-folded equivalent of {word}. Uses the first
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00005264 language in 'spelllang' for the current window that supports
Bram Moolenaar42eeac32005-06-29 22:40:58 +00005265 soundfolding. 'spell' must be set. When no sound folding is
5266 possible the {word} is returned unmodified.
Bram Moolenaar24bbcfe2005-06-28 23:32:02 +00005267 This can be used for making spelling suggestions. Note that
5268 the method can be quite slow.
5269
Bram Moolenaard857f0e2005-06-21 22:37:39 +00005270 *spellbadword()*
Bram Moolenaar1e015462005-09-25 22:16:38 +00005271spellbadword([{sentence}])
5272 Without argument: The result is the badly spelled word under
5273 or after the cursor. The cursor is moved to the start of the
5274 bad word. When no bad word is found in the cursor line the
5275 result is an empty string and the cursor doesn't move.
5276
5277 With argument: The result is the first word in {sentence} that
5278 is badly spelled. If there are no spelling mistakes the
5279 result is an empty string.
5280
5281 The return value is a list with two items:
5282 - The badly spelled word or an empty string.
5283 - The type of the spelling error:
Bram Moolenaarc9b4b052006-04-30 18:54:39 +00005284 "bad" spelling mistake
Bram Moolenaar1e015462005-09-25 22:16:38 +00005285 "rare" rare word
5286 "local" word only valid in another region
5287 "caps" word should start with Capital
5288 Example: >
5289 echo spellbadword("the quik brown fox")
5290< ['quik', 'bad'] ~
5291
5292 The spelling information for the current window is used. The
5293 'spell' option must be set and the value of 'spelllang' is
5294 used.
Bram Moolenaard857f0e2005-06-21 22:37:39 +00005295
5296 *spellsuggest()*
Bram Moolenaarc54b8a72005-09-30 21:20:29 +00005297spellsuggest({word} [, {max} [, {capital}]])
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00005298 Return a |List| with spelling suggestions to replace {word}.
Bram Moolenaard857f0e2005-06-21 22:37:39 +00005299 When {max} is given up to this number of suggestions are
5300 returned. Otherwise up to 25 suggestions are returned.
5301
Bram Moolenaarc54b8a72005-09-30 21:20:29 +00005302 When the {capital} argument is given and it's non-zero only
5303 suggestions with a leading capital will be given. Use this
5304 after a match with 'spellcapcheck'.
5305
Bram Moolenaard857f0e2005-06-21 22:37:39 +00005306 {word} can be a badly spelled word followed by other text.
5307 This allows for joining two words that were split. The
Bram Moolenaarf461c8e2005-06-25 23:04:51 +00005308 suggestions also include the following text, thus you can
5309 replace a line.
5310
5311 {word} may also be a good word. Similar words will then be
Bram Moolenaarc54b8a72005-09-30 21:20:29 +00005312 returned. {word} itself is not included in the suggestions,
5313 although it may appear capitalized.
Bram Moolenaard857f0e2005-06-21 22:37:39 +00005314
5315 The spelling information for the current window is used. The
Bram Moolenaar42eeac32005-06-29 22:40:58 +00005316 'spell' option must be set and the values of 'spelllang' and
5317 'spellsuggest' are used.
Bram Moolenaard857f0e2005-06-21 22:37:39 +00005318
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00005319
Bram Moolenaar2389c3c2005-05-22 22:07:59 +00005320split({expr} [, {pattern} [, {keepempty}]]) *split()*
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00005321 Make a |List| out of {expr}. When {pattern} is omitted or
5322 empty each white-separated sequence of characters becomes an
5323 item.
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00005324 Otherwise the string is split where {pattern} matches,
Bram Moolenaar2389c3c2005-05-22 22:07:59 +00005325 removing the matched characters.
5326 When the first or last item is empty it is omitted, unless the
5327 {keepempty} argument is given and it's non-zero.
Bram Moolenaar5c06f8b2005-05-31 22:14:58 +00005328 Other empty items are kept when {pattern} matches at least one
5329 character or when {keepempty} is non-zero.
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00005330 Example: >
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00005331 :let words = split(getline('.'), '\W\+')
Bram Moolenaar2389c3c2005-05-22 22:07:59 +00005332< To split a string in individual characters: >
Bram Moolenaar402d2fe2005-04-15 21:00:38 +00005333 :for c in split(mystring, '\zs')
Bram Moolenaar0cb032e2005-04-23 20:52:00 +00005334< If you want to keep the separator you can also use '\zs': >
5335 :echo split('abc:def:ghi', ':\zs')
5336< ['abc:', 'def:', 'ghi'] ~
Bram Moolenaar2389c3c2005-05-22 22:07:59 +00005337 Splitting a table where the first element can be empty: >
5338 :let items = split(line, ':', 1)
5339< The opposite function is |join()|.
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00005340
5341
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00005342sqrt({expr}) *sqrt()*
5343 Return the non-negative square root of Float {expr} as a
5344 |Float|.
5345 {expr} must evaluate to a |Float| or a |Number|. When {expr}
5346 is negative the result is NaN (Not a Number).
5347 Examples: >
5348 :echo sqrt(100)
5349< 10.0 >
5350 :echo sqrt(-4.01)
5351< nan
Bram Moolenaarc236c162008-07-13 17:41:49 +00005352 "nan" may be different, it depends on system libraries.
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00005353 {only available when compiled with the |+float| feature}
5354
5355
5356str2float( {expr}) *str2float()*
5357 Convert String {expr} to a Float. This mostly works the same
5358 as when using a floating point number in an expression, see
5359 |floating-point-format|. But it's a bit more permissive.
5360 E.g., "1e40" is accepted, while in an expression you need to
5361 write "1.0e40".
5362 Text after the number is silently ignored.
5363 The decimal point is always '.', no matter what the locale is
5364 set to. A comma ends the number: "12,345.67" is converted to
5365 12.0. You can strip out thousands separators with
5366 |substitute()|: >
5367 let f = str2float(substitute(text, ',', '', 'g'))
5368< {only available when compiled with the |+float| feature}
5369
5370
Bram Moolenaar97b2ad32006-03-18 21:40:56 +00005371str2nr( {expr} [, {base}]) *str2nr()*
5372 Convert string {expr} to a number.
5373 {base} is the conversion base, it can be 8, 10 or 16.
5374 When {base} is omitted base 10 is used. This also means that
5375 a leading zero doesn't cause octal conversion to be used, as
5376 with the default String to Number conversion.
5377 When {base} is 16 a leading "0x" or "0X" is ignored. With a
5378 different base the result will be zero.
5379 Text after the number is silently ignored.
Bram Moolenaarc9b4b052006-04-30 18:54:39 +00005380
Bram Moolenaar97b2ad32006-03-18 21:40:56 +00005381
Bram Moolenaar72597a52010-07-18 15:31:08 +02005382strchars({expr}) *strchars()*
5383 The result is a Number, which is the number of characters
5384 String {expr} occupies. Composing characters are counted
5385 separately.
Bram Moolenaardc536092010-07-18 15:45:49 +02005386 Also see |strlen()|, |strdisplaywidth()| and |strwidth()|.
5387
5388strdisplaywidth({expr}[, {col}]) *strdisplaywidth()*
5389 The result is a Number, which is the number of display cells
5390 String {expr} occupies on the screen.
5391 When {col} is omitted zero is used. Otherwise it is the
5392 screen column where to start. This matters for Tab
5393 characters.
Bram Moolenaar4d32c2d2010-07-18 22:10:01 +02005394 The option settings of the current window are used. This
5395 matters for anything that's displayed differently, such as
5396 'tabstop' and 'display'.
Bram Moolenaardc536092010-07-18 15:45:49 +02005397 When {expr} contains characters with East Asian Width Class
5398 Ambiguous, this function's return value depends on 'ambiwidth'.
5399 Also see |strlen()|, |strwidth()| and |strchars()|.
Bram Moolenaar72597a52010-07-18 15:31:08 +02005400
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005401strftime({format} [, {time}]) *strftime()*
5402 The result is a String, which is a formatted date and time, as
5403 specified by the {format} string. The given {time} is used,
5404 or the current time if no time is given. The accepted
5405 {format} depends on your system, thus this is not portable!
5406 See the manual page of the C function strftime() for the
5407 format. The maximum length of the result is 80 characters.
5408 See also |localtime()| and |getftime()|.
5409 The language can be changed with the |:language| command.
5410 Examples: >
5411 :echo strftime("%c") Sun Apr 27 11:49:23 1997
5412 :echo strftime("%Y %b %d %X") 1997 Apr 27 11:53:25
5413 :echo strftime("%y%m%d %T") 970427 11:53:55
5414 :echo strftime("%H:%M") 11:55
5415 :echo strftime("%c", getftime("file.c"))
5416 Show mod time of file.c.
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00005417< Not available on all systems. To check use: >
5418 :if exists("*strftime")
5419
Bram Moolenaar8f999f12005-01-25 22:12:55 +00005420stridx({haystack}, {needle} [, {start}]) *stridx()*
5421 The result is a Number, which gives the byte index in
5422 {haystack} of the first occurrence of the String {needle}.
Bram Moolenaar677ee682005-01-27 14:41:15 +00005423 If {start} is specified, the search starts at index {start}.
5424 This can be used to find a second match: >
5425 :let comma1 = stridx(line, ",")
5426 :let comma2 = stridx(line, ",", comma1 + 1)
5427< The search is done case-sensitive.
Bram Moolenaare2cc9702005-03-15 22:43:58 +00005428 For pattern searches use |match()|.
Bram Moolenaar8f999f12005-01-25 22:12:55 +00005429 -1 is returned if the {needle} does not occur in {haystack}.
Bram Moolenaar677ee682005-01-27 14:41:15 +00005430 See also |strridx()|.
5431 Examples: >
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005432 :echo stridx("An Example", "Example") 3
5433 :echo stridx("Starting point", "Start") 0
5434 :echo stridx("Starting point", "start") -1
Bram Moolenaarc9b4b052006-04-30 18:54:39 +00005435< *strstr()* *strchr()*
Bram Moolenaar05159a02005-02-26 23:04:13 +00005436 stridx() works similar to the C function strstr(). When used
5437 with a single character it works similar to strchr().
5438
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00005439 *string()*
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00005440string({expr}) Return {expr} converted to a String. If {expr} is a Number,
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00005441 Float, String or a composition of them, then the result can be
5442 parsed back with |eval()|.
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00005443 {expr} type result ~
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +00005444 String 'string'
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00005445 Number 123
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00005446 Float 123.123456 or 1.123456e8
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +00005447 Funcref function('name')
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00005448 List [item, item]
Bram Moolenaar9ba0eb82005-06-13 22:28:56 +00005449 Dictionary {key: value, key: value}
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +00005450 Note that in String values the ' character is doubled.
Bram Moolenaaref2f6562007-05-06 13:32:59 +00005451 Also see |strtrans()|.
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00005452
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005453 *strlen()*
5454strlen({expr}) The result is a Number, which is the length of the String
Bram Moolenaare344bea2005-09-01 20:46:49 +00005455 {expr} in bytes.
5456 If you want to count the number of multi-byte characters (not
5457 counting composing characters) use something like this: >
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005458
5459 :let len = strlen(substitute(str, ".", "x", "g"))
Bram Moolenaare344bea2005-09-01 20:46:49 +00005460<
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00005461 If the argument is a Number it is first converted to a String.
5462 For other types an error is given.
Bram Moolenaardc536092010-07-18 15:45:49 +02005463 Also see |len()|, |strchars()|, |strdisplaywidth()| and
5464 |strwidth()|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005465
5466strpart({src}, {start}[, {len}]) *strpart()*
5467 The result is a String, which is part of {src}, starting from
Bram Moolenaar9372a112005-12-06 19:59:18 +00005468 byte {start}, with the byte length {len}.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005469 When non-existing bytes are included, this doesn't result in
5470 an error, the bytes are simply omitted.
5471 If {len} is missing, the copy continues from {start} till the
5472 end of the {src}. >
5473 strpart("abcdefg", 3, 2) == "de"
5474 strpart("abcdefg", -2, 4) == "ab"
5475 strpart("abcdefg", 5, 4) == "fg"
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00005476 strpart("abcdefg", 3) == "defg"
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005477< Note: To get the first character, {start} must be 0. For
5478 example, to get three bytes under and after the cursor: >
Bram Moolenaar61660ea2006-04-07 21:40:07 +00005479 strpart(getline("."), col(".") - 1, 3)
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005480<
Bram Moolenaar677ee682005-01-27 14:41:15 +00005481strridx({haystack}, {needle} [, {start}]) *strridx()*
5482 The result is a Number, which gives the byte index in
5483 {haystack} of the last occurrence of the String {needle}.
5484 When {start} is specified, matches beyond this index are
5485 ignored. This can be used to find a match before a previous
5486 match: >
5487 :let lastcomma = strridx(line, ",")
5488 :let comma2 = strridx(line, ",", lastcomma - 1)
5489< The search is done case-sensitive.
Bram Moolenaar8f999f12005-01-25 22:12:55 +00005490 For pattern searches use |match()|.
5491 -1 is returned if the {needle} does not occur in {haystack}.
Bram Moolenaard4755bb2004-09-02 19:12:26 +00005492 If the {needle} is empty the length of {haystack} is returned.
Bram Moolenaar402d2fe2005-04-15 21:00:38 +00005493 See also |stridx()|. Examples: >
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005494 :echo strridx("an angry armadillo", "an") 3
Bram Moolenaarc9b4b052006-04-30 18:54:39 +00005495< *strrchr()*
Bram Moolenaar05159a02005-02-26 23:04:13 +00005496 When used with a single character it works similar to the C
5497 function strrchr().
5498
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005499strtrans({expr}) *strtrans()*
5500 The result is a String, which is {expr} with all unprintable
5501 characters translated into printable characters |'isprint'|.
5502 Like they are shown in a window. Example: >
5503 echo strtrans(@a)
5504< This displays a newline in register a as "^@" instead of
5505 starting a new line.
5506
Bram Moolenaar72597a52010-07-18 15:31:08 +02005507strwidth({expr}) *strwidth()*
5508 The result is a Number, which is the number of display cells
5509 String {expr} occupies. A Tab character is counted as one
Bram Moolenaardc536092010-07-18 15:45:49 +02005510 cell, alternatively use |strdisplaywidth()|.
Bram Moolenaar72597a52010-07-18 15:31:08 +02005511 When {expr} contains characters with East Asian Width Class
5512 Ambiguous, this function's return value depends on 'ambiwidth'.
Bram Moolenaardc536092010-07-18 15:45:49 +02005513 Also see |strlen()|, |strdisplaywidth()| and |strchars()|.
Bram Moolenaar72597a52010-07-18 15:31:08 +02005514
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005515submatch({nr}) *submatch()*
5516 Only for an expression in a |:substitute| command. Returns
5517 the {nr}'th submatch of the matched text. When {nr} is 0
5518 the whole matched text is returned.
5519 Example: >
5520 :s/\d\+/\=submatch(0) + 1/
5521< This finds the first number in the line and adds one to it.
5522 A line break is included as a newline character.
5523
5524substitute({expr}, {pat}, {sub}, {flags}) *substitute()*
5525 The result is a String, which is a copy of {expr}, in which
5526 the first match of {pat} is replaced with {sub}. This works
5527 like the ":substitute" command (without any flags). But the
5528 matching with {pat} is always done like the 'magic' option is
5529 set and 'cpoptions' is empty (to make scripts portable).
Bram Moolenaaref2f6562007-05-06 13:32:59 +00005530 'ignorecase' is still relevant. 'smartcase' is not used.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005531 See |string-match| for how {pat} is used.
5532 And a "~" in {sub} is not replaced with the previous {sub}.
5533 Note that some codes in {sub} have a special meaning
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00005534 |sub-replace-special|. For example, to replace something with
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005535 "\n" (two characters), use "\\\\n" or '\\n'.
5536 When {pat} does not match in {expr}, {expr} is returned
5537 unmodified.
5538 When {flags} is "g", all matches of {pat} in {expr} are
5539 replaced. Otherwise {flags} should be "".
5540 Example: >
5541 :let &path = substitute(&path, ",\\=[^,]*$", "", "")
5542< This removes the last component of the 'path' option. >
5543 :echo substitute("testing", ".*", "\\U\\0", "")
5544< results in "TESTING".
5545
Bram Moolenaar47136d72004-10-12 20:02:24 +00005546synID({lnum}, {col}, {trans}) *synID()*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005547 The result is a Number, which is the syntax ID at the position
Bram Moolenaar47136d72004-10-12 20:02:24 +00005548 {lnum} and {col} in the current window.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005549 The syntax ID can be used with |synIDattr()| and
5550 |synIDtrans()| to obtain syntax information about text.
Bram Moolenaarce0842a2005-07-18 21:58:11 +00005551
Bram Moolenaar47136d72004-10-12 20:02:24 +00005552 {col} is 1 for the leftmost column, {lnum} is 1 for the first
Bram Moolenaarce0842a2005-07-18 21:58:11 +00005553 line. 'synmaxcol' applies, in a longer line zero is returned.
5554
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005555 When {trans} is non-zero, transparent items are reduced to the
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00005556 item that they reveal. This is useful when wanting to know
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005557 the effective color. When {trans} is zero, the transparent
5558 item is returned. This is useful when wanting to know which
5559 syntax item is effective (e.g. inside parens).
5560 Warning: This function can be very slow. Best speed is
5561 obtained by going through the file in forward direction.
5562
5563 Example (echoes the name of the syntax item under the cursor): >
5564 :echo synIDattr(synID(line("."), col("."), 1), "name")
5565<
Bram Moolenaar7510fe72010-07-25 12:46:44 +02005566
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005567synIDattr({synID}, {what} [, {mode}]) *synIDattr()*
5568 The result is a String, which is the {what} attribute of
5569 syntax ID {synID}. This can be used to obtain information
5570 about a syntax item.
5571 {mode} can be "gui", "cterm" or "term", to get the attributes
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00005572 for that mode. When {mode} is omitted, or an invalid value is
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005573 used, the attributes for the currently active highlighting are
5574 used (GUI, cterm or term).
5575 Use synIDtrans() to follow linked highlight groups.
5576 {what} result
5577 "name" the name of the syntax item
5578 "fg" foreground color (GUI: color name used to set
5579 the color, cterm: color number as a string,
5580 term: empty string)
Bram Moolenaar6f507d62008-11-28 10:16:05 +00005581 "bg" background color (as with "fg")
Bram Moolenaar12682fd2010-03-10 13:43:49 +01005582 "font" font name (only available in the GUI)
5583 |highlight-font|
Bram Moolenaar6f507d62008-11-28 10:16:05 +00005584 "sp" special color (as with "fg") |highlight-guisp|
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005585 "fg#" like "fg", but for the GUI and the GUI is
5586 running the name in "#RRGGBB" form
5587 "bg#" like "fg#" for "bg"
Bram Moolenaar6f507d62008-11-28 10:16:05 +00005588 "sp#" like "fg#" for "sp"
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005589 "bold" "1" if bold
5590 "italic" "1" if italic
5591 "reverse" "1" if reverse
5592 "inverse" "1" if inverse (= reverse)
Bram Moolenaar12682fd2010-03-10 13:43:49 +01005593 "standout" "1" if standout
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005594 "underline" "1" if underlined
Bram Moolenaare2cc9702005-03-15 22:43:58 +00005595 "undercurl" "1" if undercurled
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005596
5597 Example (echoes the color of the syntax item under the
5598 cursor): >
5599 :echo synIDattr(synIDtrans(synID(line("."), col("."), 1)), "fg")
5600<
5601synIDtrans({synID}) *synIDtrans()*
5602 The result is a Number, which is the translated syntax ID of
5603 {synID}. This is the syntax group ID of what is being used to
5604 highlight the character. Highlight links given with
5605 ":highlight link" are followed.
5606
Bram Moolenaar483c5d82010-10-20 18:45:33 +02005607synconcealed({lnum}, {col}) *synconcealed()*
5608 The result is a List. The first item in the list is 0 if the
5609 character at the position {lnum} and {col} is not part of a
5610 concealable region, 1 if it is. The second item in the list is
5611 a string. If the first item is 1, the second item contains the
5612 text which will be displayed in place of the concealed text,
5613 depending on the current setting of 'conceallevel'. The third
5614 and final item in the list is a unique number representing the
5615 specific syntax region matched. This allows detection of the
5616 beginning of a new concealable region if there are two
5617 consecutive regions with the same replacement character.
5618 For an example use see $VIMRUNTIME/syntax/2html.vim .
5619
5620
Bram Moolenaar9d188ab2008-01-10 21:24:39 +00005621synstack({lnum}, {col}) *synstack()*
5622 Return a |List|, which is the stack of syntax items at the
5623 position {lnum} and {col} in the current window. Each item in
5624 the List is an ID like what |synID()| returns.
Bram Moolenaar9d188ab2008-01-10 21:24:39 +00005625 The first item in the List is the outer region, following are
5626 items contained in that one. The last one is what |synID()|
5627 returns, unless not the whole item is highlighted or it is a
5628 transparent item.
5629 This function is useful for debugging a syntax file.
5630 Example that shows the syntax stack under the cursor: >
5631 for id in synstack(line("."), col("."))
5632 echo synIDattr(id, "name")
5633 endfor
Bram Moolenaar0bc380a2010-07-10 13:52:13 +02005634< When the position specified with {lnum} and {col} is invalid
5635 nothing is returned. The position just after the last
5636 character in a line and the first column in an empty line are
5637 valid positions.
Bram Moolenaar9d188ab2008-01-10 21:24:39 +00005638
Bram Moolenaarc0197e22004-09-13 20:26:32 +00005639system({expr} [, {input}]) *system()* *E677*
5640 Get the output of the shell command {expr}.
5641 When {input} is given, this string is written to a file and
5642 passed as stdin to the command. The string is written as-is,
5643 you need to take care of using the correct line separators
Bram Moolenaar05159a02005-02-26 23:04:13 +00005644 yourself. Pipes are not used.
Bram Moolenaar05bb9532008-07-04 09:44:11 +00005645 Note: Use |shellescape()| to escape special characters in a
5646 command argument. Newlines in {expr} may cause the command to
5647 fail. The characters in 'shellquote' and 'shellxquote' may
5648 also cause trouble.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005649 This is not to be used for interactive commands.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005650
Bram Moolenaar05bb9532008-07-04 09:44:11 +00005651 The result is a String. Example: >
5652 :let files = system("ls " . shellescape(expand('%:h')))
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005653
5654< To make the result more system-independent, the shell output
5655 is filtered to replace <CR> with <NL> for Macintosh, and
5656 <CR><NL> with <NL> for DOS-like systems.
5657 The command executed is constructed using several options:
5658 'shell' 'shellcmdflag' 'shellxquote' {expr} 'shellredir' {tmp} 'shellxquote'
5659 ({tmp} is an automatically generated file name).
5660 For Unix and OS/2 braces are put around {expr} to allow for
5661 concatenated commands.
5662
Bram Moolenaar433f7c82006-03-21 21:29:36 +00005663 The command will be executed in "cooked" mode, so that a
5664 CTRL-C will interrupt the command (on Unix at least).
5665
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005666 The resulting error code can be found in |v:shell_error|.
5667 This function will fail in |restricted-mode|.
Bram Moolenaar4770d092006-01-12 23:22:24 +00005668
5669 Note that any wrong value in the options mentioned above may
5670 make the function fail. It has also been reported to fail
5671 when using a security agent application.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005672 Unlike ":!cmd" there is no automatic check for changed files.
5673 Use |:checktime| to force a check.
5674
Bram Moolenaare2cc9702005-03-15 22:43:58 +00005675
Bram Moolenaarfaa959a2006-02-20 21:37:40 +00005676tabpagebuflist([{arg}]) *tabpagebuflist()*
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00005677 The result is a |List|, where each item is the number of the
Bram Moolenaarfaa959a2006-02-20 21:37:40 +00005678 buffer associated with each window in the current tab page.
5679 {arg} specifies the number of tab page to be used. When
5680 omitted the current tab page is used.
5681 When {arg} is invalid the number zero is returned.
5682 To get a list of all buffers in all tabs use this: >
5683 tablist = []
5684 for i in range(tabpagenr('$'))
5685 call extend(tablist, tabpagebuflist(i + 1))
5686 endfor
5687< Note that a buffer may appear in more than one window.
5688
5689
5690tabpagenr([{arg}]) *tabpagenr()*
Bram Moolenaar7e8fd632006-02-18 22:14:51 +00005691 The result is a Number, which is the number of the current
5692 tab page. The first tab page has number 1.
5693 When the optional argument is "$", the number of the last tab
5694 page is returned (the tab page count).
5695 The number can be used with the |:tab| command.
5696
5697
Bram Moolenaarfaa959a2006-02-20 21:37:40 +00005698tabpagewinnr({tabarg}, [{arg}]) *tabpagewinnr()*
Bram Moolenaard04f4402010-08-15 13:30:34 +02005699 Like |winnr()| but for tab page {tabarg}.
Bram Moolenaarfaa959a2006-02-20 21:37:40 +00005700 {tabarg} specifies the number of tab page to be used.
5701 {arg} is used like with |winnr()|:
5702 - When omitted the current window number is returned. This is
5703 the window which will be used when going to this tab page.
5704 - When "$" the number of windows is returned.
5705 - When "#" the previous window nr is returned.
5706 Useful examples: >
5707 tabpagewinnr(1) " current window of tab page 1
5708 tabpagewinnr(4, '$') " number of windows in tab page 4
5709< When {tabarg} is invalid zero is returned.
5710
Bram Moolenaarfa1d1402006-03-25 21:59:56 +00005711 *tagfiles()*
5712tagfiles() Returns a |List| with the file names used to search for tags
5713 for the current buffer. This is the 'tags' option expanded.
5714
5715
Bram Moolenaare2cc9702005-03-15 22:43:58 +00005716taglist({expr}) *taglist()*
5717 Returns a list of tags matching the regular expression {expr}.
Bram Moolenaard8c00872005-07-22 21:52:15 +00005718 Each list item is a dictionary with at least the following
5719 entries:
Bram Moolenaar280f1262006-01-30 00:14:18 +00005720 name Name of the tag.
5721 filename Name of the file where the tag is
Bram Moolenaaref2f6562007-05-06 13:32:59 +00005722 defined. It is either relative to the
5723 current directory or a full path.
Bram Moolenaare2cc9702005-03-15 22:43:58 +00005724 cmd Ex command used to locate the tag in
5725 the file.
Bram Moolenaar280f1262006-01-30 00:14:18 +00005726 kind Type of the tag. The value for this
Bram Moolenaare2cc9702005-03-15 22:43:58 +00005727 entry depends on the language specific
Bram Moolenaaref2f6562007-05-06 13:32:59 +00005728 kind values. Only available when
5729 using a tags file generated by
5730 Exuberant ctags or hdrtag.
Bram Moolenaar280f1262006-01-30 00:14:18 +00005731 static A file specific tag. Refer to
Bram Moolenaare2cc9702005-03-15 22:43:58 +00005732 |static-tag| for more information.
Bram Moolenaaref2f6562007-05-06 13:32:59 +00005733 More entries may be present, depending on the content of the
5734 tags file: access, implementation, inherits and signature.
5735 Refer to the ctags documentation for information about these
5736 fields. For C code the fields "struct", "class" and "enum"
5737 may appear, they give the name of the entity the tag is
5738 contained in.
Bram Moolenaar5a8684e2005-07-30 22:43:24 +00005739
Bram Moolenaar4317d9b2005-03-18 20:25:31 +00005740 The ex-command 'cmd' can be either an ex search pattern, a
5741 line number or a line number followed by a byte number.
Bram Moolenaare2cc9702005-03-15 22:43:58 +00005742
5743 If there are no matching tags, then an empty list is returned.
5744
5745 To get an exact tag match, the anchors '^' and '$' should be
5746 used in {expr}. Refer to |tag-regexp| for more information
5747 about the tag search regular expression pattern.
5748
5749 Refer to |'tags'| for information about how the tags file is
5750 located by Vim. Refer to |tags-file-format| for the format of
5751 the tags file generated by the different ctags tools.
5752
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005753tempname() *tempname()* *temp-file-name*
5754 The result is a String, which is the name of a file that
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00005755 doesn't exist. It can be used for a temporary file. The name
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005756 is different for at least 26 consecutive calls. Example: >
5757 :let tmpfile = tempname()
5758 :exe "redir > " . tmpfile
Bram Moolenaar8f3f58f2010-01-06 20:52:26 +01005759< For Unix, the file will be in a private directory |tempfile|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005760 For MS-Windows forward slashes are used when the 'shellslash'
5761 option is set or when 'shellcmdflag' starts with '-'.
5762
Bram Moolenaardb7c6862010-05-21 16:33:48 +02005763
5764tan({expr}) *tan()*
Bram Moolenaar9855d6b2010-07-18 14:34:51 +02005765 Return the tangent of {expr}, measured in radians, as a |Float|
Bram Moolenaardb7c6862010-05-21 16:33:48 +02005766 in the range [-inf, inf].
Bram Moolenaar9855d6b2010-07-18 14:34:51 +02005767 {expr} must evaluate to a |Float| or a |Number|.
Bram Moolenaardb7c6862010-05-21 16:33:48 +02005768 Examples: >
5769 :echo tan(10)
5770< 0.648361 >
5771 :echo tan(-4.01)
5772< -1.181502
Bram Moolenaardb84e452010-08-15 13:50:43 +02005773 {only available when compiled with the |+float| feature}
Bram Moolenaardb7c6862010-05-21 16:33:48 +02005774
5775
5776tanh({expr}) *tanh()*
Bram Moolenaar9855d6b2010-07-18 14:34:51 +02005777 Return the hyperbolic tangent of {expr} as a |Float| in the
Bram Moolenaardb7c6862010-05-21 16:33:48 +02005778 range [-1, 1].
Bram Moolenaar9855d6b2010-07-18 14:34:51 +02005779 {expr} must evaluate to a |Float| or a |Number|.
Bram Moolenaardb7c6862010-05-21 16:33:48 +02005780 Examples: >
5781 :echo tanh(0.5)
5782< 0.462117 >
5783 :echo tanh(-1)
5784< -0.761594
Bram Moolenaardb84e452010-08-15 13:50:43 +02005785 {only available when compiled with the |+float| feature}
Bram Moolenaardb7c6862010-05-21 16:33:48 +02005786
5787
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005788tolower({expr}) *tolower()*
5789 The result is a copy of the String given, with all uppercase
5790 characters turned into lowercase (just like applying |gu| to
5791 the string).
5792
5793toupper({expr}) *toupper()*
5794 The result is a copy of the String given, with all lowercase
5795 characters turned into uppercase (just like applying |gU| to
5796 the string).
5797
Bram Moolenaar8299df92004-07-10 09:47:34 +00005798tr({src}, {fromstr}, {tostr}) *tr()*
5799 The result is a copy of the {src} string with all characters
5800 which appear in {fromstr} replaced by the character in that
5801 position in the {tostr} string. Thus the first character in
5802 {fromstr} is translated into the first character in {tostr}
5803 and so on. Exactly like the unix "tr" command.
5804 This code also deals with multibyte characters properly.
5805
5806 Examples: >
5807 echo tr("hello there", "ht", "HT")
5808< returns "Hello THere" >
5809 echo tr("<blob>", "<>", "{}")
5810< returns "{blob}"
5811
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00005812trunc({expr}) *trunc()*
Bram Moolenaarc236c162008-07-13 17:41:49 +00005813 Return the largest integral value with magnitude less than or
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00005814 equal to {expr} as a |Float| (truncate towards zero).
5815 {expr} must evaluate to a |Float| or a |Number|.
5816 Examples: >
5817 echo trunc(1.456)
5818< 1.0 >
5819 echo trunc(-5.456)
5820< -5.0 >
5821 echo trunc(4.0)
5822< 4.0
5823 {only available when compiled with the |+float| feature}
5824
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +00005825 *type()*
5826type({expr}) The result is a Number, depending on the type of {expr}:
Bram Moolenaar748bf032005-02-02 23:04:36 +00005827 Number: 0
5828 String: 1
5829 Funcref: 2
5830 List: 3
5831 Dictionary: 4
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00005832 Float: 5
Bram Moolenaar748bf032005-02-02 23:04:36 +00005833 To avoid the magic numbers it should be used this way: >
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +00005834 :if type(myvar) == type(0)
5835 :if type(myvar) == type("")
5836 :if type(myvar) == type(function("tr"))
5837 :if type(myvar) == type([])
Bram Moolenaar748bf032005-02-02 23:04:36 +00005838 :if type(myvar) == type({})
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00005839 :if type(myvar) == type(0.0)
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005840
Bram Moolenaara17d4c12010-05-30 18:30:36 +02005841undofile({name}) *undofile()*
5842 Return the name of the undo file that would be used for a file
5843 with name {name} when writing. This uses the 'undodir'
5844 option, finding directories that exist. It does not check if
Bram Moolenaar860cae12010-06-05 23:22:07 +02005845 the undo file exists.
Bram Moolenaar945e2db2010-06-05 17:43:32 +02005846 {name} is always expanded to the full path, since that is what
5847 is used internally.
Bram Moolenaara17d4c12010-05-30 18:30:36 +02005848 Useful in combination with |:wundo| and |:rundo|.
5849 When compiled without the +persistent_undo option this always
5850 returns an empty string.
5851
Bram Moolenaara800b422010-06-27 01:15:55 +02005852undotree() *undotree()*
5853 Return the current state of the undo tree in a dictionary with
5854 the following items:
5855 "seq_last" The highest undo sequence number used.
5856 "seq_cur" The sequence number of the current position in
5857 the undo tree. This differs from "seq_last"
5858 when some changes were undone.
5859 "time_cur" Time last used for |:earlier| and related
5860 commands. Use |strftime()| to convert to
5861 something readable.
5862 "save_last" Number of the last file write. Zero when no
5863 write yet.
Bram Moolenaar730cde92010-06-27 05:18:54 +02005864 "save_cur" Number of the current position in the undo
5865 tree.
Bram Moolenaara800b422010-06-27 01:15:55 +02005866 "synced" Non-zero when the last undo block was synced.
5867 This happens when waiting from input from the
5868 user. See |undo-blocks|.
5869 "entries" A list of dictionaries with information about
5870 undo blocks.
5871
5872 The first item in the "entries" list is the oldest undo item.
5873 Each List item is a Dictionary with these items:
5874 "seq" Undo sequence number. Same as what appears in
5875 |:undolist|.
5876 "time" Timestamp when the change happened. Use
5877 |strftime()| to convert to something readable.
5878 "newhead" Only appears in the item that is the last one
5879 that was added. This marks the last change
5880 and where further changes will be added.
5881 "curhead" Only appears in the item that is the last one
5882 that was undone. This marks the current
5883 position in the undo tree, the block that will
5884 be used by a redo command. When nothing was
5885 undone after the last change this item will
5886 not appear anywhere.
5887 "save" Only appears on the last block before a file
5888 write. The number is the write count. The
5889 first write has number 1, the last one the
5890 "save_last" mentioned above.
5891 "alt" Alternate entry. This is again a List of undo
5892 blocks. Each item may again have an "alt"
5893 item.
5894
Bram Moolenaar677ee682005-01-27 14:41:15 +00005895values({dict}) *values()*
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00005896 Return a |List| with all the values of {dict}. The |List| is
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00005897 in arbitrary order.
Bram Moolenaar677ee682005-01-27 14:41:15 +00005898
5899
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005900virtcol({expr}) *virtcol()*
5901 The result is a Number, which is the screen column of the file
5902 position given with {expr}. That is, the last screen position
5903 occupied by the character at that position, when the screen
5904 would be of unlimited width. When there is a <Tab> at the
5905 position, the returned Number will be the column at the end of
5906 the <Tab>. For example, for a <Tab> in column 1, with 'ts'
5907 set to 8, it returns 8.
Bram Moolenaar477933c2007-07-17 14:32:23 +00005908 For the byte position use |col()|.
5909 For the use of {expr} see |col()|.
5910 When 'virtualedit' is used {expr} can be [lnum, col, off], where
Bram Moolenaar0b238792006-03-02 22:49:12 +00005911 "off" is the offset in screen columns from the start of the
Bram Moolenaard46bbc72007-05-12 14:38:41 +00005912 character. E.g., a position within a <Tab> or after the last
Bram Moolenaar0b238792006-03-02 22:49:12 +00005913 character.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005914 When Virtual editing is active in the current mode, a position
5915 beyond the end of the line can be returned. |'virtualedit'|
5916 The accepted positions are:
5917 . the cursor position
5918 $ the end of the cursor line (the result is the
5919 number of displayed characters in the cursor line
5920 plus one)
5921 'x position of mark x (if the mark is not set, 0 is
5922 returned)
5923 Note that only marks in the current file can be used.
5924 Examples: >
5925 virtcol(".") with text "foo^Lbar", with cursor on the "^L", returns 5
5926 virtcol("$") with text "foo^Lbar", returns 9
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00005927 virtcol("'t") with text " there", with 't at 'h', returns 6
5928< The first column is 1. 0 is returned for an error.
Bram Moolenaaref2f6562007-05-06 13:32:59 +00005929 A more advanced example that echoes the maximum length of
5930 all lines: >
5931 echo max(map(range(1, line('$')), "virtcol([v:val, '$'])"))
5932
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005933
5934visualmode([expr]) *visualmode()*
5935 The result is a String, which describes the last Visual mode
Bram Moolenaarc9b4b052006-04-30 18:54:39 +00005936 used in the current buffer. Initially it returns an empty
5937 string, but once Visual mode has been used, it returns "v",
5938 "V", or "<CTRL-V>" (a single CTRL-V character) for
5939 character-wise, line-wise, or block-wise Visual mode
5940 respectively.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005941 Example: >
5942 :exe "normal " . visualmode()
5943< This enters the same Visual mode as before. It is also useful
5944 in scripts if you wish to act differently depending on the
5945 Visual mode that was used.
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00005946 If Visual mode is active, use |mode()| to get the Visual mode
5947 (e.g., in a |:vmap|).
Bram Moolenaar05bb9532008-07-04 09:44:11 +00005948 *non-zero-arg*
5949 If [expr] is supplied and it evaluates to a non-zero Number or
5950 a non-empty String, then the Visual mode will be cleared and
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00005951 the old value is returned. Note that " " and "0" are also
Bram Moolenaar05bb9532008-07-04 09:44:11 +00005952 non-empty strings, thus cause the mode to be cleared. A List,
5953 Dictionary or Float is not a Number or String, thus does not
5954 cause the mode to be cleared.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005955
5956 *winbufnr()*
5957winbufnr({nr}) The result is a Number, which is the number of the buffer
Bram Moolenaar402d2fe2005-04-15 21:00:38 +00005958 associated with window {nr}. When {nr} is zero, the number of
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005959 the buffer in the current window is returned. When window
5960 {nr} doesn't exist, -1 is returned.
5961 Example: >
5962 :echo "The file in the current window is " . bufname(winbufnr(0))
5963<
5964 *wincol()*
5965wincol() The result is a Number, which is the virtual column of the
5966 cursor in the window. This is counting screen cells from the
5967 left side of the window. The leftmost column is one.
5968
5969winheight({nr}) *winheight()*
5970 The result is a Number, which is the height of window {nr}.
5971 When {nr} is zero, the height of the current window is
5972 returned. When window {nr} doesn't exist, -1 is returned.
5973 An existing window always has a height of zero or more.
5974 Examples: >
5975 :echo "The current window has " . winheight(0) . " lines."
5976<
5977 *winline()*
5978winline() The result is a Number, which is the screen line of the cursor
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00005979 in the window. This is counting screen lines from the top of
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005980 the window. The first line is one.
Bram Moolenaarbfd8fc02005-09-20 23:22:24 +00005981 If the cursor was moved the view on the file will be updated
5982 first, this may cause a scroll.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005983
5984 *winnr()*
Bram Moolenaar5eb86f92004-07-26 12:53:41 +00005985winnr([{arg}]) The result is a Number, which is the number of the current
5986 window. The top window has number 1.
5987 When the optional argument is "$", the number of the
Bram Moolenaar7e8fd632006-02-18 22:14:51 +00005988 last window is returned (the window count).
Bram Moolenaar5eb86f92004-07-26 12:53:41 +00005989 When the optional argument is "#", the number of the last
5990 accessed window is returned (where |CTRL-W_p| goes to).
Bram Moolenaaref2f6562007-05-06 13:32:59 +00005991 If there is no previous window or it is in another tab page 0
5992 is returned.
Bram Moolenaar5eb86f92004-07-26 12:53:41 +00005993 The number can be used with |CTRL-W_w| and ":wincmd w"
5994 |:wincmd|.
Bram Moolenaaref2f6562007-05-06 13:32:59 +00005995 Also see |tabpagewinnr()|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005996
5997 *winrestcmd()*
5998winrestcmd() Returns a sequence of |:resize| commands that should restore
5999 the current window sizes. Only works properly when no windows
Bram Moolenaar87b5ca52006-03-04 21:55:31 +00006000 are opened or closed and the current window and tab page is
6001 unchanged.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00006002 Example: >
6003 :let cmd = winrestcmd()
6004 :call MessWithWindowSizes()
6005 :exe cmd
Bram Moolenaar87b5ca52006-03-04 21:55:31 +00006006<
6007 *winrestview()*
6008winrestview({dict})
6009 Uses the |Dictionary| returned by |winsaveview()| to restore
6010 the view of the current window.
6011 If you have changed the values the result is unpredictable.
6012 If the window size changed the result won't be the same.
6013
6014 *winsaveview()*
6015winsaveview() Returns a |Dictionary| that contains information to restore
6016 the view of the current window. Use |winrestview()| to
6017 restore the view.
6018 This is useful if you have a mapping that jumps around in the
6019 buffer and you want to go back to the original view.
6020 This does not save fold information. Use the 'foldenable'
Bram Moolenaardb552d602006-03-23 22:59:57 +00006021 option to temporarily switch off folding, so that folds are
6022 not opened when moving around.
Bram Moolenaar87b5ca52006-03-04 21:55:31 +00006023 The return value includes:
6024 lnum cursor line number
6025 col cursor column
6026 coladd cursor column offset for 'virtualedit'
6027 curswant column for vertical movement
6028 topline first line in the window
6029 topfill filler lines, only in diff mode
6030 leftcol first column displayed
6031 skipcol columns skipped
6032 Note that no option values are saved.
6033
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00006034
6035winwidth({nr}) *winwidth()*
6036 The result is a Number, which is the width of window {nr}.
6037 When {nr} is zero, the width of the current window is
6038 returned. When window {nr} doesn't exist, -1 is returned.
6039 An existing window always has a width of zero or more.
6040 Examples: >
6041 :echo "The current window has " . winwidth(0) . " columns."
6042 :if winwidth(0) <= 50
6043 : exe "normal 50\<C-W>|"
6044 :endif
6045<
Bram Moolenaar3a7c85b2005-02-05 21:39:53 +00006046 *writefile()*
6047writefile({list}, {fname} [, {binary}])
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00006048 Write |List| {list} to file {fname}. Each list item is
Bram Moolenaar3a7c85b2005-02-05 21:39:53 +00006049 separated with a NL. Each list item must be a String or
6050 Number.
6051 When {binary} is equal to "b" binary mode is used: There will
6052 not be a NL after the last list item. An empty item at the
6053 end does cause the last line in the file to end in a NL.
6054 All NL characters are replaced with a NUL character.
6055 Inserting CR characters needs to be done before passing {list}
6056 to writefile().
6057 An existing file is overwritten, if possible.
6058 When the write fails -1 is returned, otherwise 0. There is an
6059 error message if the file can't be created or when writing
6060 fails.
6061 Also see |readfile()|.
6062 To copy a file byte for byte: >
6063 :let fl = readfile("foo", "b")
6064 :call writefile(fl, "foocopy", "b")
6065<
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00006066
6067 *feature-list*
6068There are three types of features:
60691. Features that are only supported when they have been enabled when Vim
6070 was compiled |+feature-list|. Example: >
6071 :if has("cindent")
60722. Features that are only supported when certain conditions have been met.
6073 Example: >
6074 :if has("gui_running")
6075< *has-patch*
60763. Included patches. First check |v:version| for the version of Vim.
6077 Then the "patch123" feature means that patch 123 has been included for
6078 this version. Example (checking version 6.2.148 or later): >
6079 :if v:version > 602 || v:version == 602 && has("patch148")
Bram Moolenaaref2f6562007-05-06 13:32:59 +00006080< Note that it's possible for patch 147 to be omitted even though 148 is
6081 included.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00006082
6083all_builtin_terms Compiled with all builtin terminals enabled.
6084amiga Amiga version of Vim.
6085arabic Compiled with Arabic support |Arabic|.
6086arp Compiled with ARP support (Amiga).
Bram Moolenaara9b1e742005-12-19 22:14:58 +00006087autocmd Compiled with autocommand support. |autocommand|
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00006088balloon_eval Compiled with |balloon-eval| support.
Bram Moolenaar45360022005-07-21 21:08:21 +00006089balloon_multiline GUI supports multiline balloons.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00006090beos BeOS version of Vim.
6091browse Compiled with |:browse| support, and browse() will
6092 work.
6093builtin_terms Compiled with some builtin terminals.
6094byte_offset Compiled with support for 'o' in 'statusline'
6095cindent Compiled with 'cindent' support.
6096clientserver Compiled with remote invocation support |clientserver|.
6097clipboard Compiled with 'clipboard' support.
6098cmdline_compl Compiled with |cmdline-completion| support.
6099cmdline_hist Compiled with |cmdline-history| support.
6100cmdline_info Compiled with 'showcmd' and 'ruler' support.
6101comments Compiled with |'comments'| support.
6102cryptv Compiled with encryption support |encryption|.
6103cscope Compiled with |cscope| support.
6104compatible Compiled to be very Vi compatible.
6105debug Compiled with "DEBUG" defined.
6106dialog_con Compiled with console dialog support.
6107dialog_gui Compiled with GUI dialog support.
6108diff Compiled with |vimdiff| and 'diff' support.
6109digraphs Compiled with support for digraphs.
6110dnd Compiled with support for the "~ register |quote_~|.
6111dos32 32 bits DOS (DJGPP) version of Vim.
6112dos16 16 bits DOS version of Vim.
6113ebcdic Compiled on a machine with ebcdic character set.
6114emacs_tags Compiled with support for Emacs tags.
6115eval Compiled with expression evaluation support. Always
6116 true, of course!
6117ex_extra Compiled with extra Ex commands |+ex_extra|.
6118extra_search Compiled with support for |'incsearch'| and
6119 |'hlsearch'|
6120farsi Compiled with Farsi support |farsi|.
6121file_in_path Compiled with support for |gf| and |<cfile>|
Bram Moolenaar26a60b42005-02-22 08:49:11 +00006122filterpipe When 'shelltemp' is off pipes are used for shell
6123 read/write/filter commands
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00006124find_in_path Compiled with support for include file searches
6125 |+find_in_path|.
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00006126float Compiled with support for |Float|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00006127fname_case Case in file names matters (for Amiga, MS-DOS, and
6128 Windows this is not present).
6129folding Compiled with |folding| support.
6130footer Compiled with GUI footer support. |gui-footer|
6131fork Compiled to use fork()/exec() instead of system().
6132gettext Compiled with message translation |multi-lang|
6133gui Compiled with GUI enabled.
6134gui_athena Compiled with Athena GUI.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00006135gui_gtk Compiled with GTK+ GUI (any version).
6136gui_gtk2 Compiled with GTK+ 2 GUI (gui_gtk is also defined).
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00006137gui_gnome Compiled with Gnome support (gui_gtk is also defined).
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00006138gui_mac Compiled with Macintosh GUI.
6139gui_motif Compiled with Motif GUI.
6140gui_photon Compiled with Photon GUI.
6141gui_win32 Compiled with MS Windows Win32 GUI.
6142gui_win32s idem, and Win32s system being used (Windows 3.1)
6143gui_running Vim is running in the GUI, or it will start soon.
6144hangul_input Compiled with Hangul input support. |hangul|
6145iconv Can use iconv() for conversion.
6146insert_expand Compiled with support for CTRL-X expansion commands in
6147 Insert mode.
6148jumplist Compiled with |jumplist| support.
6149keymap Compiled with 'keymap' support.
6150langmap Compiled with 'langmap' support.
6151libcall Compiled with |libcall()| support.
6152linebreak Compiled with 'linebreak', 'breakat' and 'showbreak'
6153 support.
6154lispindent Compiled with support for lisp indenting.
6155listcmds Compiled with commands for the buffer list |:files|
6156 and the argument list |arglist|.
6157localmap Compiled with local mappings and abbr. |:map-local|
Bram Moolenaar0ba04292010-07-14 23:23:17 +02006158lua Compiled with Lua interface |Lua|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00006159mac Macintosh version of Vim.
6160macunix Macintosh version of Vim, using Unix files (OS-X).
6161menu Compiled with support for |:menu|.
6162mksession Compiled with support for |:mksession|.
6163modify_fname Compiled with file name modifiers. |filename-modifiers|
6164mouse Compiled with support mouse.
6165mouseshape Compiled with support for 'mouseshape'.
6166mouse_dec Compiled with support for Dec terminal mouse.
6167mouse_gpm Compiled with support for gpm (Linux console mouse)
6168mouse_netterm Compiled with support for netterm mouse.
6169mouse_pterm Compiled with support for qnx pterm mouse.
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00006170mouse_sysmouse Compiled with support for sysmouse (*BSD console mouse)
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00006171mouse_xterm Compiled with support for xterm mouse.
Bram Moolenaar42022d52008-12-09 09:57:49 +00006172multi_byte Compiled with support for 'encoding'
6173multi_byte_encoding 'encoding' is set to a multi-byte encoding.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00006174multi_byte_ime Compiled with support for IME input method.
6175multi_lang Compiled with support for multiple languages.
Bram Moolenaar325b7a22004-07-05 15:58:32 +00006176mzscheme Compiled with MzScheme interface |mzscheme|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00006177netbeans_intg Compiled with support for |netbeans|.
Bram Moolenaarb26e6322010-05-22 21:34:09 +02006178netbeans_enabled Compiled with support for |netbeans| and connected.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00006179ole Compiled with OLE automation support for Win32.
6180os2 OS/2 version of Vim.
6181osfiletype Compiled with support for osfiletypes |+osfiletype|
6182path_extra Compiled with up/downwards search in 'path' and 'tags'
6183perl Compiled with Perl interface.
Bram Moolenaar55debbe2010-05-23 23:34:36 +02006184persistent_undo Compiled with support for persistent undo history.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00006185postscript Compiled with PostScript file printing.
6186printer Compiled with |:hardcopy| support.
Bram Moolenaar05159a02005-02-26 23:04:13 +00006187profile Compiled with |:profile| support.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00006188python Compiled with Python interface.
6189qnx QNX version of Vim.
6190quickfix Compiled with |quickfix| support.
Bram Moolenaard68071d2006-05-02 22:08:30 +00006191reltime Compiled with |reltime()| support.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00006192rightleft Compiled with 'rightleft' support.
6193ruby Compiled with Ruby interface |ruby|.
6194scrollbind Compiled with 'scrollbind' support.
6195showcmd Compiled with 'showcmd' support.
6196signs Compiled with |:sign| support.
6197smartindent Compiled with 'smartindent' support.
Bram Moolenaar69a7cb42004-06-20 12:51:53 +00006198sniff Compiled with SNiFF interface support.
Bram Moolenaaref94eec2009-11-11 13:22:11 +00006199startuptime Compiled with |--startuptime| support.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00006200statusline Compiled with support for 'statusline', 'rulerformat'
6201 and special formats of 'titlestring' and 'iconstring'.
6202sun_workshop Compiled with support for Sun |workshop|.
Bram Moolenaar82cf9b62005-06-07 21:09:25 +00006203spell Compiled with spell checking support |spell|.
6204syntax Compiled with syntax highlighting support |syntax|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00006205syntax_items There are active syntax highlighting items for the
6206 current buffer.
6207system Compiled to use system() instead of fork()/exec().
6208tag_binary Compiled with binary searching in tags files
6209 |tag-binary-search|.
6210tag_old_static Compiled with support for old static tags
6211 |tag-old-static|.
6212tag_any_white Compiled with support for any white characters in tags
6213 files |tag-any-white|.
6214tcl Compiled with Tcl interface.
6215terminfo Compiled with terminfo instead of termcap.
6216termresponse Compiled with support for |t_RV| and |v:termresponse|.
6217textobjects Compiled with support for |text-objects|.
6218tgetent Compiled with tgetent support, able to use a termcap
6219 or terminfo file.
6220title Compiled with window title support |'title'|.
6221toolbar Compiled with support for |gui-toolbar|.
6222unix Unix version of Vim.
6223user_commands User-defined commands.
6224viminfo Compiled with viminfo support.
Bram Moolenaar24ea3ba2010-09-19 19:01:21 +02006225vim_starting True while initial source'ing takes place. |startup|
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00006226vertsplit Compiled with vertically split windows |:vsplit|.
6227virtualedit Compiled with 'virtualedit' option.
6228visual Compiled with Visual mode.
6229visualextra Compiled with extra Visual mode commands.
6230 |blockwise-operators|.
6231vms VMS version of Vim.
6232vreplace Compiled with |gR| and |gr| commands.
6233wildignore Compiled with 'wildignore' option.
6234wildmenu Compiled with 'wildmenu' option.
6235windows Compiled with support for more than one window.
6236winaltkeys Compiled with 'winaltkeys' option.
6237win16 Win16 version of Vim (MS-Windows 3.1).
6238win32 Win32 version of Vim (MS-Windows 95/98/ME/NT/2000/XP).
6239win64 Win64 version of Vim (MS-Windows 64 bit).
6240win32unix Win32 version of Vim, using Unix files (Cygwin)
6241win95 Win32 version for MS-Windows 95/98/ME.
6242writebackup Compiled with 'writebackup' default on.
6243xfontset Compiled with X fontset support |xfontset|.
6244xim Compiled with X input method support |xim|.
6245xsmp Compiled with X session management support.
6246xsmp_interact Compiled with interactive X session management support.
6247xterm_clipboard Compiled with support for xterm clipboard.
6248xterm_save Compiled with support for saving and restoring the
6249 xterm screen.
6250x11 Compiled with X11 support.
6251
6252 *string-match*
6253Matching a pattern in a String
6254
6255A regexp pattern as explained at |pattern| is normally used to find a match in
6256the buffer lines. When a pattern is used to find a match in a String, almost
6257everything works in the same way. The difference is that a String is handled
6258like it is one line. When it contains a "\n" character, this is not seen as a
6259line break for the pattern. It can be matched with a "\n" in the pattern, or
6260with ".". Example: >
6261 :let a = "aaaa\nxxxx"
6262 :echo matchstr(a, "..\n..")
6263 aa
6264 xx
6265 :echo matchstr(a, "a.x")
6266 a
6267 x
6268
6269Don't forget that "^" will only match at the first character of the String and
6270"$" at the last character of the string. They don't match after or before a
6271"\n".
6272
6273==============================================================================
62745. Defining functions *user-functions*
6275
6276New functions can be defined. These can be called just like builtin
6277functions. The function executes a sequence of Ex commands. Normal mode
6278commands can be executed with the |:normal| command.
6279
6280The function name must start with an uppercase letter, to avoid confusion with
6281builtin functions. To prevent from using the same name in different scripts
6282avoid obvious, short names. A good habit is to start the function name with
6283the name of the script, e.g., "HTMLcolor()".
6284
Bram Moolenaar92d640f2005-09-05 22:11:52 +00006285It's also possible to use curly braces, see |curly-braces-names|. And the
6286|autoload| facility is useful to define a function only when it's called.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00006287
6288 *local-function*
6289A function local to a script must start with "s:". A local script function
6290can only be called from within the script and from functions, user commands
6291and autocommands defined in the script. It is also possible to call the
Bram Moolenaare37d50a2008-08-06 17:06:04 +00006292function from a mapping defined in the script, but then |<SID>| must be used
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00006293instead of "s:" when the mapping is expanded outside of the script.
6294
6295 *:fu* *:function* *E128* *E129* *E123*
6296:fu[nction] List all functions and their arguments.
6297
6298:fu[nction] {name} List function {name}.
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00006299 {name} can also be a |Dictionary| entry that is a
6300 |Funcref|: >
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00006301 :function dict.init
Bram Moolenaar92d640f2005-09-05 22:11:52 +00006302
6303:fu[nction] /{pattern} List functions with a name matching {pattern}.
6304 Example that lists all functions ending with "File": >
6305 :function /File$
Bram Moolenaar5b8d8fd2005-08-16 23:01:50 +00006306<
6307 *:function-verbose*
6308When 'verbose' is non-zero, listing a function will also display where it was
6309last defined. Example: >
6310
6311 :verbose function SetFileTypeSH
6312 function SetFileTypeSH(name)
6313 Last set from /usr/share/vim/vim-7.0/filetype.vim
6314<
Bram Moolenaar8aff23a2005-08-19 20:40:30 +00006315See |:verbose-cmd| for more information.
Bram Moolenaar5b8d8fd2005-08-16 23:01:50 +00006316
Bram Moolenaarc9b4b052006-04-30 18:54:39 +00006317 *E124* *E125*
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00006318:fu[nction][!] {name}([arguments]) [range] [abort] [dict]
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00006319 Define a new function by the name {name}. The name
6320 must be made of alphanumeric characters and '_', and
6321 must start with a capital or "s:" (see above).
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00006322
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00006323 {name} can also be a |Dictionary| entry that is a
6324 |Funcref|: >
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00006325 :function dict.init(arg)
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00006326< "dict" must be an existing dictionary. The entry
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00006327 "init" is added if it didn't exist yet. Otherwise [!]
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00006328 is required to overwrite an existing function. The
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00006329 result is a |Funcref| to a numbered function. The
6330 function can only be used with a |Funcref| and will be
6331 deleted if there are no more references to it.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00006332 *E127* *E122*
6333 When a function by this name already exists and [!] is
6334 not used an error message is given. When [!] is used,
6335 an existing function is silently replaced. Unless it
6336 is currently being executed, that is an error.
Bram Moolenaar8f999f12005-01-25 22:12:55 +00006337
6338 For the {arguments} see |function-argument|.
6339
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00006340 *a:firstline* *a:lastline*
6341 When the [range] argument is added, the function is
6342 expected to take care of a range itself. The range is
6343 passed as "a:firstline" and "a:lastline". If [range]
6344 is excluded, ":{range}call" will call the function for
6345 each line in the range, with the cursor on the start
6346 of each line. See |function-range-example|.
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00006347
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00006348 When the [abort] argument is added, the function will
6349 abort as soon as an error is detected.
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00006350
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00006351 When the [dict] argument is added, the function must
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00006352 be invoked through an entry in a |Dictionary|. The
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00006353 local variable "self" will then be set to the
6354 dictionary. See |Dictionary-function|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00006355
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00006356 *function-search-undo*
Bram Moolenaar98692072006-02-04 00:57:42 +00006357 The last used search pattern and the redo command "."
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00006358 will not be changed by the function. This also
6359 implies that the effect of |:nohlsearch| is undone
6360 when the function returns.
Bram Moolenaar98692072006-02-04 00:57:42 +00006361
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00006362 *:endf* *:endfunction* *E126* *E193*
6363:endf[unction] The end of a function definition. Must be on a line
6364 by its own, without other commands.
6365
6366 *:delf* *:delfunction* *E130* *E131*
6367:delf[unction] {name} Delete function {name}.
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00006368 {name} can also be a |Dictionary| entry that is a
6369 |Funcref|: >
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00006370 :delfunc dict.init
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00006371< This will remove the "init" entry from "dict". The
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00006372 function is deleted if there are no more references to
6373 it.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00006374 *:retu* *:return* *E133*
6375:retu[rn] [expr] Return from a function. When "[expr]" is given, it is
6376 evaluated and returned as the result of the function.
6377 If "[expr]" is not given, the number 0 is returned.
6378 When a function ends without an explicit ":return",
6379 the number 0 is returned.
6380 Note that there is no check for unreachable lines,
6381 thus there is no warning if commands follow ":return".
6382
6383 If the ":return" is used after a |:try| but before the
6384 matching |:finally| (if present), the commands
6385 following the ":finally" up to the matching |:endtry|
6386 are executed first. This process applies to all
6387 nested ":try"s inside the function. The function
6388 returns at the outermost ":endtry".
6389
Bram Moolenaar8f999f12005-01-25 22:12:55 +00006390 *function-argument* *a:var*
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00006391An argument can be defined by giving its name. In the function this can then
Bram Moolenaar8f999f12005-01-25 22:12:55 +00006392be used as "a:name" ("a:" for argument).
Bram Moolenaaref2f6562007-05-06 13:32:59 +00006393 *a:0* *a:1* *a:000* *E740* *...*
Bram Moolenaar8f999f12005-01-25 22:12:55 +00006394Up to 20 arguments can be given, separated by commas. After the named
6395arguments an argument "..." can be specified, which means that more arguments
6396may optionally be following. In the function the extra arguments can be used
6397as "a:1", "a:2", etc. "a:0" is set to the number of extra arguments (which
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00006398can be 0). "a:000" is set to a |List| that contains these arguments. Note
6399that "a:1" is the same as "a:000[0]".
Bram Moolenaar2ce06f62005-01-31 19:19:04 +00006400 *E742*
6401The a: scope and the variables in it cannot be changed, they are fixed.
Bram Moolenaare37d50a2008-08-06 17:06:04 +00006402However, if a |List| or |Dictionary| is used, you can change their contents.
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00006403Thus you can pass a |List| to a function and have the function add an item to
6404it. If you want to make sure the function cannot change a |List| or
6405|Dictionary| use |:lockvar|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00006406
Bram Moolenaar8f999f12005-01-25 22:12:55 +00006407When not using "...", the number of arguments in a function call must be equal
6408to the number of named arguments. When using "...", the number of arguments
6409may be larger.
6410
6411It is also possible to define a function without any arguments. You must
6412still supply the () then. The body of the function follows in the next lines,
6413until the matching |:endfunction|. It is allowed to define another function
6414inside a function body.
6415
6416 *local-variables*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00006417Inside a function variables can be used. These are local variables, which
6418will disappear when the function returns. Global variables need to be
6419accessed with "g:".
6420
6421Example: >
6422 :function Table(title, ...)
6423 : echohl Title
6424 : echo a:title
6425 : echohl None
Bram Moolenaar677ee682005-01-27 14:41:15 +00006426 : echo a:0 . " items:"
6427 : for s in a:000
6428 : echon ' ' . s
6429 : endfor
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00006430 :endfunction
6431
6432This function can then be called with: >
Bram Moolenaar677ee682005-01-27 14:41:15 +00006433 call Table("Table", "line1", "line2")
6434 call Table("Empty Table")
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00006435
Bram Moolenaaref2f6562007-05-06 13:32:59 +00006436To return more than one value, return a |List|: >
6437 :function Compute(n1, n2)
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00006438 : if a:n2 == 0
Bram Moolenaaref2f6562007-05-06 13:32:59 +00006439 : return ["fail", 0]
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00006440 : endif
Bram Moolenaaref2f6562007-05-06 13:32:59 +00006441 : return ["ok", a:n1 / a:n2]
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00006442 :endfunction
6443
6444This function can then be called with: >
Bram Moolenaaref2f6562007-05-06 13:32:59 +00006445 :let [success, div] = Compute(102, 6)
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00006446 :if success == "ok"
6447 : echo div
6448 :endif
Bram Moolenaaref2f6562007-05-06 13:32:59 +00006449<
Bram Moolenaar39f05632006-03-19 22:15:26 +00006450 *:cal* *:call* *E107* *E117*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00006451:[range]cal[l] {name}([arguments])
6452 Call a function. The name of the function and its arguments
6453 are as specified with |:function|. Up to 20 arguments can be
Bram Moolenaaref2f6562007-05-06 13:32:59 +00006454 used. The returned value is discarded.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00006455 Without a range and for functions that accept a range, the
6456 function is called once. When a range is given the cursor is
6457 positioned at the start of the first line before executing the
6458 function.
6459 When a range is given and the function doesn't handle it
6460 itself, the function is executed for each line in the range,
6461 with the cursor in the first column of that line. The cursor
6462 is left at the last line (possibly moved by the last function
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00006463 call). The arguments are re-evaluated for each line. Thus
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00006464 this works:
6465 *function-range-example* >
6466 :function Mynumber(arg)
6467 : echo line(".") . " " . a:arg
6468 :endfunction
6469 :1,5call Mynumber(getline("."))
6470<
6471 The "a:firstline" and "a:lastline" are defined anyway, they
6472 can be used to do something different at the start or end of
6473 the range.
6474
6475 Example of a function that handles the range itself: >
6476
6477 :function Cont() range
6478 : execute (a:firstline + 1) . "," . a:lastline . 's/^/\t\\ '
6479 :endfunction
6480 :4,8call Cont()
6481<
6482 This function inserts the continuation character "\" in front
6483 of all the lines in the range, except the first one.
6484
Bram Moolenaaref2f6562007-05-06 13:32:59 +00006485 When the function returns a composite value it can be further
6486 dereferenced, but the range will not be used then. Example: >
6487 :4,8call GetDict().method()
6488< Here GetDict() gets the range but method() does not.
6489
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00006490 *E132*
6491The recursiveness of user functions is restricted with the |'maxfuncdepth'|
6492option.
6493
Bram Moolenaar7c626922005-02-07 22:01:03 +00006494
6495AUTOMATICALLY LOADING FUNCTIONS ~
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00006496 *autoload-functions*
6497When using many or large functions, it's possible to automatically define them
Bram Moolenaar7c626922005-02-07 22:01:03 +00006498only when they are used. There are two methods: with an autocommand and with
6499the "autoload" directory in 'runtimepath'.
6500
6501
6502Using an autocommand ~
6503
Bram Moolenaar05159a02005-02-26 23:04:13 +00006504This is introduced in the user manual, section |41.14|.
6505
Bram Moolenaar7c626922005-02-07 22:01:03 +00006506The autocommand is useful if you have a plugin that is a long Vim script file.
6507You can define the autocommand and quickly quit the script with |:finish|.
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00006508That makes Vim startup faster. The autocommand should then load the same file
Bram Moolenaar7c626922005-02-07 22:01:03 +00006509again, setting a variable to skip the |:finish| command.
6510
6511Use the FuncUndefined autocommand event with a pattern that matches the
6512function(s) to be defined. Example: >
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00006513
6514 :au FuncUndefined BufNet* source ~/vim/bufnetfuncs.vim
6515
6516The file "~/vim/bufnetfuncs.vim" should then define functions that start with
6517"BufNet". Also see |FuncUndefined|.
6518
Bram Moolenaar7c626922005-02-07 22:01:03 +00006519
6520Using an autoload script ~
Bram Moolenaar26a60b42005-02-22 08:49:11 +00006521 *autoload* *E746*
Bram Moolenaar05159a02005-02-26 23:04:13 +00006522This is introduced in the user manual, section |41.15|.
6523
Bram Moolenaar7c626922005-02-07 22:01:03 +00006524Using a script in the "autoload" directory is simpler, but requires using
6525exactly the right file name. A function that can be autoloaded has a name
6526like this: >
6527
Bram Moolenaara7fc0102005-05-18 22:17:12 +00006528 :call filename#funcname()
Bram Moolenaar7c626922005-02-07 22:01:03 +00006529
6530When such a function is called, and it is not defined yet, Vim will search the
6531"autoload" directories in 'runtimepath' for a script file called
6532"filename.vim". For example "~/.vim/autoload/filename.vim". That file should
6533then define the function like this: >
6534
Bram Moolenaara7fc0102005-05-18 22:17:12 +00006535 function filename#funcname()
Bram Moolenaar7c626922005-02-07 22:01:03 +00006536 echo "Done!"
6537 endfunction
6538
Bram Moolenaar60a795a2005-09-16 21:55:43 +00006539The file name and the name used before the # in the function must match
Bram Moolenaar7c626922005-02-07 22:01:03 +00006540exactly, and the defined function must have the name exactly as it will be
6541called.
6542
Bram Moolenaara7fc0102005-05-18 22:17:12 +00006543It is possible to use subdirectories. Every # in the function name works like
6544a path separator. Thus when calling a function: >
Bram Moolenaar7c626922005-02-07 22:01:03 +00006545
Bram Moolenaara7fc0102005-05-18 22:17:12 +00006546 :call foo#bar#func()
Bram Moolenaar7c626922005-02-07 22:01:03 +00006547
6548Vim will look for the file "autoload/foo/bar.vim" in 'runtimepath'.
6549
Bram Moolenaar26a60b42005-02-22 08:49:11 +00006550This also works when reading a variable that has not been set yet: >
6551
Bram Moolenaara7fc0102005-05-18 22:17:12 +00006552 :let l = foo#bar#lvar
Bram Moolenaar26a60b42005-02-22 08:49:11 +00006553
Bram Moolenaara5792f52005-11-23 21:25:05 +00006554However, when the autoload script was already loaded it won't be loaded again
6555for an unknown variable.
6556
Bram Moolenaar26a60b42005-02-22 08:49:11 +00006557When assigning a value to such a variable nothing special happens. This can
6558be used to pass settings to the autoload script before it's loaded: >
6559
Bram Moolenaara7fc0102005-05-18 22:17:12 +00006560 :let foo#bar#toggle = 1
6561 :call foo#bar#func()
Bram Moolenaar26a60b42005-02-22 08:49:11 +00006562
Bram Moolenaar4399ef42005-02-12 14:29:27 +00006563Note that when you make a mistake and call a function that is supposed to be
6564defined in an autoload script, but the script doesn't actually define the
6565function, the script will be sourced every time you try to call the function.
Bram Moolenaar26a60b42005-02-22 08:49:11 +00006566And you will get an error message every time.
6567
6568Also note that if you have two script files, and one calls a function in the
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00006569other and vice versa, before the used function is defined, it won't work.
Bram Moolenaar26a60b42005-02-22 08:49:11 +00006570Avoid using the autoload functionality at the toplevel.
Bram Moolenaar7c626922005-02-07 22:01:03 +00006571
Bram Moolenaar433f7c82006-03-21 21:29:36 +00006572Hint: If you distribute a bunch of scripts you can pack them together with the
6573|vimball| utility. Also read the user manual |distribute-script|.
6574
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00006575==============================================================================
65766. Curly braces names *curly-braces-names*
6577
6578Wherever you can use a variable, you can use a "curly braces name" variable.
6579This is a regular variable name with one or more expressions wrapped in braces
6580{} like this: >
6581 my_{adjective}_variable
6582
6583When Vim encounters this, it evaluates the expression inside the braces, puts
6584that in place of the expression, and re-interprets the whole as a variable
6585name. So in the above example, if the variable "adjective" was set to
6586"noisy", then the reference would be to "my_noisy_variable", whereas if
6587"adjective" was set to "quiet", then it would be to "my_quiet_variable".
6588
6589One application for this is to create a set of variables governed by an option
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00006590value. For example, the statement >
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00006591 echo my_{&background}_message
6592
6593would output the contents of "my_dark_message" or "my_light_message" depending
6594on the current value of 'background'.
6595
6596You can use multiple brace pairs: >
6597 echo my_{adverb}_{adjective}_message
6598..or even nest them: >
6599 echo my_{ad{end_of_word}}_message
6600where "end_of_word" is either "verb" or "jective".
6601
6602However, the expression inside the braces must evaluate to a valid single
Bram Moolenaar402d2fe2005-04-15 21:00:38 +00006603variable name, e.g. this is invalid: >
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00006604 :let foo='a + b'
6605 :echo c{foo}d
6606.. since the result of expansion is "ca + bd", which is not a variable name.
6607
6608 *curly-braces-function-names*
6609You can call and define functions by an evaluated name in a similar way.
6610Example: >
6611 :let func_end='whizz'
6612 :call my_func_{func_end}(parameter)
6613
6614This would call the function "my_func_whizz(parameter)".
6615
6616==============================================================================
66177. Commands *expression-commands*
6618
6619:let {var-name} = {expr1} *:let* *E18*
6620 Set internal variable {var-name} to the result of the
6621 expression {expr1}. The variable will get the type
6622 from the {expr}. If {var-name} didn't exist yet, it
6623 is created.
6624
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +00006625:let {var-name}[{idx}] = {expr1} *E689*
6626 Set a list item to the result of the expression
6627 {expr1}. {var-name} must refer to a list and {idx}
6628 must be a valid index in that list. For nested list
6629 the index can be repeated.
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00006630 This cannot be used to add an item to a |List|.
6631 This cannot be used to set a byte in a String. You
6632 can do that like this: >
6633 :let var = var[0:2] . 'X' . var[4:]
6634<
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00006635 *E711* *E719*
6636:let {var-name}[{idx1}:{idx2}] = {expr1} *E708* *E709* *E710*
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00006637 Set a sequence of items in a |List| to the result of
6638 the expression {expr1}, which must be a list with the
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +00006639 correct number of items.
6640 {idx1} can be omitted, zero is used instead.
6641 {idx2} can be omitted, meaning the end of the list.
6642 When the selected range of items is partly past the
6643 end of the list, items will be added.
6644
Bram Moolenaar748bf032005-02-02 23:04:36 +00006645 *:let+=* *:let-=* *:let.=* *E734*
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00006646:let {var} += {expr1} Like ":let {var} = {var} + {expr1}".
6647:let {var} -= {expr1} Like ":let {var} = {var} - {expr1}".
6648:let {var} .= {expr1} Like ":let {var} = {var} . {expr1}".
6649 These fail if {var} was not set yet and when the type
6650 of {var} and {expr1} don't fit the operator.
6651
6652
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00006653:let ${env-name} = {expr1} *:let-environment* *:let-$*
6654 Set environment variable {env-name} to the result of
6655 the expression {expr1}. The type is always String.
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00006656:let ${env-name} .= {expr1}
6657 Append {expr1} to the environment variable {env-name}.
6658 If the environment variable didn't exist yet this
6659 works like "=".
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00006660
6661:let @{reg-name} = {expr1} *:let-register* *:let-@*
6662 Write the result of the expression {expr1} in register
6663 {reg-name}. {reg-name} must be a single letter, and
6664 must be the name of a writable register (see
6665 |registers|). "@@" can be used for the unnamed
6666 register, "@/" for the search pattern.
6667 If the result of {expr1} ends in a <CR> or <NL>, the
6668 register will be linewise, otherwise it will be set to
6669 characterwise.
6670 This can be used to clear the last search pattern: >
6671 :let @/ = ""
6672< This is different from searching for an empty string,
6673 that would match everywhere.
6674
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00006675:let @{reg-name} .= {expr1}
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00006676 Append {expr1} to register {reg-name}. If the
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00006677 register was empty it's like setting it to {expr1}.
6678
Bram Moolenaaref2f6562007-05-06 13:32:59 +00006679:let &{option-name} = {expr1} *:let-option* *:let-&*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00006680 Set option {option-name} to the result of the
Bram Moolenaarfca34d62005-01-04 21:38:36 +00006681 expression {expr1}. A String or Number value is
6682 always converted to the type of the option.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00006683 For an option local to a window or buffer the effect
6684 is just like using the |:set| command: both the local
Bram Moolenaara5fac542005-10-12 20:58:49 +00006685 value and the global value are changed.
Bram Moolenaarfca34d62005-01-04 21:38:36 +00006686 Example: >
6687 :let &path = &path . ',/usr/local/include'
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00006688
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00006689:let &{option-name} .= {expr1}
6690 For a string option: Append {expr1} to the value.
6691 Does not insert a comma like |:set+=|.
6692
6693:let &{option-name} += {expr1}
6694:let &{option-name} -= {expr1}
6695 For a number or boolean option: Add or subtract
6696 {expr1}.
6697
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00006698:let &l:{option-name} = {expr1}
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00006699:let &l:{option-name} .= {expr1}
6700:let &l:{option-name} += {expr1}
6701:let &l:{option-name} -= {expr1}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00006702 Like above, but only set the local value of an option
6703 (if there is one). Works like |:setlocal|.
6704
6705:let &g:{option-name} = {expr1}
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00006706:let &g:{option-name} .= {expr1}
6707:let &g:{option-name} += {expr1}
6708:let &g:{option-name} -= {expr1}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00006709 Like above, but only set the global value of an option
6710 (if there is one). Works like |:setglobal|.
6711
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +00006712:let [{name1}, {name2}, ...] = {expr1} *:let-unpack* *E687* *E688*
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00006713 {expr1} must evaluate to a |List|. The first item in
Bram Moolenaarfca34d62005-01-04 21:38:36 +00006714 the list is assigned to {name1}, the second item to
6715 {name2}, etc.
6716 The number of names must match the number of items in
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00006717 the |List|.
Bram Moolenaarfca34d62005-01-04 21:38:36 +00006718 Each name can be one of the items of the ":let"
6719 command as mentioned above.
6720 Example: >
6721 :let [s, item] = GetItem(s)
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00006722< Detail: {expr1} is evaluated first, then the
6723 assignments are done in sequence. This matters if
6724 {name2} depends on {name1}. Example: >
6725 :let x = [0, 1]
6726 :let i = 0
6727 :let [i, x[i]] = [1, 2]
6728 :echo x
6729< The result is [0, 2].
6730
6731:let [{name1}, {name2}, ...] .= {expr1}
6732:let [{name1}, {name2}, ...] += {expr1}
6733:let [{name1}, {name2}, ...] -= {expr1}
6734 Like above, but append/add/subtract the value for each
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00006735 |List| item.
Bram Moolenaarfca34d62005-01-04 21:38:36 +00006736
6737:let [{name}, ..., ; {lastname}] = {expr1}
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00006738 Like |:let-unpack| above, but the |List| may have more
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00006739 items than there are names. A list of the remaining
6740 items is assigned to {lastname}. If there are no
6741 remaining items {lastname} is set to an empty list.
Bram Moolenaarfca34d62005-01-04 21:38:36 +00006742 Example: >
6743 :let [a, b; rest] = ["aval", "bval", 3, 4]
6744<
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00006745:let [{name}, ..., ; {lastname}] .= {expr1}
6746:let [{name}, ..., ; {lastname}] += {expr1}
6747:let [{name}, ..., ; {lastname}] -= {expr1}
6748 Like above, but append/add/subtract the value for each
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00006749 |List| item.
Bram Moolenaar4a748032010-09-30 21:47:56 +02006750
6751 *E121*
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00006752:let {var-name} .. List the value of variable {var-name}. Multiple
Bram Moolenaardcaf10e2005-01-21 11:55:25 +00006753 variable names may be given. Special names recognized
6754 here: *E738*
Bram Moolenaarca003e12006-03-17 23:19:38 +00006755 g: global variables
6756 b: local buffer variables
6757 w: local window variables
Bram Moolenaar910f66f2006-04-05 20:41:53 +00006758 t: local tab page variables
Bram Moolenaarca003e12006-03-17 23:19:38 +00006759 s: script-local variables
6760 l: local function variables
Bram Moolenaardcaf10e2005-01-21 11:55:25 +00006761 v: Vim variables.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00006762
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00006763:let List the values of all variables. The type of the
6764 variable is indicated before the value:
6765 <nothing> String
6766 # Number
Bram Moolenaarc9b4b052006-04-30 18:54:39 +00006767 * Funcref
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00006768
Bram Moolenaar2ce06f62005-01-31 19:19:04 +00006769
Bram Moolenaaref2f6562007-05-06 13:32:59 +00006770:unl[et][!] {name} ... *:unlet* *:unl* *E108* *E795*
Bram Moolenaar2ce06f62005-01-31 19:19:04 +00006771 Remove the internal variable {name}. Several variable
6772 names can be given, they are all removed. The name
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00006773 may also be a |List| or |Dictionary| item.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00006774 With [!] no error message is given for non-existing
6775 variables.
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00006776 One or more items from a |List| can be removed: >
Bram Moolenaar9cd15162005-01-16 22:02:49 +00006777 :unlet list[3] " remove fourth item
6778 :unlet list[3:] " remove fourth item to last
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00006779< One item from a |Dictionary| can be removed at a time: >
Bram Moolenaar9cd15162005-01-16 22:02:49 +00006780 :unlet dict['two']
6781 :unlet dict.two
Bram Moolenaarc236c162008-07-13 17:41:49 +00006782< This is especially useful to clean up used global
6783 variables and script-local variables (these are not
6784 deleted when the script ends). Function-local
6785 variables are automatically deleted when the function
6786 ends.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00006787
Bram Moolenaar2ce06f62005-01-31 19:19:04 +00006788:lockv[ar][!] [depth] {name} ... *:lockvar* *:lockv*
6789 Lock the internal variable {name}. Locking means that
6790 it can no longer be changed (until it is unlocked).
6791 A locked variable can be deleted: >
6792 :lockvar v
6793 :let v = 'asdf' " fails!
6794 :unlet v
6795< *E741*
6796 If you try to change a locked variable you get an
6797 error message: "E741: Value of {name} is locked"
6798
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00006799 [depth] is relevant when locking a |List| or
6800 |Dictionary|. It specifies how deep the locking goes:
6801 1 Lock the |List| or |Dictionary| itself,
Bram Moolenaar2ce06f62005-01-31 19:19:04 +00006802 cannot add or remove items, but can
6803 still change their values.
6804 2 Also lock the values, cannot change
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00006805 the items. If an item is a |List| or
6806 |Dictionary|, cannot add or remove
Bram Moolenaar2ce06f62005-01-31 19:19:04 +00006807 items, but can still change the
6808 values.
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00006809 3 Like 2 but for the |List| /
6810 |Dictionary| in the |List| /
6811 |Dictionary|, one level deeper.
6812 The default [depth] is 2, thus when {name} is a |List|
6813 or |Dictionary| the values cannot be changed.
Bram Moolenaar2ce06f62005-01-31 19:19:04 +00006814 *E743*
6815 For unlimited depth use [!] and omit [depth].
6816 However, there is a maximum depth of 100 to catch
6817 loops.
6818
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00006819 Note that when two variables refer to the same |List|
6820 and you lock one of them, the |List| will also be
Bram Moolenaar910f66f2006-04-05 20:41:53 +00006821 locked when used through the other variable.
6822 Example: >
Bram Moolenaar2ce06f62005-01-31 19:19:04 +00006823 :let l = [0, 1, 2, 3]
6824 :let cl = l
6825 :lockvar l
6826 :let cl[1] = 99 " won't work!
6827< You may want to make a copy of a list to avoid this.
6828 See |deepcopy()|.
6829
6830
6831:unlo[ckvar][!] [depth] {name} ... *:unlockvar* *:unlo*
6832 Unlock the internal variable {name}. Does the
6833 opposite of |:lockvar|.
6834
6835
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00006836:if {expr1} *:if* *:endif* *:en* *E171* *E579* *E580*
6837:en[dif] Execute the commands until the next matching ":else"
6838 or ":endif" if {expr1} evaluates to non-zero.
6839
6840 From Vim version 4.5 until 5.0, every Ex command in
6841 between the ":if" and ":endif" is ignored. These two
6842 commands were just to allow for future expansions in a
6843 backwards compatible way. Nesting was allowed. Note
6844 that any ":else" or ":elseif" was ignored, the "else"
6845 part was not executed either.
6846
6847 You can use this to remain compatible with older
6848 versions: >
6849 :if version >= 500
6850 : version-5-specific-commands
6851 :endif
6852< The commands still need to be parsed to find the
6853 "endif". Sometimes an older Vim has a problem with a
6854 new command. For example, ":silent" is recognized as
6855 a ":substitute" command. In that case ":execute" can
6856 avoid problems: >
6857 :if version >= 600
6858 : execute "silent 1,$delete"
6859 :endif
6860<
6861 NOTE: The ":append" and ":insert" commands don't work
6862 properly in between ":if" and ":endif".
6863
6864 *:else* *:el* *E581* *E583*
6865:el[se] Execute the commands until the next matching ":else"
6866 or ":endif" if they previously were not being
6867 executed.
6868
6869 *:elseif* *:elsei* *E582* *E584*
6870:elsei[f] {expr1} Short for ":else" ":if", with the addition that there
6871 is no extra ":endif".
6872
6873:wh[ile] {expr1} *:while* *:endwhile* *:wh* *:endw*
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00006874 *E170* *E585* *E588* *E733*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00006875:endw[hile] Repeat the commands between ":while" and ":endwhile",
6876 as long as {expr1} evaluates to non-zero.
6877 When an error is detected from a command inside the
6878 loop, execution continues after the "endwhile".
Bram Moolenaar12805862005-01-05 22:16:17 +00006879 Example: >
6880 :let lnum = 1
6881 :while lnum <= line("$")
6882 :call FixLine(lnum)
6883 :let lnum = lnum + 1
6884 :endwhile
6885<
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00006886 NOTE: The ":append" and ":insert" commands don't work
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +00006887 properly inside a ":while" and ":for" loop.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00006888
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00006889:for {var} in {list} *:for* *E690* *E732*
Bram Moolenaar12805862005-01-05 22:16:17 +00006890:endfo[r] *:endfo* *:endfor*
6891 Repeat the commands between ":for" and ":endfor" for
Bram Moolenaar3a7c85b2005-02-05 21:39:53 +00006892 each item in {list}. Variable {var} is set to the
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +00006893 value of each item.
6894 When an error is detected for a command inside the
Bram Moolenaar12805862005-01-05 22:16:17 +00006895 loop, execution continues after the "endfor".
Bram Moolenaar572cb562005-08-05 21:35:02 +00006896 Changing {list} inside the loop affects what items are
6897 used. Make a copy if this is unwanted: >
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +00006898 :for item in copy(mylist)
6899< When not making a copy, Vim stores a reference to the
6900 next item in the list, before executing the commands
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00006901 with the current item. Thus the current item can be
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +00006902 removed without effect. Removing any later item means
6903 it will not be found. Thus the following example
6904 works (an inefficient way to make a list empty): >
Bram Moolenaar8f3f58f2010-01-06 20:52:26 +01006905 for item in mylist
6906 call remove(mylist, 0)
6907 endfor
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +00006908< Note that reordering the list (e.g., with sort() or
6909 reverse()) may have unexpected effects.
6910 Note that the type of each list item should be
Bram Moolenaar12805862005-01-05 22:16:17 +00006911 identical to avoid errors for the type of {var}
6912 changing. Unlet the variable at the end of the loop
Bram Moolenaar8f3f58f2010-01-06 20:52:26 +01006913 to allow multiple item types: >
6914 for item in ["foo", ["bar"]]
6915 echo item
6916 unlet item " E706 without this
6917 endfor
Bram Moolenaar12805862005-01-05 22:16:17 +00006918
Bram Moolenaar12805862005-01-05 22:16:17 +00006919:for [{var1}, {var2}, ...] in {listlist}
6920:endfo[r]
6921 Like ":for" above, but each item in {listlist} must be
6922 a list, of which each item is assigned to {var1},
6923 {var2}, etc. Example: >
6924 :for [lnum, col] in [[1, 3], [2, 5], [3, 8]]
6925 :echo getline(lnum)[col]
6926 :endfor
6927<
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00006928 *:continue* *:con* *E586*
Bram Moolenaar12805862005-01-05 22:16:17 +00006929:con[tinue] When used inside a ":while" or ":for" loop, jumps back
6930 to the start of the loop.
6931 If it is used after a |:try| inside the loop but
6932 before the matching |:finally| (if present), the
6933 commands following the ":finally" up to the matching
6934 |:endtry| are executed first. This process applies to
6935 all nested ":try"s inside the loop. The outermost
6936 ":endtry" then jumps back to the start of the loop.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00006937
6938 *:break* *:brea* *E587*
Bram Moolenaar12805862005-01-05 22:16:17 +00006939:brea[k] When used inside a ":while" or ":for" loop, skips to
6940 the command after the matching ":endwhile" or
6941 ":endfor".
6942 If it is used after a |:try| inside the loop but
6943 before the matching |:finally| (if present), the
6944 commands following the ":finally" up to the matching
6945 |:endtry| are executed first. This process applies to
6946 all nested ":try"s inside the loop. The outermost
6947 ":endtry" then jumps to the command after the loop.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00006948
6949:try *:try* *:endt* *:endtry* *E600* *E601* *E602*
6950:endt[ry] Change the error handling for the commands between
6951 ":try" and ":endtry" including everything being
6952 executed across ":source" commands, function calls,
6953 or autocommand invocations.
6954
6955 When an error or interrupt is detected and there is
6956 a |:finally| command following, execution continues
6957 after the ":finally". Otherwise, or when the
6958 ":endtry" is reached thereafter, the next
6959 (dynamically) surrounding ":try" is checked for
6960 a corresponding ":finally" etc. Then the script
6961 processing is terminated. (Whether a function
6962 definition has an "abort" argument does not matter.)
6963 Example: >
6964 :try | edit too much | finally | echo "cleanup" | endtry
6965 :echo "impossible" " not reached, script terminated above
6966<
6967 Moreover, an error or interrupt (dynamically) inside
6968 ":try" and ":endtry" is converted to an exception. It
6969 can be caught as if it were thrown by a |:throw|
6970 command (see |:catch|). In this case, the script
6971 processing is not terminated.
6972
6973 The value "Vim:Interrupt" is used for an interrupt
6974 exception. An error in a Vim command is converted
6975 to a value of the form "Vim({command}):{errmsg}",
6976 other errors are converted to a value of the form
6977 "Vim:{errmsg}". {command} is the full command name,
6978 and {errmsg} is the message that is displayed if the
6979 error exception is not caught, always beginning with
6980 the error number.
6981 Examples: >
6982 :try | sleep 100 | catch /^Vim:Interrupt$/ | endtry
6983 :try | edit | catch /^Vim(edit):E\d\+/ | echo "error" | endtry
6984<
6985 *:cat* *:catch* *E603* *E604* *E605*
Bram Moolenaar8f3f58f2010-01-06 20:52:26 +01006986:cat[ch] /{pattern}/ The following commands until the next |:catch|,
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00006987 |:finally|, or |:endtry| that belongs to the same
6988 |:try| as the ":catch" are executed when an exception
6989 matching {pattern} is being thrown and has not yet
6990 been caught by a previous ":catch". Otherwise, these
6991 commands are skipped.
6992 When {pattern} is omitted all errors are caught.
6993 Examples: >
6994 :catch /^Vim:Interrupt$/ " catch interrupts (CTRL-C)
6995 :catch /^Vim\%((\a\+)\)\=:E/ " catch all Vim errors
6996 :catch /^Vim\%((\a\+)\)\=:/ " catch errors and interrupts
6997 :catch /^Vim(write):/ " catch all errors in :write
6998 :catch /^Vim\%((\a\+)\)\=:E123/ " catch error E123
6999 :catch /my-exception/ " catch user exception
7000 :catch /.*/ " catch everything
7001 :catch " same as /.*/
7002<
7003 Another character can be used instead of / around the
7004 {pattern}, so long as it does not have a special
7005 meaning (e.g., '|' or '"') and doesn't occur inside
7006 {pattern}.
7007 NOTE: It is not reliable to ":catch" the TEXT of
7008 an error message because it may vary in different
7009 locales.
7010
7011 *:fina* *:finally* *E606* *E607*
7012:fina[lly] The following commands until the matching |:endtry|
7013 are executed whenever the part between the matching
7014 |:try| and the ":finally" is left: either by falling
7015 through to the ":finally" or by a |:continue|,
7016 |:break|, |:finish|, or |:return|, or by an error or
7017 interrupt or exception (see |:throw|).
7018
7019 *:th* *:throw* *E608*
7020:th[row] {expr1} The {expr1} is evaluated and thrown as an exception.
7021 If the ":throw" is used after a |:try| but before the
7022 first corresponding |:catch|, commands are skipped
7023 until the first ":catch" matching {expr1} is reached.
7024 If there is no such ":catch" or if the ":throw" is
7025 used after a ":catch" but before the |:finally|, the
7026 commands following the ":finally" (if present) up to
7027 the matching |:endtry| are executed. If the ":throw"
7028 is after the ":finally", commands up to the ":endtry"
7029 are skipped. At the ":endtry", this process applies
7030 again for the next dynamically surrounding ":try"
7031 (which may be found in a calling function or sourcing
7032 script), until a matching ":catch" has been found.
7033 If the exception is not caught, the command processing
7034 is terminated.
7035 Example: >
7036 :try | throw "oops" | catch /^oo/ | echo "caught" | endtry
7037<
7038
7039 *:ec* *:echo*
7040:ec[ho] {expr1} .. Echoes each {expr1}, with a space in between. The
7041 first {expr1} starts on a new line.
7042 Also see |:comment|.
7043 Use "\n" to start a new line. Use "\r" to move the
7044 cursor to the first column.
7045 Uses the highlighting set by the |:echohl| command.
7046 Cannot be followed by a comment.
7047 Example: >
7048 :echo "the value of 'shell' is" &shell
Bram Moolenaaref2f6562007-05-06 13:32:59 +00007049< *:echo-redraw*
7050 A later redraw may make the message disappear again.
7051 And since Vim mostly postpones redrawing until it's
7052 finished with a sequence of commands this happens
7053 quite often. To avoid that a command from before the
7054 ":echo" causes a redraw afterwards (redraws are often
7055 postponed until you type something), force a redraw
7056 with the |:redraw| command. Example: >
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00007057 :new | redraw | echo "there is a new window"
7058<
7059 *:echon*
7060:echon {expr1} .. Echoes each {expr1}, without anything added. Also see
7061 |:comment|.
7062 Uses the highlighting set by the |:echohl| command.
7063 Cannot be followed by a comment.
7064 Example: >
7065 :echon "the value of 'shell' is " &shell
7066<
7067 Note the difference between using ":echo", which is a
7068 Vim command, and ":!echo", which is an external shell
7069 command: >
7070 :!echo % --> filename
7071< The arguments of ":!" are expanded, see |:_%|. >
7072 :!echo "%" --> filename or "filename"
7073< Like the previous example. Whether you see the double
7074 quotes or not depends on your 'shell'. >
7075 :echo % --> nothing
7076< The '%' is an illegal character in an expression. >
7077 :echo "%" --> %
7078< This just echoes the '%' character. >
7079 :echo expand("%") --> filename
7080< This calls the expand() function to expand the '%'.
7081
7082 *:echoh* *:echohl*
7083:echoh[l] {name} Use the highlight group {name} for the following
7084 |:echo|, |:echon| and |:echomsg| commands. Also used
7085 for the |input()| prompt. Example: >
7086 :echohl WarningMsg | echo "Don't panic!" | echohl None
7087< Don't forget to set the group back to "None",
7088 otherwise all following echo's will be highlighted.
7089
7090 *:echom* *:echomsg*
7091:echom[sg] {expr1} .. Echo the expression(s) as a true message, saving the
7092 message in the |message-history|.
7093 Spaces are placed between the arguments as with the
7094 |:echo| command. But unprintable characters are
7095 displayed, not interpreted.
Bram Moolenaaref2f6562007-05-06 13:32:59 +00007096 The parsing works slightly different from |:echo|,
7097 more like |:execute|. All the expressions are first
7098 evaluated and concatenated before echoing anything.
7099 The expressions must evaluate to a Number or String, a
7100 Dictionary or List causes an error.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00007101 Uses the highlighting set by the |:echohl| command.
7102 Example: >
7103 :echomsg "It's a Zizzer Zazzer Zuzz, as you can plainly see."
Bram Moolenaaref2f6562007-05-06 13:32:59 +00007104< See |:echo-redraw| to avoid the message disappearing
7105 when the screen is redrawn.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00007106 *:echoe* *:echoerr*
7107:echoe[rr] {expr1} .. Echo the expression(s) as an error message, saving the
7108 message in the |message-history|. When used in a
7109 script or function the line number will be added.
7110 Spaces are placed between the arguments as with the
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00007111 :echo command. When used inside a try conditional,
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00007112 the message is raised as an error exception instead
7113 (see |try-echoerr|).
7114 Example: >
7115 :echoerr "This script just failed!"
7116< If you just want a highlighted message use |:echohl|.
7117 And to get a beep: >
7118 :exe "normal \<Esc>"
7119<
7120 *:exe* *:execute*
7121:exe[cute] {expr1} .. Executes the string that results from the evaluation
Bram Moolenaar00a927d2010-05-14 23:24:24 +02007122 of {expr1} as an Ex command.
7123 Multiple arguments are concatenated, with a space in
7124 between. To avoid the extra space use the "."
7125 operator to concatenate strings into one argument.
7126 {expr1} is used as the processed command, command line
7127 editing keys are not recognized.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00007128 Cannot be followed by a comment.
7129 Examples: >
Bram Moolenaar00a927d2010-05-14 23:24:24 +02007130 :execute "buffer" nextbuf
7131 :execute "normal" count . "w"
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00007132<
7133 ":execute" can be used to append a command to commands
7134 that don't accept a '|'. Example: >
7135 :execute '!ls' | echo "theend"
7136
7137< ":execute" is also a nice way to avoid having to type
7138 control characters in a Vim script for a ":normal"
7139 command: >
7140 :execute "normal ixxx\<Esc>"
7141< This has an <Esc> character, see |expr-string|.
7142
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00007143 Be careful to correctly escape special characters in
7144 file names. The |fnameescape()| function can be used
Bram Moolenaar05bb9532008-07-04 09:44:11 +00007145 for Vim commands, |shellescape()| for |:!| commands.
7146 Examples: >
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00007147 :execute "e " . fnameescape(filename)
Bram Moolenaar05bb9532008-07-04 09:44:11 +00007148 :execute "!ls " . shellescape(expand('%:h'), 1)
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00007149<
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00007150 Note: The executed string may be any command-line, but
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +00007151 you cannot start or end a "while", "for" or "if"
7152 command. Thus this is illegal: >
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00007153 :execute 'while i > 5'
7154 :execute 'echo "test" | break'
7155<
7156 It is allowed to have a "while" or "if" command
7157 completely in the executed string: >
7158 :execute 'while i < 5 | echo i | let i = i + 1 | endwhile'
7159<
7160
Bram Moolenaar8f3f58f2010-01-06 20:52:26 +01007161 *:exe-comment*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00007162 ":execute", ":echo" and ":echon" cannot be followed by
7163 a comment directly, because they see the '"' as the
7164 start of a string. But, you can use '|' followed by a
7165 comment. Example: >
7166 :echo "foo" | "this is a comment
7167
7168==============================================================================
71698. Exception handling *exception-handling*
7170
7171The Vim script language comprises an exception handling feature. This section
7172explains how it can be used in a Vim script.
7173
7174Exceptions may be raised by Vim on an error or on interrupt, see
7175|catch-errors| and |catch-interrupt|. You can also explicitly throw an
7176exception by using the ":throw" command, see |throw-catch|.
7177
7178
7179TRY CONDITIONALS *try-conditionals*
7180
7181Exceptions can be caught or can cause cleanup code to be executed. You can
7182use a try conditional to specify catch clauses (that catch exceptions) and/or
7183a finally clause (to be executed for cleanup).
7184 A try conditional begins with a |:try| command and ends at the matching
7185|:endtry| command. In between, you can use a |:catch| command to start
7186a catch clause, or a |:finally| command to start a finally clause. There may
7187be none or multiple catch clauses, but there is at most one finally clause,
7188which must not be followed by any catch clauses. The lines before the catch
7189clauses and the finally clause is called a try block. >
7190
7191 :try
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00007192 : ...
7193 : ... TRY BLOCK
7194 : ...
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00007195 :catch /{pattern}/
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00007196 : ...
7197 : ... CATCH CLAUSE
7198 : ...
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00007199 :catch /{pattern}/
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00007200 : ...
7201 : ... CATCH CLAUSE
7202 : ...
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00007203 :finally
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00007204 : ...
7205 : ... FINALLY CLAUSE
7206 : ...
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00007207 :endtry
7208
7209The try conditional allows to watch code for exceptions and to take the
7210appropriate actions. Exceptions from the try block may be caught. Exceptions
7211from the try block and also the catch clauses may cause cleanup actions.
7212 When no exception is thrown during execution of the try block, the control
7213is transferred to the finally clause, if present. After its execution, the
7214script continues with the line following the ":endtry".
7215 When an exception occurs during execution of the try block, the remaining
7216lines in the try block are skipped. The exception is matched against the
7217patterns specified as arguments to the ":catch" commands. The catch clause
7218after the first matching ":catch" is taken, other catch clauses are not
7219executed. The catch clause ends when the next ":catch", ":finally", or
7220":endtry" command is reached - whatever is first. Then, the finally clause
7221(if present) is executed. When the ":endtry" is reached, the script execution
7222continues in the following line as usual.
7223 When an exception that does not match any of the patterns specified by the
7224":catch" commands is thrown in the try block, the exception is not caught by
7225that try conditional and none of the catch clauses is executed. Only the
7226finally clause, if present, is taken. The exception pends during execution of
7227the finally clause. It is resumed at the ":endtry", so that commands after
7228the ":endtry" are not executed and the exception might be caught elsewhere,
7229see |try-nesting|.
7230 When during execution of a catch clause another exception is thrown, the
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00007231remaining lines in that catch clause are not executed. The new exception is
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00007232not matched against the patterns in any of the ":catch" commands of the same
7233try conditional and none of its catch clauses is taken. If there is, however,
7234a finally clause, it is executed, and the exception pends during its
7235execution. The commands following the ":endtry" are not executed. The new
7236exception might, however, be caught elsewhere, see |try-nesting|.
7237 When during execution of the finally clause (if present) an exception is
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00007238thrown, the remaining lines in the finally clause are skipped. If the finally
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00007239clause has been taken because of an exception from the try block or one of the
7240catch clauses, the original (pending) exception is discarded. The commands
7241following the ":endtry" are not executed, and the exception from the finally
7242clause is propagated and can be caught elsewhere, see |try-nesting|.
7243
7244The finally clause is also executed, when a ":break" or ":continue" for
7245a ":while" loop enclosing the complete try conditional is executed from the
7246try block or a catch clause. Or when a ":return" or ":finish" is executed
7247from the try block or a catch clause of a try conditional in a function or
7248sourced script, respectively. The ":break", ":continue", ":return", or
7249":finish" pends during execution of the finally clause and is resumed when the
7250":endtry" is reached. It is, however, discarded when an exception is thrown
7251from the finally clause.
7252 When a ":break" or ":continue" for a ":while" loop enclosing the complete
7253try conditional or when a ":return" or ":finish" is encountered in the finally
7254clause, the rest of the finally clause is skipped, and the ":break",
7255":continue", ":return" or ":finish" is executed as usual. If the finally
7256clause has been taken because of an exception or an earlier ":break",
7257":continue", ":return", or ":finish" from the try block or a catch clause,
7258this pending exception or command is discarded.
7259
7260For examples see |throw-catch| and |try-finally|.
7261
7262
7263NESTING OF TRY CONDITIONALS *try-nesting*
7264
7265Try conditionals can be nested arbitrarily. That is, a complete try
7266conditional can be put into the try block, a catch clause, or the finally
7267clause of another try conditional. If the inner try conditional does not
7268catch an exception thrown in its try block or throws a new exception from one
7269of its catch clauses or its finally clause, the outer try conditional is
7270checked according to the rules above. If the inner try conditional is in the
7271try block of the outer try conditional, its catch clauses are checked, but
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00007272otherwise only the finally clause is executed. It does not matter for
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00007273nesting, whether the inner try conditional is directly contained in the outer
7274one, or whether the outer one sources a script or calls a function containing
7275the inner try conditional.
7276
7277When none of the active try conditionals catches an exception, just their
7278finally clauses are executed. Thereafter, the script processing terminates.
7279An error message is displayed in case of an uncaught exception explicitly
7280thrown by a ":throw" command. For uncaught error and interrupt exceptions
7281implicitly raised by Vim, the error message(s) or interrupt message are shown
7282as usual.
7283
7284For examples see |throw-catch|.
7285
7286
7287EXAMINING EXCEPTION HANDLING CODE *except-examine*
7288
7289Exception handling code can get tricky. If you are in doubt what happens, set
7290'verbose' to 13 or use the ":13verbose" command modifier when sourcing your
7291script file. Then you see when an exception is thrown, discarded, caught, or
7292finished. When using a verbosity level of at least 14, things pending in
7293a finally clause are also shown. This information is also given in debug mode
7294(see |debug-scripts|).
7295
7296
7297THROWING AND CATCHING EXCEPTIONS *throw-catch*
7298
7299You can throw any number or string as an exception. Use the |:throw| command
7300and pass the value to be thrown as argument: >
7301 :throw 4711
7302 :throw "string"
7303< *throw-expression*
7304You can also specify an expression argument. The expression is then evaluated
7305first, and the result is thrown: >
7306 :throw 4705 + strlen("string")
7307 :throw strpart("strings", 0, 6)
7308
7309An exception might be thrown during evaluation of the argument of the ":throw"
7310command. Unless it is caught there, the expression evaluation is abandoned.
7311The ":throw" command then does not throw a new exception.
7312 Example: >
7313
7314 :function! Foo(arg)
7315 : try
7316 : throw a:arg
7317 : catch /foo/
7318 : endtry
7319 : return 1
7320 :endfunction
7321 :
7322 :function! Bar()
7323 : echo "in Bar"
7324 : return 4710
7325 :endfunction
7326 :
7327 :throw Foo("arrgh") + Bar()
7328
7329This throws "arrgh", and "in Bar" is not displayed since Bar() is not
7330executed. >
7331 :throw Foo("foo") + Bar()
7332however displays "in Bar" and throws 4711.
7333
7334Any other command that takes an expression as argument might also be
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00007335abandoned by an (uncaught) exception during the expression evaluation. The
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00007336exception is then propagated to the caller of the command.
7337 Example: >
7338
7339 :if Foo("arrgh")
7340 : echo "then"
7341 :else
7342 : echo "else"
7343 :endif
7344
7345Here neither of "then" or "else" is displayed.
7346
7347 *catch-order*
7348Exceptions can be caught by a try conditional with one or more |:catch|
7349commands, see |try-conditionals|. The values to be caught by each ":catch"
7350command can be specified as a pattern argument. The subsequent catch clause
7351gets executed when a matching exception is caught.
7352 Example: >
7353
7354 :function! Foo(value)
7355 : try
7356 : throw a:value
7357 : catch /^\d\+$/
7358 : echo "Number thrown"
7359 : catch /.*/
7360 : echo "String thrown"
7361 : endtry
7362 :endfunction
7363 :
7364 :call Foo(0x1267)
7365 :call Foo('string')
7366
7367The first call to Foo() displays "Number thrown", the second "String thrown".
7368An exception is matched against the ":catch" commands in the order they are
7369specified. Only the first match counts. So you should place the more
7370specific ":catch" first. The following order does not make sense: >
7371
7372 : catch /.*/
7373 : echo "String thrown"
7374 : catch /^\d\+$/
7375 : echo "Number thrown"
7376
7377The first ":catch" here matches always, so that the second catch clause is
7378never taken.
7379
7380 *throw-variables*
7381If you catch an exception by a general pattern, you may access the exact value
7382in the variable |v:exception|: >
7383
7384 : catch /^\d\+$/
7385 : echo "Number thrown. Value is" v:exception
7386
7387You may also be interested where an exception was thrown. This is stored in
7388|v:throwpoint|. Note that "v:exception" and "v:throwpoint" are valid for the
7389exception most recently caught as long it is not finished.
7390 Example: >
7391
7392 :function! Caught()
7393 : if v:exception != ""
7394 : echo 'Caught "' . v:exception . '" in ' . v:throwpoint
7395 : else
7396 : echo 'Nothing caught'
7397 : endif
7398 :endfunction
7399 :
7400 :function! Foo()
7401 : try
7402 : try
7403 : try
7404 : throw 4711
7405 : finally
7406 : call Caught()
7407 : endtry
7408 : catch /.*/
7409 : call Caught()
7410 : throw "oops"
7411 : endtry
7412 : catch /.*/
7413 : call Caught()
7414 : finally
7415 : call Caught()
7416 : endtry
7417 :endfunction
7418 :
7419 :call Foo()
7420
7421This displays >
7422
7423 Nothing caught
7424 Caught "4711" in function Foo, line 4
7425 Caught "oops" in function Foo, line 10
7426 Nothing caught
7427
7428A practical example: The following command ":LineNumber" displays the line
7429number in the script or function where it has been used: >
7430
7431 :function! LineNumber()
7432 : return substitute(v:throwpoint, '.*\D\(\d\+\).*', '\1', "")
7433 :endfunction
7434 :command! LineNumber try | throw "" | catch | echo LineNumber() | endtry
7435<
7436 *try-nested*
7437An exception that is not caught by a try conditional can be caught by
7438a surrounding try conditional: >
7439
7440 :try
7441 : try
7442 : throw "foo"
7443 : catch /foobar/
7444 : echo "foobar"
7445 : finally
7446 : echo "inner finally"
7447 : endtry
7448 :catch /foo/
7449 : echo "foo"
7450 :endtry
7451
7452The inner try conditional does not catch the exception, just its finally
7453clause is executed. The exception is then caught by the outer try
7454conditional. The example displays "inner finally" and then "foo".
7455
7456 *throw-from-catch*
7457You can catch an exception and throw a new one to be caught elsewhere from the
7458catch clause: >
7459
7460 :function! Foo()
7461 : throw "foo"
7462 :endfunction
7463 :
7464 :function! Bar()
7465 : try
7466 : call Foo()
7467 : catch /foo/
7468 : echo "Caught foo, throw bar"
7469 : throw "bar"
7470 : endtry
7471 :endfunction
7472 :
7473 :try
7474 : call Bar()
7475 :catch /.*/
7476 : echo "Caught" v:exception
7477 :endtry
7478
7479This displays "Caught foo, throw bar" and then "Caught bar".
7480
7481 *rethrow*
7482There is no real rethrow in the Vim script language, but you may throw
7483"v:exception" instead: >
7484
7485 :function! Bar()
7486 : try
7487 : call Foo()
7488 : catch /.*/
7489 : echo "Rethrow" v:exception
7490 : throw v:exception
7491 : endtry
7492 :endfunction
7493< *try-echoerr*
7494Note that this method cannot be used to "rethrow" Vim error or interrupt
7495exceptions, because it is not possible to fake Vim internal exceptions.
7496Trying so causes an error exception. You should throw your own exception
7497denoting the situation. If you want to cause a Vim error exception containing
7498the original error exception value, you can use the |:echoerr| command: >
7499
7500 :try
7501 : try
7502 : asdf
7503 : catch /.*/
7504 : echoerr v:exception
7505 : endtry
7506 :catch /.*/
7507 : echo v:exception
7508 :endtry
7509
7510This code displays
7511
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00007512 Vim(echoerr):Vim:E492: Not an editor command: asdf ~
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00007513
7514
7515CLEANUP CODE *try-finally*
7516
7517Scripts often change global settings and restore them at their end. If the
7518user however interrupts the script by pressing CTRL-C, the settings remain in
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00007519an inconsistent state. The same may happen to you in the development phase of
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00007520a script when an error occurs or you explicitly throw an exception without
7521catching it. You can solve these problems by using a try conditional with
7522a finally clause for restoring the settings. Its execution is guaranteed on
7523normal control flow, on error, on an explicit ":throw", and on interrupt.
7524(Note that errors and interrupts from inside the try conditional are converted
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00007525to exceptions. When not caught, they terminate the script after the finally
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00007526clause has been executed.)
7527Example: >
7528
7529 :try
7530 : let s:saved_ts = &ts
7531 : set ts=17
7532 :
7533 : " Do the hard work here.
7534 :
7535 :finally
7536 : let &ts = s:saved_ts
7537 : unlet s:saved_ts
7538 :endtry
7539
7540This method should be used locally whenever a function or part of a script
7541changes global settings which need to be restored on failure or normal exit of
7542that function or script part.
7543
7544 *break-finally*
7545Cleanup code works also when the try block or a catch clause is left by
7546a ":continue", ":break", ":return", or ":finish".
7547 Example: >
7548
7549 :let first = 1
7550 :while 1
7551 : try
7552 : if first
7553 : echo "first"
7554 : let first = 0
7555 : continue
7556 : else
7557 : throw "second"
7558 : endif
7559 : catch /.*/
7560 : echo v:exception
7561 : break
7562 : finally
7563 : echo "cleanup"
7564 : endtry
7565 : echo "still in while"
7566 :endwhile
7567 :echo "end"
7568
7569This displays "first", "cleanup", "second", "cleanup", and "end". >
7570
7571 :function! Foo()
7572 : try
7573 : return 4711
7574 : finally
7575 : echo "cleanup\n"
7576 : endtry
7577 : echo "Foo still active"
7578 :endfunction
7579 :
7580 :echo Foo() "returned by Foo"
7581
7582This displays "cleanup" and "4711 returned by Foo". You don't need to add an
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00007583extra ":return" in the finally clause. (Above all, this would override the
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00007584return value.)
7585
7586 *except-from-finally*
7587Using either of ":continue", ":break", ":return", ":finish", or ":throw" in
7588a finally clause is possible, but not recommended since it abandons the
7589cleanup actions for the try conditional. But, of course, interrupt and error
7590exceptions might get raised from a finally clause.
7591 Example where an error in the finally clause stops an interrupt from
7592working correctly: >
7593
7594 :try
7595 : try
7596 : echo "Press CTRL-C for interrupt"
7597 : while 1
7598 : endwhile
7599 : finally
7600 : unlet novar
7601 : endtry
7602 :catch /novar/
7603 :endtry
7604 :echo "Script still running"
7605 :sleep 1
7606
7607If you need to put commands that could fail into a finally clause, you should
7608think about catching or ignoring the errors in these commands, see
7609|catch-errors| and |ignore-errors|.
7610
7611
7612CATCHING ERRORS *catch-errors*
7613
7614If you want to catch specific errors, you just have to put the code to be
7615watched in a try block and add a catch clause for the error message. The
7616presence of the try conditional causes all errors to be converted to an
7617exception. No message is displayed and |v:errmsg| is not set then. To find
7618the right pattern for the ":catch" command, you have to know how the format of
7619the error exception is.
7620 Error exceptions have the following format: >
7621
7622 Vim({cmdname}):{errmsg}
7623or >
7624 Vim:{errmsg}
7625
7626{cmdname} is the name of the command that failed; the second form is used when
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00007627the command name is not known. {errmsg} is the error message usually produced
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00007628when the error occurs outside try conditionals. It always begins with
7629a capital "E", followed by a two or three-digit error number, a colon, and
7630a space.
7631
7632Examples:
7633
7634The command >
7635 :unlet novar
7636normally produces the error message >
7637 E108: No such variable: "novar"
7638which is converted inside try conditionals to an exception >
7639 Vim(unlet):E108: No such variable: "novar"
7640
7641The command >
7642 :dwim
7643normally produces the error message >
7644 E492: Not an editor command: dwim
7645which is converted inside try conditionals to an exception >
7646 Vim:E492: Not an editor command: dwim
7647
7648You can catch all ":unlet" errors by a >
7649 :catch /^Vim(unlet):/
7650or all errors for misspelled command names by a >
7651 :catch /^Vim:E492:/
7652
7653Some error messages may be produced by different commands: >
7654 :function nofunc
7655and >
7656 :delfunction nofunc
7657both produce the error message >
7658 E128: Function name must start with a capital: nofunc
7659which is converted inside try conditionals to an exception >
7660 Vim(function):E128: Function name must start with a capital: nofunc
7661or >
7662 Vim(delfunction):E128: Function name must start with a capital: nofunc
7663respectively. You can catch the error by its number independently on the
7664command that caused it if you use the following pattern: >
7665 :catch /^Vim(\a\+):E128:/
7666
7667Some commands like >
7668 :let x = novar
7669produce multiple error messages, here: >
7670 E121: Undefined variable: novar
7671 E15: Invalid expression: novar
7672Only the first is used for the exception value, since it is the most specific
7673one (see |except-several-errors|). So you can catch it by >
7674 :catch /^Vim(\a\+):E121:/
7675
7676You can catch all errors related to the name "nofunc" by >
7677 :catch /\<nofunc\>/
7678
7679You can catch all Vim errors in the ":write" and ":read" commands by >
7680 :catch /^Vim(\(write\|read\)):E\d\+:/
7681
7682You can catch all Vim errors by the pattern >
7683 :catch /^Vim\((\a\+)\)\=:E\d\+:/
7684<
7685 *catch-text*
7686NOTE: You should never catch the error message text itself: >
7687 :catch /No such variable/
7688only works in the english locale, but not when the user has selected
7689a different language by the |:language| command. It is however helpful to
7690cite the message text in a comment: >
7691 :catch /^Vim(\a\+):E108:/ " No such variable
7692
7693
7694IGNORING ERRORS *ignore-errors*
7695
7696You can ignore errors in a specific Vim command by catching them locally: >
7697
7698 :try
7699 : write
7700 :catch
7701 :endtry
7702
7703But you are strongly recommended NOT to use this simple form, since it could
7704catch more than you want. With the ":write" command, some autocommands could
7705be executed and cause errors not related to writing, for instance: >
7706
7707 :au BufWritePre * unlet novar
7708
7709There could even be such errors you are not responsible for as a script
7710writer: a user of your script might have defined such autocommands. You would
7711then hide the error from the user.
7712 It is much better to use >
7713
7714 :try
7715 : write
7716 :catch /^Vim(write):/
7717 :endtry
7718
7719which only catches real write errors. So catch only what you'd like to ignore
7720intentionally.
7721
7722For a single command that does not cause execution of autocommands, you could
7723even suppress the conversion of errors to exceptions by the ":silent!"
7724command: >
7725 :silent! nunmap k
7726This works also when a try conditional is active.
7727
7728
7729CATCHING INTERRUPTS *catch-interrupt*
7730
7731When there are active try conditionals, an interrupt (CTRL-C) is converted to
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00007732the exception "Vim:Interrupt". You can catch it like every exception. The
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00007733script is not terminated, then.
7734 Example: >
7735
7736 :function! TASK1()
7737 : sleep 10
7738 :endfunction
7739
7740 :function! TASK2()
7741 : sleep 20
7742 :endfunction
7743
7744 :while 1
7745 : let command = input("Type a command: ")
7746 : try
7747 : if command == ""
7748 : continue
7749 : elseif command == "END"
7750 : break
7751 : elseif command == "TASK1"
7752 : call TASK1()
7753 : elseif command == "TASK2"
7754 : call TASK2()
7755 : else
7756 : echo "\nIllegal command:" command
7757 : continue
7758 : endif
7759 : catch /^Vim:Interrupt$/
7760 : echo "\nCommand interrupted"
7761 : " Caught the interrupt. Continue with next prompt.
7762 : endtry
7763 :endwhile
7764
7765You can interrupt a task here by pressing CTRL-C; the script then asks for
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00007766a new command. If you press CTRL-C at the prompt, the script is terminated.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00007767
7768For testing what happens when CTRL-C would be pressed on a specific line in
7769your script, use the debug mode and execute the |>quit| or |>interrupt|
7770command on that line. See |debug-scripts|.
7771
7772
7773CATCHING ALL *catch-all*
7774
7775The commands >
7776
7777 :catch /.*/
7778 :catch //
7779 :catch
7780
7781catch everything, error exceptions, interrupt exceptions and exceptions
7782explicitly thrown by the |:throw| command. This is useful at the top level of
7783a script in order to catch unexpected things.
7784 Example: >
7785
7786 :try
7787 :
7788 : " do the hard work here
7789 :
7790 :catch /MyException/
7791 :
7792 : " handle known problem
7793 :
7794 :catch /^Vim:Interrupt$/
7795 : echo "Script interrupted"
7796 :catch /.*/
7797 : echo "Internal error (" . v:exception . ")"
7798 : echo " - occurred at " . v:throwpoint
7799 :endtry
7800 :" end of script
7801
7802Note: Catching all might catch more things than you want. Thus, you are
7803strongly encouraged to catch only for problems that you can really handle by
7804specifying a pattern argument to the ":catch".
7805 Example: Catching all could make it nearly impossible to interrupt a script
7806by pressing CTRL-C: >
7807
7808 :while 1
7809 : try
7810 : sleep 1
7811 : catch
7812 : endtry
7813 :endwhile
7814
7815
7816EXCEPTIONS AND AUTOCOMMANDS *except-autocmd*
7817
7818Exceptions may be used during execution of autocommands. Example: >
7819
7820 :autocmd User x try
7821 :autocmd User x throw "Oops!"
7822 :autocmd User x catch
7823 :autocmd User x echo v:exception
7824 :autocmd User x endtry
7825 :autocmd User x throw "Arrgh!"
7826 :autocmd User x echo "Should not be displayed"
7827 :
7828 :try
7829 : doautocmd User x
7830 :catch
7831 : echo v:exception
7832 :endtry
7833
7834This displays "Oops!" and "Arrgh!".
7835
7836 *except-autocmd-Pre*
7837For some commands, autocommands get executed before the main action of the
7838command takes place. If an exception is thrown and not caught in the sequence
7839of autocommands, the sequence and the command that caused its execution are
7840abandoned and the exception is propagated to the caller of the command.
7841 Example: >
7842
7843 :autocmd BufWritePre * throw "FAIL"
7844 :autocmd BufWritePre * echo "Should not be displayed"
7845 :
7846 :try
7847 : write
7848 :catch
7849 : echo "Caught:" v:exception "from" v:throwpoint
7850 :endtry
7851
7852Here, the ":write" command does not write the file currently being edited (as
7853you can see by checking 'modified'), since the exception from the BufWritePre
7854autocommand abandons the ":write". The exception is then caught and the
7855script displays: >
7856
7857 Caught: FAIL from BufWrite Auto commands for "*"
7858<
7859 *except-autocmd-Post*
7860For some commands, autocommands get executed after the main action of the
7861command has taken place. If this main action fails and the command is inside
7862an active try conditional, the autocommands are skipped and an error exception
7863is thrown that can be caught by the caller of the command.
7864 Example: >
7865
7866 :autocmd BufWritePost * echo "File successfully written!"
7867 :
7868 :try
7869 : write /i/m/p/o/s/s/i/b/l/e
7870 :catch
7871 : echo v:exception
7872 :endtry
7873
7874This just displays: >
7875
7876 Vim(write):E212: Can't open file for writing (/i/m/p/o/s/s/i/b/l/e)
7877
7878If you really need to execute the autocommands even when the main action
7879fails, trigger the event from the catch clause.
7880 Example: >
7881
7882 :autocmd BufWritePre * set noreadonly
7883 :autocmd BufWritePost * set readonly
7884 :
7885 :try
7886 : write /i/m/p/o/s/s/i/b/l/e
7887 :catch
7888 : doautocmd BufWritePost /i/m/p/o/s/s/i/b/l/e
7889 :endtry
7890<
7891You can also use ":silent!": >
7892
7893 :let x = "ok"
7894 :let v:errmsg = ""
7895 :autocmd BufWritePost * if v:errmsg != ""
7896 :autocmd BufWritePost * let x = "after fail"
7897 :autocmd BufWritePost * endif
7898 :try
7899 : silent! write /i/m/p/o/s/s/i/b/l/e
7900 :catch
7901 :endtry
7902 :echo x
7903
7904This displays "after fail".
7905
7906If the main action of the command does not fail, exceptions from the
7907autocommands will be catchable by the caller of the command: >
7908
7909 :autocmd BufWritePost * throw ":-("
7910 :autocmd BufWritePost * echo "Should not be displayed"
7911 :
7912 :try
7913 : write
7914 :catch
7915 : echo v:exception
7916 :endtry
7917<
7918 *except-autocmd-Cmd*
7919For some commands, the normal action can be replaced by a sequence of
7920autocommands. Exceptions from that sequence will be catchable by the caller
7921of the command.
7922 Example: For the ":write" command, the caller cannot know whether the file
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00007923had actually been written when the exception occurred. You need to tell it in
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00007924some way. >
7925
7926 :if !exists("cnt")
7927 : let cnt = 0
7928 :
7929 : autocmd BufWriteCmd * if &modified
7930 : autocmd BufWriteCmd * let cnt = cnt + 1
7931 : autocmd BufWriteCmd * if cnt % 3 == 2
7932 : autocmd BufWriteCmd * throw "BufWriteCmdError"
7933 : autocmd BufWriteCmd * endif
7934 : autocmd BufWriteCmd * write | set nomodified
7935 : autocmd BufWriteCmd * if cnt % 3 == 0
7936 : autocmd BufWriteCmd * throw "BufWriteCmdError"
7937 : autocmd BufWriteCmd * endif
7938 : autocmd BufWriteCmd * echo "File successfully written!"
7939 : autocmd BufWriteCmd * endif
7940 :endif
7941 :
7942 :try
7943 : write
7944 :catch /^BufWriteCmdError$/
7945 : if &modified
7946 : echo "Error on writing (file contents not changed)"
7947 : else
7948 : echo "Error after writing"
7949 : endif
7950 :catch /^Vim(write):/
7951 : echo "Error on writing"
7952 :endtry
7953
7954When this script is sourced several times after making changes, it displays
7955first >
7956 File successfully written!
7957then >
7958 Error on writing (file contents not changed)
7959then >
7960 Error after writing
7961etc.
7962
7963 *except-autocmd-ill*
7964You cannot spread a try conditional over autocommands for different events.
7965The following code is ill-formed: >
7966
7967 :autocmd BufWritePre * try
7968 :
7969 :autocmd BufWritePost * catch
7970 :autocmd BufWritePost * echo v:exception
7971 :autocmd BufWritePost * endtry
7972 :
7973 :write
7974
7975
7976EXCEPTION HIERARCHIES AND PARAMETERIZED EXCEPTIONS *except-hier-param*
7977
7978Some programming languages allow to use hierarchies of exception classes or to
7979pass additional information with the object of an exception class. You can do
7980similar things in Vim.
7981 In order to throw an exception from a hierarchy, just throw the complete
7982class name with the components separated by a colon, for instance throw the
7983string "EXCEPT:MATHERR:OVERFLOW" for an overflow in a mathematical library.
7984 When you want to pass additional information with your exception class, add
7985it in parentheses, for instance throw the string "EXCEPT:IO:WRITEERR(myfile)"
7986for an error when writing "myfile".
7987 With the appropriate patterns in the ":catch" command, you can catch for
7988base classes or derived classes of your hierarchy. Additional information in
7989parentheses can be cut out from |v:exception| with the ":substitute" command.
7990 Example: >
7991
7992 :function! CheckRange(a, func)
7993 : if a:a < 0
7994 : throw "EXCEPT:MATHERR:RANGE(" . a:func . ")"
7995 : endif
7996 :endfunction
7997 :
7998 :function! Add(a, b)
7999 : call CheckRange(a:a, "Add")
8000 : call CheckRange(a:b, "Add")
8001 : let c = a:a + a:b
8002 : if c < 0
8003 : throw "EXCEPT:MATHERR:OVERFLOW"
8004 : endif
8005 : return c
8006 :endfunction
8007 :
8008 :function! Div(a, b)
8009 : call CheckRange(a:a, "Div")
8010 : call CheckRange(a:b, "Div")
8011 : if (a:b == 0)
8012 : throw "EXCEPT:MATHERR:ZERODIV"
8013 : endif
8014 : return a:a / a:b
8015 :endfunction
8016 :
8017 :function! Write(file)
8018 : try
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00008019 : execute "write" fnameescape(a:file)
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00008020 : catch /^Vim(write):/
8021 : throw "EXCEPT:IO(" . getcwd() . ", " . a:file . "):WRITEERR"
8022 : endtry
8023 :endfunction
8024 :
8025 :try
8026 :
8027 : " something with arithmetics and I/O
8028 :
8029 :catch /^EXCEPT:MATHERR:RANGE/
8030 : let function = substitute(v:exception, '.*(\(\a\+\)).*', '\1', "")
8031 : echo "Range error in" function
8032 :
8033 :catch /^EXCEPT:MATHERR/ " catches OVERFLOW and ZERODIV
8034 : echo "Math error"
8035 :
8036 :catch /^EXCEPT:IO/
8037 : let dir = substitute(v:exception, '.*(\(.\+\),\s*.\+).*', '\1', "")
8038 : let file = substitute(v:exception, '.*(.\+,\s*\(.\+\)).*', '\1', "")
8039 : if file !~ '^/'
8040 : let file = dir . "/" . file
8041 : endif
8042 : echo 'I/O error for "' . file . '"'
8043 :
8044 :catch /^EXCEPT/
8045 : echo "Unspecified error"
8046 :
8047 :endtry
8048
8049The exceptions raised by Vim itself (on error or when pressing CTRL-C) use
8050a flat hierarchy: they are all in the "Vim" class. You cannot throw yourself
8051exceptions with the "Vim" prefix; they are reserved for Vim.
8052 Vim error exceptions are parameterized with the name of the command that
8053failed, if known. See |catch-errors|.
8054
8055
8056PECULIARITIES
8057 *except-compat*
8058The exception handling concept requires that the command sequence causing the
8059exception is aborted immediately and control is transferred to finally clauses
8060and/or a catch clause.
8061
8062In the Vim script language there are cases where scripts and functions
8063continue after an error: in functions without the "abort" flag or in a command
8064after ":silent!", control flow goes to the following line, and outside
8065functions, control flow goes to the line following the outermost ":endwhile"
8066or ":endif". On the other hand, errors should be catchable as exceptions
8067(thus, requiring the immediate abortion).
8068
8069This problem has been solved by converting errors to exceptions and using
8070immediate abortion (if not suppressed by ":silent!") only when a try
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00008071conditional is active. This is no restriction since an (error) exception can
8072be caught only from an active try conditional. If you want an immediate
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00008073termination without catching the error, just use a try conditional without
8074catch clause. (You can cause cleanup code being executed before termination
8075by specifying a finally clause.)
8076
8077When no try conditional is active, the usual abortion and continuation
8078behavior is used instead of immediate abortion. This ensures compatibility of
8079scripts written for Vim 6.1 and earlier.
8080
8081However, when sourcing an existing script that does not use exception handling
8082commands (or when calling one of its functions) from inside an active try
8083conditional of a new script, you might change the control flow of the existing
8084script on error. You get the immediate abortion on error and can catch the
8085error in the new script. If however the sourced script suppresses error
8086messages by using the ":silent!" command (checking for errors by testing
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00008087|v:errmsg| if appropriate), its execution path is not changed. The error is
8088not converted to an exception. (See |:silent|.) So the only remaining cause
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00008089where this happens is for scripts that don't care about errors and produce
8090error messages. You probably won't want to use such code from your new
8091scripts.
8092
8093 *except-syntax-err*
8094Syntax errors in the exception handling commands are never caught by any of
8095the ":catch" commands of the try conditional they belong to. Its finally
8096clauses, however, is executed.
8097 Example: >
8098
8099 :try
8100 : try
8101 : throw 4711
8102 : catch /\(/
8103 : echo "in catch with syntax error"
8104 : catch
8105 : echo "inner catch-all"
8106 : finally
8107 : echo "inner finally"
8108 : endtry
8109 :catch
8110 : echo 'outer catch-all caught "' . v:exception . '"'
8111 : finally
8112 : echo "outer finally"
8113 :endtry
8114
8115This displays: >
8116 inner finally
8117 outer catch-all caught "Vim(catch):E54: Unmatched \("
8118 outer finally
8119The original exception is discarded and an error exception is raised, instead.
8120
8121 *except-single-line*
8122The ":try", ":catch", ":finally", and ":endtry" commands can be put on
8123a single line, but then syntax errors may make it difficult to recognize the
8124"catch" line, thus you better avoid this.
8125 Example: >
8126 :try | unlet! foo # | catch | endtry
8127raises an error exception for the trailing characters after the ":unlet!"
8128argument, but does not see the ":catch" and ":endtry" commands, so that the
8129error exception is discarded and the "E488: Trailing characters" message gets
8130displayed.
8131
8132 *except-several-errors*
8133When several errors appear in a single command, the first error message is
8134usually the most specific one and therefor converted to the error exception.
8135 Example: >
8136 echo novar
8137causes >
8138 E121: Undefined variable: novar
8139 E15: Invalid expression: novar
8140The value of the error exception inside try conditionals is: >
8141 Vim(echo):E121: Undefined variable: novar
8142< *except-syntax-error*
8143But when a syntax error is detected after a normal error in the same command,
8144the syntax error is used for the exception being thrown.
8145 Example: >
8146 unlet novar #
8147causes >
8148 E108: No such variable: "novar"
8149 E488: Trailing characters
8150The value of the error exception inside try conditionals is: >
8151 Vim(unlet):E488: Trailing characters
8152This is done because the syntax error might change the execution path in a way
8153not intended by the user. Example: >
8154 try
8155 try | unlet novar # | catch | echo v:exception | endtry
8156 catch /.*/
8157 echo "outer catch:" v:exception
8158 endtry
8159This displays "outer catch: Vim(unlet):E488: Trailing characters", and then
8160a "E600: Missing :endtry" error message is given, see |except-single-line|.
8161
8162==============================================================================
81639. Examples *eval-examples*
8164
Bram Moolenaaref2f6562007-05-06 13:32:59 +00008165Printing in Binary ~
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00008166>
Bram Moolenaar8f3f58f2010-01-06 20:52:26 +01008167 :" The function Nr2Bin() returns the binary string representation of a number.
Bram Moolenaaref2f6562007-05-06 13:32:59 +00008168 :func Nr2Bin(nr)
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00008169 : let n = a:nr
8170 : let r = ""
8171 : while n
Bram Moolenaaref2f6562007-05-06 13:32:59 +00008172 : let r = '01'[n % 2] . r
8173 : let n = n / 2
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00008174 : endwhile
8175 : return r
8176 :endfunc
8177
Bram Moolenaaref2f6562007-05-06 13:32:59 +00008178 :" The function String2Bin() converts each character in a string to a
8179 :" binary string, separated with dashes.
8180 :func String2Bin(str)
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00008181 : let out = ''
Bram Moolenaaref2f6562007-05-06 13:32:59 +00008182 : for ix in range(strlen(a:str))
8183 : let out = out . '-' . Nr2Bin(char2nr(a:str[ix]))
8184 : endfor
8185 : return out[1:]
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00008186 :endfunc
8187
8188Example of its use: >
Bram Moolenaaref2f6562007-05-06 13:32:59 +00008189 :echo Nr2Bin(32)
8190result: "100000" >
8191 :echo String2Bin("32")
8192result: "110011-110010"
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00008193
8194
Bram Moolenaaref2f6562007-05-06 13:32:59 +00008195Sorting lines ~
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00008196
Bram Moolenaaref2f6562007-05-06 13:32:59 +00008197This example sorts lines with a specific compare function. >
8198
8199 :func SortBuffer()
8200 : let lines = getline(1, '$')
8201 : call sort(lines, function("Strcmp"))
8202 : call setline(1, lines)
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00008203 :endfunction
8204
Bram Moolenaaref2f6562007-05-06 13:32:59 +00008205As a one-liner: >
8206 :call setline(1, sort(getline(1, '$'), function("Strcmp")))
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00008207
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00008208
Bram Moolenaaref2f6562007-05-06 13:32:59 +00008209scanf() replacement ~
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00008210 *sscanf*
8211There is no sscanf() function in Vim. If you need to extract parts from a
8212line, you can use matchstr() and substitute() to do it. This example shows
8213how to get the file name, line number and column number out of a line like
8214"foobar.txt, 123, 45". >
8215 :" Set up the match bit
8216 :let mx='\(\f\+\),\s*\(\d\+\),\s*\(\d\+\)'
8217 :"get the part matching the whole expression
8218 :let l = matchstr(line, mx)
8219 :"get each item out of the match
8220 :let file = substitute(l, mx, '\1', '')
8221 :let lnum = substitute(l, mx, '\2', '')
8222 :let col = substitute(l, mx, '\3', '')
8223
8224The input is in the variable "line", the results in the variables "file",
8225"lnum" and "col". (idea from Michael Geddes)
8226
Bram Moolenaaref2f6562007-05-06 13:32:59 +00008227
8228getting the scriptnames in a Dictionary ~
8229 *scriptnames-dictionary*
8230The |:scriptnames| command can be used to get a list of all script files that
8231have been sourced. There is no equivalent function or variable for this
8232(because it's rarely needed). In case you need to manipulate the list this
8233code can be used: >
8234 " Get the output of ":scriptnames" in the scriptnames_output variable.
8235 let scriptnames_output = ''
8236 redir => scriptnames_output
8237 silent scriptnames
8238 redir END
8239
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00008240 " Split the output into lines and parse each line. Add an entry to the
Bram Moolenaaref2f6562007-05-06 13:32:59 +00008241 " "scripts" dictionary.
8242 let scripts = {}
8243 for line in split(scriptnames_output, "\n")
8244 " Only do non-blank lines.
8245 if line =~ '\S'
8246 " Get the first number in the line.
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00008247 let nr = matchstr(line, '\d\+')
Bram Moolenaaref2f6562007-05-06 13:32:59 +00008248 " Get the file name, remove the script number " 123: ".
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00008249 let name = substitute(line, '.\+:\s*', '', '')
Bram Moolenaaref2f6562007-05-06 13:32:59 +00008250 " Add an item to the Dictionary
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00008251 let scripts[nr] = name
Bram Moolenaaref2f6562007-05-06 13:32:59 +00008252 endif
8253 endfor
8254 unlet scriptnames_output
8255
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00008256==============================================================================
825710. No +eval feature *no-eval-feature*
8258
8259When the |+eval| feature was disabled at compile time, none of the expression
8260evaluation commands are available. To prevent this from causing Vim scripts
8261to generate all kinds of errors, the ":if" and ":endif" commands are still
8262recognized, though the argument of the ":if" and everything between the ":if"
8263and the matching ":endif" is ignored. Nesting of ":if" blocks is allowed, but
8264only if the commands are at the start of the line. The ":else" command is not
8265recognized.
8266
8267Example of how to avoid executing commands when the |+eval| feature is
8268missing: >
8269
8270 :if 1
8271 : echo "Expression evaluation is compiled in"
8272 :else
8273 : echo "You will _never_ see this message"
8274 :endif
8275
8276==============================================================================
827711. The sandbox *eval-sandbox* *sandbox* *E48*
8278
Bram Moolenaar368373e2010-07-19 20:46:22 +02008279The 'foldexpr', 'formatexpr', 'includeexpr', 'indentexpr', 'statusline' and
8280'foldtext' options may be evaluated in a sandbox. This means that you are
8281protected from these expressions having nasty side effects. This gives some
8282safety for when these options are set from a modeline. It is also used when
8283the command from a tags file is executed and for CTRL-R = in the command line.
Bram Moolenaar7b0294c2004-10-11 10:16:09 +00008284The sandbox is also used for the |:sandbox| command.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00008285
8286These items are not allowed in the sandbox:
8287 - changing the buffer text
8288 - defining or changing mapping, autocommands, functions, user commands
8289 - setting certain options (see |option-summary|)
Bram Moolenaaref2f6562007-05-06 13:32:59 +00008290 - setting certain v: variables (see |v:var|) *E794*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00008291 - executing a shell command
8292 - reading or writing a file
8293 - jumping to another buffer or editing a file
Bram Moolenaar4770d092006-01-12 23:22:24 +00008294 - executing Python, Perl, etc. commands
Bram Moolenaar7b0294c2004-10-11 10:16:09 +00008295This is not guaranteed 100% secure, but it should block most attacks.
8296
8297 *:san* *:sandbox*
Bram Moolenaar045e82d2005-07-08 22:25:33 +00008298:san[dbox] {cmd} Execute {cmd} in the sandbox. Useful to evaluate an
Bram Moolenaar7b0294c2004-10-11 10:16:09 +00008299 option that may have been set from a modeline, e.g.
8300 'foldexpr'.
8301
Bram Moolenaarb71eaae2006-01-20 23:10:18 +00008302 *sandbox-option*
8303A few options contain an expression. When this expression is evaluated it may
Bram Moolenaar9b2200a2006-03-20 21:55:45 +00008304have to be done in the sandbox to avoid a security risk. But the sandbox is
Bram Moolenaarb71eaae2006-01-20 23:10:18 +00008305restrictive, thus this only happens when the option was set from an insecure
8306location. Insecure in this context are:
Bram Moolenaar551dbcc2006-04-25 22:13:59 +00008307- sourcing a .vimrc or .exrc in the current directory
Bram Moolenaarb71eaae2006-01-20 23:10:18 +00008308- while executing in the sandbox
8309- value coming from a modeline
8310
8311Note that when in the sandbox and saving an option value and restoring it, the
8312option will still be marked as it was set in the sandbox.
8313
8314==============================================================================
831512. Textlock *textlock*
8316
8317In a few situations it is not allowed to change the text in the buffer, jump
8318to another window and some other things that might confuse or break what Vim
8319is currently doing. This mostly applies to things that happen when Vim is
Bram Moolenaar446cb832008-06-24 21:56:24 +00008320actually doing something else. For example, evaluating the 'balloonexpr' may
Bram Moolenaarb71eaae2006-01-20 23:10:18 +00008321happen any moment the mouse cursor is resting at some position.
8322
8323This is not allowed when the textlock is active:
8324 - changing the buffer text
8325 - jumping to another buffer or window
8326 - editing another file
8327 - closing a window or quitting Vim
8328 - etc.
8329
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00008330
8331 vim:tw=78:ts=8:ft=help:norl: