blob: 474f86332335782eba5d26ab9a8165ba680a3231 [file] [log] [blame]
Bram Moolenaarfaa959a2006-02-20 21:37:40 +00001*eval.txt* For Vim version 7.0aa. Last change: 2006 Feb 20
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002
3
4 VIM REFERENCE MANUAL by Bram Moolenaar
5
6
7Expression evaluation *expression* *expr* *E15* *eval*
8
9Using expressions is introduced in chapter 41 of the user manual |usr_41.txt|.
10
11Note: Expression evaluation can be disabled at compile time. If this has been
Bram Moolenaare2cc9702005-03-15 22:43:58 +000012done, the features in this document are not available. See |+eval| and
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +000013|no-eval-feature|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +000014
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000151. Variables |variables|
16 1.1 Variable types
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +000017 1.2 Function references |Funcref|
Bram Moolenaar7c626922005-02-07 22:01:03 +000018 1.3 Lists |Lists|
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +000019 1.4 Dictionaries |Dictionaries|
20 1.5 More about variables |more-variables|
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000212. Expression syntax |expression-syntax|
223. Internal variable |internal-variables|
234. Builtin Functions |functions|
245. Defining functions |user-functions|
256. Curly braces names |curly-braces-names|
267. Commands |expression-commands|
278. Exception handling |exception-handling|
289. Examples |eval-examples|
2910. No +eval feature |no-eval-feature|
3011. The sandbox |eval-sandbox|
Bram Moolenaarb71eaae2006-01-20 23:10:18 +00003112. Textlock |textlock|
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +000032
33{Vi does not have any of these commands}
34
35==============================================================================
361. Variables *variables*
37
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000381.1 Variable types ~
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +000039 *E712*
Bram Moolenaar39a58ca2005-06-27 22:42:44 +000040There are five types of variables:
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +000041
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +000042Number A 32 bit signed number.
43 Examples: -123 0x10 0177
44
45String A NUL terminated string of 8-bit unsigned characters (bytes).
46 Examples: "ab\txx\"--" 'x-z''a,c'
47
48Funcref A reference to a function |Funcref|.
49 Example: function("strlen")
50
51List An ordered sequence of items |List|.
52 Example: [1, 2, ['a', 'b']]
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +000053
Bram Moolenaar39a58ca2005-06-27 22:42:44 +000054Dictionary An associative, unordered array: Each entry has a key and a
55 value. |Dictionary|
56 Example: {'blue': "#0000ff", 'red': "#ff0000"}
57
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +000058The Number and String types are converted automatically, depending on how they
59are used.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +000060
61Conversion from a Number to a String is by making the ASCII representation of
62the Number. Examples: >
63 Number 123 --> String "123"
64 Number 0 --> String "0"
65 Number -1 --> String "-1"
66
67Conversion from a String to a Number is done by converting the first digits
68to a number. Hexadecimal "0xf9" and Octal "017" numbers are recognized. If
69the String doesn't start with digits, the result is zero. Examples: >
70 String "456" --> Number 456
71 String "6bar" --> Number 6
72 String "foo" --> Number 0
73 String "0xf1" --> Number 241
74 String "0100" --> Number 64
75 String "-8" --> Number -8
76 String "+8" --> Number 0
77
78To force conversion from String to Number, add zero to it: >
79 :echo "0100" + 0
80
81For boolean operators Numbers are used. Zero is FALSE, non-zero is TRUE.
82
83Note that in the command >
84 :if "foo"
85"foo" is converted to 0, which means FALSE. To test for a non-empty string,
86use strlen(): >
87 :if strlen("foo")
Bram Moolenaar748bf032005-02-02 23:04:36 +000088< *E745* *E728* *E703* *E729* *E730* *E731*
89List, Dictionary and Funcref types are not automatically converted.
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +000090
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +000091 *E706*
92You will get an error if you try to change the type of a variable. You need
93to |:unlet| it first to avoid this error. String and Number are considered
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +000094equivalent though. Consider this sequence of commands: >
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +000095 :let l = "string"
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +000096 :let l = 44 " changes type from String to Number
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +000097 :let l = [1, 2, 3] " error!
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +000098
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +000099
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +00001001.2 Function references ~
Bram Moolenaar748bf032005-02-02 23:04:36 +0000101 *Funcref* *E695* *E718*
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000102A Funcref variable is obtained with the |function()| function. It can be used
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000103in an expression in the place of a function name, before the parenthesis
104around the arguments, to invoke the function it refers to. Example: >
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000105
106 :let Fn = function("MyFunc")
107 :echo Fn()
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000108< *E704* *E705* *E707*
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000109A Funcref variable must start with a capital, "s:", "w:" or "b:". You cannot
110have both a Funcref variable and a function with the same name.
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000111
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000112A special case is defining a function and directly assigning its Funcref to a
113Dictionary entry. Example: >
114 :function dict.init() dict
115 : let self.val = 0
116 :endfunction
117
118The key of the Dictionary can start with a lower case letter. The actual
119function name is not used here. Also see |numbered-function|.
120
121A Funcref can also be used with the |:call| command: >
122 :call Fn()
123 :call dict.init()
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000124
125The name of the referenced function can be obtained with |string()|. >
Bram Moolenaar383f9bc2005-01-19 22:18:32 +0000126 :let func = string(Fn)
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000127
128You can use |call()| to invoke a Funcref and use a list variable for the
129arguments: >
Bram Moolenaar383f9bc2005-01-19 22:18:32 +0000130 :let r = call(Fn, mylist)
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000131
132
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +00001331.3 Lists ~
Bram Moolenaar7c626922005-02-07 22:01:03 +0000134 *List* *Lists* *E686*
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000135A List is an ordered sequence of items. An item can be of any type. Items
136can be accessed by their index number. Items can be added and removed at any
137position in the sequence.
138
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000139
140List creation ~
141 *E696* *E697*
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000142A List is created with a comma separated list of items in square brackets.
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000143Examples: >
144 :let mylist = [1, two, 3, "four"]
145 :let emptylist = []
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000146
147An item can be any expression. Using a List for an item creates a
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000148nested List: >
149 :let nestlist = [[11, 12], [21, 22], [31, 32]]
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000150
151An extra comma after the last item is ignored.
152
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000153
154List index ~
155 *list-index* *E684*
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000156An item in the List can be accessed by putting the index in square brackets
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000157after the List. Indexes are zero-based, thus the first item has index zero. >
158 :let item = mylist[0] " get the first item: 1
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000159 :let item = mylist[2] " get the third item: 3
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000160
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +0000161When the resulting item is a list this can be repeated: >
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000162 :let item = nestlist[0][1] " get the first list, second item: 12
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000163<
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000164A negative index is counted from the end. Index -1 refers to the last item in
165the List, -2 to the last but one item, etc. >
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000166 :let last = mylist[-1] " get the last item: "four"
167
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000168To avoid an error for an invalid index use the |get()| function. When an item
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +0000169is not available it returns zero or the default value you specify: >
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000170 :echo get(mylist, idx)
171 :echo get(mylist, idx, "NONE")
172
173
174List concatenation ~
175
176Two lists can be concatenated with the "+" operator: >
177 :let longlist = mylist + [5, 6]
Bram Moolenaar383f9bc2005-01-19 22:18:32 +0000178 :let mylist += [7, 8]
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000179
180To prepend or append an item turn the item into a list by putting [] around
181it. To change a list in-place see |list-modification| below.
182
183
184Sublist ~
185
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000186A part of the List can be obtained by specifying the first and last index,
187separated by a colon in square brackets: >
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000188 :let shortlist = mylist[2:-1] " get List [3, "four"]
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000189
190Omitting the first index is similar to zero. Omitting the last index is
191similar to -1. The difference is that there is no error if the items are not
192available. >
Bram Moolenaar540d6e32005-01-09 21:20:18 +0000193 :let endlist = mylist[2:] " from item 2 to the end: [3, "four"]
194 :let shortlist = mylist[2:2] " List with one item: [3]
195 :let otherlist = mylist[:] " make a copy of the List
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000196
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000197The second index can be just before the first index. In that case the result
198is an empty list. If the second index is lower, this results in an error. >
199 :echo mylist[2:1] " result: []
200 :echo mylist[2:0] " error!
201
Bram Moolenaara7fc0102005-05-18 22:17:12 +0000202NOTE: mylist[s:e] means using the variable "s:e" as index. Watch out for
203using a single letter variable before the ":". Insert a space when needed:
204mylist[s : e].
205
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000206
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000207List identity ~
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000208 *list-identity*
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000209When variable "aa" is a list and you assign it to another variable "bb", both
210variables refer to the same list. Thus changing the list "aa" will also
211change "bb": >
212 :let aa = [1, 2, 3]
213 :let bb = aa
214 :call add(aa, 4)
215 :echo bb
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000216< [1, 2, 3, 4]
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000217
218Making a copy of a list is done with the |copy()| function. Using [:] also
219works, as explained above. This creates a shallow copy of the list: Changing
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +0000220a list item in the list will also change the item in the copied list: >
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000221 :let aa = [[1, 'a'], 2, 3]
222 :let bb = copy(aa)
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000223 :call add(aa, 4)
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000224 :let aa[0][1] = 'aaa'
225 :echo aa
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000226< [[1, aaa], 2, 3, 4] >
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000227 :echo bb
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000228< [[1, aaa], 2, 3]
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000229
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +0000230To make a completely independent list use |deepcopy()|. This also makes a
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000231copy of the values in the list, recursively. Up to a hundred levels deep.
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000232
233The operator "is" can be used to check if two variables refer to the same
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000234List. "isnot" does the opposite. In contrast "==" compares if two lists have
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +0000235the same value. >
236 :let alist = [1, 2, 3]
237 :let blist = [1, 2, 3]
238 :echo alist is blist
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000239< 0 >
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +0000240 :echo alist == blist
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000241< 1
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000242
Bram Moolenaar9ba0eb82005-06-13 22:28:56 +0000243Note about comparing lists: Two lists are considered equal if they have the
244same length and all items compare equal, as with using "==". There is one
Bram Moolenaar7d1f5db2005-07-03 21:39:27 +0000245exception: When comparing a number with a string they are considered
246different. There is no automatic type conversion, as with using "==" on
247variables. Example: >
248 echo 4 == "4"
Bram Moolenaar9ba0eb82005-06-13 22:28:56 +0000249< 1 >
Bram Moolenaar7d1f5db2005-07-03 21:39:27 +0000250 echo [4] == ["4"]
Bram Moolenaar9ba0eb82005-06-13 22:28:56 +0000251< 0
252
Bram Moolenaar7d1f5db2005-07-03 21:39:27 +0000253Thus comparing Lists is more strict than comparing numbers and strings. You
254can compare simple values this way too by putting them in a string: >
255
256 :let a = 5
257 :let b = "5"
258 echo a == b
259< 1 >
260 echo [a] == [b]
261< 0
Bram Moolenaar9ba0eb82005-06-13 22:28:56 +0000262
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000263
264List unpack ~
265
266To unpack the items in a list to individual variables, put the variables in
267square brackets, like list items: >
268 :let [var1, var2] = mylist
269
270When the number of variables does not match the number of items in the list
271this produces an error. To handle any extra items from the list append ";"
272and a variable name: >
273 :let [var1, var2; rest] = mylist
274
275This works like: >
276 :let var1 = mylist[0]
277 :let var2 = mylist[1]
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +0000278 :let rest = mylist[2:]
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000279
280Except that there is no error if there are only two items. "rest" will be an
281empty list then.
282
283
284List modification ~
285 *list-modification*
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +0000286To change a specific item of a list use |:let| this way: >
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000287 :let list[4] = "four"
288 :let listlist[0][3] = item
289
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +0000290To change part of a list you can specify the first and last item to be
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000291modified. The value must at least have the number of items in the range: >
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +0000292 :let list[3:5] = [3, 4, 5]
293
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000294Adding and removing items from a list is done with functions. Here are a few
295examples: >
296 :call insert(list, 'a') " prepend item 'a'
297 :call insert(list, 'a', 3) " insert item 'a' before list[3]
298 :call add(list, "new") " append String item
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000299 :call add(list, [1, 2]) " append a List as one new item
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000300 :call extend(list, [1, 2]) " extend the list with two more items
301 :let i = remove(list, 3) " remove item 3
Bram Moolenaar9cd15162005-01-16 22:02:49 +0000302 :unlet list[3] " idem
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000303 :let l = remove(list, 3, -1) " remove items 3 to last item
Bram Moolenaar9cd15162005-01-16 22:02:49 +0000304 :unlet list[3 : ] " idem
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000305 :call filter(list, 'v:val !~ "x"') " remove items with an 'x'
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000306
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000307Changing the order of items in a list: >
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +0000308 :call sort(list) " sort a list alphabetically
309 :call reverse(list) " reverse the order of items
310
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000311
312For loop ~
313
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +0000314The |:for| loop executes commands for each item in a list. A variable is set
315to each item in the list in sequence. Example: >
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000316 :for item in mylist
317 : call Doit(item)
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000318 :endfor
319
320This works like: >
321 :let index = 0
322 :while index < len(mylist)
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000323 : let item = mylist[index]
324 : :call Doit(item)
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000325 : let index = index + 1
326 :endwhile
327
328Note that all items in the list should be of the same type, otherwise this
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000329results in error |E706|. To avoid this |:unlet| the variable at the end of
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +0000330the loop.
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000331
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +0000332If all you want to do is modify each item in the list then the |map()|
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000333function will be a simpler method than a for loop.
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +0000334
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000335Just like the |:let| command, |:for| also accepts a list of variables. This
336requires the argument to be a list of lists. >
337 :for [lnum, col] in [[1, 3], [2, 8], [3, 0]]
338 : call Doit(lnum, col)
339 :endfor
340
341This works like a |:let| command is done for each list item. Again, the types
342must remain the same to avoid an error.
343
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000344It is also possible to put remaining items in a List variable: >
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000345 :for [i, j; rest] in listlist
346 : call Doit(i, j)
347 : if !empty(rest)
348 : echo "remainder: " . string(rest)
349 : endif
350 :endfor
351
352
353List functions ~
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000354 *E714*
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000355Functions that are useful with a List: >
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +0000356 :let r = call(funcname, list) " call a function with an argument list
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000357 :if empty(list) " check if list is empty
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000358 :let l = len(list) " number of items in list
359 :let big = max(list) " maximum value in list
360 :let small = min(list) " minimum value in list
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +0000361 :let xs = count(list, 'x') " count nr of times 'x' appears in list
362 :let i = index(list, 'x') " index of first 'x' in list
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000363 :let lines = getline(1, 10) " get ten text lines from buffer
364 :call append('$', lines) " append text lines in buffer
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +0000365 :let list = split("a b c") " create list from items in a string
366 :let string = join(list, ', ') " create string from list items
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000367 :let s = string(list) " String representation of list
368 :call map(list, '">> " . v:val') " prepend ">> " to each item
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000369
Bram Moolenaar0cb032e2005-04-23 20:52:00 +0000370Don't forget that a combination of features can make things simple. For
371example, to add up all the numbers in a list: >
372 :exe 'let sum = ' . join(nrlist, '+')
373
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000374
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +00003751.4 Dictionaries ~
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000376 *Dictionaries* *Dictionary*
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000377A Dictionary is an associative array: Each entry has a key and a value. The
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000378entry can be located with the key. The entries are stored without a specific
379ordering.
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000380
381
382Dictionary creation ~
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000383 *E720* *E721* *E722* *E723*
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000384A Dictionary is created with a comma separated list of entries in curly
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000385braces. Each entry has a key and a value, separated by a colon. Each key can
386only appear once. Examples: >
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000387 :let mydict = {1: 'one', 2: 'two', 3: 'three'}
388 :let emptydict = {}
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000389< *E713* *E716* *E717*
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000390A key is always a String. You can use a Number, it will be converted to a
391String automatically. Thus the String '4' and the number 4 will find the same
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000392entry. Note that the String '04' and the Number 04 are different, since the
393Number will be converted to the String '4'.
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000394
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000395A value can be any expression. Using a Dictionary for a value creates a
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000396nested Dictionary: >
397 :let nestdict = {1: {11: 'a', 12: 'b'}, 2: {21: 'c'}}
398
399An extra comma after the last entry is ignored.
400
401
402Accessing entries ~
403
404The normal way to access an entry is by putting the key in square brackets: >
405 :let val = mydict["one"]
406 :let mydict["four"] = 4
407
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000408You can add new entries to an existing Dictionary this way, unlike Lists.
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000409
410For keys that consist entirely of letters, digits and underscore the following
411form can be used |expr-entry|: >
412 :let val = mydict.one
413 :let mydict.four = 4
414
415Since an entry can be any type, also a List and a Dictionary, the indexing and
416key lookup can be repeated: >
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000417 :echo dict.key[idx].key
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000418
419
420Dictionary to List conversion ~
421
422You may want to loop over the entries in a dictionary. For this you need to
423turn the Dictionary into a List and pass it to |:for|.
424
425Most often you want to loop over the keys, using the |keys()| function: >
426 :for key in keys(mydict)
427 : echo key . ': ' . mydict[key]
428 :endfor
429
430The List of keys is unsorted. You may want to sort them first: >
431 :for key in sort(keys(mydict))
432
433To loop over the values use the |values()| function: >
434 :for v in values(mydict)
435 : echo "value: " . v
436 :endfor
437
438If you want both the key and the value use the |items()| function. It returns
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000439a List in which each item is a List with two items, the key and the value: >
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000440 :for entry in items(mydict)
441 : echo entry[0] . ': ' . entry[1]
442 :endfor
443
444
445Dictionary identity ~
Bram Moolenaar7c626922005-02-07 22:01:03 +0000446 *dict-identity*
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000447Just like Lists you need to use |copy()| and |deepcopy()| to make a copy of a
448Dictionary. Otherwise, assignment results in referring to the same
449Dictionary: >
450 :let onedict = {'a': 1, 'b': 2}
451 :let adict = onedict
452 :let adict['a'] = 11
453 :echo onedict['a']
454 11
455
Bram Moolenaarf3bd51a2005-06-14 22:11:18 +0000456Two Dictionaries compare equal if all the key-value pairs compare equal. For
457more info see |list-identity|.
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000458
459
460Dictionary modification ~
461 *dict-modification*
462To change an already existing entry of a Dictionary, or to add a new entry,
463use |:let| this way: >
464 :let dict[4] = "four"
465 :let dict['one'] = item
466
Bram Moolenaar9cd15162005-01-16 22:02:49 +0000467Removing an entry from a Dictionary is done with |remove()| or |:unlet|.
468Three ways to remove the entry with key "aaa" from dict: >
469 :let i = remove(dict, 'aaa')
470 :unlet dict.aaa
471 :unlet dict['aaa']
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000472
473Merging a Dictionary with another is done with |extend()|: >
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000474 :call extend(adict, bdict)
475This extends adict with all entries from bdict. Duplicate keys cause entries
476in adict to be overwritten. An optional third argument can change this.
Bram Moolenaar383f9bc2005-01-19 22:18:32 +0000477Note that the order of entries in a Dictionary is irrelevant, thus don't
478expect ":echo adict" to show the items from bdict after the older entries in
479adict.
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000480
481Weeding out entries from a Dictionary can be done with |filter()|: >
Bram Moolenaare2cc9702005-03-15 22:43:58 +0000482 :call filter(dict 'v:val =~ "x"')
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000483This removes all entries from "dict" with a value not matching 'x'.
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000484
485
486Dictionary function ~
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000487 *Dictionary-function* *self* *E725*
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000488When a function is defined with the "dict" attribute it can be used in a
489special way with a dictionary. Example: >
490 :function Mylen() dict
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000491 : return len(self.data)
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000492 :endfunction
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000493 :let mydict = {'data': [0, 1, 2, 3], 'len': function("Mylen")}
494 :echo mydict.len()
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000495
496This is like a method in object oriented programming. The entry in the
497Dictionary is a |Funcref|. The local variable "self" refers to the dictionary
498the function was invoked from.
499
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000500It is also possible to add a function without the "dict" attribute as a
501Funcref to a Dictionary, but the "self" variable is not available then.
502
503 *numbered-function*
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000504To avoid the extra name for the function it can be defined and directly
505assigned to a Dictionary in this way: >
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000506 :let mydict = {'data': [0, 1, 2, 3]}
507 :function mydict.len() dict
508 : return len(self.data)
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000509 :endfunction
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000510 :echo mydict.len()
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000511
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000512The function will then get a number and the value of dict.len is a |Funcref|
513that references this function. The function can only be used through a
514|Funcref|. It will automatically be deleted when there is no |Funcref|
515remaining that refers to it.
516
517It is not necessary to use the "dict" attribute for a numbered function.
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000518
519
520Functions for Dictionaries ~
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000521 *E715*
522Functions that can be used with a Dictionary: >
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000523 :if has_key(dict, 'foo') " TRUE if dict has entry with key "foo"
524 :if empty(dict) " TRUE if dict is empty
525 :let l = len(dict) " number of items in dict
526 :let big = max(dict) " maximum value in dict
527 :let small = min(dict) " minimum value in dict
528 :let xs = count(dict, 'x') " count nr of times 'x' appears in dict
529 :let s = string(dict) " String representation of dict
530 :call map(dict, '">> " . v:val') " prepend ">> " to each item
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000531
532
5331.5 More about variables ~
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000534 *more-variables*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000535If you need to know the type of a variable or expression, use the |type()|
536function.
537
538When the '!' flag is included in the 'viminfo' option, global variables that
539start with an uppercase letter, and don't contain a lowercase letter, are
540stored in the viminfo file |viminfo-file|.
541
542When the 'sessionoptions' option contains "global", global variables that
543start with an uppercase letter and contain at least one lowercase letter are
544stored in the session file |session-file|.
545
546variable name can be stored where ~
547my_var_6 not
548My_Var_6 session file
549MY_VAR_6 viminfo file
550
551
552It's possible to form a variable name with curly braces, see
553|curly-braces-names|.
554
555==============================================================================
5562. Expression syntax *expression-syntax*
557
558Expression syntax summary, from least to most significant:
559
560|expr1| expr2 ? expr1 : expr1 if-then-else
561
562|expr2| expr3 || expr3 .. logical OR
563
564|expr3| expr4 && expr4 .. logical AND
565
566|expr4| expr5 == expr5 equal
567 expr5 != expr5 not equal
568 expr5 > expr5 greater than
569 expr5 >= expr5 greater than or equal
570 expr5 < expr5 smaller than
571 expr5 <= expr5 smaller than or equal
572 expr5 =~ expr5 regexp matches
573 expr5 !~ expr5 regexp doesn't match
574
575 expr5 ==? expr5 equal, ignoring case
576 expr5 ==# expr5 equal, match case
577 etc. As above, append ? for ignoring case, # for
578 matching case
579
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +0000580 expr5 is expr5 same List instance
581 expr5 isnot expr5 different List instance
582
583|expr5| expr6 + expr6 .. number addition or list concatenation
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000584 expr6 - expr6 .. number subtraction
585 expr6 . expr6 .. string concatenation
586
587|expr6| expr7 * expr7 .. number multiplication
588 expr7 / expr7 .. number division
589 expr7 % expr7 .. number modulo
590
591|expr7| ! expr7 logical NOT
592 - expr7 unary minus
593 + expr7 unary plus
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000594
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000595
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000596|expr8| expr8[expr1] byte of a String or item of a List
597 expr8[expr1 : expr1] substring of a String or sublist of a List
598 expr8.name entry in a Dictionary
599 expr8(expr1, ...) function call with Funcref variable
600
601|expr9| number number constant
Bram Moolenaar3fdfa4a2004-10-07 21:02:47 +0000602 "string" string constant, backslash is special
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000603 'string' string constant, ' is doubled
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000604 [expr1, ...] List
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000605 {expr1: expr1, ...} Dictionary
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000606 &option option value
607 (expr1) nested expression
608 variable internal variable
609 va{ria}ble internal variable with curly braces
610 $VAR environment variable
611 @r contents of register 'r'
612 function(expr1, ...) function call
613 func{ti}on(expr1, ...) function call with curly braces
614
615
616".." indicates that the operations in this level can be concatenated.
617Example: >
618 &nu || &list && &shell == "csh"
619
620All expressions within one level are parsed from left to right.
621
622
623expr1 *expr1* *E109*
624-----
625
626expr2 ? expr1 : expr1
627
628The expression before the '?' is evaluated to a number. If it evaluates to
629non-zero, the result is the value of the expression between the '?' and ':',
630otherwise the result is the value of the expression after the ':'.
631Example: >
632 :echo lnum == 1 ? "top" : lnum
633
634Since the first expression is an "expr2", it cannot contain another ?:. The
635other two expressions can, thus allow for recursive use of ?:.
636Example: >
637 :echo lnum == 1 ? "top" : lnum == 1000 ? "last" : lnum
638
639To keep this readable, using |line-continuation| is suggested: >
640 :echo lnum == 1
641 :\ ? "top"
642 :\ : lnum == 1000
643 :\ ? "last"
644 :\ : lnum
645
646
647expr2 and expr3 *expr2* *expr3*
648---------------
649
650 *expr-barbar* *expr-&&*
651The "||" and "&&" operators take one argument on each side. The arguments
652are (converted to) Numbers. The result is:
653
654 input output ~
655n1 n2 n1 || n2 n1 && n2 ~
656zero zero zero zero
657zero non-zero non-zero zero
658non-zero zero non-zero zero
659non-zero non-zero non-zero non-zero
660
661The operators can be concatenated, for example: >
662
663 &nu || &list && &shell == "csh"
664
665Note that "&&" takes precedence over "||", so this has the meaning of: >
666
667 &nu || (&list && &shell == "csh")
668
669Once the result is known, the expression "short-circuits", that is, further
670arguments are not evaluated. This is like what happens in C. For example: >
671
672 let a = 1
673 echo a || b
674
675This is valid even if there is no variable called "b" because "a" is non-zero,
676so the result must be non-zero. Similarly below: >
677
678 echo exists("b") && b == "yes"
679
680This is valid whether "b" has been defined or not. The second clause will
681only be evaluated if "b" has been defined.
682
683
684expr4 *expr4*
685-----
686
687expr5 {cmp} expr5
688
689Compare two expr5 expressions, resulting in a 0 if it evaluates to false, or 1
690if it evaluates to true.
691
692 *expr-==* *expr-!=* *expr->* *expr->=*
693 *expr-<* *expr-<=* *expr-=~* *expr-!~*
694 *expr-==#* *expr-!=#* *expr->#* *expr->=#*
695 *expr-<#* *expr-<=#* *expr-=~#* *expr-!~#*
696 *expr-==?* *expr-!=?* *expr->?* *expr->=?*
697 *expr-<?* *expr-<=?* *expr-=~?* *expr-!~?*
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +0000698 *expr-is*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000699 use 'ignorecase' match case ignore case ~
700equal == ==# ==?
701not equal != !=# !=?
702greater than > ># >?
703greater than or equal >= >=# >=?
704smaller than < <# <?
705smaller than or equal <= <=# <=?
706regexp matches =~ =~# =~?
707regexp doesn't match !~ !~# !~?
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +0000708same instance is
709different instance isnot
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000710
711Examples:
712"abc" ==# "Abc" evaluates to 0
713"abc" ==? "Abc" evaluates to 1
714"abc" == "Abc" evaluates to 1 if 'ignorecase' is set, 0 otherwise
715
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000716 *E691* *E692*
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +0000717A List can only be compared with a List and only "equal", "not equal" and "is"
718can be used. This compares the values of the list, recursively. Ignoring
719case means case is ignored when comparing item values.
720
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000721 *E735* *E736*
722A Dictionary can only be compared with a Dictionary and only "equal", "not
723equal" and "is" can be used. This compares the key/values of the Dictionary,
724recursively. Ignoring case means case is ignored when comparing item values.
725
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000726 *E693* *E694*
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +0000727A Funcref can only be compared with a Funcref and only "equal" and "not equal"
728can be used. Case is never ignored.
729
730When using "is" or "isnot" with a List this checks if the expressions are
731referring to the same List instance. A copy of a List is different from the
732original List. When using "is" without a List it is equivalent to using
733"equal", using "isnot" equivalent to using "not equal". Except that a
734different type means the values are different. "4 == '4'" is true, "4 is '4'"
735is false.
736
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000737When comparing a String with a Number, the String is converted to a Number,
738and the comparison is done on Numbers. This means that "0 == 'x'" is TRUE,
739because 'x' converted to a Number is zero.
740
741When comparing two Strings, this is done with strcmp() or stricmp(). This
742results in the mathematical difference (comparing byte values), not
743necessarily the alphabetical difference in the local language.
744
745When using the operators with a trailing '#", or the short version and
746'ignorecase' is off, the comparing is done with strcmp().
747
748When using the operators with a trailing '?', or the short version and
749'ignorecase' is set, the comparing is done with stricmp().
750
751The "=~" and "!~" operators match the lefthand argument with the righthand
752argument, which is used as a pattern. See |pattern| for what a pattern is.
753This matching is always done like 'magic' was set and 'cpoptions' is empty, no
754matter what the actual value of 'magic' or 'cpoptions' is. This makes scripts
755portable. To avoid backslashes in the regexp pattern to be doubled, use a
756single-quote string, see |literal-string|.
757Since a string is considered to be a single line, a multi-line pattern
758(containing \n, backslash-n) will not match. However, a literal NL character
759can be matched like an ordinary character. Examples:
760 "foo\nbar" =~ "\n" evaluates to 1
761 "foo\nbar" =~ "\\n" evaluates to 0
762
763
764expr5 and expr6 *expr5* *expr6*
765---------------
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +0000766expr6 + expr6 .. Number addition or List concatenation *expr-+*
767expr6 - expr6 .. Number subtraction *expr--*
768expr6 . expr6 .. String concatenation *expr-.*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000769
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +0000770For Lists only "+" is possible and then both expr6 must be a list. The result
771is a new list with the two lists Concatenated.
772
773expr7 * expr7 .. number multiplication *expr-star*
774expr7 / expr7 .. number division *expr-/*
775expr7 % expr7 .. number modulo *expr-%*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000776
777For all, except ".", Strings are converted to Numbers.
778
779Note the difference between "+" and ".":
780 "123" + "456" = 579
781 "123" . "456" = "123456"
782
783When the righthand side of '/' is zero, the result is 0x7fffffff.
784When the righthand side of '%' is zero, the result is 0.
785
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +0000786None of these work for Funcrefs.
787
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000788
789expr7 *expr7*
790-----
791! expr7 logical NOT *expr-!*
792- expr7 unary minus *expr-unary--*
793+ expr7 unary plus *expr-unary-+*
794
795For '!' non-zero becomes zero, zero becomes one.
796For '-' the sign of the number is changed.
797For '+' the number is unchanged.
798
799A String will be converted to a Number first.
800
801These three can be repeated and mixed. Examples:
802 !-1 == 0
803 !!8 == 1
804 --9 == 9
805
806
807expr8 *expr8*
808-----
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000809expr8[expr1] item of String or List *expr-[]* *E111*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000810
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000811If expr8 is a Number or String this results in a String that contains the
812expr1'th single byte from expr8. expr8 is used as a String, expr1 as a
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000813Number. Note that this doesn't recognize multi-byte encodings.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000814
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000815Index zero gives the first character. This is like it works in C. Careful:
816text column numbers start with one! Example, to get the character under the
817cursor: >
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000818 :let c = getline(line("."))[col(".") - 1]
819
820If the length of the String is less than the index, the result is an empty
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000821String. A negative index always results in an empty string (reason: backwards
822compatibility). Use [-1:] to get the last byte.
823
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000824If expr8 is a List then it results the item at index expr1. See |list-index|
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000825for possible index values. If the index is out of range this results in an
826error. Example: >
827 :let item = mylist[-1] " get last item
828
829Generally, if a List index is equal to or higher than the length of the List,
830or more negative than the length of the List, this results in an error.
831
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000832
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000833expr8[expr1a : expr1b] substring or sublist *expr-[:]*
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000834
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000835If expr8 is a Number or String this results in the substring with the bytes
836from expr1a to and including expr1b. expr8 is used as a String, expr1a and
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000837expr1b are used as a Number. Note that this doesn't recognize multi-byte
838encodings.
839
840If expr1a is omitted zero is used. If expr1b is omitted the length of the
841string minus one is used.
842
843A negative number can be used to measure from the end of the string. -1 is
844the last character, -2 the last but one, etc.
845
846If an index goes out of range for the string characters are omitted. If
847expr1b is smaller than expr1a the result is an empty string.
848
849Examples: >
850 :let c = name[-1:] " last byte of a string
851 :let c = name[-2:-2] " last but one byte of a string
852 :let s = line(".")[4:] " from the fifth byte to the end
853 :let s = s[:-3] " remove last two bytes
854
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000855If expr8 is a List this results in a new List with the items indicated by the
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000856indexes expr1a and expr1b. This works like with a String, as explained just
857above, except that indexes out of range cause an error. Examples: >
858 :let l = mylist[:3] " first four items
859 :let l = mylist[4:4] " List with one item
860 :let l = mylist[:] " shallow copy of a List
861
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000862Using expr8[expr1] or expr8[expr1a : expr1b] on a Funcref results in an error.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000863
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000864
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000865expr8.name entry in a Dictionary *expr-entry*
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000866
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000867If expr8 is a Dictionary and it is followed by a dot, then the following name
868will be used as a key in the Dictionary. This is just like: expr8[name].
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000869
870The name must consist of alphanumeric characters, just like a variable name,
871but it may start with a number. Curly braces cannot be used.
872
873There must not be white space before or after the dot.
874
875Examples: >
876 :let dict = {"one": 1, 2: "two"}
877 :echo dict.one
878 :echo dict .2
879
880Note that the dot is also used for String concatenation. To avoid confusion
881always put spaces around the dot for String concatenation.
882
883
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000884expr8(expr1, ...) Funcref function call
885
886When expr8 is a |Funcref| type variable, invoke the function it refers to.
887
888
889
890 *expr9*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000891number
892------
893number number constant *expr-number*
894
895Decimal, Hexadecimal (starting with 0x or 0X), or Octal (starting with 0).
896
897
898string *expr-string* *E114*
899------
900"string" string constant *expr-quote*
901
902Note that double quotes are used.
903
904A string constant accepts these special characters:
905\... three-digit octal number (e.g., "\316")
906\.. two-digit octal number (must be followed by non-digit)
907\. one-digit octal number (must be followed by non-digit)
908\x.. byte specified with two hex numbers (e.g., "\x1f")
909\x. byte specified with one hex number (must be followed by non-hex char)
910\X.. same as \x..
911\X. same as \x.
912\u.... character specified with up to 4 hex numbers, stored according to the
913 current value of 'encoding' (e.g., "\u02a4")
914\U.... same as \u....
915\b backspace <BS>
916\e escape <Esc>
917\f formfeed <FF>
918\n newline <NL>
919\r return <CR>
920\t tab <Tab>
921\\ backslash
922\" double quote
923\<xxx> Special key named "xxx". e.g. "\<C-W>" for CTRL-W.
924
925Note that "\000" and "\x00" force the end of the string.
926
927
928literal-string *literal-string* *E115*
929---------------
Bram Moolenaar3fdfa4a2004-10-07 21:02:47 +0000930'string' string constant *expr-'*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000931
932Note that single quotes are used.
933
Bram Moolenaar3fdfa4a2004-10-07 21:02:47 +0000934This string is taken as it is. No backslashes are removed or have a special
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000935meaning. The only exception is that two quotes stand for one quote.
Bram Moolenaar3fdfa4a2004-10-07 21:02:47 +0000936
937Single quoted strings are useful for patterns, so that backslashes do not need
938to be doubled. These two commands are equivalent: >
939 if a =~ "\\s*"
940 if a =~ '\s*'
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000941
942
943option *expr-option* *E112* *E113*
944------
945&option option value, local value if possible
946&g:option global option value
947&l:option local option value
948
949Examples: >
950 echo "tabstop is " . &tabstop
951 if &insertmode
952
953Any option name can be used here. See |options|. When using the local value
954and there is no buffer-local or window-local value, the global value is used
955anyway.
956
957
958register *expr-register*
959--------
960@r contents of register 'r'
961
962The result is the contents of the named register, as a single string.
963Newlines are inserted where required. To get the contents of the unnamed
Bram Moolenaare7566042005-06-17 22:00:15 +0000964register use @" or @@. See |registers| for an explanation of the available
965registers.
966
967When using the '=' register you get the expression itself, not what it
968evaluates to. Use |eval()| to evaluate it.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000969
970
971nesting *expr-nesting* *E110*
972-------
973(expr1) nested expression
974
975
976environment variable *expr-env*
977--------------------
978$VAR environment variable
979
980The String value of any environment variable. When it is not defined, the
981result is an empty string.
982 *expr-env-expand*
983Note that there is a difference between using $VAR directly and using
984expand("$VAR"). Using it directly will only expand environment variables that
985are known inside the current Vim session. Using expand() will first try using
986the environment variables known inside the current Vim session. If that
987fails, a shell will be used to expand the variable. This can be slow, but it
988does expand all variables that the shell knows about. Example: >
989 :echo $version
990 :echo expand("$version")
991The first one probably doesn't echo anything, the second echoes the $version
992variable (if your shell supports it).
993
994
995internal variable *expr-variable*
996-----------------
997variable internal variable
998See below |internal-variables|.
999
1000
Bram Moolenaar05159a02005-02-26 23:04:13 +00001001function call *expr-function* *E116* *E118* *E119* *E120*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001002-------------
1003function(expr1, ...) function call
1004See below |functions|.
1005
1006
1007==============================================================================
10083. Internal variable *internal-variables* *E121*
1009 *E461*
1010An internal variable name can be made up of letters, digits and '_'. But it
1011cannot start with a digit. It's also possible to use curly braces, see
1012|curly-braces-names|.
1013
1014An internal variable is created with the ":let" command |:let|.
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +00001015An internal variable is explicitly destroyed with the ":unlet" command
1016|:unlet|.
1017Using a name that is not an internal variable or refers to a variable that has
1018been destroyed results in an error.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001019
1020There are several name spaces for variables. Which one is to be used is
1021specified by what is prepended:
1022
1023 (nothing) In a function: local to a function; otherwise: global
1024|buffer-variable| b: Local to the current buffer.
1025|window-variable| w: Local to the current window.
1026|global-variable| g: Global.
1027|local-variable| l: Local to a function.
1028|script-variable| s: Local to a |:source|'ed Vim script.
1029|function-argument| a: Function argument (only inside a function).
1030|vim-variable| v: Global, predefined by Vim.
1031
Bram Moolenaar8f999f12005-01-25 22:12:55 +00001032The scope name by itself can be used as a Dictionary. For example, to delete
1033all script-local variables: >
1034 :for k in keys(s:)
1035 : unlet s:[k]
1036 :endfor
1037<
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001038 *buffer-variable* *b:var*
1039A variable name that is preceded with "b:" is local to the current buffer.
1040Thus you can have several "b:foo" variables, one for each buffer.
1041This kind of variable is deleted when the buffer is wiped out or deleted with
1042|:bdelete|.
1043
1044One local buffer variable is predefined:
1045 *b:changedtick-variable* *changetick*
1046b:changedtick The total number of changes to the current buffer. It is
1047 incremented for each change. An undo command is also a change
1048 in this case. This can be used to perform an action only when
1049 the buffer has changed. Example: >
1050 :if my_changedtick != b:changedtick
1051 : let my_changedtick = b:changedtick
1052 : call My_Update()
1053 :endif
1054<
1055 *window-variable* *w:var*
1056A variable name that is preceded with "w:" is local to the current window. It
1057is deleted when the window is closed.
1058
1059 *global-variable* *g:var*
1060Inside functions global variables are accessed with "g:". Omitting this will
1061access a variable local to a function. But "g:" can also be used in any other
1062place if you like.
1063
1064 *local-variable* *l:var*
1065Inside functions local variables are accessed without prepending anything.
1066But you can also prepend "l:" if you like.
1067
1068 *script-variable* *s:var*
1069In a Vim script variables starting with "s:" can be used. They cannot be
1070accessed from outside of the scripts, thus are local to the script.
1071
1072They can be used in:
1073- commands executed while the script is sourced
1074- functions defined in the script
1075- autocommands defined in the script
1076- functions and autocommands defined in functions and autocommands which were
1077 defined in the script (recursively)
1078- user defined commands defined in the script
1079Thus not in:
1080- other scripts sourced from this one
1081- mappings
1082- etc.
1083
1084script variables can be used to avoid conflicts with global variable names.
1085Take this example:
1086
1087 let s:counter = 0
1088 function MyCounter()
1089 let s:counter = s:counter + 1
1090 echo s:counter
1091 endfunction
1092 command Tick call MyCounter()
1093
1094You can now invoke "Tick" from any script, and the "s:counter" variable in
1095that script will not be changed, only the "s:counter" in the script where
1096"Tick" was defined is used.
1097
1098Another example that does the same: >
1099
1100 let s:counter = 0
1101 command Tick let s:counter = s:counter + 1 | echo s:counter
1102
1103When calling a function and invoking a user-defined command, the context for
Bram Moolenaar69a7cb42004-06-20 12:51:53 +00001104script variables is set to the script where the function or command was
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001105defined.
1106
1107The script variables are also available when a function is defined inside a
1108function that is defined in a script. Example: >
1109
1110 let s:counter = 0
1111 function StartCounting(incr)
1112 if a:incr
1113 function MyCounter()
1114 let s:counter = s:counter + 1
1115 endfunction
1116 else
1117 function MyCounter()
1118 let s:counter = s:counter - 1
1119 endfunction
1120 endif
1121 endfunction
1122
1123This defines the MyCounter() function either for counting up or counting down
1124when calling StartCounting(). It doesn't matter from where StartCounting() is
1125called, the s:counter variable will be accessible in MyCounter().
1126
1127When the same script is sourced again it will use the same script variables.
1128They will remain valid as long as Vim is running. This can be used to
1129maintain a counter: >
1130
1131 if !exists("s:counter")
1132 let s:counter = 1
1133 echo "script executed for the first time"
1134 else
1135 let s:counter = s:counter + 1
1136 echo "script executed " . s:counter . " times now"
1137 endif
1138
1139Note that this means that filetype plugins don't get a different set of script
1140variables for each buffer. Use local buffer variables instead |b:var|.
1141
1142
1143Predefined Vim variables: *vim-variable* *v:var*
1144
Bram Moolenaare4efc3b2005-03-07 23:16:51 +00001145 *v:beval_col* *beval_col-variable*
1146v:beval_col The number of the column, over which the mouse pointer is.
1147 This is the byte index in the |v:beval_lnum| line.
1148 Only valid while evaluating the 'balloonexpr' option.
1149
1150 *v:beval_bufnr* *beval_bufnr-variable*
1151v:beval_bufnr The number of the buffer, over which the mouse pointer is. Only
1152 valid while evaluating the 'balloonexpr' option.
1153
1154 *v:beval_lnum* *beval_lnum-variable*
1155v:beval_lnum The number of the line, over which the mouse pointer is. Only
1156 valid while evaluating the 'balloonexpr' option.
1157
1158 *v:beval_text* *beval_text-variable*
Bram Moolenaar24bbcfe2005-06-28 23:32:02 +00001159v:beval_text The text under or after the mouse pointer. Usually a word as
1160 it is useful for debugging a C program. 'iskeyword' applies,
1161 but a dot and "->" before the position is included. When on a
1162 ']' the text before it is used, including the matching '[' and
Bram Moolenaare4efc3b2005-03-07 23:16:51 +00001163 word before it. When on a Visual area within one line the
1164 highlighted text is used.
1165 Only valid while evaluating the 'balloonexpr' option.
1166
1167 *v:beval_winnr* *beval_winnr-variable*
1168v:beval_winnr The number of the window, over which the mouse pointer is. Only
1169 valid while evaluating the 'balloonexpr' option.
1170
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001171 *v:charconvert_from* *charconvert_from-variable*
1172v:charconvert_from
1173 The name of the character encoding of a file to be converted.
1174 Only valid while evaluating the 'charconvert' option.
1175
1176 *v:charconvert_to* *charconvert_to-variable*
1177v:charconvert_to
1178 The name of the character encoding of a file after conversion.
1179 Only valid while evaluating the 'charconvert' option.
1180
1181 *v:cmdarg* *cmdarg-variable*
1182v:cmdarg This variable is used for two purposes:
1183 1. The extra arguments given to a file read/write command.
1184 Currently these are "++enc=" and "++ff=". This variable is
1185 set before an autocommand event for a file read/write
1186 command is triggered. There is a leading space to make it
1187 possible to append this variable directly after the
1188 read/write command. Note: The "+cmd" argument isn't
1189 included here, because it will be executed anyway.
1190 2. When printing a PostScript file with ":hardcopy" this is
1191 the argument for the ":hardcopy" command. This can be used
1192 in 'printexpr'.
1193
1194 *v:cmdbang* *cmdbang-variable*
1195v:cmdbang Set like v:cmdarg for a file read/write command. When a "!"
1196 was used the value is 1, otherwise it is 0. Note that this
1197 can only be used in autocommands. For user commands |<bang>|
1198 can be used.
1199
1200 *v:count* *count-variable*
1201v:count The count given for the last Normal mode command. Can be used
1202 to get the count before a mapping. Read-only. Example: >
1203 :map _x :<C-U>echo "the count is " . v:count<CR>
1204< Note: The <C-U> is required to remove the line range that you
1205 get when typing ':' after a count.
Bram Moolenaar1d2ba7f2006-02-14 22:29:30 +00001206 Also used for evaluating the 'formatexpr' option.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001207 "count" also works, for backwards compatibility.
1208
1209 *v:count1* *count1-variable*
1210v:count1 Just like "v:count", but defaults to one when no count is
1211 used.
1212
1213 *v:ctype* *ctype-variable*
1214v:ctype The current locale setting for characters of the runtime
1215 environment. This allows Vim scripts to be aware of the
1216 current locale encoding. Technical: it's the value of
1217 LC_CTYPE. When not using a locale the value is "C".
1218 This variable can not be set directly, use the |:language|
1219 command.
1220 See |multi-lang|.
1221
1222 *v:dying* *dying-variable*
1223v:dying Normally zero. When a deadly signal is caught it's set to
1224 one. When multiple signals are caught the number increases.
1225 Can be used in an autocommand to check if Vim didn't
1226 terminate normally. {only works on Unix}
1227 Example: >
1228 :au VimLeave * if v:dying | echo "\nAAAAaaaarrrggghhhh!!!\n" | endif
1229<
1230 *v:errmsg* *errmsg-variable*
1231v:errmsg Last given error message. It's allowed to set this variable.
1232 Example: >
1233 :let v:errmsg = ""
1234 :silent! next
1235 :if v:errmsg != ""
1236 : ... handle error
1237< "errmsg" also works, for backwards compatibility.
1238
1239 *v:exception* *exception-variable*
1240v:exception The value of the exception most recently caught and not
1241 finished. See also |v:throwpoint| and |throw-variables|.
1242 Example: >
1243 :try
1244 : throw "oops"
1245 :catch /.*/
1246 : echo "caught" v:exception
1247 :endtry
1248< Output: "caught oops".
1249
Bram Moolenaar19a09a12005-03-04 23:39:37 +00001250 *v:fcs_reason* *fcs_reason-variable*
1251v:fcs_reason The reason why the |FileChangedShell| event was triggered.
1252 Can be used in an autocommand to decide what to do and/or what
1253 to set v:fcs_choice to. Possible values:
1254 deleted file no longer exists
1255 conflict file contents, mode or timestamp was
1256 changed and buffer is modified
1257 changed file contents has changed
1258 mode mode of file changed
1259 time only file timestamp changed
1260
1261 *v:fcs_choice* *fcs_choice-variable*
1262v:fcs_choice What should happen after a |FileChangedShell| event was
1263 triggered. Can be used in an autocommand to tell Vim what to
1264 do with the affected buffer:
1265 reload Reload the buffer (does not work if
1266 the file was deleted).
1267 ask Ask the user what to do, as if there
1268 was no autocommand. Except that when
1269 only the timestamp changed nothing
1270 will happen.
1271 <empty> Nothing, the autocommand should do
1272 everything that needs to be done.
1273 The default is empty. If another (invalid) value is used then
1274 Vim behaves like it is empty, there is no warning message.
1275
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001276 *v:fname_in* *fname_in-variable*
Bram Moolenaar4e330bb2005-12-07 21:04:31 +00001277v:fname_in The name of the input file. Valid while evaluating:
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001278 option used for ~
1279 'charconvert' file to be converted
1280 'diffexpr' original file
1281 'patchexpr' original file
1282 'printexpr' file to be printed
Bram Moolenaar2c7a29c2005-12-12 22:02:31 +00001283 And set to the swap file name for |SwapExists|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001284
1285 *v:fname_out* *fname_out-variable*
1286v:fname_out The name of the output file. Only valid while
1287 evaluating:
1288 option used for ~
1289 'charconvert' resulting converted file (*)
1290 'diffexpr' output of diff
1291 'patchexpr' resulting patched file
1292 (*) When doing conversion for a write command (e.g., ":w
1293 file") it will be equal to v:fname_in. When doing conversion
1294 for a read command (e.g., ":e file") it will be a temporary
1295 file and different from v:fname_in.
1296
1297 *v:fname_new* *fname_new-variable*
1298v:fname_new The name of the new version of the file. Only valid while
1299 evaluating 'diffexpr'.
1300
1301 *v:fname_diff* *fname_diff-variable*
1302v:fname_diff The name of the diff (patch) file. Only valid while
1303 evaluating 'patchexpr'.
1304
1305 *v:folddashes* *folddashes-variable*
1306v:folddashes Used for 'foldtext': dashes representing foldlevel of a closed
1307 fold.
Bram Moolenaar7b0294c2004-10-11 10:16:09 +00001308 Read-only in the |sandbox|. |fold-foldtext|
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001309
1310 *v:foldlevel* *foldlevel-variable*
1311v:foldlevel Used for 'foldtext': foldlevel of closed fold.
Bram Moolenaar7b0294c2004-10-11 10:16:09 +00001312 Read-only in the |sandbox|. |fold-foldtext|
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001313
1314 *v:foldend* *foldend-variable*
1315v:foldend Used for 'foldtext': last line of closed fold.
Bram Moolenaar7b0294c2004-10-11 10:16:09 +00001316 Read-only in the |sandbox|. |fold-foldtext|
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001317
1318 *v:foldstart* *foldstart-variable*
1319v:foldstart Used for 'foldtext': first line of closed fold.
Bram Moolenaar7b0294c2004-10-11 10:16:09 +00001320 Read-only in the |sandbox|. |fold-foldtext|
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001321
Bram Moolenaar843ee412004-06-30 16:16:41 +00001322 *v:insertmode* *insertmode-variable*
1323v:insertmode Used for the |InsertEnter| and |InsertChange| autocommand
1324 events. Values:
1325 i Insert mode
1326 r Replace mode
1327 v Virtual Replace mode
1328
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00001329 *v:key* *key-variable*
1330v:key Key of the current item of a Dictionary. Only valid while
1331 evaluating the expression used with |map()| and |filter()|.
1332 Read-only.
1333
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001334 *v:lang* *lang-variable*
1335v:lang The current locale setting for messages of the runtime
1336 environment. This allows Vim scripts to be aware of the
1337 current language. Technical: it's the value of LC_MESSAGES.
1338 The value is system dependent.
1339 This variable can not be set directly, use the |:language|
1340 command.
1341 It can be different from |v:ctype| when messages are desired
1342 in a different language than what is used for character
1343 encoding. See |multi-lang|.
1344
1345 *v:lc_time* *lc_time-variable*
1346v:lc_time The current locale setting for time messages of the runtime
1347 environment. This allows Vim scripts to be aware of the
1348 current language. Technical: it's the value of LC_TIME.
1349 This variable can not be set directly, use the |:language|
1350 command. See |multi-lang|.
1351
1352 *v:lnum* *lnum-variable*
Bram Moolenaar7b0294c2004-10-11 10:16:09 +00001353v:lnum Line number for the 'foldexpr' |fold-expr| and 'indentexpr'
1354 expressions. Only valid while one of these expressions is
1355 being evaluated. Read-only when in the |sandbox|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001356
1357 *v:prevcount* *prevcount-variable*
1358v:prevcount The count given for the last but one Normal mode command.
1359 This is the v:count value of the previous command. Useful if
1360 you want to cancel Visual mode and then use the count. >
1361 :vmap % <Esc>:call MyFilter(v:prevcount)<CR>
1362< Read-only.
1363
Bram Moolenaar05159a02005-02-26 23:04:13 +00001364 *v:profiling* *profiling-variable*
1365v:profiling Normally zero. Set to one after using ":profile start".
1366 See |profiling|.
1367
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001368 *v:progname* *progname-variable*
1369v:progname Contains the name (with path removed) with which Vim was
1370 invoked. Allows you to do special initialisations for "view",
1371 "evim" etc., or any other name you might symlink to Vim.
1372 Read-only.
1373
1374 *v:register* *register-variable*
1375v:register The name of the register supplied to the last normal mode
1376 command. Empty if none were supplied. |getreg()| |setreg()|
1377
Bram Moolenaar1c7715d2005-10-03 22:02:18 +00001378 *v:scrollstart* *scrollstart-variable*
1379v:scrollstart String describing the script or function that caused the
1380 screen to scroll up. It's only set when it is empty, thus the
1381 first reason is remembered. It is set to "Unknown" for a
1382 typed command.
1383 This can be used to find out why your script causes the
1384 hit-enter prompt.
1385
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001386 *v:servername* *servername-variable*
1387v:servername The resulting registered |x11-clientserver| name if any.
1388 Read-only.
1389
1390 *v:shell_error* *shell_error-variable*
1391v:shell_error Result of the last shell command. When non-zero, the last
1392 shell command had an error. When zero, there was no problem.
1393 This only works when the shell returns the error code to Vim.
1394 The value -1 is often used when the command could not be
1395 executed. Read-only.
1396 Example: >
1397 :!mv foo bar
1398 :if v:shell_error
1399 : echo 'could not rename "foo" to "bar"!'
1400 :endif
1401< "shell_error" also works, for backwards compatibility.
1402
1403 *v:statusmsg* *statusmsg-variable*
1404v:statusmsg Last given status message. It's allowed to set this variable.
1405
Bram Moolenaar4e330bb2005-12-07 21:04:31 +00001406 *v:swapname* *swapname-variable*
1407v:swapname Only valid when executing |SwapExists| autocommands: Name of
1408 the swap file found. Read-only.
1409
1410 *v:swapchoice* *swapchoice-variable*
1411v:swapchoice |SwapExists| autocommands can set this to the selected choice
1412 for handling an existing swap file:
1413 'o' Open read-only
1414 'e' Edit anyway
1415 'r' Recover
1416 'd' Delete swapfile
1417 'q' Quit
1418 'a' Abort
1419 The value should be a single-character string. An empty value
1420 results in the user being asked, as would happen when there is
1421 no SwapExists autocommand. The default is empty.
1422
Bram Moolenaarb3480382005-12-11 21:33:32 +00001423 *v:swapcommand* *swapcommand-variable*
Bram Moolenaar4770d092006-01-12 23:22:24 +00001424v:swapcommand Normal mode command to be executed after a file has been
Bram Moolenaarb3480382005-12-11 21:33:32 +00001425 opened. Can be used for a |SwapExists| autocommand to have
1426 another Vim open the file and jump to the right place. For
1427 example, when jumping to a tag the value is ":tag tagname\r".
1428
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001429 *v:termresponse* *termresponse-variable*
1430v:termresponse The escape sequence returned by the terminal for the |t_RV|
1431 termcap entry. It is set when Vim receives an escape sequence
1432 that starts with ESC [ or CSI and ends in a 'c', with only
1433 digits, ';' and '.' in between.
1434 When this option is set, the TermResponse autocommand event is
1435 fired, so that you can react to the response from the
1436 terminal.
1437 The response from a new xterm is: "<Esc>[ Pp ; Pv ; Pc c". Pp
1438 is the terminal type: 0 for vt100 and 1 for vt220. Pv is the
1439 patch level (since this was introduced in patch 95, it's
1440 always 95 or bigger). Pc is always zero.
1441 {only when compiled with |+termresponse| feature}
1442
1443 *v:this_session* *this_session-variable*
1444v:this_session Full filename of the last loaded or saved session file. See
1445 |:mksession|. It is allowed to set this variable. When no
1446 session file has been saved, this variable is empty.
1447 "this_session" also works, for backwards compatibility.
1448
1449 *v:throwpoint* *throwpoint-variable*
1450v:throwpoint The point where the exception most recently caught and not
1451 finished was thrown. Not set when commands are typed. See
1452 also |v:exception| and |throw-variables|.
1453 Example: >
1454 :try
1455 : throw "oops"
1456 :catch /.*/
1457 : echo "Exception from" v:throwpoint
1458 :endtry
1459< Output: "Exception from test.vim, line 2"
1460
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00001461 *v:val* *val-variable*
1462v:val Value of the current item of a List or Dictionary. Only valid
1463 while evaluating the expression used with |map()| and
1464 |filter()|. Read-only.
1465
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001466 *v:version* *version-variable*
1467v:version Version number of Vim: Major version number times 100 plus
1468 minor version number. Version 5.0 is 500. Version 5.1 (5.01)
1469 is 501. Read-only. "version" also works, for backwards
1470 compatibility.
1471 Use |has()| to check if a certain patch was included, e.g.: >
1472 if has("patch123")
1473< Note that patch numbers are specific to the version, thus both
1474 version 5.0 and 5.1 may have a patch 123, but these are
1475 completely different.
1476
1477 *v:warningmsg* *warningmsg-variable*
1478v:warningmsg Last given warning message. It's allowed to set this variable.
1479
1480==============================================================================
14814. Builtin Functions *functions*
1482
1483See |function-list| for a list grouped by what the function is used for.
1484
Bram Moolenaar402d2fe2005-04-15 21:00:38 +00001485(Use CTRL-] on the function name to jump to the full explanation.)
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001486
1487USAGE RESULT DESCRIPTION ~
1488
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00001489add( {list}, {item}) List append {item} to List {list}
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001490append( {lnum}, {string}) Number append {string} below line {lnum}
Bram Moolenaar7c626922005-02-07 22:01:03 +00001491append( {lnum}, {list}) Number append lines {list} below line {lnum}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001492argc() Number number of files in the argument list
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001493argidx() Number current index in the argument list
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001494argv( {nr}) String {nr} entry of the argument list
1495browse( {save}, {title}, {initdir}, {default})
1496 String put up a file requester
Bram Moolenaar7b0294c2004-10-11 10:16:09 +00001497browsedir( {title}, {initdir}) String put up a directory requester
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001498bufexists( {expr}) Number TRUE if buffer {expr} exists
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001499buflisted( {expr}) Number TRUE if buffer {expr} is listed
1500bufloaded( {expr}) Number TRUE if buffer {expr} is loaded
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001501bufname( {expr}) String Name of the buffer {expr}
1502bufnr( {expr}) Number Number of the buffer {expr}
1503bufwinnr( {expr}) Number window number of buffer {expr}
1504byte2line( {byte}) Number line number at byte count {byte}
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001505byteidx( {expr}, {nr}) Number byte index of {nr}'th char in {expr}
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00001506call( {func}, {arglist} [, {dict}])
1507 any call {func} with arguments {arglist}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001508char2nr( {expr}) Number ASCII value of first char in {expr}
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001509cindent( {lnum}) Number C indent for line {lnum}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001510col( {expr}) Number column nr of cursor or mark
Bram Moolenaar572cb562005-08-05 21:35:02 +00001511complete_add( {expr}) Number add completion match
1512complete_check() Number check for key typed during completion
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001513confirm( {msg} [, {choices} [, {default} [, {type}]]])
1514 Number number of choice picked by user
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001515copy( {expr}) any make a shallow copy of {expr}
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00001516count( {list}, {expr} [, {start} [, {ic}]])
1517 Number count how many {expr} are in {list}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001518cscope_connection( [{num} , {dbpath} [, {prepend}]])
1519 Number checks existence of cscope connection
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001520cursor( {lnum}, {col}) Number position cursor at {lnum}, {col}
1521deepcopy( {expr}) any make a full copy of {expr}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001522delete( {fname}) Number delete file {fname}
1523did_filetype() Number TRUE if FileType autocommand event used
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001524diff_filler( {lnum}) Number diff filler lines about {lnum}
1525diff_hlID( {lnum}, {col}) Number diff highlighting at {lnum}/{col}
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +00001526empty( {expr}) Number TRUE if {expr} is empty
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001527escape( {string}, {chars}) String escape {chars} in {string} with '\'
Bram Moolenaare2cc9702005-03-15 22:43:58 +00001528eval( {string}) any evaluate {string} into its value
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001529eventhandler( ) Number TRUE if inside an event handler
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001530executable( {expr}) Number 1 if executable {expr} exists
1531exists( {expr}) Number TRUE if {expr} exists
1532expand( {expr}) String expand special keywords in {expr}
1533filereadable( {file}) Number TRUE if {file} is a readable file
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00001534filter( {expr}, {string}) List/Dict remove items from {expr} where
1535 {string} is 0
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00001536finddir( {name}[, {path}[, {count}]])
1537 String Find directory {name} in {path}
Bram Moolenaar89cb5e02004-07-19 20:55:54 +00001538findfile( {name}[, {path}[, {count}]])
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00001539 String Find file {name} in {path}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001540filewritable( {file}) Number TRUE if {file} is a writable file
1541fnamemodify( {fname}, {mods}) String modify file name
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001542foldclosed( {lnum}) Number first line of fold at {lnum} if closed
1543foldclosedend( {lnum}) Number last line of fold at {lnum} if closed
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001544foldlevel( {lnum}) Number fold level at {lnum}
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001545foldtext( ) String line displayed for closed fold
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001546foreground( ) Number bring the Vim window to the foreground
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001547function( {name}) Funcref reference to function {name}
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00001548get( {list}, {idx} [, {def}]) any get item {idx} from {list} or {def}
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00001549get( {dict}, {key} [, {def}]) any get item {key} from {dict} or {def}
Bram Moolenaar45360022005-07-21 21:08:21 +00001550getbufline( {expr}, {lnum} [, {end}])
1551 List lines {lnum} to {end} of buffer {expr}
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001552getchar( [expr]) Number get one character from the user
1553getcharmod( ) Number modifiers for the last typed character
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001554getbufvar( {expr}, {varname}) variable {varname} in buffer {expr}
1555getcmdline() String return the current command-line
1556getcmdpos() Number return cursor position in command-line
Bram Moolenaarbfd8fc02005-09-20 23:22:24 +00001557getcmdtype() String return the current command-line type
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001558getcwd() String the current working directory
Bram Moolenaar5eb86f92004-07-26 12:53:41 +00001559getfperm( {fname}) String file permissions of file {fname}
1560getfsize( {fname}) Number size in bytes of file {fname}
Bram Moolenaard8b0cf12004-12-12 11:33:30 +00001561getfontname( [{name}]) String name of font being used
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001562getftime( {fname}) Number last modification time of file
Bram Moolenaar5eb86f92004-07-26 12:53:41 +00001563getftype( {fname}) String description of type of file {fname}
Bram Moolenaar7c626922005-02-07 22:01:03 +00001564getline( {lnum}) String line {lnum} of current buffer
1565getline( {lnum}, {end}) List lines {lnum} to {end} of current buffer
Bram Moolenaar17c7c012006-01-26 22:25:15 +00001566getloclist({nr}) List list of location list items
Bram Moolenaar68b76a62005-03-25 21:53:48 +00001567getqflist() List list of quickfix items
Bram Moolenaar2389c3c2005-05-22 22:07:59 +00001568getreg( [{regname} [, 1]]) String contents of register
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001569getregtype( [{regname}]) String type of register
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001570getwinposx() Number X coord in pixels of GUI Vim window
1571getwinposy() Number Y coord in pixels of GUI Vim window
1572getwinvar( {nr}, {varname}) variable {varname} in window {nr}
1573glob( {expr}) String expand file wildcards in {expr}
1574globpath( {path}, {expr}) String do glob({expr}) for all dirs in {path}
1575has( {feature}) Number TRUE if feature {feature} supported
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00001576has_key( {dict}, {key}) Number TRUE if {dict} has entry {key}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001577hasmapto( {what} [, {mode}]) Number TRUE if mapping to {what} exists
1578histadd( {history},{item}) String add an item to a history
1579histdel( {history} [, {item}]) String remove an item from a history
1580histget( {history} [, {index}]) String get the item {index} from a history
1581histnr( {history}) Number highest index of a history
1582hlexists( {name}) Number TRUE if highlight group {name} exists
1583hlID( {name}) Number syntax ID of highlight group {name}
1584hostname() String name of the machine Vim is running on
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001585iconv( {expr}, {from}, {to}) String convert encoding of {expr}
1586indent( {lnum}) Number indent of line {lnum}
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00001587index( {list}, {expr} [, {start} [, {ic}]])
1588 Number index in {list} where {expr} appears
Bram Moolenaarbfd8fc02005-09-20 23:22:24 +00001589input( {prompt} [, {text} [, {completion}]])
1590 String get input from the user
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001591inputdialog( {p} [, {t} [, {c}]]) String like input() but in a GUI dialog
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001592inputrestore() Number restore typeahead
1593inputsave() Number save and clear typeahead
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001594inputsecret( {prompt} [, {text}]) String like input() but hiding the text
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001595insert( {list}, {item} [, {idx}]) List insert {item} in {list} [before {idx}]
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001596isdirectory( {directory}) Number TRUE if {directory} is a directory
Bram Moolenaar2ce06f62005-01-31 19:19:04 +00001597islocked( {expr}) Number TRUE if {expr} is locked
Bram Moolenaar677ee682005-01-27 14:41:15 +00001598items( {dict}) List List of key-value pairs in {dict}
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00001599join( {list} [, {sep}]) String join {list} items into one String
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +00001600keys( {dict}) List List of keys in {dict}
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001601len( {expr}) Number the length of {expr}
1602libcall( {lib}, {func}, {arg}) String call {func} in library {lib} with {arg}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001603libcallnr( {lib}, {func}, {arg}) Number idem, but return a Number
1604line( {expr}) Number line nr of cursor, last line or mark
1605line2byte( {lnum}) Number byte count of line {lnum}
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001606lispindent( {lnum}) Number Lisp indent for line {lnum}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001607localtime() Number current time
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00001608map( {expr}, {string}) List/Dict change each item in {expr} to {expr}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001609maparg( {name}[, {mode}]) String rhs of mapping {name} in mode {mode}
1610mapcheck( {name}[, {mode}]) String check for mappings matching {name}
Bram Moolenaar89cb5e02004-07-19 20:55:54 +00001611match( {expr}, {pat}[, {start}[, {count}]])
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001612 Number position where {pat} matches in {expr}
Bram Moolenaar89cb5e02004-07-19 20:55:54 +00001613matchend( {expr}, {pat}[, {start}[, {count}]])
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001614 Number position where {pat} ends in {expr}
Bram Moolenaar3a7c85b2005-02-05 21:39:53 +00001615matchlist( {expr}, {pat}[, {start}[, {count}]])
1616 List match and submatches of {pat} in {expr}
Bram Moolenaar89cb5e02004-07-19 20:55:54 +00001617matchstr( {expr}, {pat}[, {start}[, {count}]])
1618 String {count}'th match of {pat} in {expr}
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +00001619max({list}) Number maximum value of items in {list}
1620min({list}) Number minumum value of items in {list}
Bram Moolenaar26a60b42005-02-22 08:49:11 +00001621mkdir({name} [, {path} [, {prot}]])
1622 Number create directory {name}
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001623mode() String current editing mode
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001624nextnonblank( {lnum}) Number line nr of non-blank line >= {lnum}
1625nr2char( {expr}) String single char with ASCII value {expr}
1626prevnonblank( {lnum}) Number line nr of non-blank line <= {lnum}
Bram Moolenaar4be06f92005-07-29 22:36:03 +00001627printf( {fmt}, {expr1}...) String format text
Bram Moolenaar1d2ba7f2006-02-14 22:29:30 +00001628pumvisible() Number whether popup menu is visible
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +00001629range( {expr} [, {max} [, {stride}]])
1630 List items from {expr} to {max}
Bram Moolenaar26a60b42005-02-22 08:49:11 +00001631readfile({fname} [, {binary} [, {max}]])
1632 List get list of lines from file {fname}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001633remote_expr( {server}, {string} [, {idvar}])
1634 String send expression
1635remote_foreground( {server}) Number bring Vim server to the foreground
1636remote_peek( {serverid} [, {retvar}])
1637 Number check for reply string
1638remote_read( {serverid}) String read reply string
1639remote_send( {server}, {string} [, {idvar}])
1640 String send key sequence
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +00001641remove( {list}, {idx} [, {end}]) any remove items {idx}-{end} from {list}
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +00001642remove( {dict}, {key}) any remove entry {key} from {dict}
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001643rename( {from}, {to}) Number rename (move) file from {from} to {to}
1644repeat( {expr}, {count}) String repeat {expr} {count} times
1645resolve( {filename}) String get filename a shortcut points to
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00001646reverse( {list}) List reverse {list} in-place
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001647search( {pattern} [, {flags}]) Number search for {pattern}
Bram Moolenaarf75a9632005-09-13 21:20:47 +00001648searchdecl({name} [, {global} [, {thisblock}]])
1649 Number search for variable declaration
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001650searchpair( {start}, {middle}, {end} [, {flags} [, {skip}]])
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001651 Number search for other end of start/end pair
Bram Moolenaar1d2ba7f2006-02-14 22:29:30 +00001652searchpairpos( {start}, {middle}, {end} [, {flags} [, {skip}]])
1653 List search for other end of start/end pair
1654searchpos( {pattern} [, {flags}])
1655 List search for {pattern}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001656server2client( {clientid}, {string})
1657 Number send reply string
1658serverlist() String get a list of available servers
1659setbufvar( {expr}, {varname}, {val}) set {varname} in buffer {expr} to {val}
1660setcmdpos( {pos}) Number set cursor position in command-line
1661setline( {lnum}, {line}) Number set line {lnum} to {line}
Bram Moolenaar17c7c012006-01-26 22:25:15 +00001662setloclist( {nr}, {list}[, {action}])
1663 Number modify location list using {list}
1664setqflist( {list}[, {action}]) Number modify quickfix list using {list}
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001665setreg( {n}, {v}[, {opt}]) Number set register to value and type
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001666setwinvar( {nr}, {varname}, {val}) set {varname} in window {nr} to {val}
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001667simplify( {filename}) String simplify filename as much as possible
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00001668sort( {list} [, {func}]) List sort {list}, using {func} to compare
Bram Moolenaar24bbcfe2005-06-28 23:32:02 +00001669soundfold( {word}) String sound-fold {word}
Bram Moolenaard857f0e2005-06-21 22:37:39 +00001670spellbadword() String badly spelled word at cursor
Bram Moolenaarc54b8a72005-09-30 21:20:29 +00001671spellsuggest( {word} [, {max} [, {capital}]])
1672 List spelling suggestions
Bram Moolenaar2389c3c2005-05-22 22:07:59 +00001673split( {expr} [, {pat} [, {keepempty}]])
1674 List make List from {pat} separated {expr}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001675strftime( {format}[, {time}]) String time in specified format
Bram Moolenaar8f999f12005-01-25 22:12:55 +00001676stridx( {haystack}, {needle}[, {start}])
1677 Number index of {needle} in {haystack}
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00001678string( {expr}) String String representation of {expr} value
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001679strlen( {expr}) Number length of the String {expr}
1680strpart( {src}, {start}[, {len}])
1681 String {len} characters of {src} at {start}
Bram Moolenaar677ee682005-01-27 14:41:15 +00001682strridx( {haystack}, {needle} [, {start}])
1683 Number last index of {needle} in {haystack}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001684strtrans( {expr}) String translate string to make it printable
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001685submatch( {nr}) String specific match in ":substitute"
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001686substitute( {expr}, {pat}, {sub}, {flags})
1687 String all {pat} in {expr} replaced with {sub}
Bram Moolenaar47136d72004-10-12 20:02:24 +00001688synID( {lnum}, {col}, {trans}) Number syntax ID at {lnum} and {col}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001689synIDattr( {synID}, {what} [, {mode}])
1690 String attribute {what} of syntax ID {synID}
1691synIDtrans( {synID}) Number translated syntax ID of {synID}
Bram Moolenaarc0197e22004-09-13 20:26:32 +00001692system( {expr} [, {input}]) String output of shell command/filter {expr}
Bram Moolenaarfaa959a2006-02-20 21:37:40 +00001693tabpagebuflist( [{arg}]) List list of buffer numbers in tab page
1694tabpagenr( [{arg}]) Number number of current or last tab page
1695tabpagewinnr( {tabarg}[, {arg}])
1696 Number number of current window in tab page
1697taglist( {expr}) List list of tags matching {expr}
Bram Moolenaare7eb9df2005-09-09 19:49:30 +00001698tagfiles() List tags files used
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001699tempname() String name for a temporary file
1700tolower( {expr}) String the String {expr} switched to lowercase
1701toupper( {expr}) String the String {expr} switched to uppercase
Bram Moolenaar8299df92004-07-10 09:47:34 +00001702tr( {src}, {fromstr}, {tostr}) String translate chars of {src} in {fromstr}
1703 to chars in {tostr}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001704type( {name}) Number type of variable {name}
Bram Moolenaar677ee682005-01-27 14:41:15 +00001705values( {dict}) List List of values in {dict}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001706virtcol( {expr}) Number screen column of cursor or mark
1707visualmode( [expr]) String last visual mode used
1708winbufnr( {nr}) Number buffer number of window {nr}
1709wincol() Number window column of the cursor
1710winheight( {nr}) Number height of window {nr}
1711winline() Number window line of the cursor
Bram Moolenaar7e8fd632006-02-18 22:14:51 +00001712winnr( [{expr}]) Number number of current window
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001713winrestcmd() String returns command to restore window sizes
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001714winwidth( {nr}) Number width of window {nr}
Bram Moolenaar3a7c85b2005-02-05 21:39:53 +00001715writefile({list}, {fname} [, {binary}])
1716 Number write list of lines to file {fname}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001717
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00001718add({list}, {expr}) *add()*
1719 Append the item {expr} to List {list}. Returns the resulting
Bram Moolenaar402d2fe2005-04-15 21:00:38 +00001720 List. Examples: >
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00001721 :let alist = add([1, 2, 3], item)
1722 :call add(mylist, "woodstock")
1723< Note that when {expr} is a List it is appended as a single
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001724 item. Use |extend()| to concatenate Lists.
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +00001725 Use |insert()| to add an item at another position.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001726
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00001727
1728append({lnum}, {expr}) *append()*
Bram Moolenaar748bf032005-02-02 23:04:36 +00001729 When {expr} is a List: Append each item of the List as a text
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00001730 line below line {lnum} in the current buffer.
Bram Moolenaar748bf032005-02-02 23:04:36 +00001731 Otherwise append {expr} as one text line below line {lnum} in
1732 the current buffer.
1733 {lnum} can be zero to insert a line before the first one.
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00001734 Returns 1 for failure ({lnum} out of range or out of memory),
1735 0 for success. Example: >
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001736 :let failed = append(line('$'), "# THE END")
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00001737 :let failed = append(0, ["Chapter 1", "the beginning"])
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001738<
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001739 *argc()*
1740argc() The result is the number of files in the argument list of the
1741 current window. See |arglist|.
1742
1743 *argidx()*
1744argidx() The result is the current index in the argument list. 0 is
1745 the first file. argc() - 1 is the last one. See |arglist|.
1746
1747 *argv()*
1748argv({nr}) The result is the {nr}th file in the argument list of the
1749 current window. See |arglist|. "argv(0)" is the first one.
1750 Example: >
1751 :let i = 0
1752 :while i < argc()
1753 : let f = escape(argv(i), '. ')
1754 : exe 'amenu Arg.' . f . ' :e ' . f . '<CR>'
1755 : let i = i + 1
1756 :endwhile
1757<
1758 *browse()*
1759browse({save}, {title}, {initdir}, {default})
1760 Put up a file requester. This only works when "has("browse")"
1761 returns non-zero (only in some GUI versions).
1762 The input fields are:
1763 {save} when non-zero, select file to write
1764 {title} title for the requester
1765 {initdir} directory to start browsing in
1766 {default} default file name
1767 When the "Cancel" button is hit, something went wrong, or
1768 browsing is not possible, an empty string is returned.
1769
Bram Moolenaar7b0294c2004-10-11 10:16:09 +00001770 *browsedir()*
1771browsedir({title}, {initdir})
1772 Put up a directory requester. This only works when
1773 "has("browse")" returns non-zero (only in some GUI versions).
1774 On systems where a directory browser is not supported a file
1775 browser is used. In that case: select a file in the directory
1776 to be used.
1777 The input fields are:
1778 {title} title for the requester
1779 {initdir} directory to start browsing in
1780 When the "Cancel" button is hit, something went wrong, or
1781 browsing is not possible, an empty string is returned.
1782
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001783bufexists({expr}) *bufexists()*
1784 The result is a Number, which is non-zero if a buffer called
1785 {expr} exists.
Bram Moolenaar69a7cb42004-06-20 12:51:53 +00001786 If the {expr} argument is a number, buffer numbers are used.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001787 If the {expr} argument is a string it must match a buffer name
Bram Moolenaar69a7cb42004-06-20 12:51:53 +00001788 exactly. The name can be:
1789 - Relative to the current directory.
1790 - A full path.
1791 - The name of a buffer with 'filetype' set to "nofile".
1792 - A URL name.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001793 Unlisted buffers will be found.
1794 Note that help files are listed by their short name in the
1795 output of |:buffers|, but bufexists() requires using their
1796 long name to be able to find them.
1797 Use "bufexists(0)" to test for the existence of an alternate
1798 file name.
1799 *buffer_exists()*
1800 Obsolete name: buffer_exists().
1801
1802buflisted({expr}) *buflisted()*
1803 The result is a Number, which is non-zero if a buffer called
1804 {expr} exists and is listed (has the 'buflisted' option set).
Bram Moolenaar69a7cb42004-06-20 12:51:53 +00001805 The {expr} argument is used like with |bufexists()|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001806
1807bufloaded({expr}) *bufloaded()*
1808 The result is a Number, which is non-zero if a buffer called
1809 {expr} exists and is loaded (shown in a window or hidden).
Bram Moolenaar69a7cb42004-06-20 12:51:53 +00001810 The {expr} argument is used like with |bufexists()|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001811
1812bufname({expr}) *bufname()*
1813 The result is the name of a buffer, as it is displayed by the
1814 ":ls" command.
1815 If {expr} is a Number, that buffer number's name is given.
1816 Number zero is the alternate buffer for the current window.
1817 If {expr} is a String, it is used as a |file-pattern| to match
1818 with the buffer names. This is always done like 'magic' is
1819 set and 'cpoptions' is empty. When there is more than one
1820 match an empty string is returned.
1821 "" or "%" can be used for the current buffer, "#" for the
1822 alternate buffer.
1823 A full match is preferred, otherwise a match at the start, end
1824 or middle of the buffer name is accepted.
1825 Listed buffers are found first. If there is a single match
1826 with a listed buffer, that one is returned. Next unlisted
1827 buffers are searched for.
1828 If the {expr} is a String, but you want to use it as a buffer
1829 number, force it to be a Number by adding zero to it: >
1830 :echo bufname("3" + 0)
1831< If the buffer doesn't exist, or doesn't have a name, an empty
1832 string is returned. >
1833 bufname("#") alternate buffer name
1834 bufname(3) name of buffer 3
1835 bufname("%") name of current buffer
1836 bufname("file2") name of buffer where "file2" matches.
1837< *buffer_name()*
1838 Obsolete name: buffer_name().
1839
1840 *bufnr()*
1841bufnr({expr}) The result is the number of a buffer, as it is displayed by
1842 the ":ls" command. For the use of {expr}, see |bufname()|
1843 above. If the buffer doesn't exist, -1 is returned.
1844 bufnr("$") is the last buffer: >
1845 :let last_buffer = bufnr("$")
1846< The result is a Number, which is the highest buffer number
1847 of existing buffers. Note that not all buffers with a smaller
1848 number necessarily exist, because ":bwipeout" may have removed
1849 them. Use bufexists() to test for the existence of a buffer.
1850 *buffer_number()*
1851 Obsolete name: buffer_number().
1852 *last_buffer_nr()*
1853 Obsolete name for bufnr("$"): last_buffer_nr().
1854
1855bufwinnr({expr}) *bufwinnr()*
1856 The result is a Number, which is the number of the first
1857 window associated with buffer {expr}. For the use of {expr},
1858 see |bufname()| above. If buffer {expr} doesn't exist or
1859 there is no such window, -1 is returned. Example: >
1860
1861 echo "A window containing buffer 1 is " . (bufwinnr(1))
1862
1863< The number can be used with |CTRL-W_w| and ":wincmd w"
1864 |:wincmd|.
1865
1866
1867byte2line({byte}) *byte2line()*
1868 Return the line number that contains the character at byte
1869 count {byte} in the current buffer. This includes the
1870 end-of-line character, depending on the 'fileformat' option
1871 for the current buffer. The first character has byte count
1872 one.
1873 Also see |line2byte()|, |go| and |:goto|.
1874 {not available when compiled without the |+byte_offset|
1875 feature}
1876
Bram Moolenaarab79bcb2004-07-18 21:34:53 +00001877byteidx({expr}, {nr}) *byteidx()*
1878 Return byte index of the {nr}'th character in the string
1879 {expr}. Use zero for the first character, it returns zero.
1880 This function is only useful when there are multibyte
1881 characters, otherwise the returned value is equal to {nr}.
1882 Composing characters are counted as a separate character.
1883 Example : >
1884 echo matchstr(str, ".", byteidx(str, 3))
1885< will display the fourth character. Another way to do the
1886 same: >
1887 let s = strpart(str, byteidx(str, 3))
1888 echo strpart(s, 0, byteidx(s, 1))
1889< If there are less than {nr} characters -1 is returned.
1890 If there are exactly {nr} characters the length of the string
1891 is returned.
1892
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00001893call({func}, {arglist} [, {dict}]) *call()* *E699*
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +00001894 Call function {func} with the items in List {arglist} as
1895 arguments.
1896 {func} can either be a Funcref or the name of a function.
1897 a:firstline and a:lastline are set to the cursor line.
1898 Returns the return value of the called function.
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00001899 {dict} is for functions with the "dict" attribute. It will be
1900 used to set the local variable "self". |Dictionary-function|
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +00001901
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001902char2nr({expr}) *char2nr()*
1903 Return number value of the first char in {expr}. Examples: >
1904 char2nr(" ") returns 32
1905 char2nr("ABC") returns 65
1906< The current 'encoding' is used. Example for "utf-8": >
Bram Moolenaar98692072006-02-04 00:57:42 +00001907 char2nr("?") returns 225
1908 char2nr("?"[0]) returns 195
Bram Moolenaar402d2fe2005-04-15 21:00:38 +00001909< nr2char() does the opposite.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001910
1911cindent({lnum}) *cindent()*
1912 Get the amount of indent for line {lnum} according the C
1913 indenting rules, as with 'cindent'.
1914 The indent is counted in spaces, the value of 'tabstop' is
1915 relevant. {lnum} is used just like in |getline()|.
1916 When {lnum} is invalid or Vim was not compiled the |+cindent|
1917 feature, -1 is returned.
Bram Moolenaard5cdbeb2005-10-10 20:59:28 +00001918 See |C-indenting|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001919
1920 *col()*
Bram Moolenaarc0197e22004-09-13 20:26:32 +00001921col({expr}) The result is a Number, which is the byte index of the column
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001922 position given with {expr}. The accepted positions are:
1923 . the cursor position
1924 $ the end of the cursor line (the result is the
1925 number of characters in the cursor line plus one)
1926 'x position of mark x (if the mark is not set, 0 is
1927 returned)
1928 For the screen column position use |virtcol()|.
1929 Note that only marks in the current file can be used.
1930 Examples: >
1931 col(".") column of cursor
1932 col("$") length of cursor line plus one
1933 col("'t") column of mark t
1934 col("'" . markname) column of mark markname
1935< The first column is 1. 0 is returned for an error.
1936 For the cursor position, when 'virtualedit' is active, the
1937 column is one higher if the cursor is after the end of the
1938 line. This can be used to obtain the column in Insert mode: >
1939 :imap <F2> <C-O>:let save_ve = &ve<CR>
1940 \<C-O>:set ve=all<CR>
1941 \<C-O>:echo col(".") . "\n" <Bar>
1942 \let &ve = save_ve<CR>
1943<
Bram Moolenaar572cb562005-08-05 21:35:02 +00001944
1945complete_add({expr}) *complete_add()*
1946 Add {expr} to the list of matches. Only to be used by the
1947 function specified with the 'completefunc' option.
1948 Returns 0 for failure (empty string or out of memory),
1949 1 when the match was added, 2 when the match was already in
1950 the list.
1951
1952complete_check() *complete_check()*
1953 Check for a key typed while looking for completion matches.
1954 This is to be used when looking for matches takes some time.
1955 Returns non-zero when searching for matches is to be aborted,
1956 zero otherwise.
1957 Only to be used by the function specified with the
1958 'completefunc' option.
1959
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001960 *confirm()*
1961confirm({msg} [, {choices} [, {default} [, {type}]]])
1962 Confirm() offers the user a dialog, from which a choice can be
1963 made. It returns the number of the choice. For the first
1964 choice this is 1.
1965 Note: confirm() is only supported when compiled with dialog
1966 support, see |+dialog_con| and |+dialog_gui|.
1967 {msg} is displayed in a |dialog| with {choices} as the
1968 alternatives. When {choices} is missing or empty, "&OK" is
1969 used (and translated).
1970 {msg} is a String, use '\n' to include a newline. Only on
1971 some systems the string is wrapped when it doesn't fit.
1972 {choices} is a String, with the individual choices separated
1973 by '\n', e.g. >
1974 confirm("Save changes?", "&Yes\n&No\n&Cancel")
1975< The letter after the '&' is the shortcut key for that choice.
1976 Thus you can type 'c' to select "Cancel". The shortcut does
1977 not need to be the first letter: >
1978 confirm("file has been modified", "&Save\nSave &All")
1979< For the console, the first letter of each choice is used as
1980 the default shortcut key.
1981 The optional {default} argument is the number of the choice
1982 that is made if the user hits <CR>. Use 1 to make the first
1983 choice the default one. Use 0 to not set a default. If
1984 {default} is omitted, 1 is used.
1985 The optional {type} argument gives the type of dialog. This
1986 is only used for the icon of the Win32 GUI. It can be one of
1987 these values: "Error", "Question", "Info", "Warning" or
1988 "Generic". Only the first character is relevant. When {type}
1989 is omitted, "Generic" is used.
1990 If the user aborts the dialog by pressing <Esc>, CTRL-C,
1991 or another valid interrupt key, confirm() returns 0.
1992
1993 An example: >
1994 :let choice = confirm("What do you want?", "&Apples\n&Oranges\n&Bananas", 2)
1995 :if choice == 0
1996 : echo "make up your mind!"
1997 :elseif choice == 3
1998 : echo "tasteful"
1999 :else
2000 : echo "I prefer bananas myself."
2001 :endif
2002< In a GUI dialog, buttons are used. The layout of the buttons
2003 depends on the 'v' flag in 'guioptions'. If it is included,
2004 the buttons are always put vertically. Otherwise, confirm()
2005 tries to put the buttons in one horizontal line. If they
2006 don't fit, a vertical layout is used anyway. For some systems
2007 the horizontal layout is always used.
2008
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00002009 *copy()*
2010copy({expr}) Make a copy of {expr}. For Numbers and Strings this isn't
2011 different from using {expr} directly.
2012 When {expr} is a List a shallow copy is created. This means
2013 that the original List can be changed without changing the
2014 copy, and vise versa. But the items are identical, thus
2015 changing an item changes the contents of both Lists. Also see
2016 |deepcopy()|.
2017
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00002018count({comp}, {expr} [, {ic} [, {start}]]) *count()*
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +00002019 Return the number of times an item with value {expr} appears
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00002020 in List or Dictionary {comp}.
2021 If {start} is given then start with the item with this index.
2022 {start} can only be used with a List.
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +00002023 When {ic} is given and it's non-zero then case is ignored.
2024
2025
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002026 *cscope_connection()*
2027cscope_connection([{num} , {dbpath} [, {prepend}]])
2028 Checks for the existence of a |cscope| connection. If no
2029 parameters are specified, then the function returns:
2030 0, if cscope was not available (not compiled in), or
2031 if there are no cscope connections;
2032 1, if there is at least one cscope connection.
2033
2034 If parameters are specified, then the value of {num}
2035 determines how existence of a cscope connection is checked:
2036
2037 {num} Description of existence check
2038 ----- ------------------------------
2039 0 Same as no parameters (e.g., "cscope_connection()").
2040 1 Ignore {prepend}, and use partial string matches for
2041 {dbpath}.
2042 2 Ignore {prepend}, and use exact string matches for
2043 {dbpath}.
2044 3 Use {prepend}, use partial string matches for both
2045 {dbpath} and {prepend}.
2046 4 Use {prepend}, use exact string matches for both
2047 {dbpath} and {prepend}.
2048
2049 Note: All string comparisons are case sensitive!
2050
2051 Examples. Suppose we had the following (from ":cs show"): >
2052
2053 # pid database name prepend path
2054 0 27664 cscope.out /usr/local
2055<
2056 Invocation Return Val ~
2057 ---------- ---------- >
2058 cscope_connection() 1
2059 cscope_connection(1, "out") 1
2060 cscope_connection(2, "out") 0
2061 cscope_connection(3, "out") 0
2062 cscope_connection(3, "out", "local") 1
2063 cscope_connection(4, "out") 0
2064 cscope_connection(4, "out", "local") 0
2065 cscope_connection(4, "cscope.out", "/usr/local") 1
2066<
2067cursor({lnum}, {col}) *cursor()*
2068 Positions the cursor at the column {col} in the line {lnum}.
Bram Moolenaar6f16eb82005-08-23 21:02:42 +00002069 The first column is one.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002070 Does not change the jumplist.
2071 If {lnum} is greater than the number of lines in the buffer,
2072 the cursor will be positioned at the last line in the buffer.
2073 If {lnum} is zero, the cursor will stay in the current line.
Bram Moolenaar6f16eb82005-08-23 21:02:42 +00002074 If {col} is greater than the number of bytes in the line,
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002075 the cursor will be positioned at the last character in the
2076 line.
2077 If {col} is zero, the cursor will stay in the current column.
2078
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00002079
Bram Moolenaar4399ef42005-02-12 14:29:27 +00002080deepcopy({expr}[, {noref}]) *deepcopy()* *E698*
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00002081 Make a copy of {expr}. For Numbers and Strings this isn't
2082 different from using {expr} directly.
2083 When {expr} is a List a full copy is created. This means
2084 that the original List can be changed without changing the
2085 copy, and vise versa. When an item is a List, a copy for it
2086 is made, recursively. Thus changing an item in the copy does
2087 not change the contents of the original List.
Bram Moolenaar4399ef42005-02-12 14:29:27 +00002088 When {noref} is omitted or zero a contained List or Dictionary
2089 is only copied once. All references point to this single
2090 copy. With {noref} set to 1 every occurrence of a List or
2091 Dictionary results in a new copy. This also means that a
2092 cyclic reference causes deepcopy() to fail.
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00002093 *E724*
2094 Nesting is possible up to 100 levels. When there is an item
Bram Moolenaar4399ef42005-02-12 14:29:27 +00002095 that refers back to a higher level making a deep copy with
2096 {noref} set to 1 will fail.
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00002097 Also see |copy()|.
2098
2099delete({fname}) *delete()*
2100 Deletes the file by the name {fname}. The result is a Number,
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002101 which is 0 if the file was deleted successfully, and non-zero
2102 when the deletion failed.
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00002103 Use |remove()| to delete an item from a List.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002104
2105 *did_filetype()*
2106did_filetype() Returns non-zero when autocommands are being executed and the
2107 FileType event has been triggered at least once. Can be used
2108 to avoid triggering the FileType event again in the scripts
2109 that detect the file type. |FileType|
2110 When editing another file, the counter is reset, thus this
2111 really checks if the FileType event has been triggered for the
2112 current buffer. This allows an autocommand that starts
2113 editing another buffer to set 'filetype' and load a syntax
2114 file.
2115
Bram Moolenaar47136d72004-10-12 20:02:24 +00002116diff_filler({lnum}) *diff_filler()*
2117 Returns the number of filler lines above line {lnum}.
2118 These are the lines that were inserted at this point in
2119 another diff'ed window. These filler lines are shown in the
2120 display but don't exist in the buffer.
2121 {lnum} is used like with |getline()|. Thus "." is the current
2122 line, "'m" mark m, etc.
2123 Returns 0 if the current window is not in diff mode.
2124
2125diff_hlID({lnum}, {col}) *diff_hlID()*
2126 Returns the highlight ID for diff mode at line {lnum} column
2127 {col} (byte index). When the current line does not have a
2128 diff change zero is returned.
2129 {lnum} is used like with |getline()|. Thus "." is the current
2130 line, "'m" mark m, etc.
2131 {col} is 1 for the leftmost column, {lnum} is 1 for the first
2132 line.
2133 The highlight ID can be used with |synIDattr()| to obtain
2134 syntax information about the highlighting.
2135
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +00002136empty({expr}) *empty()*
2137 Return the Number 1 if {expr} is empty, zero otherwise.
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00002138 A List or Dictionary is empty when it does not have any items.
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +00002139 A Number is empty when its value is zero.
2140 For a long List this is much faster then comparing the length
2141 with zero.
2142
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002143escape({string}, {chars}) *escape()*
2144 Escape the characters in {chars} that occur in {string} with a
2145 backslash. Example: >
2146 :echo escape('c:\program files\vim', ' \')
2147< results in: >
2148 c:\\program\ files\\vim
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00002149
2150< *eval()*
2151eval({string}) Evaluate {string} and return the result. Especially useful to
2152 turn the result of |string()| back into the original value.
2153 This works for Numbers, Strings and composites of them.
2154 Also works for Funcrefs that refer to existing functions.
2155
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002156eventhandler() *eventhandler()*
2157 Returns 1 when inside an event handler. That is that Vim got
2158 interrupted while waiting for the user to type a character,
2159 e.g., when dropping a file on Vim. This means interactive
2160 commands cannot be used. Otherwise zero is returned.
2161
2162executable({expr}) *executable()*
2163 This function checks if an executable with the name {expr}
2164 exists. {expr} must be the name of the program without any
Bram Moolenaarf4b8e572004-06-24 15:53:16 +00002165 arguments.
2166 executable() uses the value of $PATH and/or the normal
2167 searchpath for programs. *PATHEXT*
2168 On MS-DOS and MS-Windows the ".exe", ".bat", etc. can
2169 optionally be included. Then the extensions in $PATHEXT are
2170 tried. Thus if "foo.exe" does not exist, "foo.exe.bat" can be
2171 found. If $PATHEXT is not set then ".exe;.com;.bat;.cmd" is
2172 used. A dot by itself can be used in $PATHEXT to try using
2173 the name without an extension. When 'shell' looks like a
2174 Unix shell, then the name is also tried without adding an
2175 extension.
2176 On MS-DOS and MS-Windows it only checks if the file exists and
2177 is not a directory, not if it's really executable.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002178 The result is a Number:
2179 1 exists
2180 0 does not exist
2181 -1 not implemented on this system
2182
2183 *exists()*
2184exists({expr}) The result is a Number, which is non-zero if {expr} is
2185 defined, zero otherwise. The {expr} argument is a string,
2186 which contains one of these:
2187 &option-name Vim option (only checks if it exists,
2188 not if it really works)
2189 +option-name Vim option that works.
2190 $ENVNAME environment variable (could also be
2191 done by comparing with an empty
2192 string)
2193 *funcname built-in function (see |functions|)
2194 or user defined function (see
2195 |user-functions|).
2196 varname internal variable (see
Bram Moolenaar3a7c85b2005-02-05 21:39:53 +00002197 |internal-variables|). Also works
2198 for |curly-braces-names|, Dictionary
2199 entries, List items, etc. Beware that
2200 this may cause functions to be
2201 invoked cause an error message for an
2202 invalid expression.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002203 :cmdname Ex command: built-in command, user
2204 command or command modifier |:command|.
2205 Returns:
2206 1 for match with start of a command
2207 2 full match with a command
2208 3 matches several user commands
2209 To check for a supported command
2210 always check the return value to be 2.
2211 #event autocommand defined for this event
2212 #event#pattern autocommand defined for this event and
2213 pattern (the pattern is taken
2214 literally and compared to the
2215 autocommand patterns character by
2216 character)
Bram Moolenaara9b1e742005-12-19 22:14:58 +00002217 #group autocommand group exists
2218 #group#event autocommand defined for this group and
2219 event.
2220 #group#event#pattern
2221 autocommand defined for this group,
2222 event and pattern.
Bram Moolenaarf4cd3e82005-12-22 22:47:02 +00002223 ##event autocommand for this event is
2224 supported.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002225 For checking for a supported feature use |has()|.
2226
2227 Examples: >
2228 exists("&shortname")
2229 exists("$HOSTNAME")
2230 exists("*strftime")
2231 exists("*s:MyFunc")
2232 exists("bufcount")
2233 exists(":Make")
Bram Moolenaara9b1e742005-12-19 22:14:58 +00002234 exists("#CursorHold")
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002235 exists("#BufReadPre#*.gz")
Bram Moolenaara9b1e742005-12-19 22:14:58 +00002236 exists("#filetypeindent")
2237 exists("#filetypeindent#FileType")
2238 exists("#filetypeindent#FileType#*")
Bram Moolenaarf4cd3e82005-12-22 22:47:02 +00002239 exists("##ColorScheme")
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002240< There must be no space between the symbol (&/$/*/#) and the
2241 name.
2242 Note that the argument must be a string, not the name of the
2243 variable itself! For example: >
2244 exists(bufcount)
2245< This doesn't check for existence of the "bufcount" variable,
2246 but gets the contents of "bufcount", and checks if that
2247 exists.
2248
2249expand({expr} [, {flag}]) *expand()*
2250 Expand wildcards and the following special keywords in {expr}.
2251 The result is a String.
2252
2253 When there are several matches, they are separated by <NL>
2254 characters. [Note: in version 5.0 a space was used, which
2255 caused problems when a file name contains a space]
2256
2257 If the expansion fails, the result is an empty string. A name
2258 for a non-existing file is not included.
2259
2260 When {expr} starts with '%', '#' or '<', the expansion is done
2261 like for the |cmdline-special| variables with their associated
2262 modifiers. Here is a short overview:
2263
2264 % current file name
2265 # alternate file name
2266 #n alternate file name n
2267 <cfile> file name under the cursor
2268 <afile> autocmd file name
2269 <abuf> autocmd buffer number (as a String!)
2270 <amatch> autocmd matched name
2271 <sfile> sourced script file name
2272 <cword> word under the cursor
2273 <cWORD> WORD under the cursor
2274 <client> the {clientid} of the last received
2275 message |server2client()|
2276 Modifiers:
2277 :p expand to full path
2278 :h head (last path component removed)
2279 :t tail (last path component only)
2280 :r root (one extension removed)
2281 :e extension only
2282
2283 Example: >
2284 :let &tags = expand("%:p:h") . "/tags"
2285< Note that when expanding a string that starts with '%', '#' or
2286 '<', any following text is ignored. This does NOT work: >
2287 :let doesntwork = expand("%:h.bak")
2288< Use this: >
2289 :let doeswork = expand("%:h") . ".bak"
2290< Also note that expanding "<cfile>" and others only returns the
2291 referenced file name without further expansion. If "<cfile>"
2292 is "~/.cshrc", you need to do another expand() to have the
2293 "~/" expanded into the path of the home directory: >
2294 :echo expand(expand("<cfile>"))
2295<
2296 There cannot be white space between the variables and the
2297 following modifier. The |fnamemodify()| function can be used
2298 to modify normal file names.
2299
2300 When using '%' or '#', and the current or alternate file name
2301 is not defined, an empty string is used. Using "%:p" in a
2302 buffer with no name, results in the current directory, with a
2303 '/' added.
2304
2305 When {expr} does not start with '%', '#' or '<', it is
2306 expanded like a file name is expanded on the command line.
2307 'suffixes' and 'wildignore' are used, unless the optional
2308 {flag} argument is given and it is non-zero. Names for
Bram Moolenaar02743632005-07-25 20:42:36 +00002309 non-existing files are included. The "**" item can be used to
2310 search in a directory tree. For example, to find all "README"
2311 files in the current directory and below: >
2312 :echo expand("**/README")
2313<
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002314 Expand() can also be used to expand variables and environment
2315 variables that are only known in a shell. But this can be
2316 slow, because a shell must be started. See |expr-env-expand|.
2317 The expanded variable is still handled like a list of file
2318 names. When an environment variable cannot be expanded, it is
2319 left unchanged. Thus ":echo expand('$FOOBAR')" results in
2320 "$FOOBAR".
2321
2322 See |glob()| for finding existing files. See |system()| for
2323 getting the raw output of an external command.
2324
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00002325extend({expr1}, {expr2} [, {expr3}]) *extend()*
2326 {expr1} and {expr2} must be both Lists or both Dictionaries.
2327
2328 If they are Lists: Append {expr2} to {expr1}.
2329 If {expr3} is given insert the items of {expr2} before item
2330 {expr3} in {expr1}. When {expr3} is zero insert before the
2331 first item. When {expr3} is equal to len({expr1}) then
2332 {expr2} is appended.
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +00002333 Examples: >
2334 :echo sort(extend(mylist, [7, 5]))
2335 :call extend(mylist, [2, 3], 1)
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00002336< Use |add()| to concatenate one item to a list. To concatenate
2337 two lists into a new list use the + operator: >
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +00002338 :let newlist = [1, 2, 3] + [4, 5]
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00002339<
2340 If they are Dictionaries:
2341 Add all entries from {expr2} to {expr1}.
2342 If a key exists in both {expr1} and {expr2} then {expr3} is
2343 used to decide what to do:
2344 {expr3} = "keep": keep the value of {expr1}
2345 {expr3} = "force": use the value of {expr2}
Bram Moolenaar383f9bc2005-01-19 22:18:32 +00002346 {expr3} = "error": give an error message *E737*
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00002347 When {expr3} is omitted then "force" is assumed.
2348
2349 {expr1} is changed when {expr2} is not empty. If necessary
2350 make a copy of {expr1} first.
2351 {expr2} remains unchanged.
2352 Returns {expr1}.
2353
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +00002354
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002355filereadable({file}) *filereadable()*
2356 The result is a Number, which is TRUE when a file with the
2357 name {file} exists, and can be read. If {file} doesn't exist,
2358 or is a directory, the result is FALSE. {file} is any
2359 expression, which is used as a String.
2360 *file_readable()*
2361 Obsolete name: file_readable().
2362
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00002363
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00002364filter({expr}, {string}) *filter()*
2365 {expr} must be a List or a Dictionary.
2366 For each item in {expr} evaluate {string} and when the result
2367 is zero remove the item from the List or Dictionary.
2368 Inside {string} |v:val| has the value of the current item.
2369 For a Dictionary |v:key| has the key of the current item.
2370 Examples: >
2371 :call filter(mylist, 'v:val !~ "OLD"')
2372< Removes the items where "OLD" appears. >
2373 :call filter(mydict, 'v:key >= 8')
2374< Removes the items with a key below 8. >
2375 :call filter(var, 0)
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +00002376< Removes all the items, thus clears the List or Dictionary.
2377
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00002378 Note that {string} is the result of expression and is then
2379 used as an expression again. Often it is good to use a
2380 |literal-string| to avoid having to double backslashes.
2381
2382 The operation is done in-place. If you want a List or
2383 Dictionary to remain unmodified make a copy first: >
Bram Moolenaarafeb4fa2006-02-01 21:51:12 +00002384 :let l = filter(copy(mylist), 'v:val =~ "KEEP"')
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00002385
2386< Returns {expr}, the List or Dictionary that was filtered.
Bram Moolenaar280f1262006-01-30 00:14:18 +00002387 When an error is encountered while evaluating {string} no
2388 further items in {expr} are processed.
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00002389
2390
Bram Moolenaar89cb5e02004-07-19 20:55:54 +00002391finddir({name}[, {path}[, {count}]]) *finddir()*
2392 Find directory {name} in {path}.
2393 If {path} is omitted or empty then 'path' is used.
2394 If the optional {count} is given, find {count}'s occurrence of
2395 {name} in {path}.
2396 This is quite similar to the ex-command |:find|.
2397 When the found directory is below the current directory a
2398 relative path is returned. Otherwise a full path is returned.
2399 Example: >
2400 :echo findfile("tags.vim", ".;")
2401< Searches from the current directory upwards until it finds
2402 the file "tags.vim".
2403 {only available when compiled with the +file_in_path feature}
2404
2405findfile({name}[, {path}[, {count}]]) *findfile()*
2406 Just like |finddir()|, but find a file instead of a directory.
2407
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002408filewritable({file}) *filewritable()*
2409 The result is a Number, which is 1 when a file with the
2410 name {file} exists, and can be written. If {file} doesn't
2411 exist, or is not writable, the result is 0. If (file) is a
2412 directory, and we can write to it, the result is 2.
2413
2414fnamemodify({fname}, {mods}) *fnamemodify()*
2415 Modify file name {fname} according to {mods}. {mods} is a
2416 string of characters like it is used for file names on the
2417 command line. See |filename-modifiers|.
2418 Example: >
2419 :echo fnamemodify("main.c", ":p:h")
2420< results in: >
2421 /home/mool/vim/vim/src
2422< Note: Environment variables and "~" don't work in {fname}, use
2423 |expand()| first then.
2424
2425foldclosed({lnum}) *foldclosed()*
2426 The result is a Number. If the line {lnum} is in a closed
2427 fold, the result is the number of the first line in that fold.
2428 If the line {lnum} is not in a closed fold, -1 is returned.
2429
2430foldclosedend({lnum}) *foldclosedend()*
2431 The result is a Number. If the line {lnum} is in a closed
2432 fold, the result is the number of the last line in that fold.
2433 If the line {lnum} is not in a closed fold, -1 is returned.
2434
2435foldlevel({lnum}) *foldlevel()*
2436 The result is a Number, which is the foldlevel of line {lnum}
2437 in the current buffer. For nested folds the deepest level is
2438 returned. If there is no fold at line {lnum}, zero is
2439 returned. It doesn't matter if the folds are open or closed.
2440 When used while updating folds (from 'foldexpr') -1 is
2441 returned for lines where folds are still to be updated and the
2442 foldlevel is unknown. As a special case the level of the
2443 previous line is usually available.
2444
2445 *foldtext()*
2446foldtext() Returns a String, to be displayed for a closed fold. This is
2447 the default function used for the 'foldtext' option and should
2448 only be called from evaluating 'foldtext'. It uses the
2449 |v:foldstart|, |v:foldend| and |v:folddashes| variables.
2450 The returned string looks like this: >
2451 +-- 45 lines: abcdef
2452< The number of dashes depends on the foldlevel. The "45" is
2453 the number of lines in the fold. "abcdef" is the text in the
2454 first non-blank line of the fold. Leading white space, "//"
2455 or "/*" and the text from the 'foldmarker' and 'commentstring'
2456 options is removed.
2457 {not available when compiled without the |+folding| feature}
2458
Bram Moolenaar7b0294c2004-10-11 10:16:09 +00002459foldtextresult({lnum}) *foldtextresult()*
2460 Returns the text that is displayed for the closed fold at line
2461 {lnum}. Evaluates 'foldtext' in the appropriate context.
2462 When there is no closed fold at {lnum} an empty string is
2463 returned.
2464 {lnum} is used like with |getline()|. Thus "." is the current
2465 line, "'m" mark m, etc.
2466 Useful when exporting folded text, e.g., to HTML.
2467 {not available when compiled without the |+folding| feature}
2468
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002469 *foreground()*
2470foreground() Move the Vim window to the foreground. Useful when sent from
2471 a client to a Vim server. |remote_send()|
2472 On Win32 systems this might not work, the OS does not always
2473 allow a window to bring itself to the foreground. Use
2474 |remote_foreground()| instead.
2475 {only in the Win32, Athena, Motif and GTK GUI versions and the
2476 Win32 console version}
2477
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00002478
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +00002479function({name}) *function()* *E700*
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00002480 Return a Funcref variable that refers to function {name}.
2481 {name} can be a user defined function or an internal function.
2482
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00002483
Bram Moolenaar39a58ca2005-06-27 22:42:44 +00002484garbagecollect() *garbagecollect()*
2485 Cleanup unused Lists and Dictionaries that have circular
2486 references. There is hardly ever a need to invoke this
2487 function, as it is automatically done when Vim runs out of
2488 memory or is waiting for the user to press a key after
2489 'updatetime'. Items without circular references are always
2490 freed when they become unused.
2491 This is useful if you have deleted a very big List and/or
2492 Dictionary with circular references in a script that runs for
2493 a long time.
2494
Bram Moolenaar677ee682005-01-27 14:41:15 +00002495get({list}, {idx} [, {default}]) *get()*
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00002496 Get item {idx} from List {list}. When this item is not
2497 available return {default}. Return zero when {default} is
2498 omitted.
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00002499get({dict}, {key} [, {default}])
2500 Get item with key {key} from Dictionary {dict}. When this
2501 item is not available return {default}. Return zero when
2502 {default} is omitted.
2503
Bram Moolenaar45360022005-07-21 21:08:21 +00002504 *getbufline()*
2505getbufline({expr}, {lnum} [, {end}])
Bram Moolenaar661b1822005-07-28 22:36:45 +00002506 Return a List with the lines starting from {lnum} to {end}
2507 (inclusive) in the buffer {expr}. If {end} is omitted, a List
2508 with only the line {lnum} is returned.
Bram Moolenaar45360022005-07-21 21:08:21 +00002509
2510 For the use of {expr}, see |bufname()| above.
2511
Bram Moolenaar661b1822005-07-28 22:36:45 +00002512 For {lnum} and {end} "$" can be used for the last line of the
2513 buffer. Otherwise a number must be used.
Bram Moolenaar45360022005-07-21 21:08:21 +00002514
2515 When {lnum} is smaller than 1 or bigger than the number of
2516 lines in the buffer, an empty List is returned.
2517
2518 When {end} is greater than the number of lines in the buffer,
2519 it is treated as {end} is set to the number of lines in the
Bram Moolenaar661b1822005-07-28 22:36:45 +00002520 buffer. When {end} is before {lnum} an empty List is
Bram Moolenaar45360022005-07-21 21:08:21 +00002521 returned.
2522
Bram Moolenaar661b1822005-07-28 22:36:45 +00002523 This function works only for loaded buffers. For unloaded and
Bram Moolenaar45360022005-07-21 21:08:21 +00002524 non-existing buffers, an empty List is returned.
2525
2526 Example: >
2527 :let lines = getbufline(bufnr("myfile"), 1, "$")
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00002528
2529getbufvar({expr}, {varname}) *getbufvar()*
2530 The result is the value of option or local buffer variable
2531 {varname} in buffer {expr}. Note that the name without "b:"
2532 must be used.
Bram Moolenaar4317d9b2005-03-18 20:25:31 +00002533 This also works for a global or buffer-local option, but it
2534 doesn't work for a global variable, window-local variable or
2535 window-local option.
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00002536 For the use of {expr}, see |bufname()| above.
2537 When the buffer or variable doesn't exist an empty string is
2538 returned, there is no error message.
2539 Examples: >
2540 :let bufmodified = getbufvar(1, "&mod")
2541 :echo "todo myvar = " . getbufvar("todo", "myvar")
2542<
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002543getchar([expr]) *getchar()*
2544 Get a single character from the user. If it is an 8-bit
2545 character, the result is a number. Otherwise a String is
2546 returned with the encoded character. For a special key it's a
2547 sequence of bytes starting with 0x80 (decimal: 128).
2548 If [expr] is omitted, wait until a character is available.
2549 If [expr] is 0, only get a character when one is available.
2550 If [expr] is 1, only check if a character is available, it is
2551 not consumed. If a normal character is
2552 available, it is returned, otherwise a
2553 non-zero value is returned.
2554 If a normal character available, it is returned as a Number.
2555 Use nr2char() to convert it to a String.
2556 The returned value is zero if no character is available.
2557 The returned value is a string of characters for special keys
2558 and when a modifier (shift, control, alt) was used.
2559 There is no prompt, you will somehow have to make clear to the
2560 user that a character has to be typed.
2561 There is no mapping for the character.
2562 Key codes are replaced, thus when the user presses the <Del>
2563 key you get the code for the <Del> key, not the raw character
2564 sequence. Examples: >
2565 getchar() == "\<Del>"
2566 getchar() == "\<S-Left>"
2567< This example redefines "f" to ignore case: >
2568 :nmap f :call FindChar()<CR>
2569 :function FindChar()
2570 : let c = nr2char(getchar())
2571 : while col('.') < col('$') - 1
2572 : normal l
2573 : if getline('.')[col('.') - 1] ==? c
2574 : break
2575 : endif
2576 : endwhile
2577 :endfunction
2578
2579getcharmod() *getcharmod()*
2580 The result is a Number which is the state of the modifiers for
2581 the last obtained character with getchar() or in another way.
2582 These values are added together:
2583 2 shift
2584 4 control
2585 8 alt (meta)
2586 16 mouse double click
2587 32 mouse triple click
2588 64 mouse quadruple click
2589 128 Macintosh only: command
2590 Only the modifiers that have not been included in the
2591 character itself are obtained. Thus Shift-a results in "A"
2592 with no modifier.
2593
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002594getcmdline() *getcmdline()*
2595 Return the current command-line. Only works when the command
2596 line is being edited, thus requires use of |c_CTRL-\_e| or
2597 |c_CTRL-R_=|.
2598 Example: >
2599 :cmap <F7> <C-\>eescape(getcmdline(), ' \')<CR>
Bram Moolenaarbfd8fc02005-09-20 23:22:24 +00002600< Also see |getcmdtype()|, |getcmdpos()| and |setcmdpos()|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002601
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00002602getcmdpos() *getcmdpos()*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002603 Return the position of the cursor in the command line as a
2604 byte count. The first column is 1.
2605 Only works when editing the command line, thus requires use of
2606 |c_CTRL-\_e| or |c_CTRL-R_=|. Returns 0 otherwise.
Bram Moolenaarbfd8fc02005-09-20 23:22:24 +00002607 Also see |getcmdtype()|, |setcmdpos()| and |getcmdline()|.
2608
2609getcmdtype() *getcmdtype()*
2610 Return the current command-line type. Possible return values
2611 are:
Bram Moolenaar1e015462005-09-25 22:16:38 +00002612 : normal Ex command
2613 > debug mode command |debug-mode|
2614 / forward search command
2615 ? backward search command
2616 @ |input()| command
2617 - |:insert| or |:append| command
Bram Moolenaarbfd8fc02005-09-20 23:22:24 +00002618 Only works when editing the command line, thus requires use of
2619 |c_CTRL-\_e| or |c_CTRL-R_=|. Returns an empty string
2620 otherwise.
2621 Also see |getcmdpos()|, |setcmdpos()| and |getcmdline()|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002622
2623 *getcwd()*
2624getcwd() The result is a String, which is the name of the current
2625 working directory.
2626
2627getfsize({fname}) *getfsize()*
2628 The result is a Number, which is the size in bytes of the
2629 given file {fname}.
2630 If {fname} is a directory, 0 is returned.
2631 If the file {fname} can't be found, -1 is returned.
2632
Bram Moolenaard8b0cf12004-12-12 11:33:30 +00002633getfontname([{name}]) *getfontname()*
2634 Without an argument returns the name of the normal font being
2635 used. Like what is used for the Normal highlight group
2636 |hl-Normal|.
2637 With an argument a check is done whether {name} is a valid
2638 font name. If not then an empty string is returned.
2639 Otherwise the actual font name is returned, or {name} if the
2640 GUI does not support obtaining the real name.
2641 Only works when the GUI is running, thus not you your vimrc or
2642 Note that the GTK 2 GUI accepts any font name, thus checking
2643 for a valid name does not work.
2644 gvimrc file. Use the |GUIEnter| autocommand to use this
2645 function just after the GUI has started.
2646
Bram Moolenaar5eb86f92004-07-26 12:53:41 +00002647getfperm({fname}) *getfperm()*
2648 The result is a String, which is the read, write, and execute
2649 permissions of the given file {fname}.
2650 If {fname} does not exist or its directory cannot be read, an
2651 empty string is returned.
2652 The result is of the form "rwxrwxrwx", where each group of
2653 "rwx" flags represent, in turn, the permissions of the owner
2654 of the file, the group the file belongs to, and other users.
2655 If a user does not have a given permission the flag for this
2656 is replaced with the string "-". Example: >
2657 :echo getfperm("/etc/passwd")
2658< This will hopefully (from a security point of view) display
2659 the string "rw-r--r--" or even "rw-------".
Bram Moolenaare2cc9702005-03-15 22:43:58 +00002660
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002661getftime({fname}) *getftime()*
2662 The result is a Number, which is the last modification time of
2663 the given file {fname}. The value is measured as seconds
2664 since 1st Jan 1970, and may be passed to strftime(). See also
2665 |localtime()| and |strftime()|.
2666 If the file {fname} can't be found -1 is returned.
2667
Bram Moolenaar5eb86f92004-07-26 12:53:41 +00002668getftype({fname}) *getftype()*
2669 The result is a String, which is a description of the kind of
2670 file of the given file {fname}.
2671 If {fname} does not exist an empty string is returned.
2672 Here is a table over different kinds of files and their
2673 results:
2674 Normal file "file"
2675 Directory "dir"
2676 Symbolic link "link"
2677 Block device "bdev"
2678 Character device "cdev"
2679 Socket "socket"
2680 FIFO "fifo"
2681 All other "other"
2682 Example: >
2683 getftype("/home")
2684< Note that a type such as "link" will only be returned on
2685 systems that support it. On some systems only "dir" and
2686 "file" are returned.
2687
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002688 *getline()*
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00002689getline({lnum} [, {end}])
2690 Without {end} the result is a String, which is line {lnum}
2691 from the current buffer. Example: >
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002692 getline(1)
2693< When {lnum} is a String that doesn't start with a
2694 digit, line() is called to translate the String into a Number.
2695 To get the line under the cursor: >
2696 getline(".")
2697< When {lnum} is smaller than 1 or bigger than the number of
2698 lines in the buffer, an empty string is returned.
2699
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00002700 When {end} is given the result is a List where each item is a
2701 line from the current buffer in the range {lnum} to {end},
2702 including line {end}.
2703 {end} is used in the same way as {lnum}.
2704 Non-existing lines are silently omitted.
Bram Moolenaar45360022005-07-21 21:08:21 +00002705 When {end} is before {lnum} an empty List is returned.
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00002706 Example: >
2707 :let start = line('.')
2708 :let end = search("^$") - 1
2709 :let lines = getline(start, end)
2710
Bram Moolenaar17c7c012006-01-26 22:25:15 +00002711getloclist({nr}) *getloclist()*
2712 Returns a list with all the entries in the location list for
2713 window {nr}. When {nr} is zero the current window is used.
2714 For a location list window, the displayed location list is
Bram Moolenaar280f1262006-01-30 00:14:18 +00002715 returned. For an invalid window number {nr}, an empty list is
2716 returned. Otherwise, same as getqflist().
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00002717
Bram Moolenaar68b76a62005-03-25 21:53:48 +00002718getqflist() *getqflist()*
2719 Returns a list with all the current quickfix errors. Each
2720 list item is a dictionary with these entries:
2721 bufnr number of buffer that has the file name, use
2722 bufname() to get the name
2723 lnum line number in the buffer (first line is 1)
2724 col column number (first column is 1)
Bram Moolenaar582fd852005-03-28 20:58:01 +00002725 vcol non-zero: "col" is visual column
2726 zero: "col" is byte index
Bram Moolenaar68b76a62005-03-25 21:53:48 +00002727 nr error number
2728 text description of the error
2729 type type of the error, 'E', '1', etc.
2730 valid non-zero: recognized error message
2731
Bram Moolenaare7eb9df2005-09-09 19:49:30 +00002732 When there is no error list or it's empty an empty list is
2733 returned.
2734
Bram Moolenaar68b76a62005-03-25 21:53:48 +00002735 Useful application: Find pattern matches in multiple files and
2736 do something with them: >
2737 :vimgrep /theword/jg *.c
2738 :for d in getqflist()
2739 : echo bufname(d.bufnr) ':' d.lnum '=' d.text
2740 :endfor
2741
2742
Bram Moolenaar2389c3c2005-05-22 22:07:59 +00002743getreg([{regname} [, 1]]) *getreg()*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002744 The result is a String, which is the contents of register
Bram Moolenaar402d2fe2005-04-15 21:00:38 +00002745 {regname}. Example: >
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002746 :let cliptext = getreg('*')
2747< getreg('=') returns the last evaluated value of the expression
Bram Moolenaar402d2fe2005-04-15 21:00:38 +00002748 register. (For use in maps.)
Bram Moolenaar2389c3c2005-05-22 22:07:59 +00002749 getreg('=', 1) returns the expression itself, so that it can
2750 be restored with |setreg()|. For other registers the extra
2751 argument is ignored, thus you can always give it.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002752 If {regname} is not specified, |v:register| is used.
2753
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00002754
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002755getregtype([{regname}]) *getregtype()*
2756 The result is a String, which is type of register {regname}.
2757 The value will be one of:
2758 "v" for |characterwise| text
2759 "V" for |linewise| text
2760 "<CTRL-V>{width}" for |blockwise-visual| text
2761 0 for an empty or unknown register
2762 <CTRL-V> is one character with value 0x16.
2763 If {regname} is not specified, |v:register| is used.
2764
2765 *getwinposx()*
2766getwinposx() The result is a Number, which is the X coordinate in pixels of
2767 the left hand side of the GUI Vim window. The result will be
2768 -1 if the information is not available.
2769
2770 *getwinposy()*
2771getwinposy() The result is a Number, which is the Y coordinate in pixels of
2772 the top of the GUI Vim window. The result will be -1 if the
2773 information is not available.
2774
2775getwinvar({nr}, {varname}) *getwinvar()*
2776 The result is the value of option or local window variable
Bram Moolenaar9ba0eb82005-06-13 22:28:56 +00002777 {varname} in window {nr}. When {nr} is zero the current
2778 window is used.
Bram Moolenaar4317d9b2005-03-18 20:25:31 +00002779 This also works for a global option, buffer-local option and
2780 window-local option, but it doesn't work for a global variable
2781 or buffer-local variable.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002782 Note that the name without "w:" must be used.
2783 Examples: >
2784 :let list_is_on = getwinvar(2, '&list')
2785 :echo "myvar = " . getwinvar(1, 'myvar')
2786<
2787 *glob()*
2788glob({expr}) Expand the file wildcards in {expr}. The result is a String.
2789 When there are several matches, they are separated by <NL>
2790 characters.
2791 If the expansion fails, the result is an empty string.
2792 A name for a non-existing file is not included.
2793
2794 For most systems backticks can be used to get files names from
2795 any external command. Example: >
2796 :let tagfiles = glob("`find . -name tags -print`")
2797 :let &tags = substitute(tagfiles, "\n", ",", "g")
2798< The result of the program inside the backticks should be one
2799 item per line. Spaces inside an item are allowed.
2800
2801 See |expand()| for expanding special Vim variables. See
2802 |system()| for getting the raw output of an external command.
2803
2804globpath({path}, {expr}) *globpath()*
2805 Perform glob() on all directories in {path} and concatenate
2806 the results. Example: >
2807 :echo globpath(&rtp, "syntax/c.vim")
2808< {path} is a comma-separated list of directory names. Each
2809 directory name is prepended to {expr} and expanded like with
2810 glob(). A path separator is inserted when needed.
2811 To add a comma inside a directory name escape it with a
2812 backslash. Note that on MS-Windows a directory may have a
2813 trailing backslash, remove it if you put a comma after it.
2814 If the expansion fails for one of the directories, there is no
2815 error message.
2816 The 'wildignore' option applies: Names matching one of the
2817 patterns in 'wildignore' will be skipped.
2818
Bram Moolenaar02743632005-07-25 20:42:36 +00002819 The "**" item can be used to search in a directory tree.
2820 For example, to find all "README.txt" files in the directories
2821 in 'runtimepath' and below: >
2822 :echo globpath(&rtp, "**/README.txt")
2823<
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002824 *has()*
2825has({feature}) The result is a Number, which is 1 if the feature {feature} is
2826 supported, zero otherwise. The {feature} argument is a
2827 string. See |feature-list| below.
2828 Also see |exists()|.
2829
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00002830
2831has_key({dict}, {key}) *has_key()*
2832 The result is a Number, which is 1 if Dictionary {dict} has an
2833 entry with key {key}. Zero otherwise.
2834
2835
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002836hasmapto({what} [, {mode}]) *hasmapto()*
2837 The result is a Number, which is 1 if there is a mapping that
2838 contains {what} in somewhere in the rhs (what it is mapped to)
2839 and this mapping exists in one of the modes indicated by
2840 {mode}.
2841 Both the global mappings and the mappings local to the current
2842 buffer are checked for a match.
2843 If no matching mapping is found 0 is returned.
2844 The following characters are recognized in {mode}:
2845 n Normal mode
2846 v Visual mode
2847 o Operator-pending mode
2848 i Insert mode
2849 l Language-Argument ("r", "f", "t", etc.)
2850 c Command-line mode
2851 When {mode} is omitted, "nvo" is used.
2852
2853 This function is useful to check if a mapping already exists
2854 to a function in a Vim script. Example: >
2855 :if !hasmapto('\ABCdoit')
2856 : map <Leader>d \ABCdoit
2857 :endif
2858< This installs the mapping to "\ABCdoit" only if there isn't
2859 already a mapping to "\ABCdoit".
2860
2861histadd({history}, {item}) *histadd()*
2862 Add the String {item} to the history {history} which can be
2863 one of: *hist-names*
2864 "cmd" or ":" command line history
2865 "search" or "/" search pattern history
2866 "expr" or "=" typed expression history
2867 "input" or "@" input line history
2868 If {item} does already exist in the history, it will be
2869 shifted to become the newest entry.
2870 The result is a Number: 1 if the operation was successful,
2871 otherwise 0 is returned.
2872
2873 Example: >
2874 :call histadd("input", strftime("%Y %b %d"))
2875 :let date=input("Enter date: ")
2876< This function is not available in the |sandbox|.
2877
2878histdel({history} [, {item}]) *histdel()*
Bram Moolenaar402d2fe2005-04-15 21:00:38 +00002879 Clear {history}, i.e. delete all its entries. See |hist-names|
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002880 for the possible values of {history}.
2881
2882 If the parameter {item} is given as String, this is seen
2883 as regular expression. All entries matching that expression
2884 will be removed from the history (if there are any).
2885 Upper/lowercase must match, unless "\c" is used |/\c|.
2886 If {item} is a Number, it will be interpreted as index, see
2887 |:history-indexing|. The respective entry will be removed
2888 if it exists.
2889
2890 The result is a Number: 1 for a successful operation,
2891 otherwise 0 is returned.
2892
2893 Examples:
2894 Clear expression register history: >
2895 :call histdel("expr")
2896<
2897 Remove all entries starting with "*" from the search history: >
2898 :call histdel("/", '^\*')
2899<
2900 The following three are equivalent: >
2901 :call histdel("search", histnr("search"))
2902 :call histdel("search", -1)
2903 :call histdel("search", '^'.histget("search", -1).'$')
2904<
2905 To delete the last search pattern and use the last-but-one for
2906 the "n" command and 'hlsearch': >
2907 :call histdel("search", -1)
2908 :let @/ = histget("search", -1)
2909
2910histget({history} [, {index}]) *histget()*
2911 The result is a String, the entry with Number {index} from
2912 {history}. See |hist-names| for the possible values of
2913 {history}, and |:history-indexing| for {index}. If there is
2914 no such entry, an empty String is returned. When {index} is
2915 omitted, the most recent item from the history is used.
2916
2917 Examples:
2918 Redo the second last search from history. >
2919 :execute '/' . histget("search", -2)
2920
2921< Define an Ex command ":H {num}" that supports re-execution of
2922 the {num}th entry from the output of |:history|. >
2923 :command -nargs=1 H execute histget("cmd", 0+<args>)
2924<
2925histnr({history}) *histnr()*
2926 The result is the Number of the current entry in {history}.
2927 See |hist-names| for the possible values of {history}.
2928 If an error occurred, -1 is returned.
2929
2930 Example: >
2931 :let inp_index = histnr("expr")
2932<
2933hlexists({name}) *hlexists()*
2934 The result is a Number, which is non-zero if a highlight group
2935 called {name} exists. This is when the group has been
2936 defined in some way. Not necessarily when highlighting has
2937 been defined for it, it may also have been used for a syntax
2938 item.
2939 *highlight_exists()*
2940 Obsolete name: highlight_exists().
2941
2942 *hlID()*
2943hlID({name}) The result is a Number, which is the ID of the highlight group
2944 with name {name}. When the highlight group doesn't exist,
2945 zero is returned.
2946 This can be used to retrieve information about the highlight
2947 group. For example, to get the background color of the
2948 "Comment" group: >
2949 :echo synIDattr(synIDtrans(hlID("Comment")), "bg")
2950< *highlightID()*
2951 Obsolete name: highlightID().
2952
2953hostname() *hostname()*
2954 The result is a String, which is the name of the machine on
Bram Moolenaar402d2fe2005-04-15 21:00:38 +00002955 which Vim is currently running. Machine names greater than
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002956 256 characters long are truncated.
2957
2958iconv({expr}, {from}, {to}) *iconv()*
2959 The result is a String, which is the text {expr} converted
2960 from encoding {from} to encoding {to}.
2961 When the conversion fails an empty string is returned.
2962 The encoding names are whatever the iconv() library function
2963 can accept, see ":!man 3 iconv".
2964 Most conversions require Vim to be compiled with the |+iconv|
2965 feature. Otherwise only UTF-8 to latin1 conversion and back
2966 can be done.
2967 This can be used to display messages with special characters,
2968 no matter what 'encoding' is set to. Write the message in
2969 UTF-8 and use: >
2970 echo iconv(utf8_str, "utf-8", &enc)
2971< Note that Vim uses UTF-8 for all Unicode encodings, conversion
2972 from/to UCS-2 is automatically changed to use UTF-8. You
2973 cannot use UCS-2 in a string anyway, because of the NUL bytes.
2974 {only available when compiled with the +multi_byte feature}
2975
2976 *indent()*
2977indent({lnum}) The result is a Number, which is indent of line {lnum} in the
2978 current buffer. The indent is counted in spaces, the value
2979 of 'tabstop' is relevant. {lnum} is used just like in
2980 |getline()|.
2981 When {lnum} is invalid -1 is returned.
2982
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +00002983
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00002984index({list}, {expr} [, {start} [, {ic}]]) *index()*
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +00002985 Return the lowest index in List {list} where the item has a
2986 value equal to {expr}.
Bram Moolenaar748bf032005-02-02 23:04:36 +00002987 If {start} is given then start looking at the item with index
2988 {start} (may be negative for an item relative to the end).
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +00002989 When {ic} is given and it is non-zero, ignore case. Otherwise
2990 case must match.
2991 -1 is returned when {expr} is not found in {list}.
2992 Example: >
2993 :let idx = index(words, "the")
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +00002994 :if index(numbers, 123) >= 0
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +00002995
2996
Bram Moolenaarbfd8fc02005-09-20 23:22:24 +00002997input({prompt} [, {text} [, {completion}]]) *input()*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002998 The result is a String, which is whatever the user typed on
2999 the command-line. The parameter is either a prompt string, or
3000 a blank string (for no prompt). A '\n' can be used in the
Bram Moolenaarbfd8fc02005-09-20 23:22:24 +00003001 prompt to start a new line.
3002 The highlighting set with |:echohl| is used for the prompt.
3003 The input is entered just like a command-line, with the same
3004 editing commands and mappings. There is a separate history
3005 for lines typed for input().
3006 Example: >
3007 :if input("Coffee or beer? ") == "beer"
3008 : echo "Cheers!"
3009 :endif
3010<
Bram Moolenaar1e015462005-09-25 22:16:38 +00003011 If the optional {text} is present and not empty, this is used
3012 for the default reply, as if the user typed this. Example: >
Bram Moolenaarbfd8fc02005-09-20 23:22:24 +00003013 :let color = input("Color? ", "white")
3014
3015< The optional {completion} argument specifies the type of
3016 completion supported for the input. Without it completion is
3017 not performed. The supported completion types are the same as
3018 that can be supplied to a user-defined command using the
3019 "-complete=" argument. Refer to |:command-completion| for
3020 more information. Example: >
3021 let fname = input("File: ", "", "file")
3022<
3023 NOTE: This function must not be used in a startup file, for
3024 the versions that only run in GUI mode (e.g., the Win32 GUI).
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003025 Note: When input() is called from within a mapping it will
3026 consume remaining characters from that mapping, because a
3027 mapping is handled like the characters were typed.
3028 Use |inputsave()| before input() and |inputrestore()|
3029 after input() to avoid that. Another solution is to avoid
3030 that further characters follow in the mapping, e.g., by using
3031 |:execute| or |:normal|.
3032
Bram Moolenaarbfd8fc02005-09-20 23:22:24 +00003033 Example with a mapping: >
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003034 :nmap \x :call GetFoo()<CR>:exe "/" . Foo<CR>
3035 :function GetFoo()
3036 : call inputsave()
3037 : let g:Foo = input("enter search pattern: ")
3038 : call inputrestore()
3039 :endfunction
3040
3041inputdialog({prompt} [, {text} [, {cancelreturn}]]) *inputdialog()*
3042 Like input(), but when the GUI is running and text dialogs are
3043 supported, a dialog window pops up to input the text.
3044 Example: >
3045 :let n = inputdialog("value for shiftwidth", &sw)
3046 :if n != ""
3047 : let &sw = n
3048 :endif
3049< When the dialog is cancelled {cancelreturn} is returned. When
3050 omitted an empty string is returned.
3051 Hitting <Enter> works like pressing the OK button. Hitting
3052 <Esc> works like pressing the Cancel button.
Bram Moolenaarbfd8fc02005-09-20 23:22:24 +00003053 NOTE: Command-line completion is not supported.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003054
Bram Moolenaar578b49e2005-09-10 19:22:57 +00003055inputlist({textlist}) *inputlist()*
3056 {textlist} must be a list of strings. This list is displayed,
3057 one string per line. The user will be prompted to enter a
3058 number, which is returned.
3059 The user can also select an item by clicking on it with the
3060 mouse. For the first string 0 is returned. When clicking
3061 above the first item a negative number is returned. When
3062 clicking on the prompt one more than the length of {textlist}
3063 is returned.
3064 Make sure {textlist} has less then 'lines' entries, otherwise
3065 it won't work. It's a good idea to put the entry number at
3066 the start of the string. Example: >
3067 let color = inputlist(['Select color:', '1. red',
3068 \ '2. green', '3. blue'])
3069
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003070inputrestore() *inputrestore()*
3071 Restore typeahead that was saved with a previous inputsave().
3072 Should be called the same number of times inputsave() is
3073 called. Calling it more often is harmless though.
3074 Returns 1 when there is nothing to restore, 0 otherwise.
3075
3076inputsave() *inputsave()*
3077 Preserve typeahead (also from mappings) and clear it, so that
3078 a following prompt gets input from the user. Should be
3079 followed by a matching inputrestore() after the prompt. Can
3080 be used several times, in which case there must be just as
3081 many inputrestore() calls.
3082 Returns 1 when out of memory, 0 otherwise.
3083
3084inputsecret({prompt} [, {text}]) *inputsecret()*
3085 This function acts much like the |input()| function with but
3086 two exceptions:
3087 a) the user's response will be displayed as a sequence of
3088 asterisks ("*") thereby keeping the entry secret, and
3089 b) the user's response will not be recorded on the input
3090 |history| stack.
3091 The result is a String, which is whatever the user actually
3092 typed on the command-line in response to the issued prompt.
Bram Moolenaarbfd8fc02005-09-20 23:22:24 +00003093 NOTE: Command-line completion is not supported.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003094
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00003095insert({list}, {item} [, {idx}]) *insert()*
3096 Insert {item} at the start of List {list}.
3097 If {idx} is specified insert {item} before the item with index
3098 {idx}. If {idx} is zero it goes before the first item, just
3099 like omitting {idx}. A negative {idx} is also possible, see
3100 |list-index|. -1 inserts just before the last item.
Bram Moolenaar402d2fe2005-04-15 21:00:38 +00003101 Returns the resulting List. Examples: >
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00003102 :let mylist = insert([2, 3, 5], 1)
3103 :call insert(mylist, 4, -1)
3104 :call insert(mylist, 6, len(mylist))
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00003105< The last example can be done simpler with |add()|.
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00003106 Note that when {item} is a List it is inserted as a single
3107 item. Use |extend()| to concatenate Lists.
3108
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003109isdirectory({directory}) *isdirectory()*
3110 The result is a Number, which is non-zero when a directory
3111 with the name {directory} exists. If {directory} doesn't
3112 exist, or isn't a directory, the result is FALSE. {directory}
3113 is any expression, which is used as a String.
3114
Bram Moolenaar2ce06f62005-01-31 19:19:04 +00003115islocked({expr}) *islocked()*
3116 The result is a Number, which is non-zero when {expr} is the
3117 name of a locked variable.
3118 {expr} must be the name of a variable, List item or Dictionary
3119 entry, not the variable itself! Example: >
3120 :let alist = [0, ['a', 'b'], 2, 3]
3121 :lockvar 1 alist
3122 :echo islocked('alist') " 1
3123 :echo islocked('alist[1]') " 0
3124
3125< When {expr} is a variable that does not exist you get an error
3126 message. Use |exists()| to check for existance.
3127
Bram Moolenaar677ee682005-01-27 14:41:15 +00003128items({dict}) *items()*
3129 Return a List with all the key-value pairs of {dict}. Each
3130 List item is a list with two items: the key of a {dict} entry
3131 and the value of this entry. The List is in arbitrary order.
3132
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00003133
3134join({list} [, {sep}]) *join()*
3135 Join the items in {list} together into one String.
3136 When {sep} is specified it is put in between the items. If
3137 {sep} is omitted a single space is used.
3138 Note that {sep} is not added at the end. You might want to
3139 add it there too: >
3140 let lines = join(mylist, "\n") . "\n"
3141< String items are used as-is. Lists and Dictionaries are
3142 converted into a string like with |string()|.
3143 The opposite function is |split()|.
3144
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +00003145keys({dict}) *keys()*
3146 Return a List with all the keys of {dict}. The List is in
3147 arbitrary order.
3148
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +00003149 *len()* *E701*
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00003150len({expr}) The result is a Number, which is the length of the argument.
3151 When {expr} is a String or a Number the length in bytes is
3152 used, as with |strlen()|.
3153 When {expr} is a List the number of items in the List is
3154 returned.
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00003155 When {expr} is a Dictionary the number of entries in the
3156 Dictionary is returned.
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00003157 Otherwise an error is given.
3158
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003159 *libcall()* *E364* *E368*
3160libcall({libname}, {funcname}, {argument})
3161 Call function {funcname} in the run-time library {libname}
3162 with single argument {argument}.
3163 This is useful to call functions in a library that you
3164 especially made to be used with Vim. Since only one argument
3165 is possible, calling standard library functions is rather
3166 limited.
3167 The result is the String returned by the function. If the
3168 function returns NULL, this will appear as an empty string ""
3169 to Vim.
3170 If the function returns a number, use libcallnr()!
3171 If {argument} is a number, it is passed to the function as an
3172 int; if {argument} is a string, it is passed as a
3173 null-terminated string.
3174 This function will fail in |restricted-mode|.
3175
3176 libcall() allows you to write your own 'plug-in' extensions to
3177 Vim without having to recompile the program. It is NOT a
3178 means to call system functions! If you try to do so Vim will
3179 very probably crash.
3180
3181 For Win32, the functions you write must be placed in a DLL
3182 and use the normal C calling convention (NOT Pascal which is
3183 used in Windows System DLLs). The function must take exactly
3184 one parameter, either a character pointer or a long integer,
3185 and must return a character pointer or NULL. The character
3186 pointer returned must point to memory that will remain valid
3187 after the function has returned (e.g. in static data in the
3188 DLL). If it points to allocated memory, that memory will
3189 leak away. Using a static buffer in the function should work,
3190 it's then freed when the DLL is unloaded.
3191
3192 WARNING: If the function returns a non-valid pointer, Vim may
3193 crash! This also happens if the function returns a number,
3194 because Vim thinks it's a pointer.
3195 For Win32 systems, {libname} should be the filename of the DLL
3196 without the ".DLL" suffix. A full path is only required if
3197 the DLL is not in the usual places.
3198 For Unix: When compiling your own plugins, remember that the
3199 object code must be compiled as position-independent ('PIC').
3200 {only in Win32 on some Unix versions, when the |+libcall|
3201 feature is present}
3202 Examples: >
3203 :echo libcall("libc.so", "getenv", "HOME")
3204 :echo libcallnr("/usr/lib/libc.so", "getpid", "")
3205<
3206 *libcallnr()*
3207libcallnr({libname}, {funcname}, {argument})
3208 Just like libcall(), but used for a function that returns an
3209 int instead of a string.
3210 {only in Win32 on some Unix versions, when the |+libcall|
3211 feature is present}
3212 Example (not very useful...): >
3213 :call libcallnr("libc.so", "printf", "Hello World!\n")
3214 :call libcallnr("libc.so", "sleep", 10)
3215<
3216 *line()*
3217line({expr}) The result is a Number, which is the line number of the file
3218 position given with {expr}. The accepted positions are:
3219 . the cursor position
3220 $ the last line in the current buffer
3221 'x position of mark x (if the mark is not set, 0 is
3222 returned)
Bram Moolenaarc7453f52006-02-10 23:20:28 +00003223 w0 first line visible in current window
3224 w$ last line visible in current window
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003225 Note that only marks in the current file can be used.
3226 Examples: >
3227 line(".") line number of the cursor
3228 line("'t") line number of mark t
3229 line("'" . marker) line number of mark marker
3230< *last-position-jump*
3231 This autocommand jumps to the last known position in a file
3232 just after opening it, if the '" mark is set: >
3233 :au BufReadPost * if line("'\"") > 0 && line("'\"") <= line("$") | exe "normal g'\"" | endif
Bram Moolenaar69a7cb42004-06-20 12:51:53 +00003234
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003235line2byte({lnum}) *line2byte()*
3236 Return the byte count from the start of the buffer for line
3237 {lnum}. This includes the end-of-line character, depending on
3238 the 'fileformat' option for the current buffer. The first
3239 line returns 1.
3240 This can also be used to get the byte count for the line just
3241 below the last line: >
3242 line2byte(line("$") + 1)
3243< This is the file size plus one.
3244 When {lnum} is invalid, or the |+byte_offset| feature has been
3245 disabled at compile time, -1 is returned.
3246 Also see |byte2line()|, |go| and |:goto|.
3247
3248lispindent({lnum}) *lispindent()*
3249 Get the amount of indent for line {lnum} according the lisp
3250 indenting rules, as with 'lisp'.
3251 The indent is counted in spaces, the value of 'tabstop' is
3252 relevant. {lnum} is used just like in |getline()|.
3253 When {lnum} is invalid or Vim was not compiled the
3254 |+lispindent| feature, -1 is returned.
3255
3256localtime() *localtime()*
3257 Return the current time, measured as seconds since 1st Jan
3258 1970. See also |strftime()| and |getftime()|.
3259
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00003260
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00003261map({expr}, {string}) *map()*
3262 {expr} must be a List or a Dictionary.
3263 Replace each item in {expr} with the result of evaluating
3264 {string}.
3265 Inside {string} |v:val| has the value of the current item.
3266 For a Dictionary |v:key| has the key of the current item.
3267 Example: >
3268 :call map(mylist, '"> " . v:val . " <"')
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00003269< This puts "> " before and " <" after each item in "mylist".
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00003270
Bram Moolenaar3a7c85b2005-02-05 21:39:53 +00003271 Note that {string} is the result of an expression and is then
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00003272 used as an expression again. Often it is good to use a
Bram Moolenaar3a7c85b2005-02-05 21:39:53 +00003273 |literal-string| to avoid having to double backslashes. You
3274 still have to double ' quotes
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00003275
3276 The operation is done in-place. If you want a List or
3277 Dictionary to remain unmodified make a copy first: >
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +00003278 :let tlist = map(copy(mylist), ' & . "\t"')
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00003279
3280< Returns {expr}, the List or Dictionary that was filtered.
Bram Moolenaar280f1262006-01-30 00:14:18 +00003281 When an error is encountered while evaluating {string} no
3282 further items in {expr} are processed.
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00003283
3284
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003285maparg({name}[, {mode}]) *maparg()*
3286 Return the rhs of mapping {name} in mode {mode}. When there
3287 is no mapping for {name}, an empty String is returned.
Bram Moolenaard12f5c12006-01-25 22:10:52 +00003288 {mode} can be one of these strings:
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003289 "n" Normal
3290 "v" Visual
3291 "o" Operator-pending
3292 "i" Insert
3293 "c" Cmd-line
3294 "l" langmap |language-mapping|
3295 "" Normal, Visual and Operator-pending
Bram Moolenaard12f5c12006-01-25 22:10:52 +00003296 When {mode} is omitted, the modes for "" are used.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003297 The {name} can have special key names, like in the ":map"
3298 command. The returned String has special characters
3299 translated like in the output of the ":map" command listing.
3300 The mappings local to the current buffer are checked first,
3301 then the global mappings.
Bram Moolenaara40ceaf2006-01-13 22:35:40 +00003302 This function can be used to map a key even when it's already
3303 mapped, and have it do the original mapping too. Sketch: >
3304 exe 'nnoremap <Tab> ==' . maparg('<Tab>', 'n')
3305
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003306
3307mapcheck({name}[, {mode}]) *mapcheck()*
3308 Check if there is a mapping that matches with {name} in mode
3309 {mode}. See |maparg()| for {mode} and special names in
3310 {name}.
3311 A match happens with a mapping that starts with {name} and
3312 with a mapping which is equal to the start of {name}.
3313
3314 matches mapping "a" "ab" "abc" ~
3315 mapcheck("a") yes yes yes
3316 mapcheck("abc") yes yes yes
3317 mapcheck("ax") yes no no
3318 mapcheck("b") no no no
3319
3320 The difference with maparg() is that mapcheck() finds a
3321 mapping that matches with {name}, while maparg() only finds a
3322 mapping for {name} exactly.
3323 When there is no mapping that starts with {name}, an empty
3324 String is returned. If there is one, the rhs of that mapping
3325 is returned. If there are several mappings that start with
3326 {name}, the rhs of one of them is returned.
3327 The mappings local to the current buffer are checked first,
3328 then the global mappings.
3329 This function can be used to check if a mapping can be added
3330 without being ambiguous. Example: >
3331 :if mapcheck("_vv") == ""
3332 : map _vv :set guifont=7x13<CR>
3333 :endif
3334< This avoids adding the "_vv" mapping when there already is a
3335 mapping for "_v" or for "_vvv".
3336
Bram Moolenaar89cb5e02004-07-19 20:55:54 +00003337match({expr}, {pat}[, {start}[, {count}]]) *match()*
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00003338 When {expr} is a List then this returns the index of the first
3339 item where {pat} matches. Each item is used as a String,
3340 Lists and Dictionaries are used as echoed.
3341 Otherwise, {expr} is used as a String. The result is a
3342 Number, which gives the index (byte offset) in {expr} where
3343 {pat} matches.
3344 A match at the first character or List item returns zero.
Bram Moolenaar89cb5e02004-07-19 20:55:54 +00003345 If there is no match -1 is returned.
3346 Example: >
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00003347 :echo match("testing", "ing") " results in 4
3348 :echo match([1, 'x'], '\a') " results in 2
3349< See |string-match| for how {pat} is used.
Bram Moolenaar05159a02005-02-26 23:04:13 +00003350 *strpbrk()*
3351 Vim doesn't have a strpbrk() function. But you can do: >
3352 :let sepidx = match(line, '[.,;: \t]')
3353< *strcasestr()*
3354 Vim doesn't have a strcasestr() function. But you can add
3355 "\c" to the pattern to ignore case: >
3356 :let idx = match(haystack, '\cneedle')
3357<
Bram Moolenaar89cb5e02004-07-19 20:55:54 +00003358 When {count} is given use the {count}'th match. When a match
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00003359 is found in a String the search for the next one starts on
3360 character further. Thus this example results in 1: >
Bram Moolenaar89cb5e02004-07-19 20:55:54 +00003361 echo match("testing", "..", 0, 2)
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00003362< In a List the search continues in the next item.
3363
3364 If {start} is given, the search starts from byte index
3365 {start} in a String or item {start} in a List.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003366 The result, however, is still the index counted from the
Bram Moolenaar402d2fe2005-04-15 21:00:38 +00003367 first character/item. Example: >
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003368 :echo match("testing", "ing", 2)
3369< result is again "4". >
3370 :echo match("testing", "ing", 4)
3371< result is again "4". >
3372 :echo match("testing", "t", 2)
3373< result is "3".
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00003374 For a String, if {start} < 0, it will be set to 0. For a list
3375 the index is counted from the end.
3376 If {start} is out of range (> strlen({expr} for a String or
3377 > len({expr} for a List) -1 is returned.
3378
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003379 See |pattern| for the patterns that are accepted.
3380 The 'ignorecase' option is used to set the ignore-caseness of
3381 the pattern. 'smartcase' is NOT used. The matching is always
3382 done like 'magic' is set and 'cpoptions' is empty.
3383
Bram Moolenaar89cb5e02004-07-19 20:55:54 +00003384matchend({expr}, {pat}[, {start}[, {count}]]) *matchend()*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003385 Same as match(), but return the index of first character after
3386 the match. Example: >
3387 :echo matchend("testing", "ing")
3388< results in "7".
Bram Moolenaar05159a02005-02-26 23:04:13 +00003389 *strspn()* *strcspn()*
3390 Vim doesn't have a strspn() or strcspn() function, but you can
3391 do it with matchend(): >
3392 :let span = matchend(line, '[a-zA-Z]')
3393 :let span = matchend(line, '[^a-zA-Z]')
3394< Except that -1 is returned when there are no matches.
3395
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003396 The {start}, if given, has the same meaning as for match(). >
3397 :echo matchend("testing", "ing", 2)
3398< results in "7". >
3399 :echo matchend("testing", "ing", 5)
3400< result is "-1".
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00003401 When {expr} is a List the result is equal to match().
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003402
Bram Moolenaar3a7c85b2005-02-05 21:39:53 +00003403matchlist({expr}, {pat}[, {start}[, {count}]]) *matchlist()*
3404 Same as match(), but return a List. The first item in the
3405 list is the matched string, same as what matchstr() would
3406 return. Following items are submatches, like "\1", "\2", etc.
3407 in |:substitute|.
3408 When there is no match an empty list is returned.
3409
Bram Moolenaar89cb5e02004-07-19 20:55:54 +00003410matchstr({expr}, {pat}[, {start}[, {count}]]) *matchstr()*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003411 Same as match(), but return the matched string. Example: >
3412 :echo matchstr("testing", "ing")
3413< results in "ing".
3414 When there is no match "" is returned.
3415 The {start}, if given, has the same meaning as for match(). >
3416 :echo matchstr("testing", "ing", 2)
3417< results in "ing". >
3418 :echo matchstr("testing", "ing", 5)
3419< result is "".
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00003420 When {expr} is a List then the matching item is returned.
3421 The type isn't changed, it's not necessarily a String.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003422
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +00003423 *max()*
3424max({list}) Return the maximum value of all items in {list}.
3425 If {list} is not a list or one of the items in {list} cannot
3426 be used as a Number this results in an error.
3427 An empty List results in zero.
3428
3429 *min()*
3430min({list}) Return the minumum value of all items in {list}.
3431 If {list} is not a list or one of the items in {list} cannot
3432 be used as a Number this results in an error.
3433 An empty List results in zero.
3434
Bram Moolenaar26a60b42005-02-22 08:49:11 +00003435 *mkdir()* *E749*
3436mkdir({name} [, {path} [, {prot}]])
3437 Create directory {name}.
3438 If {path} is "p" then intermediate directories are created as
3439 necessary. Otherwise it must be "".
3440 If {prot} is given it is used to set the protection bits of
3441 the new directory. The default is 0755 (rwxr-xr-x: r/w for
3442 the user readable for others). Use 0700 to make it unreadable
3443 for others.
3444 This function is not available in the |sandbox|.
3445 Not available on all systems. To check use: >
3446 :if exists("*mkdir")
3447<
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003448 *mode()*
3449mode() Return a string that indicates the current mode:
3450 n Normal
3451 v Visual by character
3452 V Visual by line
3453 CTRL-V Visual blockwise
3454 s Select by character
3455 S Select by line
3456 CTRL-S Select blockwise
3457 i Insert
3458 R Replace
3459 c Command-line
3460 r Hit-enter prompt
3461 This is useful in the 'statusline' option. In most other
3462 places it always returns "c" or "n".
3463
3464nextnonblank({lnum}) *nextnonblank()*
3465 Return the line number of the first line at or below {lnum}
3466 that is not blank. Example: >
3467 if getline(nextnonblank(1)) =~ "Java"
3468< When {lnum} is invalid or there is no non-blank line at or
3469 below it, zero is returned.
3470 See also |prevnonblank()|.
3471
3472nr2char({expr}) *nr2char()*
3473 Return a string with a single character, which has the number
3474 value {expr}. Examples: >
3475 nr2char(64) returns "@"
3476 nr2char(32) returns " "
3477< The current 'encoding' is used. Example for "utf-8": >
3478 nr2char(300) returns I with bow character
3479< Note that a NUL character in the file is specified with
3480 nr2char(10), because NULs are represented with newline
3481 characters. nr2char(0) is a real NUL and terminates the
Bram Moolenaar383f9bc2005-01-19 22:18:32 +00003482 string, thus results in an empty string.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003483
Bram Moolenaar1d2ba7f2006-02-14 22:29:30 +00003484prevnonblank({lnum}) *prevnonblank()*
3485 Return the line number of the first line at or above {lnum}
3486 that is not blank. Example: >
3487 let ind = indent(prevnonblank(v:lnum - 1))
3488< When {lnum} is invalid or there is no non-blank line at or
3489 above it, zero is returned.
3490 Also see |nextnonblank()|.
3491
3492
Bram Moolenaar4be06f92005-07-29 22:36:03 +00003493printf({fmt}, {expr1} ...) *printf()*
3494 Return a String with {fmt}, where "%" items are replaced by
3495 the formatted form of their respective arguments. Example: >
Bram Moolenaar5a8684e2005-07-30 22:43:24 +00003496 printf("%4d: E%d %.30s", lnum, errno, msg)
Bram Moolenaar4be06f92005-07-29 22:36:03 +00003497< May result in:
Bram Moolenaar5a8684e2005-07-30 22:43:24 +00003498 " 99: E42 asdfasdfasdfasdfasdfasdfasdfas" ~
Bram Moolenaar4be06f92005-07-29 22:36:03 +00003499
3500 Often used items are:
3501 %s string
Bram Moolenaar98692072006-02-04 00:57:42 +00003502 %6s string right-aligned in 6 bytes
3503 %.9s string truncated to 9 bytes
Bram Moolenaar5a8684e2005-07-30 22:43:24 +00003504 %c single byte
Bram Moolenaar4be06f92005-07-29 22:36:03 +00003505 %d decimal number
3506 %5d decimal number padded with spaces to 5 characters
3507 %x hex number
3508 %04x hex number padded with zeros to at least 4 characters
3509 %X hex number using upper case letters
3510 %o octal number
Bram Moolenaar98692072006-02-04 00:57:42 +00003511 %% the % character itself
Bram Moolenaar4be06f92005-07-29 22:36:03 +00003512
3513 Conversion specifications start with '%' and end with the
3514 conversion type. All other characters are copied unchanged to
3515 the result.
3516
3517 The "%" starts a conversion specification. The following
Bram Moolenaar5a8684e2005-07-30 22:43:24 +00003518 arguments appear in sequence:
Bram Moolenaar4be06f92005-07-29 22:36:03 +00003519
Bram Moolenaar5a8684e2005-07-30 22:43:24 +00003520 % [flags] [field-width] [.precision] type
Bram Moolenaar4be06f92005-07-29 22:36:03 +00003521
Bram Moolenaar5a8684e2005-07-30 22:43:24 +00003522 flags
3523 Zero or more of the following flags:
3524
Bram Moolenaar4be06f92005-07-29 22:36:03 +00003525 # The value should be converted to an "alternate
3526 form". For c, d, and s conversions, this option
3527 has no effect. For o conversions, the precision
3528 of the number is increased to force the first
3529 character of the output string to a zero (except
3530 if a zero value is printed with an explicit
3531 precision of zero).
3532 For x and X conversions, a non-zero result has
3533 the string "0x" (or "0X" for X conversions)
3534 prepended to it.
Bram Moolenaar5a8684e2005-07-30 22:43:24 +00003535
Bram Moolenaar4be06f92005-07-29 22:36:03 +00003536 0 (zero) Zero padding. For all conversions the converted
3537 value is padded on the left with zeros rather
3538 than blanks. If a precision is given with a
3539 numeric conversion (d, o, x, and X), the 0 flag
3540 is ignored.
Bram Moolenaar5a8684e2005-07-30 22:43:24 +00003541
Bram Moolenaar4be06f92005-07-29 22:36:03 +00003542 - A negative field width flag; the converted value
3543 is to be left adjusted on the field boundary.
3544 The converted value is padded on the right with
3545 blanks, rather than on the left with blanks or
3546 zeros. A - overrides a 0 if both are given.
Bram Moolenaar5a8684e2005-07-30 22:43:24 +00003547
Bram Moolenaar4be06f92005-07-29 22:36:03 +00003548 ' ' (space) A blank should be left before a positive
3549 number produced by a signed conversion (d).
Bram Moolenaar5a8684e2005-07-30 22:43:24 +00003550
Bram Moolenaar4be06f92005-07-29 22:36:03 +00003551 + A sign must always be placed before a number
3552 produced by a signed conversion. A + overrides
3553 a space if both are used.
Bram Moolenaar5a8684e2005-07-30 22:43:24 +00003554
3555 field-width
3556 An optional decimal digit string specifying a minimum
Bram Moolenaar98692072006-02-04 00:57:42 +00003557 field width. If the converted value has fewer bytes
3558 than the field width, it will be padded with spaces on
3559 the left (or right, if the left-adjustment flag has
3560 been given) to fill out the field width.
Bram Moolenaar5a8684e2005-07-30 22:43:24 +00003561
3562 .precision
3563 An optional precision, in the form of a period '.'
3564 followed by an optional digit string. If the digit
3565 string is omitted, the precision is taken as zero.
3566 This gives the minimum number of digits to appear for
3567 d, o, x, and X conversions, or the maximum number of
Bram Moolenaar98692072006-02-04 00:57:42 +00003568 bytes to be printed from a string for s conversions.
Bram Moolenaar5a8684e2005-07-30 22:43:24 +00003569
3570 type
3571 A character that specifies the type of conversion to
3572 be applied, see below.
3573
Bram Moolenaar4be06f92005-07-29 22:36:03 +00003574 A field width or precision, or both, may be indicated by an
3575 asterisk '*' instead of a digit string. In this case, a
3576 Number argument supplies the field width or precision. A
3577 negative field width is treated as a left adjustment flag
3578 followed by a positive field width; a negative precision is
3579 treated as though it were missing. Example: >
Bram Moolenaar5a8684e2005-07-30 22:43:24 +00003580 :echo printf("%d: %.*s", nr, width, line)
Bram Moolenaar4be06f92005-07-29 22:36:03 +00003581< This limits the length of the text used from "line" to
Bram Moolenaar5a8684e2005-07-30 22:43:24 +00003582 "width" bytes.
Bram Moolenaar4be06f92005-07-29 22:36:03 +00003583
3584 The conversion specifiers and their meanings are:
Bram Moolenaar5a8684e2005-07-30 22:43:24 +00003585
Bram Moolenaar4be06f92005-07-29 22:36:03 +00003586 doxX The Number argument is converted to signed decimal
3587 (d), unsigned octal (o), or unsigned hexadecimal (x
3588 and X) notation. The letters "abcdef" are used for
3589 x conversions; the letters "ABCDEF" are used for X
Bram Moolenaar5a8684e2005-07-30 22:43:24 +00003590 conversions.
3591 The precision, if any, gives the minimum number of
3592 digits that must appear; if the converted value
3593 requires fewer digits, it is padded on the left with
3594 zeros.
3595 In no case does a non-existent or small field width
3596 cause truncation of a numeric field; if the result of
3597 a conversion is wider than the field width, the field
3598 is expanded to contain the conversion result.
3599
3600 c The Number argument is converted to a byte, and the
3601 resulting character is written.
3602
3603 s The text of the String argument is used. If a
3604 precision is specified, no more bytes than the number
3605 specified are used.
3606
Bram Moolenaar4be06f92005-07-29 22:36:03 +00003607 % A '%' is written. No argument is converted. The
3608 complete conversion specification is "%%".
Bram Moolenaar4be06f92005-07-29 22:36:03 +00003609
Bram Moolenaar5a8684e2005-07-30 22:43:24 +00003610 Each argument can be Number or String and is converted
3611 automatically to fit the conversion specifier. Any other
3612 argument type results in an error message.
Bram Moolenaar4be06f92005-07-29 22:36:03 +00003613
Bram Moolenaar83bab712005-08-01 21:58:57 +00003614 *E766* *E767*
Bram Moolenaar4be06f92005-07-29 22:36:03 +00003615 The number of {exprN} arguments must exactly match the number
3616 of "%" items. If there are not sufficient or too many
Bram Moolenaar5a8684e2005-07-30 22:43:24 +00003617 arguments an error is given. Up to 18 arguments can be used.
Bram Moolenaar4be06f92005-07-29 22:36:03 +00003618
3619
Bram Moolenaar1d2ba7f2006-02-14 22:29:30 +00003620pumvisible() *pumvisible()*
3621 Returns non-zero when the popup menu is visible, zero
3622 otherwise. See |ins-completion-menu|.
3623
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003624
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00003625 *E726* *E727*
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +00003626range({expr} [, {max} [, {stride}]]) *range()*
3627 Returns a List with Numbers:
3628 - If only {expr} is specified: [0, 1, ..., {expr} - 1]
3629 - If {max} is specified: [{expr}, {expr} + 1, ..., {max}]
3630 - If {stride} is specified: [{expr}, {expr} + {stride}, ...,
3631 {max}] (increasing {expr} with {stride} each time, not
3632 producing a value past {max}).
Bram Moolenaare7566042005-06-17 22:00:15 +00003633 When the maximum is one before the start the result is an
3634 empty list. When the maximum is more than one before the
3635 start this is an error.
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +00003636 Examples: >
3637 range(4) " [0, 1, 2, 3]
3638 range(2, 4) " [2, 3, 4]
3639 range(2, 9, 3) " [2, 5, 8]
3640 range(2, -2, -1) " [2, 1, 0, -1, -2]
Bram Moolenaare7566042005-06-17 22:00:15 +00003641 range(0) " []
3642 range(2, 0) " error!
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +00003643<
Bram Moolenaar3a7c85b2005-02-05 21:39:53 +00003644 *readfile()*
Bram Moolenaar26a60b42005-02-22 08:49:11 +00003645readfile({fname} [, {binary} [, {max}]])
Bram Moolenaar3a7c85b2005-02-05 21:39:53 +00003646 Read file {fname} and return a List, each line of the file as
3647 an item. Lines broken at NL characters. Macintosh files
3648 separated with CR will result in a single long line (unless a
3649 NL appears somewhere).
3650 When {binary} is equal to "b" binary mode is used:
3651 - When the last line ends in a NL an extra empty list item is
3652 added.
3653 - No CR characters are removed.
3654 Otherwise:
3655 - CR characters that appear before a NL are removed.
3656 - Whether the last line ends in a NL or not does not matter.
3657 All NUL characters are replaced with a NL character.
Bram Moolenaar26a60b42005-02-22 08:49:11 +00003658 When {max} is given this specifies the maximum number of lines
3659 to be read. Useful if you only want to check the first ten
3660 lines of a file: >
3661 :for line in readfile(fname, '', 10)
3662 : if line =~ 'Date' | echo line | endif
3663 :endfor
Bram Moolenaar582fd852005-03-28 20:58:01 +00003664< When {max} is negative -{max} lines from the end of the file
3665 are returned, or as many as there are.
3666 When {max} is zero the result is an empty list.
Bram Moolenaar26a60b42005-02-22 08:49:11 +00003667 Note that without {max} the whole file is read into memory.
3668 Also note that there is no recognition of encoding. Read a
3669 file into a buffer if you need to.
Bram Moolenaar3a7c85b2005-02-05 21:39:53 +00003670 When the file can't be opened an error message is given and
3671 the result is an empty list.
3672 Also see |writefile()|.
3673
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003674 *remote_expr()* *E449*
3675remote_expr({server}, {string} [, {idvar}])
3676 Send the {string} to {server}. The string is sent as an
3677 expression and the result is returned after evaluation.
3678 If {idvar} is present, it is taken as the name of a
3679 variable and a {serverid} for later use with
3680 remote_read() is stored there.
3681 See also |clientserver| |RemoteReply|.
3682 This function is not available in the |sandbox|.
3683 {only available when compiled with the |+clientserver| feature}
3684 Note: Any errors will cause a local error message to be issued
3685 and the result will be the empty string.
3686 Examples: >
3687 :echo remote_expr("gvim", "2+2")
3688 :echo remote_expr("gvim1", "b:current_syntax")
3689<
3690
3691remote_foreground({server}) *remote_foreground()*
3692 Move the Vim server with the name {server} to the foreground.
3693 This works like: >
3694 remote_expr({server}, "foreground()")
3695< Except that on Win32 systems the client does the work, to work
3696 around the problem that the OS doesn't always allow the server
3697 to bring itself to the foreground.
Bram Moolenaar9372a112005-12-06 19:59:18 +00003698 Note: This does not restore the window if it was minimized,
3699 like foreground() does.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003700 This function is not available in the |sandbox|.
3701 {only in the Win32, Athena, Motif and GTK GUI versions and the
3702 Win32 console version}
3703
3704
3705remote_peek({serverid} [, {retvar}]) *remote_peek()*
3706 Returns a positive number if there are available strings
3707 from {serverid}. Copies any reply string into the variable
3708 {retvar} if specified. {retvar} must be a string with the
3709 name of a variable.
3710 Returns zero if none are available.
3711 Returns -1 if something is wrong.
3712 See also |clientserver|.
3713 This function is not available in the |sandbox|.
3714 {only available when compiled with the |+clientserver| feature}
3715 Examples: >
3716 :let repl = ""
3717 :echo "PEEK: ".remote_peek(id, "repl").": ".repl
3718
3719remote_read({serverid}) *remote_read()*
3720 Return the oldest available reply from {serverid} and consume
3721 it. It blocks until a reply is available.
3722 See also |clientserver|.
3723 This function is not available in the |sandbox|.
3724 {only available when compiled with the |+clientserver| feature}
3725 Example: >
3726 :echo remote_read(id)
3727<
3728 *remote_send()* *E241*
3729remote_send({server}, {string} [, {idvar}])
Bram Moolenaard4755bb2004-09-02 19:12:26 +00003730 Send the {string} to {server}. The string is sent as input
3731 keys and the function returns immediately. At the Vim server
3732 the keys are not mapped |:map|.
Bram Moolenaar1d2ba7f2006-02-14 22:29:30 +00003733 If {idvar} is present, it is taken as the name of a variable
3734 and a {serverid} for later use with remote_read() is stored
3735 there.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003736 See also |clientserver| |RemoteReply|.
3737 This function is not available in the |sandbox|.
3738 {only available when compiled with the |+clientserver| feature}
3739 Note: Any errors will be reported in the server and may mess
3740 up the display.
3741 Examples: >
3742 :echo remote_send("gvim", ":DropAndReply ".file, "serverid").
3743 \ remote_read(serverid)
3744
3745 :autocmd NONE RemoteReply *
3746 \ echo remote_read(expand("<amatch>"))
3747 :echo remote_send("gvim", ":sleep 10 | echo ".
3748 \ 'server2client(expand("<client>"), "HELLO")<CR>')
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00003749<
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +00003750remove({list}, {idx} [, {end}]) *remove()*
3751 Without {end}: Remove the item at {idx} from List {list} and
3752 return it.
3753 With {end}: Remove items from {idx} to {end} (inclusive) and
3754 return a list with these items. When {idx} points to the same
3755 item as {end} a list with one item is returned. When {end}
3756 points to an item before {idx} this is an error.
3757 See |list-index| for possible values of {idx} and {end}.
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00003758 Example: >
3759 :echo "last item: " . remove(mylist, -1)
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +00003760 :call remove(mylist, 0, 9)
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +00003761remove({dict}, {key})
3762 Remove the entry from {dict} with key {key}. Example: >
3763 :echo "removed " . remove(dict, "one")
3764< If there is no {key} in {dict} this is an error.
3765
3766 Use |delete()| to remove a file.
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00003767
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003768rename({from}, {to}) *rename()*
3769 Rename the file by the name {from} to the name {to}. This
3770 should also work to move files across file systems. The
3771 result is a Number, which is 0 if the file was renamed
3772 successfully, and non-zero when the renaming failed.
3773 This function is not available in the |sandbox|.
3774
Bram Moolenaarab79bcb2004-07-18 21:34:53 +00003775repeat({expr}, {count}) *repeat()*
3776 Repeat {expr} {count} times and return the concatenated
3777 result. Example: >
3778 :let seperator = repeat('-', 80)
3779< When {count} is zero or negative the result is empty.
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +00003780 When {expr} is a List the result is {expr} concatenated
Bram Moolenaar402d2fe2005-04-15 21:00:38 +00003781 {count} times. Example: >
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +00003782 :let longlist = repeat(['a', 'b'], 3)
3783< Results in ['a', 'b', 'a', 'b', 'a', 'b'].
Bram Moolenaarab79bcb2004-07-18 21:34:53 +00003784
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00003785
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003786resolve({filename}) *resolve()* *E655*
3787 On MS-Windows, when {filename} is a shortcut (a .lnk file),
3788 returns the path the shortcut points to in a simplified form.
3789 On Unix, repeat resolving symbolic links in all path
3790 components of {filename} and return the simplified result.
3791 To cope with link cycles, resolving of symbolic links is
3792 stopped after 100 iterations.
3793 On other systems, return the simplified {filename}.
3794 The simplification step is done as by |simplify()|.
3795 resolve() keeps a leading path component specifying the
3796 current directory (provided the result is still a relative
3797 path name) and also keeps a trailing path separator.
3798
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00003799 *reverse()*
3800reverse({list}) Reverse the order of items in {list} in-place. Returns
3801 {list}.
3802 If you want a list to remain unmodified make a copy first: >
3803 :let revlist = reverse(copy(mylist))
3804
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003805search({pattern} [, {flags}]) *search()*
3806 Search for regexp pattern {pattern}. The search starts at the
Bram Moolenaar383f9bc2005-01-19 22:18:32 +00003807 cursor position (you can use |cursor()| to set it).
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003808 {flags} is a String, which can contain these character flags:
3809 'b' search backward instead of forward
Bram Moolenaar5eb86f92004-07-26 12:53:41 +00003810 'n' do Not move the cursor
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003811 'w' wrap around the end of the file
3812 'W' don't wrap around the end of the file
Bram Moolenaar02743632005-07-25 20:42:36 +00003813 's' set the ' mark at the previous location of the
3814 cursor.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003815 If neither 'w' or 'W' is given, the 'wrapscan' option applies.
3816
Bram Moolenaar02743632005-07-25 20:42:36 +00003817 If the 's' flag is supplied, the ' mark is set, only if the
3818 cursor is moved. The 's' flag cannot be combined with the 'n'
3819 flag.
3820
Bram Moolenaar5eb86f92004-07-26 12:53:41 +00003821 When a match has been found its line number is returned.
3822 The cursor will be positioned at the match, unless the 'n'
3823 flag is used).
3824 If there is no match a 0 is returned and the cursor doesn't
3825 move. No error message is given.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003826
3827 Example (goes over all files in the argument list): >
3828 :let n = 1
3829 :while n <= argc() " loop over all files in arglist
3830 : exe "argument " . n
3831 : " start at the last char in the file and wrap for the
3832 : " first search to find match at start of file
3833 : normal G$
3834 : let flags = "w"
3835 : while search("foo", flags) > 0
3836 : s/foo/bar/g
3837 : let flags = "W"
3838 : endwhile
3839 : update " write the file if modified
3840 : let n = n + 1
3841 :endwhile
3842<
Bram Moolenaar92d640f2005-09-05 22:11:52 +00003843
Bram Moolenaarf75a9632005-09-13 21:20:47 +00003844searchdecl({name} [, {global} [, {thisblock}]]) *searchdecl()*
3845 Search for the declaration of {name}.
3846
3847 With a non-zero {global} argument it works like |gD|, find
3848 first match in the file. Otherwise it works like |gd|, find
3849 first match in the function.
3850
3851 With a non-zero {thisblock} argument matches in a {} block
3852 that ends before the cursor position are ignored. Avoids
3853 finding variable declarations only valid in another scope.
3854
Bram Moolenaar92d640f2005-09-05 22:11:52 +00003855 Moves the cursor to the found match.
3856 Returns zero for success, non-zero for failure.
3857 Example: >
3858 if searchdecl('myvar') == 0
3859 echo getline('.')
3860 endif
3861<
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003862 *searchpair()*
3863searchpair({start}, {middle}, {end} [, {flags} [, {skip}]])
3864 Search for the match of a nested start-end pair. This can be
3865 used to find the "endif" that matches an "if", while other
3866 if/endif pairs in between are ignored.
Bram Moolenaarfaa959a2006-02-20 21:37:40 +00003867 The search starts at the cursor. The default is to search
3868 forward, include 'b' in {flags} to search backward.
3869 If a match is found, the cursor is positioned at it and the
3870 line number is returned. If no match is found 0 or -1 is
3871 returned and the cursor doesn't move. No error message is
3872 given.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003873
3874 {start}, {middle} and {end} are patterns, see |pattern|. They
3875 must not contain \( \) pairs. Use of \%( \) is allowed. When
3876 {middle} is not empty, it is found when searching from either
3877 direction, but only when not in a nested start-end pair. A
3878 typical use is: >
3879 searchpair('\<if\>', '\<else\>', '\<endif\>')
3880< By leaving {middle} empty the "else" is skipped.
3881
3882 {flags} are used like with |search()|. Additionally:
3883 'n' do Not move the cursor
3884 'r' Repeat until no more matches found; will find the
3885 outer pair
3886 'm' return number of Matches instead of line number with
3887 the match; will only be > 1 when 'r' is used.
3888
3889 When a match for {start}, {middle} or {end} is found, the
3890 {skip} expression is evaluated with the cursor positioned on
3891 the start of the match. It should return non-zero if this
3892 match is to be skipped. E.g., because it is inside a comment
3893 or a string.
3894 When {skip} is omitted or empty, every match is accepted.
3895 When evaluating {skip} causes an error the search is aborted
3896 and -1 returned.
3897
3898 The value of 'ignorecase' is used. 'magic' is ignored, the
3899 patterns are used like it's on.
3900
3901 The search starts exactly at the cursor. A match with
3902 {start}, {middle} or {end} at the next character, in the
3903 direction of searching, is the first one found. Example: >
3904 if 1
3905 if 2
3906 endif 2
3907 endif 1
3908< When starting at the "if 2", with the cursor on the "i", and
3909 searching forwards, the "endif 2" is found. When starting on
3910 the character just before the "if 2", the "endif 1" will be
3911 found. That's because the "if 2" will be found first, and
3912 then this is considered to be a nested if/endif from "if 2" to
3913 "endif 2".
3914 When searching backwards and {end} is more than one character,
3915 it may be useful to put "\zs" at the end of the pattern, so
3916 that when the cursor is inside a match with the end it finds
3917 the matching start.
3918
3919 Example, to find the "endif" command in a Vim script: >
3920
3921 :echo searchpair('\<if\>', '\<el\%[seif]\>', '\<en\%[dif]\>', 'W',
3922 \ 'getline(".") =~ "^\\s*\""')
3923
3924< The cursor must be at or after the "if" for which a match is
3925 to be found. Note that single-quote strings are used to avoid
3926 having to double the backslashes. The skip expression only
3927 catches comments at the start of a line, not after a command.
3928 Also, a word "en" or "if" halfway a line is considered a
3929 match.
3930 Another example, to search for the matching "{" of a "}": >
3931
3932 :echo searchpair('{', '', '}', 'bW')
3933
3934< This works when the cursor is at or before the "}" for which a
3935 match is to be found. To reject matches that syntax
3936 highlighting recognized as strings: >
3937
3938 :echo searchpair('{', '', '}', 'bW',
3939 \ 'synIDattr(synID(line("."), col("."), 0), "name") =~? "string"')
3940<
Bram Moolenaar1d2ba7f2006-02-14 22:29:30 +00003941 *searchpairpos()*
3942searchpairpos({start}, {middle}, {end} [, {flags} [, {skip}]])
3943 Same as searchpair(), but returns a List with the line and
3944 column position of the match. The first element of the List is
3945 the line number and the second element is the byte index of
3946 the column position of the match. If no match is found,
3947 returns [0, 0].
3948>
3949 :let [lnum,col] = searchpairpos('{', '', '}', 'n')
3950<
3951 See |match-parens| for a bigger and more useful example.
3952
3953searchpos({pattern} [, {flags}]) *searchpos()*
3954 Same as search(), but returns a List with the line and column
3955 position of the match. The first element of the List is the
3956 line number and the second element is the byte index of the
3957 column position of the match. If no match is found, returns
3958 [0, 0].
3959>
3960 :let [lnum,col] = searchpos('mypattern', 'n')
3961<
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003962server2client( {clientid}, {string}) *server2client()*
3963 Send a reply string to {clientid}. The most recent {clientid}
3964 that sent a string can be retrieved with expand("<client>").
3965 {only available when compiled with the |+clientserver| feature}
3966 Note:
3967 This id has to be stored before the next command can be
Bram Moolenaar402d2fe2005-04-15 21:00:38 +00003968 received. I.e. before returning from the received command and
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003969 before calling any commands that waits for input.
3970 See also |clientserver|.
3971 Example: >
3972 :echo server2client(expand("<client>"), "HELLO")
3973<
3974serverlist() *serverlist()*
3975 Return a list of available server names, one per line.
3976 When there are no servers or the information is not available
3977 an empty string is returned. See also |clientserver|.
3978 {only available when compiled with the |+clientserver| feature}
3979 Example: >
3980 :echo serverlist()
3981<
3982setbufvar({expr}, {varname}, {val}) *setbufvar()*
3983 Set option or local variable {varname} in buffer {expr} to
3984 {val}.
3985 This also works for a global or local window option, but it
3986 doesn't work for a global or local window variable.
3987 For a local window option the global value is unchanged.
3988 For the use of {expr}, see |bufname()| above.
3989 Note that the variable name without "b:" must be used.
3990 Examples: >
3991 :call setbufvar(1, "&mod", 1)
3992 :call setbufvar("todo", "myvar", "foobar")
3993< This function is not available in the |sandbox|.
3994
3995setcmdpos({pos}) *setcmdpos()*
3996 Set the cursor position in the command line to byte position
3997 {pos}. The first position is 1.
3998 Use |getcmdpos()| to obtain the current position.
3999 Only works while editing the command line, thus you must use
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +00004000 |c_CTRL-\_e|, |c_CTRL-R_=| or |c_CTRL-R_CTRL-R| with '='. For
4001 |c_CTRL-\_e| and |c_CTRL-R_CTRL-R| with '=' the position is
4002 set after the command line is set to the expression. For
4003 |c_CTRL-R_=| it is set after evaluating the expression but
4004 before inserting the resulting text.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004005 When the number is too big the cursor is put at the end of the
4006 line. A number smaller than one has undefined results.
4007 Returns 0 when successful, 1 when not editing the command
4008 line.
4009
4010setline({lnum}, {line}) *setline()*
Bram Moolenaar402d2fe2005-04-15 21:00:38 +00004011 Set line {lnum} of the current buffer to {line}.
4012 {lnum} is used like with |getline()|.
Bram Moolenaar2389c3c2005-05-22 22:07:59 +00004013 When {lnum} is just below the last line the {line} will be
4014 added as a new line.
Bram Moolenaar402d2fe2005-04-15 21:00:38 +00004015 If this succeeds, 0 is returned. If this fails (most likely
4016 because {lnum} is invalid) 1 is returned. Example: >
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004017 :call setline(5, strftime("%c"))
Bram Moolenaar2389c3c2005-05-22 22:07:59 +00004018< When {line} is a List then line {lnum} and following lines
4019 will be set to the items in the list. Example: >
4020 :call setline(5, ['aaa', 'bbb', 'ccc'])
4021< This is equivalent to: >
4022 :for [n, l] in [[5, 6, 7], ['aaa', 'bbb', 'ccc']]
4023 : call setline(n, l)
4024 :endfor
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004025< Note: The '[ and '] marks are not set.
4026
Bram Moolenaar17c7c012006-01-26 22:25:15 +00004027setloclist({nr}, {list} [, {action}]) *setloclist()*
4028 Create or replace or add to the location list for window {nr}.
4029 When {nr} is zero the current window is used. For a location
Bram Moolenaar280f1262006-01-30 00:14:18 +00004030 list window, the displayed location list is modified. For an
4031 invalid window number {nr}, -1 is returned.
Bram Moolenaar17c7c012006-01-26 22:25:15 +00004032 Otherwise, same as setqflist().
Bram Moolenaar68b76a62005-03-25 21:53:48 +00004033
Bram Moolenaar35c54e52005-05-20 21:25:31 +00004034setqflist({list} [, {action}]) *setqflist()*
Bram Moolenaar17c7c012006-01-26 22:25:15 +00004035 Create or replace or add to the quickfix list using the items
4036 in {list}. Each item in {list} is a dictionary.
4037 Non-dictionary items in {list} are ignored. Each dictionary
4038 item can contain the following entries:
Bram Moolenaar68b76a62005-03-25 21:53:48 +00004039
4040 filename name of a file
4041 lnum line number in the file
Bram Moolenaar68b76a62005-03-25 21:53:48 +00004042 pattern search pattern used to locate the error
Bram Moolenaar582fd852005-03-28 20:58:01 +00004043 col column number
4044 vcol when non-zero: "col" is visual column
4045 when zero: "col" is byte index
4046 nr error number
Bram Moolenaar68b76a62005-03-25 21:53:48 +00004047 text description of the error
Bram Moolenaar582fd852005-03-28 20:58:01 +00004048 type single-character error type, 'E', 'W', etc.
Bram Moolenaar68b76a62005-03-25 21:53:48 +00004049
Bram Moolenaar582fd852005-03-28 20:58:01 +00004050 The "col", "vcol", "nr", "type" and "text" entries are
4051 optional. Either "lnum" or "pattern" entry can be used to
4052 locate a matching error line.
Bram Moolenaar68b76a62005-03-25 21:53:48 +00004053 If the "filename" entry is not present or neither the "lnum"
4054 or "pattern" entries are present, then the item will not be
4055 handled as an error line.
4056 If both "pattern" and "lnum" are present then "pattern" will
4057 be used.
4058
Bram Moolenaar35c54e52005-05-20 21:25:31 +00004059 If {action} is set to 'a', then the items from {list} are
4060 added to the existing quickfix list. If there is no existing
4061 list, then a new list is created. If {action} is set to 'r',
4062 then the items from the current quickfix list are replaced
4063 with the items from {list}. If {action} is not present or is
4064 set to ' ', then a new list is created.
4065
Bram Moolenaar68b76a62005-03-25 21:53:48 +00004066 Returns zero for success, -1 for failure.
4067
4068 This function can be used to create a quickfix list
4069 independent of the 'errorformat' setting. Use a command like
4070 ":cc 1" to jump to the first position.
4071
4072
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004073 *setreg()*
4074setreg({regname}, {value} [,{options}])
4075 Set the register {regname} to {value}.
4076 If {options} contains "a" or {regname} is upper case,
4077 then the value is appended.
4078 {options} can also contains a register type specification:
4079 "c" or "v" |characterwise| mode
4080 "l" or "V" |linewise| mode
4081 "b" or "<CTRL-V>" |blockwise-visual| mode
4082 If a number immediately follows "b" or "<CTRL-V>" then this is
4083 used as the width of the selection - if it is not specified
4084 then the width of the block is set to the number of characters
4085 in the longest line (counting a <TAB> as 1 character).
4086
4087 If {options} contains no register settings, then the default
4088 is to use character mode unless {value} ends in a <NL>.
4089 Setting the '=' register is not possible.
4090 Returns zero for success, non-zero for failure.
4091
4092 Examples: >
4093 :call setreg(v:register, @*)
4094 :call setreg('*', @%, 'ac')
4095 :call setreg('a', "1\n2\n3", 'b5')
4096
4097< This example shows using the functions to save and restore a
4098 register. >
Bram Moolenaar2389c3c2005-05-22 22:07:59 +00004099 :let var_a = getreg('a', 1)
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004100 :let var_amode = getregtype('a')
4101 ....
4102 :call setreg('a', var_a, var_amode)
4103
4104< You can also change the type of a register by appending
4105 nothing: >
4106 :call setreg('a', '', 'al')
4107
4108setwinvar({nr}, {varname}, {val}) *setwinvar()*
4109 Set option or local variable {varname} in window {nr} to
Bram Moolenaar9ba0eb82005-06-13 22:28:56 +00004110 {val}. When {nr} is zero the current window is used.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004111 This also works for a global or local buffer option, but it
4112 doesn't work for a global or local buffer variable.
4113 For a local buffer option the global value is unchanged.
4114 Note that the variable name without "w:" must be used.
4115 Examples: >
4116 :call setwinvar(1, "&list", 0)
4117 :call setwinvar(2, "myvar", "foobar")
4118< This function is not available in the |sandbox|.
4119
4120simplify({filename}) *simplify()*
4121 Simplify the file name as much as possible without changing
4122 the meaning. Shortcuts (on MS-Windows) or symbolic links (on
4123 Unix) are not resolved. If the first path component in
4124 {filename} designates the current directory, this will be
4125 valid for the result as well. A trailing path separator is
4126 not removed either.
4127 Example: >
4128 simplify("./dir/.././/file/") == "./file/"
4129< Note: The combination "dir/.." is only removed if "dir" is
4130 a searchable directory or does not exist. On Unix, it is also
4131 removed when "dir" is a symbolic link within the same
4132 directory. In order to resolve all the involved symbolic
4133 links before simplifying the path name, use |resolve()|.
4134
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00004135
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +00004136sort({list} [, {func}]) *sort()* *E702*
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00004137 Sort the items in {list} in-place. Returns {list}. If you
4138 want a list to remain unmodified make a copy first: >
4139 :let sortedlist = sort(copy(mylist))
4140< Uses the string representation of each item to sort on.
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00004141 Numbers sort after Strings, Lists after Numbers.
Bram Moolenaar2389c3c2005-05-22 22:07:59 +00004142 For sorting text in the current buffer use |:sort|.
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00004143 When {func} is given and it is one then case is ignored.
4144 When {func} is a Funcref or a function name, this function is
4145 called to compare items. The function is invoked with two
4146 items as argument and must return zero if they are equal, 1 if
4147 the first one sorts after the second one, -1 if the first one
4148 sorts before the second one. Example: >
4149 func MyCompare(i1, i2)
4150 return a:i1 == a:i2 ? 0 : a:i1 > a:i2 ? 1 : -1
4151 endfunc
4152 let sortedlist = sort(mylist, "MyCompare")
Bram Moolenaard857f0e2005-06-21 22:37:39 +00004153<
4154
Bram Moolenaar24bbcfe2005-06-28 23:32:02 +00004155 *soundfold()*
4156soundfold({word})
4157 Return the sound-folded equivalent of {word}. Uses the first
4158 language in 'spellang' for the current window that supports
Bram Moolenaar42eeac32005-06-29 22:40:58 +00004159 soundfolding. 'spell' must be set. When no sound folding is
4160 possible the {word} is returned unmodified.
Bram Moolenaar24bbcfe2005-06-28 23:32:02 +00004161 This can be used for making spelling suggestions. Note that
4162 the method can be quite slow.
4163
Bram Moolenaard857f0e2005-06-21 22:37:39 +00004164 *spellbadword()*
Bram Moolenaar1e015462005-09-25 22:16:38 +00004165spellbadword([{sentence}])
4166 Without argument: The result is the badly spelled word under
4167 or after the cursor. The cursor is moved to the start of the
4168 bad word. When no bad word is found in the cursor line the
4169 result is an empty string and the cursor doesn't move.
4170
4171 With argument: The result is the first word in {sentence} that
4172 is badly spelled. If there are no spelling mistakes the
4173 result is an empty string.
4174
4175 The return value is a list with two items:
4176 - The badly spelled word or an empty string.
4177 - The type of the spelling error:
4178 "bad" spelling mistake
4179 "rare" rare word
4180 "local" word only valid in another region
4181 "caps" word should start with Capital
4182 Example: >
4183 echo spellbadword("the quik brown fox")
4184< ['quik', 'bad'] ~
4185
4186 The spelling information for the current window is used. The
4187 'spell' option must be set and the value of 'spelllang' is
4188 used.
Bram Moolenaard857f0e2005-06-21 22:37:39 +00004189
4190 *spellsuggest()*
Bram Moolenaarc54b8a72005-09-30 21:20:29 +00004191spellsuggest({word} [, {max} [, {capital}]])
Bram Moolenaard857f0e2005-06-21 22:37:39 +00004192 Return a List with spelling suggestions to replace {word}.
4193 When {max} is given up to this number of suggestions are
4194 returned. Otherwise up to 25 suggestions are returned.
4195
Bram Moolenaarc54b8a72005-09-30 21:20:29 +00004196 When the {capital} argument is given and it's non-zero only
4197 suggestions with a leading capital will be given. Use this
4198 after a match with 'spellcapcheck'.
4199
Bram Moolenaard857f0e2005-06-21 22:37:39 +00004200 {word} can be a badly spelled word followed by other text.
4201 This allows for joining two words that were split. The
Bram Moolenaarf461c8e2005-06-25 23:04:51 +00004202 suggestions also include the following text, thus you can
4203 replace a line.
4204
4205 {word} may also be a good word. Similar words will then be
Bram Moolenaarc54b8a72005-09-30 21:20:29 +00004206 returned. {word} itself is not included in the suggestions,
4207 although it may appear capitalized.
Bram Moolenaard857f0e2005-06-21 22:37:39 +00004208
4209 The spelling information for the current window is used. The
Bram Moolenaar42eeac32005-06-29 22:40:58 +00004210 'spell' option must be set and the values of 'spelllang' and
4211 'spellsuggest' are used.
Bram Moolenaard857f0e2005-06-21 22:37:39 +00004212
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00004213
Bram Moolenaar2389c3c2005-05-22 22:07:59 +00004214split({expr} [, {pattern} [, {keepempty}]]) *split()*
4215 Make a List out of {expr}. When {pattern} is omitted or empty
4216 each white-separated sequence of characters becomes an item.
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00004217 Otherwise the string is split where {pattern} matches,
Bram Moolenaar2389c3c2005-05-22 22:07:59 +00004218 removing the matched characters.
4219 When the first or last item is empty it is omitted, unless the
4220 {keepempty} argument is given and it's non-zero.
Bram Moolenaar5c06f8b2005-05-31 22:14:58 +00004221 Other empty items are kept when {pattern} matches at least one
4222 character or when {keepempty} is non-zero.
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00004223 Example: >
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00004224 :let words = split(getline('.'), '\W\+')
Bram Moolenaar2389c3c2005-05-22 22:07:59 +00004225< To split a string in individual characters: >
Bram Moolenaar402d2fe2005-04-15 21:00:38 +00004226 :for c in split(mystring, '\zs')
Bram Moolenaar0cb032e2005-04-23 20:52:00 +00004227< If you want to keep the separator you can also use '\zs': >
4228 :echo split('abc:def:ghi', ':\zs')
4229< ['abc:', 'def:', 'ghi'] ~
Bram Moolenaar2389c3c2005-05-22 22:07:59 +00004230 Splitting a table where the first element can be empty: >
4231 :let items = split(line, ':', 1)
4232< The opposite function is |join()|.
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00004233
4234
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004235strftime({format} [, {time}]) *strftime()*
4236 The result is a String, which is a formatted date and time, as
4237 specified by the {format} string. The given {time} is used,
4238 or the current time if no time is given. The accepted
4239 {format} depends on your system, thus this is not portable!
4240 See the manual page of the C function strftime() for the
4241 format. The maximum length of the result is 80 characters.
4242 See also |localtime()| and |getftime()|.
4243 The language can be changed with the |:language| command.
4244 Examples: >
4245 :echo strftime("%c") Sun Apr 27 11:49:23 1997
4246 :echo strftime("%Y %b %d %X") 1997 Apr 27 11:53:25
4247 :echo strftime("%y%m%d %T") 970427 11:53:55
4248 :echo strftime("%H:%M") 11:55
4249 :echo strftime("%c", getftime("file.c"))
4250 Show mod time of file.c.
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00004251< Not available on all systems. To check use: >
4252 :if exists("*strftime")
4253
Bram Moolenaar8f999f12005-01-25 22:12:55 +00004254stridx({haystack}, {needle} [, {start}]) *stridx()*
4255 The result is a Number, which gives the byte index in
4256 {haystack} of the first occurrence of the String {needle}.
Bram Moolenaar677ee682005-01-27 14:41:15 +00004257 If {start} is specified, the search starts at index {start}.
4258 This can be used to find a second match: >
4259 :let comma1 = stridx(line, ",")
4260 :let comma2 = stridx(line, ",", comma1 + 1)
4261< The search is done case-sensitive.
Bram Moolenaare2cc9702005-03-15 22:43:58 +00004262 For pattern searches use |match()|.
Bram Moolenaar8f999f12005-01-25 22:12:55 +00004263 -1 is returned if the {needle} does not occur in {haystack}.
Bram Moolenaar677ee682005-01-27 14:41:15 +00004264 See also |strridx()|.
4265 Examples: >
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004266 :echo stridx("An Example", "Example") 3
4267 :echo stridx("Starting point", "Start") 0
4268 :echo stridx("Starting point", "start") -1
Bram Moolenaar05159a02005-02-26 23:04:13 +00004269< *strstr()* *strchr()*
4270 stridx() works similar to the C function strstr(). When used
4271 with a single character it works similar to strchr().
4272
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00004273 *string()*
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00004274string({expr}) Return {expr} converted to a String. If {expr} is a Number,
4275 String or a composition of them, then the result can be parsed
4276 back with |eval()|.
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00004277 {expr} type result ~
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +00004278 String 'string'
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00004279 Number 123
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +00004280 Funcref function('name')
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00004281 List [item, item]
Bram Moolenaar9ba0eb82005-06-13 22:28:56 +00004282 Dictionary {key: value, key: value}
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +00004283 Note that in String values the ' character is doubled.
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00004284
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004285 *strlen()*
4286strlen({expr}) The result is a Number, which is the length of the String
Bram Moolenaare344bea2005-09-01 20:46:49 +00004287 {expr} in bytes.
4288 If you want to count the number of multi-byte characters (not
4289 counting composing characters) use something like this: >
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004290
4291 :let len = strlen(substitute(str, ".", "x", "g"))
Bram Moolenaare344bea2005-09-01 20:46:49 +00004292<
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00004293 If the argument is a Number it is first converted to a String.
4294 For other types an error is given.
4295 Also see |len()|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004296
4297strpart({src}, {start}[, {len}]) *strpart()*
4298 The result is a String, which is part of {src}, starting from
Bram Moolenaar9372a112005-12-06 19:59:18 +00004299 byte {start}, with the byte length {len}.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004300 When non-existing bytes are included, this doesn't result in
4301 an error, the bytes are simply omitted.
4302 If {len} is missing, the copy continues from {start} till the
4303 end of the {src}. >
4304 strpart("abcdefg", 3, 2) == "de"
4305 strpart("abcdefg", -2, 4) == "ab"
4306 strpart("abcdefg", 5, 4) == "fg"
4307 strpart("abcdefg", 3) == "defg"
4308< Note: To get the first character, {start} must be 0. For
4309 example, to get three bytes under and after the cursor: >
4310 strpart(getline(line(".")), col(".") - 1, 3)
4311<
Bram Moolenaar677ee682005-01-27 14:41:15 +00004312strridx({haystack}, {needle} [, {start}]) *strridx()*
4313 The result is a Number, which gives the byte index in
4314 {haystack} of the last occurrence of the String {needle}.
4315 When {start} is specified, matches beyond this index are
4316 ignored. This can be used to find a match before a previous
4317 match: >
4318 :let lastcomma = strridx(line, ",")
4319 :let comma2 = strridx(line, ",", lastcomma - 1)
4320< The search is done case-sensitive.
Bram Moolenaar8f999f12005-01-25 22:12:55 +00004321 For pattern searches use |match()|.
4322 -1 is returned if the {needle} does not occur in {haystack}.
Bram Moolenaard4755bb2004-09-02 19:12:26 +00004323 If the {needle} is empty the length of {haystack} is returned.
Bram Moolenaar402d2fe2005-04-15 21:00:38 +00004324 See also |stridx()|. Examples: >
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004325 :echo strridx("an angry armadillo", "an") 3
Bram Moolenaar05159a02005-02-26 23:04:13 +00004326< *strrchr()*
4327 When used with a single character it works similar to the C
4328 function strrchr().
4329
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004330strtrans({expr}) *strtrans()*
4331 The result is a String, which is {expr} with all unprintable
4332 characters translated into printable characters |'isprint'|.
4333 Like they are shown in a window. Example: >
4334 echo strtrans(@a)
4335< This displays a newline in register a as "^@" instead of
4336 starting a new line.
4337
4338submatch({nr}) *submatch()*
4339 Only for an expression in a |:substitute| command. Returns
4340 the {nr}'th submatch of the matched text. When {nr} is 0
4341 the whole matched text is returned.
4342 Example: >
4343 :s/\d\+/\=submatch(0) + 1/
4344< This finds the first number in the line and adds one to it.
4345 A line break is included as a newline character.
4346
4347substitute({expr}, {pat}, {sub}, {flags}) *substitute()*
4348 The result is a String, which is a copy of {expr}, in which
4349 the first match of {pat} is replaced with {sub}. This works
4350 like the ":substitute" command (without any flags). But the
4351 matching with {pat} is always done like the 'magic' option is
4352 set and 'cpoptions' is empty (to make scripts portable).
4353 See |string-match| for how {pat} is used.
4354 And a "~" in {sub} is not replaced with the previous {sub}.
4355 Note that some codes in {sub} have a special meaning
4356 |sub-replace-special|. For example, to replace something with
4357 "\n" (two characters), use "\\\\n" or '\\n'.
4358 When {pat} does not match in {expr}, {expr} is returned
4359 unmodified.
4360 When {flags} is "g", all matches of {pat} in {expr} are
4361 replaced. Otherwise {flags} should be "".
4362 Example: >
4363 :let &path = substitute(&path, ",\\=[^,]*$", "", "")
4364< This removes the last component of the 'path' option. >
4365 :echo substitute("testing", ".*", "\\U\\0", "")
4366< results in "TESTING".
4367
Bram Moolenaar47136d72004-10-12 20:02:24 +00004368synID({lnum}, {col}, {trans}) *synID()*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004369 The result is a Number, which is the syntax ID at the position
Bram Moolenaar47136d72004-10-12 20:02:24 +00004370 {lnum} and {col} in the current window.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004371 The syntax ID can be used with |synIDattr()| and
4372 |synIDtrans()| to obtain syntax information about text.
Bram Moolenaarce0842a2005-07-18 21:58:11 +00004373
Bram Moolenaar47136d72004-10-12 20:02:24 +00004374 {col} is 1 for the leftmost column, {lnum} is 1 for the first
Bram Moolenaarce0842a2005-07-18 21:58:11 +00004375 line. 'synmaxcol' applies, in a longer line zero is returned.
4376
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004377 When {trans} is non-zero, transparent items are reduced to the
4378 item that they reveal. This is useful when wanting to know
4379 the effective color. When {trans} is zero, the transparent
4380 item is returned. This is useful when wanting to know which
4381 syntax item is effective (e.g. inside parens).
4382 Warning: This function can be very slow. Best speed is
4383 obtained by going through the file in forward direction.
4384
4385 Example (echoes the name of the syntax item under the cursor): >
4386 :echo synIDattr(synID(line("."), col("."), 1), "name")
4387<
4388synIDattr({synID}, {what} [, {mode}]) *synIDattr()*
4389 The result is a String, which is the {what} attribute of
4390 syntax ID {synID}. This can be used to obtain information
4391 about a syntax item.
4392 {mode} can be "gui", "cterm" or "term", to get the attributes
4393 for that mode. When {mode} is omitted, or an invalid value is
4394 used, the attributes for the currently active highlighting are
4395 used (GUI, cterm or term).
4396 Use synIDtrans() to follow linked highlight groups.
4397 {what} result
4398 "name" the name of the syntax item
4399 "fg" foreground color (GUI: color name used to set
4400 the color, cterm: color number as a string,
4401 term: empty string)
4402 "bg" background color (like "fg")
4403 "fg#" like "fg", but for the GUI and the GUI is
4404 running the name in "#RRGGBB" form
4405 "bg#" like "fg#" for "bg"
4406 "bold" "1" if bold
4407 "italic" "1" if italic
4408 "reverse" "1" if reverse
4409 "inverse" "1" if inverse (= reverse)
4410 "underline" "1" if underlined
Bram Moolenaare2cc9702005-03-15 22:43:58 +00004411 "undercurl" "1" if undercurled
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004412
4413 Example (echoes the color of the syntax item under the
4414 cursor): >
4415 :echo synIDattr(synIDtrans(synID(line("."), col("."), 1)), "fg")
4416<
4417synIDtrans({synID}) *synIDtrans()*
4418 The result is a Number, which is the translated syntax ID of
4419 {synID}. This is the syntax group ID of what is being used to
4420 highlight the character. Highlight links given with
4421 ":highlight link" are followed.
4422
Bram Moolenaarc0197e22004-09-13 20:26:32 +00004423system({expr} [, {input}]) *system()* *E677*
4424 Get the output of the shell command {expr}.
4425 When {input} is given, this string is written to a file and
4426 passed as stdin to the command. The string is written as-is,
4427 you need to take care of using the correct line separators
Bram Moolenaar05159a02005-02-26 23:04:13 +00004428 yourself. Pipes are not used.
Bram Moolenaarc0197e22004-09-13 20:26:32 +00004429 Note: newlines in {expr} may cause the command to fail. The
4430 characters in 'shellquote' and 'shellxquote' may also cause
4431 trouble.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004432 This is not to be used for interactive commands.
4433 The result is a String. Example: >
4434
4435 :let files = system("ls")
4436
4437< To make the result more system-independent, the shell output
4438 is filtered to replace <CR> with <NL> for Macintosh, and
4439 <CR><NL> with <NL> for DOS-like systems.
4440 The command executed is constructed using several options:
4441 'shell' 'shellcmdflag' 'shellxquote' {expr} 'shellredir' {tmp} 'shellxquote'
4442 ({tmp} is an automatically generated file name).
4443 For Unix and OS/2 braces are put around {expr} to allow for
4444 concatenated commands.
4445
4446 The resulting error code can be found in |v:shell_error|.
4447 This function will fail in |restricted-mode|.
Bram Moolenaar4770d092006-01-12 23:22:24 +00004448
4449 Note that any wrong value in the options mentioned above may
4450 make the function fail. It has also been reported to fail
4451 when using a security agent application.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004452 Unlike ":!cmd" there is no automatic check for changed files.
4453 Use |:checktime| to force a check.
4454
Bram Moolenaare2cc9702005-03-15 22:43:58 +00004455
Bram Moolenaarfaa959a2006-02-20 21:37:40 +00004456tabpagebuflist([{arg}]) *tabpagebuflist()*
4457 The result is a List, where each item is the number of the
4458 buffer associated with each window in the current tab page.
4459 {arg} specifies the number of tab page to be used. When
4460 omitted the current tab page is used.
4461 When {arg} is invalid the number zero is returned.
4462 To get a list of all buffers in all tabs use this: >
4463 tablist = []
4464 for i in range(tabpagenr('$'))
4465 call extend(tablist, tabpagebuflist(i + 1))
4466 endfor
4467< Note that a buffer may appear in more than one window.
4468
4469
4470tabpagenr([{arg}]) *tabpagenr()*
Bram Moolenaar7e8fd632006-02-18 22:14:51 +00004471 The result is a Number, which is the number of the current
4472 tab page. The first tab page has number 1.
4473 When the optional argument is "$", the number of the last tab
4474 page is returned (the tab page count).
4475 The number can be used with the |:tab| command.
4476
4477
Bram Moolenaarfaa959a2006-02-20 21:37:40 +00004478tabpagewinnr({tabarg}, [{arg}]) *tabpagewinnr()*
4479 Like |winnr()| but for tab page {arg}.
4480 {tabarg} specifies the number of tab page to be used.
4481 {arg} is used like with |winnr()|:
4482 - When omitted the current window number is returned. This is
4483 the window which will be used when going to this tab page.
4484 - When "$" the number of windows is returned.
4485 - When "#" the previous window nr is returned.
4486 Useful examples: >
4487 tabpagewinnr(1) " current window of tab page 1
4488 tabpagewinnr(4, '$') " number of windows in tab page 4
4489< When {tabarg} is invalid zero is returned.
4490
Bram Moolenaare2cc9702005-03-15 22:43:58 +00004491taglist({expr}) *taglist()*
4492 Returns a list of tags matching the regular expression {expr}.
Bram Moolenaard8c00872005-07-22 21:52:15 +00004493 Each list item is a dictionary with at least the following
4494 entries:
Bram Moolenaar280f1262006-01-30 00:14:18 +00004495 name Name of the tag.
4496 filename Name of the file where the tag is
Bram Moolenaare2cc9702005-03-15 22:43:58 +00004497 defined.
4498 cmd Ex command used to locate the tag in
4499 the file.
Bram Moolenaar280f1262006-01-30 00:14:18 +00004500 kind Type of the tag. The value for this
Bram Moolenaare2cc9702005-03-15 22:43:58 +00004501 entry depends on the language specific
4502 kind values generated by the ctags
4503 tool.
Bram Moolenaar280f1262006-01-30 00:14:18 +00004504 static A file specific tag. Refer to
Bram Moolenaare2cc9702005-03-15 22:43:58 +00004505 |static-tag| for more information.
Bram Moolenaar4317d9b2005-03-18 20:25:31 +00004506 The "kind" entry is only available when using Exuberant ctags
4507 generated tags file. More entries may be present, depending
4508 on the content of the tags file: access, implementation,
4509 inherits and signature. Refer to the ctags documentation for
4510 information about these fields. For C code the fields
4511 "struct", "class" and "enum" may appear, they give the name of
4512 the entity the tag is contained in.
Bram Moolenaar5a8684e2005-07-30 22:43:24 +00004513
Bram Moolenaar4317d9b2005-03-18 20:25:31 +00004514 The ex-command 'cmd' can be either an ex search pattern, a
4515 line number or a line number followed by a byte number.
Bram Moolenaare2cc9702005-03-15 22:43:58 +00004516
4517 If there are no matching tags, then an empty list is returned.
4518
4519 To get an exact tag match, the anchors '^' and '$' should be
4520 used in {expr}. Refer to |tag-regexp| for more information
4521 about the tag search regular expression pattern.
4522
4523 Refer to |'tags'| for information about how the tags file is
4524 located by Vim. Refer to |tags-file-format| for the format of
4525 the tags file generated by the different ctags tools.
4526
Bram Moolenaar578b49e2005-09-10 19:22:57 +00004527 *tagfiles()*
Bram Moolenaare7eb9df2005-09-09 19:49:30 +00004528tagfiles() Returns a List with the file names used to search for tags for
4529 the current buffer. This is the 'tags' option expanded.
4530
Bram Moolenaare2cc9702005-03-15 22:43:58 +00004531
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004532tempname() *tempname()* *temp-file-name*
4533 The result is a String, which is the name of a file that
4534 doesn't exist. It can be used for a temporary file. The name
4535 is different for at least 26 consecutive calls. Example: >
4536 :let tmpfile = tempname()
4537 :exe "redir > " . tmpfile
4538< For Unix, the file will be in a private directory (only
4539 accessible by the current user) to avoid security problems
4540 (e.g., a symlink attack or other people reading your file).
4541 When Vim exits the directory and all files in it are deleted.
4542 For MS-Windows forward slashes are used when the 'shellslash'
4543 option is set or when 'shellcmdflag' starts with '-'.
4544
4545tolower({expr}) *tolower()*
4546 The result is a copy of the String given, with all uppercase
4547 characters turned into lowercase (just like applying |gu| to
4548 the string).
4549
4550toupper({expr}) *toupper()*
4551 The result is a copy of the String given, with all lowercase
4552 characters turned into uppercase (just like applying |gU| to
4553 the string).
4554
Bram Moolenaar8299df92004-07-10 09:47:34 +00004555tr({src}, {fromstr}, {tostr}) *tr()*
4556 The result is a copy of the {src} string with all characters
4557 which appear in {fromstr} replaced by the character in that
4558 position in the {tostr} string. Thus the first character in
4559 {fromstr} is translated into the first character in {tostr}
4560 and so on. Exactly like the unix "tr" command.
4561 This code also deals with multibyte characters properly.
4562
4563 Examples: >
4564 echo tr("hello there", "ht", "HT")
4565< returns "Hello THere" >
4566 echo tr("<blob>", "<>", "{}")
4567< returns "{blob}"
4568
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +00004569 *type()*
4570type({expr}) The result is a Number, depending on the type of {expr}:
Bram Moolenaar748bf032005-02-02 23:04:36 +00004571 Number: 0
4572 String: 1
4573 Funcref: 2
4574 List: 3
4575 Dictionary: 4
4576 To avoid the magic numbers it should be used this way: >
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +00004577 :if type(myvar) == type(0)
4578 :if type(myvar) == type("")
4579 :if type(myvar) == type(function("tr"))
4580 :if type(myvar) == type([])
Bram Moolenaar748bf032005-02-02 23:04:36 +00004581 :if type(myvar) == type({})
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004582
Bram Moolenaar677ee682005-01-27 14:41:15 +00004583values({dict}) *values()*
4584 Return a List with all the values of {dict}. The List is in
4585 arbitrary order.
4586
4587
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004588virtcol({expr}) *virtcol()*
4589 The result is a Number, which is the screen column of the file
4590 position given with {expr}. That is, the last screen position
4591 occupied by the character at that position, when the screen
4592 would be of unlimited width. When there is a <Tab> at the
4593 position, the returned Number will be the column at the end of
4594 the <Tab>. For example, for a <Tab> in column 1, with 'ts'
4595 set to 8, it returns 8.
4596 For the byte position use |col()|.
4597 When Virtual editing is active in the current mode, a position
4598 beyond the end of the line can be returned. |'virtualedit'|
4599 The accepted positions are:
4600 . the cursor position
4601 $ the end of the cursor line (the result is the
4602 number of displayed characters in the cursor line
4603 plus one)
4604 'x position of mark x (if the mark is not set, 0 is
4605 returned)
4606 Note that only marks in the current file can be used.
4607 Examples: >
4608 virtcol(".") with text "foo^Lbar", with cursor on the "^L", returns 5
4609 virtcol("$") with text "foo^Lbar", returns 9
4610 virtcol("'t") with text " there", with 't at 'h', returns 6
4611< The first column is 1. 0 is returned for an error.
4612
4613visualmode([expr]) *visualmode()*
4614 The result is a String, which describes the last Visual mode
4615 used. Initially it returns an empty string, but once Visual
4616 mode has been used, it returns "v", "V", or "<CTRL-V>" (a
4617 single CTRL-V character) for character-wise, line-wise, or
4618 block-wise Visual mode respectively.
4619 Example: >
4620 :exe "normal " . visualmode()
4621< This enters the same Visual mode as before. It is also useful
4622 in scripts if you wish to act differently depending on the
4623 Visual mode that was used.
4624
4625 If an expression is supplied that results in a non-zero number
4626 or a non-empty string, then the Visual mode will be cleared
4627 and the old value is returned. Note that " " and "0" are also
4628 non-empty strings, thus cause the mode to be cleared.
4629
4630 *winbufnr()*
4631winbufnr({nr}) The result is a Number, which is the number of the buffer
Bram Moolenaar402d2fe2005-04-15 21:00:38 +00004632 associated with window {nr}. When {nr} is zero, the number of
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004633 the buffer in the current window is returned. When window
4634 {nr} doesn't exist, -1 is returned.
4635 Example: >
4636 :echo "The file in the current window is " . bufname(winbufnr(0))
4637<
4638 *wincol()*
4639wincol() The result is a Number, which is the virtual column of the
4640 cursor in the window. This is counting screen cells from the
4641 left side of the window. The leftmost column is one.
4642
4643winheight({nr}) *winheight()*
4644 The result is a Number, which is the height of window {nr}.
4645 When {nr} is zero, the height of the current window is
4646 returned. When window {nr} doesn't exist, -1 is returned.
4647 An existing window always has a height of zero or more.
4648 Examples: >
4649 :echo "The current window has " . winheight(0) . " lines."
4650<
4651 *winline()*
4652winline() The result is a Number, which is the screen line of the cursor
4653 in the window. This is counting screen lines from the top of
4654 the window. The first line is one.
Bram Moolenaarbfd8fc02005-09-20 23:22:24 +00004655 If the cursor was moved the view on the file will be updated
4656 first, this may cause a scroll.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004657
4658 *winnr()*
Bram Moolenaar5eb86f92004-07-26 12:53:41 +00004659winnr([{arg}]) The result is a Number, which is the number of the current
4660 window. The top window has number 1.
4661 When the optional argument is "$", the number of the
Bram Moolenaar7e8fd632006-02-18 22:14:51 +00004662 last window is returned (the window count).
Bram Moolenaar5eb86f92004-07-26 12:53:41 +00004663 When the optional argument is "#", the number of the last
4664 accessed window is returned (where |CTRL-W_p| goes to).
4665 If there is no previous window 0 is returned.
4666 The number can be used with |CTRL-W_w| and ":wincmd w"
4667 |:wincmd|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004668
4669 *winrestcmd()*
4670winrestcmd() Returns a sequence of |:resize| commands that should restore
4671 the current window sizes. Only works properly when no windows
4672 are opened or closed and the current window is unchanged.
4673 Example: >
4674 :let cmd = winrestcmd()
4675 :call MessWithWindowSizes()
4676 :exe cmd
4677
4678winwidth({nr}) *winwidth()*
4679 The result is a Number, which is the width of window {nr}.
4680 When {nr} is zero, the width of the current window is
4681 returned. When window {nr} doesn't exist, -1 is returned.
4682 An existing window always has a width of zero or more.
4683 Examples: >
4684 :echo "The current window has " . winwidth(0) . " columns."
4685 :if winwidth(0) <= 50
4686 : exe "normal 50\<C-W>|"
4687 :endif
4688<
Bram Moolenaar3a7c85b2005-02-05 21:39:53 +00004689 *writefile()*
4690writefile({list}, {fname} [, {binary}])
4691 Write List {list} to file {fname}. Each list item is
4692 separated with a NL. Each list item must be a String or
4693 Number.
4694 When {binary} is equal to "b" binary mode is used: There will
4695 not be a NL after the last list item. An empty item at the
4696 end does cause the last line in the file to end in a NL.
4697 All NL characters are replaced with a NUL character.
4698 Inserting CR characters needs to be done before passing {list}
4699 to writefile().
4700 An existing file is overwritten, if possible.
4701 When the write fails -1 is returned, otherwise 0. There is an
4702 error message if the file can't be created or when writing
4703 fails.
4704 Also see |readfile()|.
4705 To copy a file byte for byte: >
4706 :let fl = readfile("foo", "b")
4707 :call writefile(fl, "foocopy", "b")
4708<
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004709
4710 *feature-list*
4711There are three types of features:
47121. Features that are only supported when they have been enabled when Vim
4713 was compiled |+feature-list|. Example: >
4714 :if has("cindent")
47152. Features that are only supported when certain conditions have been met.
4716 Example: >
4717 :if has("gui_running")
4718< *has-patch*
47193. Included patches. First check |v:version| for the version of Vim.
4720 Then the "patch123" feature means that patch 123 has been included for
4721 this version. Example (checking version 6.2.148 or later): >
4722 :if v:version > 602 || v:version == 602 && has("patch148")
4723
4724all_builtin_terms Compiled with all builtin terminals enabled.
4725amiga Amiga version of Vim.
4726arabic Compiled with Arabic support |Arabic|.
4727arp Compiled with ARP support (Amiga).
Bram Moolenaara9b1e742005-12-19 22:14:58 +00004728autocmd Compiled with autocommand support. |autocommand|
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004729balloon_eval Compiled with |balloon-eval| support.
Bram Moolenaar45360022005-07-21 21:08:21 +00004730balloon_multiline GUI supports multiline balloons.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004731beos BeOS version of Vim.
4732browse Compiled with |:browse| support, and browse() will
4733 work.
4734builtin_terms Compiled with some builtin terminals.
4735byte_offset Compiled with support for 'o' in 'statusline'
4736cindent Compiled with 'cindent' support.
4737clientserver Compiled with remote invocation support |clientserver|.
4738clipboard Compiled with 'clipboard' support.
4739cmdline_compl Compiled with |cmdline-completion| support.
4740cmdline_hist Compiled with |cmdline-history| support.
4741cmdline_info Compiled with 'showcmd' and 'ruler' support.
4742comments Compiled with |'comments'| support.
4743cryptv Compiled with encryption support |encryption|.
4744cscope Compiled with |cscope| support.
4745compatible Compiled to be very Vi compatible.
4746debug Compiled with "DEBUG" defined.
4747dialog_con Compiled with console dialog support.
4748dialog_gui Compiled with GUI dialog support.
4749diff Compiled with |vimdiff| and 'diff' support.
4750digraphs Compiled with support for digraphs.
4751dnd Compiled with support for the "~ register |quote_~|.
4752dos32 32 bits DOS (DJGPP) version of Vim.
4753dos16 16 bits DOS version of Vim.
4754ebcdic Compiled on a machine with ebcdic character set.
4755emacs_tags Compiled with support for Emacs tags.
4756eval Compiled with expression evaluation support. Always
4757 true, of course!
4758ex_extra Compiled with extra Ex commands |+ex_extra|.
4759extra_search Compiled with support for |'incsearch'| and
4760 |'hlsearch'|
4761farsi Compiled with Farsi support |farsi|.
4762file_in_path Compiled with support for |gf| and |<cfile>|
Bram Moolenaar26a60b42005-02-22 08:49:11 +00004763filterpipe When 'shelltemp' is off pipes are used for shell
4764 read/write/filter commands
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004765find_in_path Compiled with support for include file searches
4766 |+find_in_path|.
4767fname_case Case in file names matters (for Amiga, MS-DOS, and
4768 Windows this is not present).
4769folding Compiled with |folding| support.
4770footer Compiled with GUI footer support. |gui-footer|
4771fork Compiled to use fork()/exec() instead of system().
4772gettext Compiled with message translation |multi-lang|
4773gui Compiled with GUI enabled.
4774gui_athena Compiled with Athena GUI.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004775gui_gtk Compiled with GTK+ GUI (any version).
4776gui_gtk2 Compiled with GTK+ 2 GUI (gui_gtk is also defined).
Bram Moolenaar843ee412004-06-30 16:16:41 +00004777gui_kde Compiled with KDE GUI |KVim|
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004778gui_mac Compiled with Macintosh GUI.
4779gui_motif Compiled with Motif GUI.
4780gui_photon Compiled with Photon GUI.
4781gui_win32 Compiled with MS Windows Win32 GUI.
4782gui_win32s idem, and Win32s system being used (Windows 3.1)
4783gui_running Vim is running in the GUI, or it will start soon.
4784hangul_input Compiled with Hangul input support. |hangul|
4785iconv Can use iconv() for conversion.
4786insert_expand Compiled with support for CTRL-X expansion commands in
4787 Insert mode.
4788jumplist Compiled with |jumplist| support.
4789keymap Compiled with 'keymap' support.
4790langmap Compiled with 'langmap' support.
4791libcall Compiled with |libcall()| support.
4792linebreak Compiled with 'linebreak', 'breakat' and 'showbreak'
4793 support.
4794lispindent Compiled with support for lisp indenting.
4795listcmds Compiled with commands for the buffer list |:files|
4796 and the argument list |arglist|.
4797localmap Compiled with local mappings and abbr. |:map-local|
4798mac Macintosh version of Vim.
4799macunix Macintosh version of Vim, using Unix files (OS-X).
4800menu Compiled with support for |:menu|.
4801mksession Compiled with support for |:mksession|.
4802modify_fname Compiled with file name modifiers. |filename-modifiers|
4803mouse Compiled with support mouse.
4804mouseshape Compiled with support for 'mouseshape'.
4805mouse_dec Compiled with support for Dec terminal mouse.
4806mouse_gpm Compiled with support for gpm (Linux console mouse)
4807mouse_netterm Compiled with support for netterm mouse.
4808mouse_pterm Compiled with support for qnx pterm mouse.
4809mouse_xterm Compiled with support for xterm mouse.
4810multi_byte Compiled with support for editing Korean et al.
4811multi_byte_ime Compiled with support for IME input method.
4812multi_lang Compiled with support for multiple languages.
Bram Moolenaar325b7a22004-07-05 15:58:32 +00004813mzscheme Compiled with MzScheme interface |mzscheme|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004814netbeans_intg Compiled with support for |netbeans|.
Bram Moolenaar009b2592004-10-24 19:18:58 +00004815netbeans_enabled Compiled with support for |netbeans| and it's used.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004816ole Compiled with OLE automation support for Win32.
4817os2 OS/2 version of Vim.
4818osfiletype Compiled with support for osfiletypes |+osfiletype|
4819path_extra Compiled with up/downwards search in 'path' and 'tags'
4820perl Compiled with Perl interface.
4821postscript Compiled with PostScript file printing.
4822printer Compiled with |:hardcopy| support.
Bram Moolenaar05159a02005-02-26 23:04:13 +00004823profile Compiled with |:profile| support.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004824python Compiled with Python interface.
4825qnx QNX version of Vim.
4826quickfix Compiled with |quickfix| support.
4827rightleft Compiled with 'rightleft' support.
4828ruby Compiled with Ruby interface |ruby|.
4829scrollbind Compiled with 'scrollbind' support.
4830showcmd Compiled with 'showcmd' support.
4831signs Compiled with |:sign| support.
4832smartindent Compiled with 'smartindent' support.
Bram Moolenaar69a7cb42004-06-20 12:51:53 +00004833sniff Compiled with SNiFF interface support.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004834statusline Compiled with support for 'statusline', 'rulerformat'
4835 and special formats of 'titlestring' and 'iconstring'.
4836sun_workshop Compiled with support for Sun |workshop|.
Bram Moolenaar82cf9b62005-06-07 21:09:25 +00004837spell Compiled with spell checking support |spell|.
4838syntax Compiled with syntax highlighting support |syntax|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004839syntax_items There are active syntax highlighting items for the
4840 current buffer.
4841system Compiled to use system() instead of fork()/exec().
4842tag_binary Compiled with binary searching in tags files
4843 |tag-binary-search|.
4844tag_old_static Compiled with support for old static tags
4845 |tag-old-static|.
4846tag_any_white Compiled with support for any white characters in tags
4847 files |tag-any-white|.
4848tcl Compiled with Tcl interface.
4849terminfo Compiled with terminfo instead of termcap.
4850termresponse Compiled with support for |t_RV| and |v:termresponse|.
4851textobjects Compiled with support for |text-objects|.
4852tgetent Compiled with tgetent support, able to use a termcap
4853 or terminfo file.
4854title Compiled with window title support |'title'|.
4855toolbar Compiled with support for |gui-toolbar|.
4856unix Unix version of Vim.
4857user_commands User-defined commands.
4858viminfo Compiled with viminfo support.
4859vim_starting True while initial source'ing takes place.
4860vertsplit Compiled with vertically split windows |:vsplit|.
4861virtualedit Compiled with 'virtualedit' option.
4862visual Compiled with Visual mode.
4863visualextra Compiled with extra Visual mode commands.
4864 |blockwise-operators|.
4865vms VMS version of Vim.
4866vreplace Compiled with |gR| and |gr| commands.
4867wildignore Compiled with 'wildignore' option.
4868wildmenu Compiled with 'wildmenu' option.
4869windows Compiled with support for more than one window.
4870winaltkeys Compiled with 'winaltkeys' option.
4871win16 Win16 version of Vim (MS-Windows 3.1).
4872win32 Win32 version of Vim (MS-Windows 95/98/ME/NT/2000/XP).
4873win64 Win64 version of Vim (MS-Windows 64 bit).
4874win32unix Win32 version of Vim, using Unix files (Cygwin)
4875win95 Win32 version for MS-Windows 95/98/ME.
4876writebackup Compiled with 'writebackup' default on.
4877xfontset Compiled with X fontset support |xfontset|.
4878xim Compiled with X input method support |xim|.
4879xsmp Compiled with X session management support.
4880xsmp_interact Compiled with interactive X session management support.
4881xterm_clipboard Compiled with support for xterm clipboard.
4882xterm_save Compiled with support for saving and restoring the
4883 xterm screen.
4884x11 Compiled with X11 support.
4885
4886 *string-match*
4887Matching a pattern in a String
4888
4889A regexp pattern as explained at |pattern| is normally used to find a match in
4890the buffer lines. When a pattern is used to find a match in a String, almost
4891everything works in the same way. The difference is that a String is handled
4892like it is one line. When it contains a "\n" character, this is not seen as a
4893line break for the pattern. It can be matched with a "\n" in the pattern, or
4894with ".". Example: >
4895 :let a = "aaaa\nxxxx"
4896 :echo matchstr(a, "..\n..")
4897 aa
4898 xx
4899 :echo matchstr(a, "a.x")
4900 a
4901 x
4902
4903Don't forget that "^" will only match at the first character of the String and
4904"$" at the last character of the string. They don't match after or before a
4905"\n".
4906
4907==============================================================================
49085. Defining functions *user-functions*
4909
4910New functions can be defined. These can be called just like builtin
4911functions. The function executes a sequence of Ex commands. Normal mode
4912commands can be executed with the |:normal| command.
4913
4914The function name must start with an uppercase letter, to avoid confusion with
4915builtin functions. To prevent from using the same name in different scripts
4916avoid obvious, short names. A good habit is to start the function name with
4917the name of the script, e.g., "HTMLcolor()".
4918
Bram Moolenaar92d640f2005-09-05 22:11:52 +00004919It's also possible to use curly braces, see |curly-braces-names|. And the
4920|autoload| facility is useful to define a function only when it's called.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004921
4922 *local-function*
4923A function local to a script must start with "s:". A local script function
4924can only be called from within the script and from functions, user commands
4925and autocommands defined in the script. It is also possible to call the
4926function from a mappings defined in the script, but then |<SID>| must be used
4927instead of "s:" when the mapping is expanded outside of the script.
4928
4929 *:fu* *:function* *E128* *E129* *E123*
4930:fu[nction] List all functions and their arguments.
4931
4932:fu[nction] {name} List function {name}.
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00004933 {name} can also be a Dictionary entry that is a
4934 Funcref: >
4935 :function dict.init
Bram Moolenaar92d640f2005-09-05 22:11:52 +00004936
4937:fu[nction] /{pattern} List functions with a name matching {pattern}.
4938 Example that lists all functions ending with "File": >
4939 :function /File$
Bram Moolenaar5b8d8fd2005-08-16 23:01:50 +00004940<
4941 *:function-verbose*
4942When 'verbose' is non-zero, listing a function will also display where it was
4943last defined. Example: >
4944
4945 :verbose function SetFileTypeSH
4946 function SetFileTypeSH(name)
4947 Last set from /usr/share/vim/vim-7.0/filetype.vim
4948<
Bram Moolenaar8aff23a2005-08-19 20:40:30 +00004949See |:verbose-cmd| for more information.
Bram Moolenaar5b8d8fd2005-08-16 23:01:50 +00004950
4951 *E124* *E125*
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00004952:fu[nction][!] {name}([arguments]) [range] [abort] [dict]
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004953 Define a new function by the name {name}. The name
4954 must be made of alphanumeric characters and '_', and
4955 must start with a capital or "s:" (see above).
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00004956
4957 {name} can also be a Dictionary entry that is a
4958 Funcref: >
4959 :function dict.init(arg)
4960< "dict" must be an existing dictionary. The entry
4961 "init" is added if it didn't exist yet. Otherwise [!]
4962 is required to overwrite an existing function. The
4963 result is a |Funcref| to a numbered function. The
4964 function can only be used with a |Funcref| and will be
4965 deleted if there are no more references to it.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004966 *E127* *E122*
4967 When a function by this name already exists and [!] is
4968 not used an error message is given. When [!] is used,
4969 an existing function is silently replaced. Unless it
4970 is currently being executed, that is an error.
Bram Moolenaar8f999f12005-01-25 22:12:55 +00004971
4972 For the {arguments} see |function-argument|.
4973
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004974 *a:firstline* *a:lastline*
4975 When the [range] argument is added, the function is
4976 expected to take care of a range itself. The range is
4977 passed as "a:firstline" and "a:lastline". If [range]
4978 is excluded, ":{range}call" will call the function for
4979 each line in the range, with the cursor on the start
4980 of each line. See |function-range-example|.
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00004981
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004982 When the [abort] argument is added, the function will
4983 abort as soon as an error is detected.
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00004984
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00004985 When the [dict] argument is added, the function must
4986 be invoked through an entry in a Dictionary. The
4987 local variable "self" will then be set to the
4988 dictionary. See |Dictionary-function|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004989
Bram Moolenaar98692072006-02-04 00:57:42 +00004990 The last used search pattern and the redo command "."
4991 will not be changed by the function.
4992
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004993 *:endf* *:endfunction* *E126* *E193*
4994:endf[unction] The end of a function definition. Must be on a line
4995 by its own, without other commands.
4996
4997 *:delf* *:delfunction* *E130* *E131*
4998:delf[unction] {name} Delete function {name}.
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00004999 {name} can also be a Dictionary entry that is a
5000 Funcref: >
5001 :delfunc dict.init
5002< This will remove the "init" entry from "dict". The
5003 function is deleted if there are no more references to
5004 it.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005005 *:retu* *:return* *E133*
5006:retu[rn] [expr] Return from a function. When "[expr]" is given, it is
5007 evaluated and returned as the result of the function.
5008 If "[expr]" is not given, the number 0 is returned.
5009 When a function ends without an explicit ":return",
5010 the number 0 is returned.
5011 Note that there is no check for unreachable lines,
5012 thus there is no warning if commands follow ":return".
5013
5014 If the ":return" is used after a |:try| but before the
5015 matching |:finally| (if present), the commands
5016 following the ":finally" up to the matching |:endtry|
5017 are executed first. This process applies to all
5018 nested ":try"s inside the function. The function
5019 returns at the outermost ":endtry".
5020
Bram Moolenaar8f999f12005-01-25 22:12:55 +00005021 *function-argument* *a:var*
5022An argument can be defined by giving its name. In the function this can then
5023be used as "a:name" ("a:" for argument).
5024 *a:0* *a:1* *a:000* *E740*
5025Up to 20 arguments can be given, separated by commas. After the named
5026arguments an argument "..." can be specified, which means that more arguments
5027may optionally be following. In the function the extra arguments can be used
5028as "a:1", "a:2", etc. "a:0" is set to the number of extra arguments (which
Bram Moolenaar2ce06f62005-01-31 19:19:04 +00005029can be 0). "a:000" is set to a List that contains these arguments. Note that
5030"a:1" is the same as "a:000[0]".
5031 *E742*
5032The a: scope and the variables in it cannot be changed, they are fixed.
5033However, if a List or Dictionary is used, you can changes their contents.
5034Thus you can pass a List to a function and have the function add an item to
5035it. If you want to make sure the function cannot change a List or Dictionary
5036use |:lockvar|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005037
Bram Moolenaar8f999f12005-01-25 22:12:55 +00005038When not using "...", the number of arguments in a function call must be equal
5039to the number of named arguments. When using "...", the number of arguments
5040may be larger.
5041
5042It is also possible to define a function without any arguments. You must
5043still supply the () then. The body of the function follows in the next lines,
5044until the matching |:endfunction|. It is allowed to define another function
5045inside a function body.
5046
5047 *local-variables*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005048Inside a function variables can be used. These are local variables, which
5049will disappear when the function returns. Global variables need to be
5050accessed with "g:".
5051
5052Example: >
5053 :function Table(title, ...)
5054 : echohl Title
5055 : echo a:title
5056 : echohl None
Bram Moolenaar677ee682005-01-27 14:41:15 +00005057 : echo a:0 . " items:"
5058 : for s in a:000
5059 : echon ' ' . s
5060 : endfor
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005061 :endfunction
5062
5063This function can then be called with: >
Bram Moolenaar677ee682005-01-27 14:41:15 +00005064 call Table("Table", "line1", "line2")
5065 call Table("Empty Table")
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005066
5067To return more than one value, pass the name of a global variable: >
5068 :function Compute(n1, n2, divname)
5069 : if a:n2 == 0
5070 : return "fail"
5071 : endif
5072 : let g:{a:divname} = a:n1 / a:n2
5073 : return "ok"
5074 :endfunction
5075
5076This function can then be called with: >
5077 :let success = Compute(13, 1324, "div")
5078 :if success == "ok"
5079 : echo div
5080 :endif
5081
5082An alternative is to return a command that can be executed. This also works
5083with local variables in a calling function. Example: >
5084 :function Foo()
5085 : execute Bar()
5086 : echo "line " . lnum . " column " . col
5087 :endfunction
5088
5089 :function Bar()
5090 : return "let lnum = " . line(".") . " | let col = " . col(".")
5091 :endfunction
5092
5093The names "lnum" and "col" could also be passed as argument to Bar(), to allow
5094the caller to set the names.
5095
5096 *:cal* *:call* *E107*
5097:[range]cal[l] {name}([arguments])
5098 Call a function. The name of the function and its arguments
5099 are as specified with |:function|. Up to 20 arguments can be
5100 used.
5101 Without a range and for functions that accept a range, the
5102 function is called once. When a range is given the cursor is
5103 positioned at the start of the first line before executing the
5104 function.
5105 When a range is given and the function doesn't handle it
5106 itself, the function is executed for each line in the range,
5107 with the cursor in the first column of that line. The cursor
5108 is left at the last line (possibly moved by the last function
5109 call). The arguments are re-evaluated for each line. Thus
5110 this works:
5111 *function-range-example* >
5112 :function Mynumber(arg)
5113 : echo line(".") . " " . a:arg
5114 :endfunction
5115 :1,5call Mynumber(getline("."))
5116<
5117 The "a:firstline" and "a:lastline" are defined anyway, they
5118 can be used to do something different at the start or end of
5119 the range.
5120
5121 Example of a function that handles the range itself: >
5122
5123 :function Cont() range
5124 : execute (a:firstline + 1) . "," . a:lastline . 's/^/\t\\ '
5125 :endfunction
5126 :4,8call Cont()
5127<
5128 This function inserts the continuation character "\" in front
5129 of all the lines in the range, except the first one.
5130
5131 *E132*
5132The recursiveness of user functions is restricted with the |'maxfuncdepth'|
5133option.
5134
Bram Moolenaar7c626922005-02-07 22:01:03 +00005135
5136AUTOMATICALLY LOADING FUNCTIONS ~
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005137 *autoload-functions*
5138When using many or large functions, it's possible to automatically define them
Bram Moolenaar7c626922005-02-07 22:01:03 +00005139only when they are used. There are two methods: with an autocommand and with
5140the "autoload" directory in 'runtimepath'.
5141
5142
5143Using an autocommand ~
5144
Bram Moolenaar05159a02005-02-26 23:04:13 +00005145This is introduced in the user manual, section |41.14|.
5146
Bram Moolenaar7c626922005-02-07 22:01:03 +00005147The autocommand is useful if you have a plugin that is a long Vim script file.
5148You can define the autocommand and quickly quit the script with |:finish|.
5149That makes Vim startup faster. The autocommand should then load the same file
5150again, setting a variable to skip the |:finish| command.
5151
5152Use the FuncUndefined autocommand event with a pattern that matches the
5153function(s) to be defined. Example: >
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005154
5155 :au FuncUndefined BufNet* source ~/vim/bufnetfuncs.vim
5156
5157The file "~/vim/bufnetfuncs.vim" should then define functions that start with
5158"BufNet". Also see |FuncUndefined|.
5159
Bram Moolenaar7c626922005-02-07 22:01:03 +00005160
5161Using an autoload script ~
Bram Moolenaar26a60b42005-02-22 08:49:11 +00005162 *autoload* *E746*
Bram Moolenaar05159a02005-02-26 23:04:13 +00005163This is introduced in the user manual, section |41.15|.
5164
Bram Moolenaar7c626922005-02-07 22:01:03 +00005165Using a script in the "autoload" directory is simpler, but requires using
5166exactly the right file name. A function that can be autoloaded has a name
5167like this: >
5168
Bram Moolenaara7fc0102005-05-18 22:17:12 +00005169 :call filename#funcname()
Bram Moolenaar7c626922005-02-07 22:01:03 +00005170
5171When such a function is called, and it is not defined yet, Vim will search the
5172"autoload" directories in 'runtimepath' for a script file called
5173"filename.vim". For example "~/.vim/autoload/filename.vim". That file should
5174then define the function like this: >
5175
Bram Moolenaara7fc0102005-05-18 22:17:12 +00005176 function filename#funcname()
Bram Moolenaar7c626922005-02-07 22:01:03 +00005177 echo "Done!"
5178 endfunction
5179
Bram Moolenaar60a795a2005-09-16 21:55:43 +00005180The file name and the name used before the # in the function must match
Bram Moolenaar7c626922005-02-07 22:01:03 +00005181exactly, and the defined function must have the name exactly as it will be
5182called.
5183
Bram Moolenaara7fc0102005-05-18 22:17:12 +00005184It is possible to use subdirectories. Every # in the function name works like
5185a path separator. Thus when calling a function: >
Bram Moolenaar7c626922005-02-07 22:01:03 +00005186
Bram Moolenaara7fc0102005-05-18 22:17:12 +00005187 :call foo#bar#func()
Bram Moolenaar7c626922005-02-07 22:01:03 +00005188
5189Vim will look for the file "autoload/foo/bar.vim" in 'runtimepath'.
5190
Bram Moolenaar26a60b42005-02-22 08:49:11 +00005191This also works when reading a variable that has not been set yet: >
5192
Bram Moolenaara7fc0102005-05-18 22:17:12 +00005193 :let l = foo#bar#lvar
Bram Moolenaar26a60b42005-02-22 08:49:11 +00005194
Bram Moolenaara5792f52005-11-23 21:25:05 +00005195However, when the autoload script was already loaded it won't be loaded again
5196for an unknown variable.
5197
Bram Moolenaar26a60b42005-02-22 08:49:11 +00005198When assigning a value to such a variable nothing special happens. This can
5199be used to pass settings to the autoload script before it's loaded: >
5200
Bram Moolenaara7fc0102005-05-18 22:17:12 +00005201 :let foo#bar#toggle = 1
5202 :call foo#bar#func()
Bram Moolenaar26a60b42005-02-22 08:49:11 +00005203
Bram Moolenaar4399ef42005-02-12 14:29:27 +00005204Note that when you make a mistake and call a function that is supposed to be
5205defined in an autoload script, but the script doesn't actually define the
5206function, the script will be sourced every time you try to call the function.
Bram Moolenaar26a60b42005-02-22 08:49:11 +00005207And you will get an error message every time.
5208
5209Also note that if you have two script files, and one calls a function in the
5210other and vise versa, before the used function is defined, it won't work.
5211Avoid using the autoload functionality at the toplevel.
Bram Moolenaar7c626922005-02-07 22:01:03 +00005212
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005213==============================================================================
52146. Curly braces names *curly-braces-names*
5215
5216Wherever you can use a variable, you can use a "curly braces name" variable.
5217This is a regular variable name with one or more expressions wrapped in braces
5218{} like this: >
5219 my_{adjective}_variable
5220
5221When Vim encounters this, it evaluates the expression inside the braces, puts
5222that in place of the expression, and re-interprets the whole as a variable
5223name. So in the above example, if the variable "adjective" was set to
5224"noisy", then the reference would be to "my_noisy_variable", whereas if
5225"adjective" was set to "quiet", then it would be to "my_quiet_variable".
5226
5227One application for this is to create a set of variables governed by an option
5228value. For example, the statement >
5229 echo my_{&background}_message
5230
5231would output the contents of "my_dark_message" or "my_light_message" depending
5232on the current value of 'background'.
5233
5234You can use multiple brace pairs: >
5235 echo my_{adverb}_{adjective}_message
5236..or even nest them: >
5237 echo my_{ad{end_of_word}}_message
5238where "end_of_word" is either "verb" or "jective".
5239
5240However, the expression inside the braces must evaluate to a valid single
Bram Moolenaar402d2fe2005-04-15 21:00:38 +00005241variable name, e.g. this is invalid: >
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005242 :let foo='a + b'
5243 :echo c{foo}d
5244.. since the result of expansion is "ca + bd", which is not a variable name.
5245
5246 *curly-braces-function-names*
5247You can call and define functions by an evaluated name in a similar way.
5248Example: >
5249 :let func_end='whizz'
5250 :call my_func_{func_end}(parameter)
5251
5252This would call the function "my_func_whizz(parameter)".
5253
5254==============================================================================
52557. Commands *expression-commands*
5256
5257:let {var-name} = {expr1} *:let* *E18*
5258 Set internal variable {var-name} to the result of the
5259 expression {expr1}. The variable will get the type
5260 from the {expr}. If {var-name} didn't exist yet, it
5261 is created.
5262
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +00005263:let {var-name}[{idx}] = {expr1} *E689*
5264 Set a list item to the result of the expression
5265 {expr1}. {var-name} must refer to a list and {idx}
5266 must be a valid index in that list. For nested list
5267 the index can be repeated.
5268 This cannot be used to add an item to a list.
5269
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00005270 *E711* *E719*
5271:let {var-name}[{idx1}:{idx2}] = {expr1} *E708* *E709* *E710*
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +00005272 Set a sequence of items in a List to the result of the
5273 expression {expr1}, which must be a list with the
5274 correct number of items.
5275 {idx1} can be omitted, zero is used instead.
5276 {idx2} can be omitted, meaning the end of the list.
5277 When the selected range of items is partly past the
5278 end of the list, items will be added.
5279
Bram Moolenaar748bf032005-02-02 23:04:36 +00005280 *:let+=* *:let-=* *:let.=* *E734*
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00005281:let {var} += {expr1} Like ":let {var} = {var} + {expr1}".
5282:let {var} -= {expr1} Like ":let {var} = {var} - {expr1}".
5283:let {var} .= {expr1} Like ":let {var} = {var} . {expr1}".
5284 These fail if {var} was not set yet and when the type
5285 of {var} and {expr1} don't fit the operator.
5286
5287
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005288:let ${env-name} = {expr1} *:let-environment* *:let-$*
5289 Set environment variable {env-name} to the result of
5290 the expression {expr1}. The type is always String.
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00005291:let ${env-name} .= {expr1}
5292 Append {expr1} to the environment variable {env-name}.
5293 If the environment variable didn't exist yet this
5294 works like "=".
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005295
5296:let @{reg-name} = {expr1} *:let-register* *:let-@*
5297 Write the result of the expression {expr1} in register
5298 {reg-name}. {reg-name} must be a single letter, and
5299 must be the name of a writable register (see
5300 |registers|). "@@" can be used for the unnamed
5301 register, "@/" for the search pattern.
5302 If the result of {expr1} ends in a <CR> or <NL>, the
5303 register will be linewise, otherwise it will be set to
5304 characterwise.
5305 This can be used to clear the last search pattern: >
5306 :let @/ = ""
5307< This is different from searching for an empty string,
5308 that would match everywhere.
5309
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00005310:let @{reg-name} .= {expr1}
5311 Append {expr1} to register {reg-name}. If the
5312 register was empty it's like setting it to {expr1}.
5313
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005314:let &{option-name} = {expr1} *:let-option* *:let-star*
5315 Set option {option-name} to the result of the
Bram Moolenaarfca34d62005-01-04 21:38:36 +00005316 expression {expr1}. A String or Number value is
5317 always converted to the type of the option.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005318 For an option local to a window or buffer the effect
5319 is just like using the |:set| command: both the local
Bram Moolenaara5fac542005-10-12 20:58:49 +00005320 value and the global value are changed.
Bram Moolenaarfca34d62005-01-04 21:38:36 +00005321 Example: >
5322 :let &path = &path . ',/usr/local/include'
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005323
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00005324:let &{option-name} .= {expr1}
5325 For a string option: Append {expr1} to the value.
5326 Does not insert a comma like |:set+=|.
5327
5328:let &{option-name} += {expr1}
5329:let &{option-name} -= {expr1}
5330 For a number or boolean option: Add or subtract
5331 {expr1}.
5332
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005333:let &l:{option-name} = {expr1}
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00005334:let &l:{option-name} .= {expr1}
5335:let &l:{option-name} += {expr1}
5336:let &l:{option-name} -= {expr1}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005337 Like above, but only set the local value of an option
5338 (if there is one). Works like |:setlocal|.
5339
5340:let &g:{option-name} = {expr1}
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00005341:let &g:{option-name} .= {expr1}
5342:let &g:{option-name} += {expr1}
5343:let &g:{option-name} -= {expr1}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005344 Like above, but only set the global value of an option
5345 (if there is one). Works like |:setglobal|.
5346
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +00005347:let [{name1}, {name2}, ...] = {expr1} *:let-unpack* *E687* *E688*
Bram Moolenaarfca34d62005-01-04 21:38:36 +00005348 {expr1} must evaluate to a List. The first item in
5349 the list is assigned to {name1}, the second item to
5350 {name2}, etc.
5351 The number of names must match the number of items in
5352 the List.
5353 Each name can be one of the items of the ":let"
5354 command as mentioned above.
5355 Example: >
5356 :let [s, item] = GetItem(s)
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00005357< Detail: {expr1} is evaluated first, then the
5358 assignments are done in sequence. This matters if
5359 {name2} depends on {name1}. Example: >
5360 :let x = [0, 1]
5361 :let i = 0
5362 :let [i, x[i]] = [1, 2]
5363 :echo x
5364< The result is [0, 2].
5365
5366:let [{name1}, {name2}, ...] .= {expr1}
5367:let [{name1}, {name2}, ...] += {expr1}
5368:let [{name1}, {name2}, ...] -= {expr1}
5369 Like above, but append/add/subtract the value for each
5370 List item.
Bram Moolenaarfca34d62005-01-04 21:38:36 +00005371
5372:let [{name}, ..., ; {lastname}] = {expr1}
Bram Moolenaar677ee682005-01-27 14:41:15 +00005373 Like |:let-unpack| above, but the List may have more
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00005374 items than there are names. A list of the remaining
5375 items is assigned to {lastname}. If there are no
5376 remaining items {lastname} is set to an empty list.
Bram Moolenaarfca34d62005-01-04 21:38:36 +00005377 Example: >
5378 :let [a, b; rest] = ["aval", "bval", 3, 4]
5379<
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00005380:let [{name}, ..., ; {lastname}] .= {expr1}
5381:let [{name}, ..., ; {lastname}] += {expr1}
5382:let [{name}, ..., ; {lastname}] -= {expr1}
5383 Like above, but append/add/subtract the value for each
5384 List item.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005385 *E106*
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00005386:let {var-name} .. List the value of variable {var-name}. Multiple
Bram Moolenaardcaf10e2005-01-21 11:55:25 +00005387 variable names may be given. Special names recognized
5388 here: *E738*
5389 g: global variables.
5390 b: local buffer variables.
5391 w: local window variables.
5392 v: Vim variables.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005393
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00005394:let List the values of all variables. The type of the
5395 variable is indicated before the value:
5396 <nothing> String
5397 # Number
5398 * Funcref
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005399
Bram Moolenaar2ce06f62005-01-31 19:19:04 +00005400
5401:unl[et][!] {name} ... *:unlet* *:unl* *E108*
5402 Remove the internal variable {name}. Several variable
5403 names can be given, they are all removed. The name
5404 may also be a List or Dictionary item.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005405 With [!] no error message is given for non-existing
5406 variables.
Bram Moolenaar9cd15162005-01-16 22:02:49 +00005407 One or more items from a List can be removed: >
5408 :unlet list[3] " remove fourth item
5409 :unlet list[3:] " remove fourth item to last
5410< One item from a Dictionary can be removed at a time: >
5411 :unlet dict['two']
5412 :unlet dict.two
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005413
Bram Moolenaar2ce06f62005-01-31 19:19:04 +00005414:lockv[ar][!] [depth] {name} ... *:lockvar* *:lockv*
5415 Lock the internal variable {name}. Locking means that
5416 it can no longer be changed (until it is unlocked).
5417 A locked variable can be deleted: >
5418 :lockvar v
5419 :let v = 'asdf' " fails!
5420 :unlet v
5421< *E741*
5422 If you try to change a locked variable you get an
5423 error message: "E741: Value of {name} is locked"
5424
5425 [depth] is relevant when locking a List or Dictionary.
5426 It specifies how deep the locking goes:
5427 1 Lock the List or Dictionary itself,
5428 cannot add or remove items, but can
5429 still change their values.
5430 2 Also lock the values, cannot change
5431 the items. If an item is a List or
5432 Dictionary, cannot add or remove
5433 items, but can still change the
5434 values.
5435 3 Like 2 but for the List/Dictionary in
5436 the List/Dictionary, one level deeper.
5437 The default [depth] is 2, thus when {name} is a List
5438 or Dictionary the values cannot be changed.
5439 *E743*
5440 For unlimited depth use [!] and omit [depth].
5441 However, there is a maximum depth of 100 to catch
5442 loops.
5443
5444 Note that when two variables refer to the same List
5445 and you lock one of them, the List will also be locked
5446 when used through the other variable. Example: >
5447 :let l = [0, 1, 2, 3]
5448 :let cl = l
5449 :lockvar l
5450 :let cl[1] = 99 " won't work!
5451< You may want to make a copy of a list to avoid this.
5452 See |deepcopy()|.
5453
5454
5455:unlo[ckvar][!] [depth] {name} ... *:unlockvar* *:unlo*
5456 Unlock the internal variable {name}. Does the
5457 opposite of |:lockvar|.
5458
5459
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005460:if {expr1} *:if* *:endif* *:en* *E171* *E579* *E580*
5461:en[dif] Execute the commands until the next matching ":else"
5462 or ":endif" if {expr1} evaluates to non-zero.
5463
5464 From Vim version 4.5 until 5.0, every Ex command in
5465 between the ":if" and ":endif" is ignored. These two
5466 commands were just to allow for future expansions in a
5467 backwards compatible way. Nesting was allowed. Note
5468 that any ":else" or ":elseif" was ignored, the "else"
5469 part was not executed either.
5470
5471 You can use this to remain compatible with older
5472 versions: >
5473 :if version >= 500
5474 : version-5-specific-commands
5475 :endif
5476< The commands still need to be parsed to find the
5477 "endif". Sometimes an older Vim has a problem with a
5478 new command. For example, ":silent" is recognized as
5479 a ":substitute" command. In that case ":execute" can
5480 avoid problems: >
5481 :if version >= 600
5482 : execute "silent 1,$delete"
5483 :endif
5484<
5485 NOTE: The ":append" and ":insert" commands don't work
5486 properly in between ":if" and ":endif".
5487
5488 *:else* *:el* *E581* *E583*
5489:el[se] Execute the commands until the next matching ":else"
5490 or ":endif" if they previously were not being
5491 executed.
5492
5493 *:elseif* *:elsei* *E582* *E584*
5494:elsei[f] {expr1} Short for ":else" ":if", with the addition that there
5495 is no extra ":endif".
5496
5497:wh[ile] {expr1} *:while* *:endwhile* *:wh* *:endw*
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00005498 *E170* *E585* *E588* *E733*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005499:endw[hile] Repeat the commands between ":while" and ":endwhile",
5500 as long as {expr1} evaluates to non-zero.
5501 When an error is detected from a command inside the
5502 loop, execution continues after the "endwhile".
Bram Moolenaar12805862005-01-05 22:16:17 +00005503 Example: >
5504 :let lnum = 1
5505 :while lnum <= line("$")
5506 :call FixLine(lnum)
5507 :let lnum = lnum + 1
5508 :endwhile
5509<
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005510 NOTE: The ":append" and ":insert" commands don't work
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +00005511 properly inside a ":while" and ":for" loop.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005512
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00005513:for {var} in {list} *:for* *E690* *E732*
Bram Moolenaar12805862005-01-05 22:16:17 +00005514:endfo[r] *:endfo* *:endfor*
5515 Repeat the commands between ":for" and ":endfor" for
Bram Moolenaar3a7c85b2005-02-05 21:39:53 +00005516 each item in {list}. Variable {var} is set to the
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +00005517 value of each item.
5518 When an error is detected for a command inside the
Bram Moolenaar12805862005-01-05 22:16:17 +00005519 loop, execution continues after the "endfor".
Bram Moolenaar572cb562005-08-05 21:35:02 +00005520 Changing {list} inside the loop affects what items are
5521 used. Make a copy if this is unwanted: >
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +00005522 :for item in copy(mylist)
5523< When not making a copy, Vim stores a reference to the
5524 next item in the list, before executing the commands
5525 with the current item. Thus the current item can be
5526 removed without effect. Removing any later item means
5527 it will not be found. Thus the following example
5528 works (an inefficient way to make a list empty): >
5529 :for item in mylist
Bram Moolenaar12805862005-01-05 22:16:17 +00005530 :call remove(mylist, 0)
5531 :endfor
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +00005532< Note that reordering the list (e.g., with sort() or
5533 reverse()) may have unexpected effects.
5534 Note that the type of each list item should be
Bram Moolenaar12805862005-01-05 22:16:17 +00005535 identical to avoid errors for the type of {var}
5536 changing. Unlet the variable at the end of the loop
5537 to allow multiple item types.
5538
Bram Moolenaar12805862005-01-05 22:16:17 +00005539:for [{var1}, {var2}, ...] in {listlist}
5540:endfo[r]
5541 Like ":for" above, but each item in {listlist} must be
5542 a list, of which each item is assigned to {var1},
5543 {var2}, etc. Example: >
5544 :for [lnum, col] in [[1, 3], [2, 5], [3, 8]]
5545 :echo getline(lnum)[col]
5546 :endfor
5547<
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005548 *:continue* *:con* *E586*
Bram Moolenaar12805862005-01-05 22:16:17 +00005549:con[tinue] When used inside a ":while" or ":for" loop, jumps back
5550 to the start of the loop.
5551 If it is used after a |:try| inside the loop but
5552 before the matching |:finally| (if present), the
5553 commands following the ":finally" up to the matching
5554 |:endtry| are executed first. This process applies to
5555 all nested ":try"s inside the loop. The outermost
5556 ":endtry" then jumps back to the start of the loop.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005557
5558 *:break* *:brea* *E587*
Bram Moolenaar12805862005-01-05 22:16:17 +00005559:brea[k] When used inside a ":while" or ":for" loop, skips to
5560 the command after the matching ":endwhile" or
5561 ":endfor".
5562 If it is used after a |:try| inside the loop but
5563 before the matching |:finally| (if present), the
5564 commands following the ":finally" up to the matching
5565 |:endtry| are executed first. This process applies to
5566 all nested ":try"s inside the loop. The outermost
5567 ":endtry" then jumps to the command after the loop.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005568
5569:try *:try* *:endt* *:endtry* *E600* *E601* *E602*
5570:endt[ry] Change the error handling for the commands between
5571 ":try" and ":endtry" including everything being
5572 executed across ":source" commands, function calls,
5573 or autocommand invocations.
5574
5575 When an error or interrupt is detected and there is
5576 a |:finally| command following, execution continues
5577 after the ":finally". Otherwise, or when the
5578 ":endtry" is reached thereafter, the next
5579 (dynamically) surrounding ":try" is checked for
5580 a corresponding ":finally" etc. Then the script
5581 processing is terminated. (Whether a function
5582 definition has an "abort" argument does not matter.)
5583 Example: >
5584 :try | edit too much | finally | echo "cleanup" | endtry
5585 :echo "impossible" " not reached, script terminated above
5586<
5587 Moreover, an error or interrupt (dynamically) inside
5588 ":try" and ":endtry" is converted to an exception. It
5589 can be caught as if it were thrown by a |:throw|
5590 command (see |:catch|). In this case, the script
5591 processing is not terminated.
5592
5593 The value "Vim:Interrupt" is used for an interrupt
5594 exception. An error in a Vim command is converted
5595 to a value of the form "Vim({command}):{errmsg}",
5596 other errors are converted to a value of the form
5597 "Vim:{errmsg}". {command} is the full command name,
5598 and {errmsg} is the message that is displayed if the
5599 error exception is not caught, always beginning with
5600 the error number.
5601 Examples: >
5602 :try | sleep 100 | catch /^Vim:Interrupt$/ | endtry
5603 :try | edit | catch /^Vim(edit):E\d\+/ | echo "error" | endtry
5604<
5605 *:cat* *:catch* *E603* *E604* *E605*
5606:cat[ch] /{pattern}/ The following commands until the next ":catch",
5607 |:finally|, or |:endtry| that belongs to the same
5608 |:try| as the ":catch" are executed when an exception
5609 matching {pattern} is being thrown and has not yet
5610 been caught by a previous ":catch". Otherwise, these
5611 commands are skipped.
5612 When {pattern} is omitted all errors are caught.
5613 Examples: >
5614 :catch /^Vim:Interrupt$/ " catch interrupts (CTRL-C)
5615 :catch /^Vim\%((\a\+)\)\=:E/ " catch all Vim errors
5616 :catch /^Vim\%((\a\+)\)\=:/ " catch errors and interrupts
5617 :catch /^Vim(write):/ " catch all errors in :write
5618 :catch /^Vim\%((\a\+)\)\=:E123/ " catch error E123
5619 :catch /my-exception/ " catch user exception
5620 :catch /.*/ " catch everything
5621 :catch " same as /.*/
5622<
5623 Another character can be used instead of / around the
5624 {pattern}, so long as it does not have a special
5625 meaning (e.g., '|' or '"') and doesn't occur inside
5626 {pattern}.
5627 NOTE: It is not reliable to ":catch" the TEXT of
5628 an error message because it may vary in different
5629 locales.
5630
5631 *:fina* *:finally* *E606* *E607*
5632:fina[lly] The following commands until the matching |:endtry|
5633 are executed whenever the part between the matching
5634 |:try| and the ":finally" is left: either by falling
5635 through to the ":finally" or by a |:continue|,
5636 |:break|, |:finish|, or |:return|, or by an error or
5637 interrupt or exception (see |:throw|).
5638
5639 *:th* *:throw* *E608*
5640:th[row] {expr1} The {expr1} is evaluated and thrown as an exception.
5641 If the ":throw" is used after a |:try| but before the
5642 first corresponding |:catch|, commands are skipped
5643 until the first ":catch" matching {expr1} is reached.
5644 If there is no such ":catch" or if the ":throw" is
5645 used after a ":catch" but before the |:finally|, the
5646 commands following the ":finally" (if present) up to
5647 the matching |:endtry| are executed. If the ":throw"
5648 is after the ":finally", commands up to the ":endtry"
5649 are skipped. At the ":endtry", this process applies
5650 again for the next dynamically surrounding ":try"
5651 (which may be found in a calling function or sourcing
5652 script), until a matching ":catch" has been found.
5653 If the exception is not caught, the command processing
5654 is terminated.
5655 Example: >
5656 :try | throw "oops" | catch /^oo/ | echo "caught" | endtry
5657<
5658
5659 *:ec* *:echo*
5660:ec[ho] {expr1} .. Echoes each {expr1}, with a space in between. The
5661 first {expr1} starts on a new line.
5662 Also see |:comment|.
5663 Use "\n" to start a new line. Use "\r" to move the
5664 cursor to the first column.
5665 Uses the highlighting set by the |:echohl| command.
5666 Cannot be followed by a comment.
5667 Example: >
5668 :echo "the value of 'shell' is" &shell
5669< A later redraw may make the message disappear again.
5670 To avoid that a command from before the ":echo" causes
5671 a redraw afterwards (redraws are often postponed until
5672 you type something), force a redraw with the |:redraw|
5673 command. Example: >
5674 :new | redraw | echo "there is a new window"
5675<
5676 *:echon*
5677:echon {expr1} .. Echoes each {expr1}, without anything added. Also see
5678 |:comment|.
5679 Uses the highlighting set by the |:echohl| command.
5680 Cannot be followed by a comment.
5681 Example: >
5682 :echon "the value of 'shell' is " &shell
5683<
5684 Note the difference between using ":echo", which is a
5685 Vim command, and ":!echo", which is an external shell
5686 command: >
5687 :!echo % --> filename
5688< The arguments of ":!" are expanded, see |:_%|. >
5689 :!echo "%" --> filename or "filename"
5690< Like the previous example. Whether you see the double
5691 quotes or not depends on your 'shell'. >
5692 :echo % --> nothing
5693< The '%' is an illegal character in an expression. >
5694 :echo "%" --> %
5695< This just echoes the '%' character. >
5696 :echo expand("%") --> filename
5697< This calls the expand() function to expand the '%'.
5698
5699 *:echoh* *:echohl*
5700:echoh[l] {name} Use the highlight group {name} for the following
5701 |:echo|, |:echon| and |:echomsg| commands. Also used
5702 for the |input()| prompt. Example: >
5703 :echohl WarningMsg | echo "Don't panic!" | echohl None
5704< Don't forget to set the group back to "None",
5705 otherwise all following echo's will be highlighted.
5706
5707 *:echom* *:echomsg*
5708:echom[sg] {expr1} .. Echo the expression(s) as a true message, saving the
5709 message in the |message-history|.
5710 Spaces are placed between the arguments as with the
5711 |:echo| command. But unprintable characters are
5712 displayed, not interpreted.
5713 Uses the highlighting set by the |:echohl| command.
5714 Example: >
5715 :echomsg "It's a Zizzer Zazzer Zuzz, as you can plainly see."
5716<
5717 *:echoe* *:echoerr*
5718:echoe[rr] {expr1} .. Echo the expression(s) as an error message, saving the
5719 message in the |message-history|. When used in a
5720 script or function the line number will be added.
5721 Spaces are placed between the arguments as with the
5722 :echo command. When used inside a try conditional,
5723 the message is raised as an error exception instead
5724 (see |try-echoerr|).
5725 Example: >
5726 :echoerr "This script just failed!"
5727< If you just want a highlighted message use |:echohl|.
5728 And to get a beep: >
5729 :exe "normal \<Esc>"
5730<
5731 *:exe* *:execute*
5732:exe[cute] {expr1} .. Executes the string that results from the evaluation
5733 of {expr1} as an Ex command. Multiple arguments are
5734 concatenated, with a space in between. {expr1} is
5735 used as the processed command, command line editing
5736 keys are not recognized.
5737 Cannot be followed by a comment.
5738 Examples: >
5739 :execute "buffer " nextbuf
5740 :execute "normal " count . "w"
5741<
5742 ":execute" can be used to append a command to commands
5743 that don't accept a '|'. Example: >
5744 :execute '!ls' | echo "theend"
5745
5746< ":execute" is also a nice way to avoid having to type
5747 control characters in a Vim script for a ":normal"
5748 command: >
5749 :execute "normal ixxx\<Esc>"
5750< This has an <Esc> character, see |expr-string|.
5751
5752 Note: The executed string may be any command-line, but
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +00005753 you cannot start or end a "while", "for" or "if"
5754 command. Thus this is illegal: >
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005755 :execute 'while i > 5'
5756 :execute 'echo "test" | break'
5757<
5758 It is allowed to have a "while" or "if" command
5759 completely in the executed string: >
5760 :execute 'while i < 5 | echo i | let i = i + 1 | endwhile'
5761<
5762
5763 *:comment*
5764 ":execute", ":echo" and ":echon" cannot be followed by
5765 a comment directly, because they see the '"' as the
5766 start of a string. But, you can use '|' followed by a
5767 comment. Example: >
5768 :echo "foo" | "this is a comment
5769
5770==============================================================================
57718. Exception handling *exception-handling*
5772
5773The Vim script language comprises an exception handling feature. This section
5774explains how it can be used in a Vim script.
5775
5776Exceptions may be raised by Vim on an error or on interrupt, see
5777|catch-errors| and |catch-interrupt|. You can also explicitly throw an
5778exception by using the ":throw" command, see |throw-catch|.
5779
5780
5781TRY CONDITIONALS *try-conditionals*
5782
5783Exceptions can be caught or can cause cleanup code to be executed. You can
5784use a try conditional to specify catch clauses (that catch exceptions) and/or
5785a finally clause (to be executed for cleanup).
5786 A try conditional begins with a |:try| command and ends at the matching
5787|:endtry| command. In between, you can use a |:catch| command to start
5788a catch clause, or a |:finally| command to start a finally clause. There may
5789be none or multiple catch clauses, but there is at most one finally clause,
5790which must not be followed by any catch clauses. The lines before the catch
5791clauses and the finally clause is called a try block. >
5792
5793 :try
5794 : ...
5795 : ... TRY BLOCK
5796 : ...
5797 :catch /{pattern}/
5798 : ...
5799 : ... CATCH CLAUSE
5800 : ...
5801 :catch /{pattern}/
5802 : ...
5803 : ... CATCH CLAUSE
5804 : ...
5805 :finally
5806 : ...
5807 : ... FINALLY CLAUSE
5808 : ...
5809 :endtry
5810
5811The try conditional allows to watch code for exceptions and to take the
5812appropriate actions. Exceptions from the try block may be caught. Exceptions
5813from the try block and also the catch clauses may cause cleanup actions.
5814 When no exception is thrown during execution of the try block, the control
5815is transferred to the finally clause, if present. After its execution, the
5816script continues with the line following the ":endtry".
5817 When an exception occurs during execution of the try block, the remaining
5818lines in the try block are skipped. The exception is matched against the
5819patterns specified as arguments to the ":catch" commands. The catch clause
5820after the first matching ":catch" is taken, other catch clauses are not
5821executed. The catch clause ends when the next ":catch", ":finally", or
5822":endtry" command is reached - whatever is first. Then, the finally clause
5823(if present) is executed. When the ":endtry" is reached, the script execution
5824continues in the following line as usual.
5825 When an exception that does not match any of the patterns specified by the
5826":catch" commands is thrown in the try block, the exception is not caught by
5827that try conditional and none of the catch clauses is executed. Only the
5828finally clause, if present, is taken. The exception pends during execution of
5829the finally clause. It is resumed at the ":endtry", so that commands after
5830the ":endtry" are not executed and the exception might be caught elsewhere,
5831see |try-nesting|.
5832 When during execution of a catch clause another exception is thrown, the
5833remaining lines in that catch clause are not executed. The new exception is
5834not matched against the patterns in any of the ":catch" commands of the same
5835try conditional and none of its catch clauses is taken. If there is, however,
5836a finally clause, it is executed, and the exception pends during its
5837execution. The commands following the ":endtry" are not executed. The new
5838exception might, however, be caught elsewhere, see |try-nesting|.
5839 When during execution of the finally clause (if present) an exception is
5840thrown, the remaining lines in the finally clause are skipped. If the finally
5841clause has been taken because of an exception from the try block or one of the
5842catch clauses, the original (pending) exception is discarded. The commands
5843following the ":endtry" are not executed, and the exception from the finally
5844clause is propagated and can be caught elsewhere, see |try-nesting|.
5845
5846The finally clause is also executed, when a ":break" or ":continue" for
5847a ":while" loop enclosing the complete try conditional is executed from the
5848try block or a catch clause. Or when a ":return" or ":finish" is executed
5849from the try block or a catch clause of a try conditional in a function or
5850sourced script, respectively. The ":break", ":continue", ":return", or
5851":finish" pends during execution of the finally clause and is resumed when the
5852":endtry" is reached. It is, however, discarded when an exception is thrown
5853from the finally clause.
5854 When a ":break" or ":continue" for a ":while" loop enclosing the complete
5855try conditional or when a ":return" or ":finish" is encountered in the finally
5856clause, the rest of the finally clause is skipped, and the ":break",
5857":continue", ":return" or ":finish" is executed as usual. If the finally
5858clause has been taken because of an exception or an earlier ":break",
5859":continue", ":return", or ":finish" from the try block or a catch clause,
5860this pending exception or command is discarded.
5861
5862For examples see |throw-catch| and |try-finally|.
5863
5864
5865NESTING OF TRY CONDITIONALS *try-nesting*
5866
5867Try conditionals can be nested arbitrarily. That is, a complete try
5868conditional can be put into the try block, a catch clause, or the finally
5869clause of another try conditional. If the inner try conditional does not
5870catch an exception thrown in its try block or throws a new exception from one
5871of its catch clauses or its finally clause, the outer try conditional is
5872checked according to the rules above. If the inner try conditional is in the
5873try block of the outer try conditional, its catch clauses are checked, but
5874otherwise only the finally clause is executed. It does not matter for
5875nesting, whether the inner try conditional is directly contained in the outer
5876one, or whether the outer one sources a script or calls a function containing
5877the inner try conditional.
5878
5879When none of the active try conditionals catches an exception, just their
5880finally clauses are executed. Thereafter, the script processing terminates.
5881An error message is displayed in case of an uncaught exception explicitly
5882thrown by a ":throw" command. For uncaught error and interrupt exceptions
5883implicitly raised by Vim, the error message(s) or interrupt message are shown
5884as usual.
5885
5886For examples see |throw-catch|.
5887
5888
5889EXAMINING EXCEPTION HANDLING CODE *except-examine*
5890
5891Exception handling code can get tricky. If you are in doubt what happens, set
5892'verbose' to 13 or use the ":13verbose" command modifier when sourcing your
5893script file. Then you see when an exception is thrown, discarded, caught, or
5894finished. When using a verbosity level of at least 14, things pending in
5895a finally clause are also shown. This information is also given in debug mode
5896(see |debug-scripts|).
5897
5898
5899THROWING AND CATCHING EXCEPTIONS *throw-catch*
5900
5901You can throw any number or string as an exception. Use the |:throw| command
5902and pass the value to be thrown as argument: >
5903 :throw 4711
5904 :throw "string"
5905< *throw-expression*
5906You can also specify an expression argument. The expression is then evaluated
5907first, and the result is thrown: >
5908 :throw 4705 + strlen("string")
5909 :throw strpart("strings", 0, 6)
5910
5911An exception might be thrown during evaluation of the argument of the ":throw"
5912command. Unless it is caught there, the expression evaluation is abandoned.
5913The ":throw" command then does not throw a new exception.
5914 Example: >
5915
5916 :function! Foo(arg)
5917 : try
5918 : throw a:arg
5919 : catch /foo/
5920 : endtry
5921 : return 1
5922 :endfunction
5923 :
5924 :function! Bar()
5925 : echo "in Bar"
5926 : return 4710
5927 :endfunction
5928 :
5929 :throw Foo("arrgh") + Bar()
5930
5931This throws "arrgh", and "in Bar" is not displayed since Bar() is not
5932executed. >
5933 :throw Foo("foo") + Bar()
5934however displays "in Bar" and throws 4711.
5935
5936Any other command that takes an expression as argument might also be
5937abandoned by an (uncaught) exception during the expression evaluation. The
5938exception is then propagated to the caller of the command.
5939 Example: >
5940
5941 :if Foo("arrgh")
5942 : echo "then"
5943 :else
5944 : echo "else"
5945 :endif
5946
5947Here neither of "then" or "else" is displayed.
5948
5949 *catch-order*
5950Exceptions can be caught by a try conditional with one or more |:catch|
5951commands, see |try-conditionals|. The values to be caught by each ":catch"
5952command can be specified as a pattern argument. The subsequent catch clause
5953gets executed when a matching exception is caught.
5954 Example: >
5955
5956 :function! Foo(value)
5957 : try
5958 : throw a:value
5959 : catch /^\d\+$/
5960 : echo "Number thrown"
5961 : catch /.*/
5962 : echo "String thrown"
5963 : endtry
5964 :endfunction
5965 :
5966 :call Foo(0x1267)
5967 :call Foo('string')
5968
5969The first call to Foo() displays "Number thrown", the second "String thrown".
5970An exception is matched against the ":catch" commands in the order they are
5971specified. Only the first match counts. So you should place the more
5972specific ":catch" first. The following order does not make sense: >
5973
5974 : catch /.*/
5975 : echo "String thrown"
5976 : catch /^\d\+$/
5977 : echo "Number thrown"
5978
5979The first ":catch" here matches always, so that the second catch clause is
5980never taken.
5981
5982 *throw-variables*
5983If you catch an exception by a general pattern, you may access the exact value
5984in the variable |v:exception|: >
5985
5986 : catch /^\d\+$/
5987 : echo "Number thrown. Value is" v:exception
5988
5989You may also be interested where an exception was thrown. This is stored in
5990|v:throwpoint|. Note that "v:exception" and "v:throwpoint" are valid for the
5991exception most recently caught as long it is not finished.
5992 Example: >
5993
5994 :function! Caught()
5995 : if v:exception != ""
5996 : echo 'Caught "' . v:exception . '" in ' . v:throwpoint
5997 : else
5998 : echo 'Nothing caught'
5999 : endif
6000 :endfunction
6001 :
6002 :function! Foo()
6003 : try
6004 : try
6005 : try
6006 : throw 4711
6007 : finally
6008 : call Caught()
6009 : endtry
6010 : catch /.*/
6011 : call Caught()
6012 : throw "oops"
6013 : endtry
6014 : catch /.*/
6015 : call Caught()
6016 : finally
6017 : call Caught()
6018 : endtry
6019 :endfunction
6020 :
6021 :call Foo()
6022
6023This displays >
6024
6025 Nothing caught
6026 Caught "4711" in function Foo, line 4
6027 Caught "oops" in function Foo, line 10
6028 Nothing caught
6029
6030A practical example: The following command ":LineNumber" displays the line
6031number in the script or function where it has been used: >
6032
6033 :function! LineNumber()
6034 : return substitute(v:throwpoint, '.*\D\(\d\+\).*', '\1', "")
6035 :endfunction
6036 :command! LineNumber try | throw "" | catch | echo LineNumber() | endtry
6037<
6038 *try-nested*
6039An exception that is not caught by a try conditional can be caught by
6040a surrounding try conditional: >
6041
6042 :try
6043 : try
6044 : throw "foo"
6045 : catch /foobar/
6046 : echo "foobar"
6047 : finally
6048 : echo "inner finally"
6049 : endtry
6050 :catch /foo/
6051 : echo "foo"
6052 :endtry
6053
6054The inner try conditional does not catch the exception, just its finally
6055clause is executed. The exception is then caught by the outer try
6056conditional. The example displays "inner finally" and then "foo".
6057
6058 *throw-from-catch*
6059You can catch an exception and throw a new one to be caught elsewhere from the
6060catch clause: >
6061
6062 :function! Foo()
6063 : throw "foo"
6064 :endfunction
6065 :
6066 :function! Bar()
6067 : try
6068 : call Foo()
6069 : catch /foo/
6070 : echo "Caught foo, throw bar"
6071 : throw "bar"
6072 : endtry
6073 :endfunction
6074 :
6075 :try
6076 : call Bar()
6077 :catch /.*/
6078 : echo "Caught" v:exception
6079 :endtry
6080
6081This displays "Caught foo, throw bar" and then "Caught bar".
6082
6083 *rethrow*
6084There is no real rethrow in the Vim script language, but you may throw
6085"v:exception" instead: >
6086
6087 :function! Bar()
6088 : try
6089 : call Foo()
6090 : catch /.*/
6091 : echo "Rethrow" v:exception
6092 : throw v:exception
6093 : endtry
6094 :endfunction
6095< *try-echoerr*
6096Note that this method cannot be used to "rethrow" Vim error or interrupt
6097exceptions, because it is not possible to fake Vim internal exceptions.
6098Trying so causes an error exception. You should throw your own exception
6099denoting the situation. If you want to cause a Vim error exception containing
6100the original error exception value, you can use the |:echoerr| command: >
6101
6102 :try
6103 : try
6104 : asdf
6105 : catch /.*/
6106 : echoerr v:exception
6107 : endtry
6108 :catch /.*/
6109 : echo v:exception
6110 :endtry
6111
6112This code displays
6113
6114 Vim(echoerr):Vim:E492: Not an editor command: asdf ~
6115
6116
6117CLEANUP CODE *try-finally*
6118
6119Scripts often change global settings and restore them at their end. If the
6120user however interrupts the script by pressing CTRL-C, the settings remain in
6121an inconsistent state. The same may happen to you in the development phase of
6122a script when an error occurs or you explicitly throw an exception without
6123catching it. You can solve these problems by using a try conditional with
6124a finally clause for restoring the settings. Its execution is guaranteed on
6125normal control flow, on error, on an explicit ":throw", and on interrupt.
6126(Note that errors and interrupts from inside the try conditional are converted
6127to exceptions. When not caught, they terminate the script after the finally
6128clause has been executed.)
6129Example: >
6130
6131 :try
6132 : let s:saved_ts = &ts
6133 : set ts=17
6134 :
6135 : " Do the hard work here.
6136 :
6137 :finally
6138 : let &ts = s:saved_ts
6139 : unlet s:saved_ts
6140 :endtry
6141
6142This method should be used locally whenever a function or part of a script
6143changes global settings which need to be restored on failure or normal exit of
6144that function or script part.
6145
6146 *break-finally*
6147Cleanup code works also when the try block or a catch clause is left by
6148a ":continue", ":break", ":return", or ":finish".
6149 Example: >
6150
6151 :let first = 1
6152 :while 1
6153 : try
6154 : if first
6155 : echo "first"
6156 : let first = 0
6157 : continue
6158 : else
6159 : throw "second"
6160 : endif
6161 : catch /.*/
6162 : echo v:exception
6163 : break
6164 : finally
6165 : echo "cleanup"
6166 : endtry
6167 : echo "still in while"
6168 :endwhile
6169 :echo "end"
6170
6171This displays "first", "cleanup", "second", "cleanup", and "end". >
6172
6173 :function! Foo()
6174 : try
6175 : return 4711
6176 : finally
6177 : echo "cleanup\n"
6178 : endtry
6179 : echo "Foo still active"
6180 :endfunction
6181 :
6182 :echo Foo() "returned by Foo"
6183
6184This displays "cleanup" and "4711 returned by Foo". You don't need to add an
6185extra ":return" in the finally clause. (Above all, this would override the
6186return value.)
6187
6188 *except-from-finally*
6189Using either of ":continue", ":break", ":return", ":finish", or ":throw" in
6190a finally clause is possible, but not recommended since it abandons the
6191cleanup actions for the try conditional. But, of course, interrupt and error
6192exceptions might get raised from a finally clause.
6193 Example where an error in the finally clause stops an interrupt from
6194working correctly: >
6195
6196 :try
6197 : try
6198 : echo "Press CTRL-C for interrupt"
6199 : while 1
6200 : endwhile
6201 : finally
6202 : unlet novar
6203 : endtry
6204 :catch /novar/
6205 :endtry
6206 :echo "Script still running"
6207 :sleep 1
6208
6209If you need to put commands that could fail into a finally clause, you should
6210think about catching or ignoring the errors in these commands, see
6211|catch-errors| and |ignore-errors|.
6212
6213
6214CATCHING ERRORS *catch-errors*
6215
6216If you want to catch specific errors, you just have to put the code to be
6217watched in a try block and add a catch clause for the error message. The
6218presence of the try conditional causes all errors to be converted to an
6219exception. No message is displayed and |v:errmsg| is not set then. To find
6220the right pattern for the ":catch" command, you have to know how the format of
6221the error exception is.
6222 Error exceptions have the following format: >
6223
6224 Vim({cmdname}):{errmsg}
6225or >
6226 Vim:{errmsg}
6227
6228{cmdname} is the name of the command that failed; the second form is used when
6229the command name is not known. {errmsg} is the error message usually produced
6230when the error occurs outside try conditionals. It always begins with
6231a capital "E", followed by a two or three-digit error number, a colon, and
6232a space.
6233
6234Examples:
6235
6236The command >
6237 :unlet novar
6238normally produces the error message >
6239 E108: No such variable: "novar"
6240which is converted inside try conditionals to an exception >
6241 Vim(unlet):E108: No such variable: "novar"
6242
6243The command >
6244 :dwim
6245normally produces the error message >
6246 E492: Not an editor command: dwim
6247which is converted inside try conditionals to an exception >
6248 Vim:E492: Not an editor command: dwim
6249
6250You can catch all ":unlet" errors by a >
6251 :catch /^Vim(unlet):/
6252or all errors for misspelled command names by a >
6253 :catch /^Vim:E492:/
6254
6255Some error messages may be produced by different commands: >
6256 :function nofunc
6257and >
6258 :delfunction nofunc
6259both produce the error message >
6260 E128: Function name must start with a capital: nofunc
6261which is converted inside try conditionals to an exception >
6262 Vim(function):E128: Function name must start with a capital: nofunc
6263or >
6264 Vim(delfunction):E128: Function name must start with a capital: nofunc
6265respectively. You can catch the error by its number independently on the
6266command that caused it if you use the following pattern: >
6267 :catch /^Vim(\a\+):E128:/
6268
6269Some commands like >
6270 :let x = novar
6271produce multiple error messages, here: >
6272 E121: Undefined variable: novar
6273 E15: Invalid expression: novar
6274Only the first is used for the exception value, since it is the most specific
6275one (see |except-several-errors|). So you can catch it by >
6276 :catch /^Vim(\a\+):E121:/
6277
6278You can catch all errors related to the name "nofunc" by >
6279 :catch /\<nofunc\>/
6280
6281You can catch all Vim errors in the ":write" and ":read" commands by >
6282 :catch /^Vim(\(write\|read\)):E\d\+:/
6283
6284You can catch all Vim errors by the pattern >
6285 :catch /^Vim\((\a\+)\)\=:E\d\+:/
6286<
6287 *catch-text*
6288NOTE: You should never catch the error message text itself: >
6289 :catch /No such variable/
6290only works in the english locale, but not when the user has selected
6291a different language by the |:language| command. It is however helpful to
6292cite the message text in a comment: >
6293 :catch /^Vim(\a\+):E108:/ " No such variable
6294
6295
6296IGNORING ERRORS *ignore-errors*
6297
6298You can ignore errors in a specific Vim command by catching them locally: >
6299
6300 :try
6301 : write
6302 :catch
6303 :endtry
6304
6305But you are strongly recommended NOT to use this simple form, since it could
6306catch more than you want. With the ":write" command, some autocommands could
6307be executed and cause errors not related to writing, for instance: >
6308
6309 :au BufWritePre * unlet novar
6310
6311There could even be such errors you are not responsible for as a script
6312writer: a user of your script might have defined such autocommands. You would
6313then hide the error from the user.
6314 It is much better to use >
6315
6316 :try
6317 : write
6318 :catch /^Vim(write):/
6319 :endtry
6320
6321which only catches real write errors. So catch only what you'd like to ignore
6322intentionally.
6323
6324For a single command that does not cause execution of autocommands, you could
6325even suppress the conversion of errors to exceptions by the ":silent!"
6326command: >
6327 :silent! nunmap k
6328This works also when a try conditional is active.
6329
6330
6331CATCHING INTERRUPTS *catch-interrupt*
6332
6333When there are active try conditionals, an interrupt (CTRL-C) is converted to
6334the exception "Vim:Interrupt". You can catch it like every exception. The
6335script is not terminated, then.
6336 Example: >
6337
6338 :function! TASK1()
6339 : sleep 10
6340 :endfunction
6341
6342 :function! TASK2()
6343 : sleep 20
6344 :endfunction
6345
6346 :while 1
6347 : let command = input("Type a command: ")
6348 : try
6349 : if command == ""
6350 : continue
6351 : elseif command == "END"
6352 : break
6353 : elseif command == "TASK1"
6354 : call TASK1()
6355 : elseif command == "TASK2"
6356 : call TASK2()
6357 : else
6358 : echo "\nIllegal command:" command
6359 : continue
6360 : endif
6361 : catch /^Vim:Interrupt$/
6362 : echo "\nCommand interrupted"
6363 : " Caught the interrupt. Continue with next prompt.
6364 : endtry
6365 :endwhile
6366
6367You can interrupt a task here by pressing CTRL-C; the script then asks for
6368a new command. If you press CTRL-C at the prompt, the script is terminated.
6369
6370For testing what happens when CTRL-C would be pressed on a specific line in
6371your script, use the debug mode and execute the |>quit| or |>interrupt|
6372command on that line. See |debug-scripts|.
6373
6374
6375CATCHING ALL *catch-all*
6376
6377The commands >
6378
6379 :catch /.*/
6380 :catch //
6381 :catch
6382
6383catch everything, error exceptions, interrupt exceptions and exceptions
6384explicitly thrown by the |:throw| command. This is useful at the top level of
6385a script in order to catch unexpected things.
6386 Example: >
6387
6388 :try
6389 :
6390 : " do the hard work here
6391 :
6392 :catch /MyException/
6393 :
6394 : " handle known problem
6395 :
6396 :catch /^Vim:Interrupt$/
6397 : echo "Script interrupted"
6398 :catch /.*/
6399 : echo "Internal error (" . v:exception . ")"
6400 : echo " - occurred at " . v:throwpoint
6401 :endtry
6402 :" end of script
6403
6404Note: Catching all might catch more things than you want. Thus, you are
6405strongly encouraged to catch only for problems that you can really handle by
6406specifying a pattern argument to the ":catch".
6407 Example: Catching all could make it nearly impossible to interrupt a script
6408by pressing CTRL-C: >
6409
6410 :while 1
6411 : try
6412 : sleep 1
6413 : catch
6414 : endtry
6415 :endwhile
6416
6417
6418EXCEPTIONS AND AUTOCOMMANDS *except-autocmd*
6419
6420Exceptions may be used during execution of autocommands. Example: >
6421
6422 :autocmd User x try
6423 :autocmd User x throw "Oops!"
6424 :autocmd User x catch
6425 :autocmd User x echo v:exception
6426 :autocmd User x endtry
6427 :autocmd User x throw "Arrgh!"
6428 :autocmd User x echo "Should not be displayed"
6429 :
6430 :try
6431 : doautocmd User x
6432 :catch
6433 : echo v:exception
6434 :endtry
6435
6436This displays "Oops!" and "Arrgh!".
6437
6438 *except-autocmd-Pre*
6439For some commands, autocommands get executed before the main action of the
6440command takes place. If an exception is thrown and not caught in the sequence
6441of autocommands, the sequence and the command that caused its execution are
6442abandoned and the exception is propagated to the caller of the command.
6443 Example: >
6444
6445 :autocmd BufWritePre * throw "FAIL"
6446 :autocmd BufWritePre * echo "Should not be displayed"
6447 :
6448 :try
6449 : write
6450 :catch
6451 : echo "Caught:" v:exception "from" v:throwpoint
6452 :endtry
6453
6454Here, the ":write" command does not write the file currently being edited (as
6455you can see by checking 'modified'), since the exception from the BufWritePre
6456autocommand abandons the ":write". The exception is then caught and the
6457script displays: >
6458
6459 Caught: FAIL from BufWrite Auto commands for "*"
6460<
6461 *except-autocmd-Post*
6462For some commands, autocommands get executed after the main action of the
6463command has taken place. If this main action fails and the command is inside
6464an active try conditional, the autocommands are skipped and an error exception
6465is thrown that can be caught by the caller of the command.
6466 Example: >
6467
6468 :autocmd BufWritePost * echo "File successfully written!"
6469 :
6470 :try
6471 : write /i/m/p/o/s/s/i/b/l/e
6472 :catch
6473 : echo v:exception
6474 :endtry
6475
6476This just displays: >
6477
6478 Vim(write):E212: Can't open file for writing (/i/m/p/o/s/s/i/b/l/e)
6479
6480If you really need to execute the autocommands even when the main action
6481fails, trigger the event from the catch clause.
6482 Example: >
6483
6484 :autocmd BufWritePre * set noreadonly
6485 :autocmd BufWritePost * set readonly
6486 :
6487 :try
6488 : write /i/m/p/o/s/s/i/b/l/e
6489 :catch
6490 : doautocmd BufWritePost /i/m/p/o/s/s/i/b/l/e
6491 :endtry
6492<
6493You can also use ":silent!": >
6494
6495 :let x = "ok"
6496 :let v:errmsg = ""
6497 :autocmd BufWritePost * if v:errmsg != ""
6498 :autocmd BufWritePost * let x = "after fail"
6499 :autocmd BufWritePost * endif
6500 :try
6501 : silent! write /i/m/p/o/s/s/i/b/l/e
6502 :catch
6503 :endtry
6504 :echo x
6505
6506This displays "after fail".
6507
6508If the main action of the command does not fail, exceptions from the
6509autocommands will be catchable by the caller of the command: >
6510
6511 :autocmd BufWritePost * throw ":-("
6512 :autocmd BufWritePost * echo "Should not be displayed"
6513 :
6514 :try
6515 : write
6516 :catch
6517 : echo v:exception
6518 :endtry
6519<
6520 *except-autocmd-Cmd*
6521For some commands, the normal action can be replaced by a sequence of
6522autocommands. Exceptions from that sequence will be catchable by the caller
6523of the command.
6524 Example: For the ":write" command, the caller cannot know whether the file
6525had actually been written when the exception occurred. You need to tell it in
6526some way. >
6527
6528 :if !exists("cnt")
6529 : let cnt = 0
6530 :
6531 : autocmd BufWriteCmd * if &modified
6532 : autocmd BufWriteCmd * let cnt = cnt + 1
6533 : autocmd BufWriteCmd * if cnt % 3 == 2
6534 : autocmd BufWriteCmd * throw "BufWriteCmdError"
6535 : autocmd BufWriteCmd * endif
6536 : autocmd BufWriteCmd * write | set nomodified
6537 : autocmd BufWriteCmd * if cnt % 3 == 0
6538 : autocmd BufWriteCmd * throw "BufWriteCmdError"
6539 : autocmd BufWriteCmd * endif
6540 : autocmd BufWriteCmd * echo "File successfully written!"
6541 : autocmd BufWriteCmd * endif
6542 :endif
6543 :
6544 :try
6545 : write
6546 :catch /^BufWriteCmdError$/
6547 : if &modified
6548 : echo "Error on writing (file contents not changed)"
6549 : else
6550 : echo "Error after writing"
6551 : endif
6552 :catch /^Vim(write):/
6553 : echo "Error on writing"
6554 :endtry
6555
6556When this script is sourced several times after making changes, it displays
6557first >
6558 File successfully written!
6559then >
6560 Error on writing (file contents not changed)
6561then >
6562 Error after writing
6563etc.
6564
6565 *except-autocmd-ill*
6566You cannot spread a try conditional over autocommands for different events.
6567The following code is ill-formed: >
6568
6569 :autocmd BufWritePre * try
6570 :
6571 :autocmd BufWritePost * catch
6572 :autocmd BufWritePost * echo v:exception
6573 :autocmd BufWritePost * endtry
6574 :
6575 :write
6576
6577
6578EXCEPTION HIERARCHIES AND PARAMETERIZED EXCEPTIONS *except-hier-param*
6579
6580Some programming languages allow to use hierarchies of exception classes or to
6581pass additional information with the object of an exception class. You can do
6582similar things in Vim.
6583 In order to throw an exception from a hierarchy, just throw the complete
6584class name with the components separated by a colon, for instance throw the
6585string "EXCEPT:MATHERR:OVERFLOW" for an overflow in a mathematical library.
6586 When you want to pass additional information with your exception class, add
6587it in parentheses, for instance throw the string "EXCEPT:IO:WRITEERR(myfile)"
6588for an error when writing "myfile".
6589 With the appropriate patterns in the ":catch" command, you can catch for
6590base classes or derived classes of your hierarchy. Additional information in
6591parentheses can be cut out from |v:exception| with the ":substitute" command.
6592 Example: >
6593
6594 :function! CheckRange(a, func)
6595 : if a:a < 0
6596 : throw "EXCEPT:MATHERR:RANGE(" . a:func . ")"
6597 : endif
6598 :endfunction
6599 :
6600 :function! Add(a, b)
6601 : call CheckRange(a:a, "Add")
6602 : call CheckRange(a:b, "Add")
6603 : let c = a:a + a:b
6604 : if c < 0
6605 : throw "EXCEPT:MATHERR:OVERFLOW"
6606 : endif
6607 : return c
6608 :endfunction
6609 :
6610 :function! Div(a, b)
6611 : call CheckRange(a:a, "Div")
6612 : call CheckRange(a:b, "Div")
6613 : if (a:b == 0)
6614 : throw "EXCEPT:MATHERR:ZERODIV"
6615 : endif
6616 : return a:a / a:b
6617 :endfunction
6618 :
6619 :function! Write(file)
6620 : try
6621 : execute "write" a:file
6622 : catch /^Vim(write):/
6623 : throw "EXCEPT:IO(" . getcwd() . ", " . a:file . "):WRITEERR"
6624 : endtry
6625 :endfunction
6626 :
6627 :try
6628 :
6629 : " something with arithmetics and I/O
6630 :
6631 :catch /^EXCEPT:MATHERR:RANGE/
6632 : let function = substitute(v:exception, '.*(\(\a\+\)).*', '\1', "")
6633 : echo "Range error in" function
6634 :
6635 :catch /^EXCEPT:MATHERR/ " catches OVERFLOW and ZERODIV
6636 : echo "Math error"
6637 :
6638 :catch /^EXCEPT:IO/
6639 : let dir = substitute(v:exception, '.*(\(.\+\),\s*.\+).*', '\1', "")
6640 : let file = substitute(v:exception, '.*(.\+,\s*\(.\+\)).*', '\1', "")
6641 : if file !~ '^/'
6642 : let file = dir . "/" . file
6643 : endif
6644 : echo 'I/O error for "' . file . '"'
6645 :
6646 :catch /^EXCEPT/
6647 : echo "Unspecified error"
6648 :
6649 :endtry
6650
6651The exceptions raised by Vim itself (on error or when pressing CTRL-C) use
6652a flat hierarchy: they are all in the "Vim" class. You cannot throw yourself
6653exceptions with the "Vim" prefix; they are reserved for Vim.
6654 Vim error exceptions are parameterized with the name of the command that
6655failed, if known. See |catch-errors|.
6656
6657
6658PECULIARITIES
6659 *except-compat*
6660The exception handling concept requires that the command sequence causing the
6661exception is aborted immediately and control is transferred to finally clauses
6662and/or a catch clause.
6663
6664In the Vim script language there are cases where scripts and functions
6665continue after an error: in functions without the "abort" flag or in a command
6666after ":silent!", control flow goes to the following line, and outside
6667functions, control flow goes to the line following the outermost ":endwhile"
6668or ":endif". On the other hand, errors should be catchable as exceptions
6669(thus, requiring the immediate abortion).
6670
6671This problem has been solved by converting errors to exceptions and using
6672immediate abortion (if not suppressed by ":silent!") only when a try
6673conditional is active. This is no restriction since an (error) exception can
6674be caught only from an active try conditional. If you want an immediate
6675termination without catching the error, just use a try conditional without
6676catch clause. (You can cause cleanup code being executed before termination
6677by specifying a finally clause.)
6678
6679When no try conditional is active, the usual abortion and continuation
6680behavior is used instead of immediate abortion. This ensures compatibility of
6681scripts written for Vim 6.1 and earlier.
6682
6683However, when sourcing an existing script that does not use exception handling
6684commands (or when calling one of its functions) from inside an active try
6685conditional of a new script, you might change the control flow of the existing
6686script on error. You get the immediate abortion on error and can catch the
6687error in the new script. If however the sourced script suppresses error
6688messages by using the ":silent!" command (checking for errors by testing
6689|v:errmsg| if appropriate), its execution path is not changed. The error is
6690not converted to an exception. (See |:silent|.) So the only remaining cause
6691where this happens is for scripts that don't care about errors and produce
6692error messages. You probably won't want to use such code from your new
6693scripts.
6694
6695 *except-syntax-err*
6696Syntax errors in the exception handling commands are never caught by any of
6697the ":catch" commands of the try conditional they belong to. Its finally
6698clauses, however, is executed.
6699 Example: >
6700
6701 :try
6702 : try
6703 : throw 4711
6704 : catch /\(/
6705 : echo "in catch with syntax error"
6706 : catch
6707 : echo "inner catch-all"
6708 : finally
6709 : echo "inner finally"
6710 : endtry
6711 :catch
6712 : echo 'outer catch-all caught "' . v:exception . '"'
6713 : finally
6714 : echo "outer finally"
6715 :endtry
6716
6717This displays: >
6718 inner finally
6719 outer catch-all caught "Vim(catch):E54: Unmatched \("
6720 outer finally
6721The original exception is discarded and an error exception is raised, instead.
6722
6723 *except-single-line*
6724The ":try", ":catch", ":finally", and ":endtry" commands can be put on
6725a single line, but then syntax errors may make it difficult to recognize the
6726"catch" line, thus you better avoid this.
6727 Example: >
6728 :try | unlet! foo # | catch | endtry
6729raises an error exception for the trailing characters after the ":unlet!"
6730argument, but does not see the ":catch" and ":endtry" commands, so that the
6731error exception is discarded and the "E488: Trailing characters" message gets
6732displayed.
6733
6734 *except-several-errors*
6735When several errors appear in a single command, the first error message is
6736usually the most specific one and therefor converted to the error exception.
6737 Example: >
6738 echo novar
6739causes >
6740 E121: Undefined variable: novar
6741 E15: Invalid expression: novar
6742The value of the error exception inside try conditionals is: >
6743 Vim(echo):E121: Undefined variable: novar
6744< *except-syntax-error*
6745But when a syntax error is detected after a normal error in the same command,
6746the syntax error is used for the exception being thrown.
6747 Example: >
6748 unlet novar #
6749causes >
6750 E108: No such variable: "novar"
6751 E488: Trailing characters
6752The value of the error exception inside try conditionals is: >
6753 Vim(unlet):E488: Trailing characters
6754This is done because the syntax error might change the execution path in a way
6755not intended by the user. Example: >
6756 try
6757 try | unlet novar # | catch | echo v:exception | endtry
6758 catch /.*/
6759 echo "outer catch:" v:exception
6760 endtry
6761This displays "outer catch: Vim(unlet):E488: Trailing characters", and then
6762a "E600: Missing :endtry" error message is given, see |except-single-line|.
6763
6764==============================================================================
67659. Examples *eval-examples*
6766
6767Printing in Hex ~
6768>
6769 :" The function Nr2Hex() returns the Hex string of a number.
6770 :func Nr2Hex(nr)
6771 : let n = a:nr
6772 : let r = ""
6773 : while n
6774 : let r = '0123456789ABCDEF'[n % 16] . r
6775 : let n = n / 16
6776 : endwhile
6777 : return r
6778 :endfunc
6779
6780 :" The function String2Hex() converts each character in a string to a two
6781 :" character Hex string.
6782 :func String2Hex(str)
6783 : let out = ''
6784 : let ix = 0
6785 : while ix < strlen(a:str)
6786 : let out = out . Nr2Hex(char2nr(a:str[ix]))
6787 : let ix = ix + 1
6788 : endwhile
6789 : return out
6790 :endfunc
6791
6792Example of its use: >
6793 :echo Nr2Hex(32)
6794result: "20" >
6795 :echo String2Hex("32")
6796result: "3332"
6797
6798
6799Sorting lines (by Robert Webb) ~
6800
6801Here is a Vim script to sort lines. Highlight the lines in Vim and type
6802":Sort". This doesn't call any external programs so it'll work on any
6803platform. The function Sort() actually takes the name of a comparison
6804function as its argument, like qsort() does in C. So you could supply it
6805with different comparison functions in order to sort according to date etc.
6806>
6807 :" Function for use with Sort(), to compare two strings.
6808 :func! Strcmp(str1, str2)
6809 : if (a:str1 < a:str2)
6810 : return -1
6811 : elseif (a:str1 > a:str2)
6812 : return 1
6813 : else
6814 : return 0
6815 : endif
6816 :endfunction
6817
6818 :" Sort lines. SortR() is called recursively.
6819 :func! SortR(start, end, cmp)
6820 : if (a:start >= a:end)
6821 : return
6822 : endif
6823 : let partition = a:start - 1
6824 : let middle = partition
6825 : let partStr = getline((a:start + a:end) / 2)
6826 : let i = a:start
6827 : while (i <= a:end)
6828 : let str = getline(i)
6829 : exec "let result = " . a:cmp . "(str, partStr)"
6830 : if (result <= 0)
6831 : " Need to put it before the partition. Swap lines i and partition.
6832 : let partition = partition + 1
6833 : if (result == 0)
6834 : let middle = partition
6835 : endif
6836 : if (i != partition)
6837 : let str2 = getline(partition)
6838 : call setline(i, str2)
6839 : call setline(partition, str)
6840 : endif
6841 : endif
6842 : let i = i + 1
6843 : endwhile
6844
6845 : " Now we have a pointer to the "middle" element, as far as partitioning
6846 : " goes, which could be anywhere before the partition. Make sure it is at
6847 : " the end of the partition.
6848 : if (middle != partition)
6849 : let str = getline(middle)
6850 : let str2 = getline(partition)
6851 : call setline(middle, str2)
6852 : call setline(partition, str)
6853 : endif
6854 : call SortR(a:start, partition - 1, a:cmp)
6855 : call SortR(partition + 1, a:end, a:cmp)
6856 :endfunc
6857
6858 :" To Sort a range of lines, pass the range to Sort() along with the name of a
6859 :" function that will compare two lines.
6860 :func! Sort(cmp) range
6861 : call SortR(a:firstline, a:lastline, a:cmp)
6862 :endfunc
6863
6864 :" :Sort takes a range of lines and sorts them.
6865 :command! -nargs=0 -range Sort <line1>,<line2>call Sort("Strcmp")
6866<
6867 *sscanf*
6868There is no sscanf() function in Vim. If you need to extract parts from a
6869line, you can use matchstr() and substitute() to do it. This example shows
6870how to get the file name, line number and column number out of a line like
6871"foobar.txt, 123, 45". >
6872 :" Set up the match bit
6873 :let mx='\(\f\+\),\s*\(\d\+\),\s*\(\d\+\)'
6874 :"get the part matching the whole expression
6875 :let l = matchstr(line, mx)
6876 :"get each item out of the match
6877 :let file = substitute(l, mx, '\1', '')
6878 :let lnum = substitute(l, mx, '\2', '')
6879 :let col = substitute(l, mx, '\3', '')
6880
6881The input is in the variable "line", the results in the variables "file",
6882"lnum" and "col". (idea from Michael Geddes)
6883
6884==============================================================================
688510. No +eval feature *no-eval-feature*
6886
6887When the |+eval| feature was disabled at compile time, none of the expression
6888evaluation commands are available. To prevent this from causing Vim scripts
6889to generate all kinds of errors, the ":if" and ":endif" commands are still
6890recognized, though the argument of the ":if" and everything between the ":if"
6891and the matching ":endif" is ignored. Nesting of ":if" blocks is allowed, but
6892only if the commands are at the start of the line. The ":else" command is not
6893recognized.
6894
6895Example of how to avoid executing commands when the |+eval| feature is
6896missing: >
6897
6898 :if 1
6899 : echo "Expression evaluation is compiled in"
6900 :else
6901 : echo "You will _never_ see this message"
6902 :endif
6903
6904==============================================================================
690511. The sandbox *eval-sandbox* *sandbox* *E48*
6906
6907The 'foldexpr', 'includeexpr', 'indentexpr', 'statusline' and 'foldtext'
6908options are evaluated in a sandbox. This means that you are protected from
6909these expressions having nasty side effects. This gives some safety for when
6910these options are set from a modeline. It is also used when the command from
Bram Moolenaarebefac62005-12-28 22:39:57 +00006911a tags file is executed and for CTRL-R = in the command line.
Bram Moolenaar7b0294c2004-10-11 10:16:09 +00006912The sandbox is also used for the |:sandbox| command.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00006913
6914These items are not allowed in the sandbox:
6915 - changing the buffer text
6916 - defining or changing mapping, autocommands, functions, user commands
6917 - setting certain options (see |option-summary|)
6918 - executing a shell command
6919 - reading or writing a file
6920 - jumping to another buffer or editing a file
Bram Moolenaar4770d092006-01-12 23:22:24 +00006921 - executing Python, Perl, etc. commands
Bram Moolenaar7b0294c2004-10-11 10:16:09 +00006922This is not guaranteed 100% secure, but it should block most attacks.
6923
6924 *:san* *:sandbox*
Bram Moolenaar045e82d2005-07-08 22:25:33 +00006925:san[dbox] {cmd} Execute {cmd} in the sandbox. Useful to evaluate an
Bram Moolenaar7b0294c2004-10-11 10:16:09 +00006926 option that may have been set from a modeline, e.g.
6927 'foldexpr'.
6928
Bram Moolenaarb71eaae2006-01-20 23:10:18 +00006929 *sandbox-option*
6930A few options contain an expression. When this expression is evaluated it may
6931have to be done in the sandbox to avoid trouble. But the sandbox is
6932restrictive, thus this only happens when the option was set from an insecure
6933location. Insecure in this context are:
6934- sourcing a .vimrc or .exrc in the current directlry
6935- while executing in the sandbox
6936- value coming from a modeline
6937
6938Note that when in the sandbox and saving an option value and restoring it, the
6939option will still be marked as it was set in the sandbox.
6940
6941==============================================================================
694212. Textlock *textlock*
6943
6944In a few situations it is not allowed to change the text in the buffer, jump
6945to another window and some other things that might confuse or break what Vim
6946is currently doing. This mostly applies to things that happen when Vim is
6947actually doing something else. For example, evaluating the 'balloonexpr' may
6948happen any moment the mouse cursor is resting at some position.
6949
6950This is not allowed when the textlock is active:
6951 - changing the buffer text
6952 - jumping to another buffer or window
6953 - editing another file
6954 - closing a window or quitting Vim
6955 - etc.
6956
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00006957
6958 vim:tw=78:ts=8:ft=help:norl: