blob: 9e4f850b9e67b24fb8f0395a633f18c52b259498 [file] [log] [blame]
Bram Moolenaare4efc3b2005-03-07 23:16:51 +00001*eval.txt* For Vim version 7.0aa. Last change: 2005 Mar 07
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 Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +000012done, the features in this document are not available. See |+eval| and
13|no-eval-feature|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +000014
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000151. Variables |variables|
16 1.1 Variable types
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +000017 1.2 Function references |Funcref|
Bram Moolenaar7c626922005-02-07 22:01:03 +000018 1.3 Lists |Lists|
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +000019 1.4 Dictionaries |Dictionaries|
20 1.5 More about variables |more-variables|
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000212. Expression syntax |expression-syntax|
223. Internal variable |internal-variables|
234. Builtin Functions |functions|
245. Defining functions |user-functions|
256. Curly braces names |curly-braces-names|
267. Commands |expression-commands|
278. Exception handling |exception-handling|
289. Examples |eval-examples|
2910. No +eval feature |no-eval-feature|
3011. The sandbox |eval-sandbox|
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +000031
32{Vi does not have any of these commands}
33
34==============================================================================
351. Variables *variables*
36
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000371.1 Variable types ~
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +000038 *E712*
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +000039There are four types of variables:
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +000040
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +000041Number A 32 bit signed number.
42 Examples: -123 0x10 0177
43
44String A NUL terminated string of 8-bit unsigned characters (bytes).
45 Examples: "ab\txx\"--" 'x-z''a,c'
46
47Funcref A reference to a function |Funcref|.
48 Example: function("strlen")
49
50List An ordered sequence of items |List|.
51 Example: [1, 2, ['a', 'b']]
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +000052
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +000053The Number and String types are converted automatically, depending on how they
54are used.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +000055
56Conversion from a Number to a String is by making the ASCII representation of
57the Number. Examples: >
58 Number 123 --> String "123"
59 Number 0 --> String "0"
60 Number -1 --> String "-1"
61
62Conversion from a String to a Number is done by converting the first digits
63to a number. Hexadecimal "0xf9" and Octal "017" numbers are recognized. If
64the String doesn't start with digits, the result is zero. Examples: >
65 String "456" --> Number 456
66 String "6bar" --> Number 6
67 String "foo" --> Number 0
68 String "0xf1" --> Number 241
69 String "0100" --> Number 64
70 String "-8" --> Number -8
71 String "+8" --> Number 0
72
73To force conversion from String to Number, add zero to it: >
74 :echo "0100" + 0
75
76For boolean operators Numbers are used. Zero is FALSE, non-zero is TRUE.
77
78Note that in the command >
79 :if "foo"
80"foo" is converted to 0, which means FALSE. To test for a non-empty string,
81use strlen(): >
82 :if strlen("foo")
Bram Moolenaar748bf032005-02-02 23:04:36 +000083< *E745* *E728* *E703* *E729* *E730* *E731*
84List, Dictionary and Funcref types are not automatically converted.
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +000085
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +000086 *E706*
87You will get an error if you try to change the type of a variable. You need
88to |:unlet| it first to avoid this error. String and Number are considered
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +000089equivalent though. Consider this sequence of commands: >
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +000090 :let l = "string"
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +000091 :let l = 44 " changes type from String to Number
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +000092 :let l = [1, 2, 3] " error!
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +000093
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +000094
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +0000951.2 Function references ~
Bram Moolenaar748bf032005-02-02 23:04:36 +000096 *Funcref* *E695* *E718*
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +000097A Funcref variable is obtained with the |function()| function. It can be used
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +000098in an expression in the place of a function name, before the parenthesis
99around the arguments, to invoke the function it refers to. Example: >
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000100
101 :let Fn = function("MyFunc")
102 :echo Fn()
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000103< *E704* *E705* *E707*
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000104A Funcref variable must start with a capital, "s:", "w:" or "b:". You cannot
105have both a Funcref variable and a function with the same name.
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000106
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000107A special case is defining a function and directly assigning its Funcref to a
108Dictionary entry. Example: >
109 :function dict.init() dict
110 : let self.val = 0
111 :endfunction
112
113The key of the Dictionary can start with a lower case letter. The actual
114function name is not used here. Also see |numbered-function|.
115
116A Funcref can also be used with the |:call| command: >
117 :call Fn()
118 :call dict.init()
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000119
120The name of the referenced function can be obtained with |string()|. >
Bram Moolenaar383f9bc2005-01-19 22:18:32 +0000121 :let func = string(Fn)
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000122
123You can use |call()| to invoke a Funcref and use a list variable for the
124arguments: >
Bram Moolenaar383f9bc2005-01-19 22:18:32 +0000125 :let r = call(Fn, mylist)
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000126
127
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +00001281.3 Lists ~
Bram Moolenaar7c626922005-02-07 22:01:03 +0000129 *List* *Lists* *E686*
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000130A List is an ordered sequence of items. An item can be of any type. Items
131can be accessed by their index number. Items can be added and removed at any
132position in the sequence.
133
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000134
135List creation ~
136 *E696* *E697*
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000137A List is created with a comma separated list of items in square brackets.
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000138Examples: >
139 :let mylist = [1, two, 3, "four"]
140 :let emptylist = []
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000141
142An item can be any expression. Using a List for an item creates a
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000143nested List: >
144 :let nestlist = [[11, 12], [21, 22], [31, 32]]
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000145
146An extra comma after the last item is ignored.
147
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000148
149List index ~
150 *list-index* *E684*
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000151An item in the List can be accessed by putting the index in square brackets
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000152after the List. Indexes are zero-based, thus the first item has index zero. >
153 :let item = mylist[0] " get the first item: 1
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000154 :let item = mylist[2] " get the third item: 3
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000155
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +0000156When the resulting item is a list this can be repeated: >
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000157 :let item = nestlist[0][1] " get the first list, second item: 12
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000158<
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000159A negative index is counted from the end. Index -1 refers to the last item in
160the List, -2 to the last but one item, etc. >
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000161 :let last = mylist[-1] " get the last item: "four"
162
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000163To avoid an error for an invalid index use the |get()| function. When an item
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +0000164is not available it returns zero or the default value you specify: >
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000165 :echo get(mylist, idx)
166 :echo get(mylist, idx, "NONE")
167
168
169List concatenation ~
170
171Two lists can be concatenated with the "+" operator: >
172 :let longlist = mylist + [5, 6]
Bram Moolenaar383f9bc2005-01-19 22:18:32 +0000173 :let mylist += [7, 8]
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000174
175To prepend or append an item turn the item into a list by putting [] around
176it. To change a list in-place see |list-modification| below.
177
178
179Sublist ~
180
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000181A part of the List can be obtained by specifying the first and last index,
182separated by a colon in square brackets: >
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000183 :let shortlist = mylist[2:-1] " get List [3, "four"]
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000184
185Omitting the first index is similar to zero. Omitting the last index is
186similar to -1. The difference is that there is no error if the items are not
187available. >
Bram Moolenaar540d6e32005-01-09 21:20:18 +0000188 :let endlist = mylist[2:] " from item 2 to the end: [3, "four"]
189 :let shortlist = mylist[2:2] " List with one item: [3]
190 :let otherlist = mylist[:] " make a copy of the List
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000191
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000192The second index can be just before the first index. In that case the result
193is an empty list. If the second index is lower, this results in an error. >
194 :echo mylist[2:1] " result: []
195 :echo mylist[2:0] " error!
196
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000197
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000198List identity ~
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000199 *list-identity*
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000200When variable "aa" is a list and you assign it to another variable "bb", both
201variables refer to the same list. Thus changing the list "aa" will also
202change "bb": >
203 :let aa = [1, 2, 3]
204 :let bb = aa
205 :call add(aa, 4)
206 :echo bb
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000207< [1, 2, 3, 4]
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000208
209Making a copy of a list is done with the |copy()| function. Using [:] also
210works, as explained above. This creates a shallow copy of the list: Changing
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +0000211a list item in the list will also change the item in the copied list: >
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000212 :let aa = [[1, 'a'], 2, 3]
213 :let bb = copy(aa)
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000214 :call add(aa, 4)
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000215 :let aa[0][1] = 'aaa'
216 :echo aa
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000217< [[1, aaa], 2, 3, 4] >
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000218 :echo bb
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000219< [[1, aaa], 2, 3]
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000220
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +0000221To make a completely independent list use |deepcopy()|. This also makes a
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000222copy of the values in the list, recursively. Up to a hundred levels deep.
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000223
224The operator "is" can be used to check if two variables refer to the same
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000225List. "isnot" does the opposite. In contrast "==" compares if two lists have
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +0000226the same value. >
227 :let alist = [1, 2, 3]
228 :let blist = [1, 2, 3]
229 :echo alist is blist
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000230< 0 >
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +0000231 :echo alist == blist
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000232< 1
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000233
234
235List unpack ~
236
237To unpack the items in a list to individual variables, put the variables in
238square brackets, like list items: >
239 :let [var1, var2] = mylist
240
241When the number of variables does not match the number of items in the list
242this produces an error. To handle any extra items from the list append ";"
243and a variable name: >
244 :let [var1, var2; rest] = mylist
245
246This works like: >
247 :let var1 = mylist[0]
248 :let var2 = mylist[1]
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +0000249 :let rest = mylist[2:]
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000250
251Except that there is no error if there are only two items. "rest" will be an
252empty list then.
253
254
255List modification ~
256 *list-modification*
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +0000257To change a specific item of a list use |:let| this way: >
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000258 :let list[4] = "four"
259 :let listlist[0][3] = item
260
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +0000261To change part of a list you can specify the first and last item to be
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000262modified. The value must at least have the number of items in the range: >
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +0000263 :let list[3:5] = [3, 4, 5]
264
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000265Adding and removing items from a list is done with functions. Here are a few
266examples: >
267 :call insert(list, 'a') " prepend item 'a'
268 :call insert(list, 'a', 3) " insert item 'a' before list[3]
269 :call add(list, "new") " append String item
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000270 :call add(list, [1, 2]) " append a List as one new item
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000271 :call extend(list, [1, 2]) " extend the list with two more items
272 :let i = remove(list, 3) " remove item 3
Bram Moolenaar9cd15162005-01-16 22:02:49 +0000273 :unlet list[3] " idem
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000274 :let l = remove(list, 3, -1) " remove items 3 to last item
Bram Moolenaar9cd15162005-01-16 22:02:49 +0000275 :unlet list[3 : ] " idem
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000276 :call filter(list, 'v:val !~ "x"') " remove items with an 'x'
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000277
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000278Changing the order of items in a list: >
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +0000279 :call sort(list) " sort a list alphabetically
280 :call reverse(list) " reverse the order of items
281
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000282
283For loop ~
284
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +0000285The |:for| loop executes commands for each item in a list. A variable is set
286to each item in the list in sequence. Example: >
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000287 :for item in mylist
288 : call Doit(item)
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000289 :endfor
290
291This works like: >
292 :let index = 0
293 :while index < len(mylist)
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000294 : let item = mylist[index]
295 : :call Doit(item)
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000296 : let index = index + 1
297 :endwhile
298
299Note that all items in the list should be of the same type, otherwise this
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000300results in error |E706|. To avoid this |:unlet| the variable at the end of
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +0000301the loop.
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000302
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +0000303If all you want to do is modify each item in the list then the |map()|
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000304function will be a simpler method than a for loop.
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +0000305
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000306Just like the |:let| command, |:for| also accepts a list of variables. This
307requires the argument to be a list of lists. >
308 :for [lnum, col] in [[1, 3], [2, 8], [3, 0]]
309 : call Doit(lnum, col)
310 :endfor
311
312This works like a |:let| command is done for each list item. Again, the types
313must remain the same to avoid an error.
314
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000315It is also possible to put remaining items in a List variable: >
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000316 :for [i, j; rest] in listlist
317 : call Doit(i, j)
318 : if !empty(rest)
319 : echo "remainder: " . string(rest)
320 : endif
321 :endfor
322
323
324List functions ~
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000325 *E714*
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000326Functions that are useful with a List: >
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +0000327 :let r = call(funcname, list) " call a function with an argument list
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000328 :if empty(list) " check if list is empty
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000329 :let l = len(list) " number of items in list
330 :let big = max(list) " maximum value in list
331 :let small = min(list) " minimum value in list
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +0000332 :let xs = count(list, 'x') " count nr of times 'x' appears in list
333 :let i = index(list, 'x') " index of first 'x' in list
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000334 :let lines = getline(1, 10) " get ten text lines from buffer
335 :call append('$', lines) " append text lines in buffer
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +0000336 :let list = split("a b c") " create list from items in a string
337 :let string = join(list, ', ') " create string from list items
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000338 :let s = string(list) " String representation of list
339 :call map(list, '">> " . v:val') " prepend ">> " to each item
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000340
341
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +00003421.4 Dictionaries ~
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000343 *Dictionaries* *Dictionary*
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000344A Dictionary is an associative array: Each entry has a key and a value. The
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000345entry can be located with the key. The entries are stored without a specific
346ordering.
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000347
348
349Dictionary creation ~
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000350 *E720* *E721* *E722* *E723*
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000351A Dictionary is created with a comma separated list of entries in curly
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000352braces. Each entry has a key and a value, separated by a colon. Each key can
353only appear once. Examples: >
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000354 :let mydict = {1: 'one', 2: 'two', 3: 'three'}
355 :let emptydict = {}
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000356< *E713* *E716* *E717*
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000357A key is always a String. You can use a Number, it will be converted to a
358String automatically. Thus the String '4' and the number 4 will find the same
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000359entry. Note that the String '04' and the Number 04 are different, since the
360Number will be converted to the String '4'.
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000361
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000362A value can be any expression. Using a Dictionary for a value creates a
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000363nested Dictionary: >
364 :let nestdict = {1: {11: 'a', 12: 'b'}, 2: {21: 'c'}}
365
366An extra comma after the last entry is ignored.
367
368
369Accessing entries ~
370
371The normal way to access an entry is by putting the key in square brackets: >
372 :let val = mydict["one"]
373 :let mydict["four"] = 4
374
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000375You can add new entries to an existing Dictionary this way, unlike Lists.
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000376
377For keys that consist entirely of letters, digits and underscore the following
378form can be used |expr-entry|: >
379 :let val = mydict.one
380 :let mydict.four = 4
381
382Since an entry can be any type, also a List and a Dictionary, the indexing and
383key lookup can be repeated: >
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000384 :echo dict.key[idx].key
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000385
386
387Dictionary to List conversion ~
388
389You may want to loop over the entries in a dictionary. For this you need to
390turn the Dictionary into a List and pass it to |:for|.
391
392Most often you want to loop over the keys, using the |keys()| function: >
393 :for key in keys(mydict)
394 : echo key . ': ' . mydict[key]
395 :endfor
396
397The List of keys is unsorted. You may want to sort them first: >
398 :for key in sort(keys(mydict))
399
400To loop over the values use the |values()| function: >
401 :for v in values(mydict)
402 : echo "value: " . v
403 :endfor
404
405If you want both the key and the value use the |items()| function. It returns
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000406a List in which each item is a List with two items, the key and the value: >
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000407 :for entry in items(mydict)
408 : echo entry[0] . ': ' . entry[1]
409 :endfor
410
411
412Dictionary identity ~
Bram Moolenaar7c626922005-02-07 22:01:03 +0000413 *dict-identity*
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000414Just like Lists you need to use |copy()| and |deepcopy()| to make a copy of a
415Dictionary. Otherwise, assignment results in referring to the same
416Dictionary: >
417 :let onedict = {'a': 1, 'b': 2}
418 :let adict = onedict
419 :let adict['a'] = 11
420 :echo onedict['a']
421 11
422
423For more info see |list-identity|.
424
425
426Dictionary modification ~
427 *dict-modification*
428To change an already existing entry of a Dictionary, or to add a new entry,
429use |:let| this way: >
430 :let dict[4] = "four"
431 :let dict['one'] = item
432
Bram Moolenaar9cd15162005-01-16 22:02:49 +0000433Removing an entry from a Dictionary is done with |remove()| or |:unlet|.
434Three ways to remove the entry with key "aaa" from dict: >
435 :let i = remove(dict, 'aaa')
436 :unlet dict.aaa
437 :unlet dict['aaa']
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000438
439Merging a Dictionary with another is done with |extend()|: >
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000440 :call extend(adict, bdict)
441This extends adict with all entries from bdict. Duplicate keys cause entries
442in adict to be overwritten. An optional third argument can change this.
Bram Moolenaar383f9bc2005-01-19 22:18:32 +0000443Note that the order of entries in a Dictionary is irrelevant, thus don't
444expect ":echo adict" to show the items from bdict after the older entries in
445adict.
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000446
447Weeding out entries from a Dictionary can be done with |filter()|: >
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000448 :call filter(dict 'v:val =~ "x"')
449This removes all entries from "dict" with a value not matching 'x'.
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000450
451
452Dictionary function ~
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000453 *Dictionary-function* *self* *E725*
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000454When a function is defined with the "dict" attribute it can be used in a
455special way with a dictionary. Example: >
456 :function Mylen() dict
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000457 : return len(self.data)
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000458 :endfunction
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000459 :let mydict = {'data': [0, 1, 2, 3], 'len': function("Mylen")}
460 :echo mydict.len()
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000461
462This is like a method in object oriented programming. The entry in the
463Dictionary is a |Funcref|. The local variable "self" refers to the dictionary
464the function was invoked from.
465
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000466It is also possible to add a function without the "dict" attribute as a
467Funcref to a Dictionary, but the "self" variable is not available then.
468
469 *numbered-function*
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000470To avoid the extra name for the function it can be defined and directly
471assigned to a Dictionary in this way: >
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000472 :let mydict = {'data': [0, 1, 2, 3]}
473 :function mydict.len() dict
474 : return len(self.data)
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000475 :endfunction
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000476 :echo mydict.len()
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000477
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000478The function will then get a number and the value of dict.len is a |Funcref|
479that references this function. The function can only be used through a
480|Funcref|. It will automatically be deleted when there is no |Funcref|
481remaining that refers to it.
482
483It is not necessary to use the "dict" attribute for a numbered function.
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000484
485
486Functions for Dictionaries ~
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000487 *E715*
488Functions that can be used with a Dictionary: >
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000489 :if has_key(dict, 'foo') " TRUE if dict has entry with key "foo"
490 :if empty(dict) " TRUE if dict is empty
491 :let l = len(dict) " number of items in dict
492 :let big = max(dict) " maximum value in dict
493 :let small = min(dict) " minimum value in dict
494 :let xs = count(dict, 'x') " count nr of times 'x' appears in dict
495 :let s = string(dict) " String representation of dict
496 :call map(dict, '">> " . v:val') " prepend ">> " to each item
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000497
498
4991.5 More about variables ~
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000500 *more-variables*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000501If you need to know the type of a variable or expression, use the |type()|
502function.
503
504When the '!' flag is included in the 'viminfo' option, global variables that
505start with an uppercase letter, and don't contain a lowercase letter, are
506stored in the viminfo file |viminfo-file|.
507
508When the 'sessionoptions' option contains "global", global variables that
509start with an uppercase letter and contain at least one lowercase letter are
510stored in the session file |session-file|.
511
512variable name can be stored where ~
513my_var_6 not
514My_Var_6 session file
515MY_VAR_6 viminfo file
516
517
518It's possible to form a variable name with curly braces, see
519|curly-braces-names|.
520
521==============================================================================
5222. Expression syntax *expression-syntax*
523
524Expression syntax summary, from least to most significant:
525
526|expr1| expr2 ? expr1 : expr1 if-then-else
527
528|expr2| expr3 || expr3 .. logical OR
529
530|expr3| expr4 && expr4 .. logical AND
531
532|expr4| expr5 == expr5 equal
533 expr5 != expr5 not equal
534 expr5 > expr5 greater than
535 expr5 >= expr5 greater than or equal
536 expr5 < expr5 smaller than
537 expr5 <= expr5 smaller than or equal
538 expr5 =~ expr5 regexp matches
539 expr5 !~ expr5 regexp doesn't match
540
541 expr5 ==? expr5 equal, ignoring case
542 expr5 ==# expr5 equal, match case
543 etc. As above, append ? for ignoring case, # for
544 matching case
545
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +0000546 expr5 is expr5 same List instance
547 expr5 isnot expr5 different List instance
548
549|expr5| expr6 + expr6 .. number addition or list concatenation
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000550 expr6 - expr6 .. number subtraction
551 expr6 . expr6 .. string concatenation
552
553|expr6| expr7 * expr7 .. number multiplication
554 expr7 / expr7 .. number division
555 expr7 % expr7 .. number modulo
556
557|expr7| ! expr7 logical NOT
558 - expr7 unary minus
559 + expr7 unary plus
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000560
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000561
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000562|expr8| expr8[expr1] byte of a String or item of a List
563 expr8[expr1 : expr1] substring of a String or sublist of a List
564 expr8.name entry in a Dictionary
565 expr8(expr1, ...) function call with Funcref variable
566
567|expr9| number number constant
Bram Moolenaar3fdfa4a2004-10-07 21:02:47 +0000568 "string" string constant, backslash is special
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000569 'string' string constant, ' is doubled
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000570 [expr1, ...] List
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000571 {expr1: expr1, ...} Dictionary
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000572 &option option value
573 (expr1) nested expression
574 variable internal variable
575 va{ria}ble internal variable with curly braces
576 $VAR environment variable
577 @r contents of register 'r'
578 function(expr1, ...) function call
579 func{ti}on(expr1, ...) function call with curly braces
580
581
582".." indicates that the operations in this level can be concatenated.
583Example: >
584 &nu || &list && &shell == "csh"
585
586All expressions within one level are parsed from left to right.
587
588
589expr1 *expr1* *E109*
590-----
591
592expr2 ? expr1 : expr1
593
594The expression before the '?' is evaluated to a number. If it evaluates to
595non-zero, the result is the value of the expression between the '?' and ':',
596otherwise the result is the value of the expression after the ':'.
597Example: >
598 :echo lnum == 1 ? "top" : lnum
599
600Since the first expression is an "expr2", it cannot contain another ?:. The
601other two expressions can, thus allow for recursive use of ?:.
602Example: >
603 :echo lnum == 1 ? "top" : lnum == 1000 ? "last" : lnum
604
605To keep this readable, using |line-continuation| is suggested: >
606 :echo lnum == 1
607 :\ ? "top"
608 :\ : lnum == 1000
609 :\ ? "last"
610 :\ : lnum
611
612
613expr2 and expr3 *expr2* *expr3*
614---------------
615
616 *expr-barbar* *expr-&&*
617The "||" and "&&" operators take one argument on each side. The arguments
618are (converted to) Numbers. The result is:
619
620 input output ~
621n1 n2 n1 || n2 n1 && n2 ~
622zero zero zero zero
623zero non-zero non-zero zero
624non-zero zero non-zero zero
625non-zero non-zero non-zero non-zero
626
627The operators can be concatenated, for example: >
628
629 &nu || &list && &shell == "csh"
630
631Note that "&&" takes precedence over "||", so this has the meaning of: >
632
633 &nu || (&list && &shell == "csh")
634
635Once the result is known, the expression "short-circuits", that is, further
636arguments are not evaluated. This is like what happens in C. For example: >
637
638 let a = 1
639 echo a || b
640
641This is valid even if there is no variable called "b" because "a" is non-zero,
642so the result must be non-zero. Similarly below: >
643
644 echo exists("b") && b == "yes"
645
646This is valid whether "b" has been defined or not. The second clause will
647only be evaluated if "b" has been defined.
648
649
650expr4 *expr4*
651-----
652
653expr5 {cmp} expr5
654
655Compare two expr5 expressions, resulting in a 0 if it evaluates to false, or 1
656if it evaluates to true.
657
658 *expr-==* *expr-!=* *expr->* *expr->=*
659 *expr-<* *expr-<=* *expr-=~* *expr-!~*
660 *expr-==#* *expr-!=#* *expr->#* *expr->=#*
661 *expr-<#* *expr-<=#* *expr-=~#* *expr-!~#*
662 *expr-==?* *expr-!=?* *expr->?* *expr->=?*
663 *expr-<?* *expr-<=?* *expr-=~?* *expr-!~?*
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +0000664 *expr-is*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000665 use 'ignorecase' match case ignore case ~
666equal == ==# ==?
667not equal != !=# !=?
668greater than > ># >?
669greater than or equal >= >=# >=?
670smaller than < <# <?
671smaller than or equal <= <=# <=?
672regexp matches =~ =~# =~?
673regexp doesn't match !~ !~# !~?
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +0000674same instance is
675different instance isnot
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000676
677Examples:
678"abc" ==# "Abc" evaluates to 0
679"abc" ==? "Abc" evaluates to 1
680"abc" == "Abc" evaluates to 1 if 'ignorecase' is set, 0 otherwise
681
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000682 *E691* *E692*
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +0000683A List can only be compared with a List and only "equal", "not equal" and "is"
684can be used. This compares the values of the list, recursively. Ignoring
685case means case is ignored when comparing item values.
686
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000687 *E735* *E736*
688A Dictionary can only be compared with a Dictionary and only "equal", "not
689equal" and "is" can be used. This compares the key/values of the Dictionary,
690recursively. Ignoring case means case is ignored when comparing item values.
691
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000692 *E693* *E694*
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +0000693A Funcref can only be compared with a Funcref and only "equal" and "not equal"
694can be used. Case is never ignored.
695
696When using "is" or "isnot" with a List this checks if the expressions are
697referring to the same List instance. A copy of a List is different from the
698original List. When using "is" without a List it is equivalent to using
699"equal", using "isnot" equivalent to using "not equal". Except that a
700different type means the values are different. "4 == '4'" is true, "4 is '4'"
701is false.
702
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000703When comparing a String with a Number, the String is converted to a Number,
704and the comparison is done on Numbers. This means that "0 == 'x'" is TRUE,
705because 'x' converted to a Number is zero.
706
707When comparing two Strings, this is done with strcmp() or stricmp(). This
708results in the mathematical difference (comparing byte values), not
709necessarily the alphabetical difference in the local language.
710
711When using the operators with a trailing '#", or the short version and
712'ignorecase' is off, the comparing is done with strcmp().
713
714When using the operators with a trailing '?', or the short version and
715'ignorecase' is set, the comparing is done with stricmp().
716
717The "=~" and "!~" operators match the lefthand argument with the righthand
718argument, which is used as a pattern. See |pattern| for what a pattern is.
719This matching is always done like 'magic' was set and 'cpoptions' is empty, no
720matter what the actual value of 'magic' or 'cpoptions' is. This makes scripts
721portable. To avoid backslashes in the regexp pattern to be doubled, use a
722single-quote string, see |literal-string|.
723Since a string is considered to be a single line, a multi-line pattern
724(containing \n, backslash-n) will not match. However, a literal NL character
725can be matched like an ordinary character. Examples:
726 "foo\nbar" =~ "\n" evaluates to 1
727 "foo\nbar" =~ "\\n" evaluates to 0
728
729
730expr5 and expr6 *expr5* *expr6*
731---------------
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +0000732expr6 + expr6 .. Number addition or List concatenation *expr-+*
733expr6 - expr6 .. Number subtraction *expr--*
734expr6 . expr6 .. String concatenation *expr-.*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000735
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +0000736For Lists only "+" is possible and then both expr6 must be a list. The result
737is a new list with the two lists Concatenated.
738
739expr7 * expr7 .. number multiplication *expr-star*
740expr7 / expr7 .. number division *expr-/*
741expr7 % expr7 .. number modulo *expr-%*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000742
743For all, except ".", Strings are converted to Numbers.
744
745Note the difference between "+" and ".":
746 "123" + "456" = 579
747 "123" . "456" = "123456"
748
749When the righthand side of '/' is zero, the result is 0x7fffffff.
750When the righthand side of '%' is zero, the result is 0.
751
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +0000752None of these work for Funcrefs.
753
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000754
755expr7 *expr7*
756-----
757! expr7 logical NOT *expr-!*
758- expr7 unary minus *expr-unary--*
759+ expr7 unary plus *expr-unary-+*
760
761For '!' non-zero becomes zero, zero becomes one.
762For '-' the sign of the number is changed.
763For '+' the number is unchanged.
764
765A String will be converted to a Number first.
766
767These three can be repeated and mixed. Examples:
768 !-1 == 0
769 !!8 == 1
770 --9 == 9
771
772
773expr8 *expr8*
774-----
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000775expr8[expr1] item of String or List *expr-[]* *E111*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000776
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000777If expr8 is a Number or String this results in a String that contains the
778expr1'th single byte from expr8. expr8 is used as a String, expr1 as a
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000779Number. Note that this doesn't recognize multi-byte encodings.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000780
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000781Index zero gives the first character. This is like it works in C. Careful:
782text column numbers start with one! Example, to get the character under the
783cursor: >
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000784 :let c = getline(line("."))[col(".") - 1]
785
786If the length of the String is less than the index, the result is an empty
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000787String. A negative index always results in an empty string (reason: backwards
788compatibility). Use [-1:] to get the last byte.
789
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000790If expr8 is a List then it results the item at index expr1. See |list-index|
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000791for possible index values. If the index is out of range this results in an
792error. Example: >
793 :let item = mylist[-1] " get last item
794
795Generally, if a List index is equal to or higher than the length of the List,
796or more negative than the length of the List, this results in an error.
797
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000798
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000799expr8[expr1a : expr1b] substring or sublist *expr-[:]*
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000800
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000801If expr8 is a Number or String this results in the substring with the bytes
802from expr1a to and including expr1b. expr8 is used as a String, expr1a and
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000803expr1b are used as a Number. Note that this doesn't recognize multi-byte
804encodings.
805
806If expr1a is omitted zero is used. If expr1b is omitted the length of the
807string minus one is used.
808
809A negative number can be used to measure from the end of the string. -1 is
810the last character, -2 the last but one, etc.
811
812If an index goes out of range for the string characters are omitted. If
813expr1b is smaller than expr1a the result is an empty string.
814
815Examples: >
816 :let c = name[-1:] " last byte of a string
817 :let c = name[-2:-2] " last but one byte of a string
818 :let s = line(".")[4:] " from the fifth byte to the end
819 :let s = s[:-3] " remove last two bytes
820
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000821If expr8 is a List this results in a new List with the items indicated by the
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000822indexes expr1a and expr1b. This works like with a String, as explained just
823above, except that indexes out of range cause an error. Examples: >
824 :let l = mylist[:3] " first four items
825 :let l = mylist[4:4] " List with one item
826 :let l = mylist[:] " shallow copy of a List
827
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000828Using expr8[expr1] or expr8[expr1a : expr1b] on a Funcref results in an error.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000829
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000830
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000831expr8.name entry in a Dictionary *expr-entry*
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000832
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000833If expr8 is a Dictionary and it is followed by a dot, then the following name
834will be used as a key in the Dictionary. This is just like: expr8[name].
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000835
836The name must consist of alphanumeric characters, just like a variable name,
837but it may start with a number. Curly braces cannot be used.
838
839There must not be white space before or after the dot.
840
841Examples: >
842 :let dict = {"one": 1, 2: "two"}
843 :echo dict.one
844 :echo dict .2
845
846Note that the dot is also used for String concatenation. To avoid confusion
847always put spaces around the dot for String concatenation.
848
849
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000850expr8(expr1, ...) Funcref function call
851
852When expr8 is a |Funcref| type variable, invoke the function it refers to.
853
854
855
856 *expr9*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000857number
858------
859number number constant *expr-number*
860
861Decimal, Hexadecimal (starting with 0x or 0X), or Octal (starting with 0).
862
863
864string *expr-string* *E114*
865------
866"string" string constant *expr-quote*
867
868Note that double quotes are used.
869
870A string constant accepts these special characters:
871\... three-digit octal number (e.g., "\316")
872\.. two-digit octal number (must be followed by non-digit)
873\. one-digit octal number (must be followed by non-digit)
874\x.. byte specified with two hex numbers (e.g., "\x1f")
875\x. byte specified with one hex number (must be followed by non-hex char)
876\X.. same as \x..
877\X. same as \x.
878\u.... character specified with up to 4 hex numbers, stored according to the
879 current value of 'encoding' (e.g., "\u02a4")
880\U.... same as \u....
881\b backspace <BS>
882\e escape <Esc>
883\f formfeed <FF>
884\n newline <NL>
885\r return <CR>
886\t tab <Tab>
887\\ backslash
888\" double quote
889\<xxx> Special key named "xxx". e.g. "\<C-W>" for CTRL-W.
890
891Note that "\000" and "\x00" force the end of the string.
892
893
894literal-string *literal-string* *E115*
895---------------
Bram Moolenaar3fdfa4a2004-10-07 21:02:47 +0000896'string' string constant *expr-'*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000897
898Note that single quotes are used.
899
Bram Moolenaar3fdfa4a2004-10-07 21:02:47 +0000900This string is taken as it is. No backslashes are removed or have a special
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000901meaning. The only exception is that two quotes stand for one quote.
Bram Moolenaar3fdfa4a2004-10-07 21:02:47 +0000902
903Single quoted strings are useful for patterns, so that backslashes do not need
904to be doubled. These two commands are equivalent: >
905 if a =~ "\\s*"
906 if a =~ '\s*'
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000907
908
909option *expr-option* *E112* *E113*
910------
911&option option value, local value if possible
912&g:option global option value
913&l:option local option value
914
915Examples: >
916 echo "tabstop is " . &tabstop
917 if &insertmode
918
919Any option name can be used here. See |options|. When using the local value
920and there is no buffer-local or window-local value, the global value is used
921anyway.
922
923
924register *expr-register*
925--------
926@r contents of register 'r'
927
928The result is the contents of the named register, as a single string.
929Newlines are inserted where required. To get the contents of the unnamed
930register use @" or @@. The '=' register can not be used here. See
931|registers| for an explanation of the available registers.
932
933
934nesting *expr-nesting* *E110*
935-------
936(expr1) nested expression
937
938
939environment variable *expr-env*
940--------------------
941$VAR environment variable
942
943The String value of any environment variable. When it is not defined, the
944result is an empty string.
945 *expr-env-expand*
946Note that there is a difference between using $VAR directly and using
947expand("$VAR"). Using it directly will only expand environment variables that
948are known inside the current Vim session. Using expand() will first try using
949the environment variables known inside the current Vim session. If that
950fails, a shell will be used to expand the variable. This can be slow, but it
951does expand all variables that the shell knows about. Example: >
952 :echo $version
953 :echo expand("$version")
954The first one probably doesn't echo anything, the second echoes the $version
955variable (if your shell supports it).
956
957
958internal variable *expr-variable*
959-----------------
960variable internal variable
961See below |internal-variables|.
962
963
Bram Moolenaar05159a02005-02-26 23:04:13 +0000964function call *expr-function* *E116* *E118* *E119* *E120*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000965-------------
966function(expr1, ...) function call
967See below |functions|.
968
969
970==============================================================================
9713. Internal variable *internal-variables* *E121*
972 *E461*
973An internal variable name can be made up of letters, digits and '_'. But it
974cannot start with a digit. It's also possible to use curly braces, see
975|curly-braces-names|.
976
977An internal variable is created with the ":let" command |:let|.
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +0000978An internal variable is explicitly destroyed with the ":unlet" command
979|:unlet|.
980Using a name that is not an internal variable or refers to a variable that has
981been destroyed results in an error.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000982
983There are several name spaces for variables. Which one is to be used is
984specified by what is prepended:
985
986 (nothing) In a function: local to a function; otherwise: global
987|buffer-variable| b: Local to the current buffer.
988|window-variable| w: Local to the current window.
989|global-variable| g: Global.
990|local-variable| l: Local to a function.
991|script-variable| s: Local to a |:source|'ed Vim script.
992|function-argument| a: Function argument (only inside a function).
993|vim-variable| v: Global, predefined by Vim.
994
Bram Moolenaar8f999f12005-01-25 22:12:55 +0000995The scope name by itself can be used as a Dictionary. For example, to delete
996all script-local variables: >
997 :for k in keys(s:)
998 : unlet s:[k]
999 :endfor
1000<
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001001 *buffer-variable* *b:var*
1002A variable name that is preceded with "b:" is local to the current buffer.
1003Thus you can have several "b:foo" variables, one for each buffer.
1004This kind of variable is deleted when the buffer is wiped out or deleted with
1005|:bdelete|.
1006
1007One local buffer variable is predefined:
1008 *b:changedtick-variable* *changetick*
1009b:changedtick The total number of changes to the current buffer. It is
1010 incremented for each change. An undo command is also a change
1011 in this case. This can be used to perform an action only when
1012 the buffer has changed. Example: >
1013 :if my_changedtick != b:changedtick
1014 : let my_changedtick = b:changedtick
1015 : call My_Update()
1016 :endif
1017<
1018 *window-variable* *w:var*
1019A variable name that is preceded with "w:" is local to the current window. It
1020is deleted when the window is closed.
1021
1022 *global-variable* *g:var*
1023Inside functions global variables are accessed with "g:". Omitting this will
1024access a variable local to a function. But "g:" can also be used in any other
1025place if you like.
1026
1027 *local-variable* *l:var*
1028Inside functions local variables are accessed without prepending anything.
1029But you can also prepend "l:" if you like.
1030
1031 *script-variable* *s:var*
1032In a Vim script variables starting with "s:" can be used. They cannot be
1033accessed from outside of the scripts, thus are local to the script.
1034
1035They can be used in:
1036- commands executed while the script is sourced
1037- functions defined in the script
1038- autocommands defined in the script
1039- functions and autocommands defined in functions and autocommands which were
1040 defined in the script (recursively)
1041- user defined commands defined in the script
1042Thus not in:
1043- other scripts sourced from this one
1044- mappings
1045- etc.
1046
1047script variables can be used to avoid conflicts with global variable names.
1048Take this example:
1049
1050 let s:counter = 0
1051 function MyCounter()
1052 let s:counter = s:counter + 1
1053 echo s:counter
1054 endfunction
1055 command Tick call MyCounter()
1056
1057You can now invoke "Tick" from any script, and the "s:counter" variable in
1058that script will not be changed, only the "s:counter" in the script where
1059"Tick" was defined is used.
1060
1061Another example that does the same: >
1062
1063 let s:counter = 0
1064 command Tick let s:counter = s:counter + 1 | echo s:counter
1065
1066When calling a function and invoking a user-defined command, the context for
Bram Moolenaar69a7cb42004-06-20 12:51:53 +00001067script variables is set to the script where the function or command was
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001068defined.
1069
1070The script variables are also available when a function is defined inside a
1071function that is defined in a script. Example: >
1072
1073 let s:counter = 0
1074 function StartCounting(incr)
1075 if a:incr
1076 function MyCounter()
1077 let s:counter = s:counter + 1
1078 endfunction
1079 else
1080 function MyCounter()
1081 let s:counter = s:counter - 1
1082 endfunction
1083 endif
1084 endfunction
1085
1086This defines the MyCounter() function either for counting up or counting down
1087when calling StartCounting(). It doesn't matter from where StartCounting() is
1088called, the s:counter variable will be accessible in MyCounter().
1089
1090When the same script is sourced again it will use the same script variables.
1091They will remain valid as long as Vim is running. This can be used to
1092maintain a counter: >
1093
1094 if !exists("s:counter")
1095 let s:counter = 1
1096 echo "script executed for the first time"
1097 else
1098 let s:counter = s:counter + 1
1099 echo "script executed " . s:counter . " times now"
1100 endif
1101
1102Note that this means that filetype plugins don't get a different set of script
1103variables for each buffer. Use local buffer variables instead |b:var|.
1104
1105
1106Predefined Vim variables: *vim-variable* *v:var*
1107
Bram Moolenaare4efc3b2005-03-07 23:16:51 +00001108 *v:beval_col* *beval_col-variable*
1109v:beval_col The number of the column, over which the mouse pointer is.
1110 This is the byte index in the |v:beval_lnum| line.
1111 Only valid while evaluating the 'balloonexpr' option.
1112
1113 *v:beval_bufnr* *beval_bufnr-variable*
1114v:beval_bufnr The number of the buffer, over which the mouse pointer is. Only
1115 valid while evaluating the 'balloonexpr' option.
1116
1117 *v:beval_lnum* *beval_lnum-variable*
1118v:beval_lnum The number of the line, over which the mouse pointer is. Only
1119 valid while evaluating the 'balloonexpr' option.
1120
1121 *v:beval_text* *beval_text-variable*
1122v:beval_text The text under or after the mouse pointer. Usually a word as it is
1123 useful for debugging a C program. 'iskeyword' applies, but a
1124 dot and "->" before the position is included. When on a ']'
1125 the text before it is used, including the matching '[' and
1126 word before it. When on a Visual area within one line the
1127 highlighted text is used.
1128 Only valid while evaluating the 'balloonexpr' option.
1129
1130 *v:beval_winnr* *beval_winnr-variable*
1131v:beval_winnr The number of the window, over which the mouse pointer is. Only
1132 valid while evaluating the 'balloonexpr' option.
1133
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001134 *v:charconvert_from* *charconvert_from-variable*
1135v:charconvert_from
1136 The name of the character encoding of a file to be converted.
1137 Only valid while evaluating the 'charconvert' option.
1138
1139 *v:charconvert_to* *charconvert_to-variable*
1140v:charconvert_to
1141 The name of the character encoding of a file after conversion.
1142 Only valid while evaluating the 'charconvert' option.
1143
1144 *v:cmdarg* *cmdarg-variable*
1145v:cmdarg This variable is used for two purposes:
1146 1. The extra arguments given to a file read/write command.
1147 Currently these are "++enc=" and "++ff=". This variable is
1148 set before an autocommand event for a file read/write
1149 command is triggered. There is a leading space to make it
1150 possible to append this variable directly after the
1151 read/write command. Note: The "+cmd" argument isn't
1152 included here, because it will be executed anyway.
1153 2. When printing a PostScript file with ":hardcopy" this is
1154 the argument for the ":hardcopy" command. This can be used
1155 in 'printexpr'.
1156
1157 *v:cmdbang* *cmdbang-variable*
1158v:cmdbang Set like v:cmdarg for a file read/write command. When a "!"
1159 was used the value is 1, otherwise it is 0. Note that this
1160 can only be used in autocommands. For user commands |<bang>|
1161 can be used.
1162
1163 *v:count* *count-variable*
1164v:count The count given for the last Normal mode command. Can be used
1165 to get the count before a mapping. Read-only. Example: >
1166 :map _x :<C-U>echo "the count is " . v:count<CR>
1167< Note: The <C-U> is required to remove the line range that you
1168 get when typing ':' after a count.
1169 "count" also works, for backwards compatibility.
1170
1171 *v:count1* *count1-variable*
1172v:count1 Just like "v:count", but defaults to one when no count is
1173 used.
1174
1175 *v:ctype* *ctype-variable*
1176v:ctype The current locale setting for characters of the runtime
1177 environment. This allows Vim scripts to be aware of the
1178 current locale encoding. Technical: it's the value of
1179 LC_CTYPE. When not using a locale the value is "C".
1180 This variable can not be set directly, use the |:language|
1181 command.
1182 See |multi-lang|.
1183
1184 *v:dying* *dying-variable*
1185v:dying Normally zero. When a deadly signal is caught it's set to
1186 one. When multiple signals are caught the number increases.
1187 Can be used in an autocommand to check if Vim didn't
1188 terminate normally. {only works on Unix}
1189 Example: >
1190 :au VimLeave * if v:dying | echo "\nAAAAaaaarrrggghhhh!!!\n" | endif
1191<
1192 *v:errmsg* *errmsg-variable*
1193v:errmsg Last given error message. It's allowed to set this variable.
1194 Example: >
1195 :let v:errmsg = ""
1196 :silent! next
1197 :if v:errmsg != ""
1198 : ... handle error
1199< "errmsg" also works, for backwards compatibility.
1200
1201 *v:exception* *exception-variable*
1202v:exception The value of the exception most recently caught and not
1203 finished. See also |v:throwpoint| and |throw-variables|.
1204 Example: >
1205 :try
1206 : throw "oops"
1207 :catch /.*/
1208 : echo "caught" v:exception
1209 :endtry
1210< Output: "caught oops".
1211
Bram Moolenaar19a09a12005-03-04 23:39:37 +00001212 *v:fcs_reason* *fcs_reason-variable*
1213v:fcs_reason The reason why the |FileChangedShell| event was triggered.
1214 Can be used in an autocommand to decide what to do and/or what
1215 to set v:fcs_choice to. Possible values:
1216 deleted file no longer exists
1217 conflict file contents, mode or timestamp was
1218 changed and buffer is modified
1219 changed file contents has changed
1220 mode mode of file changed
1221 time only file timestamp changed
1222
1223 *v:fcs_choice* *fcs_choice-variable*
1224v:fcs_choice What should happen after a |FileChangedShell| event was
1225 triggered. Can be used in an autocommand to tell Vim what to
1226 do with the affected buffer:
1227 reload Reload the buffer (does not work if
1228 the file was deleted).
1229 ask Ask the user what to do, as if there
1230 was no autocommand. Except that when
1231 only the timestamp changed nothing
1232 will happen.
1233 <empty> Nothing, the autocommand should do
1234 everything that needs to be done.
1235 The default is empty. If another (invalid) value is used then
1236 Vim behaves like it is empty, there is no warning message.
1237
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001238 *v:fname_in* *fname_in-variable*
1239v:fname_in The name of the input file. Only valid while evaluating:
1240 option used for ~
1241 'charconvert' file to be converted
1242 'diffexpr' original file
1243 'patchexpr' original file
1244 'printexpr' file to be printed
1245
1246 *v:fname_out* *fname_out-variable*
1247v:fname_out The name of the output file. Only valid while
1248 evaluating:
1249 option used for ~
1250 'charconvert' resulting converted file (*)
1251 'diffexpr' output of diff
1252 'patchexpr' resulting patched file
1253 (*) When doing conversion for a write command (e.g., ":w
1254 file") it will be equal to v:fname_in. When doing conversion
1255 for a read command (e.g., ":e file") it will be a temporary
1256 file and different from v:fname_in.
1257
1258 *v:fname_new* *fname_new-variable*
1259v:fname_new The name of the new version of the file. Only valid while
1260 evaluating 'diffexpr'.
1261
1262 *v:fname_diff* *fname_diff-variable*
1263v:fname_diff The name of the diff (patch) file. Only valid while
1264 evaluating 'patchexpr'.
1265
1266 *v:folddashes* *folddashes-variable*
1267v:folddashes Used for 'foldtext': dashes representing foldlevel of a closed
1268 fold.
Bram Moolenaar7b0294c2004-10-11 10:16:09 +00001269 Read-only in the |sandbox|. |fold-foldtext|
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001270
1271 *v:foldlevel* *foldlevel-variable*
1272v:foldlevel Used for 'foldtext': foldlevel of closed fold.
Bram Moolenaar7b0294c2004-10-11 10:16:09 +00001273 Read-only in the |sandbox|. |fold-foldtext|
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001274
1275 *v:foldend* *foldend-variable*
1276v:foldend Used for 'foldtext': last line of closed fold.
Bram Moolenaar7b0294c2004-10-11 10:16:09 +00001277 Read-only in the |sandbox|. |fold-foldtext|
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001278
1279 *v:foldstart* *foldstart-variable*
1280v:foldstart Used for 'foldtext': first line of closed fold.
Bram Moolenaar7b0294c2004-10-11 10:16:09 +00001281 Read-only in the |sandbox|. |fold-foldtext|
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001282
Bram Moolenaar843ee412004-06-30 16:16:41 +00001283 *v:insertmode* *insertmode-variable*
1284v:insertmode Used for the |InsertEnter| and |InsertChange| autocommand
1285 events. Values:
1286 i Insert mode
1287 r Replace mode
1288 v Virtual Replace mode
1289
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00001290 *v:key* *key-variable*
1291v:key Key of the current item of a Dictionary. Only valid while
1292 evaluating the expression used with |map()| and |filter()|.
1293 Read-only.
1294
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001295 *v:lang* *lang-variable*
1296v:lang The current locale setting for messages of the runtime
1297 environment. This allows Vim scripts to be aware of the
1298 current language. Technical: it's the value of LC_MESSAGES.
1299 The value is system dependent.
1300 This variable can not be set directly, use the |:language|
1301 command.
1302 It can be different from |v:ctype| when messages are desired
1303 in a different language than what is used for character
1304 encoding. See |multi-lang|.
1305
1306 *v:lc_time* *lc_time-variable*
1307v:lc_time The current locale setting for time messages of the runtime
1308 environment. This allows Vim scripts to be aware of the
1309 current language. Technical: it's the value of LC_TIME.
1310 This variable can not be set directly, use the |:language|
1311 command. See |multi-lang|.
1312
1313 *v:lnum* *lnum-variable*
Bram Moolenaar7b0294c2004-10-11 10:16:09 +00001314v:lnum Line number for the 'foldexpr' |fold-expr| and 'indentexpr'
1315 expressions. Only valid while one of these expressions is
1316 being evaluated. Read-only when in the |sandbox|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001317
1318 *v:prevcount* *prevcount-variable*
1319v:prevcount The count given for the last but one Normal mode command.
1320 This is the v:count value of the previous command. Useful if
1321 you want to cancel Visual mode and then use the count. >
1322 :vmap % <Esc>:call MyFilter(v:prevcount)<CR>
1323< Read-only.
1324
Bram Moolenaar05159a02005-02-26 23:04:13 +00001325 *v:profiling* *profiling-variable*
1326v:profiling Normally zero. Set to one after using ":profile start".
1327 See |profiling|.
1328
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001329 *v:progname* *progname-variable*
1330v:progname Contains the name (with path removed) with which Vim was
1331 invoked. Allows you to do special initialisations for "view",
1332 "evim" etc., or any other name you might symlink to Vim.
1333 Read-only.
1334
1335 *v:register* *register-variable*
1336v:register The name of the register supplied to the last normal mode
1337 command. Empty if none were supplied. |getreg()| |setreg()|
1338
1339 *v:servername* *servername-variable*
1340v:servername The resulting registered |x11-clientserver| name if any.
1341 Read-only.
1342
1343 *v:shell_error* *shell_error-variable*
1344v:shell_error Result of the last shell command. When non-zero, the last
1345 shell command had an error. When zero, there was no problem.
1346 This only works when the shell returns the error code to Vim.
1347 The value -1 is often used when the command could not be
1348 executed. Read-only.
1349 Example: >
1350 :!mv foo bar
1351 :if v:shell_error
1352 : echo 'could not rename "foo" to "bar"!'
1353 :endif
1354< "shell_error" also works, for backwards compatibility.
1355
1356 *v:statusmsg* *statusmsg-variable*
1357v:statusmsg Last given status message. It's allowed to set this variable.
1358
1359 *v:termresponse* *termresponse-variable*
1360v:termresponse The escape sequence returned by the terminal for the |t_RV|
1361 termcap entry. It is set when Vim receives an escape sequence
1362 that starts with ESC [ or CSI and ends in a 'c', with only
1363 digits, ';' and '.' in between.
1364 When this option is set, the TermResponse autocommand event is
1365 fired, so that you can react to the response from the
1366 terminal.
1367 The response from a new xterm is: "<Esc>[ Pp ; Pv ; Pc c". Pp
1368 is the terminal type: 0 for vt100 and 1 for vt220. Pv is the
1369 patch level (since this was introduced in patch 95, it's
1370 always 95 or bigger). Pc is always zero.
1371 {only when compiled with |+termresponse| feature}
1372
1373 *v:this_session* *this_session-variable*
1374v:this_session Full filename of the last loaded or saved session file. See
1375 |:mksession|. It is allowed to set this variable. When no
1376 session file has been saved, this variable is empty.
1377 "this_session" also works, for backwards compatibility.
1378
1379 *v:throwpoint* *throwpoint-variable*
1380v:throwpoint The point where the exception most recently caught and not
1381 finished was thrown. Not set when commands are typed. See
1382 also |v:exception| and |throw-variables|.
1383 Example: >
1384 :try
1385 : throw "oops"
1386 :catch /.*/
1387 : echo "Exception from" v:throwpoint
1388 :endtry
1389< Output: "Exception from test.vim, line 2"
1390
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00001391 *v:val* *val-variable*
1392v:val Value of the current item of a List or Dictionary. Only valid
1393 while evaluating the expression used with |map()| and
1394 |filter()|. Read-only.
1395
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001396 *v:version* *version-variable*
1397v:version Version number of Vim: Major version number times 100 plus
1398 minor version number. Version 5.0 is 500. Version 5.1 (5.01)
1399 is 501. Read-only. "version" also works, for backwards
1400 compatibility.
1401 Use |has()| to check if a certain patch was included, e.g.: >
1402 if has("patch123")
1403< Note that patch numbers are specific to the version, thus both
1404 version 5.0 and 5.1 may have a patch 123, but these are
1405 completely different.
1406
1407 *v:warningmsg* *warningmsg-variable*
1408v:warningmsg Last given warning message. It's allowed to set this variable.
1409
1410==============================================================================
14114. Builtin Functions *functions*
1412
1413See |function-list| for a list grouped by what the function is used for.
1414
1415(Use CTRL-] on the function name to jump to the full explanation)
1416
1417USAGE RESULT DESCRIPTION ~
1418
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00001419add( {list}, {item}) List append {item} to List {list}
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001420append( {lnum}, {string}) Number append {string} below line {lnum}
Bram Moolenaar7c626922005-02-07 22:01:03 +00001421append( {lnum}, {list}) Number append lines {list} below line {lnum}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001422argc() Number number of files in the argument list
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001423argidx() Number current index in the argument list
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001424argv( {nr}) String {nr} entry of the argument list
1425browse( {save}, {title}, {initdir}, {default})
1426 String put up a file requester
Bram Moolenaar7b0294c2004-10-11 10:16:09 +00001427browsedir( {title}, {initdir}) String put up a directory requester
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001428bufexists( {expr}) Number TRUE if buffer {expr} exists
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001429buflisted( {expr}) Number TRUE if buffer {expr} is listed
1430bufloaded( {expr}) Number TRUE if buffer {expr} is loaded
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001431bufname( {expr}) String Name of the buffer {expr}
1432bufnr( {expr}) Number Number of the buffer {expr}
1433bufwinnr( {expr}) Number window number of buffer {expr}
1434byte2line( {byte}) Number line number at byte count {byte}
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001435byteidx( {expr}, {nr}) Number byte index of {nr}'th char in {expr}
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00001436call( {func}, {arglist} [, {dict}])
1437 any call {func} with arguments {arglist}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001438char2nr( {expr}) Number ASCII value of first char in {expr}
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001439cindent( {lnum}) Number C indent for line {lnum}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001440col( {expr}) Number column nr of cursor or mark
1441confirm( {msg} [, {choices} [, {default} [, {type}]]])
1442 Number number of choice picked by user
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001443copy( {expr}) any make a shallow copy of {expr}
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00001444count( {list}, {expr} [, {start} [, {ic}]])
1445 Number count how many {expr} are in {list}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001446cscope_connection( [{num} , {dbpath} [, {prepend}]])
1447 Number checks existence of cscope connection
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001448cursor( {lnum}, {col}) Number position cursor at {lnum}, {col}
1449deepcopy( {expr}) any make a full copy of {expr}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001450delete( {fname}) Number delete file {fname}
1451did_filetype() Number TRUE if FileType autocommand event used
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001452diff_filler( {lnum}) Number diff filler lines about {lnum}
1453diff_hlID( {lnum}, {col}) Number diff highlighting at {lnum}/{col}
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +00001454empty( {expr}) Number TRUE if {expr} is empty
Bram Moolenaar05159a02005-02-26 23:04:13 +00001455errorlist() List list of quickfix items
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001456escape( {string}, {chars}) String escape {chars} in {string} with '\'
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00001457eval( {string}) any evaluate {string} into its value
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001458eventhandler( ) Number TRUE if inside an event handler
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001459executable( {expr}) Number 1 if executable {expr} exists
1460exists( {expr}) Number TRUE if {expr} exists
1461expand( {expr}) String expand special keywords in {expr}
1462filereadable( {file}) Number TRUE if {file} is a readable file
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00001463filter( {expr}, {string}) List/Dict remove items from {expr} where
1464 {string} is 0
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00001465finddir( {name}[, {path}[, {count}]])
1466 String Find directory {name} in {path}
Bram Moolenaar89cb5e02004-07-19 20:55:54 +00001467findfile( {name}[, {path}[, {count}]])
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00001468 String Find file {name} in {path}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001469filewritable( {file}) Number TRUE if {file} is a writable file
1470fnamemodify( {fname}, {mods}) String modify file name
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001471foldclosed( {lnum}) Number first line of fold at {lnum} if closed
1472foldclosedend( {lnum}) Number last line of fold at {lnum} if closed
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001473foldlevel( {lnum}) Number fold level at {lnum}
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001474foldtext( ) String line displayed for closed fold
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001475foreground( ) Number bring the Vim window to the foreground
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001476function( {name}) Funcref reference to function {name}
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00001477get( {list}, {idx} [, {def}]) any get item {idx} from {list} or {def}
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00001478get( {dict}, {key} [, {def}]) any get item {key} from {dict} or {def}
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001479getchar( [expr]) Number get one character from the user
1480getcharmod( ) Number modifiers for the last typed character
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001481getbufvar( {expr}, {varname}) variable {varname} in buffer {expr}
1482getcmdline() String return the current command-line
1483getcmdpos() Number return cursor position in command-line
1484getcwd() String the current working directory
Bram Moolenaar5eb86f92004-07-26 12:53:41 +00001485getfperm( {fname}) String file permissions of file {fname}
1486getfsize( {fname}) Number size in bytes of file {fname}
Bram Moolenaard8b0cf12004-12-12 11:33:30 +00001487getfontname( [{name}]) String name of font being used
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001488getftime( {fname}) Number last modification time of file
Bram Moolenaar5eb86f92004-07-26 12:53:41 +00001489getftype( {fname}) String description of type of file {fname}
Bram Moolenaar7c626922005-02-07 22:01:03 +00001490getline( {lnum}) String line {lnum} of current buffer
1491getline( {lnum}, {end}) List lines {lnum} to {end} of current buffer
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001492getreg( [{regname}]) String contents of register
1493getregtype( [{regname}]) String type of register
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001494getwinposx() Number X coord in pixels of GUI Vim window
1495getwinposy() Number Y coord in pixels of GUI Vim window
1496getwinvar( {nr}, {varname}) variable {varname} in window {nr}
1497glob( {expr}) String expand file wildcards in {expr}
1498globpath( {path}, {expr}) String do glob({expr}) for all dirs in {path}
1499has( {feature}) Number TRUE if feature {feature} supported
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00001500has_key( {dict}, {key}) Number TRUE if {dict} has entry {key}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001501hasmapto( {what} [, {mode}]) Number TRUE if mapping to {what} exists
1502histadd( {history},{item}) String add an item to a history
1503histdel( {history} [, {item}]) String remove an item from a history
1504histget( {history} [, {index}]) String get the item {index} from a history
1505histnr( {history}) Number highest index of a history
1506hlexists( {name}) Number TRUE if highlight group {name} exists
1507hlID( {name}) Number syntax ID of highlight group {name}
1508hostname() String name of the machine Vim is running on
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001509iconv( {expr}, {from}, {to}) String convert encoding of {expr}
1510indent( {lnum}) Number indent of line {lnum}
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00001511index( {list}, {expr} [, {start} [, {ic}]])
1512 Number index in {list} where {expr} appears
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001513input( {prompt} [, {text}]) String get input from the user
1514inputdialog( {p} [, {t} [, {c}]]) String like input() but in a GUI dialog
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001515inputrestore() Number restore typeahead
1516inputsave() Number save and clear typeahead
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001517inputsecret( {prompt} [, {text}]) String like input() but hiding the text
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001518insert( {list}, {item} [, {idx}]) List insert {item} in {list} [before {idx}]
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001519isdirectory( {directory}) Number TRUE if {directory} is a directory
Bram Moolenaar2ce06f62005-01-31 19:19:04 +00001520islocked( {expr}) Number TRUE if {expr} is locked
Bram Moolenaar677ee682005-01-27 14:41:15 +00001521items( {dict}) List List of key-value pairs in {dict}
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00001522join( {list} [, {sep}]) String join {list} items into one String
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +00001523keys( {dict}) List List of keys in {dict}
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001524len( {expr}) Number the length of {expr}
1525libcall( {lib}, {func}, {arg}) String call {func} in library {lib} with {arg}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001526libcallnr( {lib}, {func}, {arg}) Number idem, but return a Number
1527line( {expr}) Number line nr of cursor, last line or mark
1528line2byte( {lnum}) Number byte count of line {lnum}
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001529lispindent( {lnum}) Number Lisp indent for line {lnum}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001530localtime() Number current time
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00001531map( {expr}, {string}) List/Dict change each item in {expr} to {expr}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001532maparg( {name}[, {mode}]) String rhs of mapping {name} in mode {mode}
1533mapcheck( {name}[, {mode}]) String check for mappings matching {name}
Bram Moolenaar89cb5e02004-07-19 20:55:54 +00001534match( {expr}, {pat}[, {start}[, {count}]])
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001535 Number position where {pat} matches in {expr}
Bram Moolenaar89cb5e02004-07-19 20:55:54 +00001536matchend( {expr}, {pat}[, {start}[, {count}]])
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001537 Number position where {pat} ends in {expr}
Bram Moolenaar3a7c85b2005-02-05 21:39:53 +00001538matchlist( {expr}, {pat}[, {start}[, {count}]])
1539 List match and submatches of {pat} in {expr}
Bram Moolenaar89cb5e02004-07-19 20:55:54 +00001540matchstr( {expr}, {pat}[, {start}[, {count}]])
1541 String {count}'th match of {pat} in {expr}
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +00001542max({list}) Number maximum value of items in {list}
1543min({list}) Number minumum value of items in {list}
Bram Moolenaar26a60b42005-02-22 08:49:11 +00001544mkdir({name} [, {path} [, {prot}]])
1545 Number create directory {name}
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001546mode() String current editing mode
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001547nextnonblank( {lnum}) Number line nr of non-blank line >= {lnum}
1548nr2char( {expr}) String single char with ASCII value {expr}
1549prevnonblank( {lnum}) Number line nr of non-blank line <= {lnum}
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +00001550range( {expr} [, {max} [, {stride}]])
1551 List items from {expr} to {max}
Bram Moolenaar26a60b42005-02-22 08:49:11 +00001552readfile({fname} [, {binary} [, {max}]])
1553 List get list of lines from file {fname}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001554remote_expr( {server}, {string} [, {idvar}])
1555 String send expression
1556remote_foreground( {server}) Number bring Vim server to the foreground
1557remote_peek( {serverid} [, {retvar}])
1558 Number check for reply string
1559remote_read( {serverid}) String read reply string
1560remote_send( {server}, {string} [, {idvar}])
1561 String send key sequence
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +00001562remove( {list}, {idx} [, {end}]) any remove items {idx}-{end} from {list}
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +00001563remove( {dict}, {key}) any remove entry {key} from {dict}
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001564rename( {from}, {to}) Number rename (move) file from {from} to {to}
1565repeat( {expr}, {count}) String repeat {expr} {count} times
1566resolve( {filename}) String get filename a shortcut points to
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00001567reverse( {list}) List reverse {list} in-place
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001568search( {pattern} [, {flags}]) Number search for {pattern}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001569searchpair( {start}, {middle}, {end} [, {flags} [, {skip}]])
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001570 Number search for other end of start/end pair
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001571server2client( {clientid}, {string})
1572 Number send reply string
1573serverlist() String get a list of available servers
1574setbufvar( {expr}, {varname}, {val}) set {varname} in buffer {expr} to {val}
1575setcmdpos( {pos}) Number set cursor position in command-line
1576setline( {lnum}, {line}) Number set line {lnum} to {line}
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001577setreg( {n}, {v}[, {opt}]) Number set register to value and type
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001578setwinvar( {nr}, {varname}, {val}) set {varname} in window {nr} to {val}
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001579simplify( {filename}) String simplify filename as much as possible
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00001580sort( {list} [, {func}]) List sort {list}, using {func} to compare
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00001581split( {expr} [, {pat}]) List make List from {pat} separated {expr}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001582strftime( {format}[, {time}]) String time in specified format
Bram Moolenaar8f999f12005-01-25 22:12:55 +00001583stridx( {haystack}, {needle}[, {start}])
1584 Number index of {needle} in {haystack}
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00001585string( {expr}) String String representation of {expr} value
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001586strlen( {expr}) Number length of the String {expr}
1587strpart( {src}, {start}[, {len}])
1588 String {len} characters of {src} at {start}
Bram Moolenaar677ee682005-01-27 14:41:15 +00001589strridx( {haystack}, {needle} [, {start}])
1590 Number last index of {needle} in {haystack}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001591strtrans( {expr}) String translate string to make it printable
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001592submatch( {nr}) String specific match in ":substitute"
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001593substitute( {expr}, {pat}, {sub}, {flags})
1594 String all {pat} in {expr} replaced with {sub}
Bram Moolenaar47136d72004-10-12 20:02:24 +00001595synID( {lnum}, {col}, {trans}) Number syntax ID at {lnum} and {col}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001596synIDattr( {synID}, {what} [, {mode}])
1597 String attribute {what} of syntax ID {synID}
1598synIDtrans( {synID}) Number translated syntax ID of {synID}
Bram Moolenaarc0197e22004-09-13 20:26:32 +00001599system( {expr} [, {input}]) String output of shell command/filter {expr}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001600tempname() String name for a temporary file
1601tolower( {expr}) String the String {expr} switched to lowercase
1602toupper( {expr}) String the String {expr} switched to uppercase
Bram Moolenaar8299df92004-07-10 09:47:34 +00001603tr( {src}, {fromstr}, {tostr}) String translate chars of {src} in {fromstr}
1604 to chars in {tostr}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001605type( {name}) Number type of variable {name}
Bram Moolenaar677ee682005-01-27 14:41:15 +00001606values( {dict}) List List of values in {dict}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001607virtcol( {expr}) Number screen column of cursor or mark
1608visualmode( [expr]) String last visual mode used
1609winbufnr( {nr}) Number buffer number of window {nr}
1610wincol() Number window column of the cursor
1611winheight( {nr}) Number height of window {nr}
1612winline() Number window line of the cursor
1613winnr() Number number of current window
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001614winrestcmd() String returns command to restore window sizes
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001615winwidth( {nr}) Number width of window {nr}
Bram Moolenaar3a7c85b2005-02-05 21:39:53 +00001616writefile({list}, {fname} [, {binary}])
1617 Number write list of lines to file {fname}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001618
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00001619add({list}, {expr}) *add()*
1620 Append the item {expr} to List {list}. Returns the resulting
1621 List. Examples: >
1622 :let alist = add([1, 2, 3], item)
1623 :call add(mylist, "woodstock")
1624< Note that when {expr} is a List it is appended as a single
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001625 item. Use |extend()| to concatenate Lists.
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +00001626 Use |insert()| to add an item at another position.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001627
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00001628
1629append({lnum}, {expr}) *append()*
Bram Moolenaar748bf032005-02-02 23:04:36 +00001630 When {expr} is a List: Append each item of the List as a text
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00001631 line below line {lnum} in the current buffer.
Bram Moolenaar748bf032005-02-02 23:04:36 +00001632 Otherwise append {expr} as one text line below line {lnum} in
1633 the current buffer.
1634 {lnum} can be zero to insert a line before the first one.
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00001635 Returns 1 for failure ({lnum} out of range or out of memory),
1636 0 for success. Example: >
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001637 :let failed = append(line('$'), "# THE END")
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00001638 :let failed = append(0, ["Chapter 1", "the beginning"])
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001639<
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001640 *argc()*
1641argc() The result is the number of files in the argument list of the
1642 current window. See |arglist|.
1643
1644 *argidx()*
1645argidx() The result is the current index in the argument list. 0 is
1646 the first file. argc() - 1 is the last one. See |arglist|.
1647
1648 *argv()*
1649argv({nr}) The result is the {nr}th file in the argument list of the
1650 current window. See |arglist|. "argv(0)" is the first one.
1651 Example: >
1652 :let i = 0
1653 :while i < argc()
1654 : let f = escape(argv(i), '. ')
1655 : exe 'amenu Arg.' . f . ' :e ' . f . '<CR>'
1656 : let i = i + 1
1657 :endwhile
1658<
1659 *browse()*
1660browse({save}, {title}, {initdir}, {default})
1661 Put up a file requester. This only works when "has("browse")"
1662 returns non-zero (only in some GUI versions).
1663 The input fields are:
1664 {save} when non-zero, select file to write
1665 {title} title for the requester
1666 {initdir} directory to start browsing in
1667 {default} default file name
1668 When the "Cancel" button is hit, something went wrong, or
1669 browsing is not possible, an empty string is returned.
1670
Bram Moolenaar7b0294c2004-10-11 10:16:09 +00001671 *browsedir()*
1672browsedir({title}, {initdir})
1673 Put up a directory requester. This only works when
1674 "has("browse")" returns non-zero (only in some GUI versions).
1675 On systems where a directory browser is not supported a file
1676 browser is used. In that case: select a file in the directory
1677 to be used.
1678 The input fields are:
1679 {title} title for the requester
1680 {initdir} directory to start browsing in
1681 When the "Cancel" button is hit, something went wrong, or
1682 browsing is not possible, an empty string is returned.
1683
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001684bufexists({expr}) *bufexists()*
1685 The result is a Number, which is non-zero if a buffer called
1686 {expr} exists.
Bram Moolenaar69a7cb42004-06-20 12:51:53 +00001687 If the {expr} argument is a number, buffer numbers are used.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001688 If the {expr} argument is a string it must match a buffer name
Bram Moolenaar69a7cb42004-06-20 12:51:53 +00001689 exactly. The name can be:
1690 - Relative to the current directory.
1691 - A full path.
1692 - The name of a buffer with 'filetype' set to "nofile".
1693 - A URL name.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001694 Unlisted buffers will be found.
1695 Note that help files are listed by their short name in the
1696 output of |:buffers|, but bufexists() requires using their
1697 long name to be able to find them.
1698 Use "bufexists(0)" to test for the existence of an alternate
1699 file name.
1700 *buffer_exists()*
1701 Obsolete name: buffer_exists().
1702
1703buflisted({expr}) *buflisted()*
1704 The result is a Number, which is non-zero if a buffer called
1705 {expr} exists and is listed (has the 'buflisted' option set).
Bram Moolenaar69a7cb42004-06-20 12:51:53 +00001706 The {expr} argument is used like with |bufexists()|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001707
1708bufloaded({expr}) *bufloaded()*
1709 The result is a Number, which is non-zero if a buffer called
1710 {expr} exists and is loaded (shown in a window or hidden).
Bram Moolenaar69a7cb42004-06-20 12:51:53 +00001711 The {expr} argument is used like with |bufexists()|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001712
1713bufname({expr}) *bufname()*
1714 The result is the name of a buffer, as it is displayed by the
1715 ":ls" command.
1716 If {expr} is a Number, that buffer number's name is given.
1717 Number zero is the alternate buffer for the current window.
1718 If {expr} is a String, it is used as a |file-pattern| to match
1719 with the buffer names. This is always done like 'magic' is
1720 set and 'cpoptions' is empty. When there is more than one
1721 match an empty string is returned.
1722 "" or "%" can be used for the current buffer, "#" for the
1723 alternate buffer.
1724 A full match is preferred, otherwise a match at the start, end
1725 or middle of the buffer name is accepted.
1726 Listed buffers are found first. If there is a single match
1727 with a listed buffer, that one is returned. Next unlisted
1728 buffers are searched for.
1729 If the {expr} is a String, but you want to use it as a buffer
1730 number, force it to be a Number by adding zero to it: >
1731 :echo bufname("3" + 0)
1732< If the buffer doesn't exist, or doesn't have a name, an empty
1733 string is returned. >
1734 bufname("#") alternate buffer name
1735 bufname(3) name of buffer 3
1736 bufname("%") name of current buffer
1737 bufname("file2") name of buffer where "file2" matches.
1738< *buffer_name()*
1739 Obsolete name: buffer_name().
1740
1741 *bufnr()*
1742bufnr({expr}) The result is the number of a buffer, as it is displayed by
1743 the ":ls" command. For the use of {expr}, see |bufname()|
1744 above. If the buffer doesn't exist, -1 is returned.
1745 bufnr("$") is the last buffer: >
1746 :let last_buffer = bufnr("$")
1747< The result is a Number, which is the highest buffer number
1748 of existing buffers. Note that not all buffers with a smaller
1749 number necessarily exist, because ":bwipeout" may have removed
1750 them. Use bufexists() to test for the existence of a buffer.
1751 *buffer_number()*
1752 Obsolete name: buffer_number().
1753 *last_buffer_nr()*
1754 Obsolete name for bufnr("$"): last_buffer_nr().
1755
1756bufwinnr({expr}) *bufwinnr()*
1757 The result is a Number, which is the number of the first
1758 window associated with buffer {expr}. For the use of {expr},
1759 see |bufname()| above. If buffer {expr} doesn't exist or
1760 there is no such window, -1 is returned. Example: >
1761
1762 echo "A window containing buffer 1 is " . (bufwinnr(1))
1763
1764< The number can be used with |CTRL-W_w| and ":wincmd w"
1765 |:wincmd|.
1766
1767
1768byte2line({byte}) *byte2line()*
1769 Return the line number that contains the character at byte
1770 count {byte} in the current buffer. This includes the
1771 end-of-line character, depending on the 'fileformat' option
1772 for the current buffer. The first character has byte count
1773 one.
1774 Also see |line2byte()|, |go| and |:goto|.
1775 {not available when compiled without the |+byte_offset|
1776 feature}
1777
Bram Moolenaarab79bcb2004-07-18 21:34:53 +00001778byteidx({expr}, {nr}) *byteidx()*
1779 Return byte index of the {nr}'th character in the string
1780 {expr}. Use zero for the first character, it returns zero.
1781 This function is only useful when there are multibyte
1782 characters, otherwise the returned value is equal to {nr}.
1783 Composing characters are counted as a separate character.
1784 Example : >
1785 echo matchstr(str, ".", byteidx(str, 3))
1786< will display the fourth character. Another way to do the
1787 same: >
1788 let s = strpart(str, byteidx(str, 3))
1789 echo strpart(s, 0, byteidx(s, 1))
1790< If there are less than {nr} characters -1 is returned.
1791 If there are exactly {nr} characters the length of the string
1792 is returned.
1793
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00001794call({func}, {arglist} [, {dict}]) *call()* *E699*
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +00001795 Call function {func} with the items in List {arglist} as
1796 arguments.
1797 {func} can either be a Funcref or the name of a function.
1798 a:firstline and a:lastline are set to the cursor line.
1799 Returns the return value of the called function.
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00001800 {dict} is for functions with the "dict" attribute. It will be
1801 used to set the local variable "self". |Dictionary-function|
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +00001802
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001803char2nr({expr}) *char2nr()*
1804 Return number value of the first char in {expr}. Examples: >
1805 char2nr(" ") returns 32
1806 char2nr("ABC") returns 65
1807< The current 'encoding' is used. Example for "utf-8": >
1808 char2nr("á") returns 225
1809 char2nr("á"[0]) returns 195
1810
1811cindent({lnum}) *cindent()*
1812 Get the amount of indent for line {lnum} according the C
1813 indenting rules, as with 'cindent'.
1814 The indent is counted in spaces, the value of 'tabstop' is
1815 relevant. {lnum} is used just like in |getline()|.
1816 When {lnum} is invalid or Vim was not compiled the |+cindent|
1817 feature, -1 is returned.
1818
1819 *col()*
Bram Moolenaarc0197e22004-09-13 20:26:32 +00001820col({expr}) The result is a Number, which is the byte index of the column
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001821 position given with {expr}. The accepted positions are:
1822 . the cursor position
1823 $ the end of the cursor line (the result is the
1824 number of characters in the cursor line plus one)
1825 'x position of mark x (if the mark is not set, 0 is
1826 returned)
1827 For the screen column position use |virtcol()|.
1828 Note that only marks in the current file can be used.
1829 Examples: >
1830 col(".") column of cursor
1831 col("$") length of cursor line plus one
1832 col("'t") column of mark t
1833 col("'" . markname) column of mark markname
1834< The first column is 1. 0 is returned for an error.
1835 For the cursor position, when 'virtualedit' is active, the
1836 column is one higher if the cursor is after the end of the
1837 line. This can be used to obtain the column in Insert mode: >
1838 :imap <F2> <C-O>:let save_ve = &ve<CR>
1839 \<C-O>:set ve=all<CR>
1840 \<C-O>:echo col(".") . "\n" <Bar>
1841 \let &ve = save_ve<CR>
1842<
1843 *confirm()*
1844confirm({msg} [, {choices} [, {default} [, {type}]]])
1845 Confirm() offers the user a dialog, from which a choice can be
1846 made. It returns the number of the choice. For the first
1847 choice this is 1.
1848 Note: confirm() is only supported when compiled with dialog
1849 support, see |+dialog_con| and |+dialog_gui|.
1850 {msg} is displayed in a |dialog| with {choices} as the
1851 alternatives. When {choices} is missing or empty, "&OK" is
1852 used (and translated).
1853 {msg} is a String, use '\n' to include a newline. Only on
1854 some systems the string is wrapped when it doesn't fit.
1855 {choices} is a String, with the individual choices separated
1856 by '\n', e.g. >
1857 confirm("Save changes?", "&Yes\n&No\n&Cancel")
1858< The letter after the '&' is the shortcut key for that choice.
1859 Thus you can type 'c' to select "Cancel". The shortcut does
1860 not need to be the first letter: >
1861 confirm("file has been modified", "&Save\nSave &All")
1862< For the console, the first letter of each choice is used as
1863 the default shortcut key.
1864 The optional {default} argument is the number of the choice
1865 that is made if the user hits <CR>. Use 1 to make the first
1866 choice the default one. Use 0 to not set a default. If
1867 {default} is omitted, 1 is used.
1868 The optional {type} argument gives the type of dialog. This
1869 is only used for the icon of the Win32 GUI. It can be one of
1870 these values: "Error", "Question", "Info", "Warning" or
1871 "Generic". Only the first character is relevant. When {type}
1872 is omitted, "Generic" is used.
1873 If the user aborts the dialog by pressing <Esc>, CTRL-C,
1874 or another valid interrupt key, confirm() returns 0.
1875
1876 An example: >
1877 :let choice = confirm("What do you want?", "&Apples\n&Oranges\n&Bananas", 2)
1878 :if choice == 0
1879 : echo "make up your mind!"
1880 :elseif choice == 3
1881 : echo "tasteful"
1882 :else
1883 : echo "I prefer bananas myself."
1884 :endif
1885< In a GUI dialog, buttons are used. The layout of the buttons
1886 depends on the 'v' flag in 'guioptions'. If it is included,
1887 the buttons are always put vertically. Otherwise, confirm()
1888 tries to put the buttons in one horizontal line. If they
1889 don't fit, a vertical layout is used anyway. For some systems
1890 the horizontal layout is always used.
1891
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001892 *copy()*
1893copy({expr}) Make a copy of {expr}. For Numbers and Strings this isn't
1894 different from using {expr} directly.
1895 When {expr} is a List a shallow copy is created. This means
1896 that the original List can be changed without changing the
1897 copy, and vise versa. But the items are identical, thus
1898 changing an item changes the contents of both Lists. Also see
1899 |deepcopy()|.
1900
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00001901count({comp}, {expr} [, {ic} [, {start}]]) *count()*
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +00001902 Return the number of times an item with value {expr} appears
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00001903 in List or Dictionary {comp}.
1904 If {start} is given then start with the item with this index.
1905 {start} can only be used with a List.
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +00001906 When {ic} is given and it's non-zero then case is ignored.
1907
1908
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001909 *cscope_connection()*
1910cscope_connection([{num} , {dbpath} [, {prepend}]])
1911 Checks for the existence of a |cscope| connection. If no
1912 parameters are specified, then the function returns:
1913 0, if cscope was not available (not compiled in), or
1914 if there are no cscope connections;
1915 1, if there is at least one cscope connection.
1916
1917 If parameters are specified, then the value of {num}
1918 determines how existence of a cscope connection is checked:
1919
1920 {num} Description of existence check
1921 ----- ------------------------------
1922 0 Same as no parameters (e.g., "cscope_connection()").
1923 1 Ignore {prepend}, and use partial string matches for
1924 {dbpath}.
1925 2 Ignore {prepend}, and use exact string matches for
1926 {dbpath}.
1927 3 Use {prepend}, use partial string matches for both
1928 {dbpath} and {prepend}.
1929 4 Use {prepend}, use exact string matches for both
1930 {dbpath} and {prepend}.
1931
1932 Note: All string comparisons are case sensitive!
1933
1934 Examples. Suppose we had the following (from ":cs show"): >
1935
1936 # pid database name prepend path
1937 0 27664 cscope.out /usr/local
1938<
1939 Invocation Return Val ~
1940 ---------- ---------- >
1941 cscope_connection() 1
1942 cscope_connection(1, "out") 1
1943 cscope_connection(2, "out") 0
1944 cscope_connection(3, "out") 0
1945 cscope_connection(3, "out", "local") 1
1946 cscope_connection(4, "out") 0
1947 cscope_connection(4, "out", "local") 0
1948 cscope_connection(4, "cscope.out", "/usr/local") 1
1949<
1950cursor({lnum}, {col}) *cursor()*
1951 Positions the cursor at the column {col} in the line {lnum}.
1952 Does not change the jumplist.
1953 If {lnum} is greater than the number of lines in the buffer,
1954 the cursor will be positioned at the last line in the buffer.
1955 If {lnum} is zero, the cursor will stay in the current line.
1956 If {col} is greater than the number of characters in the line,
1957 the cursor will be positioned at the last character in the
1958 line.
1959 If {col} is zero, the cursor will stay in the current column.
1960
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001961
Bram Moolenaar4399ef42005-02-12 14:29:27 +00001962deepcopy({expr}[, {noref}]) *deepcopy()* *E698*
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001963 Make a copy of {expr}. For Numbers and Strings this isn't
1964 different from using {expr} directly.
1965 When {expr} is a List a full copy is created. This means
1966 that the original List can be changed without changing the
1967 copy, and vise versa. When an item is a List, a copy for it
1968 is made, recursively. Thus changing an item in the copy does
1969 not change the contents of the original List.
Bram Moolenaar4399ef42005-02-12 14:29:27 +00001970 When {noref} is omitted or zero a contained List or Dictionary
1971 is only copied once. All references point to this single
1972 copy. With {noref} set to 1 every occurrence of a List or
1973 Dictionary results in a new copy. This also means that a
1974 cyclic reference causes deepcopy() to fail.
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00001975 *E724*
1976 Nesting is possible up to 100 levels. When there is an item
Bram Moolenaar4399ef42005-02-12 14:29:27 +00001977 that refers back to a higher level making a deep copy with
1978 {noref} set to 1 will fail.
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001979 Also see |copy()|.
1980
1981delete({fname}) *delete()*
1982 Deletes the file by the name {fname}. The result is a Number,
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001983 which is 0 if the file was deleted successfully, and non-zero
1984 when the deletion failed.
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001985 Use |remove()| to delete an item from a List.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001986
1987 *did_filetype()*
1988did_filetype() Returns non-zero when autocommands are being executed and the
1989 FileType event has been triggered at least once. Can be used
1990 to avoid triggering the FileType event again in the scripts
1991 that detect the file type. |FileType|
1992 When editing another file, the counter is reset, thus this
1993 really checks if the FileType event has been triggered for the
1994 current buffer. This allows an autocommand that starts
1995 editing another buffer to set 'filetype' and load a syntax
1996 file.
1997
Bram Moolenaar47136d72004-10-12 20:02:24 +00001998diff_filler({lnum}) *diff_filler()*
1999 Returns the number of filler lines above line {lnum}.
2000 These are the lines that were inserted at this point in
2001 another diff'ed window. These filler lines are shown in the
2002 display but don't exist in the buffer.
2003 {lnum} is used like with |getline()|. Thus "." is the current
2004 line, "'m" mark m, etc.
2005 Returns 0 if the current window is not in diff mode.
2006
2007diff_hlID({lnum}, {col}) *diff_hlID()*
2008 Returns the highlight ID for diff mode at line {lnum} column
2009 {col} (byte index). When the current line does not have a
2010 diff change zero is returned.
2011 {lnum} is used like with |getline()|. Thus "." is the current
2012 line, "'m" mark m, etc.
2013 {col} is 1 for the leftmost column, {lnum} is 1 for the first
2014 line.
2015 The highlight ID can be used with |synIDattr()| to obtain
2016 syntax information about the highlighting.
2017
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +00002018empty({expr}) *empty()*
2019 Return the Number 1 if {expr} is empty, zero otherwise.
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00002020 A List or Dictionary is empty when it does not have any items.
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +00002021 A Number is empty when its value is zero.
2022 For a long List this is much faster then comparing the length
2023 with zero.
2024
Bram Moolenaar05159a02005-02-26 23:04:13 +00002025errorlist() *errorlist()*
2026 Returns a list with all the current quickfix errors. Each
2027 list item is a dictionary with these entries:
2028 bufnr number of buffer that has the file name, use
2029 bufname() to get the name
2030 lnum line number in the buffer (first line is 1)
2031 col column number (first column is 1)
2032 vcol non-zero: column number is visual column
2033 zero: column number is byte index
2034 nr error number
2035 text description of the error
2036 type type of the error, 'E', '1', etc.
2037 valid non-zero: recognized error message
2038
2039 Useful application: Find pattern matches in multiple files and
2040 do something with them: >
2041 :vimgrep /theword/jg *.c
2042 :for d in errorlist()
2043 : echo bufname(d.bufnr) ':' d.lnum '=' d.text
2044 :endfor
2045
2046
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002047escape({string}, {chars}) *escape()*
2048 Escape the characters in {chars} that occur in {string} with a
2049 backslash. Example: >
2050 :echo escape('c:\program files\vim', ' \')
2051< results in: >
2052 c:\\program\ files\\vim
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00002053
2054< *eval()*
2055eval({string}) Evaluate {string} and return the result. Especially useful to
2056 turn the result of |string()| back into the original value.
2057 This works for Numbers, Strings and composites of them.
2058 Also works for Funcrefs that refer to existing functions.
2059
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002060eventhandler() *eventhandler()*
2061 Returns 1 when inside an event handler. That is that Vim got
2062 interrupted while waiting for the user to type a character,
2063 e.g., when dropping a file on Vim. This means interactive
2064 commands cannot be used. Otherwise zero is returned.
2065
2066executable({expr}) *executable()*
2067 This function checks if an executable with the name {expr}
2068 exists. {expr} must be the name of the program without any
Bram Moolenaarf4b8e572004-06-24 15:53:16 +00002069 arguments.
2070 executable() uses the value of $PATH and/or the normal
2071 searchpath for programs. *PATHEXT*
2072 On MS-DOS and MS-Windows the ".exe", ".bat", etc. can
2073 optionally be included. Then the extensions in $PATHEXT are
2074 tried. Thus if "foo.exe" does not exist, "foo.exe.bat" can be
2075 found. If $PATHEXT is not set then ".exe;.com;.bat;.cmd" is
2076 used. A dot by itself can be used in $PATHEXT to try using
2077 the name without an extension. When 'shell' looks like a
2078 Unix shell, then the name is also tried without adding an
2079 extension.
2080 On MS-DOS and MS-Windows it only checks if the file exists and
2081 is not a directory, not if it's really executable.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002082 The result is a Number:
2083 1 exists
2084 0 does not exist
2085 -1 not implemented on this system
2086
2087 *exists()*
2088exists({expr}) The result is a Number, which is non-zero if {expr} is
2089 defined, zero otherwise. The {expr} argument is a string,
2090 which contains one of these:
2091 &option-name Vim option (only checks if it exists,
2092 not if it really works)
2093 +option-name Vim option that works.
2094 $ENVNAME environment variable (could also be
2095 done by comparing with an empty
2096 string)
2097 *funcname built-in function (see |functions|)
2098 or user defined function (see
2099 |user-functions|).
2100 varname internal variable (see
Bram Moolenaar3a7c85b2005-02-05 21:39:53 +00002101 |internal-variables|). Also works
2102 for |curly-braces-names|, Dictionary
2103 entries, List items, etc. Beware that
2104 this may cause functions to be
2105 invoked cause an error message for an
2106 invalid expression.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002107 :cmdname Ex command: built-in command, user
2108 command or command modifier |:command|.
2109 Returns:
2110 1 for match with start of a command
2111 2 full match with a command
2112 3 matches several user commands
2113 To check for a supported command
2114 always check the return value to be 2.
2115 #event autocommand defined for this event
2116 #event#pattern autocommand defined for this event and
2117 pattern (the pattern is taken
2118 literally and compared to the
2119 autocommand patterns character by
2120 character)
2121 For checking for a supported feature use |has()|.
2122
2123 Examples: >
2124 exists("&shortname")
2125 exists("$HOSTNAME")
2126 exists("*strftime")
2127 exists("*s:MyFunc")
2128 exists("bufcount")
2129 exists(":Make")
2130 exists("#CursorHold");
2131 exists("#BufReadPre#*.gz")
2132< There must be no space between the symbol (&/$/*/#) and the
2133 name.
2134 Note that the argument must be a string, not the name of the
2135 variable itself! For example: >
2136 exists(bufcount)
2137< This doesn't check for existence of the "bufcount" variable,
2138 but gets the contents of "bufcount", and checks if that
2139 exists.
2140
2141expand({expr} [, {flag}]) *expand()*
2142 Expand wildcards and the following special keywords in {expr}.
2143 The result is a String.
2144
2145 When there are several matches, they are separated by <NL>
2146 characters. [Note: in version 5.0 a space was used, which
2147 caused problems when a file name contains a space]
2148
2149 If the expansion fails, the result is an empty string. A name
2150 for a non-existing file is not included.
2151
2152 When {expr} starts with '%', '#' or '<', the expansion is done
2153 like for the |cmdline-special| variables with their associated
2154 modifiers. Here is a short overview:
2155
2156 % current file name
2157 # alternate file name
2158 #n alternate file name n
2159 <cfile> file name under the cursor
2160 <afile> autocmd file name
2161 <abuf> autocmd buffer number (as a String!)
2162 <amatch> autocmd matched name
2163 <sfile> sourced script file name
2164 <cword> word under the cursor
2165 <cWORD> WORD under the cursor
2166 <client> the {clientid} of the last received
2167 message |server2client()|
2168 Modifiers:
2169 :p expand to full path
2170 :h head (last path component removed)
2171 :t tail (last path component only)
2172 :r root (one extension removed)
2173 :e extension only
2174
2175 Example: >
2176 :let &tags = expand("%:p:h") . "/tags"
2177< Note that when expanding a string that starts with '%', '#' or
2178 '<', any following text is ignored. This does NOT work: >
2179 :let doesntwork = expand("%:h.bak")
2180< Use this: >
2181 :let doeswork = expand("%:h") . ".bak"
2182< Also note that expanding "<cfile>" and others only returns the
2183 referenced file name without further expansion. If "<cfile>"
2184 is "~/.cshrc", you need to do another expand() to have the
2185 "~/" expanded into the path of the home directory: >
2186 :echo expand(expand("<cfile>"))
2187<
2188 There cannot be white space between the variables and the
2189 following modifier. The |fnamemodify()| function can be used
2190 to modify normal file names.
2191
2192 When using '%' or '#', and the current or alternate file name
2193 is not defined, an empty string is used. Using "%:p" in a
2194 buffer with no name, results in the current directory, with a
2195 '/' added.
2196
2197 When {expr} does not start with '%', '#' or '<', it is
2198 expanded like a file name is expanded on the command line.
2199 'suffixes' and 'wildignore' are used, unless the optional
2200 {flag} argument is given and it is non-zero. Names for
2201 non-existing files are included.
2202
2203 Expand() can also be used to expand variables and environment
2204 variables that are only known in a shell. But this can be
2205 slow, because a shell must be started. See |expr-env-expand|.
2206 The expanded variable is still handled like a list of file
2207 names. When an environment variable cannot be expanded, it is
2208 left unchanged. Thus ":echo expand('$FOOBAR')" results in
2209 "$FOOBAR".
2210
2211 See |glob()| for finding existing files. See |system()| for
2212 getting the raw output of an external command.
2213
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00002214extend({expr1}, {expr2} [, {expr3}]) *extend()*
2215 {expr1} and {expr2} must be both Lists or both Dictionaries.
2216
2217 If they are Lists: Append {expr2} to {expr1}.
2218 If {expr3} is given insert the items of {expr2} before item
2219 {expr3} in {expr1}. When {expr3} is zero insert before the
2220 first item. When {expr3} is equal to len({expr1}) then
2221 {expr2} is appended.
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +00002222 Examples: >
2223 :echo sort(extend(mylist, [7, 5]))
2224 :call extend(mylist, [2, 3], 1)
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00002225< Use |add()| to concatenate one item to a list. To concatenate
2226 two lists into a new list use the + operator: >
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +00002227 :let newlist = [1, 2, 3] + [4, 5]
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00002228<
2229 If they are Dictionaries:
2230 Add all entries from {expr2} to {expr1}.
2231 If a key exists in both {expr1} and {expr2} then {expr3} is
2232 used to decide what to do:
2233 {expr3} = "keep": keep the value of {expr1}
2234 {expr3} = "force": use the value of {expr2}
Bram Moolenaar383f9bc2005-01-19 22:18:32 +00002235 {expr3} = "error": give an error message *E737*
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00002236 When {expr3} is omitted then "force" is assumed.
2237
2238 {expr1} is changed when {expr2} is not empty. If necessary
2239 make a copy of {expr1} first.
2240 {expr2} remains unchanged.
2241 Returns {expr1}.
2242
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +00002243
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002244filereadable({file}) *filereadable()*
2245 The result is a Number, which is TRUE when a file with the
2246 name {file} exists, and can be read. If {file} doesn't exist,
2247 or is a directory, the result is FALSE. {file} is any
2248 expression, which is used as a String.
2249 *file_readable()*
2250 Obsolete name: file_readable().
2251
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00002252
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00002253filter({expr}, {string}) *filter()*
2254 {expr} must be a List or a Dictionary.
2255 For each item in {expr} evaluate {string} and when the result
2256 is zero remove the item from the List or Dictionary.
2257 Inside {string} |v:val| has the value of the current item.
2258 For a Dictionary |v:key| has the key of the current item.
2259 Examples: >
2260 :call filter(mylist, 'v:val !~ "OLD"')
2261< Removes the items where "OLD" appears. >
2262 :call filter(mydict, 'v:key >= 8')
2263< Removes the items with a key below 8. >
2264 :call filter(var, 0)
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +00002265< Removes all the items, thus clears the List or Dictionary.
2266
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00002267 Note that {string} is the result of expression and is then
2268 used as an expression again. Often it is good to use a
2269 |literal-string| to avoid having to double backslashes.
2270
2271 The operation is done in-place. If you want a List or
2272 Dictionary to remain unmodified make a copy first: >
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +00002273 :let l = filter(copy(mylist), '& =~ "KEEP"')
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00002274
2275< Returns {expr}, the List or Dictionary that was filtered.
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00002276
2277
Bram Moolenaar89cb5e02004-07-19 20:55:54 +00002278finddir({name}[, {path}[, {count}]]) *finddir()*
2279 Find directory {name} in {path}.
2280 If {path} is omitted or empty then 'path' is used.
2281 If the optional {count} is given, find {count}'s occurrence of
2282 {name} in {path}.
2283 This is quite similar to the ex-command |:find|.
2284 When the found directory is below the current directory a
2285 relative path is returned. Otherwise a full path is returned.
2286 Example: >
2287 :echo findfile("tags.vim", ".;")
2288< Searches from the current directory upwards until it finds
2289 the file "tags.vim".
2290 {only available when compiled with the +file_in_path feature}
2291
2292findfile({name}[, {path}[, {count}]]) *findfile()*
2293 Just like |finddir()|, but find a file instead of a directory.
2294
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002295filewritable({file}) *filewritable()*
2296 The result is a Number, which is 1 when a file with the
2297 name {file} exists, and can be written. If {file} doesn't
2298 exist, or is not writable, the result is 0. If (file) is a
2299 directory, and we can write to it, the result is 2.
2300
2301fnamemodify({fname}, {mods}) *fnamemodify()*
2302 Modify file name {fname} according to {mods}. {mods} is a
2303 string of characters like it is used for file names on the
2304 command line. See |filename-modifiers|.
2305 Example: >
2306 :echo fnamemodify("main.c", ":p:h")
2307< results in: >
2308 /home/mool/vim/vim/src
2309< Note: Environment variables and "~" don't work in {fname}, use
2310 |expand()| first then.
2311
2312foldclosed({lnum}) *foldclosed()*
2313 The result is a Number. If the line {lnum} is in a closed
2314 fold, the result is the number of the first line in that fold.
2315 If the line {lnum} is not in a closed fold, -1 is returned.
2316
2317foldclosedend({lnum}) *foldclosedend()*
2318 The result is a Number. If the line {lnum} is in a closed
2319 fold, the result is the number of the last line in that fold.
2320 If the line {lnum} is not in a closed fold, -1 is returned.
2321
2322foldlevel({lnum}) *foldlevel()*
2323 The result is a Number, which is the foldlevel of line {lnum}
2324 in the current buffer. For nested folds the deepest level is
2325 returned. If there is no fold at line {lnum}, zero is
2326 returned. It doesn't matter if the folds are open or closed.
2327 When used while updating folds (from 'foldexpr') -1 is
2328 returned for lines where folds are still to be updated and the
2329 foldlevel is unknown. As a special case the level of the
2330 previous line is usually available.
2331
2332 *foldtext()*
2333foldtext() Returns a String, to be displayed for a closed fold. This is
2334 the default function used for the 'foldtext' option and should
2335 only be called from evaluating 'foldtext'. It uses the
2336 |v:foldstart|, |v:foldend| and |v:folddashes| variables.
2337 The returned string looks like this: >
2338 +-- 45 lines: abcdef
2339< The number of dashes depends on the foldlevel. The "45" is
2340 the number of lines in the fold. "abcdef" is the text in the
2341 first non-blank line of the fold. Leading white space, "//"
2342 or "/*" and the text from the 'foldmarker' and 'commentstring'
2343 options is removed.
2344 {not available when compiled without the |+folding| feature}
2345
Bram Moolenaar7b0294c2004-10-11 10:16:09 +00002346foldtextresult({lnum}) *foldtextresult()*
2347 Returns the text that is displayed for the closed fold at line
2348 {lnum}. Evaluates 'foldtext' in the appropriate context.
2349 When there is no closed fold at {lnum} an empty string is
2350 returned.
2351 {lnum} is used like with |getline()|. Thus "." is the current
2352 line, "'m" mark m, etc.
2353 Useful when exporting folded text, e.g., to HTML.
2354 {not available when compiled without the |+folding| feature}
2355
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002356 *foreground()*
2357foreground() Move the Vim window to the foreground. Useful when sent from
2358 a client to a Vim server. |remote_send()|
2359 On Win32 systems this might not work, the OS does not always
2360 allow a window to bring itself to the foreground. Use
2361 |remote_foreground()| instead.
2362 {only in the Win32, Athena, Motif and GTK GUI versions and the
2363 Win32 console version}
2364
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00002365
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +00002366function({name}) *function()* *E700*
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00002367 Return a Funcref variable that refers to function {name}.
2368 {name} can be a user defined function or an internal function.
2369
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00002370
Bram Moolenaar677ee682005-01-27 14:41:15 +00002371get({list}, {idx} [, {default}]) *get()*
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00002372 Get item {idx} from List {list}. When this item is not
2373 available return {default}. Return zero when {default} is
2374 omitted.
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00002375get({dict}, {key} [, {default}])
2376 Get item with key {key} from Dictionary {dict}. When this
2377 item is not available return {default}. Return zero when
2378 {default} is omitted.
2379
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00002380
2381getbufvar({expr}, {varname}) *getbufvar()*
2382 The result is the value of option or local buffer variable
2383 {varname} in buffer {expr}. Note that the name without "b:"
2384 must be used.
2385 This also works for a global or local window option, but it
2386 doesn't work for a global or local window variable.
2387 For the use of {expr}, see |bufname()| above.
2388 When the buffer or variable doesn't exist an empty string is
2389 returned, there is no error message.
2390 Examples: >
2391 :let bufmodified = getbufvar(1, "&mod")
2392 :echo "todo myvar = " . getbufvar("todo", "myvar")
2393<
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002394getchar([expr]) *getchar()*
2395 Get a single character from the user. If it is an 8-bit
2396 character, the result is a number. Otherwise a String is
2397 returned with the encoded character. For a special key it's a
2398 sequence of bytes starting with 0x80 (decimal: 128).
2399 If [expr] is omitted, wait until a character is available.
2400 If [expr] is 0, only get a character when one is available.
2401 If [expr] is 1, only check if a character is available, it is
2402 not consumed. If a normal character is
2403 available, it is returned, otherwise a
2404 non-zero value is returned.
2405 If a normal character available, it is returned as a Number.
2406 Use nr2char() to convert it to a String.
2407 The returned value is zero if no character is available.
2408 The returned value is a string of characters for special keys
2409 and when a modifier (shift, control, alt) was used.
2410 There is no prompt, you will somehow have to make clear to the
2411 user that a character has to be typed.
2412 There is no mapping for the character.
2413 Key codes are replaced, thus when the user presses the <Del>
2414 key you get the code for the <Del> key, not the raw character
2415 sequence. Examples: >
2416 getchar() == "\<Del>"
2417 getchar() == "\<S-Left>"
2418< This example redefines "f" to ignore case: >
2419 :nmap f :call FindChar()<CR>
2420 :function FindChar()
2421 : let c = nr2char(getchar())
2422 : while col('.') < col('$') - 1
2423 : normal l
2424 : if getline('.')[col('.') - 1] ==? c
2425 : break
2426 : endif
2427 : endwhile
2428 :endfunction
2429
2430getcharmod() *getcharmod()*
2431 The result is a Number which is the state of the modifiers for
2432 the last obtained character with getchar() or in another way.
2433 These values are added together:
2434 2 shift
2435 4 control
2436 8 alt (meta)
2437 16 mouse double click
2438 32 mouse triple click
2439 64 mouse quadruple click
2440 128 Macintosh only: command
2441 Only the modifiers that have not been included in the
2442 character itself are obtained. Thus Shift-a results in "A"
2443 with no modifier.
2444
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002445getcmdline() *getcmdline()*
2446 Return the current command-line. Only works when the command
2447 line is being edited, thus requires use of |c_CTRL-\_e| or
2448 |c_CTRL-R_=|.
2449 Example: >
2450 :cmap <F7> <C-\>eescape(getcmdline(), ' \')<CR>
2451< Also see |getcmdpos()| and |setcmdpos()|.
2452
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00002453getcmdpos() *getcmdpos()*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002454 Return the position of the cursor in the command line as a
2455 byte count. The first column is 1.
2456 Only works when editing the command line, thus requires use of
2457 |c_CTRL-\_e| or |c_CTRL-R_=|. Returns 0 otherwise.
2458 Also see |setcmdpos()| and |getcmdline()|.
2459
2460 *getcwd()*
2461getcwd() The result is a String, which is the name of the current
2462 working directory.
2463
2464getfsize({fname}) *getfsize()*
2465 The result is a Number, which is the size in bytes of the
2466 given file {fname}.
2467 If {fname} is a directory, 0 is returned.
2468 If the file {fname} can't be found, -1 is returned.
2469
Bram Moolenaard8b0cf12004-12-12 11:33:30 +00002470getfontname([{name}]) *getfontname()*
2471 Without an argument returns the name of the normal font being
2472 used. Like what is used for the Normal highlight group
2473 |hl-Normal|.
2474 With an argument a check is done whether {name} is a valid
2475 font name. If not then an empty string is returned.
2476 Otherwise the actual font name is returned, or {name} if the
2477 GUI does not support obtaining the real name.
2478 Only works when the GUI is running, thus not you your vimrc or
2479 Note that the GTK 2 GUI accepts any font name, thus checking
2480 for a valid name does not work.
2481 gvimrc file. Use the |GUIEnter| autocommand to use this
2482 function just after the GUI has started.
2483
Bram Moolenaar5eb86f92004-07-26 12:53:41 +00002484getfperm({fname}) *getfperm()*
2485 The result is a String, which is the read, write, and execute
2486 permissions of the given file {fname}.
2487 If {fname} does not exist or its directory cannot be read, an
2488 empty string is returned.
2489 The result is of the form "rwxrwxrwx", where each group of
2490 "rwx" flags represent, in turn, the permissions of the owner
2491 of the file, the group the file belongs to, and other users.
2492 If a user does not have a given permission the flag for this
2493 is replaced with the string "-". Example: >
2494 :echo getfperm("/etc/passwd")
2495< This will hopefully (from a security point of view) display
2496 the string "rw-r--r--" or even "rw-------".
2497
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002498getftime({fname}) *getftime()*
2499 The result is a Number, which is the last modification time of
2500 the given file {fname}. The value is measured as seconds
2501 since 1st Jan 1970, and may be passed to strftime(). See also
2502 |localtime()| and |strftime()|.
2503 If the file {fname} can't be found -1 is returned.
2504
Bram Moolenaar5eb86f92004-07-26 12:53:41 +00002505getftype({fname}) *getftype()*
2506 The result is a String, which is a description of the kind of
2507 file of the given file {fname}.
2508 If {fname} does not exist an empty string is returned.
2509 Here is a table over different kinds of files and their
2510 results:
2511 Normal file "file"
2512 Directory "dir"
2513 Symbolic link "link"
2514 Block device "bdev"
2515 Character device "cdev"
2516 Socket "socket"
2517 FIFO "fifo"
2518 All other "other"
2519 Example: >
2520 getftype("/home")
2521< Note that a type such as "link" will only be returned on
2522 systems that support it. On some systems only "dir" and
2523 "file" are returned.
2524
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002525 *getline()*
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00002526getline({lnum} [, {end}])
2527 Without {end} the result is a String, which is line {lnum}
2528 from the current buffer. Example: >
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002529 getline(1)
2530< When {lnum} is a String that doesn't start with a
2531 digit, line() is called to translate the String into a Number.
2532 To get the line under the cursor: >
2533 getline(".")
2534< When {lnum} is smaller than 1 or bigger than the number of
2535 lines in the buffer, an empty string is returned.
2536
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00002537 When {end} is given the result is a List where each item is a
2538 line from the current buffer in the range {lnum} to {end},
2539 including line {end}.
2540 {end} is used in the same way as {lnum}.
2541 Non-existing lines are silently omitted.
2542 When {end} is before {lnum} an error is given.
2543 Example: >
2544 :let start = line('.')
2545 :let end = search("^$") - 1
2546 :let lines = getline(start, end)
2547
2548
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002549getreg([{regname}]) *getreg()*
2550 The result is a String, which is the contents of register
2551 {regname}. Example: >
2552 :let cliptext = getreg('*')
2553< getreg('=') returns the last evaluated value of the expression
2554 register. (For use in maps).
2555 If {regname} is not specified, |v:register| is used.
2556
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00002557
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002558getregtype([{regname}]) *getregtype()*
2559 The result is a String, which is type of register {regname}.
2560 The value will be one of:
2561 "v" for |characterwise| text
2562 "V" for |linewise| text
2563 "<CTRL-V>{width}" for |blockwise-visual| text
2564 0 for an empty or unknown register
2565 <CTRL-V> is one character with value 0x16.
2566 If {regname} is not specified, |v:register| is used.
2567
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00002568
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002569 *getwinposx()*
2570getwinposx() The result is a Number, which is the X coordinate in pixels of
2571 the left hand side of the GUI Vim window. The result will be
2572 -1 if the information is not available.
2573
2574 *getwinposy()*
2575getwinposy() The result is a Number, which is the Y coordinate in pixels of
2576 the top of the GUI Vim window. The result will be -1 if the
2577 information is not available.
2578
2579getwinvar({nr}, {varname}) *getwinvar()*
2580 The result is the value of option or local window variable
2581 {varname} in window {nr}.
2582 This also works for a global or local buffer option, but it
2583 doesn't work for a global or local buffer variable.
2584 Note that the name without "w:" must be used.
2585 Examples: >
2586 :let list_is_on = getwinvar(2, '&list')
2587 :echo "myvar = " . getwinvar(1, 'myvar')
2588<
2589 *glob()*
2590glob({expr}) Expand the file wildcards in {expr}. The result is a String.
2591 When there are several matches, they are separated by <NL>
2592 characters.
2593 If the expansion fails, the result is an empty string.
2594 A name for a non-existing file is not included.
2595
2596 For most systems backticks can be used to get files names from
2597 any external command. Example: >
2598 :let tagfiles = glob("`find . -name tags -print`")
2599 :let &tags = substitute(tagfiles, "\n", ",", "g")
2600< The result of the program inside the backticks should be one
2601 item per line. Spaces inside an item are allowed.
2602
2603 See |expand()| for expanding special Vim variables. See
2604 |system()| for getting the raw output of an external command.
2605
2606globpath({path}, {expr}) *globpath()*
2607 Perform glob() on all directories in {path} and concatenate
2608 the results. Example: >
2609 :echo globpath(&rtp, "syntax/c.vim")
2610< {path} is a comma-separated list of directory names. Each
2611 directory name is prepended to {expr} and expanded like with
2612 glob(). A path separator is inserted when needed.
2613 To add a comma inside a directory name escape it with a
2614 backslash. Note that on MS-Windows a directory may have a
2615 trailing backslash, remove it if you put a comma after it.
2616 If the expansion fails for one of the directories, there is no
2617 error message.
2618 The 'wildignore' option applies: Names matching one of the
2619 patterns in 'wildignore' will be skipped.
2620
2621 *has()*
2622has({feature}) The result is a Number, which is 1 if the feature {feature} is
2623 supported, zero otherwise. The {feature} argument is a
2624 string. See |feature-list| below.
2625 Also see |exists()|.
2626
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00002627
2628has_key({dict}, {key}) *has_key()*
2629 The result is a Number, which is 1 if Dictionary {dict} has an
2630 entry with key {key}. Zero otherwise.
2631
2632
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002633hasmapto({what} [, {mode}]) *hasmapto()*
2634 The result is a Number, which is 1 if there is a mapping that
2635 contains {what} in somewhere in the rhs (what it is mapped to)
2636 and this mapping exists in one of the modes indicated by
2637 {mode}.
2638 Both the global mappings and the mappings local to the current
2639 buffer are checked for a match.
2640 If no matching mapping is found 0 is returned.
2641 The following characters are recognized in {mode}:
2642 n Normal mode
2643 v Visual mode
2644 o Operator-pending mode
2645 i Insert mode
2646 l Language-Argument ("r", "f", "t", etc.)
2647 c Command-line mode
2648 When {mode} is omitted, "nvo" is used.
2649
2650 This function is useful to check if a mapping already exists
2651 to a function in a Vim script. Example: >
2652 :if !hasmapto('\ABCdoit')
2653 : map <Leader>d \ABCdoit
2654 :endif
2655< This installs the mapping to "\ABCdoit" only if there isn't
2656 already a mapping to "\ABCdoit".
2657
2658histadd({history}, {item}) *histadd()*
2659 Add the String {item} to the history {history} which can be
2660 one of: *hist-names*
2661 "cmd" or ":" command line history
2662 "search" or "/" search pattern history
2663 "expr" or "=" typed expression history
2664 "input" or "@" input line history
2665 If {item} does already exist in the history, it will be
2666 shifted to become the newest entry.
2667 The result is a Number: 1 if the operation was successful,
2668 otherwise 0 is returned.
2669
2670 Example: >
2671 :call histadd("input", strftime("%Y %b %d"))
2672 :let date=input("Enter date: ")
2673< This function is not available in the |sandbox|.
2674
2675histdel({history} [, {item}]) *histdel()*
2676 Clear {history}, ie. delete all its entries. See |hist-names|
2677 for the possible values of {history}.
2678
2679 If the parameter {item} is given as String, this is seen
2680 as regular expression. All entries matching that expression
2681 will be removed from the history (if there are any).
2682 Upper/lowercase must match, unless "\c" is used |/\c|.
2683 If {item} is a Number, it will be interpreted as index, see
2684 |:history-indexing|. The respective entry will be removed
2685 if it exists.
2686
2687 The result is a Number: 1 for a successful operation,
2688 otherwise 0 is returned.
2689
2690 Examples:
2691 Clear expression register history: >
2692 :call histdel("expr")
2693<
2694 Remove all entries starting with "*" from the search history: >
2695 :call histdel("/", '^\*')
2696<
2697 The following three are equivalent: >
2698 :call histdel("search", histnr("search"))
2699 :call histdel("search", -1)
2700 :call histdel("search", '^'.histget("search", -1).'$')
2701<
2702 To delete the last search pattern and use the last-but-one for
2703 the "n" command and 'hlsearch': >
2704 :call histdel("search", -1)
2705 :let @/ = histget("search", -1)
2706
2707histget({history} [, {index}]) *histget()*
2708 The result is a String, the entry with Number {index} from
2709 {history}. See |hist-names| for the possible values of
2710 {history}, and |:history-indexing| for {index}. If there is
2711 no such entry, an empty String is returned. When {index} is
2712 omitted, the most recent item from the history is used.
2713
2714 Examples:
2715 Redo the second last search from history. >
2716 :execute '/' . histget("search", -2)
2717
2718< Define an Ex command ":H {num}" that supports re-execution of
2719 the {num}th entry from the output of |:history|. >
2720 :command -nargs=1 H execute histget("cmd", 0+<args>)
2721<
2722histnr({history}) *histnr()*
2723 The result is the Number of the current entry in {history}.
2724 See |hist-names| for the possible values of {history}.
2725 If an error occurred, -1 is returned.
2726
2727 Example: >
2728 :let inp_index = histnr("expr")
2729<
2730hlexists({name}) *hlexists()*
2731 The result is a Number, which is non-zero if a highlight group
2732 called {name} exists. This is when the group has been
2733 defined in some way. Not necessarily when highlighting has
2734 been defined for it, it may also have been used for a syntax
2735 item.
2736 *highlight_exists()*
2737 Obsolete name: highlight_exists().
2738
2739 *hlID()*
2740hlID({name}) The result is a Number, which is the ID of the highlight group
2741 with name {name}. When the highlight group doesn't exist,
2742 zero is returned.
2743 This can be used to retrieve information about the highlight
2744 group. For example, to get the background color of the
2745 "Comment" group: >
2746 :echo synIDattr(synIDtrans(hlID("Comment")), "bg")
2747< *highlightID()*
2748 Obsolete name: highlightID().
2749
2750hostname() *hostname()*
2751 The result is a String, which is the name of the machine on
2752 which Vim is currently running. Machine names greater than
2753 256 characters long are truncated.
2754
2755iconv({expr}, {from}, {to}) *iconv()*
2756 The result is a String, which is the text {expr} converted
2757 from encoding {from} to encoding {to}.
2758 When the conversion fails an empty string is returned.
2759 The encoding names are whatever the iconv() library function
2760 can accept, see ":!man 3 iconv".
2761 Most conversions require Vim to be compiled with the |+iconv|
2762 feature. Otherwise only UTF-8 to latin1 conversion and back
2763 can be done.
2764 This can be used to display messages with special characters,
2765 no matter what 'encoding' is set to. Write the message in
2766 UTF-8 and use: >
2767 echo iconv(utf8_str, "utf-8", &enc)
2768< Note that Vim uses UTF-8 for all Unicode encodings, conversion
2769 from/to UCS-2 is automatically changed to use UTF-8. You
2770 cannot use UCS-2 in a string anyway, because of the NUL bytes.
2771 {only available when compiled with the +multi_byte feature}
2772
2773 *indent()*
2774indent({lnum}) The result is a Number, which is indent of line {lnum} in the
2775 current buffer. The indent is counted in spaces, the value
2776 of 'tabstop' is relevant. {lnum} is used just like in
2777 |getline()|.
2778 When {lnum} is invalid -1 is returned.
2779
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +00002780
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00002781index({list}, {expr} [, {start} [, {ic}]]) *index()*
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +00002782 Return the lowest index in List {list} where the item has a
2783 value equal to {expr}.
Bram Moolenaar748bf032005-02-02 23:04:36 +00002784 If {start} is given then start looking at the item with index
2785 {start} (may be negative for an item relative to the end).
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +00002786 When {ic} is given and it is non-zero, ignore case. Otherwise
2787 case must match.
2788 -1 is returned when {expr} is not found in {list}.
2789 Example: >
2790 :let idx = index(words, "the")
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +00002791 :if index(numbers, 123) >= 0
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +00002792
2793
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002794input({prompt} [, {text}]) *input()*
2795 The result is a String, which is whatever the user typed on
2796 the command-line. The parameter is either a prompt string, or
2797 a blank string (for no prompt). A '\n' can be used in the
2798 prompt to start a new line. The highlighting set with
2799 |:echohl| is used for the prompt. The input is entered just
2800 like a command-line, with the same editing commands and
2801 mappings. There is a separate history for lines typed for
2802 input().
2803 If the optional {text} is present, this is used for the
2804 default reply, as if the user typed this.
2805 NOTE: This must not be used in a startup file, for the
2806 versions that only run in GUI mode (e.g., the Win32 GUI).
2807 Note: When input() is called from within a mapping it will
2808 consume remaining characters from that mapping, because a
2809 mapping is handled like the characters were typed.
2810 Use |inputsave()| before input() and |inputrestore()|
2811 after input() to avoid that. Another solution is to avoid
2812 that further characters follow in the mapping, e.g., by using
2813 |:execute| or |:normal|.
2814
2815 Example: >
2816 :if input("Coffee or beer? ") == "beer"
2817 : echo "Cheers!"
2818 :endif
2819< Example with default text: >
2820 :let color = input("Color? ", "white")
2821< Example with a mapping: >
2822 :nmap \x :call GetFoo()<CR>:exe "/" . Foo<CR>
2823 :function GetFoo()
2824 : call inputsave()
2825 : let g:Foo = input("enter search pattern: ")
2826 : call inputrestore()
2827 :endfunction
2828
2829inputdialog({prompt} [, {text} [, {cancelreturn}]]) *inputdialog()*
2830 Like input(), but when the GUI is running and text dialogs are
2831 supported, a dialog window pops up to input the text.
2832 Example: >
2833 :let n = inputdialog("value for shiftwidth", &sw)
2834 :if n != ""
2835 : let &sw = n
2836 :endif
2837< When the dialog is cancelled {cancelreturn} is returned. When
2838 omitted an empty string is returned.
2839 Hitting <Enter> works like pressing the OK button. Hitting
2840 <Esc> works like pressing the Cancel button.
2841
2842inputrestore() *inputrestore()*
2843 Restore typeahead that was saved with a previous inputsave().
2844 Should be called the same number of times inputsave() is
2845 called. Calling it more often is harmless though.
2846 Returns 1 when there is nothing to restore, 0 otherwise.
2847
2848inputsave() *inputsave()*
2849 Preserve typeahead (also from mappings) and clear it, so that
2850 a following prompt gets input from the user. Should be
2851 followed by a matching inputrestore() after the prompt. Can
2852 be used several times, in which case there must be just as
2853 many inputrestore() calls.
2854 Returns 1 when out of memory, 0 otherwise.
2855
2856inputsecret({prompt} [, {text}]) *inputsecret()*
2857 This function acts much like the |input()| function with but
2858 two exceptions:
2859 a) the user's response will be displayed as a sequence of
2860 asterisks ("*") thereby keeping the entry secret, and
2861 b) the user's response will not be recorded on the input
2862 |history| stack.
2863 The result is a String, which is whatever the user actually
2864 typed on the command-line in response to the issued prompt.
2865
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00002866insert({list}, {item} [, {idx}]) *insert()*
2867 Insert {item} at the start of List {list}.
2868 If {idx} is specified insert {item} before the item with index
2869 {idx}. If {idx} is zero it goes before the first item, just
2870 like omitting {idx}. A negative {idx} is also possible, see
2871 |list-index|. -1 inserts just before the last item.
2872 Returns the resulting List. Examples: >
2873 :let mylist = insert([2, 3, 5], 1)
2874 :call insert(mylist, 4, -1)
2875 :call insert(mylist, 6, len(mylist))
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00002876< The last example can be done simpler with |add()|.
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00002877 Note that when {item} is a List it is inserted as a single
2878 item. Use |extend()| to concatenate Lists.
2879
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002880isdirectory({directory}) *isdirectory()*
2881 The result is a Number, which is non-zero when a directory
2882 with the name {directory} exists. If {directory} doesn't
2883 exist, or isn't a directory, the result is FALSE. {directory}
2884 is any expression, which is used as a String.
2885
Bram Moolenaar2ce06f62005-01-31 19:19:04 +00002886islocked({expr}) *islocked()*
2887 The result is a Number, which is non-zero when {expr} is the
2888 name of a locked variable.
2889 {expr} must be the name of a variable, List item or Dictionary
2890 entry, not the variable itself! Example: >
2891 :let alist = [0, ['a', 'b'], 2, 3]
2892 :lockvar 1 alist
2893 :echo islocked('alist') " 1
2894 :echo islocked('alist[1]') " 0
2895
2896< When {expr} is a variable that does not exist you get an error
2897 message. Use |exists()| to check for existance.
2898
Bram Moolenaar677ee682005-01-27 14:41:15 +00002899items({dict}) *items()*
2900 Return a List with all the key-value pairs of {dict}. Each
2901 List item is a list with two items: the key of a {dict} entry
2902 and the value of this entry. The List is in arbitrary order.
2903
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00002904
2905join({list} [, {sep}]) *join()*
2906 Join the items in {list} together into one String.
2907 When {sep} is specified it is put in between the items. If
2908 {sep} is omitted a single space is used.
2909 Note that {sep} is not added at the end. You might want to
2910 add it there too: >
2911 let lines = join(mylist, "\n") . "\n"
2912< String items are used as-is. Lists and Dictionaries are
2913 converted into a string like with |string()|.
2914 The opposite function is |split()|.
2915
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +00002916keys({dict}) *keys()*
2917 Return a List with all the keys of {dict}. The List is in
2918 arbitrary order.
2919
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +00002920 *len()* *E701*
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00002921len({expr}) The result is a Number, which is the length of the argument.
2922 When {expr} is a String or a Number the length in bytes is
2923 used, as with |strlen()|.
2924 When {expr} is a List the number of items in the List is
2925 returned.
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00002926 When {expr} is a Dictionary the number of entries in the
2927 Dictionary is returned.
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00002928 Otherwise an error is given.
2929
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002930 *libcall()* *E364* *E368*
2931libcall({libname}, {funcname}, {argument})
2932 Call function {funcname} in the run-time library {libname}
2933 with single argument {argument}.
2934 This is useful to call functions in a library that you
2935 especially made to be used with Vim. Since only one argument
2936 is possible, calling standard library functions is rather
2937 limited.
2938 The result is the String returned by the function. If the
2939 function returns NULL, this will appear as an empty string ""
2940 to Vim.
2941 If the function returns a number, use libcallnr()!
2942 If {argument} is a number, it is passed to the function as an
2943 int; if {argument} is a string, it is passed as a
2944 null-terminated string.
2945 This function will fail in |restricted-mode|.
2946
2947 libcall() allows you to write your own 'plug-in' extensions to
2948 Vim without having to recompile the program. It is NOT a
2949 means to call system functions! If you try to do so Vim will
2950 very probably crash.
2951
2952 For Win32, the functions you write must be placed in a DLL
2953 and use the normal C calling convention (NOT Pascal which is
2954 used in Windows System DLLs). The function must take exactly
2955 one parameter, either a character pointer or a long integer,
2956 and must return a character pointer or NULL. The character
2957 pointer returned must point to memory that will remain valid
2958 after the function has returned (e.g. in static data in the
2959 DLL). If it points to allocated memory, that memory will
2960 leak away. Using a static buffer in the function should work,
2961 it's then freed when the DLL is unloaded.
2962
2963 WARNING: If the function returns a non-valid pointer, Vim may
2964 crash! This also happens if the function returns a number,
2965 because Vim thinks it's a pointer.
2966 For Win32 systems, {libname} should be the filename of the DLL
2967 without the ".DLL" suffix. A full path is only required if
2968 the DLL is not in the usual places.
2969 For Unix: When compiling your own plugins, remember that the
2970 object code must be compiled as position-independent ('PIC').
2971 {only in Win32 on some Unix versions, when the |+libcall|
2972 feature is present}
2973 Examples: >
2974 :echo libcall("libc.so", "getenv", "HOME")
2975 :echo libcallnr("/usr/lib/libc.so", "getpid", "")
2976<
2977 *libcallnr()*
2978libcallnr({libname}, {funcname}, {argument})
2979 Just like libcall(), but used for a function that returns an
2980 int instead of a string.
2981 {only in Win32 on some Unix versions, when the |+libcall|
2982 feature is present}
2983 Example (not very useful...): >
2984 :call libcallnr("libc.so", "printf", "Hello World!\n")
2985 :call libcallnr("libc.so", "sleep", 10)
2986<
2987 *line()*
2988line({expr}) The result is a Number, which is the line number of the file
2989 position given with {expr}. The accepted positions are:
2990 . the cursor position
2991 $ the last line in the current buffer
2992 'x position of mark x (if the mark is not set, 0 is
2993 returned)
2994 Note that only marks in the current file can be used.
2995 Examples: >
2996 line(".") line number of the cursor
2997 line("'t") line number of mark t
2998 line("'" . marker) line number of mark marker
2999< *last-position-jump*
3000 This autocommand jumps to the last known position in a file
3001 just after opening it, if the '" mark is set: >
3002 :au BufReadPost * if line("'\"") > 0 && line("'\"") <= line("$") | exe "normal g'\"" | endif
Bram Moolenaar69a7cb42004-06-20 12:51:53 +00003003
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003004line2byte({lnum}) *line2byte()*
3005 Return the byte count from the start of the buffer for line
3006 {lnum}. This includes the end-of-line character, depending on
3007 the 'fileformat' option for the current buffer. The first
3008 line returns 1.
3009 This can also be used to get the byte count for the line just
3010 below the last line: >
3011 line2byte(line("$") + 1)
3012< This is the file size plus one.
3013 When {lnum} is invalid, or the |+byte_offset| feature has been
3014 disabled at compile time, -1 is returned.
3015 Also see |byte2line()|, |go| and |:goto|.
3016
3017lispindent({lnum}) *lispindent()*
3018 Get the amount of indent for line {lnum} according the lisp
3019 indenting rules, as with 'lisp'.
3020 The indent is counted in spaces, the value of 'tabstop' is
3021 relevant. {lnum} is used just like in |getline()|.
3022 When {lnum} is invalid or Vim was not compiled the
3023 |+lispindent| feature, -1 is returned.
3024
3025localtime() *localtime()*
3026 Return the current time, measured as seconds since 1st Jan
3027 1970. See also |strftime()| and |getftime()|.
3028
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00003029
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00003030map({expr}, {string}) *map()*
3031 {expr} must be a List or a Dictionary.
3032 Replace each item in {expr} with the result of evaluating
3033 {string}.
3034 Inside {string} |v:val| has the value of the current item.
3035 For a Dictionary |v:key| has the key of the current item.
3036 Example: >
3037 :call map(mylist, '"> " . v:val . " <"')
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00003038< This puts "> " before and " <" after each item in "mylist".
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00003039
Bram Moolenaar3a7c85b2005-02-05 21:39:53 +00003040 Note that {string} is the result of an expression and is then
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00003041 used as an expression again. Often it is good to use a
Bram Moolenaar3a7c85b2005-02-05 21:39:53 +00003042 |literal-string| to avoid having to double backslashes. You
3043 still have to double ' quotes
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00003044
3045 The operation is done in-place. If you want a List or
3046 Dictionary to remain unmodified make a copy first: >
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +00003047 :let tlist = map(copy(mylist), ' & . "\t"')
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00003048
3049< Returns {expr}, the List or Dictionary that was filtered.
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00003050
3051
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003052maparg({name}[, {mode}]) *maparg()*
3053 Return the rhs of mapping {name} in mode {mode}. When there
3054 is no mapping for {name}, an empty String is returned.
3055 These characters can be used for {mode}:
3056 "n" Normal
3057 "v" Visual
3058 "o" Operator-pending
3059 "i" Insert
3060 "c" Cmd-line
3061 "l" langmap |language-mapping|
3062 "" Normal, Visual and Operator-pending
3063 When {mode} is omitted, the modes from "" are used.
3064 The {name} can have special key names, like in the ":map"
3065 command. The returned String has special characters
3066 translated like in the output of the ":map" command listing.
3067 The mappings local to the current buffer are checked first,
3068 then the global mappings.
3069
3070mapcheck({name}[, {mode}]) *mapcheck()*
3071 Check if there is a mapping that matches with {name} in mode
3072 {mode}. See |maparg()| for {mode} and special names in
3073 {name}.
3074 A match happens with a mapping that starts with {name} and
3075 with a mapping which is equal to the start of {name}.
3076
3077 matches mapping "a" "ab" "abc" ~
3078 mapcheck("a") yes yes yes
3079 mapcheck("abc") yes yes yes
3080 mapcheck("ax") yes no no
3081 mapcheck("b") no no no
3082
3083 The difference with maparg() is that mapcheck() finds a
3084 mapping that matches with {name}, while maparg() only finds a
3085 mapping for {name} exactly.
3086 When there is no mapping that starts with {name}, an empty
3087 String is returned. If there is one, the rhs of that mapping
3088 is returned. If there are several mappings that start with
3089 {name}, the rhs of one of them is returned.
3090 The mappings local to the current buffer are checked first,
3091 then the global mappings.
3092 This function can be used to check if a mapping can be added
3093 without being ambiguous. Example: >
3094 :if mapcheck("_vv") == ""
3095 : map _vv :set guifont=7x13<CR>
3096 :endif
3097< This avoids adding the "_vv" mapping when there already is a
3098 mapping for "_v" or for "_vvv".
3099
Bram Moolenaar89cb5e02004-07-19 20:55:54 +00003100match({expr}, {pat}[, {start}[, {count}]]) *match()*
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00003101 When {expr} is a List then this returns the index of the first
3102 item where {pat} matches. Each item is used as a String,
3103 Lists and Dictionaries are used as echoed.
3104 Otherwise, {expr} is used as a String. The result is a
3105 Number, which gives the index (byte offset) in {expr} where
3106 {pat} matches.
3107 A match at the first character or List item returns zero.
Bram Moolenaar89cb5e02004-07-19 20:55:54 +00003108 If there is no match -1 is returned.
3109 Example: >
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00003110 :echo match("testing", "ing") " results in 4
3111 :echo match([1, 'x'], '\a') " results in 2
3112< See |string-match| for how {pat} is used.
Bram Moolenaar05159a02005-02-26 23:04:13 +00003113 *strpbrk()*
3114 Vim doesn't have a strpbrk() function. But you can do: >
3115 :let sepidx = match(line, '[.,;: \t]')
3116< *strcasestr()*
3117 Vim doesn't have a strcasestr() function. But you can add
3118 "\c" to the pattern to ignore case: >
3119 :let idx = match(haystack, '\cneedle')
3120<
Bram Moolenaar89cb5e02004-07-19 20:55:54 +00003121 When {count} is given use the {count}'th match. When a match
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00003122 is found in a String the search for the next one starts on
3123 character further. Thus this example results in 1: >
Bram Moolenaar89cb5e02004-07-19 20:55:54 +00003124 echo match("testing", "..", 0, 2)
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00003125< In a List the search continues in the next item.
3126
3127 If {start} is given, the search starts from byte index
3128 {start} in a String or item {start} in a List.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003129 The result, however, is still the index counted from the
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00003130 first character/item. Example: >
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003131 :echo match("testing", "ing", 2)
3132< result is again "4". >
3133 :echo match("testing", "ing", 4)
3134< result is again "4". >
3135 :echo match("testing", "t", 2)
3136< result is "3".
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00003137 For a String, if {start} < 0, it will be set to 0. For a list
3138 the index is counted from the end.
3139 If {start} is out of range (> strlen({expr} for a String or
3140 > len({expr} for a List) -1 is returned.
3141
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003142 See |pattern| for the patterns that are accepted.
3143 The 'ignorecase' option is used to set the ignore-caseness of
3144 the pattern. 'smartcase' is NOT used. The matching is always
3145 done like 'magic' is set and 'cpoptions' is empty.
3146
Bram Moolenaar89cb5e02004-07-19 20:55:54 +00003147matchend({expr}, {pat}[, {start}[, {count}]]) *matchend()*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003148 Same as match(), but return the index of first character after
3149 the match. Example: >
3150 :echo matchend("testing", "ing")
3151< results in "7".
Bram Moolenaar05159a02005-02-26 23:04:13 +00003152 *strspn()* *strcspn()*
3153 Vim doesn't have a strspn() or strcspn() function, but you can
3154 do it with matchend(): >
3155 :let span = matchend(line, '[a-zA-Z]')
3156 :let span = matchend(line, '[^a-zA-Z]')
3157< Except that -1 is returned when there are no matches.
3158
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003159 The {start}, if given, has the same meaning as for match(). >
3160 :echo matchend("testing", "ing", 2)
3161< results in "7". >
3162 :echo matchend("testing", "ing", 5)
3163< result is "-1".
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00003164 When {expr} is a List the result is equal to match().
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003165
Bram Moolenaar3a7c85b2005-02-05 21:39:53 +00003166matchlist({expr}, {pat}[, {start}[, {count}]]) *matchlist()*
3167 Same as match(), but return a List. The first item in the
3168 list is the matched string, same as what matchstr() would
3169 return. Following items are submatches, like "\1", "\2", etc.
3170 in |:substitute|.
3171 When there is no match an empty list is returned.
3172
Bram Moolenaar89cb5e02004-07-19 20:55:54 +00003173matchstr({expr}, {pat}[, {start}[, {count}]]) *matchstr()*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003174 Same as match(), but return the matched string. Example: >
3175 :echo matchstr("testing", "ing")
3176< results in "ing".
3177 When there is no match "" is returned.
3178 The {start}, if given, has the same meaning as for match(). >
3179 :echo matchstr("testing", "ing", 2)
3180< results in "ing". >
3181 :echo matchstr("testing", "ing", 5)
3182< result is "".
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00003183 When {expr} is a List then the matching item is returned.
3184 The type isn't changed, it's not necessarily a String.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003185
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +00003186 *max()*
3187max({list}) Return the maximum value of all items in {list}.
3188 If {list} is not a list or one of the items in {list} cannot
3189 be used as a Number this results in an error.
3190 An empty List results in zero.
3191
3192 *min()*
3193min({list}) Return the minumum value of all items in {list}.
3194 If {list} is not a list or one of the items in {list} cannot
3195 be used as a Number this results in an error.
3196 An empty List results in zero.
3197
Bram Moolenaar26a60b42005-02-22 08:49:11 +00003198 *mkdir()* *E749*
3199mkdir({name} [, {path} [, {prot}]])
3200 Create directory {name}.
3201 If {path} is "p" then intermediate directories are created as
3202 necessary. Otherwise it must be "".
3203 If {prot} is given it is used to set the protection bits of
3204 the new directory. The default is 0755 (rwxr-xr-x: r/w for
3205 the user readable for others). Use 0700 to make it unreadable
3206 for others.
3207 This function is not available in the |sandbox|.
3208 Not available on all systems. To check use: >
3209 :if exists("*mkdir")
3210<
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003211 *mode()*
3212mode() Return a string that indicates the current mode:
3213 n Normal
3214 v Visual by character
3215 V Visual by line
3216 CTRL-V Visual blockwise
3217 s Select by character
3218 S Select by line
3219 CTRL-S Select blockwise
3220 i Insert
3221 R Replace
3222 c Command-line
3223 r Hit-enter prompt
3224 This is useful in the 'statusline' option. In most other
3225 places it always returns "c" or "n".
3226
3227nextnonblank({lnum}) *nextnonblank()*
3228 Return the line number of the first line at or below {lnum}
3229 that is not blank. Example: >
3230 if getline(nextnonblank(1)) =~ "Java"
3231< When {lnum} is invalid or there is no non-blank line at or
3232 below it, zero is returned.
3233 See also |prevnonblank()|.
3234
3235nr2char({expr}) *nr2char()*
3236 Return a string with a single character, which has the number
3237 value {expr}. Examples: >
3238 nr2char(64) returns "@"
3239 nr2char(32) returns " "
3240< The current 'encoding' is used. Example for "utf-8": >
3241 nr2char(300) returns I with bow character
3242< Note that a NUL character in the file is specified with
3243 nr2char(10), because NULs are represented with newline
3244 characters. nr2char(0) is a real NUL and terminates the
Bram Moolenaar383f9bc2005-01-19 22:18:32 +00003245 string, thus results in an empty string.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003246
3247prevnonblank({lnum}) *prevnonblank()*
3248 Return the line number of the first line at or above {lnum}
3249 that is not blank. Example: >
3250 let ind = indent(prevnonblank(v:lnum - 1))
3251< When {lnum} is invalid or there is no non-blank line at or
3252 above it, zero is returned.
3253 Also see |nextnonblank()|.
3254
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00003255 *E726* *E727*
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +00003256range({expr} [, {max} [, {stride}]]) *range()*
3257 Returns a List with Numbers:
3258 - If only {expr} is specified: [0, 1, ..., {expr} - 1]
3259 - If {max} is specified: [{expr}, {expr} + 1, ..., {max}]
3260 - If {stride} is specified: [{expr}, {expr} + {stride}, ...,
3261 {max}] (increasing {expr} with {stride} each time, not
3262 producing a value past {max}).
3263 Examples: >
3264 range(4) " [0, 1, 2, 3]
3265 range(2, 4) " [2, 3, 4]
3266 range(2, 9, 3) " [2, 5, 8]
3267 range(2, -2, -1) " [2, 1, 0, -1, -2]
3268<
Bram Moolenaar3a7c85b2005-02-05 21:39:53 +00003269 *readfile()*
Bram Moolenaar26a60b42005-02-22 08:49:11 +00003270readfile({fname} [, {binary} [, {max}]])
Bram Moolenaar3a7c85b2005-02-05 21:39:53 +00003271 Read file {fname} and return a List, each line of the file as
3272 an item. Lines broken at NL characters. Macintosh files
3273 separated with CR will result in a single long line (unless a
3274 NL appears somewhere).
3275 When {binary} is equal to "b" binary mode is used:
3276 - When the last line ends in a NL an extra empty list item is
3277 added.
3278 - No CR characters are removed.
3279 Otherwise:
3280 - CR characters that appear before a NL are removed.
3281 - Whether the last line ends in a NL or not does not matter.
3282 All NUL characters are replaced with a NL character.
Bram Moolenaar26a60b42005-02-22 08:49:11 +00003283 When {max} is given this specifies the maximum number of lines
3284 to be read. Useful if you only want to check the first ten
3285 lines of a file: >
3286 :for line in readfile(fname, '', 10)
3287 : if line =~ 'Date' | echo line | endif
3288 :endfor
3289< When {max} is zero or negative the result is an empty list.
3290 Note that without {max} the whole file is read into memory.
3291 Also note that there is no recognition of encoding. Read a
3292 file into a buffer if you need to.
Bram Moolenaar3a7c85b2005-02-05 21:39:53 +00003293 When the file can't be opened an error message is given and
3294 the result is an empty list.
3295 Also see |writefile()|.
3296
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003297 *remote_expr()* *E449*
3298remote_expr({server}, {string} [, {idvar}])
3299 Send the {string} to {server}. The string is sent as an
3300 expression and the result is returned after evaluation.
3301 If {idvar} is present, it is taken as the name of a
3302 variable and a {serverid} for later use with
3303 remote_read() is stored there.
3304 See also |clientserver| |RemoteReply|.
3305 This function is not available in the |sandbox|.
3306 {only available when compiled with the |+clientserver| feature}
3307 Note: Any errors will cause a local error message to be issued
3308 and the result will be the empty string.
3309 Examples: >
3310 :echo remote_expr("gvim", "2+2")
3311 :echo remote_expr("gvim1", "b:current_syntax")
3312<
3313
3314remote_foreground({server}) *remote_foreground()*
3315 Move the Vim server with the name {server} to the foreground.
3316 This works like: >
3317 remote_expr({server}, "foreground()")
3318< Except that on Win32 systems the client does the work, to work
3319 around the problem that the OS doesn't always allow the server
3320 to bring itself to the foreground.
3321 This function is not available in the |sandbox|.
3322 {only in the Win32, Athena, Motif and GTK GUI versions and the
3323 Win32 console version}
3324
3325
3326remote_peek({serverid} [, {retvar}]) *remote_peek()*
3327 Returns a positive number if there are available strings
3328 from {serverid}. Copies any reply string into the variable
3329 {retvar} if specified. {retvar} must be a string with the
3330 name of a variable.
3331 Returns zero if none are available.
3332 Returns -1 if something is wrong.
3333 See also |clientserver|.
3334 This function is not available in the |sandbox|.
3335 {only available when compiled with the |+clientserver| feature}
3336 Examples: >
3337 :let repl = ""
3338 :echo "PEEK: ".remote_peek(id, "repl").": ".repl
3339
3340remote_read({serverid}) *remote_read()*
3341 Return the oldest available reply from {serverid} and consume
3342 it. It blocks until a reply is available.
3343 See also |clientserver|.
3344 This function is not available in the |sandbox|.
3345 {only available when compiled with the |+clientserver| feature}
3346 Example: >
3347 :echo remote_read(id)
3348<
3349 *remote_send()* *E241*
3350remote_send({server}, {string} [, {idvar}])
Bram Moolenaard4755bb2004-09-02 19:12:26 +00003351 Send the {string} to {server}. The string is sent as input
3352 keys and the function returns immediately. At the Vim server
3353 the keys are not mapped |:map|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003354 If {idvar} is present, it is taken as the name of a
3355 variable and a {serverid} for later use with
3356 remote_read() is stored there.
3357 See also |clientserver| |RemoteReply|.
3358 This function is not available in the |sandbox|.
3359 {only available when compiled with the |+clientserver| feature}
3360 Note: Any errors will be reported in the server and may mess
3361 up the display.
3362 Examples: >
3363 :echo remote_send("gvim", ":DropAndReply ".file, "serverid").
3364 \ remote_read(serverid)
3365
3366 :autocmd NONE RemoteReply *
3367 \ echo remote_read(expand("<amatch>"))
3368 :echo remote_send("gvim", ":sleep 10 | echo ".
3369 \ 'server2client(expand("<client>"), "HELLO")<CR>')
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00003370<
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +00003371remove({list}, {idx} [, {end}]) *remove()*
3372 Without {end}: Remove the item at {idx} from List {list} and
3373 return it.
3374 With {end}: Remove items from {idx} to {end} (inclusive) and
3375 return a list with these items. When {idx} points to the same
3376 item as {end} a list with one item is returned. When {end}
3377 points to an item before {idx} this is an error.
3378 See |list-index| for possible values of {idx} and {end}.
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00003379 Example: >
3380 :echo "last item: " . remove(mylist, -1)
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +00003381 :call remove(mylist, 0, 9)
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +00003382remove({dict}, {key})
3383 Remove the entry from {dict} with key {key}. Example: >
3384 :echo "removed " . remove(dict, "one")
3385< If there is no {key} in {dict} this is an error.
3386
3387 Use |delete()| to remove a file.
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00003388
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003389rename({from}, {to}) *rename()*
3390 Rename the file by the name {from} to the name {to}. This
3391 should also work to move files across file systems. The
3392 result is a Number, which is 0 if the file was renamed
3393 successfully, and non-zero when the renaming failed.
3394 This function is not available in the |sandbox|.
3395
Bram Moolenaarab79bcb2004-07-18 21:34:53 +00003396repeat({expr}, {count}) *repeat()*
3397 Repeat {expr} {count} times and return the concatenated
3398 result. Example: >
3399 :let seperator = repeat('-', 80)
3400< When {count} is zero or negative the result is empty.
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +00003401 When {expr} is a List the result is {expr} concatenated
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +00003402 {count} times. Example: >
3403 :let longlist = repeat(['a', 'b'], 3)
3404< Results in ['a', 'b', 'a', 'b', 'a', 'b'].
Bram Moolenaarab79bcb2004-07-18 21:34:53 +00003405
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00003406
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003407resolve({filename}) *resolve()* *E655*
3408 On MS-Windows, when {filename} is a shortcut (a .lnk file),
3409 returns the path the shortcut points to in a simplified form.
3410 On Unix, repeat resolving symbolic links in all path
3411 components of {filename} and return the simplified result.
3412 To cope with link cycles, resolving of symbolic links is
3413 stopped after 100 iterations.
3414 On other systems, return the simplified {filename}.
3415 The simplification step is done as by |simplify()|.
3416 resolve() keeps a leading path component specifying the
3417 current directory (provided the result is still a relative
3418 path name) and also keeps a trailing path separator.
3419
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00003420 *reverse()*
3421reverse({list}) Reverse the order of items in {list} in-place. Returns
3422 {list}.
3423 If you want a list to remain unmodified make a copy first: >
3424 :let revlist = reverse(copy(mylist))
3425
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003426search({pattern} [, {flags}]) *search()*
3427 Search for regexp pattern {pattern}. The search starts at the
Bram Moolenaar383f9bc2005-01-19 22:18:32 +00003428 cursor position (you can use |cursor()| to set it).
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003429 {flags} is a String, which can contain these character flags:
3430 'b' search backward instead of forward
Bram Moolenaar5eb86f92004-07-26 12:53:41 +00003431 'n' do Not move the cursor
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003432 'w' wrap around the end of the file
3433 'W' don't wrap around the end of the file
3434 If neither 'w' or 'W' is given, the 'wrapscan' option applies.
3435
Bram Moolenaar5eb86f92004-07-26 12:53:41 +00003436 When a match has been found its line number is returned.
3437 The cursor will be positioned at the match, unless the 'n'
3438 flag is used).
3439 If there is no match a 0 is returned and the cursor doesn't
3440 move. No error message is given.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003441
3442 Example (goes over all files in the argument list): >
3443 :let n = 1
3444 :while n <= argc() " loop over all files in arglist
3445 : exe "argument " . n
3446 : " start at the last char in the file and wrap for the
3447 : " first search to find match at start of file
3448 : normal G$
3449 : let flags = "w"
3450 : while search("foo", flags) > 0
3451 : s/foo/bar/g
3452 : let flags = "W"
3453 : endwhile
3454 : update " write the file if modified
3455 : let n = n + 1
3456 :endwhile
3457<
3458 *searchpair()*
3459searchpair({start}, {middle}, {end} [, {flags} [, {skip}]])
3460 Search for the match of a nested start-end pair. This can be
3461 used to find the "endif" that matches an "if", while other
3462 if/endif pairs in between are ignored.
3463 The search starts at the cursor. If a match is found, the
3464 cursor is positioned at it and the line number is returned.
3465 If no match is found 0 or -1 is returned and the cursor
3466 doesn't move. No error message is given.
3467
3468 {start}, {middle} and {end} are patterns, see |pattern|. They
3469 must not contain \( \) pairs. Use of \%( \) is allowed. When
3470 {middle} is not empty, it is found when searching from either
3471 direction, but only when not in a nested start-end pair. A
3472 typical use is: >
3473 searchpair('\<if\>', '\<else\>', '\<endif\>')
3474< By leaving {middle} empty the "else" is skipped.
3475
3476 {flags} are used like with |search()|. Additionally:
3477 'n' do Not move the cursor
3478 'r' Repeat until no more matches found; will find the
3479 outer pair
3480 'm' return number of Matches instead of line number with
3481 the match; will only be > 1 when 'r' is used.
3482
3483 When a match for {start}, {middle} or {end} is found, the
3484 {skip} expression is evaluated with the cursor positioned on
3485 the start of the match. It should return non-zero if this
3486 match is to be skipped. E.g., because it is inside a comment
3487 or a string.
3488 When {skip} is omitted or empty, every match is accepted.
3489 When evaluating {skip} causes an error the search is aborted
3490 and -1 returned.
3491
3492 The value of 'ignorecase' is used. 'magic' is ignored, the
3493 patterns are used like it's on.
3494
3495 The search starts exactly at the cursor. A match with
3496 {start}, {middle} or {end} at the next character, in the
3497 direction of searching, is the first one found. Example: >
3498 if 1
3499 if 2
3500 endif 2
3501 endif 1
3502< When starting at the "if 2", with the cursor on the "i", and
3503 searching forwards, the "endif 2" is found. When starting on
3504 the character just before the "if 2", the "endif 1" will be
3505 found. That's because the "if 2" will be found first, and
3506 then this is considered to be a nested if/endif from "if 2" to
3507 "endif 2".
3508 When searching backwards and {end} is more than one character,
3509 it may be useful to put "\zs" at the end of the pattern, so
3510 that when the cursor is inside a match with the end it finds
3511 the matching start.
3512
3513 Example, to find the "endif" command in a Vim script: >
3514
3515 :echo searchpair('\<if\>', '\<el\%[seif]\>', '\<en\%[dif]\>', 'W',
3516 \ 'getline(".") =~ "^\\s*\""')
3517
3518< The cursor must be at or after the "if" for which a match is
3519 to be found. Note that single-quote strings are used to avoid
3520 having to double the backslashes. The skip expression only
3521 catches comments at the start of a line, not after a command.
3522 Also, a word "en" or "if" halfway a line is considered a
3523 match.
3524 Another example, to search for the matching "{" of a "}": >
3525
3526 :echo searchpair('{', '', '}', 'bW')
3527
3528< This works when the cursor is at or before the "}" for which a
3529 match is to be found. To reject matches that syntax
3530 highlighting recognized as strings: >
3531
3532 :echo searchpair('{', '', '}', 'bW',
3533 \ 'synIDattr(synID(line("."), col("."), 0), "name") =~? "string"')
3534<
3535server2client( {clientid}, {string}) *server2client()*
3536 Send a reply string to {clientid}. The most recent {clientid}
3537 that sent a string can be retrieved with expand("<client>").
3538 {only available when compiled with the |+clientserver| feature}
3539 Note:
3540 This id has to be stored before the next command can be
3541 received. Ie. before returning from the received command and
3542 before calling any commands that waits for input.
3543 See also |clientserver|.
3544 Example: >
3545 :echo server2client(expand("<client>"), "HELLO")
3546<
3547serverlist() *serverlist()*
3548 Return a list of available server names, one per line.
3549 When there are no servers or the information is not available
3550 an empty string is returned. See also |clientserver|.
3551 {only available when compiled with the |+clientserver| feature}
3552 Example: >
3553 :echo serverlist()
3554<
3555setbufvar({expr}, {varname}, {val}) *setbufvar()*
3556 Set option or local variable {varname} in buffer {expr} to
3557 {val}.
3558 This also works for a global or local window option, but it
3559 doesn't work for a global or local window variable.
3560 For a local window option the global value is unchanged.
3561 For the use of {expr}, see |bufname()| above.
3562 Note that the variable name without "b:" must be used.
3563 Examples: >
3564 :call setbufvar(1, "&mod", 1)
3565 :call setbufvar("todo", "myvar", "foobar")
3566< This function is not available in the |sandbox|.
3567
3568setcmdpos({pos}) *setcmdpos()*
3569 Set the cursor position in the command line to byte position
3570 {pos}. The first position is 1.
3571 Use |getcmdpos()| to obtain the current position.
3572 Only works while editing the command line, thus you must use
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +00003573 |c_CTRL-\_e|, |c_CTRL-R_=| or |c_CTRL-R_CTRL-R| with '='. For
3574 |c_CTRL-\_e| and |c_CTRL-R_CTRL-R| with '=' the position is
3575 set after the command line is set to the expression. For
3576 |c_CTRL-R_=| it is set after evaluating the expression but
3577 before inserting the resulting text.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003578 When the number is too big the cursor is put at the end of the
3579 line. A number smaller than one has undefined results.
3580 Returns 0 when successful, 1 when not editing the command
3581 line.
3582
3583setline({lnum}, {line}) *setline()*
3584 Set line {lnum} of the current buffer to {line}. If this
3585 succeeds, 0 is returned. If this fails (most likely because
3586 {lnum} is invalid) 1 is returned. Example: >
3587 :call setline(5, strftime("%c"))
3588< Note: The '[ and '] marks are not set.
3589
3590 *setreg()*
3591setreg({regname}, {value} [,{options}])
3592 Set the register {regname} to {value}.
3593 If {options} contains "a" or {regname} is upper case,
3594 then the value is appended.
3595 {options} can also contains a register type specification:
3596 "c" or "v" |characterwise| mode
3597 "l" or "V" |linewise| mode
3598 "b" or "<CTRL-V>" |blockwise-visual| mode
3599 If a number immediately follows "b" or "<CTRL-V>" then this is
3600 used as the width of the selection - if it is not specified
3601 then the width of the block is set to the number of characters
3602 in the longest line (counting a <TAB> as 1 character).
3603
3604 If {options} contains no register settings, then the default
3605 is to use character mode unless {value} ends in a <NL>.
3606 Setting the '=' register is not possible.
3607 Returns zero for success, non-zero for failure.
3608
3609 Examples: >
3610 :call setreg(v:register, @*)
3611 :call setreg('*', @%, 'ac')
3612 :call setreg('a', "1\n2\n3", 'b5')
3613
3614< This example shows using the functions to save and restore a
3615 register. >
3616 :let var_a = getreg('a')
3617 :let var_amode = getregtype('a')
3618 ....
3619 :call setreg('a', var_a, var_amode)
3620
3621< You can also change the type of a register by appending
3622 nothing: >
3623 :call setreg('a', '', 'al')
3624
3625setwinvar({nr}, {varname}, {val}) *setwinvar()*
3626 Set option or local variable {varname} in window {nr} to
3627 {val}.
3628 This also works for a global or local buffer option, but it
3629 doesn't work for a global or local buffer variable.
3630 For a local buffer option the global value is unchanged.
3631 Note that the variable name without "w:" must be used.
3632 Examples: >
3633 :call setwinvar(1, "&list", 0)
3634 :call setwinvar(2, "myvar", "foobar")
3635< This function is not available in the |sandbox|.
3636
3637simplify({filename}) *simplify()*
3638 Simplify the file name as much as possible without changing
3639 the meaning. Shortcuts (on MS-Windows) or symbolic links (on
3640 Unix) are not resolved. If the first path component in
3641 {filename} designates the current directory, this will be
3642 valid for the result as well. A trailing path separator is
3643 not removed either.
3644 Example: >
3645 simplify("./dir/.././/file/") == "./file/"
3646< Note: The combination "dir/.." is only removed if "dir" is
3647 a searchable directory or does not exist. On Unix, it is also
3648 removed when "dir" is a symbolic link within the same
3649 directory. In order to resolve all the involved symbolic
3650 links before simplifying the path name, use |resolve()|.
3651
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00003652
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +00003653sort({list} [, {func}]) *sort()* *E702*
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00003654 Sort the items in {list} in-place. Returns {list}. If you
3655 want a list to remain unmodified make a copy first: >
3656 :let sortedlist = sort(copy(mylist))
3657< Uses the string representation of each item to sort on.
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00003658 Numbers sort after Strings, Lists after Numbers.
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00003659 When {func} is given and it is one then case is ignored.
3660 When {func} is a Funcref or a function name, this function is
3661 called to compare items. The function is invoked with two
3662 items as argument and must return zero if they are equal, 1 if
3663 the first one sorts after the second one, -1 if the first one
3664 sorts before the second one. Example: >
3665 func MyCompare(i1, i2)
3666 return a:i1 == a:i2 ? 0 : a:i1 > a:i2 ? 1 : -1
3667 endfunc
3668 let sortedlist = sort(mylist, "MyCompare")
3669
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00003670split({expr} [, {pattern}]) *split()*
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00003671 Make a List out of {expr}. When {pattern} is omitted each
3672 white-separated sequence of characters becomes an item.
3673 Otherwise the string is split where {pattern} matches,
3674 removing the matched characters. Empty strings are omitted.
3675 Example: >
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00003676 :let words = split(getline('.'), '\W\+')
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00003677< Since empty strings are not added the "\+" isn't required but
3678 it makes the function work a bit faster.
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00003679 The opposite function is |join()|.
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00003680
3681
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003682strftime({format} [, {time}]) *strftime()*
3683 The result is a String, which is a formatted date and time, as
3684 specified by the {format} string. The given {time} is used,
3685 or the current time if no time is given. The accepted
3686 {format} depends on your system, thus this is not portable!
3687 See the manual page of the C function strftime() for the
3688 format. The maximum length of the result is 80 characters.
3689 See also |localtime()| and |getftime()|.
3690 The language can be changed with the |:language| command.
3691 Examples: >
3692 :echo strftime("%c") Sun Apr 27 11:49:23 1997
3693 :echo strftime("%Y %b %d %X") 1997 Apr 27 11:53:25
3694 :echo strftime("%y%m%d %T") 970427 11:53:55
3695 :echo strftime("%H:%M") 11:55
3696 :echo strftime("%c", getftime("file.c"))
3697 Show mod time of file.c.
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00003698< Not available on all systems. To check use: >
3699 :if exists("*strftime")
3700
Bram Moolenaar8f999f12005-01-25 22:12:55 +00003701stridx({haystack}, {needle} [, {start}]) *stridx()*
3702 The result is a Number, which gives the byte index in
3703 {haystack} of the first occurrence of the String {needle}.
Bram Moolenaar677ee682005-01-27 14:41:15 +00003704 If {start} is specified, the search starts at index {start}.
3705 This can be used to find a second match: >
3706 :let comma1 = stridx(line, ",")
3707 :let comma2 = stridx(line, ",", comma1 + 1)
3708< The search is done case-sensitive.
Bram Moolenaar8f999f12005-01-25 22:12:55 +00003709 For pattern searches use |match()|.
3710 -1 is returned if the {needle} does not occur in {haystack}.
Bram Moolenaar677ee682005-01-27 14:41:15 +00003711 See also |strridx()|.
3712 Examples: >
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003713 :echo stridx("An Example", "Example") 3
3714 :echo stridx("Starting point", "Start") 0
3715 :echo stridx("Starting point", "start") -1
Bram Moolenaar05159a02005-02-26 23:04:13 +00003716< *strstr()* *strchr()*
3717 stridx() works similar to the C function strstr(). When used
3718 with a single character it works similar to strchr().
3719
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00003720 *string()*
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00003721string({expr}) Return {expr} converted to a String. If {expr} is a Number,
3722 String or a composition of them, then the result can be parsed
3723 back with |eval()|.
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00003724 {expr} type result ~
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +00003725 String 'string'
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00003726 Number 123
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +00003727 Funcref function('name')
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00003728 List [item, item]
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +00003729 Note that in String values the ' character is doubled.
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00003730
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003731 *strlen()*
3732strlen({expr}) The result is a Number, which is the length of the String
3733 {expr} in bytes. If you want to count the number of
3734 multi-byte characters use something like this: >
3735
3736 :let len = strlen(substitute(str, ".", "x", "g"))
3737
3738< Composing characters are not counted.
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00003739 If the argument is a Number it is first converted to a String.
3740 For other types an error is given.
3741 Also see |len()|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003742
3743strpart({src}, {start}[, {len}]) *strpart()*
3744 The result is a String, which is part of {src}, starting from
3745 byte {start}, with the length {len}.
3746 When non-existing bytes are included, this doesn't result in
3747 an error, the bytes are simply omitted.
3748 If {len} is missing, the copy continues from {start} till the
3749 end of the {src}. >
3750 strpart("abcdefg", 3, 2) == "de"
3751 strpart("abcdefg", -2, 4) == "ab"
3752 strpart("abcdefg", 5, 4) == "fg"
3753 strpart("abcdefg", 3) == "defg"
3754< Note: To get the first character, {start} must be 0. For
3755 example, to get three bytes under and after the cursor: >
3756 strpart(getline(line(".")), col(".") - 1, 3)
3757<
Bram Moolenaar677ee682005-01-27 14:41:15 +00003758strridx({haystack}, {needle} [, {start}]) *strridx()*
3759 The result is a Number, which gives the byte index in
3760 {haystack} of the last occurrence of the String {needle}.
3761 When {start} is specified, matches beyond this index are
3762 ignored. This can be used to find a match before a previous
3763 match: >
3764 :let lastcomma = strridx(line, ",")
3765 :let comma2 = strridx(line, ",", lastcomma - 1)
3766< The search is done case-sensitive.
Bram Moolenaar8f999f12005-01-25 22:12:55 +00003767 For pattern searches use |match()|.
3768 -1 is returned if the {needle} does not occur in {haystack}.
Bram Moolenaard4755bb2004-09-02 19:12:26 +00003769 If the {needle} is empty the length of {haystack} is returned.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003770 See also |stridx()|. Examples: >
3771 :echo strridx("an angry armadillo", "an") 3
Bram Moolenaar05159a02005-02-26 23:04:13 +00003772< *strrchr()*
3773 When used with a single character it works similar to the C
3774 function strrchr().
3775
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003776strtrans({expr}) *strtrans()*
3777 The result is a String, which is {expr} with all unprintable
3778 characters translated into printable characters |'isprint'|.
3779 Like they are shown in a window. Example: >
3780 echo strtrans(@a)
3781< This displays a newline in register a as "^@" instead of
3782 starting a new line.
3783
3784submatch({nr}) *submatch()*
3785 Only for an expression in a |:substitute| command. Returns
3786 the {nr}'th submatch of the matched text. When {nr} is 0
3787 the whole matched text is returned.
3788 Example: >
3789 :s/\d\+/\=submatch(0) + 1/
3790< This finds the first number in the line and adds one to it.
3791 A line break is included as a newline character.
3792
3793substitute({expr}, {pat}, {sub}, {flags}) *substitute()*
3794 The result is a String, which is a copy of {expr}, in which
3795 the first match of {pat} is replaced with {sub}. This works
3796 like the ":substitute" command (without any flags). But the
3797 matching with {pat} is always done like the 'magic' option is
3798 set and 'cpoptions' is empty (to make scripts portable).
3799 See |string-match| for how {pat} is used.
3800 And a "~" in {sub} is not replaced with the previous {sub}.
3801 Note that some codes in {sub} have a special meaning
3802 |sub-replace-special|. For example, to replace something with
3803 "\n" (two characters), use "\\\\n" or '\\n'.
3804 When {pat} does not match in {expr}, {expr} is returned
3805 unmodified.
3806 When {flags} is "g", all matches of {pat} in {expr} are
3807 replaced. Otherwise {flags} should be "".
3808 Example: >
3809 :let &path = substitute(&path, ",\\=[^,]*$", "", "")
3810< This removes the last component of the 'path' option. >
3811 :echo substitute("testing", ".*", "\\U\\0", "")
3812< results in "TESTING".
3813
Bram Moolenaar47136d72004-10-12 20:02:24 +00003814synID({lnum}, {col}, {trans}) *synID()*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003815 The result is a Number, which is the syntax ID at the position
Bram Moolenaar47136d72004-10-12 20:02:24 +00003816 {lnum} and {col} in the current window.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003817 The syntax ID can be used with |synIDattr()| and
3818 |synIDtrans()| to obtain syntax information about text.
Bram Moolenaar47136d72004-10-12 20:02:24 +00003819 {col} is 1 for the leftmost column, {lnum} is 1 for the first
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003820 line.
3821 When {trans} is non-zero, transparent items are reduced to the
3822 item that they reveal. This is useful when wanting to know
3823 the effective color. When {trans} is zero, the transparent
3824 item is returned. This is useful when wanting to know which
3825 syntax item is effective (e.g. inside parens).
3826 Warning: This function can be very slow. Best speed is
3827 obtained by going through the file in forward direction.
3828
3829 Example (echoes the name of the syntax item under the cursor): >
3830 :echo synIDattr(synID(line("."), col("."), 1), "name")
3831<
3832synIDattr({synID}, {what} [, {mode}]) *synIDattr()*
3833 The result is a String, which is the {what} attribute of
3834 syntax ID {synID}. This can be used to obtain information
3835 about a syntax item.
3836 {mode} can be "gui", "cterm" or "term", to get the attributes
3837 for that mode. When {mode} is omitted, or an invalid value is
3838 used, the attributes for the currently active highlighting are
3839 used (GUI, cterm or term).
3840 Use synIDtrans() to follow linked highlight groups.
3841 {what} result
3842 "name" the name of the syntax item
3843 "fg" foreground color (GUI: color name used to set
3844 the color, cterm: color number as a string,
3845 term: empty string)
3846 "bg" background color (like "fg")
3847 "fg#" like "fg", but for the GUI and the GUI is
3848 running the name in "#RRGGBB" form
3849 "bg#" like "fg#" for "bg"
3850 "bold" "1" if bold
3851 "italic" "1" if italic
3852 "reverse" "1" if reverse
3853 "inverse" "1" if inverse (= reverse)
3854 "underline" "1" if underlined
3855
3856 Example (echoes the color of the syntax item under the
3857 cursor): >
3858 :echo synIDattr(synIDtrans(synID(line("."), col("."), 1)), "fg")
3859<
3860synIDtrans({synID}) *synIDtrans()*
3861 The result is a Number, which is the translated syntax ID of
3862 {synID}. This is the syntax group ID of what is being used to
3863 highlight the character. Highlight links given with
3864 ":highlight link" are followed.
3865
Bram Moolenaarc0197e22004-09-13 20:26:32 +00003866system({expr} [, {input}]) *system()* *E677*
3867 Get the output of the shell command {expr}.
3868 When {input} is given, this string is written to a file and
3869 passed as stdin to the command. The string is written as-is,
3870 you need to take care of using the correct line separators
Bram Moolenaar05159a02005-02-26 23:04:13 +00003871 yourself. Pipes are not used.
Bram Moolenaarc0197e22004-09-13 20:26:32 +00003872 Note: newlines in {expr} may cause the command to fail. The
3873 characters in 'shellquote' and 'shellxquote' may also cause
3874 trouble.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003875 This is not to be used for interactive commands.
3876 The result is a String. Example: >
3877
3878 :let files = system("ls")
3879
3880< To make the result more system-independent, the shell output
3881 is filtered to replace <CR> with <NL> for Macintosh, and
3882 <CR><NL> with <NL> for DOS-like systems.
3883 The command executed is constructed using several options:
3884 'shell' 'shellcmdflag' 'shellxquote' {expr} 'shellredir' {tmp} 'shellxquote'
3885 ({tmp} is an automatically generated file name).
3886 For Unix and OS/2 braces are put around {expr} to allow for
3887 concatenated commands.
3888
3889 The resulting error code can be found in |v:shell_error|.
3890 This function will fail in |restricted-mode|.
3891 Unlike ":!cmd" there is no automatic check for changed files.
3892 Use |:checktime| to force a check.
3893
3894tempname() *tempname()* *temp-file-name*
3895 The result is a String, which is the name of a file that
3896 doesn't exist. It can be used for a temporary file. The name
3897 is different for at least 26 consecutive calls. Example: >
3898 :let tmpfile = tempname()
3899 :exe "redir > " . tmpfile
3900< For Unix, the file will be in a private directory (only
3901 accessible by the current user) to avoid security problems
3902 (e.g., a symlink attack or other people reading your file).
3903 When Vim exits the directory and all files in it are deleted.
3904 For MS-Windows forward slashes are used when the 'shellslash'
3905 option is set or when 'shellcmdflag' starts with '-'.
3906
3907tolower({expr}) *tolower()*
3908 The result is a copy of the String given, with all uppercase
3909 characters turned into lowercase (just like applying |gu| to
3910 the string).
3911
3912toupper({expr}) *toupper()*
3913 The result is a copy of the String given, with all lowercase
3914 characters turned into uppercase (just like applying |gU| to
3915 the string).
3916
Bram Moolenaar8299df92004-07-10 09:47:34 +00003917tr({src}, {fromstr}, {tostr}) *tr()*
3918 The result is a copy of the {src} string with all characters
3919 which appear in {fromstr} replaced by the character in that
3920 position in the {tostr} string. Thus the first character in
3921 {fromstr} is translated into the first character in {tostr}
3922 and so on. Exactly like the unix "tr" command.
3923 This code also deals with multibyte characters properly.
3924
3925 Examples: >
3926 echo tr("hello there", "ht", "HT")
3927< returns "Hello THere" >
3928 echo tr("<blob>", "<>", "{}")
3929< returns "{blob}"
3930
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +00003931 *type()*
3932type({expr}) The result is a Number, depending on the type of {expr}:
Bram Moolenaar748bf032005-02-02 23:04:36 +00003933 Number: 0
3934 String: 1
3935 Funcref: 2
3936 List: 3
3937 Dictionary: 4
3938 To avoid the magic numbers it should be used this way: >
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +00003939 :if type(myvar) == type(0)
3940 :if type(myvar) == type("")
3941 :if type(myvar) == type(function("tr"))
3942 :if type(myvar) == type([])
Bram Moolenaar748bf032005-02-02 23:04:36 +00003943 :if type(myvar) == type({})
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003944
Bram Moolenaar677ee682005-01-27 14:41:15 +00003945values({dict}) *values()*
3946 Return a List with all the values of {dict}. The List is in
3947 arbitrary order.
3948
3949
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003950virtcol({expr}) *virtcol()*
3951 The result is a Number, which is the screen column of the file
3952 position given with {expr}. That is, the last screen position
3953 occupied by the character at that position, when the screen
3954 would be of unlimited width. When there is a <Tab> at the
3955 position, the returned Number will be the column at the end of
3956 the <Tab>. For example, for a <Tab> in column 1, with 'ts'
3957 set to 8, it returns 8.
3958 For the byte position use |col()|.
3959 When Virtual editing is active in the current mode, a position
3960 beyond the end of the line can be returned. |'virtualedit'|
3961 The accepted positions are:
3962 . the cursor position
3963 $ the end of the cursor line (the result is the
3964 number of displayed characters in the cursor line
3965 plus one)
3966 'x position of mark x (if the mark is not set, 0 is
3967 returned)
3968 Note that only marks in the current file can be used.
3969 Examples: >
3970 virtcol(".") with text "foo^Lbar", with cursor on the "^L", returns 5
3971 virtcol("$") with text "foo^Lbar", returns 9
3972 virtcol("'t") with text " there", with 't at 'h', returns 6
3973< The first column is 1. 0 is returned for an error.
3974
3975visualmode([expr]) *visualmode()*
3976 The result is a String, which describes the last Visual mode
3977 used. Initially it returns an empty string, but once Visual
3978 mode has been used, it returns "v", "V", or "<CTRL-V>" (a
3979 single CTRL-V character) for character-wise, line-wise, or
3980 block-wise Visual mode respectively.
3981 Example: >
3982 :exe "normal " . visualmode()
3983< This enters the same Visual mode as before. It is also useful
3984 in scripts if you wish to act differently depending on the
3985 Visual mode that was used.
3986
3987 If an expression is supplied that results in a non-zero number
3988 or a non-empty string, then the Visual mode will be cleared
3989 and the old value is returned. Note that " " and "0" are also
3990 non-empty strings, thus cause the mode to be cleared.
3991
3992 *winbufnr()*
3993winbufnr({nr}) The result is a Number, which is the number of the buffer
3994 associated with window {nr}. When {nr} is zero, the number of
3995 the buffer in the current window is returned. When window
3996 {nr} doesn't exist, -1 is returned.
3997 Example: >
3998 :echo "The file in the current window is " . bufname(winbufnr(0))
3999<
4000 *wincol()*
4001wincol() The result is a Number, which is the virtual column of the
4002 cursor in the window. This is counting screen cells from the
4003 left side of the window. The leftmost column is one.
4004
4005winheight({nr}) *winheight()*
4006 The result is a Number, which is the height of window {nr}.
4007 When {nr} is zero, the height of the current window is
4008 returned. When window {nr} doesn't exist, -1 is returned.
4009 An existing window always has a height of zero or more.
4010 Examples: >
4011 :echo "The current window has " . winheight(0) . " lines."
4012<
4013 *winline()*
4014winline() The result is a Number, which is the screen line of the cursor
4015 in the window. This is counting screen lines from the top of
4016 the window. The first line is one.
4017
4018 *winnr()*
Bram Moolenaar5eb86f92004-07-26 12:53:41 +00004019winnr([{arg}]) The result is a Number, which is the number of the current
4020 window. The top window has number 1.
4021 When the optional argument is "$", the number of the
4022 last window is returnd (the window count).
4023 When the optional argument is "#", the number of the last
4024 accessed window is returned (where |CTRL-W_p| goes to).
4025 If there is no previous window 0 is returned.
4026 The number can be used with |CTRL-W_w| and ":wincmd w"
4027 |:wincmd|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004028
4029 *winrestcmd()*
4030winrestcmd() Returns a sequence of |:resize| commands that should restore
4031 the current window sizes. Only works properly when no windows
4032 are opened or closed and the current window is unchanged.
4033 Example: >
4034 :let cmd = winrestcmd()
4035 :call MessWithWindowSizes()
4036 :exe cmd
4037
4038winwidth({nr}) *winwidth()*
4039 The result is a Number, which is the width of window {nr}.
4040 When {nr} is zero, the width of the current window is
4041 returned. When window {nr} doesn't exist, -1 is returned.
4042 An existing window always has a width of zero or more.
4043 Examples: >
4044 :echo "The current window has " . winwidth(0) . " columns."
4045 :if winwidth(0) <= 50
4046 : exe "normal 50\<C-W>|"
4047 :endif
4048<
Bram Moolenaar3a7c85b2005-02-05 21:39:53 +00004049 *writefile()*
4050writefile({list}, {fname} [, {binary}])
4051 Write List {list} to file {fname}. Each list item is
4052 separated with a NL. Each list item must be a String or
4053 Number.
4054 When {binary} is equal to "b" binary mode is used: There will
4055 not be a NL after the last list item. An empty item at the
4056 end does cause the last line in the file to end in a NL.
4057 All NL characters are replaced with a NUL character.
4058 Inserting CR characters needs to be done before passing {list}
4059 to writefile().
4060 An existing file is overwritten, if possible.
4061 When the write fails -1 is returned, otherwise 0. There is an
4062 error message if the file can't be created or when writing
4063 fails.
4064 Also see |readfile()|.
4065 To copy a file byte for byte: >
4066 :let fl = readfile("foo", "b")
4067 :call writefile(fl, "foocopy", "b")
4068<
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004069
4070 *feature-list*
4071There are three types of features:
40721. Features that are only supported when they have been enabled when Vim
4073 was compiled |+feature-list|. Example: >
4074 :if has("cindent")
40752. Features that are only supported when certain conditions have been met.
4076 Example: >
4077 :if has("gui_running")
4078< *has-patch*
40793. Included patches. First check |v:version| for the version of Vim.
4080 Then the "patch123" feature means that patch 123 has been included for
4081 this version. Example (checking version 6.2.148 or later): >
4082 :if v:version > 602 || v:version == 602 && has("patch148")
4083
4084all_builtin_terms Compiled with all builtin terminals enabled.
4085amiga Amiga version of Vim.
4086arabic Compiled with Arabic support |Arabic|.
4087arp Compiled with ARP support (Amiga).
4088autocmd Compiled with autocommands support.
4089balloon_eval Compiled with |balloon-eval| support.
4090beos BeOS version of Vim.
4091browse Compiled with |:browse| support, and browse() will
4092 work.
4093builtin_terms Compiled with some builtin terminals.
4094byte_offset Compiled with support for 'o' in 'statusline'
4095cindent Compiled with 'cindent' support.
4096clientserver Compiled with remote invocation support |clientserver|.
4097clipboard Compiled with 'clipboard' support.
4098cmdline_compl Compiled with |cmdline-completion| support.
4099cmdline_hist Compiled with |cmdline-history| support.
4100cmdline_info Compiled with 'showcmd' and 'ruler' support.
4101comments Compiled with |'comments'| support.
4102cryptv Compiled with encryption support |encryption|.
4103cscope Compiled with |cscope| support.
4104compatible Compiled to be very Vi compatible.
4105debug Compiled with "DEBUG" defined.
4106dialog_con Compiled with console dialog support.
4107dialog_gui Compiled with GUI dialog support.
4108diff Compiled with |vimdiff| and 'diff' support.
4109digraphs Compiled with support for digraphs.
4110dnd Compiled with support for the "~ register |quote_~|.
4111dos32 32 bits DOS (DJGPP) version of Vim.
4112dos16 16 bits DOS version of Vim.
4113ebcdic Compiled on a machine with ebcdic character set.
4114emacs_tags Compiled with support for Emacs tags.
4115eval Compiled with expression evaluation support. Always
4116 true, of course!
4117ex_extra Compiled with extra Ex commands |+ex_extra|.
4118extra_search Compiled with support for |'incsearch'| and
4119 |'hlsearch'|
4120farsi Compiled with Farsi support |farsi|.
4121file_in_path Compiled with support for |gf| and |<cfile>|
Bram Moolenaar26a60b42005-02-22 08:49:11 +00004122filterpipe When 'shelltemp' is off pipes are used for shell
4123 read/write/filter commands
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004124find_in_path Compiled with support for include file searches
4125 |+find_in_path|.
4126fname_case Case in file names matters (for Amiga, MS-DOS, and
4127 Windows this is not present).
4128folding Compiled with |folding| support.
4129footer Compiled with GUI footer support. |gui-footer|
4130fork Compiled to use fork()/exec() instead of system().
4131gettext Compiled with message translation |multi-lang|
4132gui Compiled with GUI enabled.
4133gui_athena Compiled with Athena GUI.
Bram Moolenaar69a7cb42004-06-20 12:51:53 +00004134gui_beos Compiled with BeOS GUI.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004135gui_gtk Compiled with GTK+ GUI (any version).
4136gui_gtk2 Compiled with GTK+ 2 GUI (gui_gtk is also defined).
Bram Moolenaar843ee412004-06-30 16:16:41 +00004137gui_kde Compiled with KDE GUI |KVim|
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004138gui_mac Compiled with Macintosh GUI.
4139gui_motif Compiled with Motif GUI.
4140gui_photon Compiled with Photon GUI.
4141gui_win32 Compiled with MS Windows Win32 GUI.
4142gui_win32s idem, and Win32s system being used (Windows 3.1)
4143gui_running Vim is running in the GUI, or it will start soon.
4144hangul_input Compiled with Hangul input support. |hangul|
4145iconv Can use iconv() for conversion.
4146insert_expand Compiled with support for CTRL-X expansion commands in
4147 Insert mode.
4148jumplist Compiled with |jumplist| support.
4149keymap Compiled with 'keymap' support.
4150langmap Compiled with 'langmap' support.
4151libcall Compiled with |libcall()| support.
4152linebreak Compiled with 'linebreak', 'breakat' and 'showbreak'
4153 support.
4154lispindent Compiled with support for lisp indenting.
4155listcmds Compiled with commands for the buffer list |:files|
4156 and the argument list |arglist|.
4157localmap Compiled with local mappings and abbr. |:map-local|
4158mac Macintosh version of Vim.
4159macunix Macintosh version of Vim, using Unix files (OS-X).
4160menu Compiled with support for |:menu|.
4161mksession Compiled with support for |:mksession|.
4162modify_fname Compiled with file name modifiers. |filename-modifiers|
4163mouse Compiled with support mouse.
4164mouseshape Compiled with support for 'mouseshape'.
4165mouse_dec Compiled with support for Dec terminal mouse.
4166mouse_gpm Compiled with support for gpm (Linux console mouse)
4167mouse_netterm Compiled with support for netterm mouse.
4168mouse_pterm Compiled with support for qnx pterm mouse.
4169mouse_xterm Compiled with support for xterm mouse.
4170multi_byte Compiled with support for editing Korean et al.
4171multi_byte_ime Compiled with support for IME input method.
4172multi_lang Compiled with support for multiple languages.
Bram Moolenaar325b7a22004-07-05 15:58:32 +00004173mzscheme Compiled with MzScheme interface |mzscheme|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004174netbeans_intg Compiled with support for |netbeans|.
Bram Moolenaar009b2592004-10-24 19:18:58 +00004175netbeans_enabled Compiled with support for |netbeans| and it's used.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004176ole Compiled with OLE automation support for Win32.
4177os2 OS/2 version of Vim.
4178osfiletype Compiled with support for osfiletypes |+osfiletype|
4179path_extra Compiled with up/downwards search in 'path' and 'tags'
4180perl Compiled with Perl interface.
4181postscript Compiled with PostScript file printing.
4182printer Compiled with |:hardcopy| support.
Bram Moolenaar05159a02005-02-26 23:04:13 +00004183profile Compiled with |:profile| support.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004184python Compiled with Python interface.
4185qnx QNX version of Vim.
4186quickfix Compiled with |quickfix| support.
4187rightleft Compiled with 'rightleft' support.
4188ruby Compiled with Ruby interface |ruby|.
4189scrollbind Compiled with 'scrollbind' support.
4190showcmd Compiled with 'showcmd' support.
4191signs Compiled with |:sign| support.
4192smartindent Compiled with 'smartindent' support.
Bram Moolenaar69a7cb42004-06-20 12:51:53 +00004193sniff Compiled with SNiFF interface support.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004194statusline Compiled with support for 'statusline', 'rulerformat'
4195 and special formats of 'titlestring' and 'iconstring'.
4196sun_workshop Compiled with support for Sun |workshop|.
4197syntax Compiled with syntax highlighting support.
4198syntax_items There are active syntax highlighting items for the
4199 current buffer.
4200system Compiled to use system() instead of fork()/exec().
4201tag_binary Compiled with binary searching in tags files
4202 |tag-binary-search|.
4203tag_old_static Compiled with support for old static tags
4204 |tag-old-static|.
4205tag_any_white Compiled with support for any white characters in tags
4206 files |tag-any-white|.
4207tcl Compiled with Tcl interface.
4208terminfo Compiled with terminfo instead of termcap.
4209termresponse Compiled with support for |t_RV| and |v:termresponse|.
4210textobjects Compiled with support for |text-objects|.
4211tgetent Compiled with tgetent support, able to use a termcap
4212 or terminfo file.
4213title Compiled with window title support |'title'|.
4214toolbar Compiled with support for |gui-toolbar|.
4215unix Unix version of Vim.
4216user_commands User-defined commands.
4217viminfo Compiled with viminfo support.
4218vim_starting True while initial source'ing takes place.
4219vertsplit Compiled with vertically split windows |:vsplit|.
4220virtualedit Compiled with 'virtualedit' option.
4221visual Compiled with Visual mode.
4222visualextra Compiled with extra Visual mode commands.
4223 |blockwise-operators|.
4224vms VMS version of Vim.
4225vreplace Compiled with |gR| and |gr| commands.
4226wildignore Compiled with 'wildignore' option.
4227wildmenu Compiled with 'wildmenu' option.
4228windows Compiled with support for more than one window.
4229winaltkeys Compiled with 'winaltkeys' option.
4230win16 Win16 version of Vim (MS-Windows 3.1).
4231win32 Win32 version of Vim (MS-Windows 95/98/ME/NT/2000/XP).
4232win64 Win64 version of Vim (MS-Windows 64 bit).
4233win32unix Win32 version of Vim, using Unix files (Cygwin)
4234win95 Win32 version for MS-Windows 95/98/ME.
4235writebackup Compiled with 'writebackup' default on.
4236xfontset Compiled with X fontset support |xfontset|.
4237xim Compiled with X input method support |xim|.
4238xsmp Compiled with X session management support.
4239xsmp_interact Compiled with interactive X session management support.
4240xterm_clipboard Compiled with support for xterm clipboard.
4241xterm_save Compiled with support for saving and restoring the
4242 xterm screen.
4243x11 Compiled with X11 support.
4244
4245 *string-match*
4246Matching a pattern in a String
4247
4248A regexp pattern as explained at |pattern| is normally used to find a match in
4249the buffer lines. When a pattern is used to find a match in a String, almost
4250everything works in the same way. The difference is that a String is handled
4251like it is one line. When it contains a "\n" character, this is not seen as a
4252line break for the pattern. It can be matched with a "\n" in the pattern, or
4253with ".". Example: >
4254 :let a = "aaaa\nxxxx"
4255 :echo matchstr(a, "..\n..")
4256 aa
4257 xx
4258 :echo matchstr(a, "a.x")
4259 a
4260 x
4261
4262Don't forget that "^" will only match at the first character of the String and
4263"$" at the last character of the string. They don't match after or before a
4264"\n".
4265
4266==============================================================================
42675. Defining functions *user-functions*
4268
4269New functions can be defined. These can be called just like builtin
4270functions. The function executes a sequence of Ex commands. Normal mode
4271commands can be executed with the |:normal| command.
4272
4273The function name must start with an uppercase letter, to avoid confusion with
4274builtin functions. To prevent from using the same name in different scripts
4275avoid obvious, short names. A good habit is to start the function name with
4276the name of the script, e.g., "HTMLcolor()".
4277
4278It's also possible to use curly braces, see |curly-braces-names|.
4279
4280 *local-function*
4281A function local to a script must start with "s:". A local script function
4282can only be called from within the script and from functions, user commands
4283and autocommands defined in the script. It is also possible to call the
4284function from a mappings defined in the script, but then |<SID>| must be used
4285instead of "s:" when the mapping is expanded outside of the script.
4286
4287 *:fu* *:function* *E128* *E129* *E123*
4288:fu[nction] List all functions and their arguments.
4289
4290:fu[nction] {name} List function {name}.
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00004291 {name} can also be a Dictionary entry that is a
4292 Funcref: >
4293 :function dict.init
4294< *E124* *E125*
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00004295:fu[nction][!] {name}([arguments]) [range] [abort] [dict]
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004296 Define a new function by the name {name}. The name
4297 must be made of alphanumeric characters and '_', and
4298 must start with a capital or "s:" (see above).
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00004299
4300 {name} can also be a Dictionary entry that is a
4301 Funcref: >
4302 :function dict.init(arg)
4303< "dict" must be an existing dictionary. The entry
4304 "init" is added if it didn't exist yet. Otherwise [!]
4305 is required to overwrite an existing function. The
4306 result is a |Funcref| to a numbered function. The
4307 function can only be used with a |Funcref| and will be
4308 deleted if there are no more references to it.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004309 *E127* *E122*
4310 When a function by this name already exists and [!] is
4311 not used an error message is given. When [!] is used,
4312 an existing function is silently replaced. Unless it
4313 is currently being executed, that is an error.
Bram Moolenaar8f999f12005-01-25 22:12:55 +00004314
4315 For the {arguments} see |function-argument|.
4316
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004317 *a:firstline* *a:lastline*
4318 When the [range] argument is added, the function is
4319 expected to take care of a range itself. The range is
4320 passed as "a:firstline" and "a:lastline". If [range]
4321 is excluded, ":{range}call" will call the function for
4322 each line in the range, with the cursor on the start
4323 of each line. See |function-range-example|.
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00004324
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004325 When the [abort] argument is added, the function will
4326 abort as soon as an error is detected.
4327 The last used search pattern and the redo command "."
4328 will not be changed by the function.
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00004329
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00004330 When the [dict] argument is added, the function must
4331 be invoked through an entry in a Dictionary. The
4332 local variable "self" will then be set to the
4333 dictionary. See |Dictionary-function|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004334
4335 *:endf* *:endfunction* *E126* *E193*
4336:endf[unction] The end of a function definition. Must be on a line
4337 by its own, without other commands.
4338
4339 *:delf* *:delfunction* *E130* *E131*
4340:delf[unction] {name} Delete function {name}.
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00004341 {name} can also be a Dictionary entry that is a
4342 Funcref: >
4343 :delfunc dict.init
4344< This will remove the "init" entry from "dict". The
4345 function is deleted if there are no more references to
4346 it.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004347 *:retu* *:return* *E133*
4348:retu[rn] [expr] Return from a function. When "[expr]" is given, it is
4349 evaluated and returned as the result of the function.
4350 If "[expr]" is not given, the number 0 is returned.
4351 When a function ends without an explicit ":return",
4352 the number 0 is returned.
4353 Note that there is no check for unreachable lines,
4354 thus there is no warning if commands follow ":return".
4355
4356 If the ":return" is used after a |:try| but before the
4357 matching |:finally| (if present), the commands
4358 following the ":finally" up to the matching |:endtry|
4359 are executed first. This process applies to all
4360 nested ":try"s inside the function. The function
4361 returns at the outermost ":endtry".
4362
Bram Moolenaar8f999f12005-01-25 22:12:55 +00004363 *function-argument* *a:var*
4364An argument can be defined by giving its name. In the function this can then
4365be used as "a:name" ("a:" for argument).
4366 *a:0* *a:1* *a:000* *E740*
4367Up to 20 arguments can be given, separated by commas. After the named
4368arguments an argument "..." can be specified, which means that more arguments
4369may optionally be following. In the function the extra arguments can be used
4370as "a:1", "a:2", etc. "a:0" is set to the number of extra arguments (which
Bram Moolenaar2ce06f62005-01-31 19:19:04 +00004371can be 0). "a:000" is set to a List that contains these arguments. Note that
4372"a:1" is the same as "a:000[0]".
4373 *E742*
4374The a: scope and the variables in it cannot be changed, they are fixed.
4375However, if a List or Dictionary is used, you can changes their contents.
4376Thus you can pass a List to a function and have the function add an item to
4377it. If you want to make sure the function cannot change a List or Dictionary
4378use |:lockvar|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004379
Bram Moolenaar8f999f12005-01-25 22:12:55 +00004380When not using "...", the number of arguments in a function call must be equal
4381to the number of named arguments. When using "...", the number of arguments
4382may be larger.
4383
4384It is also possible to define a function without any arguments. You must
4385still supply the () then. The body of the function follows in the next lines,
4386until the matching |:endfunction|. It is allowed to define another function
4387inside a function body.
4388
4389 *local-variables*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004390Inside a function variables can be used. These are local variables, which
4391will disappear when the function returns. Global variables need to be
4392accessed with "g:".
4393
4394Example: >
4395 :function Table(title, ...)
4396 : echohl Title
4397 : echo a:title
4398 : echohl None
Bram Moolenaar677ee682005-01-27 14:41:15 +00004399 : echo a:0 . " items:"
4400 : for s in a:000
4401 : echon ' ' . s
4402 : endfor
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004403 :endfunction
4404
4405This function can then be called with: >
Bram Moolenaar677ee682005-01-27 14:41:15 +00004406 call Table("Table", "line1", "line2")
4407 call Table("Empty Table")
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004408
4409To return more than one value, pass the name of a global variable: >
4410 :function Compute(n1, n2, divname)
4411 : if a:n2 == 0
4412 : return "fail"
4413 : endif
4414 : let g:{a:divname} = a:n1 / a:n2
4415 : return "ok"
4416 :endfunction
4417
4418This function can then be called with: >
4419 :let success = Compute(13, 1324, "div")
4420 :if success == "ok"
4421 : echo div
4422 :endif
4423
4424An alternative is to return a command that can be executed. This also works
4425with local variables in a calling function. Example: >
4426 :function Foo()
4427 : execute Bar()
4428 : echo "line " . lnum . " column " . col
4429 :endfunction
4430
4431 :function Bar()
4432 : return "let lnum = " . line(".") . " | let col = " . col(".")
4433 :endfunction
4434
4435The names "lnum" and "col" could also be passed as argument to Bar(), to allow
4436the caller to set the names.
4437
4438 *:cal* *:call* *E107*
4439:[range]cal[l] {name}([arguments])
4440 Call a function. The name of the function and its arguments
4441 are as specified with |:function|. Up to 20 arguments can be
4442 used.
4443 Without a range and for functions that accept a range, the
4444 function is called once. When a range is given the cursor is
4445 positioned at the start of the first line before executing the
4446 function.
4447 When a range is given and the function doesn't handle it
4448 itself, the function is executed for each line in the range,
4449 with the cursor in the first column of that line. The cursor
4450 is left at the last line (possibly moved by the last function
4451 call). The arguments are re-evaluated for each line. Thus
4452 this works:
4453 *function-range-example* >
4454 :function Mynumber(arg)
4455 : echo line(".") . " " . a:arg
4456 :endfunction
4457 :1,5call Mynumber(getline("."))
4458<
4459 The "a:firstline" and "a:lastline" are defined anyway, they
4460 can be used to do something different at the start or end of
4461 the range.
4462
4463 Example of a function that handles the range itself: >
4464
4465 :function Cont() range
4466 : execute (a:firstline + 1) . "," . a:lastline . 's/^/\t\\ '
4467 :endfunction
4468 :4,8call Cont()
4469<
4470 This function inserts the continuation character "\" in front
4471 of all the lines in the range, except the first one.
4472
4473 *E132*
4474The recursiveness of user functions is restricted with the |'maxfuncdepth'|
4475option.
4476
Bram Moolenaar7c626922005-02-07 22:01:03 +00004477
4478AUTOMATICALLY LOADING FUNCTIONS ~
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004479 *autoload-functions*
4480When using many or large functions, it's possible to automatically define them
Bram Moolenaar7c626922005-02-07 22:01:03 +00004481only when they are used. There are two methods: with an autocommand and with
4482the "autoload" directory in 'runtimepath'.
4483
4484
4485Using an autocommand ~
4486
Bram Moolenaar05159a02005-02-26 23:04:13 +00004487This is introduced in the user manual, section |41.14|.
4488
Bram Moolenaar7c626922005-02-07 22:01:03 +00004489The autocommand is useful if you have a plugin that is a long Vim script file.
4490You can define the autocommand and quickly quit the script with |:finish|.
4491That makes Vim startup faster. The autocommand should then load the same file
4492again, setting a variable to skip the |:finish| command.
4493
4494Use the FuncUndefined autocommand event with a pattern that matches the
4495function(s) to be defined. Example: >
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004496
4497 :au FuncUndefined BufNet* source ~/vim/bufnetfuncs.vim
4498
4499The file "~/vim/bufnetfuncs.vim" should then define functions that start with
4500"BufNet". Also see |FuncUndefined|.
4501
Bram Moolenaar7c626922005-02-07 22:01:03 +00004502
4503Using an autoload script ~
Bram Moolenaar26a60b42005-02-22 08:49:11 +00004504 *autoload* *E746*
Bram Moolenaar05159a02005-02-26 23:04:13 +00004505This is introduced in the user manual, section |41.15|.
4506
Bram Moolenaar7c626922005-02-07 22:01:03 +00004507Using a script in the "autoload" directory is simpler, but requires using
4508exactly the right file name. A function that can be autoloaded has a name
4509like this: >
4510
4511 :call filename:funcname()
4512
4513When such a function is called, and it is not defined yet, Vim will search the
4514"autoload" directories in 'runtimepath' for a script file called
4515"filename.vim". For example "~/.vim/autoload/filename.vim". That file should
4516then define the function like this: >
4517
4518 function filename:funcname()
4519 echo "Done!"
4520 endfunction
4521
4522The file name and the name used before the colon in the function must match
4523exactly, and the defined function must have the name exactly as it will be
4524called.
4525
4526It is possible to use subdirectories. Every colon in the function name works
4527like a path separator. Thus when calling a function: >
4528
4529 :call foo:bar:func()
4530
4531Vim will look for the file "autoload/foo/bar.vim" in 'runtimepath'.
4532
4533The name before the first colon must be at least two characters long,
4534otherwise it looks like a scope, such as "s:".
4535
Bram Moolenaar26a60b42005-02-22 08:49:11 +00004536This also works when reading a variable that has not been set yet: >
4537
4538 :let l = foo:bar:lvar
4539
4540When assigning a value to such a variable nothing special happens. This can
4541be used to pass settings to the autoload script before it's loaded: >
4542
4543 :let foo:bar:toggle = 1
4544 :call foo:bar:func()
4545
Bram Moolenaar4399ef42005-02-12 14:29:27 +00004546Note that when you make a mistake and call a function that is supposed to be
4547defined in an autoload script, but the script doesn't actually define the
4548function, the script will be sourced every time you try to call the function.
Bram Moolenaar26a60b42005-02-22 08:49:11 +00004549And you will get an error message every time.
4550
4551Also note that if you have two script files, and one calls a function in the
4552other and vise versa, before the used function is defined, it won't work.
4553Avoid using the autoload functionality at the toplevel.
Bram Moolenaar7c626922005-02-07 22:01:03 +00004554
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004555==============================================================================
45566. Curly braces names *curly-braces-names*
4557
4558Wherever you can use a variable, you can use a "curly braces name" variable.
4559This is a regular variable name with one or more expressions wrapped in braces
4560{} like this: >
4561 my_{adjective}_variable
4562
4563When Vim encounters this, it evaluates the expression inside the braces, puts
4564that in place of the expression, and re-interprets the whole as a variable
4565name. So in the above example, if the variable "adjective" was set to
4566"noisy", then the reference would be to "my_noisy_variable", whereas if
4567"adjective" was set to "quiet", then it would be to "my_quiet_variable".
4568
4569One application for this is to create a set of variables governed by an option
4570value. For example, the statement >
4571 echo my_{&background}_message
4572
4573would output the contents of "my_dark_message" or "my_light_message" depending
4574on the current value of 'background'.
4575
4576You can use multiple brace pairs: >
4577 echo my_{adverb}_{adjective}_message
4578..or even nest them: >
4579 echo my_{ad{end_of_word}}_message
4580where "end_of_word" is either "verb" or "jective".
4581
4582However, the expression inside the braces must evaluate to a valid single
4583variable name. e.g. this is invalid: >
4584 :let foo='a + b'
4585 :echo c{foo}d
4586.. since the result of expansion is "ca + bd", which is not a variable name.
4587
4588 *curly-braces-function-names*
4589You can call and define functions by an evaluated name in a similar way.
4590Example: >
4591 :let func_end='whizz'
4592 :call my_func_{func_end}(parameter)
4593
4594This would call the function "my_func_whizz(parameter)".
4595
4596==============================================================================
45977. Commands *expression-commands*
4598
4599:let {var-name} = {expr1} *:let* *E18*
4600 Set internal variable {var-name} to the result of the
4601 expression {expr1}. The variable will get the type
4602 from the {expr}. If {var-name} didn't exist yet, it
4603 is created.
4604
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +00004605:let {var-name}[{idx}] = {expr1} *E689*
4606 Set a list item to the result of the expression
4607 {expr1}. {var-name} must refer to a list and {idx}
4608 must be a valid index in that list. For nested list
4609 the index can be repeated.
4610 This cannot be used to add an item to a list.
4611
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00004612 *E711* *E719*
4613:let {var-name}[{idx1}:{idx2}] = {expr1} *E708* *E709* *E710*
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +00004614 Set a sequence of items in a List to the result of the
4615 expression {expr1}, which must be a list with the
4616 correct number of items.
4617 {idx1} can be omitted, zero is used instead.
4618 {idx2} can be omitted, meaning the end of the list.
4619 When the selected range of items is partly past the
4620 end of the list, items will be added.
4621
Bram Moolenaar748bf032005-02-02 23:04:36 +00004622 *:let+=* *:let-=* *:let.=* *E734*
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00004623:let {var} += {expr1} Like ":let {var} = {var} + {expr1}".
4624:let {var} -= {expr1} Like ":let {var} = {var} - {expr1}".
4625:let {var} .= {expr1} Like ":let {var} = {var} . {expr1}".
4626 These fail if {var} was not set yet and when the type
4627 of {var} and {expr1} don't fit the operator.
4628
4629
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004630:let ${env-name} = {expr1} *:let-environment* *:let-$*
4631 Set environment variable {env-name} to the result of
4632 the expression {expr1}. The type is always String.
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00004633:let ${env-name} .= {expr1}
4634 Append {expr1} to the environment variable {env-name}.
4635 If the environment variable didn't exist yet this
4636 works like "=".
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004637
4638:let @{reg-name} = {expr1} *:let-register* *:let-@*
4639 Write the result of the expression {expr1} in register
4640 {reg-name}. {reg-name} must be a single letter, and
4641 must be the name of a writable register (see
4642 |registers|). "@@" can be used for the unnamed
4643 register, "@/" for the search pattern.
4644 If the result of {expr1} ends in a <CR> or <NL>, the
4645 register will be linewise, otherwise it will be set to
4646 characterwise.
4647 This can be used to clear the last search pattern: >
4648 :let @/ = ""
4649< This is different from searching for an empty string,
4650 that would match everywhere.
4651
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00004652:let @{reg-name} .= {expr1}
4653 Append {expr1} to register {reg-name}. If the
4654 register was empty it's like setting it to {expr1}.
4655
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004656:let &{option-name} = {expr1} *:let-option* *:let-star*
4657 Set option {option-name} to the result of the
Bram Moolenaarfca34d62005-01-04 21:38:36 +00004658 expression {expr1}. A String or Number value is
4659 always converted to the type of the option.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004660 For an option local to a window or buffer the effect
4661 is just like using the |:set| command: both the local
4662 value and the global value is changed.
Bram Moolenaarfca34d62005-01-04 21:38:36 +00004663 Example: >
4664 :let &path = &path . ',/usr/local/include'
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004665
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00004666:let &{option-name} .= {expr1}
4667 For a string option: Append {expr1} to the value.
4668 Does not insert a comma like |:set+=|.
4669
4670:let &{option-name} += {expr1}
4671:let &{option-name} -= {expr1}
4672 For a number or boolean option: Add or subtract
4673 {expr1}.
4674
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004675:let &l:{option-name} = {expr1}
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00004676:let &l:{option-name} .= {expr1}
4677:let &l:{option-name} += {expr1}
4678:let &l:{option-name} -= {expr1}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004679 Like above, but only set the local value of an option
4680 (if there is one). Works like |:setlocal|.
4681
4682:let &g:{option-name} = {expr1}
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00004683:let &g:{option-name} .= {expr1}
4684:let &g:{option-name} += {expr1}
4685:let &g:{option-name} -= {expr1}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004686 Like above, but only set the global value of an option
4687 (if there is one). Works like |:setglobal|.
4688
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +00004689:let [{name1}, {name2}, ...] = {expr1} *:let-unpack* *E687* *E688*
Bram Moolenaarfca34d62005-01-04 21:38:36 +00004690 {expr1} must evaluate to a List. The first item in
4691 the list is assigned to {name1}, the second item to
4692 {name2}, etc.
4693 The number of names must match the number of items in
4694 the List.
4695 Each name can be one of the items of the ":let"
4696 command as mentioned above.
4697 Example: >
4698 :let [s, item] = GetItem(s)
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00004699< Detail: {expr1} is evaluated first, then the
4700 assignments are done in sequence. This matters if
4701 {name2} depends on {name1}. Example: >
4702 :let x = [0, 1]
4703 :let i = 0
4704 :let [i, x[i]] = [1, 2]
4705 :echo x
4706< The result is [0, 2].
4707
4708:let [{name1}, {name2}, ...] .= {expr1}
4709:let [{name1}, {name2}, ...] += {expr1}
4710:let [{name1}, {name2}, ...] -= {expr1}
4711 Like above, but append/add/subtract the value for each
4712 List item.
Bram Moolenaarfca34d62005-01-04 21:38:36 +00004713
4714:let [{name}, ..., ; {lastname}] = {expr1}
Bram Moolenaar677ee682005-01-27 14:41:15 +00004715 Like |:let-unpack| above, but the List may have more
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00004716 items than there are names. A list of the remaining
4717 items is assigned to {lastname}. If there are no
4718 remaining items {lastname} is set to an empty list.
Bram Moolenaarfca34d62005-01-04 21:38:36 +00004719 Example: >
4720 :let [a, b; rest] = ["aval", "bval", 3, 4]
4721<
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00004722:let [{name}, ..., ; {lastname}] .= {expr1}
4723:let [{name}, ..., ; {lastname}] += {expr1}
4724:let [{name}, ..., ; {lastname}] -= {expr1}
4725 Like above, but append/add/subtract the value for each
4726 List item.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004727 *E106*
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00004728:let {var-name} .. List the value of variable {var-name}. Multiple
Bram Moolenaardcaf10e2005-01-21 11:55:25 +00004729 variable names may be given. Special names recognized
4730 here: *E738*
4731 g: global variables.
4732 b: local buffer variables.
4733 w: local window variables.
4734 v: Vim variables.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004735
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00004736:let List the values of all variables. The type of the
4737 variable is indicated before the value:
4738 <nothing> String
4739 # Number
4740 * Funcref
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004741
Bram Moolenaar2ce06f62005-01-31 19:19:04 +00004742
4743:unl[et][!] {name} ... *:unlet* *:unl* *E108*
4744 Remove the internal variable {name}. Several variable
4745 names can be given, they are all removed. The name
4746 may also be a List or Dictionary item.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004747 With [!] no error message is given for non-existing
4748 variables.
Bram Moolenaar9cd15162005-01-16 22:02:49 +00004749 One or more items from a List can be removed: >
4750 :unlet list[3] " remove fourth item
4751 :unlet list[3:] " remove fourth item to last
4752< One item from a Dictionary can be removed at a time: >
4753 :unlet dict['two']
4754 :unlet dict.two
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004755
Bram Moolenaar2ce06f62005-01-31 19:19:04 +00004756:lockv[ar][!] [depth] {name} ... *:lockvar* *:lockv*
4757 Lock the internal variable {name}. Locking means that
4758 it can no longer be changed (until it is unlocked).
4759 A locked variable can be deleted: >
4760 :lockvar v
4761 :let v = 'asdf' " fails!
4762 :unlet v
4763< *E741*
4764 If you try to change a locked variable you get an
4765 error message: "E741: Value of {name} is locked"
4766
4767 [depth] is relevant when locking a List or Dictionary.
4768 It specifies how deep the locking goes:
4769 1 Lock the List or Dictionary itself,
4770 cannot add or remove items, but can
4771 still change their values.
4772 2 Also lock the values, cannot change
4773 the items. If an item is a List or
4774 Dictionary, cannot add or remove
4775 items, but can still change the
4776 values.
4777 3 Like 2 but for the List/Dictionary in
4778 the List/Dictionary, one level deeper.
4779 The default [depth] is 2, thus when {name} is a List
4780 or Dictionary the values cannot be changed.
4781 *E743*
4782 For unlimited depth use [!] and omit [depth].
4783 However, there is a maximum depth of 100 to catch
4784 loops.
4785
4786 Note that when two variables refer to the same List
4787 and you lock one of them, the List will also be locked
4788 when used through the other variable. Example: >
4789 :let l = [0, 1, 2, 3]
4790 :let cl = l
4791 :lockvar l
4792 :let cl[1] = 99 " won't work!
4793< You may want to make a copy of a list to avoid this.
4794 See |deepcopy()|.
4795
4796
4797:unlo[ckvar][!] [depth] {name} ... *:unlockvar* *:unlo*
4798 Unlock the internal variable {name}. Does the
4799 opposite of |:lockvar|.
4800
4801
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004802:if {expr1} *:if* *:endif* *:en* *E171* *E579* *E580*
4803:en[dif] Execute the commands until the next matching ":else"
4804 or ":endif" if {expr1} evaluates to non-zero.
4805
4806 From Vim version 4.5 until 5.0, every Ex command in
4807 between the ":if" and ":endif" is ignored. These two
4808 commands were just to allow for future expansions in a
4809 backwards compatible way. Nesting was allowed. Note
4810 that any ":else" or ":elseif" was ignored, the "else"
4811 part was not executed either.
4812
4813 You can use this to remain compatible with older
4814 versions: >
4815 :if version >= 500
4816 : version-5-specific-commands
4817 :endif
4818< The commands still need to be parsed to find the
4819 "endif". Sometimes an older Vim has a problem with a
4820 new command. For example, ":silent" is recognized as
4821 a ":substitute" command. In that case ":execute" can
4822 avoid problems: >
4823 :if version >= 600
4824 : execute "silent 1,$delete"
4825 :endif
4826<
4827 NOTE: The ":append" and ":insert" commands don't work
4828 properly in between ":if" and ":endif".
4829
4830 *:else* *:el* *E581* *E583*
4831:el[se] Execute the commands until the next matching ":else"
4832 or ":endif" if they previously were not being
4833 executed.
4834
4835 *:elseif* *:elsei* *E582* *E584*
4836:elsei[f] {expr1} Short for ":else" ":if", with the addition that there
4837 is no extra ":endif".
4838
4839:wh[ile] {expr1} *:while* *:endwhile* *:wh* *:endw*
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00004840 *E170* *E585* *E588* *E733*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004841:endw[hile] Repeat the commands between ":while" and ":endwhile",
4842 as long as {expr1} evaluates to non-zero.
4843 When an error is detected from a command inside the
4844 loop, execution continues after the "endwhile".
Bram Moolenaar12805862005-01-05 22:16:17 +00004845 Example: >
4846 :let lnum = 1
4847 :while lnum <= line("$")
4848 :call FixLine(lnum)
4849 :let lnum = lnum + 1
4850 :endwhile
4851<
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004852 NOTE: The ":append" and ":insert" commands don't work
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +00004853 properly inside a ":while" and ":for" loop.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004854
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00004855:for {var} in {list} *:for* *E690* *E732*
Bram Moolenaar12805862005-01-05 22:16:17 +00004856:endfo[r] *:endfo* *:endfor*
4857 Repeat the commands between ":for" and ":endfor" for
Bram Moolenaar3a7c85b2005-02-05 21:39:53 +00004858 each item in {list}. Variable {var} is set to the
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +00004859 value of each item.
4860 When an error is detected for a command inside the
Bram Moolenaar12805862005-01-05 22:16:17 +00004861 loop, execution continues after the "endfor".
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +00004862 Changing {list} affects what items are used. Make a
4863 copy if this is unwanted: >
4864 :for item in copy(mylist)
4865< When not making a copy, Vim stores a reference to the
4866 next item in the list, before executing the commands
4867 with the current item. Thus the current item can be
4868 removed without effect. Removing any later item means
4869 it will not be found. Thus the following example
4870 works (an inefficient way to make a list empty): >
4871 :for item in mylist
Bram Moolenaar12805862005-01-05 22:16:17 +00004872 :call remove(mylist, 0)
4873 :endfor
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +00004874< Note that reordering the list (e.g., with sort() or
4875 reverse()) may have unexpected effects.
4876 Note that the type of each list item should be
Bram Moolenaar12805862005-01-05 22:16:17 +00004877 identical to avoid errors for the type of {var}
4878 changing. Unlet the variable at the end of the loop
4879 to allow multiple item types.
4880
4881:for {var} in {string}
4882:endfo[r] Like ":for" above, but use each character in {string}
4883 as a list item.
4884 Composing characters are used as separate characters.
4885 A Number is first converted to a String.
4886
4887:for [{var1}, {var2}, ...] in {listlist}
4888:endfo[r]
4889 Like ":for" above, but each item in {listlist} must be
4890 a list, of which each item is assigned to {var1},
4891 {var2}, etc. Example: >
4892 :for [lnum, col] in [[1, 3], [2, 5], [3, 8]]
4893 :echo getline(lnum)[col]
4894 :endfor
4895<
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004896 *:continue* *:con* *E586*
Bram Moolenaar12805862005-01-05 22:16:17 +00004897:con[tinue] When used inside a ":while" or ":for" loop, jumps back
4898 to the start of the loop.
4899 If it is used after a |:try| inside the loop but
4900 before the matching |:finally| (if present), the
4901 commands following the ":finally" up to the matching
4902 |:endtry| are executed first. This process applies to
4903 all nested ":try"s inside the loop. The outermost
4904 ":endtry" then jumps back to the start of the loop.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004905
4906 *:break* *:brea* *E587*
Bram Moolenaar12805862005-01-05 22:16:17 +00004907:brea[k] When used inside a ":while" or ":for" loop, skips to
4908 the command after the matching ":endwhile" or
4909 ":endfor".
4910 If it is used after a |:try| inside the loop but
4911 before the matching |:finally| (if present), the
4912 commands following the ":finally" up to the matching
4913 |:endtry| are executed first. This process applies to
4914 all nested ":try"s inside the loop. The outermost
4915 ":endtry" then jumps to the command after the loop.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004916
4917:try *:try* *:endt* *:endtry* *E600* *E601* *E602*
4918:endt[ry] Change the error handling for the commands between
4919 ":try" and ":endtry" including everything being
4920 executed across ":source" commands, function calls,
4921 or autocommand invocations.
4922
4923 When an error or interrupt is detected and there is
4924 a |:finally| command following, execution continues
4925 after the ":finally". Otherwise, or when the
4926 ":endtry" is reached thereafter, the next
4927 (dynamically) surrounding ":try" is checked for
4928 a corresponding ":finally" etc. Then the script
4929 processing is terminated. (Whether a function
4930 definition has an "abort" argument does not matter.)
4931 Example: >
4932 :try | edit too much | finally | echo "cleanup" | endtry
4933 :echo "impossible" " not reached, script terminated above
4934<
4935 Moreover, an error or interrupt (dynamically) inside
4936 ":try" and ":endtry" is converted to an exception. It
4937 can be caught as if it were thrown by a |:throw|
4938 command (see |:catch|). In this case, the script
4939 processing is not terminated.
4940
4941 The value "Vim:Interrupt" is used for an interrupt
4942 exception. An error in a Vim command is converted
4943 to a value of the form "Vim({command}):{errmsg}",
4944 other errors are converted to a value of the form
4945 "Vim:{errmsg}". {command} is the full command name,
4946 and {errmsg} is the message that is displayed if the
4947 error exception is not caught, always beginning with
4948 the error number.
4949 Examples: >
4950 :try | sleep 100 | catch /^Vim:Interrupt$/ | endtry
4951 :try | edit | catch /^Vim(edit):E\d\+/ | echo "error" | endtry
4952<
4953 *:cat* *:catch* *E603* *E604* *E605*
4954:cat[ch] /{pattern}/ The following commands until the next ":catch",
4955 |:finally|, or |:endtry| that belongs to the same
4956 |:try| as the ":catch" are executed when an exception
4957 matching {pattern} is being thrown and has not yet
4958 been caught by a previous ":catch". Otherwise, these
4959 commands are skipped.
4960 When {pattern} is omitted all errors are caught.
4961 Examples: >
4962 :catch /^Vim:Interrupt$/ " catch interrupts (CTRL-C)
4963 :catch /^Vim\%((\a\+)\)\=:E/ " catch all Vim errors
4964 :catch /^Vim\%((\a\+)\)\=:/ " catch errors and interrupts
4965 :catch /^Vim(write):/ " catch all errors in :write
4966 :catch /^Vim\%((\a\+)\)\=:E123/ " catch error E123
4967 :catch /my-exception/ " catch user exception
4968 :catch /.*/ " catch everything
4969 :catch " same as /.*/
4970<
4971 Another character can be used instead of / around the
4972 {pattern}, so long as it does not have a special
4973 meaning (e.g., '|' or '"') and doesn't occur inside
4974 {pattern}.
4975 NOTE: It is not reliable to ":catch" the TEXT of
4976 an error message because it may vary in different
4977 locales.
4978
4979 *:fina* *:finally* *E606* *E607*
4980:fina[lly] The following commands until the matching |:endtry|
4981 are executed whenever the part between the matching
4982 |:try| and the ":finally" is left: either by falling
4983 through to the ":finally" or by a |:continue|,
4984 |:break|, |:finish|, or |:return|, or by an error or
4985 interrupt or exception (see |:throw|).
4986
4987 *:th* *:throw* *E608*
4988:th[row] {expr1} The {expr1} is evaluated and thrown as an exception.
4989 If the ":throw" is used after a |:try| but before the
4990 first corresponding |:catch|, commands are skipped
4991 until the first ":catch" matching {expr1} is reached.
4992 If there is no such ":catch" or if the ":throw" is
4993 used after a ":catch" but before the |:finally|, the
4994 commands following the ":finally" (if present) up to
4995 the matching |:endtry| are executed. If the ":throw"
4996 is after the ":finally", commands up to the ":endtry"
4997 are skipped. At the ":endtry", this process applies
4998 again for the next dynamically surrounding ":try"
4999 (which may be found in a calling function or sourcing
5000 script), until a matching ":catch" has been found.
5001 If the exception is not caught, the command processing
5002 is terminated.
5003 Example: >
5004 :try | throw "oops" | catch /^oo/ | echo "caught" | endtry
5005<
5006
5007 *:ec* *:echo*
5008:ec[ho] {expr1} .. Echoes each {expr1}, with a space in between. The
5009 first {expr1} starts on a new line.
5010 Also see |:comment|.
5011 Use "\n" to start a new line. Use "\r" to move the
5012 cursor to the first column.
5013 Uses the highlighting set by the |:echohl| command.
5014 Cannot be followed by a comment.
5015 Example: >
5016 :echo "the value of 'shell' is" &shell
5017< A later redraw may make the message disappear again.
5018 To avoid that a command from before the ":echo" causes
5019 a redraw afterwards (redraws are often postponed until
5020 you type something), force a redraw with the |:redraw|
5021 command. Example: >
5022 :new | redraw | echo "there is a new window"
5023<
5024 *:echon*
5025:echon {expr1} .. Echoes each {expr1}, without anything added. Also see
5026 |:comment|.
5027 Uses the highlighting set by the |:echohl| command.
5028 Cannot be followed by a comment.
5029 Example: >
5030 :echon "the value of 'shell' is " &shell
5031<
5032 Note the difference between using ":echo", which is a
5033 Vim command, and ":!echo", which is an external shell
5034 command: >
5035 :!echo % --> filename
5036< The arguments of ":!" are expanded, see |:_%|. >
5037 :!echo "%" --> filename or "filename"
5038< Like the previous example. Whether you see the double
5039 quotes or not depends on your 'shell'. >
5040 :echo % --> nothing
5041< The '%' is an illegal character in an expression. >
5042 :echo "%" --> %
5043< This just echoes the '%' character. >
5044 :echo expand("%") --> filename
5045< This calls the expand() function to expand the '%'.
5046
5047 *:echoh* *:echohl*
5048:echoh[l] {name} Use the highlight group {name} for the following
5049 |:echo|, |:echon| and |:echomsg| commands. Also used
5050 for the |input()| prompt. Example: >
5051 :echohl WarningMsg | echo "Don't panic!" | echohl None
5052< Don't forget to set the group back to "None",
5053 otherwise all following echo's will be highlighted.
5054
5055 *:echom* *:echomsg*
5056:echom[sg] {expr1} .. Echo the expression(s) as a true message, saving the
5057 message in the |message-history|.
5058 Spaces are placed between the arguments as with the
5059 |:echo| command. But unprintable characters are
5060 displayed, not interpreted.
5061 Uses the highlighting set by the |:echohl| command.
5062 Example: >
5063 :echomsg "It's a Zizzer Zazzer Zuzz, as you can plainly see."
5064<
5065 *:echoe* *:echoerr*
5066:echoe[rr] {expr1} .. Echo the expression(s) as an error message, saving the
5067 message in the |message-history|. When used in a
5068 script or function the line number will be added.
5069 Spaces are placed between the arguments as with the
5070 :echo command. When used inside a try conditional,
5071 the message is raised as an error exception instead
5072 (see |try-echoerr|).
5073 Example: >
5074 :echoerr "This script just failed!"
5075< If you just want a highlighted message use |:echohl|.
5076 And to get a beep: >
5077 :exe "normal \<Esc>"
5078<
5079 *:exe* *:execute*
5080:exe[cute] {expr1} .. Executes the string that results from the evaluation
5081 of {expr1} as an Ex command. Multiple arguments are
5082 concatenated, with a space in between. {expr1} is
5083 used as the processed command, command line editing
5084 keys are not recognized.
5085 Cannot be followed by a comment.
5086 Examples: >
5087 :execute "buffer " nextbuf
5088 :execute "normal " count . "w"
5089<
5090 ":execute" can be used to append a command to commands
5091 that don't accept a '|'. Example: >
5092 :execute '!ls' | echo "theend"
5093
5094< ":execute" is also a nice way to avoid having to type
5095 control characters in a Vim script for a ":normal"
5096 command: >
5097 :execute "normal ixxx\<Esc>"
5098< This has an <Esc> character, see |expr-string|.
5099
5100 Note: The executed string may be any command-line, but
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +00005101 you cannot start or end a "while", "for" or "if"
5102 command. Thus this is illegal: >
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005103 :execute 'while i > 5'
5104 :execute 'echo "test" | break'
5105<
5106 It is allowed to have a "while" or "if" command
5107 completely in the executed string: >
5108 :execute 'while i < 5 | echo i | let i = i + 1 | endwhile'
5109<
5110
5111 *:comment*
5112 ":execute", ":echo" and ":echon" cannot be followed by
5113 a comment directly, because they see the '"' as the
5114 start of a string. But, you can use '|' followed by a
5115 comment. Example: >
5116 :echo "foo" | "this is a comment
5117
5118==============================================================================
51198. Exception handling *exception-handling*
5120
5121The Vim script language comprises an exception handling feature. This section
5122explains how it can be used in a Vim script.
5123
5124Exceptions may be raised by Vim on an error or on interrupt, see
5125|catch-errors| and |catch-interrupt|. You can also explicitly throw an
5126exception by using the ":throw" command, see |throw-catch|.
5127
5128
5129TRY CONDITIONALS *try-conditionals*
5130
5131Exceptions can be caught or can cause cleanup code to be executed. You can
5132use a try conditional to specify catch clauses (that catch exceptions) and/or
5133a finally clause (to be executed for cleanup).
5134 A try conditional begins with a |:try| command and ends at the matching
5135|:endtry| command. In between, you can use a |:catch| command to start
5136a catch clause, or a |:finally| command to start a finally clause. There may
5137be none or multiple catch clauses, but there is at most one finally clause,
5138which must not be followed by any catch clauses. The lines before the catch
5139clauses and the finally clause is called a try block. >
5140
5141 :try
5142 : ...
5143 : ... TRY BLOCK
5144 : ...
5145 :catch /{pattern}/
5146 : ...
5147 : ... CATCH CLAUSE
5148 : ...
5149 :catch /{pattern}/
5150 : ...
5151 : ... CATCH CLAUSE
5152 : ...
5153 :finally
5154 : ...
5155 : ... FINALLY CLAUSE
5156 : ...
5157 :endtry
5158
5159The try conditional allows to watch code for exceptions and to take the
5160appropriate actions. Exceptions from the try block may be caught. Exceptions
5161from the try block and also the catch clauses may cause cleanup actions.
5162 When no exception is thrown during execution of the try block, the control
5163is transferred to the finally clause, if present. After its execution, the
5164script continues with the line following the ":endtry".
5165 When an exception occurs during execution of the try block, the remaining
5166lines in the try block are skipped. The exception is matched against the
5167patterns specified as arguments to the ":catch" commands. The catch clause
5168after the first matching ":catch" is taken, other catch clauses are not
5169executed. The catch clause ends when the next ":catch", ":finally", or
5170":endtry" command is reached - whatever is first. Then, the finally clause
5171(if present) is executed. When the ":endtry" is reached, the script execution
5172continues in the following line as usual.
5173 When an exception that does not match any of the patterns specified by the
5174":catch" commands is thrown in the try block, the exception is not caught by
5175that try conditional and none of the catch clauses is executed. Only the
5176finally clause, if present, is taken. The exception pends during execution of
5177the finally clause. It is resumed at the ":endtry", so that commands after
5178the ":endtry" are not executed and the exception might be caught elsewhere,
5179see |try-nesting|.
5180 When during execution of a catch clause another exception is thrown, the
5181remaining lines in that catch clause are not executed. The new exception is
5182not matched against the patterns in any of the ":catch" commands of the same
5183try conditional and none of its catch clauses is taken. If there is, however,
5184a finally clause, it is executed, and the exception pends during its
5185execution. The commands following the ":endtry" are not executed. The new
5186exception might, however, be caught elsewhere, see |try-nesting|.
5187 When during execution of the finally clause (if present) an exception is
5188thrown, the remaining lines in the finally clause are skipped. If the finally
5189clause has been taken because of an exception from the try block or one of the
5190catch clauses, the original (pending) exception is discarded. The commands
5191following the ":endtry" are not executed, and the exception from the finally
5192clause is propagated and can be caught elsewhere, see |try-nesting|.
5193
5194The finally clause is also executed, when a ":break" or ":continue" for
5195a ":while" loop enclosing the complete try conditional is executed from the
5196try block or a catch clause. Or when a ":return" or ":finish" is executed
5197from the try block or a catch clause of a try conditional in a function or
5198sourced script, respectively. The ":break", ":continue", ":return", or
5199":finish" pends during execution of the finally clause and is resumed when the
5200":endtry" is reached. It is, however, discarded when an exception is thrown
5201from the finally clause.
5202 When a ":break" or ":continue" for a ":while" loop enclosing the complete
5203try conditional or when a ":return" or ":finish" is encountered in the finally
5204clause, the rest of the finally clause is skipped, and the ":break",
5205":continue", ":return" or ":finish" is executed as usual. If the finally
5206clause has been taken because of an exception or an earlier ":break",
5207":continue", ":return", or ":finish" from the try block or a catch clause,
5208this pending exception or command is discarded.
5209
5210For examples see |throw-catch| and |try-finally|.
5211
5212
5213NESTING OF TRY CONDITIONALS *try-nesting*
5214
5215Try conditionals can be nested arbitrarily. That is, a complete try
5216conditional can be put into the try block, a catch clause, or the finally
5217clause of another try conditional. If the inner try conditional does not
5218catch an exception thrown in its try block or throws a new exception from one
5219of its catch clauses or its finally clause, the outer try conditional is
5220checked according to the rules above. If the inner try conditional is in the
5221try block of the outer try conditional, its catch clauses are checked, but
5222otherwise only the finally clause is executed. It does not matter for
5223nesting, whether the inner try conditional is directly contained in the outer
5224one, or whether the outer one sources a script or calls a function containing
5225the inner try conditional.
5226
5227When none of the active try conditionals catches an exception, just their
5228finally clauses are executed. Thereafter, the script processing terminates.
5229An error message is displayed in case of an uncaught exception explicitly
5230thrown by a ":throw" command. For uncaught error and interrupt exceptions
5231implicitly raised by Vim, the error message(s) or interrupt message are shown
5232as usual.
5233
5234For examples see |throw-catch|.
5235
5236
5237EXAMINING EXCEPTION HANDLING CODE *except-examine*
5238
5239Exception handling code can get tricky. If you are in doubt what happens, set
5240'verbose' to 13 or use the ":13verbose" command modifier when sourcing your
5241script file. Then you see when an exception is thrown, discarded, caught, or
5242finished. When using a verbosity level of at least 14, things pending in
5243a finally clause are also shown. This information is also given in debug mode
5244(see |debug-scripts|).
5245
5246
5247THROWING AND CATCHING EXCEPTIONS *throw-catch*
5248
5249You can throw any number or string as an exception. Use the |:throw| command
5250and pass the value to be thrown as argument: >
5251 :throw 4711
5252 :throw "string"
5253< *throw-expression*
5254You can also specify an expression argument. The expression is then evaluated
5255first, and the result is thrown: >
5256 :throw 4705 + strlen("string")
5257 :throw strpart("strings", 0, 6)
5258
5259An exception might be thrown during evaluation of the argument of the ":throw"
5260command. Unless it is caught there, the expression evaluation is abandoned.
5261The ":throw" command then does not throw a new exception.
5262 Example: >
5263
5264 :function! Foo(arg)
5265 : try
5266 : throw a:arg
5267 : catch /foo/
5268 : endtry
5269 : return 1
5270 :endfunction
5271 :
5272 :function! Bar()
5273 : echo "in Bar"
5274 : return 4710
5275 :endfunction
5276 :
5277 :throw Foo("arrgh") + Bar()
5278
5279This throws "arrgh", and "in Bar" is not displayed since Bar() is not
5280executed. >
5281 :throw Foo("foo") + Bar()
5282however displays "in Bar" and throws 4711.
5283
5284Any other command that takes an expression as argument might also be
5285abandoned by an (uncaught) exception during the expression evaluation. The
5286exception is then propagated to the caller of the command.
5287 Example: >
5288
5289 :if Foo("arrgh")
5290 : echo "then"
5291 :else
5292 : echo "else"
5293 :endif
5294
5295Here neither of "then" or "else" is displayed.
5296
5297 *catch-order*
5298Exceptions can be caught by a try conditional with one or more |:catch|
5299commands, see |try-conditionals|. The values to be caught by each ":catch"
5300command can be specified as a pattern argument. The subsequent catch clause
5301gets executed when a matching exception is caught.
5302 Example: >
5303
5304 :function! Foo(value)
5305 : try
5306 : throw a:value
5307 : catch /^\d\+$/
5308 : echo "Number thrown"
5309 : catch /.*/
5310 : echo "String thrown"
5311 : endtry
5312 :endfunction
5313 :
5314 :call Foo(0x1267)
5315 :call Foo('string')
5316
5317The first call to Foo() displays "Number thrown", the second "String thrown".
5318An exception is matched against the ":catch" commands in the order they are
5319specified. Only the first match counts. So you should place the more
5320specific ":catch" first. The following order does not make sense: >
5321
5322 : catch /.*/
5323 : echo "String thrown"
5324 : catch /^\d\+$/
5325 : echo "Number thrown"
5326
5327The first ":catch" here matches always, so that the second catch clause is
5328never taken.
5329
5330 *throw-variables*
5331If you catch an exception by a general pattern, you may access the exact value
5332in the variable |v:exception|: >
5333
5334 : catch /^\d\+$/
5335 : echo "Number thrown. Value is" v:exception
5336
5337You may also be interested where an exception was thrown. This is stored in
5338|v:throwpoint|. Note that "v:exception" and "v:throwpoint" are valid for the
5339exception most recently caught as long it is not finished.
5340 Example: >
5341
5342 :function! Caught()
5343 : if v:exception != ""
5344 : echo 'Caught "' . v:exception . '" in ' . v:throwpoint
5345 : else
5346 : echo 'Nothing caught'
5347 : endif
5348 :endfunction
5349 :
5350 :function! Foo()
5351 : try
5352 : try
5353 : try
5354 : throw 4711
5355 : finally
5356 : call Caught()
5357 : endtry
5358 : catch /.*/
5359 : call Caught()
5360 : throw "oops"
5361 : endtry
5362 : catch /.*/
5363 : call Caught()
5364 : finally
5365 : call Caught()
5366 : endtry
5367 :endfunction
5368 :
5369 :call Foo()
5370
5371This displays >
5372
5373 Nothing caught
5374 Caught "4711" in function Foo, line 4
5375 Caught "oops" in function Foo, line 10
5376 Nothing caught
5377
5378A practical example: The following command ":LineNumber" displays the line
5379number in the script or function where it has been used: >
5380
5381 :function! LineNumber()
5382 : return substitute(v:throwpoint, '.*\D\(\d\+\).*', '\1', "")
5383 :endfunction
5384 :command! LineNumber try | throw "" | catch | echo LineNumber() | endtry
5385<
5386 *try-nested*
5387An exception that is not caught by a try conditional can be caught by
5388a surrounding try conditional: >
5389
5390 :try
5391 : try
5392 : throw "foo"
5393 : catch /foobar/
5394 : echo "foobar"
5395 : finally
5396 : echo "inner finally"
5397 : endtry
5398 :catch /foo/
5399 : echo "foo"
5400 :endtry
5401
5402The inner try conditional does not catch the exception, just its finally
5403clause is executed. The exception is then caught by the outer try
5404conditional. The example displays "inner finally" and then "foo".
5405
5406 *throw-from-catch*
5407You can catch an exception and throw a new one to be caught elsewhere from the
5408catch clause: >
5409
5410 :function! Foo()
5411 : throw "foo"
5412 :endfunction
5413 :
5414 :function! Bar()
5415 : try
5416 : call Foo()
5417 : catch /foo/
5418 : echo "Caught foo, throw bar"
5419 : throw "bar"
5420 : endtry
5421 :endfunction
5422 :
5423 :try
5424 : call Bar()
5425 :catch /.*/
5426 : echo "Caught" v:exception
5427 :endtry
5428
5429This displays "Caught foo, throw bar" and then "Caught bar".
5430
5431 *rethrow*
5432There is no real rethrow in the Vim script language, but you may throw
5433"v:exception" instead: >
5434
5435 :function! Bar()
5436 : try
5437 : call Foo()
5438 : catch /.*/
5439 : echo "Rethrow" v:exception
5440 : throw v:exception
5441 : endtry
5442 :endfunction
5443< *try-echoerr*
5444Note that this method cannot be used to "rethrow" Vim error or interrupt
5445exceptions, because it is not possible to fake Vim internal exceptions.
5446Trying so causes an error exception. You should throw your own exception
5447denoting the situation. If you want to cause a Vim error exception containing
5448the original error exception value, you can use the |:echoerr| command: >
5449
5450 :try
5451 : try
5452 : asdf
5453 : catch /.*/
5454 : echoerr v:exception
5455 : endtry
5456 :catch /.*/
5457 : echo v:exception
5458 :endtry
5459
5460This code displays
5461
5462 Vim(echoerr):Vim:E492: Not an editor command: asdf ~
5463
5464
5465CLEANUP CODE *try-finally*
5466
5467Scripts often change global settings and restore them at their end. If the
5468user however interrupts the script by pressing CTRL-C, the settings remain in
5469an inconsistent state. The same may happen to you in the development phase of
5470a script when an error occurs or you explicitly throw an exception without
5471catching it. You can solve these problems by using a try conditional with
5472a finally clause for restoring the settings. Its execution is guaranteed on
5473normal control flow, on error, on an explicit ":throw", and on interrupt.
5474(Note that errors and interrupts from inside the try conditional are converted
5475to exceptions. When not caught, they terminate the script after the finally
5476clause has been executed.)
5477Example: >
5478
5479 :try
5480 : let s:saved_ts = &ts
5481 : set ts=17
5482 :
5483 : " Do the hard work here.
5484 :
5485 :finally
5486 : let &ts = s:saved_ts
5487 : unlet s:saved_ts
5488 :endtry
5489
5490This method should be used locally whenever a function or part of a script
5491changes global settings which need to be restored on failure or normal exit of
5492that function or script part.
5493
5494 *break-finally*
5495Cleanup code works also when the try block or a catch clause is left by
5496a ":continue", ":break", ":return", or ":finish".
5497 Example: >
5498
5499 :let first = 1
5500 :while 1
5501 : try
5502 : if first
5503 : echo "first"
5504 : let first = 0
5505 : continue
5506 : else
5507 : throw "second"
5508 : endif
5509 : catch /.*/
5510 : echo v:exception
5511 : break
5512 : finally
5513 : echo "cleanup"
5514 : endtry
5515 : echo "still in while"
5516 :endwhile
5517 :echo "end"
5518
5519This displays "first", "cleanup", "second", "cleanup", and "end". >
5520
5521 :function! Foo()
5522 : try
5523 : return 4711
5524 : finally
5525 : echo "cleanup\n"
5526 : endtry
5527 : echo "Foo still active"
5528 :endfunction
5529 :
5530 :echo Foo() "returned by Foo"
5531
5532This displays "cleanup" and "4711 returned by Foo". You don't need to add an
5533extra ":return" in the finally clause. (Above all, this would override the
5534return value.)
5535
5536 *except-from-finally*
5537Using either of ":continue", ":break", ":return", ":finish", or ":throw" in
5538a finally clause is possible, but not recommended since it abandons the
5539cleanup actions for the try conditional. But, of course, interrupt and error
5540exceptions might get raised from a finally clause.
5541 Example where an error in the finally clause stops an interrupt from
5542working correctly: >
5543
5544 :try
5545 : try
5546 : echo "Press CTRL-C for interrupt"
5547 : while 1
5548 : endwhile
5549 : finally
5550 : unlet novar
5551 : endtry
5552 :catch /novar/
5553 :endtry
5554 :echo "Script still running"
5555 :sleep 1
5556
5557If you need to put commands that could fail into a finally clause, you should
5558think about catching or ignoring the errors in these commands, see
5559|catch-errors| and |ignore-errors|.
5560
5561
5562CATCHING ERRORS *catch-errors*
5563
5564If you want to catch specific errors, you just have to put the code to be
5565watched in a try block and add a catch clause for the error message. The
5566presence of the try conditional causes all errors to be converted to an
5567exception. No message is displayed and |v:errmsg| is not set then. To find
5568the right pattern for the ":catch" command, you have to know how the format of
5569the error exception is.
5570 Error exceptions have the following format: >
5571
5572 Vim({cmdname}):{errmsg}
5573or >
5574 Vim:{errmsg}
5575
5576{cmdname} is the name of the command that failed; the second form is used when
5577the command name is not known. {errmsg} is the error message usually produced
5578when the error occurs outside try conditionals. It always begins with
5579a capital "E", followed by a two or three-digit error number, a colon, and
5580a space.
5581
5582Examples:
5583
5584The command >
5585 :unlet novar
5586normally produces the error message >
5587 E108: No such variable: "novar"
5588which is converted inside try conditionals to an exception >
5589 Vim(unlet):E108: No such variable: "novar"
5590
5591The command >
5592 :dwim
5593normally produces the error message >
5594 E492: Not an editor command: dwim
5595which is converted inside try conditionals to an exception >
5596 Vim:E492: Not an editor command: dwim
5597
5598You can catch all ":unlet" errors by a >
5599 :catch /^Vim(unlet):/
5600or all errors for misspelled command names by a >
5601 :catch /^Vim:E492:/
5602
5603Some error messages may be produced by different commands: >
5604 :function nofunc
5605and >
5606 :delfunction nofunc
5607both produce the error message >
5608 E128: Function name must start with a capital: nofunc
5609which is converted inside try conditionals to an exception >
5610 Vim(function):E128: Function name must start with a capital: nofunc
5611or >
5612 Vim(delfunction):E128: Function name must start with a capital: nofunc
5613respectively. You can catch the error by its number independently on the
5614command that caused it if you use the following pattern: >
5615 :catch /^Vim(\a\+):E128:/
5616
5617Some commands like >
5618 :let x = novar
5619produce multiple error messages, here: >
5620 E121: Undefined variable: novar
5621 E15: Invalid expression: novar
5622Only the first is used for the exception value, since it is the most specific
5623one (see |except-several-errors|). So you can catch it by >
5624 :catch /^Vim(\a\+):E121:/
5625
5626You can catch all errors related to the name "nofunc" by >
5627 :catch /\<nofunc\>/
5628
5629You can catch all Vim errors in the ":write" and ":read" commands by >
5630 :catch /^Vim(\(write\|read\)):E\d\+:/
5631
5632You can catch all Vim errors by the pattern >
5633 :catch /^Vim\((\a\+)\)\=:E\d\+:/
5634<
5635 *catch-text*
5636NOTE: You should never catch the error message text itself: >
5637 :catch /No such variable/
5638only works in the english locale, but not when the user has selected
5639a different language by the |:language| command. It is however helpful to
5640cite the message text in a comment: >
5641 :catch /^Vim(\a\+):E108:/ " No such variable
5642
5643
5644IGNORING ERRORS *ignore-errors*
5645
5646You can ignore errors in a specific Vim command by catching them locally: >
5647
5648 :try
5649 : write
5650 :catch
5651 :endtry
5652
5653But you are strongly recommended NOT to use this simple form, since it could
5654catch more than you want. With the ":write" command, some autocommands could
5655be executed and cause errors not related to writing, for instance: >
5656
5657 :au BufWritePre * unlet novar
5658
5659There could even be such errors you are not responsible for as a script
5660writer: a user of your script might have defined such autocommands. You would
5661then hide the error from the user.
5662 It is much better to use >
5663
5664 :try
5665 : write
5666 :catch /^Vim(write):/
5667 :endtry
5668
5669which only catches real write errors. So catch only what you'd like to ignore
5670intentionally.
5671
5672For a single command that does not cause execution of autocommands, you could
5673even suppress the conversion of errors to exceptions by the ":silent!"
5674command: >
5675 :silent! nunmap k
5676This works also when a try conditional is active.
5677
5678
5679CATCHING INTERRUPTS *catch-interrupt*
5680
5681When there are active try conditionals, an interrupt (CTRL-C) is converted to
5682the exception "Vim:Interrupt". You can catch it like every exception. The
5683script is not terminated, then.
5684 Example: >
5685
5686 :function! TASK1()
5687 : sleep 10
5688 :endfunction
5689
5690 :function! TASK2()
5691 : sleep 20
5692 :endfunction
5693
5694 :while 1
5695 : let command = input("Type a command: ")
5696 : try
5697 : if command == ""
5698 : continue
5699 : elseif command == "END"
5700 : break
5701 : elseif command == "TASK1"
5702 : call TASK1()
5703 : elseif command == "TASK2"
5704 : call TASK2()
5705 : else
5706 : echo "\nIllegal command:" command
5707 : continue
5708 : endif
5709 : catch /^Vim:Interrupt$/
5710 : echo "\nCommand interrupted"
5711 : " Caught the interrupt. Continue with next prompt.
5712 : endtry
5713 :endwhile
5714
5715You can interrupt a task here by pressing CTRL-C; the script then asks for
5716a new command. If you press CTRL-C at the prompt, the script is terminated.
5717
5718For testing what happens when CTRL-C would be pressed on a specific line in
5719your script, use the debug mode and execute the |>quit| or |>interrupt|
5720command on that line. See |debug-scripts|.
5721
5722
5723CATCHING ALL *catch-all*
5724
5725The commands >
5726
5727 :catch /.*/
5728 :catch //
5729 :catch
5730
5731catch everything, error exceptions, interrupt exceptions and exceptions
5732explicitly thrown by the |:throw| command. This is useful at the top level of
5733a script in order to catch unexpected things.
5734 Example: >
5735
5736 :try
5737 :
5738 : " do the hard work here
5739 :
5740 :catch /MyException/
5741 :
5742 : " handle known problem
5743 :
5744 :catch /^Vim:Interrupt$/
5745 : echo "Script interrupted"
5746 :catch /.*/
5747 : echo "Internal error (" . v:exception . ")"
5748 : echo " - occurred at " . v:throwpoint
5749 :endtry
5750 :" end of script
5751
5752Note: Catching all might catch more things than you want. Thus, you are
5753strongly encouraged to catch only for problems that you can really handle by
5754specifying a pattern argument to the ":catch".
5755 Example: Catching all could make it nearly impossible to interrupt a script
5756by pressing CTRL-C: >
5757
5758 :while 1
5759 : try
5760 : sleep 1
5761 : catch
5762 : endtry
5763 :endwhile
5764
5765
5766EXCEPTIONS AND AUTOCOMMANDS *except-autocmd*
5767
5768Exceptions may be used during execution of autocommands. Example: >
5769
5770 :autocmd User x try
5771 :autocmd User x throw "Oops!"
5772 :autocmd User x catch
5773 :autocmd User x echo v:exception
5774 :autocmd User x endtry
5775 :autocmd User x throw "Arrgh!"
5776 :autocmd User x echo "Should not be displayed"
5777 :
5778 :try
5779 : doautocmd User x
5780 :catch
5781 : echo v:exception
5782 :endtry
5783
5784This displays "Oops!" and "Arrgh!".
5785
5786 *except-autocmd-Pre*
5787For some commands, autocommands get executed before the main action of the
5788command takes place. If an exception is thrown and not caught in the sequence
5789of autocommands, the sequence and the command that caused its execution are
5790abandoned and the exception is propagated to the caller of the command.
5791 Example: >
5792
5793 :autocmd BufWritePre * throw "FAIL"
5794 :autocmd BufWritePre * echo "Should not be displayed"
5795 :
5796 :try
5797 : write
5798 :catch
5799 : echo "Caught:" v:exception "from" v:throwpoint
5800 :endtry
5801
5802Here, the ":write" command does not write the file currently being edited (as
5803you can see by checking 'modified'), since the exception from the BufWritePre
5804autocommand abandons the ":write". The exception is then caught and the
5805script displays: >
5806
5807 Caught: FAIL from BufWrite Auto commands for "*"
5808<
5809 *except-autocmd-Post*
5810For some commands, autocommands get executed after the main action of the
5811command has taken place. If this main action fails and the command is inside
5812an active try conditional, the autocommands are skipped and an error exception
5813is thrown that can be caught by the caller of the command.
5814 Example: >
5815
5816 :autocmd BufWritePost * echo "File successfully written!"
5817 :
5818 :try
5819 : write /i/m/p/o/s/s/i/b/l/e
5820 :catch
5821 : echo v:exception
5822 :endtry
5823
5824This just displays: >
5825
5826 Vim(write):E212: Can't open file for writing (/i/m/p/o/s/s/i/b/l/e)
5827
5828If you really need to execute the autocommands even when the main action
5829fails, trigger the event from the catch clause.
5830 Example: >
5831
5832 :autocmd BufWritePre * set noreadonly
5833 :autocmd BufWritePost * set readonly
5834 :
5835 :try
5836 : write /i/m/p/o/s/s/i/b/l/e
5837 :catch
5838 : doautocmd BufWritePost /i/m/p/o/s/s/i/b/l/e
5839 :endtry
5840<
5841You can also use ":silent!": >
5842
5843 :let x = "ok"
5844 :let v:errmsg = ""
5845 :autocmd BufWritePost * if v:errmsg != ""
5846 :autocmd BufWritePost * let x = "after fail"
5847 :autocmd BufWritePost * endif
5848 :try
5849 : silent! write /i/m/p/o/s/s/i/b/l/e
5850 :catch
5851 :endtry
5852 :echo x
5853
5854This displays "after fail".
5855
5856If the main action of the command does not fail, exceptions from the
5857autocommands will be catchable by the caller of the command: >
5858
5859 :autocmd BufWritePost * throw ":-("
5860 :autocmd BufWritePost * echo "Should not be displayed"
5861 :
5862 :try
5863 : write
5864 :catch
5865 : echo v:exception
5866 :endtry
5867<
5868 *except-autocmd-Cmd*
5869For some commands, the normal action can be replaced by a sequence of
5870autocommands. Exceptions from that sequence will be catchable by the caller
5871of the command.
5872 Example: For the ":write" command, the caller cannot know whether the file
5873had actually been written when the exception occurred. You need to tell it in
5874some way. >
5875
5876 :if !exists("cnt")
5877 : let cnt = 0
5878 :
5879 : autocmd BufWriteCmd * if &modified
5880 : autocmd BufWriteCmd * let cnt = cnt + 1
5881 : autocmd BufWriteCmd * if cnt % 3 == 2
5882 : autocmd BufWriteCmd * throw "BufWriteCmdError"
5883 : autocmd BufWriteCmd * endif
5884 : autocmd BufWriteCmd * write | set nomodified
5885 : autocmd BufWriteCmd * if cnt % 3 == 0
5886 : autocmd BufWriteCmd * throw "BufWriteCmdError"
5887 : autocmd BufWriteCmd * endif
5888 : autocmd BufWriteCmd * echo "File successfully written!"
5889 : autocmd BufWriteCmd * endif
5890 :endif
5891 :
5892 :try
5893 : write
5894 :catch /^BufWriteCmdError$/
5895 : if &modified
5896 : echo "Error on writing (file contents not changed)"
5897 : else
5898 : echo "Error after writing"
5899 : endif
5900 :catch /^Vim(write):/
5901 : echo "Error on writing"
5902 :endtry
5903
5904When this script is sourced several times after making changes, it displays
5905first >
5906 File successfully written!
5907then >
5908 Error on writing (file contents not changed)
5909then >
5910 Error after writing
5911etc.
5912
5913 *except-autocmd-ill*
5914You cannot spread a try conditional over autocommands for different events.
5915The following code is ill-formed: >
5916
5917 :autocmd BufWritePre * try
5918 :
5919 :autocmd BufWritePost * catch
5920 :autocmd BufWritePost * echo v:exception
5921 :autocmd BufWritePost * endtry
5922 :
5923 :write
5924
5925
5926EXCEPTION HIERARCHIES AND PARAMETERIZED EXCEPTIONS *except-hier-param*
5927
5928Some programming languages allow to use hierarchies of exception classes or to
5929pass additional information with the object of an exception class. You can do
5930similar things in Vim.
5931 In order to throw an exception from a hierarchy, just throw the complete
5932class name with the components separated by a colon, for instance throw the
5933string "EXCEPT:MATHERR:OVERFLOW" for an overflow in a mathematical library.
5934 When you want to pass additional information with your exception class, add
5935it in parentheses, for instance throw the string "EXCEPT:IO:WRITEERR(myfile)"
5936for an error when writing "myfile".
5937 With the appropriate patterns in the ":catch" command, you can catch for
5938base classes or derived classes of your hierarchy. Additional information in
5939parentheses can be cut out from |v:exception| with the ":substitute" command.
5940 Example: >
5941
5942 :function! CheckRange(a, func)
5943 : if a:a < 0
5944 : throw "EXCEPT:MATHERR:RANGE(" . a:func . ")"
5945 : endif
5946 :endfunction
5947 :
5948 :function! Add(a, b)
5949 : call CheckRange(a:a, "Add")
5950 : call CheckRange(a:b, "Add")
5951 : let c = a:a + a:b
5952 : if c < 0
5953 : throw "EXCEPT:MATHERR:OVERFLOW"
5954 : endif
5955 : return c
5956 :endfunction
5957 :
5958 :function! Div(a, b)
5959 : call CheckRange(a:a, "Div")
5960 : call CheckRange(a:b, "Div")
5961 : if (a:b == 0)
5962 : throw "EXCEPT:MATHERR:ZERODIV"
5963 : endif
5964 : return a:a / a:b
5965 :endfunction
5966 :
5967 :function! Write(file)
5968 : try
5969 : execute "write" a:file
5970 : catch /^Vim(write):/
5971 : throw "EXCEPT:IO(" . getcwd() . ", " . a:file . "):WRITEERR"
5972 : endtry
5973 :endfunction
5974 :
5975 :try
5976 :
5977 : " something with arithmetics and I/O
5978 :
5979 :catch /^EXCEPT:MATHERR:RANGE/
5980 : let function = substitute(v:exception, '.*(\(\a\+\)).*', '\1', "")
5981 : echo "Range error in" function
5982 :
5983 :catch /^EXCEPT:MATHERR/ " catches OVERFLOW and ZERODIV
5984 : echo "Math error"
5985 :
5986 :catch /^EXCEPT:IO/
5987 : let dir = substitute(v:exception, '.*(\(.\+\),\s*.\+).*', '\1', "")
5988 : let file = substitute(v:exception, '.*(.\+,\s*\(.\+\)).*', '\1', "")
5989 : if file !~ '^/'
5990 : let file = dir . "/" . file
5991 : endif
5992 : echo 'I/O error for "' . file . '"'
5993 :
5994 :catch /^EXCEPT/
5995 : echo "Unspecified error"
5996 :
5997 :endtry
5998
5999The exceptions raised by Vim itself (on error or when pressing CTRL-C) use
6000a flat hierarchy: they are all in the "Vim" class. You cannot throw yourself
6001exceptions with the "Vim" prefix; they are reserved for Vim.
6002 Vim error exceptions are parameterized with the name of the command that
6003failed, if known. See |catch-errors|.
6004
6005
6006PECULIARITIES
6007 *except-compat*
6008The exception handling concept requires that the command sequence causing the
6009exception is aborted immediately and control is transferred to finally clauses
6010and/or a catch clause.
6011
6012In the Vim script language there are cases where scripts and functions
6013continue after an error: in functions without the "abort" flag or in a command
6014after ":silent!", control flow goes to the following line, and outside
6015functions, control flow goes to the line following the outermost ":endwhile"
6016or ":endif". On the other hand, errors should be catchable as exceptions
6017(thus, requiring the immediate abortion).
6018
6019This problem has been solved by converting errors to exceptions and using
6020immediate abortion (if not suppressed by ":silent!") only when a try
6021conditional is active. This is no restriction since an (error) exception can
6022be caught only from an active try conditional. If you want an immediate
6023termination without catching the error, just use a try conditional without
6024catch clause. (You can cause cleanup code being executed before termination
6025by specifying a finally clause.)
6026
6027When no try conditional is active, the usual abortion and continuation
6028behavior is used instead of immediate abortion. This ensures compatibility of
6029scripts written for Vim 6.1 and earlier.
6030
6031However, when sourcing an existing script that does not use exception handling
6032commands (or when calling one of its functions) from inside an active try
6033conditional of a new script, you might change the control flow of the existing
6034script on error. You get the immediate abortion on error and can catch the
6035error in the new script. If however the sourced script suppresses error
6036messages by using the ":silent!" command (checking for errors by testing
6037|v:errmsg| if appropriate), its execution path is not changed. The error is
6038not converted to an exception. (See |:silent|.) So the only remaining cause
6039where this happens is for scripts that don't care about errors and produce
6040error messages. You probably won't want to use such code from your new
6041scripts.
6042
6043 *except-syntax-err*
6044Syntax errors in the exception handling commands are never caught by any of
6045the ":catch" commands of the try conditional they belong to. Its finally
6046clauses, however, is executed.
6047 Example: >
6048
6049 :try
6050 : try
6051 : throw 4711
6052 : catch /\(/
6053 : echo "in catch with syntax error"
6054 : catch
6055 : echo "inner catch-all"
6056 : finally
6057 : echo "inner finally"
6058 : endtry
6059 :catch
6060 : echo 'outer catch-all caught "' . v:exception . '"'
6061 : finally
6062 : echo "outer finally"
6063 :endtry
6064
6065This displays: >
6066 inner finally
6067 outer catch-all caught "Vim(catch):E54: Unmatched \("
6068 outer finally
6069The original exception is discarded and an error exception is raised, instead.
6070
6071 *except-single-line*
6072The ":try", ":catch", ":finally", and ":endtry" commands can be put on
6073a single line, but then syntax errors may make it difficult to recognize the
6074"catch" line, thus you better avoid this.
6075 Example: >
6076 :try | unlet! foo # | catch | endtry
6077raises an error exception for the trailing characters after the ":unlet!"
6078argument, but does not see the ":catch" and ":endtry" commands, so that the
6079error exception is discarded and the "E488: Trailing characters" message gets
6080displayed.
6081
6082 *except-several-errors*
6083When several errors appear in a single command, the first error message is
6084usually the most specific one and therefor converted to the error exception.
6085 Example: >
6086 echo novar
6087causes >
6088 E121: Undefined variable: novar
6089 E15: Invalid expression: novar
6090The value of the error exception inside try conditionals is: >
6091 Vim(echo):E121: Undefined variable: novar
6092< *except-syntax-error*
6093But when a syntax error is detected after a normal error in the same command,
6094the syntax error is used for the exception being thrown.
6095 Example: >
6096 unlet novar #
6097causes >
6098 E108: No such variable: "novar"
6099 E488: Trailing characters
6100The value of the error exception inside try conditionals is: >
6101 Vim(unlet):E488: Trailing characters
6102This is done because the syntax error might change the execution path in a way
6103not intended by the user. Example: >
6104 try
6105 try | unlet novar # | catch | echo v:exception | endtry
6106 catch /.*/
6107 echo "outer catch:" v:exception
6108 endtry
6109This displays "outer catch: Vim(unlet):E488: Trailing characters", and then
6110a "E600: Missing :endtry" error message is given, see |except-single-line|.
6111
6112==============================================================================
61139. Examples *eval-examples*
6114
6115Printing in Hex ~
6116>
6117 :" The function Nr2Hex() returns the Hex string of a number.
6118 :func Nr2Hex(nr)
6119 : let n = a:nr
6120 : let r = ""
6121 : while n
6122 : let r = '0123456789ABCDEF'[n % 16] . r
6123 : let n = n / 16
6124 : endwhile
6125 : return r
6126 :endfunc
6127
6128 :" The function String2Hex() converts each character in a string to a two
6129 :" character Hex string.
6130 :func String2Hex(str)
6131 : let out = ''
6132 : let ix = 0
6133 : while ix < strlen(a:str)
6134 : let out = out . Nr2Hex(char2nr(a:str[ix]))
6135 : let ix = ix + 1
6136 : endwhile
6137 : return out
6138 :endfunc
6139
6140Example of its use: >
6141 :echo Nr2Hex(32)
6142result: "20" >
6143 :echo String2Hex("32")
6144result: "3332"
6145
6146
6147Sorting lines (by Robert Webb) ~
6148
6149Here is a Vim script to sort lines. Highlight the lines in Vim and type
6150":Sort". This doesn't call any external programs so it'll work on any
6151platform. The function Sort() actually takes the name of a comparison
6152function as its argument, like qsort() does in C. So you could supply it
6153with different comparison functions in order to sort according to date etc.
6154>
6155 :" Function for use with Sort(), to compare two strings.
6156 :func! Strcmp(str1, str2)
6157 : if (a:str1 < a:str2)
6158 : return -1
6159 : elseif (a:str1 > a:str2)
6160 : return 1
6161 : else
6162 : return 0
6163 : endif
6164 :endfunction
6165
6166 :" Sort lines. SortR() is called recursively.
6167 :func! SortR(start, end, cmp)
6168 : if (a:start >= a:end)
6169 : return
6170 : endif
6171 : let partition = a:start - 1
6172 : let middle = partition
6173 : let partStr = getline((a:start + a:end) / 2)
6174 : let i = a:start
6175 : while (i <= a:end)
6176 : let str = getline(i)
6177 : exec "let result = " . a:cmp . "(str, partStr)"
6178 : if (result <= 0)
6179 : " Need to put it before the partition. Swap lines i and partition.
6180 : let partition = partition + 1
6181 : if (result == 0)
6182 : let middle = partition
6183 : endif
6184 : if (i != partition)
6185 : let str2 = getline(partition)
6186 : call setline(i, str2)
6187 : call setline(partition, str)
6188 : endif
6189 : endif
6190 : let i = i + 1
6191 : endwhile
6192
6193 : " Now we have a pointer to the "middle" element, as far as partitioning
6194 : " goes, which could be anywhere before the partition. Make sure it is at
6195 : " the end of the partition.
6196 : if (middle != partition)
6197 : let str = getline(middle)
6198 : let str2 = getline(partition)
6199 : call setline(middle, str2)
6200 : call setline(partition, str)
6201 : endif
6202 : call SortR(a:start, partition - 1, a:cmp)
6203 : call SortR(partition + 1, a:end, a:cmp)
6204 :endfunc
6205
6206 :" To Sort a range of lines, pass the range to Sort() along with the name of a
6207 :" function that will compare two lines.
6208 :func! Sort(cmp) range
6209 : call SortR(a:firstline, a:lastline, a:cmp)
6210 :endfunc
6211
6212 :" :Sort takes a range of lines and sorts them.
6213 :command! -nargs=0 -range Sort <line1>,<line2>call Sort("Strcmp")
6214<
6215 *sscanf*
6216There is no sscanf() function in Vim. If you need to extract parts from a
6217line, you can use matchstr() and substitute() to do it. This example shows
6218how to get the file name, line number and column number out of a line like
6219"foobar.txt, 123, 45". >
6220 :" Set up the match bit
6221 :let mx='\(\f\+\),\s*\(\d\+\),\s*\(\d\+\)'
6222 :"get the part matching the whole expression
6223 :let l = matchstr(line, mx)
6224 :"get each item out of the match
6225 :let file = substitute(l, mx, '\1', '')
6226 :let lnum = substitute(l, mx, '\2', '')
6227 :let col = substitute(l, mx, '\3', '')
6228
6229The input is in the variable "line", the results in the variables "file",
6230"lnum" and "col". (idea from Michael Geddes)
6231
6232==============================================================================
623310. No +eval feature *no-eval-feature*
6234
6235When the |+eval| feature was disabled at compile time, none of the expression
6236evaluation commands are available. To prevent this from causing Vim scripts
6237to generate all kinds of errors, the ":if" and ":endif" commands are still
6238recognized, though the argument of the ":if" and everything between the ":if"
6239and the matching ":endif" is ignored. Nesting of ":if" blocks is allowed, but
6240only if the commands are at the start of the line. The ":else" command is not
6241recognized.
6242
6243Example of how to avoid executing commands when the |+eval| feature is
6244missing: >
6245
6246 :if 1
6247 : echo "Expression evaluation is compiled in"
6248 :else
6249 : echo "You will _never_ see this message"
6250 :endif
6251
6252==============================================================================
625311. The sandbox *eval-sandbox* *sandbox* *E48*
6254
6255The 'foldexpr', 'includeexpr', 'indentexpr', 'statusline' and 'foldtext'
6256options are evaluated in a sandbox. This means that you are protected from
6257these expressions having nasty side effects. This gives some safety for when
6258these options are set from a modeline. It is also used when the command from
6259a tags file is executed.
Bram Moolenaar7b0294c2004-10-11 10:16:09 +00006260The sandbox is also used for the |:sandbox| command.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00006261
6262These items are not allowed in the sandbox:
6263 - changing the buffer text
6264 - defining or changing mapping, autocommands, functions, user commands
6265 - setting certain options (see |option-summary|)
6266 - executing a shell command
6267 - reading or writing a file
6268 - jumping to another buffer or editing a file
Bram Moolenaar7b0294c2004-10-11 10:16:09 +00006269This is not guaranteed 100% secure, but it should block most attacks.
6270
6271 *:san* *:sandbox*
6272:sandbox {cmd} Execute {cmd} in the sandbox. Useful to evaluate an
6273 option that may have been set from a modeline, e.g.
6274 'foldexpr'.
6275
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00006276
6277 vim:tw=78:ts=8:ft=help:norl: