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Bram Moolenaar4a85b412006-04-23 22:40:29 +00001*eval.txt* For Vim version 7.0e. Last change: 2006 Apr 23
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002
3
4 VIM REFERENCE MANUAL by Bram Moolenaar
5
6
7Expression evaluation *expression* *expr* *E15* *eval*
8
9Using expressions is introduced in chapter 41 of the user manual |usr_41.txt|.
10
11Note: Expression evaluation can be disabled at compile time. If this has been
Bram Moolenaare2cc9702005-03-15 22:43:58 +000012done, the features in this document are not available. See |+eval| and
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +000013|no-eval-feature|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +000014
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000151. Variables |variables|
16 1.1 Variable types
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +000017 1.2 Function references |Funcref|
Bram Moolenaar7c626922005-02-07 22:01:03 +000018 1.3 Lists |Lists|
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +000019 1.4 Dictionaries |Dictionaries|
20 1.5 More about variables |more-variables|
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000212. Expression syntax |expression-syntax|
223. Internal variable |internal-variables|
234. Builtin Functions |functions|
245. Defining functions |user-functions|
256. Curly braces names |curly-braces-names|
267. Commands |expression-commands|
278. Exception handling |exception-handling|
289. Examples |eval-examples|
2910. No +eval feature |no-eval-feature|
3011. The sandbox |eval-sandbox|
Bram Moolenaarb71eaae2006-01-20 23:10:18 +00003112. Textlock |textlock|
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +000032
33{Vi does not have any of these commands}
34
35==============================================================================
361. Variables *variables*
37
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000381.1 Variable types ~
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +000039 *E712*
Bram Moolenaar39a58ca2005-06-27 22:42:44 +000040There are five types of variables:
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +000041
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +000042Number A 32 bit signed number.
43 Examples: -123 0x10 0177
44
45String A NUL terminated string of 8-bit unsigned characters (bytes).
46 Examples: "ab\txx\"--" 'x-z''a,c'
47
48Funcref A reference to a function |Funcref|.
49 Example: function("strlen")
50
51List An ordered sequence of items |List|.
52 Example: [1, 2, ['a', 'b']]
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +000053
Bram Moolenaar39a58ca2005-06-27 22:42:44 +000054Dictionary An associative, unordered array: Each entry has a key and a
55 value. |Dictionary|
56 Example: {'blue': "#0000ff", 'red': "#ff0000"}
57
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +000058The Number and String types are converted automatically, depending on how they
59are used.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +000060
61Conversion from a Number to a String is by making the ASCII representation of
62the Number. Examples: >
63 Number 123 --> String "123"
64 Number 0 --> String "0"
65 Number -1 --> String "-1"
66
67Conversion from a String to a Number is done by converting the first digits
68to a number. Hexadecimal "0xf9" and Octal "017" numbers are recognized. If
69the String doesn't start with digits, the result is zero. Examples: >
70 String "456" --> Number 456
71 String "6bar" --> Number 6
72 String "foo" --> Number 0
73 String "0xf1" --> Number 241
74 String "0100" --> Number 64
75 String "-8" --> Number -8
76 String "+8" --> Number 0
77
78To force conversion from String to Number, add zero to it: >
79 :echo "0100" + 0
Bram Moolenaar97b2ad32006-03-18 21:40:56 +000080< 64 ~
81
82To avoid a leading zero to cause octal conversion, or for using a different
83base, use |str2nr()|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +000084
85For boolean operators Numbers are used. Zero is FALSE, non-zero is TRUE.
86
87Note that in the command >
88 :if "foo"
89"foo" is converted to 0, which means FALSE. To test for a non-empty string,
90use strlen(): >
91 :if strlen("foo")
Bram Moolenaar748bf032005-02-02 23:04:36 +000092< *E745* *E728* *E703* *E729* *E730* *E731*
93List, Dictionary and Funcref types are not automatically converted.
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +000094
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +000095 *E706*
96You will get an error if you try to change the type of a variable. You need
97to |:unlet| it first to avoid this error. String and Number are considered
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +000098equivalent though. Consider this sequence of commands: >
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +000099 :let l = "string"
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +0000100 :let l = 44 " changes type from String to Number
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000101 :let l = [1, 2, 3] " error!
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000102
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000103
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +00001041.2 Function references ~
Bram Moolenaar748bf032005-02-02 23:04:36 +0000105 *Funcref* *E695* *E718*
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000106A Funcref variable is obtained with the |function()| function. It can be used
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000107in an expression in the place of a function name, before the parenthesis
108around the arguments, to invoke the function it refers to. Example: >
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000109
110 :let Fn = function("MyFunc")
111 :echo Fn()
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000112< *E704* *E705* *E707*
Bram Moolenaar910f66f2006-04-05 20:41:53 +0000113A Funcref variable must start with a capital, "s:", "w:", "t:" or "b:". You
114cannot have both a Funcref variable and a function with the same name.
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000115
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000116A special case is defining a function and directly assigning its Funcref to a
117Dictionary entry. Example: >
118 :function dict.init() dict
119 : let self.val = 0
120 :endfunction
121
122The key of the Dictionary can start with a lower case letter. The actual
123function name is not used here. Also see |numbered-function|.
124
125A Funcref can also be used with the |:call| command: >
126 :call Fn()
127 :call dict.init()
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000128
129The name of the referenced function can be obtained with |string()|. >
Bram Moolenaar383f9bc2005-01-19 22:18:32 +0000130 :let func = string(Fn)
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000131
132You can use |call()| to invoke a Funcref and use a list variable for the
133arguments: >
Bram Moolenaar383f9bc2005-01-19 22:18:32 +0000134 :let r = call(Fn, mylist)
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000135
136
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +00001371.3 Lists ~
Bram Moolenaar7c626922005-02-07 22:01:03 +0000138 *List* *Lists* *E686*
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000139A List is an ordered sequence of items. An item can be of any type. Items
140can be accessed by their index number. Items can be added and removed at any
141position in the sequence.
142
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000143
144List creation ~
145 *E696* *E697*
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000146A List is created with a comma separated list of items in square brackets.
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000147Examples: >
148 :let mylist = [1, two, 3, "four"]
149 :let emptylist = []
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000150
151An item can be any expression. Using a List for an item creates a
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000152nested List: >
153 :let nestlist = [[11, 12], [21, 22], [31, 32]]
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000154
155An extra comma after the last item is ignored.
156
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000157
158List index ~
159 *list-index* *E684*
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000160An item in the List can be accessed by putting the index in square brackets
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000161after the List. Indexes are zero-based, thus the first item has index zero. >
162 :let item = mylist[0] " get the first item: 1
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000163 :let item = mylist[2] " get the third item: 3
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000164
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +0000165When the resulting item is a list this can be repeated: >
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000166 :let item = nestlist[0][1] " get the first list, second item: 12
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000167<
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000168A negative index is counted from the end. Index -1 refers to the last item in
169the List, -2 to the last but one item, etc. >
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000170 :let last = mylist[-1] " get the last item: "four"
171
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000172To avoid an error for an invalid index use the |get()| function. When an item
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +0000173is not available it returns zero or the default value you specify: >
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000174 :echo get(mylist, idx)
175 :echo get(mylist, idx, "NONE")
176
177
178List concatenation ~
179
180Two lists can be concatenated with the "+" operator: >
181 :let longlist = mylist + [5, 6]
Bram Moolenaar383f9bc2005-01-19 22:18:32 +0000182 :let mylist += [7, 8]
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000183
184To prepend or append an item turn the item into a list by putting [] around
185it. To change a list in-place see |list-modification| below.
186
187
188Sublist ~
189
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000190A part of the List can be obtained by specifying the first and last index,
191separated by a colon in square brackets: >
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000192 :let shortlist = mylist[2:-1] " get List [3, "four"]
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000193
194Omitting the first index is similar to zero. Omitting the last index is
195similar to -1. The difference is that there is no error if the items are not
196available. >
Bram Moolenaar540d6e32005-01-09 21:20:18 +0000197 :let endlist = mylist[2:] " from item 2 to the end: [3, "four"]
198 :let shortlist = mylist[2:2] " List with one item: [3]
199 :let otherlist = mylist[:] " make a copy of the List
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000200
Bram Moolenaar9e54a0e2006-04-14 20:42:25 +0000201If the second index is equal to or greater than the length of the list there
202is no error and the length minus one is used: >
203 :let mylist = [0, 1, 2, 3]
204 :echo mylist[2:8] " result: [2, 3]
205
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000206The second index can be just before the first index. In that case the result
207is an empty list. If the second index is lower, this results in an error. >
208 :echo mylist[2:1] " result: []
209 :echo mylist[2:0] " error!
210
Bram Moolenaara7fc0102005-05-18 22:17:12 +0000211NOTE: mylist[s:e] means using the variable "s:e" as index. Watch out for
212using a single letter variable before the ":". Insert a space when needed:
213mylist[s : e].
214
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000215
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000216List identity ~
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000217 *list-identity*
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000218When variable "aa" is a list and you assign it to another variable "bb", both
219variables refer to the same list. Thus changing the list "aa" will also
220change "bb": >
221 :let aa = [1, 2, 3]
222 :let bb = aa
223 :call add(aa, 4)
224 :echo bb
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000225< [1, 2, 3, 4]
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000226
227Making a copy of a list is done with the |copy()| function. Using [:] also
228works, as explained above. This creates a shallow copy of the list: Changing
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +0000229a list item in the list will also change the item in the copied list: >
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000230 :let aa = [[1, 'a'], 2, 3]
231 :let bb = copy(aa)
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000232 :call add(aa, 4)
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000233 :let aa[0][1] = 'aaa'
234 :echo aa
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000235< [[1, aaa], 2, 3, 4] >
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000236 :echo bb
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000237< [[1, aaa], 2, 3]
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000238
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +0000239To make a completely independent list use |deepcopy()|. This also makes a
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000240copy of the values in the list, recursively. Up to a hundred levels deep.
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000241
242The operator "is" can be used to check if two variables refer to the same
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000243List. "isnot" does the opposite. In contrast "==" compares if two lists have
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +0000244the same value. >
245 :let alist = [1, 2, 3]
246 :let blist = [1, 2, 3]
247 :echo alist is blist
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000248< 0 >
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +0000249 :echo alist == blist
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000250< 1
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000251
Bram Moolenaar9ba0eb82005-06-13 22:28:56 +0000252Note about comparing lists: Two lists are considered equal if they have the
253same length and all items compare equal, as with using "==". There is one
Bram Moolenaar7d1f5db2005-07-03 21:39:27 +0000254exception: When comparing a number with a string they are considered
255different. There is no automatic type conversion, as with using "==" on
256variables. Example: >
257 echo 4 == "4"
Bram Moolenaar9ba0eb82005-06-13 22:28:56 +0000258< 1 >
Bram Moolenaar7d1f5db2005-07-03 21:39:27 +0000259 echo [4] == ["4"]
Bram Moolenaar9ba0eb82005-06-13 22:28:56 +0000260< 0
261
Bram Moolenaar7d1f5db2005-07-03 21:39:27 +0000262Thus comparing Lists is more strict than comparing numbers and strings. You
263can compare simple values this way too by putting them in a string: >
264
265 :let a = 5
266 :let b = "5"
267 echo a == b
268< 1 >
269 echo [a] == [b]
270< 0
Bram Moolenaar9ba0eb82005-06-13 22:28:56 +0000271
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000272
273List unpack ~
274
275To unpack the items in a list to individual variables, put the variables in
276square brackets, like list items: >
277 :let [var1, var2] = mylist
278
279When the number of variables does not match the number of items in the list
280this produces an error. To handle any extra items from the list append ";"
281and a variable name: >
282 :let [var1, var2; rest] = mylist
283
284This works like: >
285 :let var1 = mylist[0]
286 :let var2 = mylist[1]
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +0000287 :let rest = mylist[2:]
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000288
289Except that there is no error if there are only two items. "rest" will be an
290empty list then.
291
292
293List modification ~
294 *list-modification*
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +0000295To change a specific item of a list use |:let| this way: >
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000296 :let list[4] = "four"
297 :let listlist[0][3] = item
298
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +0000299To change part of a list you can specify the first and last item to be
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000300modified. The value must at least have the number of items in the range: >
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +0000301 :let list[3:5] = [3, 4, 5]
302
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000303Adding and removing items from a list is done with functions. Here are a few
304examples: >
305 :call insert(list, 'a') " prepend item 'a'
306 :call insert(list, 'a', 3) " insert item 'a' before list[3]
307 :call add(list, "new") " append String item
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000308 :call add(list, [1, 2]) " append a List as one new item
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000309 :call extend(list, [1, 2]) " extend the list with two more items
310 :let i = remove(list, 3) " remove item 3
Bram Moolenaar9cd15162005-01-16 22:02:49 +0000311 :unlet list[3] " idem
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000312 :let l = remove(list, 3, -1) " remove items 3 to last item
Bram Moolenaar9cd15162005-01-16 22:02:49 +0000313 :unlet list[3 : ] " idem
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000314 :call filter(list, 'v:val !~ "x"') " remove items with an 'x'
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000315
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000316Changing the order of items in a list: >
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +0000317 :call sort(list) " sort a list alphabetically
318 :call reverse(list) " reverse the order of items
319
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000320
321For loop ~
322
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +0000323The |:for| loop executes commands for each item in a list. A variable is set
324to each item in the list in sequence. Example: >
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000325 :for item in mylist
326 : call Doit(item)
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000327 :endfor
328
329This works like: >
330 :let index = 0
331 :while index < len(mylist)
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000332 : let item = mylist[index]
333 : :call Doit(item)
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000334 : let index = index + 1
335 :endwhile
336
337Note that all items in the list should be of the same type, otherwise this
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000338results in error |E706|. To avoid this |:unlet| the variable at the end of
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +0000339the loop.
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000340
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +0000341If all you want to do is modify each item in the list then the |map()|
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000342function will be a simpler method than a for loop.
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +0000343
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000344Just like the |:let| command, |:for| also accepts a list of variables. This
345requires the argument to be a list of lists. >
346 :for [lnum, col] in [[1, 3], [2, 8], [3, 0]]
347 : call Doit(lnum, col)
348 :endfor
349
350This works like a |:let| command is done for each list item. Again, the types
351must remain the same to avoid an error.
352
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000353It is also possible to put remaining items in a List variable: >
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000354 :for [i, j; rest] in listlist
355 : call Doit(i, j)
356 : if !empty(rest)
357 : echo "remainder: " . string(rest)
358 : endif
359 :endfor
360
361
362List functions ~
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000363 *E714*
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000364Functions that are useful with a List: >
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +0000365 :let r = call(funcname, list) " call a function with an argument list
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000366 :if empty(list) " check if list is empty
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000367 :let l = len(list) " number of items in list
368 :let big = max(list) " maximum value in list
369 :let small = min(list) " minimum value in list
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +0000370 :let xs = count(list, 'x') " count nr of times 'x' appears in list
371 :let i = index(list, 'x') " index of first 'x' in list
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000372 :let lines = getline(1, 10) " get ten text lines from buffer
373 :call append('$', lines) " append text lines in buffer
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +0000374 :let list = split("a b c") " create list from items in a string
375 :let string = join(list, ', ') " create string from list items
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000376 :let s = string(list) " String representation of list
377 :call map(list, '">> " . v:val') " prepend ">> " to each item
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000378
Bram Moolenaar0cb032e2005-04-23 20:52:00 +0000379Don't forget that a combination of features can make things simple. For
380example, to add up all the numbers in a list: >
381 :exe 'let sum = ' . join(nrlist, '+')
382
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000383
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +00003841.4 Dictionaries ~
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000385 *Dictionaries* *Dictionary*
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000386A Dictionary is an associative array: Each entry has a key and a value. The
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000387entry can be located with the key. The entries are stored without a specific
388ordering.
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000389
390
391Dictionary creation ~
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000392 *E720* *E721* *E722* *E723*
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000393A Dictionary is created with a comma separated list of entries in curly
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000394braces. Each entry has a key and a value, separated by a colon. Each key can
395only appear once. Examples: >
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000396 :let mydict = {1: 'one', 2: 'two', 3: 'three'}
397 :let emptydict = {}
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000398< *E713* *E716* *E717*
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000399A key is always a String. You can use a Number, it will be converted to a
400String automatically. Thus the String '4' and the number 4 will find the same
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000401entry. Note that the String '04' and the Number 04 are different, since the
402Number will be converted to the String '4'.
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000403
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000404A value can be any expression. Using a Dictionary for a value creates a
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000405nested Dictionary: >
406 :let nestdict = {1: {11: 'a', 12: 'b'}, 2: {21: 'c'}}
407
408An extra comma after the last entry is ignored.
409
410
411Accessing entries ~
412
413The normal way to access an entry is by putting the key in square brackets: >
414 :let val = mydict["one"]
415 :let mydict["four"] = 4
416
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000417You can add new entries to an existing Dictionary this way, unlike Lists.
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000418
419For keys that consist entirely of letters, digits and underscore the following
420form can be used |expr-entry|: >
421 :let val = mydict.one
422 :let mydict.four = 4
423
424Since an entry can be any type, also a List and a Dictionary, the indexing and
425key lookup can be repeated: >
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000426 :echo dict.key[idx].key
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000427
428
429Dictionary to List conversion ~
430
431You may want to loop over the entries in a dictionary. For this you need to
432turn the Dictionary into a List and pass it to |:for|.
433
434Most often you want to loop over the keys, using the |keys()| function: >
435 :for key in keys(mydict)
436 : echo key . ': ' . mydict[key]
437 :endfor
438
439The List of keys is unsorted. You may want to sort them first: >
440 :for key in sort(keys(mydict))
441
442To loop over the values use the |values()| function: >
443 :for v in values(mydict)
444 : echo "value: " . v
445 :endfor
446
447If you want both the key and the value use the |items()| function. It returns
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000448a List in which each item is a List with two items, the key and the value: >
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000449 :for entry in items(mydict)
450 : echo entry[0] . ': ' . entry[1]
451 :endfor
452
453
454Dictionary identity ~
Bram Moolenaar7c626922005-02-07 22:01:03 +0000455 *dict-identity*
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000456Just like Lists you need to use |copy()| and |deepcopy()| to make a copy of a
457Dictionary. Otherwise, assignment results in referring to the same
458Dictionary: >
459 :let onedict = {'a': 1, 'b': 2}
460 :let adict = onedict
461 :let adict['a'] = 11
462 :echo onedict['a']
463 11
464
Bram Moolenaarf3bd51a2005-06-14 22:11:18 +0000465Two Dictionaries compare equal if all the key-value pairs compare equal. For
466more info see |list-identity|.
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000467
468
469Dictionary modification ~
470 *dict-modification*
471To change an already existing entry of a Dictionary, or to add a new entry,
472use |:let| this way: >
473 :let dict[4] = "four"
474 :let dict['one'] = item
475
Bram Moolenaar9cd15162005-01-16 22:02:49 +0000476Removing an entry from a Dictionary is done with |remove()| or |:unlet|.
477Three ways to remove the entry with key "aaa" from dict: >
478 :let i = remove(dict, 'aaa')
479 :unlet dict.aaa
480 :unlet dict['aaa']
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000481
482Merging a Dictionary with another is done with |extend()|: >
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000483 :call extend(adict, bdict)
484This extends adict with all entries from bdict. Duplicate keys cause entries
485in adict to be overwritten. An optional third argument can change this.
Bram Moolenaar383f9bc2005-01-19 22:18:32 +0000486Note that the order of entries in a Dictionary is irrelevant, thus don't
487expect ":echo adict" to show the items from bdict after the older entries in
488adict.
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000489
490Weeding out entries from a Dictionary can be done with |filter()|: >
Bram Moolenaare2cc9702005-03-15 22:43:58 +0000491 :call filter(dict 'v:val =~ "x"')
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000492This removes all entries from "dict" with a value not matching 'x'.
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000493
494
495Dictionary function ~
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000496 *Dictionary-function* *self* *E725*
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000497When a function is defined with the "dict" attribute it can be used in a
498special way with a dictionary. Example: >
499 :function Mylen() dict
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000500 : return len(self.data)
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000501 :endfunction
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000502 :let mydict = {'data': [0, 1, 2, 3], 'len': function("Mylen")}
503 :echo mydict.len()
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000504
505This is like a method in object oriented programming. The entry in the
506Dictionary is a |Funcref|. The local variable "self" refers to the dictionary
507the function was invoked from.
508
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000509It is also possible to add a function without the "dict" attribute as a
510Funcref to a Dictionary, but the "self" variable is not available then.
511
Bram Moolenaar910f66f2006-04-05 20:41:53 +0000512 *numbered-function* *anonymous-function*
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000513To avoid the extra name for the function it can be defined and directly
514assigned to a Dictionary in this way: >
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000515 :let mydict = {'data': [0, 1, 2, 3]}
516 :function mydict.len() dict
517 : return len(self.data)
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000518 :endfunction
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000519 :echo mydict.len()
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000520
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000521The function will then get a number and the value of dict.len is a |Funcref|
522that references this function. The function can only be used through a
523|Funcref|. It will automatically be deleted when there is no |Funcref|
524remaining that refers to it.
525
526It is not necessary to use the "dict" attribute for a numbered function.
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000527
528
529Functions for Dictionaries ~
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000530 *E715*
531Functions that can be used with a Dictionary: >
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000532 :if has_key(dict, 'foo') " TRUE if dict has entry with key "foo"
533 :if empty(dict) " TRUE if dict is empty
534 :let l = len(dict) " number of items in dict
535 :let big = max(dict) " maximum value in dict
536 :let small = min(dict) " minimum value in dict
537 :let xs = count(dict, 'x') " count nr of times 'x' appears in dict
538 :let s = string(dict) " String representation of dict
539 :call map(dict, '">> " . v:val') " prepend ">> " to each item
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000540
541
5421.5 More about variables ~
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000543 *more-variables*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000544If you need to know the type of a variable or expression, use the |type()|
545function.
546
547When the '!' flag is included in the 'viminfo' option, global variables that
548start with an uppercase letter, and don't contain a lowercase letter, are
549stored in the viminfo file |viminfo-file|.
550
551When the 'sessionoptions' option contains "global", global variables that
552start with an uppercase letter and contain at least one lowercase letter are
553stored in the session file |session-file|.
554
555variable name can be stored where ~
556my_var_6 not
557My_Var_6 session file
558MY_VAR_6 viminfo file
559
560
561It's possible to form a variable name with curly braces, see
562|curly-braces-names|.
563
564==============================================================================
5652. Expression syntax *expression-syntax*
566
567Expression syntax summary, from least to most significant:
568
569|expr1| expr2 ? expr1 : expr1 if-then-else
570
571|expr2| expr3 || expr3 .. logical OR
572
573|expr3| expr4 && expr4 .. logical AND
574
575|expr4| expr5 == expr5 equal
576 expr5 != expr5 not equal
577 expr5 > expr5 greater than
578 expr5 >= expr5 greater than or equal
579 expr5 < expr5 smaller than
580 expr5 <= expr5 smaller than or equal
581 expr5 =~ expr5 regexp matches
582 expr5 !~ expr5 regexp doesn't match
583
584 expr5 ==? expr5 equal, ignoring case
585 expr5 ==# expr5 equal, match case
586 etc. As above, append ? for ignoring case, # for
587 matching case
588
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +0000589 expr5 is expr5 same |List| instance
590 expr5 isnot expr5 different |List| instance
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +0000591
592|expr5| expr6 + expr6 .. number addition or list concatenation
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000593 expr6 - expr6 .. number subtraction
594 expr6 . expr6 .. string concatenation
595
596|expr6| expr7 * expr7 .. number multiplication
597 expr7 / expr7 .. number division
598 expr7 % expr7 .. number modulo
599
600|expr7| ! expr7 logical NOT
601 - expr7 unary minus
602 + expr7 unary plus
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000603
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000604
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +0000605|expr8| expr8[expr1] byte of a String or item of a |List|
606 expr8[expr1 : expr1] substring of a String or sublist of a |List|
607 expr8.name entry in a |Dictionary|
608 expr8(expr1, ...) function call with |Funcref| variable
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000609
610|expr9| number number constant
Bram Moolenaar3fdfa4a2004-10-07 21:02:47 +0000611 "string" string constant, backslash is special
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000612 'string' string constant, ' is doubled
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +0000613 [expr1, ...] |List|
614 {expr1: expr1, ...} |Dictionary|
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000615 &option option value
616 (expr1) nested expression
617 variable internal variable
618 va{ria}ble internal variable with curly braces
619 $VAR environment variable
620 @r contents of register 'r'
621 function(expr1, ...) function call
622 func{ti}on(expr1, ...) function call with curly braces
623
624
625".." indicates that the operations in this level can be concatenated.
626Example: >
627 &nu || &list && &shell == "csh"
628
629All expressions within one level are parsed from left to right.
630
631
632expr1 *expr1* *E109*
633-----
634
635expr2 ? expr1 : expr1
636
637The expression before the '?' is evaluated to a number. If it evaluates to
638non-zero, the result is the value of the expression between the '?' and ':',
639otherwise the result is the value of the expression after the ':'.
640Example: >
641 :echo lnum == 1 ? "top" : lnum
642
643Since the first expression is an "expr2", it cannot contain another ?:. The
644other two expressions can, thus allow for recursive use of ?:.
645Example: >
646 :echo lnum == 1 ? "top" : lnum == 1000 ? "last" : lnum
647
648To keep this readable, using |line-continuation| is suggested: >
649 :echo lnum == 1
650 :\ ? "top"
651 :\ : lnum == 1000
652 :\ ? "last"
653 :\ : lnum
654
655
656expr2 and expr3 *expr2* *expr3*
657---------------
658
659 *expr-barbar* *expr-&&*
660The "||" and "&&" operators take one argument on each side. The arguments
661are (converted to) Numbers. The result is:
662
663 input output ~
664n1 n2 n1 || n2 n1 && n2 ~
665zero zero zero zero
666zero non-zero non-zero zero
667non-zero zero non-zero zero
668non-zero non-zero non-zero non-zero
669
670The operators can be concatenated, for example: >
671
672 &nu || &list && &shell == "csh"
673
674Note that "&&" takes precedence over "||", so this has the meaning of: >
675
676 &nu || (&list && &shell == "csh")
677
678Once the result is known, the expression "short-circuits", that is, further
679arguments are not evaluated. This is like what happens in C. For example: >
680
681 let a = 1
682 echo a || b
683
684This is valid even if there is no variable called "b" because "a" is non-zero,
685so the result must be non-zero. Similarly below: >
686
687 echo exists("b") && b == "yes"
688
689This is valid whether "b" has been defined or not. The second clause will
690only be evaluated if "b" has been defined.
691
692
693expr4 *expr4*
694-----
695
696expr5 {cmp} expr5
697
698Compare two expr5 expressions, resulting in a 0 if it evaluates to false, or 1
699if it evaluates to true.
700
701 *expr-==* *expr-!=* *expr->* *expr->=*
702 *expr-<* *expr-<=* *expr-=~* *expr-!~*
703 *expr-==#* *expr-!=#* *expr->#* *expr->=#*
704 *expr-<#* *expr-<=#* *expr-=~#* *expr-!~#*
705 *expr-==?* *expr-!=?* *expr->?* *expr->=?*
706 *expr-<?* *expr-<=?* *expr-=~?* *expr-!~?*
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +0000707 *expr-is*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000708 use 'ignorecase' match case ignore case ~
709equal == ==# ==?
710not equal != !=# !=?
711greater than > ># >?
712greater than or equal >= >=# >=?
713smaller than < <# <?
714smaller than or equal <= <=# <=?
715regexp matches =~ =~# =~?
716regexp doesn't match !~ !~# !~?
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +0000717same instance is
718different instance isnot
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000719
720Examples:
721"abc" ==# "Abc" evaluates to 0
722"abc" ==? "Abc" evaluates to 1
723"abc" == "Abc" evaluates to 1 if 'ignorecase' is set, 0 otherwise
724
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000725 *E691* *E692*
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +0000726A |List| can only be compared with a |List| and only "equal", "not equal" and
727"is" can be used. This compares the values of the list, recursively.
728Ignoring case means case is ignored when comparing item values.
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +0000729
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000730 *E735* *E736*
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +0000731A |Dictionary| can only be compared with a |Dictionary| and only "equal", "not
732equal" and "is" can be used. This compares the key/values of the |Dictionary|
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000733recursively. Ignoring case means case is ignored when comparing item values.
734
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000735 *E693* *E694*
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +0000736A |Funcref| can only be compared with a |Funcref| and only "equal" and "not
737equal" can be used. Case is never ignored.
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +0000738
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +0000739When using "is" or "isnot" with a |List| this checks if the expressions are
740referring to the same |List| instance. A copy of a |List| is different from
741the original |List|. When using "is" without a |List| it is equivalent to
742using "equal", using "isnot" equivalent to using "not equal". Except that a
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +0000743different type means the values are different. "4 == '4'" is true, "4 is '4'"
744is false.
745
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000746When comparing a String with a Number, the String is converted to a Number,
747and the comparison is done on Numbers. This means that "0 == 'x'" is TRUE,
748because 'x' converted to a Number is zero.
749
750When comparing two Strings, this is done with strcmp() or stricmp(). This
751results in the mathematical difference (comparing byte values), not
752necessarily the alphabetical difference in the local language.
753
754When using the operators with a trailing '#", or the short version and
755'ignorecase' is off, the comparing is done with strcmp().
756
757When using the operators with a trailing '?', or the short version and
758'ignorecase' is set, the comparing is done with stricmp().
759
760The "=~" and "!~" operators match the lefthand argument with the righthand
761argument, which is used as a pattern. See |pattern| for what a pattern is.
762This matching is always done like 'magic' was set and 'cpoptions' is empty, no
763matter what the actual value of 'magic' or 'cpoptions' is. This makes scripts
764portable. To avoid backslashes in the regexp pattern to be doubled, use a
765single-quote string, see |literal-string|.
766Since a string is considered to be a single line, a multi-line pattern
767(containing \n, backslash-n) will not match. However, a literal NL character
768can be matched like an ordinary character. Examples:
769 "foo\nbar" =~ "\n" evaluates to 1
770 "foo\nbar" =~ "\\n" evaluates to 0
771
772
773expr5 and expr6 *expr5* *expr6*
774---------------
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +0000775expr6 + expr6 .. Number addition or |List| concatenation *expr-+*
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +0000776expr6 - expr6 .. Number subtraction *expr--*
777expr6 . expr6 .. String concatenation *expr-.*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000778
Bram Moolenaara23ccb82006-02-27 00:08:02 +0000779For |Lists| only "+" is possible and then both expr6 must be a list. The
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +0000780result is a new list with the two lists Concatenated.
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +0000781
782expr7 * expr7 .. number multiplication *expr-star*
783expr7 / expr7 .. number division *expr-/*
784expr7 % expr7 .. number modulo *expr-%*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000785
786For all, except ".", Strings are converted to Numbers.
787
788Note the difference between "+" and ".":
789 "123" + "456" = 579
790 "123" . "456" = "123456"
791
792When the righthand side of '/' is zero, the result is 0x7fffffff.
793When the righthand side of '%' is zero, the result is 0.
794
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +0000795None of these work for |Funcref|s.
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +0000796
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000797
798expr7 *expr7*
799-----
800! expr7 logical NOT *expr-!*
801- expr7 unary minus *expr-unary--*
802+ expr7 unary plus *expr-unary-+*
803
804For '!' non-zero becomes zero, zero becomes one.
805For '-' the sign of the number is changed.
806For '+' the number is unchanged.
807
808A String will be converted to a Number first.
809
810These three can be repeated and mixed. Examples:
811 !-1 == 0
812 !!8 == 1
813 --9 == 9
814
815
816expr8 *expr8*
817-----
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +0000818expr8[expr1] item of String or |List| *expr-[]* *E111*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000819
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000820If expr8 is a Number or String this results in a String that contains the
821expr1'th single byte from expr8. expr8 is used as a String, expr1 as a
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000822Number. Note that this doesn't recognize multi-byte encodings.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000823
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000824Index zero gives the first character. This is like it works in C. Careful:
825text column numbers start with one! Example, to get the character under the
826cursor: >
Bram Moolenaar61660ea2006-04-07 21:40:07 +0000827 :let c = getline(".")[col(".") - 1]
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000828
829If the length of the String is less than the index, the result is an empty
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000830String. A negative index always results in an empty string (reason: backwards
831compatibility). Use [-1:] to get the last byte.
832
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +0000833If expr8 is a |List| then it results the item at index expr1. See |list-index|
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000834for possible index values. If the index is out of range this results in an
835error. Example: >
836 :let item = mylist[-1] " get last item
837
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +0000838Generally, if a |List| index is equal to or higher than the length of the
839|List|, or more negative than the length of the |List|, this results in an
840error.
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000841
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000842
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000843expr8[expr1a : expr1b] substring or sublist *expr-[:]*
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000844
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000845If expr8 is a Number or String this results in the substring with the bytes
846from expr1a to and including expr1b. expr8 is used as a String, expr1a and
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000847expr1b are used as a Number. Note that this doesn't recognize multi-byte
848encodings.
849
850If expr1a is omitted zero is used. If expr1b is omitted the length of the
851string minus one is used.
852
853A negative number can be used to measure from the end of the string. -1 is
854the last character, -2 the last but one, etc.
855
856If an index goes out of range for the string characters are omitted. If
857expr1b is smaller than expr1a the result is an empty string.
858
859Examples: >
860 :let c = name[-1:] " last byte of a string
861 :let c = name[-2:-2] " last but one byte of a string
862 :let s = line(".")[4:] " from the fifth byte to the end
863 :let s = s[:-3] " remove last two bytes
864
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +0000865If expr8 is a |List| this results in a new |List| with the items indicated by
866the indexes expr1a and expr1b. This works like with a String, as explained
867just above, except that indexes out of range cause an error. Examples: >
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000868 :let l = mylist[:3] " first four items
869 :let l = mylist[4:4] " List with one item
870 :let l = mylist[:] " shallow copy of a List
871
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +0000872Using expr8[expr1] or expr8[expr1a : expr1b] on a |Funcref| results in an
873error.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000874
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000875
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +0000876expr8.name entry in a |Dictionary| *expr-entry*
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000877
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +0000878If expr8 is a |Dictionary| and it is followed by a dot, then the following
879name will be used as a key in the |Dictionary|. This is just like:
880expr8[name].
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000881
882The name must consist of alphanumeric characters, just like a variable name,
883but it may start with a number. Curly braces cannot be used.
884
885There must not be white space before or after the dot.
886
887Examples: >
888 :let dict = {"one": 1, 2: "two"}
889 :echo dict.one
890 :echo dict .2
891
892Note that the dot is also used for String concatenation. To avoid confusion
893always put spaces around the dot for String concatenation.
894
895
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +0000896expr8(expr1, ...) |Funcref| function call
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000897
898When expr8 is a |Funcref| type variable, invoke the function it refers to.
899
900
901
902 *expr9*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000903number
904------
905number number constant *expr-number*
906
907Decimal, Hexadecimal (starting with 0x or 0X), or Octal (starting with 0).
908
909
910string *expr-string* *E114*
911------
912"string" string constant *expr-quote*
913
914Note that double quotes are used.
915
916A string constant accepts these special characters:
917\... three-digit octal number (e.g., "\316")
918\.. two-digit octal number (must be followed by non-digit)
919\. one-digit octal number (must be followed by non-digit)
920\x.. byte specified with two hex numbers (e.g., "\x1f")
921\x. byte specified with one hex number (must be followed by non-hex char)
922\X.. same as \x..
923\X. same as \x.
924\u.... character specified with up to 4 hex numbers, stored according to the
925 current value of 'encoding' (e.g., "\u02a4")
926\U.... same as \u....
927\b backspace <BS>
928\e escape <Esc>
929\f formfeed <FF>
930\n newline <NL>
931\r return <CR>
932\t tab <Tab>
933\\ backslash
934\" double quote
935\<xxx> Special key named "xxx". e.g. "\<C-W>" for CTRL-W.
936
937Note that "\000" and "\x00" force the end of the string.
938
939
940literal-string *literal-string* *E115*
941---------------
Bram Moolenaar3fdfa4a2004-10-07 21:02:47 +0000942'string' string constant *expr-'*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000943
944Note that single quotes are used.
945
Bram Moolenaar3fdfa4a2004-10-07 21:02:47 +0000946This string is taken as it is. No backslashes are removed or have a special
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000947meaning. The only exception is that two quotes stand for one quote.
Bram Moolenaar3fdfa4a2004-10-07 21:02:47 +0000948
949Single quoted strings are useful for patterns, so that backslashes do not need
950to be doubled. These two commands are equivalent: >
951 if a =~ "\\s*"
952 if a =~ '\s*'
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000953
954
955option *expr-option* *E112* *E113*
956------
957&option option value, local value if possible
958&g:option global option value
959&l:option local option value
960
961Examples: >
962 echo "tabstop is " . &tabstop
963 if &insertmode
964
965Any option name can be used here. See |options|. When using the local value
966and there is no buffer-local or window-local value, the global value is used
967anyway.
968
969
970register *expr-register*
971--------
972@r contents of register 'r'
973
974The result is the contents of the named register, as a single string.
975Newlines are inserted where required. To get the contents of the unnamed
Bram Moolenaare7566042005-06-17 22:00:15 +0000976register use @" or @@. See |registers| for an explanation of the available
977registers.
978
979When using the '=' register you get the expression itself, not what it
980evaluates to. Use |eval()| to evaluate it.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000981
982
983nesting *expr-nesting* *E110*
984-------
985(expr1) nested expression
986
987
988environment variable *expr-env*
989--------------------
990$VAR environment variable
991
992The String value of any environment variable. When it is not defined, the
993result is an empty string.
994 *expr-env-expand*
995Note that there is a difference between using $VAR directly and using
996expand("$VAR"). Using it directly will only expand environment variables that
997are known inside the current Vim session. Using expand() will first try using
998the environment variables known inside the current Vim session. If that
999fails, a shell will be used to expand the variable. This can be slow, but it
1000does expand all variables that the shell knows about. Example: >
1001 :echo $version
1002 :echo expand("$version")
1003The first one probably doesn't echo anything, the second echoes the $version
1004variable (if your shell supports it).
1005
1006
1007internal variable *expr-variable*
1008-----------------
1009variable internal variable
1010See below |internal-variables|.
1011
1012
Bram Moolenaar05159a02005-02-26 23:04:13 +00001013function call *expr-function* *E116* *E118* *E119* *E120*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001014-------------
1015function(expr1, ...) function call
1016See below |functions|.
1017
1018
1019==============================================================================
10203. Internal variable *internal-variables* *E121*
1021 *E461*
1022An internal variable name can be made up of letters, digits and '_'. But it
1023cannot start with a digit. It's also possible to use curly braces, see
1024|curly-braces-names|.
1025
1026An internal variable is created with the ":let" command |:let|.
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +00001027An internal variable is explicitly destroyed with the ":unlet" command
1028|:unlet|.
1029Using a name that is not an internal variable or refers to a variable that has
1030been destroyed results in an error.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001031
1032There are several name spaces for variables. Which one is to be used is
1033specified by what is prepended:
1034
1035 (nothing) In a function: local to a function; otherwise: global
1036|buffer-variable| b: Local to the current buffer.
1037|window-variable| w: Local to the current window.
Bram Moolenaar910f66f2006-04-05 20:41:53 +00001038|tabpage-variable| t: Local to the current tab page.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001039|global-variable| g: Global.
1040|local-variable| l: Local to a function.
1041|script-variable| s: Local to a |:source|'ed Vim script.
1042|function-argument| a: Function argument (only inside a function).
1043|vim-variable| v: Global, predefined by Vim.
1044
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00001045The scope name by itself can be used as a |Dictionary|. For example, to
1046delete all script-local variables: >
Bram Moolenaar8f999f12005-01-25 22:12:55 +00001047 :for k in keys(s:)
1048 : unlet s:[k]
1049 :endfor
1050<
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001051 *buffer-variable* *b:var*
1052A variable name that is preceded with "b:" is local to the current buffer.
1053Thus you can have several "b:foo" variables, one for each buffer.
1054This kind of variable is deleted when the buffer is wiped out or deleted with
1055|:bdelete|.
1056
1057One local buffer variable is predefined:
1058 *b:changedtick-variable* *changetick*
1059b:changedtick The total number of changes to the current buffer. It is
1060 incremented for each change. An undo command is also a change
1061 in this case. This can be used to perform an action only when
1062 the buffer has changed. Example: >
1063 :if my_changedtick != b:changedtick
1064 : let my_changedtick = b:changedtick
1065 : call My_Update()
1066 :endif
1067<
1068 *window-variable* *w:var*
1069A variable name that is preceded with "w:" is local to the current window. It
1070is deleted when the window is closed.
1071
Bram Moolenaar910f66f2006-04-05 20:41:53 +00001072 *tabpage-variable* *t:var*
1073A variable name that is preceded with "t:" is local to the current tab page,
1074It is deleted when the tab page is closed. {not available when compiled
1075without the +windows feature}
1076
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001077 *global-variable* *g:var*
1078Inside functions global variables are accessed with "g:". Omitting this will
1079access a variable local to a function. But "g:" can also be used in any other
1080place if you like.
1081
1082 *local-variable* *l:var*
1083Inside functions local variables are accessed without prepending anything.
1084But you can also prepend "l:" if you like.
1085
1086 *script-variable* *s:var*
1087In a Vim script variables starting with "s:" can be used. They cannot be
1088accessed from outside of the scripts, thus are local to the script.
1089
1090They can be used in:
1091- commands executed while the script is sourced
1092- functions defined in the script
1093- autocommands defined in the script
1094- functions and autocommands defined in functions and autocommands which were
1095 defined in the script (recursively)
1096- user defined commands defined in the script
1097Thus not in:
1098- other scripts sourced from this one
1099- mappings
1100- etc.
1101
1102script variables can be used to avoid conflicts with global variable names.
1103Take this example:
1104
1105 let s:counter = 0
1106 function MyCounter()
1107 let s:counter = s:counter + 1
1108 echo s:counter
1109 endfunction
1110 command Tick call MyCounter()
1111
1112You can now invoke "Tick" from any script, and the "s:counter" variable in
1113that script will not be changed, only the "s:counter" in the script where
1114"Tick" was defined is used.
1115
1116Another example that does the same: >
1117
1118 let s:counter = 0
1119 command Tick let s:counter = s:counter + 1 | echo s:counter
1120
1121When calling a function and invoking a user-defined command, the context for
Bram Moolenaar69a7cb42004-06-20 12:51:53 +00001122script variables is set to the script where the function or command was
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001123defined.
1124
1125The script variables are also available when a function is defined inside a
1126function that is defined in a script. Example: >
1127
1128 let s:counter = 0
1129 function StartCounting(incr)
1130 if a:incr
1131 function MyCounter()
1132 let s:counter = s:counter + 1
1133 endfunction
1134 else
1135 function MyCounter()
1136 let s:counter = s:counter - 1
1137 endfunction
1138 endif
1139 endfunction
1140
1141This defines the MyCounter() function either for counting up or counting down
1142when calling StartCounting(). It doesn't matter from where StartCounting() is
1143called, the s:counter variable will be accessible in MyCounter().
1144
1145When the same script is sourced again it will use the same script variables.
1146They will remain valid as long as Vim is running. This can be used to
1147maintain a counter: >
1148
1149 if !exists("s:counter")
1150 let s:counter = 1
1151 echo "script executed for the first time"
1152 else
1153 let s:counter = s:counter + 1
1154 echo "script executed " . s:counter . " times now"
1155 endif
1156
1157Note that this means that filetype plugins don't get a different set of script
1158variables for each buffer. Use local buffer variables instead |b:var|.
1159
1160
1161Predefined Vim variables: *vim-variable* *v:var*
1162
Bram Moolenaare4efc3b2005-03-07 23:16:51 +00001163 *v:beval_col* *beval_col-variable*
1164v:beval_col The number of the column, over which the mouse pointer is.
1165 This is the byte index in the |v:beval_lnum| line.
1166 Only valid while evaluating the 'balloonexpr' option.
1167
1168 *v:beval_bufnr* *beval_bufnr-variable*
1169v:beval_bufnr The number of the buffer, over which the mouse pointer is. Only
1170 valid while evaluating the 'balloonexpr' option.
1171
1172 *v:beval_lnum* *beval_lnum-variable*
1173v:beval_lnum The number of the line, over which the mouse pointer is. Only
1174 valid while evaluating the 'balloonexpr' option.
1175
1176 *v:beval_text* *beval_text-variable*
Bram Moolenaar24bbcfe2005-06-28 23:32:02 +00001177v:beval_text The text under or after the mouse pointer. Usually a word as
1178 it is useful for debugging a C program. 'iskeyword' applies,
1179 but a dot and "->" before the position is included. When on a
1180 ']' the text before it is used, including the matching '[' and
Bram Moolenaare4efc3b2005-03-07 23:16:51 +00001181 word before it. When on a Visual area within one line the
1182 highlighted text is used.
1183 Only valid while evaluating the 'balloonexpr' option.
1184
1185 *v:beval_winnr* *beval_winnr-variable*
1186v:beval_winnr The number of the window, over which the mouse pointer is. Only
1187 valid while evaluating the 'balloonexpr' option.
1188
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001189 *v:charconvert_from* *charconvert_from-variable*
1190v:charconvert_from
1191 The name of the character encoding of a file to be converted.
1192 Only valid while evaluating the 'charconvert' option.
1193
1194 *v:charconvert_to* *charconvert_to-variable*
1195v:charconvert_to
1196 The name of the character encoding of a file after conversion.
1197 Only valid while evaluating the 'charconvert' option.
1198
1199 *v:cmdarg* *cmdarg-variable*
1200v:cmdarg This variable is used for two purposes:
1201 1. The extra arguments given to a file read/write command.
1202 Currently these are "++enc=" and "++ff=". This variable is
1203 set before an autocommand event for a file read/write
1204 command is triggered. There is a leading space to make it
1205 possible to append this variable directly after the
1206 read/write command. Note: The "+cmd" argument isn't
1207 included here, because it will be executed anyway.
1208 2. When printing a PostScript file with ":hardcopy" this is
1209 the argument for the ":hardcopy" command. This can be used
1210 in 'printexpr'.
1211
1212 *v:cmdbang* *cmdbang-variable*
1213v:cmdbang Set like v:cmdarg for a file read/write command. When a "!"
1214 was used the value is 1, otherwise it is 0. Note that this
1215 can only be used in autocommands. For user commands |<bang>|
1216 can be used.
1217
1218 *v:count* *count-variable*
1219v:count The count given for the last Normal mode command. Can be used
1220 to get the count before a mapping. Read-only. Example: >
1221 :map _x :<C-U>echo "the count is " . v:count<CR>
1222< Note: The <C-U> is required to remove the line range that you
1223 get when typing ':' after a count.
Bram Moolenaar1d2ba7f2006-02-14 22:29:30 +00001224 Also used for evaluating the 'formatexpr' option.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001225 "count" also works, for backwards compatibility.
1226
1227 *v:count1* *count1-variable*
1228v:count1 Just like "v:count", but defaults to one when no count is
1229 used.
1230
1231 *v:ctype* *ctype-variable*
1232v:ctype The current locale setting for characters of the runtime
1233 environment. This allows Vim scripts to be aware of the
1234 current locale encoding. Technical: it's the value of
1235 LC_CTYPE. When not using a locale the value is "C".
1236 This variable can not be set directly, use the |:language|
1237 command.
1238 See |multi-lang|.
1239
1240 *v:dying* *dying-variable*
1241v:dying Normally zero. When a deadly signal is caught it's set to
1242 one. When multiple signals are caught the number increases.
1243 Can be used in an autocommand to check if Vim didn't
1244 terminate normally. {only works on Unix}
1245 Example: >
1246 :au VimLeave * if v:dying | echo "\nAAAAaaaarrrggghhhh!!!\n" | endif
1247<
1248 *v:errmsg* *errmsg-variable*
1249v:errmsg Last given error message. It's allowed to set this variable.
1250 Example: >
1251 :let v:errmsg = ""
1252 :silent! next
1253 :if v:errmsg != ""
1254 : ... handle error
1255< "errmsg" also works, for backwards compatibility.
1256
1257 *v:exception* *exception-variable*
1258v:exception The value of the exception most recently caught and not
1259 finished. See also |v:throwpoint| and |throw-variables|.
1260 Example: >
1261 :try
1262 : throw "oops"
1263 :catch /.*/
1264 : echo "caught" v:exception
1265 :endtry
1266< Output: "caught oops".
1267
Bram Moolenaar19a09a12005-03-04 23:39:37 +00001268 *v:fcs_reason* *fcs_reason-variable*
1269v:fcs_reason The reason why the |FileChangedShell| event was triggered.
1270 Can be used in an autocommand to decide what to do and/or what
1271 to set v:fcs_choice to. Possible values:
1272 deleted file no longer exists
1273 conflict file contents, mode or timestamp was
1274 changed and buffer is modified
1275 changed file contents has changed
1276 mode mode of file changed
1277 time only file timestamp changed
1278
1279 *v:fcs_choice* *fcs_choice-variable*
1280v:fcs_choice What should happen after a |FileChangedShell| event was
1281 triggered. Can be used in an autocommand to tell Vim what to
1282 do with the affected buffer:
1283 reload Reload the buffer (does not work if
1284 the file was deleted).
1285 ask Ask the user what to do, as if there
1286 was no autocommand. Except that when
1287 only the timestamp changed nothing
1288 will happen.
1289 <empty> Nothing, the autocommand should do
1290 everything that needs to be done.
1291 The default is empty. If another (invalid) value is used then
1292 Vim behaves like it is empty, there is no warning message.
1293
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001294 *v:fname_in* *fname_in-variable*
Bram Moolenaar4e330bb2005-12-07 21:04:31 +00001295v:fname_in The name of the input file. Valid while evaluating:
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001296 option used for ~
1297 'charconvert' file to be converted
1298 'diffexpr' original file
1299 'patchexpr' original file
1300 'printexpr' file to be printed
Bram Moolenaar2c7a29c2005-12-12 22:02:31 +00001301 And set to the swap file name for |SwapExists|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001302
1303 *v:fname_out* *fname_out-variable*
1304v:fname_out The name of the output file. Only valid while
1305 evaluating:
1306 option used for ~
1307 'charconvert' resulting converted file (*)
1308 'diffexpr' output of diff
1309 'patchexpr' resulting patched file
1310 (*) When doing conversion for a write command (e.g., ":w
1311 file") it will be equal to v:fname_in. When doing conversion
1312 for a read command (e.g., ":e file") it will be a temporary
1313 file and different from v:fname_in.
1314
1315 *v:fname_new* *fname_new-variable*
1316v:fname_new The name of the new version of the file. Only valid while
1317 evaluating 'diffexpr'.
1318
1319 *v:fname_diff* *fname_diff-variable*
1320v:fname_diff The name of the diff (patch) file. Only valid while
1321 evaluating 'patchexpr'.
1322
1323 *v:folddashes* *folddashes-variable*
1324v:folddashes Used for 'foldtext': dashes representing foldlevel of a closed
1325 fold.
Bram Moolenaar7b0294c2004-10-11 10:16:09 +00001326 Read-only in the |sandbox|. |fold-foldtext|
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001327
1328 *v:foldlevel* *foldlevel-variable*
1329v:foldlevel Used for 'foldtext': foldlevel of closed fold.
Bram Moolenaar7b0294c2004-10-11 10:16:09 +00001330 Read-only in the |sandbox|. |fold-foldtext|
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001331
1332 *v:foldend* *foldend-variable*
1333v:foldend Used for 'foldtext': last line of closed fold.
Bram Moolenaar7b0294c2004-10-11 10:16:09 +00001334 Read-only in the |sandbox|. |fold-foldtext|
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001335
1336 *v:foldstart* *foldstart-variable*
1337v:foldstart Used for 'foldtext': first line of closed fold.
Bram Moolenaar7b0294c2004-10-11 10:16:09 +00001338 Read-only in the |sandbox|. |fold-foldtext|
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001339
Bram Moolenaar843ee412004-06-30 16:16:41 +00001340 *v:insertmode* *insertmode-variable*
1341v:insertmode Used for the |InsertEnter| and |InsertChange| autocommand
1342 events. Values:
1343 i Insert mode
1344 r Replace mode
1345 v Virtual Replace mode
1346
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00001347 *v:key* *key-variable*
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00001348v:key Key of the current item of a |Dictionary|. Only valid while
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00001349 evaluating the expression used with |map()| and |filter()|.
1350 Read-only.
1351
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001352 *v:lang* *lang-variable*
1353v:lang The current locale setting for messages of the runtime
1354 environment. This allows Vim scripts to be aware of the
1355 current language. Technical: it's the value of LC_MESSAGES.
1356 The value is system dependent.
1357 This variable can not be set directly, use the |:language|
1358 command.
1359 It can be different from |v:ctype| when messages are desired
1360 in a different language than what is used for character
1361 encoding. See |multi-lang|.
1362
1363 *v:lc_time* *lc_time-variable*
1364v:lc_time The current locale setting for time messages of the runtime
1365 environment. This allows Vim scripts to be aware of the
1366 current language. Technical: it's the value of LC_TIME.
1367 This variable can not be set directly, use the |:language|
1368 command. See |multi-lang|.
1369
1370 *v:lnum* *lnum-variable*
Bram Moolenaar7b0294c2004-10-11 10:16:09 +00001371v:lnum Line number for the 'foldexpr' |fold-expr| and 'indentexpr'
Bram Moolenaar57657d82006-04-21 22:12:41 +00001372 expressions, tab page number for 'guitablabel' and
1373 'guitabtooltip'. Only valid while one of these expressions is
1374 being evaluated. Read-only when in the |sandbox|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001375
1376 *v:prevcount* *prevcount-variable*
1377v:prevcount The count given for the last but one Normal mode command.
1378 This is the v:count value of the previous command. Useful if
1379 you want to cancel Visual mode and then use the count. >
1380 :vmap % <Esc>:call MyFilter(v:prevcount)<CR>
1381< Read-only.
1382
Bram Moolenaar05159a02005-02-26 23:04:13 +00001383 *v:profiling* *profiling-variable*
1384v:profiling Normally zero. Set to one after using ":profile start".
1385 See |profiling|.
1386
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001387 *v:progname* *progname-variable*
1388v:progname Contains the name (with path removed) with which Vim was
1389 invoked. Allows you to do special initialisations for "view",
1390 "evim" etc., or any other name you might symlink to Vim.
1391 Read-only.
1392
1393 *v:register* *register-variable*
1394v:register The name of the register supplied to the last normal mode
1395 command. Empty if none were supplied. |getreg()| |setreg()|
1396
Bram Moolenaar1c7715d2005-10-03 22:02:18 +00001397 *v:scrollstart* *scrollstart-variable*
1398v:scrollstart String describing the script or function that caused the
1399 screen to scroll up. It's only set when it is empty, thus the
1400 first reason is remembered. It is set to "Unknown" for a
1401 typed command.
1402 This can be used to find out why your script causes the
1403 hit-enter prompt.
1404
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001405 *v:servername* *servername-variable*
1406v:servername The resulting registered |x11-clientserver| name if any.
1407 Read-only.
1408
1409 *v:shell_error* *shell_error-variable*
1410v:shell_error Result of the last shell command. When non-zero, the last
1411 shell command had an error. When zero, there was no problem.
1412 This only works when the shell returns the error code to Vim.
1413 The value -1 is often used when the command could not be
1414 executed. Read-only.
1415 Example: >
1416 :!mv foo bar
1417 :if v:shell_error
1418 : echo 'could not rename "foo" to "bar"!'
1419 :endif
1420< "shell_error" also works, for backwards compatibility.
1421
1422 *v:statusmsg* *statusmsg-variable*
1423v:statusmsg Last given status message. It's allowed to set this variable.
1424
Bram Moolenaar4e330bb2005-12-07 21:04:31 +00001425 *v:swapname* *swapname-variable*
1426v:swapname Only valid when executing |SwapExists| autocommands: Name of
1427 the swap file found. Read-only.
1428
1429 *v:swapchoice* *swapchoice-variable*
1430v:swapchoice |SwapExists| autocommands can set this to the selected choice
1431 for handling an existing swap file:
1432 'o' Open read-only
1433 'e' Edit anyway
1434 'r' Recover
1435 'd' Delete swapfile
1436 'q' Quit
1437 'a' Abort
1438 The value should be a single-character string. An empty value
1439 results in the user being asked, as would happen when there is
1440 no SwapExists autocommand. The default is empty.
1441
Bram Moolenaarb3480382005-12-11 21:33:32 +00001442 *v:swapcommand* *swapcommand-variable*
Bram Moolenaar4770d092006-01-12 23:22:24 +00001443v:swapcommand Normal mode command to be executed after a file has been
Bram Moolenaarb3480382005-12-11 21:33:32 +00001444 opened. Can be used for a |SwapExists| autocommand to have
1445 another Vim open the file and jump to the right place. For
1446 example, when jumping to a tag the value is ":tag tagname\r".
Bram Moolenaar1f35bf92006-03-07 22:38:47 +00001447 For ":edit +cmd file" the value is ":cmd\r".
Bram Moolenaarb3480382005-12-11 21:33:32 +00001448
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001449 *v:termresponse* *termresponse-variable*
1450v:termresponse The escape sequence returned by the terminal for the |t_RV|
1451 termcap entry. It is set when Vim receives an escape sequence
1452 that starts with ESC [ or CSI and ends in a 'c', with only
1453 digits, ';' and '.' in between.
1454 When this option is set, the TermResponse autocommand event is
1455 fired, so that you can react to the response from the
1456 terminal.
1457 The response from a new xterm is: "<Esc>[ Pp ; Pv ; Pc c". Pp
1458 is the terminal type: 0 for vt100 and 1 for vt220. Pv is the
1459 patch level (since this was introduced in patch 95, it's
1460 always 95 or bigger). Pc is always zero.
1461 {only when compiled with |+termresponse| feature}
1462
1463 *v:this_session* *this_session-variable*
1464v:this_session Full filename of the last loaded or saved session file. See
1465 |:mksession|. It is allowed to set this variable. When no
1466 session file has been saved, this variable is empty.
1467 "this_session" also works, for backwards compatibility.
1468
1469 *v:throwpoint* *throwpoint-variable*
1470v:throwpoint The point where the exception most recently caught and not
1471 finished was thrown. Not set when commands are typed. See
1472 also |v:exception| and |throw-variables|.
1473 Example: >
1474 :try
1475 : throw "oops"
1476 :catch /.*/
1477 : echo "Exception from" v:throwpoint
1478 :endtry
1479< Output: "Exception from test.vim, line 2"
1480
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00001481 *v:val* *val-variable*
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00001482v:val Value of the current item of a |List| or |Dictionary|. Only
1483 valid while evaluating the expression used with |map()| and
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00001484 |filter()|. Read-only.
1485
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001486 *v:version* *version-variable*
1487v:version Version number of Vim: Major version number times 100 plus
1488 minor version number. Version 5.0 is 500. Version 5.1 (5.01)
1489 is 501. Read-only. "version" also works, for backwards
1490 compatibility.
1491 Use |has()| to check if a certain patch was included, e.g.: >
1492 if has("patch123")
1493< Note that patch numbers are specific to the version, thus both
1494 version 5.0 and 5.1 may have a patch 123, but these are
1495 completely different.
1496
1497 *v:warningmsg* *warningmsg-variable*
1498v:warningmsg Last given warning message. It's allowed to set this variable.
1499
1500==============================================================================
15014. Builtin Functions *functions*
1502
1503See |function-list| for a list grouped by what the function is used for.
1504
Bram Moolenaar402d2fe2005-04-15 21:00:38 +00001505(Use CTRL-] on the function name to jump to the full explanation.)
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001506
1507USAGE RESULT DESCRIPTION ~
1508
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00001509add( {list}, {item}) List append {item} to |List| {list}
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001510append( {lnum}, {string}) Number append {string} below line {lnum}
Bram Moolenaar7c626922005-02-07 22:01:03 +00001511append( {lnum}, {list}) Number append lines {list} below line {lnum}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001512argc() Number number of files in the argument list
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001513argidx() Number current index in the argument list
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001514argv( {nr}) String {nr} entry of the argument list
Bram Moolenaare2f98b92006-03-29 21:18:24 +00001515argv( ) List the argument list
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001516browse( {save}, {title}, {initdir}, {default})
1517 String put up a file requester
Bram Moolenaar7b0294c2004-10-11 10:16:09 +00001518browsedir( {title}, {initdir}) String put up a directory requester
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001519bufexists( {expr}) Number TRUE if buffer {expr} exists
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001520buflisted( {expr}) Number TRUE if buffer {expr} is listed
1521bufloaded( {expr}) Number TRUE if buffer {expr} is loaded
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001522bufname( {expr}) String Name of the buffer {expr}
1523bufnr( {expr}) Number Number of the buffer {expr}
1524bufwinnr( {expr}) Number window number of buffer {expr}
1525byte2line( {byte}) Number line number at byte count {byte}
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001526byteidx( {expr}, {nr}) Number byte index of {nr}'th char in {expr}
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00001527call( {func}, {arglist} [, {dict}])
1528 any call {func} with arguments {arglist}
Bram Moolenaarca003e12006-03-17 23:19:38 +00001529changenr() Number current change number
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001530char2nr( {expr}) Number ASCII value of first char in {expr}
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001531cindent( {lnum}) Number C indent for line {lnum}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001532col( {expr}) Number column nr of cursor or mark
Bram Moolenaara94bc432006-03-10 21:42:59 +00001533complete({startcol}, {matches}) String set Insert mode completion
Bram Moolenaar572cb562005-08-05 21:35:02 +00001534complete_add( {expr}) Number add completion match
1535complete_check() Number check for key typed during completion
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001536confirm( {msg} [, {choices} [, {default} [, {type}]]])
1537 Number number of choice picked by user
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001538copy( {expr}) any make a shallow copy of {expr}
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00001539count( {list}, {expr} [, {start} [, {ic}]])
1540 Number count how many {expr} are in {list}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001541cscope_connection( [{num} , {dbpath} [, {prepend}]])
1542 Number checks existence of cscope connection
Bram Moolenaar0b238792006-03-02 22:49:12 +00001543cursor( {lnum}, {col} [, {coladd}])
1544 Number move cursor to {lnum}, {col}, {coladd}
1545cursor( {list}) Number move cursor to position in {list}
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001546deepcopy( {expr}) any make a full copy of {expr}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001547delete( {fname}) Number delete file {fname}
1548did_filetype() Number TRUE if FileType autocommand event used
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001549diff_filler( {lnum}) Number diff filler lines about {lnum}
1550diff_hlID( {lnum}, {col}) Number diff highlighting at {lnum}/{col}
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +00001551empty( {expr}) Number TRUE if {expr} is empty
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001552escape( {string}, {chars}) String escape {chars} in {string} with '\'
Bram Moolenaare2cc9702005-03-15 22:43:58 +00001553eval( {string}) any evaluate {string} into its value
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001554eventhandler( ) Number TRUE if inside an event handler
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001555executable( {expr}) Number 1 if executable {expr} exists
1556exists( {expr}) Number TRUE if {expr} exists
Bram Moolenaarc6fe9192006-04-09 21:54:49 +00001557extend({expr1}, {expr2} [, {expr3}])
1558 List/Dict insert items of {expr2} into {expr1}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001559expand( {expr}) String expand special keywords in {expr}
1560filereadable( {file}) Number TRUE if {file} is a readable file
Bram Moolenaarc6fe9192006-04-09 21:54:49 +00001561filewritable( {file}) Number TRUE if {file} is a writable file
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00001562filter( {expr}, {string}) List/Dict remove items from {expr} where
1563 {string} is 0
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00001564finddir( {name}[, {path}[, {count}]])
Bram Moolenaarc6fe9192006-04-09 21:54:49 +00001565 String find directory {name} in {path}
Bram Moolenaar89cb5e02004-07-19 20:55:54 +00001566findfile( {name}[, {path}[, {count}]])
Bram Moolenaarc6fe9192006-04-09 21:54:49 +00001567 String find file {name} in {path}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001568fnamemodify( {fname}, {mods}) String modify file name
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001569foldclosed( {lnum}) Number first line of fold at {lnum} if closed
1570foldclosedend( {lnum}) Number last line of fold at {lnum} if closed
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001571foldlevel( {lnum}) Number fold level at {lnum}
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001572foldtext( ) String line displayed for closed fold
Bram Moolenaarc6fe9192006-04-09 21:54:49 +00001573foldtextresult( {lnum}) String text for closed fold at {lnum}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001574foreground( ) Number bring the Vim window to the foreground
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001575function( {name}) Funcref reference to function {name}
Bram Moolenaarc6fe9192006-04-09 21:54:49 +00001576garbagecollect() none free memory, breaking cyclic references
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00001577get( {list}, {idx} [, {def}]) any get item {idx} from {list} or {def}
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00001578get( {dict}, {key} [, {def}]) any get item {key} from {dict} or {def}
Bram Moolenaar45360022005-07-21 21:08:21 +00001579getbufline( {expr}, {lnum} [, {end}])
1580 List lines {lnum} to {end} of buffer {expr}
Bram Moolenaarc6fe9192006-04-09 21:54:49 +00001581getbufvar( {expr}, {varname}) any variable {varname} in buffer {expr}
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001582getchar( [expr]) Number get one character from the user
1583getcharmod( ) Number modifiers for the last typed character
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001584getcmdline() String return the current command-line
1585getcmdpos() Number return cursor position in command-line
Bram Moolenaarbfd8fc02005-09-20 23:22:24 +00001586getcmdtype() String return the current command-line type
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001587getcwd() String the current working directory
Bram Moolenaar5eb86f92004-07-26 12:53:41 +00001588getfperm( {fname}) String file permissions of file {fname}
1589getfsize( {fname}) Number size in bytes of file {fname}
Bram Moolenaard8b0cf12004-12-12 11:33:30 +00001590getfontname( [{name}]) String name of font being used
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001591getftime( {fname}) Number last modification time of file
Bram Moolenaar5eb86f92004-07-26 12:53:41 +00001592getftype( {fname}) String description of type of file {fname}
Bram Moolenaar7c626922005-02-07 22:01:03 +00001593getline( {lnum}) String line {lnum} of current buffer
1594getline( {lnum}, {end}) List lines {lnum} to {end} of current buffer
Bram Moolenaar17c7c012006-01-26 22:25:15 +00001595getloclist({nr}) List list of location list items
Bram Moolenaar0b238792006-03-02 22:49:12 +00001596getpos( {expr}) List position of cursor, mark, etc.
Bram Moolenaar68b76a62005-03-25 21:53:48 +00001597getqflist() List list of quickfix items
Bram Moolenaar2389c3c2005-05-22 22:07:59 +00001598getreg( [{regname} [, 1]]) String contents of register
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001599getregtype( [{regname}]) String type of register
Bram Moolenaarc6249bb2006-04-15 20:25:09 +00001600gettabwinvar( {tabnr}, {winnr}, {name})
1601 any {name} in {winnr} in tab page {tabnr}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001602getwinposx() Number X coord in pixels of GUI Vim window
1603getwinposy() Number Y coord in pixels of GUI Vim window
Bram Moolenaarc6fe9192006-04-09 21:54:49 +00001604getwinvar( {nr}, {varname}) any variable {varname} in window {nr}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001605glob( {expr}) String expand file wildcards in {expr}
1606globpath( {path}, {expr}) String do glob({expr}) for all dirs in {path}
1607has( {feature}) Number TRUE if feature {feature} supported
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00001608has_key( {dict}, {key}) Number TRUE if {dict} has entry {key}
Bram Moolenaar97b2ad32006-03-18 21:40:56 +00001609hasmapto( {what} [, {mode} [, {abbr}]])
1610 Number TRUE if mapping to {what} exists
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001611histadd( {history},{item}) String add an item to a history
1612histdel( {history} [, {item}]) String remove an item from a history
1613histget( {history} [, {index}]) String get the item {index} from a history
1614histnr( {history}) Number highest index of a history
1615hlexists( {name}) Number TRUE if highlight group {name} exists
1616hlID( {name}) Number syntax ID of highlight group {name}
1617hostname() String name of the machine Vim is running on
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001618iconv( {expr}, {from}, {to}) String convert encoding of {expr}
1619indent( {lnum}) Number indent of line {lnum}
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00001620index( {list}, {expr} [, {start} [, {ic}]])
1621 Number index in {list} where {expr} appears
Bram Moolenaarbfd8fc02005-09-20 23:22:24 +00001622input( {prompt} [, {text} [, {completion}]])
1623 String get input from the user
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001624inputdialog( {p} [, {t} [, {c}]]) String like input() but in a GUI dialog
Bram Moolenaarc6fe9192006-04-09 21:54:49 +00001625inputlist( {textlist}) Number let the user pick from a choice list
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001626inputrestore() Number restore typeahead
1627inputsave() Number save and clear typeahead
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001628inputsecret( {prompt} [, {text}]) String like input() but hiding the text
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001629insert( {list}, {item} [, {idx}]) List insert {item} in {list} [before {idx}]
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001630isdirectory( {directory}) Number TRUE if {directory} is a directory
Bram Moolenaar2ce06f62005-01-31 19:19:04 +00001631islocked( {expr}) Number TRUE if {expr} is locked
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00001632items( {dict}) List key-value pairs in {dict}
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00001633join( {list} [, {sep}]) String join {list} items into one String
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00001634keys( {dict}) List keys in {dict}
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001635len( {expr}) Number the length of {expr}
1636libcall( {lib}, {func}, {arg}) String call {func} in library {lib} with {arg}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001637libcallnr( {lib}, {func}, {arg}) Number idem, but return a Number
1638line( {expr}) Number line nr of cursor, last line or mark
1639line2byte( {lnum}) Number byte count of line {lnum}
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001640lispindent( {lnum}) Number Lisp indent for line {lnum}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001641localtime() Number current time
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00001642map( {expr}, {string}) List/Dict change each item in {expr} to {expr}
Bram Moolenaar97b2ad32006-03-18 21:40:56 +00001643maparg( {name}[, {mode} [, {abbr}]])
1644 String rhs of mapping {name} in mode {mode}
1645mapcheck( {name}[, {mode} [, {abbr}]])
1646 String check for mappings matching {name}
Bram Moolenaar89cb5e02004-07-19 20:55:54 +00001647match( {expr}, {pat}[, {start}[, {count}]])
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001648 Number position where {pat} matches in {expr}
Bram Moolenaar910f66f2006-04-05 20:41:53 +00001649matcharg( {nr}) List arguments of |:match|
Bram Moolenaar89cb5e02004-07-19 20:55:54 +00001650matchend( {expr}, {pat}[, {start}[, {count}]])
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001651 Number position where {pat} ends in {expr}
Bram Moolenaar3a7c85b2005-02-05 21:39:53 +00001652matchlist( {expr}, {pat}[, {start}[, {count}]])
1653 List match and submatches of {pat} in {expr}
Bram Moolenaar89cb5e02004-07-19 20:55:54 +00001654matchstr( {expr}, {pat}[, {start}[, {count}]])
1655 String {count}'th match of {pat} in {expr}
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +00001656max({list}) Number maximum value of items in {list}
1657min({list}) Number minumum value of items in {list}
Bram Moolenaar26a60b42005-02-22 08:49:11 +00001658mkdir({name} [, {path} [, {prot}]])
1659 Number create directory {name}
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001660mode() String current editing mode
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001661nextnonblank( {lnum}) Number line nr of non-blank line >= {lnum}
1662nr2char( {expr}) String single char with ASCII value {expr}
Bram Moolenaar910f66f2006-04-05 20:41:53 +00001663pathshorten( {expr}) String shorten directory names in a path
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001664prevnonblank( {lnum}) Number line nr of non-blank line <= {lnum}
Bram Moolenaar4be06f92005-07-29 22:36:03 +00001665printf( {fmt}, {expr1}...) String format text
Bram Moolenaar1d2ba7f2006-02-14 22:29:30 +00001666pumvisible() Number whether popup menu is visible
Bram Moolenaar4a85b412006-04-23 22:40:29 +00001667pushkeys( {string} [, {mode}]) Number add key sequence to typeahead buffer
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +00001668range( {expr} [, {max} [, {stride}]])
1669 List items from {expr} to {max}
Bram Moolenaar26a60b42005-02-22 08:49:11 +00001670readfile({fname} [, {binary} [, {max}]])
1671 List get list of lines from file {fname}
Bram Moolenaar433f7c82006-03-21 21:29:36 +00001672reltime( [{start} [, {end}]]) List get time value
1673reltimestr( {time}) String turn time value into a String
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001674remote_expr( {server}, {string} [, {idvar}])
1675 String send expression
1676remote_foreground( {server}) Number bring Vim server to the foreground
1677remote_peek( {serverid} [, {retvar}])
1678 Number check for reply string
1679remote_read( {serverid}) String read reply string
1680remote_send( {server}, {string} [, {idvar}])
1681 String send key sequence
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +00001682remove( {list}, {idx} [, {end}]) any remove items {idx}-{end} from {list}
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +00001683remove( {dict}, {key}) any remove entry {key} from {dict}
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001684rename( {from}, {to}) Number rename (move) file from {from} to {to}
1685repeat( {expr}, {count}) String repeat {expr} {count} times
1686resolve( {filename}) String get filename a shortcut points to
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00001687reverse( {list}) List reverse {list} in-place
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001688search( {pattern} [, {flags}]) Number search for {pattern}
Bram Moolenaarf75a9632005-09-13 21:20:47 +00001689searchdecl({name} [, {global} [, {thisblock}]])
1690 Number search for variable declaration
Bram Moolenaara23ccb82006-02-27 00:08:02 +00001691searchpair( {start}, {middle}, {end} [, {flags} [, {skip} [, {stopline}]]])
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001692 Number search for other end of start/end pair
Bram Moolenaara23ccb82006-02-27 00:08:02 +00001693searchpairpos( {start}, {middle}, {end} [, {flags} [, {skip} [, {stopline}]]])
Bram Moolenaar1d2ba7f2006-02-14 22:29:30 +00001694 List search for other end of start/end pair
Bram Moolenaara23ccb82006-02-27 00:08:02 +00001695searchpos( {pattern} [, {flags} [, {stopline}]])
Bram Moolenaar1d2ba7f2006-02-14 22:29:30 +00001696 List search for {pattern}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001697server2client( {clientid}, {string})
1698 Number send reply string
1699serverlist() String get a list of available servers
1700setbufvar( {expr}, {varname}, {val}) set {varname} in buffer {expr} to {val}
1701setcmdpos( {pos}) Number set cursor position in command-line
1702setline( {lnum}, {line}) Number set line {lnum} to {line}
Bram Moolenaar17c7c012006-01-26 22:25:15 +00001703setloclist( {nr}, {list}[, {action}])
1704 Number modify location list using {list}
Bram Moolenaarc6fe9192006-04-09 21:54:49 +00001705setpos( {expr}, {list}) none set the {expr} position to {list}
Bram Moolenaar17c7c012006-01-26 22:25:15 +00001706setqflist( {list}[, {action}]) Number modify quickfix list using {list}
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001707setreg( {n}, {v}[, {opt}]) Number set register to value and type
Bram Moolenaarc6249bb2006-04-15 20:25:09 +00001708settabwinvar( {tabnr}, {winnr}, {varname}, {val}) set {varname} in window
1709 {winnr} in tab page {tabnr} to {val}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001710setwinvar( {nr}, {varname}, {val}) set {varname} in window {nr} to {val}
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001711simplify( {filename}) String simplify filename as much as possible
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00001712sort( {list} [, {func}]) List sort {list}, using {func} to compare
Bram Moolenaar24bbcfe2005-06-28 23:32:02 +00001713soundfold( {word}) String sound-fold {word}
Bram Moolenaard857f0e2005-06-21 22:37:39 +00001714spellbadword() String badly spelled word at cursor
Bram Moolenaarc54b8a72005-09-30 21:20:29 +00001715spellsuggest( {word} [, {max} [, {capital}]])
1716 List spelling suggestions
Bram Moolenaar2389c3c2005-05-22 22:07:59 +00001717split( {expr} [, {pat} [, {keepempty}]])
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00001718 List make |List| from {pat} separated {expr}
Bram Moolenaar97b2ad32006-03-18 21:40:56 +00001719str2nr( {expr} [, {base}]) Number convert string to number
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001720strftime( {format}[, {time}]) String time in specified format
Bram Moolenaar8f999f12005-01-25 22:12:55 +00001721stridx( {haystack}, {needle}[, {start}])
1722 Number index of {needle} in {haystack}
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00001723string( {expr}) String String representation of {expr} value
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001724strlen( {expr}) Number length of the String {expr}
1725strpart( {src}, {start}[, {len}])
1726 String {len} characters of {src} at {start}
Bram Moolenaar677ee682005-01-27 14:41:15 +00001727strridx( {haystack}, {needle} [, {start}])
1728 Number last index of {needle} in {haystack}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001729strtrans( {expr}) String translate string to make it printable
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001730submatch( {nr}) String specific match in ":substitute"
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001731substitute( {expr}, {pat}, {sub}, {flags})
1732 String all {pat} in {expr} replaced with {sub}
Bram Moolenaar47136d72004-10-12 20:02:24 +00001733synID( {lnum}, {col}, {trans}) Number syntax ID at {lnum} and {col}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001734synIDattr( {synID}, {what} [, {mode}])
1735 String attribute {what} of syntax ID {synID}
1736synIDtrans( {synID}) Number translated syntax ID of {synID}
Bram Moolenaarc0197e22004-09-13 20:26:32 +00001737system( {expr} [, {input}]) String output of shell command/filter {expr}
Bram Moolenaarfaa959a2006-02-20 21:37:40 +00001738tabpagebuflist( [{arg}]) List list of buffer numbers in tab page
1739tabpagenr( [{arg}]) Number number of current or last tab page
1740tabpagewinnr( {tabarg}[, {arg}])
1741 Number number of current window in tab page
1742taglist( {expr}) List list of tags matching {expr}
Bram Moolenaare7eb9df2005-09-09 19:49:30 +00001743tagfiles() List tags files used
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001744tempname() String name for a temporary file
1745tolower( {expr}) String the String {expr} switched to lowercase
1746toupper( {expr}) String the String {expr} switched to uppercase
Bram Moolenaar8299df92004-07-10 09:47:34 +00001747tr( {src}, {fromstr}, {tostr}) String translate chars of {src} in {fromstr}
1748 to chars in {tostr}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001749type( {name}) Number type of variable {name}
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00001750values( {dict}) List values in {dict}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001751virtcol( {expr}) Number screen column of cursor or mark
1752visualmode( [expr]) String last visual mode used
1753winbufnr( {nr}) Number buffer number of window {nr}
1754wincol() Number window column of the cursor
1755winheight( {nr}) Number height of window {nr}
1756winline() Number window line of the cursor
Bram Moolenaar7e8fd632006-02-18 22:14:51 +00001757winnr( [{expr}]) Number number of current window
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001758winrestcmd() String returns command to restore window sizes
Bram Moolenaar87b5ca52006-03-04 21:55:31 +00001759winrestview({dict}) None restore view of current window
1760winsaveview() Dict save view of current window
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001761winwidth( {nr}) Number width of window {nr}
Bram Moolenaar3a7c85b2005-02-05 21:39:53 +00001762writefile({list}, {fname} [, {binary}])
1763 Number write list of lines to file {fname}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001764
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00001765add({list}, {expr}) *add()*
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00001766 Append the item {expr} to |List| {list}. Returns the
1767 resulting |List|. Examples: >
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00001768 :let alist = add([1, 2, 3], item)
1769 :call add(mylist, "woodstock")
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00001770< Note that when {expr} is a |List| it is appended as a single
Bram Moolenaara23ccb82006-02-27 00:08:02 +00001771 item. Use |extend()| to concatenate |Lists|.
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +00001772 Use |insert()| to add an item at another position.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001773
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00001774
1775append({lnum}, {expr}) *append()*
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00001776 When {expr} is a |List|: Append each item of the |List| as a
1777 text line below line {lnum} in the current buffer.
Bram Moolenaar748bf032005-02-02 23:04:36 +00001778 Otherwise append {expr} as one text line below line {lnum} in
1779 the current buffer.
1780 {lnum} can be zero to insert a line before the first one.
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00001781 Returns 1 for failure ({lnum} out of range or out of memory),
1782 0 for success. Example: >
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001783 :let failed = append(line('$'), "# THE END")
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00001784 :let failed = append(0, ["Chapter 1", "the beginning"])
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001785<
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001786 *argc()*
1787argc() The result is the number of files in the argument list of the
1788 current window. See |arglist|.
1789
1790 *argidx()*
1791argidx() The result is the current index in the argument list. 0 is
1792 the first file. argc() - 1 is the last one. See |arglist|.
1793
1794 *argv()*
Bram Moolenaare2f98b92006-03-29 21:18:24 +00001795argv([{nr}]) The result is the {nr}th file in the argument list of the
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001796 current window. See |arglist|. "argv(0)" is the first one.
1797 Example: >
1798 :let i = 0
1799 :while i < argc()
1800 : let f = escape(argv(i), '. ')
1801 : exe 'amenu Arg.' . f . ' :e ' . f . '<CR>'
1802 : let i = i + 1
1803 :endwhile
Bram Moolenaare2f98b92006-03-29 21:18:24 +00001804< Without the {nr} argument a |List| with the whole |arglist| is
1805 returned.
1806
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001807 *browse()*
1808browse({save}, {title}, {initdir}, {default})
1809 Put up a file requester. This only works when "has("browse")"
1810 returns non-zero (only in some GUI versions).
1811 The input fields are:
1812 {save} when non-zero, select file to write
1813 {title} title for the requester
1814 {initdir} directory to start browsing in
1815 {default} default file name
1816 When the "Cancel" button is hit, something went wrong, or
1817 browsing is not possible, an empty string is returned.
1818
Bram Moolenaar7b0294c2004-10-11 10:16:09 +00001819 *browsedir()*
1820browsedir({title}, {initdir})
1821 Put up a directory requester. This only works when
1822 "has("browse")" returns non-zero (only in some GUI versions).
1823 On systems where a directory browser is not supported a file
1824 browser is used. In that case: select a file in the directory
1825 to be used.
1826 The input fields are:
1827 {title} title for the requester
1828 {initdir} directory to start browsing in
1829 When the "Cancel" button is hit, something went wrong, or
1830 browsing is not possible, an empty string is returned.
1831
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001832bufexists({expr}) *bufexists()*
1833 The result is a Number, which is non-zero if a buffer called
1834 {expr} exists.
Bram Moolenaar69a7cb42004-06-20 12:51:53 +00001835 If the {expr} argument is a number, buffer numbers are used.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001836 If the {expr} argument is a string it must match a buffer name
Bram Moolenaar69a7cb42004-06-20 12:51:53 +00001837 exactly. The name can be:
1838 - Relative to the current directory.
1839 - A full path.
1840 - The name of a buffer with 'filetype' set to "nofile".
1841 - A URL name.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001842 Unlisted buffers will be found.
1843 Note that help files are listed by their short name in the
1844 output of |:buffers|, but bufexists() requires using their
1845 long name to be able to find them.
1846 Use "bufexists(0)" to test for the existence of an alternate
1847 file name.
1848 *buffer_exists()*
1849 Obsolete name: buffer_exists().
1850
1851buflisted({expr}) *buflisted()*
1852 The result is a Number, which is non-zero if a buffer called
1853 {expr} exists and is listed (has the 'buflisted' option set).
Bram Moolenaar69a7cb42004-06-20 12:51:53 +00001854 The {expr} argument is used like with |bufexists()|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001855
1856bufloaded({expr}) *bufloaded()*
1857 The result is a Number, which is non-zero if a buffer called
1858 {expr} exists and is loaded (shown in a window or hidden).
Bram Moolenaar69a7cb42004-06-20 12:51:53 +00001859 The {expr} argument is used like with |bufexists()|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001860
1861bufname({expr}) *bufname()*
1862 The result is the name of a buffer, as it is displayed by the
1863 ":ls" command.
1864 If {expr} is a Number, that buffer number's name is given.
1865 Number zero is the alternate buffer for the current window.
1866 If {expr} is a String, it is used as a |file-pattern| to match
1867 with the buffer names. This is always done like 'magic' is
1868 set and 'cpoptions' is empty. When there is more than one
1869 match an empty string is returned.
1870 "" or "%" can be used for the current buffer, "#" for the
1871 alternate buffer.
1872 A full match is preferred, otherwise a match at the start, end
1873 or middle of the buffer name is accepted.
1874 Listed buffers are found first. If there is a single match
1875 with a listed buffer, that one is returned. Next unlisted
1876 buffers are searched for.
1877 If the {expr} is a String, but you want to use it as a buffer
1878 number, force it to be a Number by adding zero to it: >
1879 :echo bufname("3" + 0)
1880< If the buffer doesn't exist, or doesn't have a name, an empty
1881 string is returned. >
1882 bufname("#") alternate buffer name
1883 bufname(3) name of buffer 3
1884 bufname("%") name of current buffer
1885 bufname("file2") name of buffer where "file2" matches.
1886< *buffer_name()*
1887 Obsolete name: buffer_name().
1888
1889 *bufnr()*
Bram Moolenaar65c923a2006-03-03 22:56:30 +00001890bufnr({expr} [, {create}])
1891 The result is the number of a buffer, as it is displayed by
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001892 the ":ls" command. For the use of {expr}, see |bufname()|
Bram Moolenaar65c923a2006-03-03 22:56:30 +00001893 above.
1894 If the buffer doesn't exist, -1 is returned. Or, if the
1895 {create} argument is present and not zero, a new, unlisted,
1896 buffer is created and its number is returned.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001897 bufnr("$") is the last buffer: >
1898 :let last_buffer = bufnr("$")
1899< The result is a Number, which is the highest buffer number
1900 of existing buffers. Note that not all buffers with a smaller
1901 number necessarily exist, because ":bwipeout" may have removed
1902 them. Use bufexists() to test for the existence of a buffer.
1903 *buffer_number()*
1904 Obsolete name: buffer_number().
1905 *last_buffer_nr()*
1906 Obsolete name for bufnr("$"): last_buffer_nr().
1907
1908bufwinnr({expr}) *bufwinnr()*
1909 The result is a Number, which is the number of the first
1910 window associated with buffer {expr}. For the use of {expr},
1911 see |bufname()| above. If buffer {expr} doesn't exist or
1912 there is no such window, -1 is returned. Example: >
1913
1914 echo "A window containing buffer 1 is " . (bufwinnr(1))
1915
1916< The number can be used with |CTRL-W_w| and ":wincmd w"
1917 |:wincmd|.
1918
1919
1920byte2line({byte}) *byte2line()*
1921 Return the line number that contains the character at byte
1922 count {byte} in the current buffer. This includes the
1923 end-of-line character, depending on the 'fileformat' option
1924 for the current buffer. The first character has byte count
1925 one.
1926 Also see |line2byte()|, |go| and |:goto|.
1927 {not available when compiled without the |+byte_offset|
1928 feature}
1929
Bram Moolenaarab79bcb2004-07-18 21:34:53 +00001930byteidx({expr}, {nr}) *byteidx()*
1931 Return byte index of the {nr}'th character in the string
1932 {expr}. Use zero for the first character, it returns zero.
1933 This function is only useful when there are multibyte
1934 characters, otherwise the returned value is equal to {nr}.
1935 Composing characters are counted as a separate character.
1936 Example : >
1937 echo matchstr(str, ".", byteidx(str, 3))
1938< will display the fourth character. Another way to do the
1939 same: >
1940 let s = strpart(str, byteidx(str, 3))
1941 echo strpart(s, 0, byteidx(s, 1))
1942< If there are less than {nr} characters -1 is returned.
1943 If there are exactly {nr} characters the length of the string
1944 is returned.
1945
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00001946call({func}, {arglist} [, {dict}]) *call()* *E699*
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00001947 Call function {func} with the items in |List| {arglist} as
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +00001948 arguments.
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00001949 {func} can either be a |Funcref| or the name of a function.
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +00001950 a:firstline and a:lastline are set to the cursor line.
1951 Returns the return value of the called function.
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00001952 {dict} is for functions with the "dict" attribute. It will be
1953 used to set the local variable "self". |Dictionary-function|
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +00001954
Bram Moolenaarca003e12006-03-17 23:19:38 +00001955changenr() *changenr()*
1956 Return the number of the most recent change. This is the same
1957 number as what is displayed with |:undolist| and can be used
1958 with the |:undo| command.
1959 When a change was made it is the number of that change. After
1960 redo it is the number of the redone change. After undo it is
1961 one less than the number of the undone change.
1962
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001963char2nr({expr}) *char2nr()*
1964 Return number value of the first char in {expr}. Examples: >
1965 char2nr(" ") returns 32
1966 char2nr("ABC") returns 65
1967< The current 'encoding' is used. Example for "utf-8": >
Bram Moolenaar98692072006-02-04 00:57:42 +00001968 char2nr("?") returns 225
1969 char2nr("?"[0]) returns 195
Bram Moolenaar402d2fe2005-04-15 21:00:38 +00001970< nr2char() does the opposite.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001971
1972cindent({lnum}) *cindent()*
1973 Get the amount of indent for line {lnum} according the C
1974 indenting rules, as with 'cindent'.
1975 The indent is counted in spaces, the value of 'tabstop' is
1976 relevant. {lnum} is used just like in |getline()|.
1977 When {lnum} is invalid or Vim was not compiled the |+cindent|
1978 feature, -1 is returned.
Bram Moolenaard5cdbeb2005-10-10 20:59:28 +00001979 See |C-indenting|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001980
1981 *col()*
Bram Moolenaarc0197e22004-09-13 20:26:32 +00001982col({expr}) The result is a Number, which is the byte index of the column
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001983 position given with {expr}. The accepted positions are:
1984 . the cursor position
1985 $ the end of the cursor line (the result is the
1986 number of characters in the cursor line plus one)
1987 'x position of mark x (if the mark is not set, 0 is
1988 returned)
Bram Moolenaar0b238792006-03-02 22:49:12 +00001989 To get the line number use |col()|. To get both use
1990 |getpos()|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001991 For the screen column position use |virtcol()|.
1992 Note that only marks in the current file can be used.
1993 Examples: >
1994 col(".") column of cursor
1995 col("$") length of cursor line plus one
1996 col("'t") column of mark t
1997 col("'" . markname) column of mark markname
1998< The first column is 1. 0 is returned for an error.
1999 For the cursor position, when 'virtualedit' is active, the
2000 column is one higher if the cursor is after the end of the
2001 line. This can be used to obtain the column in Insert mode: >
2002 :imap <F2> <C-O>:let save_ve = &ve<CR>
2003 \<C-O>:set ve=all<CR>
2004 \<C-O>:echo col(".") . "\n" <Bar>
2005 \let &ve = save_ve<CR>
2006<
Bram Moolenaar572cb562005-08-05 21:35:02 +00002007
Bram Moolenaara94bc432006-03-10 21:42:59 +00002008complete({startcol}, {matches}) *complete()* *E785*
2009 Set the matches for Insert mode completion.
2010 Can only be used in Insert mode. You need to use a mapping
2011 with an expression argument |:map-<expr>| or CTRL-R =
2012 |i_CTRL-R|. It does not work after CTRL-O.
2013 {startcol} is the byte offset in the line where the completed
2014 text start. The text up to the cursor is the original text
2015 that will be replaced by the matches. Use col('.') for an
2016 empty string. "col('.') - 1" will replace one character by a
2017 match.
2018 {matches} must be a |List|. Each |List| item is one match.
2019 See |complete-items| for the kind of items that are possible.
2020 Note that the after calling this function you need to avoid
2021 inserting anything that would completion to stop.
2022 The match can be selected with CTRL-N and CTRL-P as usual with
2023 Insert mode completion. The popup menu will appear if
2024 specified, see |ins-completion-menu|.
2025 Example: >
2026 inoremap <expr> <F5> ListMonths()
2027
2028 func! ListMonths()
2029 call complete(col('.'), ['January', 'February', 'March',
2030 \ 'April', 'May', 'June', 'July', 'August', 'September',
2031 \ 'October', 'November', 'December'])
2032 return ''
2033 endfunc
2034< This isn't very useful, but it shows how it works. Note that
2035 an empty string is returned to avoid a zero being inserted.
2036
Bram Moolenaar572cb562005-08-05 21:35:02 +00002037complete_add({expr}) *complete_add()*
2038 Add {expr} to the list of matches. Only to be used by the
2039 function specified with the 'completefunc' option.
2040 Returns 0 for failure (empty string or out of memory),
2041 1 when the match was added, 2 when the match was already in
2042 the list.
Bram Moolenaar39f05632006-03-19 22:15:26 +00002043 See |complete-functions| for an explanation of {expr}. It is
2044 the same as one item in the list that 'omnifunc' would return.
Bram Moolenaar572cb562005-08-05 21:35:02 +00002045
2046complete_check() *complete_check()*
2047 Check for a key typed while looking for completion matches.
2048 This is to be used when looking for matches takes some time.
2049 Returns non-zero when searching for matches is to be aborted,
2050 zero otherwise.
2051 Only to be used by the function specified with the
2052 'completefunc' option.
2053
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002054 *confirm()*
2055confirm({msg} [, {choices} [, {default} [, {type}]]])
2056 Confirm() offers the user a dialog, from which a choice can be
2057 made. It returns the number of the choice. For the first
2058 choice this is 1.
2059 Note: confirm() is only supported when compiled with dialog
2060 support, see |+dialog_con| and |+dialog_gui|.
2061 {msg} is displayed in a |dialog| with {choices} as the
2062 alternatives. When {choices} is missing or empty, "&OK" is
2063 used (and translated).
2064 {msg} is a String, use '\n' to include a newline. Only on
2065 some systems the string is wrapped when it doesn't fit.
2066 {choices} is a String, with the individual choices separated
2067 by '\n', e.g. >
2068 confirm("Save changes?", "&Yes\n&No\n&Cancel")
2069< The letter after the '&' is the shortcut key for that choice.
2070 Thus you can type 'c' to select "Cancel". The shortcut does
2071 not need to be the first letter: >
2072 confirm("file has been modified", "&Save\nSave &All")
2073< For the console, the first letter of each choice is used as
2074 the default shortcut key.
2075 The optional {default} argument is the number of the choice
2076 that is made if the user hits <CR>. Use 1 to make the first
2077 choice the default one. Use 0 to not set a default. If
2078 {default} is omitted, 1 is used.
2079 The optional {type} argument gives the type of dialog. This
2080 is only used for the icon of the Win32 GUI. It can be one of
2081 these values: "Error", "Question", "Info", "Warning" or
2082 "Generic". Only the first character is relevant. When {type}
2083 is omitted, "Generic" is used.
2084 If the user aborts the dialog by pressing <Esc>, CTRL-C,
2085 or another valid interrupt key, confirm() returns 0.
2086
2087 An example: >
2088 :let choice = confirm("What do you want?", "&Apples\n&Oranges\n&Bananas", 2)
2089 :if choice == 0
2090 : echo "make up your mind!"
2091 :elseif choice == 3
2092 : echo "tasteful"
2093 :else
2094 : echo "I prefer bananas myself."
2095 :endif
2096< In a GUI dialog, buttons are used. The layout of the buttons
2097 depends on the 'v' flag in 'guioptions'. If it is included,
2098 the buttons are always put vertically. Otherwise, confirm()
2099 tries to put the buttons in one horizontal line. If they
2100 don't fit, a vertical layout is used anyway. For some systems
2101 the horizontal layout is always used.
2102
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00002103 *copy()*
2104copy({expr}) Make a copy of {expr}. For Numbers and Strings this isn't
2105 different from using {expr} directly.
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00002106 When {expr} is a |List| a shallow copy is created. This means
2107 that the original |List| can be changed without changing the
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00002108 copy, and vise versa. But the items are identical, thus
Bram Moolenaara23ccb82006-02-27 00:08:02 +00002109 changing an item changes the contents of both |Lists|. Also
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00002110 see |deepcopy()|.
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00002111
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00002112count({comp}, {expr} [, {ic} [, {start}]]) *count()*
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +00002113 Return the number of times an item with value {expr} appears
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00002114 in |List| or |Dictionary| {comp}.
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00002115 If {start} is given then start with the item with this index.
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00002116 {start} can only be used with a |List|.
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +00002117 When {ic} is given and it's non-zero then case is ignored.
2118
2119
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002120 *cscope_connection()*
2121cscope_connection([{num} , {dbpath} [, {prepend}]])
2122 Checks for the existence of a |cscope| connection. If no
2123 parameters are specified, then the function returns:
2124 0, if cscope was not available (not compiled in), or
2125 if there are no cscope connections;
2126 1, if there is at least one cscope connection.
2127
2128 If parameters are specified, then the value of {num}
2129 determines how existence of a cscope connection is checked:
2130
2131 {num} Description of existence check
2132 ----- ------------------------------
2133 0 Same as no parameters (e.g., "cscope_connection()").
2134 1 Ignore {prepend}, and use partial string matches for
2135 {dbpath}.
2136 2 Ignore {prepend}, and use exact string matches for
2137 {dbpath}.
2138 3 Use {prepend}, use partial string matches for both
2139 {dbpath} and {prepend}.
2140 4 Use {prepend}, use exact string matches for both
2141 {dbpath} and {prepend}.
2142
2143 Note: All string comparisons are case sensitive!
2144
2145 Examples. Suppose we had the following (from ":cs show"): >
2146
2147 # pid database name prepend path
2148 0 27664 cscope.out /usr/local
2149<
2150 Invocation Return Val ~
2151 ---------- ---------- >
2152 cscope_connection() 1
2153 cscope_connection(1, "out") 1
2154 cscope_connection(2, "out") 0
2155 cscope_connection(3, "out") 0
2156 cscope_connection(3, "out", "local") 1
2157 cscope_connection(4, "out") 0
2158 cscope_connection(4, "out", "local") 0
2159 cscope_connection(4, "cscope.out", "/usr/local") 1
2160<
Bram Moolenaar0b238792006-03-02 22:49:12 +00002161cursor({lnum}, {col} [, {off}]) *cursor()*
2162cursor({list})
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002163 Positions the cursor at the column {col} in the line {lnum}.
Bram Moolenaar6f16eb82005-08-23 21:02:42 +00002164 The first column is one.
Bram Moolenaar0b238792006-03-02 22:49:12 +00002165 When there is one argument {list} this is used as a |List|
Bram Moolenaar65c923a2006-03-03 22:56:30 +00002166 with two or three items {lnum}, {col} and {off}. This is like
2167 the return value of |getpos()|, but without the first item.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002168 Does not change the jumplist.
2169 If {lnum} is greater than the number of lines in the buffer,
2170 the cursor will be positioned at the last line in the buffer.
2171 If {lnum} is zero, the cursor will stay in the current line.
Bram Moolenaar6f16eb82005-08-23 21:02:42 +00002172 If {col} is greater than the number of bytes in the line,
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002173 the cursor will be positioned at the last character in the
2174 line.
2175 If {col} is zero, the cursor will stay in the current column.
Bram Moolenaar0b238792006-03-02 22:49:12 +00002176 When 'virtualedit' is used {off} specifies the offset in
2177 screen columns from the start of the character. E.g., a
2178 position within a Tab or after the last character.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002179
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00002180
Bram Moolenaar4399ef42005-02-12 14:29:27 +00002181deepcopy({expr}[, {noref}]) *deepcopy()* *E698*
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00002182 Make a copy of {expr}. For Numbers and Strings this isn't
2183 different from using {expr} directly.
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00002184 When {expr} is a |List| a full copy is created. This means
2185 that the original |List| can be changed without changing the
2186 copy, and vise versa. When an item is a |List|, a copy for it
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00002187 is made, recursively. Thus changing an item in the copy does
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00002188 not change the contents of the original |List|.
2189 When {noref} is omitted or zero a contained |List| or
2190 |Dictionary| is only copied once. All references point to
2191 this single copy. With {noref} set to 1 every occurrence of a
2192 |List| or |Dictionary| results in a new copy. This also means
2193 that a cyclic reference causes deepcopy() to fail.
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00002194 *E724*
2195 Nesting is possible up to 100 levels. When there is an item
Bram Moolenaar4399ef42005-02-12 14:29:27 +00002196 that refers back to a higher level making a deep copy with
2197 {noref} set to 1 will fail.
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00002198 Also see |copy()|.
2199
2200delete({fname}) *delete()*
2201 Deletes the file by the name {fname}. The result is a Number,
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002202 which is 0 if the file was deleted successfully, and non-zero
2203 when the deletion failed.
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00002204 Use |remove()| to delete an item from a |List|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002205
2206 *did_filetype()*
2207did_filetype() Returns non-zero when autocommands are being executed and the
2208 FileType event has been triggered at least once. Can be used
2209 to avoid triggering the FileType event again in the scripts
2210 that detect the file type. |FileType|
2211 When editing another file, the counter is reset, thus this
2212 really checks if the FileType event has been triggered for the
2213 current buffer. This allows an autocommand that starts
2214 editing another buffer to set 'filetype' and load a syntax
2215 file.
2216
Bram Moolenaar47136d72004-10-12 20:02:24 +00002217diff_filler({lnum}) *diff_filler()*
2218 Returns the number of filler lines above line {lnum}.
2219 These are the lines that were inserted at this point in
2220 another diff'ed window. These filler lines are shown in the
2221 display but don't exist in the buffer.
2222 {lnum} is used like with |getline()|. Thus "." is the current
2223 line, "'m" mark m, etc.
2224 Returns 0 if the current window is not in diff mode.
2225
2226diff_hlID({lnum}, {col}) *diff_hlID()*
2227 Returns the highlight ID for diff mode at line {lnum} column
2228 {col} (byte index). When the current line does not have a
2229 diff change zero is returned.
2230 {lnum} is used like with |getline()|. Thus "." is the current
2231 line, "'m" mark m, etc.
2232 {col} is 1 for the leftmost column, {lnum} is 1 for the first
2233 line.
2234 The highlight ID can be used with |synIDattr()| to obtain
2235 syntax information about the highlighting.
2236
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +00002237empty({expr}) *empty()*
2238 Return the Number 1 if {expr} is empty, zero otherwise.
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00002239 A |List| or |Dictionary| is empty when it does not have any
2240 items. A Number is empty when its value is zero.
2241 For a long |List| this is much faster then comparing the
2242 length with zero.
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +00002243
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002244escape({string}, {chars}) *escape()*
2245 Escape the characters in {chars} that occur in {string} with a
2246 backslash. Example: >
2247 :echo escape('c:\program files\vim', ' \')
2248< results in: >
2249 c:\\program\ files\\vim
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00002250
2251< *eval()*
2252eval({string}) Evaluate {string} and return the result. Especially useful to
2253 turn the result of |string()| back into the original value.
2254 This works for Numbers, Strings and composites of them.
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00002255 Also works for |Funcref|s that refer to existing functions.
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00002256
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002257eventhandler() *eventhandler()*
2258 Returns 1 when inside an event handler. That is that Vim got
2259 interrupted while waiting for the user to type a character,
2260 e.g., when dropping a file on Vim. This means interactive
2261 commands cannot be used. Otherwise zero is returned.
2262
2263executable({expr}) *executable()*
2264 This function checks if an executable with the name {expr}
2265 exists. {expr} must be the name of the program without any
Bram Moolenaarf4b8e572004-06-24 15:53:16 +00002266 arguments.
2267 executable() uses the value of $PATH and/or the normal
2268 searchpath for programs. *PATHEXT*
2269 On MS-DOS and MS-Windows the ".exe", ".bat", etc. can
2270 optionally be included. Then the extensions in $PATHEXT are
2271 tried. Thus if "foo.exe" does not exist, "foo.exe.bat" can be
2272 found. If $PATHEXT is not set then ".exe;.com;.bat;.cmd" is
2273 used. A dot by itself can be used in $PATHEXT to try using
2274 the name without an extension. When 'shell' looks like a
2275 Unix shell, then the name is also tried without adding an
2276 extension.
2277 On MS-DOS and MS-Windows it only checks if the file exists and
2278 is not a directory, not if it's really executable.
Bram Moolenaar910f66f2006-04-05 20:41:53 +00002279 On MS-Windows an executable in the same directory as Vim is
2280 always found. Since this directory is added to $PATH it
2281 should also work to execute it |win32-PATH|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002282 The result is a Number:
2283 1 exists
2284 0 does not exist
2285 -1 not implemented on this system
2286
2287 *exists()*
2288exists({expr}) The result is a Number, which is non-zero if {expr} is
2289 defined, zero otherwise. The {expr} argument is a string,
2290 which contains one of these:
2291 &option-name Vim option (only checks if it exists,
2292 not if it really works)
2293 +option-name Vim option that works.
2294 $ENVNAME environment variable (could also be
2295 done by comparing with an empty
2296 string)
2297 *funcname built-in function (see |functions|)
2298 or user defined function (see
2299 |user-functions|).
2300 varname internal variable (see
Bram Moolenaar3a7c85b2005-02-05 21:39:53 +00002301 |internal-variables|). Also works
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00002302 for |curly-braces-names|, |Dictionary|
2303 entries, |List| items, etc. Beware
2304 that this may cause functions to be
Bram Moolenaar3a7c85b2005-02-05 21:39:53 +00002305 invoked cause an error message for an
2306 invalid expression.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002307 :cmdname Ex command: built-in command, user
2308 command or command modifier |:command|.
2309 Returns:
2310 1 for match with start of a command
2311 2 full match with a command
2312 3 matches several user commands
2313 To check for a supported command
2314 always check the return value to be 2.
2315 #event autocommand defined for this event
2316 #event#pattern autocommand defined for this event and
2317 pattern (the pattern is taken
2318 literally and compared to the
2319 autocommand patterns character by
2320 character)
Bram Moolenaara9b1e742005-12-19 22:14:58 +00002321 #group autocommand group exists
2322 #group#event autocommand defined for this group and
2323 event.
2324 #group#event#pattern
2325 autocommand defined for this group,
2326 event and pattern.
Bram Moolenaarf4cd3e82005-12-22 22:47:02 +00002327 ##event autocommand for this event is
2328 supported.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002329 For checking for a supported feature use |has()|.
2330
2331 Examples: >
2332 exists("&shortname")
2333 exists("$HOSTNAME")
2334 exists("*strftime")
2335 exists("*s:MyFunc")
2336 exists("bufcount")
2337 exists(":Make")
Bram Moolenaara9b1e742005-12-19 22:14:58 +00002338 exists("#CursorHold")
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002339 exists("#BufReadPre#*.gz")
Bram Moolenaara9b1e742005-12-19 22:14:58 +00002340 exists("#filetypeindent")
2341 exists("#filetypeindent#FileType")
2342 exists("#filetypeindent#FileType#*")
Bram Moolenaarf4cd3e82005-12-22 22:47:02 +00002343 exists("##ColorScheme")
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002344< There must be no space between the symbol (&/$/*/#) and the
2345 name.
2346 Note that the argument must be a string, not the name of the
2347 variable itself! For example: >
2348 exists(bufcount)
2349< This doesn't check for existence of the "bufcount" variable,
2350 but gets the contents of "bufcount", and checks if that
2351 exists.
2352
2353expand({expr} [, {flag}]) *expand()*
2354 Expand wildcards and the following special keywords in {expr}.
2355 The result is a String.
2356
2357 When there are several matches, they are separated by <NL>
2358 characters. [Note: in version 5.0 a space was used, which
2359 caused problems when a file name contains a space]
2360
2361 If the expansion fails, the result is an empty string. A name
2362 for a non-existing file is not included.
2363
2364 When {expr} starts with '%', '#' or '<', the expansion is done
2365 like for the |cmdline-special| variables with their associated
2366 modifiers. Here is a short overview:
2367
2368 % current file name
2369 # alternate file name
2370 #n alternate file name n
2371 <cfile> file name under the cursor
2372 <afile> autocmd file name
2373 <abuf> autocmd buffer number (as a String!)
2374 <amatch> autocmd matched name
2375 <sfile> sourced script file name
2376 <cword> word under the cursor
2377 <cWORD> WORD under the cursor
2378 <client> the {clientid} of the last received
2379 message |server2client()|
2380 Modifiers:
2381 :p expand to full path
2382 :h head (last path component removed)
2383 :t tail (last path component only)
2384 :r root (one extension removed)
2385 :e extension only
2386
2387 Example: >
2388 :let &tags = expand("%:p:h") . "/tags"
2389< Note that when expanding a string that starts with '%', '#' or
2390 '<', any following text is ignored. This does NOT work: >
2391 :let doesntwork = expand("%:h.bak")
2392< Use this: >
2393 :let doeswork = expand("%:h") . ".bak"
2394< Also note that expanding "<cfile>" and others only returns the
2395 referenced file name without further expansion. If "<cfile>"
2396 is "~/.cshrc", you need to do another expand() to have the
2397 "~/" expanded into the path of the home directory: >
2398 :echo expand(expand("<cfile>"))
2399<
2400 There cannot be white space between the variables and the
2401 following modifier. The |fnamemodify()| function can be used
2402 to modify normal file names.
2403
2404 When using '%' or '#', and the current or alternate file name
2405 is not defined, an empty string is used. Using "%:p" in a
2406 buffer with no name, results in the current directory, with a
2407 '/' added.
2408
2409 When {expr} does not start with '%', '#' or '<', it is
2410 expanded like a file name is expanded on the command line.
2411 'suffixes' and 'wildignore' are used, unless the optional
2412 {flag} argument is given and it is non-zero. Names for
Bram Moolenaar02743632005-07-25 20:42:36 +00002413 non-existing files are included. The "**" item can be used to
2414 search in a directory tree. For example, to find all "README"
2415 files in the current directory and below: >
2416 :echo expand("**/README")
2417<
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002418 Expand() can also be used to expand variables and environment
2419 variables that are only known in a shell. But this can be
2420 slow, because a shell must be started. See |expr-env-expand|.
2421 The expanded variable is still handled like a list of file
2422 names. When an environment variable cannot be expanded, it is
2423 left unchanged. Thus ":echo expand('$FOOBAR')" results in
2424 "$FOOBAR".
2425
2426 See |glob()| for finding existing files. See |system()| for
2427 getting the raw output of an external command.
2428
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00002429extend({expr1}, {expr2} [, {expr3}]) *extend()*
Bram Moolenaara23ccb82006-02-27 00:08:02 +00002430 {expr1} and {expr2} must be both |Lists| or both
2431 |Dictionaries|.
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00002432
Bram Moolenaara23ccb82006-02-27 00:08:02 +00002433 If they are |Lists|: Append {expr2} to {expr1}.
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00002434 If {expr3} is given insert the items of {expr2} before item
2435 {expr3} in {expr1}. When {expr3} is zero insert before the
2436 first item. When {expr3} is equal to len({expr1}) then
2437 {expr2} is appended.
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +00002438 Examples: >
2439 :echo sort(extend(mylist, [7, 5]))
2440 :call extend(mylist, [2, 3], 1)
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00002441< Use |add()| to concatenate one item to a list. To concatenate
2442 two lists into a new list use the + operator: >
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +00002443 :let newlist = [1, 2, 3] + [4, 5]
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00002444<
Bram Moolenaara23ccb82006-02-27 00:08:02 +00002445 If they are |Dictionaries|:
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00002446 Add all entries from {expr2} to {expr1}.
2447 If a key exists in both {expr1} and {expr2} then {expr3} is
2448 used to decide what to do:
2449 {expr3} = "keep": keep the value of {expr1}
2450 {expr3} = "force": use the value of {expr2}
Bram Moolenaar383f9bc2005-01-19 22:18:32 +00002451 {expr3} = "error": give an error message *E737*
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00002452 When {expr3} is omitted then "force" is assumed.
2453
2454 {expr1} is changed when {expr2} is not empty. If necessary
2455 make a copy of {expr1} first.
2456 {expr2} remains unchanged.
2457 Returns {expr1}.
2458
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +00002459
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002460filereadable({file}) *filereadable()*
2461 The result is a Number, which is TRUE when a file with the
2462 name {file} exists, and can be read. If {file} doesn't exist,
2463 or is a directory, the result is FALSE. {file} is any
2464 expression, which is used as a String.
2465 *file_readable()*
2466 Obsolete name: file_readable().
2467
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00002468
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00002469filter({expr}, {string}) *filter()*
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00002470 {expr} must be a |List| or a |Dictionary|.
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00002471 For each item in {expr} evaluate {string} and when the result
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00002472 is zero remove the item from the |List| or |Dictionary|.
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00002473 Inside {string} |v:val| has the value of the current item.
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00002474 For a |Dictionary| |v:key| has the key of the current item.
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00002475 Examples: >
2476 :call filter(mylist, 'v:val !~ "OLD"')
2477< Removes the items where "OLD" appears. >
2478 :call filter(mydict, 'v:key >= 8')
2479< Removes the items with a key below 8. >
2480 :call filter(var, 0)
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00002481< Removes all the items, thus clears the |List| or |Dictionary|.
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +00002482
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00002483 Note that {string} is the result of expression and is then
2484 used as an expression again. Often it is good to use a
2485 |literal-string| to avoid having to double backslashes.
2486
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00002487 The operation is done in-place. If you want a |List| or
2488 |Dictionary| to remain unmodified make a copy first: >
Bram Moolenaarafeb4fa2006-02-01 21:51:12 +00002489 :let l = filter(copy(mylist), 'v:val =~ "KEEP"')
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00002490
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00002491< Returns {expr}, the |List| or |Dictionary| that was filtered.
Bram Moolenaar280f1262006-01-30 00:14:18 +00002492 When an error is encountered while evaluating {string} no
2493 further items in {expr} are processed.
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00002494
2495
Bram Moolenaar89cb5e02004-07-19 20:55:54 +00002496finddir({name}[, {path}[, {count}]]) *finddir()*
Bram Moolenaar433f7c82006-03-21 21:29:36 +00002497 Find directory {name} in {path}. Returns the path of the
2498 first found match. When the found directory is below the
2499 current directory a relative path is returned. Otherwise a
2500 full path is returned.
Bram Moolenaar89cb5e02004-07-19 20:55:54 +00002501 If {path} is omitted or empty then 'path' is used.
2502 If the optional {count} is given, find {count}'s occurrence of
Bram Moolenaar433f7c82006-03-21 21:29:36 +00002503 {name} in {path} instead of the first one.
Bram Moolenaar899dddf2006-03-26 21:06:50 +00002504 When {count} is negative return all the matches in a |List|.
Bram Moolenaar89cb5e02004-07-19 20:55:54 +00002505 This is quite similar to the ex-command |:find|.
Bram Moolenaar89cb5e02004-07-19 20:55:54 +00002506 {only available when compiled with the +file_in_path feature}
2507
2508findfile({name}[, {path}[, {count}]]) *findfile()*
2509 Just like |finddir()|, but find a file instead of a directory.
Bram Moolenaar433f7c82006-03-21 21:29:36 +00002510 Uses 'suffixesadd'.
2511 Example: >
2512 :echo findfile("tags.vim", ".;")
2513< Searches from the current directory upwards until it finds
2514 the file "tags.vim".
Bram Moolenaar89cb5e02004-07-19 20:55:54 +00002515
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002516filewritable({file}) *filewritable()*
2517 The result is a Number, which is 1 when a file with the
2518 name {file} exists, and can be written. If {file} doesn't
2519 exist, or is not writable, the result is 0. If (file) is a
2520 directory, and we can write to it, the result is 2.
2521
2522fnamemodify({fname}, {mods}) *fnamemodify()*
2523 Modify file name {fname} according to {mods}. {mods} is a
2524 string of characters like it is used for file names on the
2525 command line. See |filename-modifiers|.
2526 Example: >
2527 :echo fnamemodify("main.c", ":p:h")
2528< results in: >
2529 /home/mool/vim/vim/src
2530< Note: Environment variables and "~" don't work in {fname}, use
2531 |expand()| first then.
2532
2533foldclosed({lnum}) *foldclosed()*
2534 The result is a Number. If the line {lnum} is in a closed
2535 fold, the result is the number of the first line in that fold.
2536 If the line {lnum} is not in a closed fold, -1 is returned.
2537
2538foldclosedend({lnum}) *foldclosedend()*
2539 The result is a Number. If the line {lnum} is in a closed
2540 fold, the result is the number of the last line in that fold.
2541 If the line {lnum} is not in a closed fold, -1 is returned.
2542
2543foldlevel({lnum}) *foldlevel()*
2544 The result is a Number, which is the foldlevel of line {lnum}
2545 in the current buffer. For nested folds the deepest level is
2546 returned. If there is no fold at line {lnum}, zero is
2547 returned. It doesn't matter if the folds are open or closed.
2548 When used while updating folds (from 'foldexpr') -1 is
2549 returned for lines where folds are still to be updated and the
2550 foldlevel is unknown. As a special case the level of the
2551 previous line is usually available.
2552
2553 *foldtext()*
2554foldtext() Returns a String, to be displayed for a closed fold. This is
2555 the default function used for the 'foldtext' option and should
2556 only be called from evaluating 'foldtext'. It uses the
2557 |v:foldstart|, |v:foldend| and |v:folddashes| variables.
2558 The returned string looks like this: >
2559 +-- 45 lines: abcdef
2560< The number of dashes depends on the foldlevel. The "45" is
2561 the number of lines in the fold. "abcdef" is the text in the
2562 first non-blank line of the fold. Leading white space, "//"
2563 or "/*" and the text from the 'foldmarker' and 'commentstring'
2564 options is removed.
2565 {not available when compiled without the |+folding| feature}
2566
Bram Moolenaar7b0294c2004-10-11 10:16:09 +00002567foldtextresult({lnum}) *foldtextresult()*
2568 Returns the text that is displayed for the closed fold at line
2569 {lnum}. Evaluates 'foldtext' in the appropriate context.
2570 When there is no closed fold at {lnum} an empty string is
2571 returned.
2572 {lnum} is used like with |getline()|. Thus "." is the current
2573 line, "'m" mark m, etc.
2574 Useful when exporting folded text, e.g., to HTML.
2575 {not available when compiled without the |+folding| feature}
2576
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002577 *foreground()*
2578foreground() Move the Vim window to the foreground. Useful when sent from
2579 a client to a Vim server. |remote_send()|
2580 On Win32 systems this might not work, the OS does not always
2581 allow a window to bring itself to the foreground. Use
2582 |remote_foreground()| instead.
2583 {only in the Win32, Athena, Motif and GTK GUI versions and the
2584 Win32 console version}
2585
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00002586
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +00002587function({name}) *function()* *E700*
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00002588 Return a |Funcref| variable that refers to function {name}.
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00002589 {name} can be a user defined function or an internal function.
2590
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00002591
Bram Moolenaar39a58ca2005-06-27 22:42:44 +00002592garbagecollect() *garbagecollect()*
Bram Moolenaara23ccb82006-02-27 00:08:02 +00002593 Cleanup unused |Lists| and |Dictionaries| that have circular
Bram Moolenaar39a58ca2005-06-27 22:42:44 +00002594 references. There is hardly ever a need to invoke this
2595 function, as it is automatically done when Vim runs out of
2596 memory or is waiting for the user to press a key after
2597 'updatetime'. Items without circular references are always
2598 freed when they become unused.
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00002599 This is useful if you have deleted a very big |List| and/or
2600 |Dictionary| with circular references in a script that runs
2601 for a long time.
Bram Moolenaar39a58ca2005-06-27 22:42:44 +00002602
Bram Moolenaar677ee682005-01-27 14:41:15 +00002603get({list}, {idx} [, {default}]) *get()*
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00002604 Get item {idx} from |List| {list}. When this item is not
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00002605 available return {default}. Return zero when {default} is
2606 omitted.
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00002607get({dict}, {key} [, {default}])
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00002608 Get item with key {key} from |Dictionary| {dict}. When this
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00002609 item is not available return {default}. Return zero when
2610 {default} is omitted.
2611
Bram Moolenaar45360022005-07-21 21:08:21 +00002612 *getbufline()*
2613getbufline({expr}, {lnum} [, {end}])
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00002614 Return a |List| with the lines starting from {lnum} to {end}
2615 (inclusive) in the buffer {expr}. If {end} is omitted, a
2616 |List| with only the line {lnum} is returned.
Bram Moolenaar45360022005-07-21 21:08:21 +00002617
2618 For the use of {expr}, see |bufname()| above.
2619
Bram Moolenaar661b1822005-07-28 22:36:45 +00002620 For {lnum} and {end} "$" can be used for the last line of the
2621 buffer. Otherwise a number must be used.
Bram Moolenaar45360022005-07-21 21:08:21 +00002622
2623 When {lnum} is smaller than 1 or bigger than the number of
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00002624 lines in the buffer, an empty |List| is returned.
Bram Moolenaar45360022005-07-21 21:08:21 +00002625
2626 When {end} is greater than the number of lines in the buffer,
2627 it is treated as {end} is set to the number of lines in the
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00002628 buffer. When {end} is before {lnum} an empty |List| is
Bram Moolenaar45360022005-07-21 21:08:21 +00002629 returned.
2630
Bram Moolenaar661b1822005-07-28 22:36:45 +00002631 This function works only for loaded buffers. For unloaded and
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00002632 non-existing buffers, an empty |List| is returned.
Bram Moolenaar45360022005-07-21 21:08:21 +00002633
2634 Example: >
2635 :let lines = getbufline(bufnr("myfile"), 1, "$")
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00002636
2637getbufvar({expr}, {varname}) *getbufvar()*
2638 The result is the value of option or local buffer variable
2639 {varname} in buffer {expr}. Note that the name without "b:"
2640 must be used.
Bram Moolenaar4317d9b2005-03-18 20:25:31 +00002641 This also works for a global or buffer-local option, but it
2642 doesn't work for a global variable, window-local variable or
2643 window-local option.
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00002644 For the use of {expr}, see |bufname()| above.
2645 When the buffer or variable doesn't exist an empty string is
2646 returned, there is no error message.
2647 Examples: >
2648 :let bufmodified = getbufvar(1, "&mod")
2649 :echo "todo myvar = " . getbufvar("todo", "myvar")
2650<
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002651getchar([expr]) *getchar()*
2652 Get a single character from the user. If it is an 8-bit
2653 character, the result is a number. Otherwise a String is
2654 returned with the encoded character. For a special key it's a
2655 sequence of bytes starting with 0x80 (decimal: 128).
2656 If [expr] is omitted, wait until a character is available.
2657 If [expr] is 0, only get a character when one is available.
2658 If [expr] is 1, only check if a character is available, it is
2659 not consumed. If a normal character is
2660 available, it is returned, otherwise a
2661 non-zero value is returned.
2662 If a normal character available, it is returned as a Number.
2663 Use nr2char() to convert it to a String.
2664 The returned value is zero if no character is available.
2665 The returned value is a string of characters for special keys
2666 and when a modifier (shift, control, alt) was used.
2667 There is no prompt, you will somehow have to make clear to the
2668 user that a character has to be typed.
2669 There is no mapping for the character.
2670 Key codes are replaced, thus when the user presses the <Del>
2671 key you get the code for the <Del> key, not the raw character
2672 sequence. Examples: >
2673 getchar() == "\<Del>"
2674 getchar() == "\<S-Left>"
2675< This example redefines "f" to ignore case: >
2676 :nmap f :call FindChar()<CR>
2677 :function FindChar()
2678 : let c = nr2char(getchar())
2679 : while col('.') < col('$') - 1
2680 : normal l
2681 : if getline('.')[col('.') - 1] ==? c
2682 : break
2683 : endif
2684 : endwhile
2685 :endfunction
2686
2687getcharmod() *getcharmod()*
2688 The result is a Number which is the state of the modifiers for
2689 the last obtained character with getchar() or in another way.
2690 These values are added together:
2691 2 shift
2692 4 control
2693 8 alt (meta)
2694 16 mouse double click
2695 32 mouse triple click
2696 64 mouse quadruple click
2697 128 Macintosh only: command
2698 Only the modifiers that have not been included in the
2699 character itself are obtained. Thus Shift-a results in "A"
2700 with no modifier.
2701
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002702getcmdline() *getcmdline()*
2703 Return the current command-line. Only works when the command
2704 line is being edited, thus requires use of |c_CTRL-\_e| or
2705 |c_CTRL-R_=|.
2706 Example: >
2707 :cmap <F7> <C-\>eescape(getcmdline(), ' \')<CR>
Bram Moolenaarbfd8fc02005-09-20 23:22:24 +00002708< Also see |getcmdtype()|, |getcmdpos()| and |setcmdpos()|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002709
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00002710getcmdpos() *getcmdpos()*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002711 Return the position of the cursor in the command line as a
2712 byte count. The first column is 1.
2713 Only works when editing the command line, thus requires use of
2714 |c_CTRL-\_e| or |c_CTRL-R_=|. Returns 0 otherwise.
Bram Moolenaarbfd8fc02005-09-20 23:22:24 +00002715 Also see |getcmdtype()|, |setcmdpos()| and |getcmdline()|.
2716
2717getcmdtype() *getcmdtype()*
2718 Return the current command-line type. Possible return values
2719 are:
Bram Moolenaar1e015462005-09-25 22:16:38 +00002720 : normal Ex command
2721 > debug mode command |debug-mode|
2722 / forward search command
2723 ? backward search command
2724 @ |input()| command
2725 - |:insert| or |:append| command
Bram Moolenaarbfd8fc02005-09-20 23:22:24 +00002726 Only works when editing the command line, thus requires use of
2727 |c_CTRL-\_e| or |c_CTRL-R_=|. Returns an empty string
2728 otherwise.
2729 Also see |getcmdpos()|, |setcmdpos()| and |getcmdline()|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002730
2731 *getcwd()*
2732getcwd() The result is a String, which is the name of the current
2733 working directory.
2734
2735getfsize({fname}) *getfsize()*
2736 The result is a Number, which is the size in bytes of the
2737 given file {fname}.
2738 If {fname} is a directory, 0 is returned.
2739 If the file {fname} can't be found, -1 is returned.
2740
Bram Moolenaard8b0cf12004-12-12 11:33:30 +00002741getfontname([{name}]) *getfontname()*
2742 Without an argument returns the name of the normal font being
2743 used. Like what is used for the Normal highlight group
2744 |hl-Normal|.
2745 With an argument a check is done whether {name} is a valid
2746 font name. If not then an empty string is returned.
2747 Otherwise the actual font name is returned, or {name} if the
2748 GUI does not support obtaining the real name.
Bram Moolenaarc6fe9192006-04-09 21:54:49 +00002749 Only works when the GUI is running, thus not in your vimrc or
Bram Moolenaard8b0cf12004-12-12 11:33:30 +00002750 gvimrc file. Use the |GUIEnter| autocommand to use this
2751 function just after the GUI has started.
Bram Moolenaar910f66f2006-04-05 20:41:53 +00002752 Note that the GTK 2 GUI accepts any font name, thus checking
2753 for a valid name does not work.
Bram Moolenaard8b0cf12004-12-12 11:33:30 +00002754
Bram Moolenaar5eb86f92004-07-26 12:53:41 +00002755getfperm({fname}) *getfperm()*
2756 The result is a String, which is the read, write, and execute
2757 permissions of the given file {fname}.
2758 If {fname} does not exist or its directory cannot be read, an
2759 empty string is returned.
2760 The result is of the form "rwxrwxrwx", where each group of
2761 "rwx" flags represent, in turn, the permissions of the owner
2762 of the file, the group the file belongs to, and other users.
2763 If a user does not have a given permission the flag for this
2764 is replaced with the string "-". Example: >
2765 :echo getfperm("/etc/passwd")
2766< This will hopefully (from a security point of view) display
2767 the string "rw-r--r--" or even "rw-------".
Bram Moolenaare2cc9702005-03-15 22:43:58 +00002768
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002769getftime({fname}) *getftime()*
2770 The result is a Number, which is the last modification time of
2771 the given file {fname}. The value is measured as seconds
2772 since 1st Jan 1970, and may be passed to strftime(). See also
2773 |localtime()| and |strftime()|.
2774 If the file {fname} can't be found -1 is returned.
2775
Bram Moolenaar5eb86f92004-07-26 12:53:41 +00002776getftype({fname}) *getftype()*
2777 The result is a String, which is a description of the kind of
2778 file of the given file {fname}.
2779 If {fname} does not exist an empty string is returned.
2780 Here is a table over different kinds of files and their
2781 results:
2782 Normal file "file"
2783 Directory "dir"
2784 Symbolic link "link"
2785 Block device "bdev"
2786 Character device "cdev"
2787 Socket "socket"
2788 FIFO "fifo"
2789 All other "other"
2790 Example: >
2791 getftype("/home")
2792< Note that a type such as "link" will only be returned on
2793 systems that support it. On some systems only "dir" and
2794 "file" are returned.
2795
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002796 *getline()*
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00002797getline({lnum} [, {end}])
2798 Without {end} the result is a String, which is line {lnum}
2799 from the current buffer. Example: >
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002800 getline(1)
2801< When {lnum} is a String that doesn't start with a
2802 digit, line() is called to translate the String into a Number.
2803 To get the line under the cursor: >
2804 getline(".")
2805< When {lnum} is smaller than 1 or bigger than the number of
2806 lines in the buffer, an empty string is returned.
2807
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00002808 When {end} is given the result is a |List| where each item is
2809 a line from the current buffer in the range {lnum} to {end},
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00002810 including line {end}.
2811 {end} is used in the same way as {lnum}.
2812 Non-existing lines are silently omitted.
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00002813 When {end} is before {lnum} an empty |List| is returned.
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00002814 Example: >
2815 :let start = line('.')
2816 :let end = search("^$") - 1
2817 :let lines = getline(start, end)
2818
Bram Moolenaar17c7c012006-01-26 22:25:15 +00002819getloclist({nr}) *getloclist()*
2820 Returns a list with all the entries in the location list for
2821 window {nr}. When {nr} is zero the current window is used.
2822 For a location list window, the displayed location list is
Bram Moolenaar280f1262006-01-30 00:14:18 +00002823 returned. For an invalid window number {nr}, an empty list is
2824 returned. Otherwise, same as getqflist().
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00002825
Bram Moolenaar68b76a62005-03-25 21:53:48 +00002826getqflist() *getqflist()*
2827 Returns a list with all the current quickfix errors. Each
2828 list item is a dictionary with these entries:
2829 bufnr number of buffer that has the file name, use
2830 bufname() to get the name
2831 lnum line number in the buffer (first line is 1)
2832 col column number (first column is 1)
Bram Moolenaar582fd852005-03-28 20:58:01 +00002833 vcol non-zero: "col" is visual column
2834 zero: "col" is byte index
Bram Moolenaar68b76a62005-03-25 21:53:48 +00002835 nr error number
2836 text description of the error
2837 type type of the error, 'E', '1', etc.
2838 valid non-zero: recognized error message
2839
Bram Moolenaare7eb9df2005-09-09 19:49:30 +00002840 When there is no error list or it's empty an empty list is
2841 returned.
2842
Bram Moolenaar68b76a62005-03-25 21:53:48 +00002843 Useful application: Find pattern matches in multiple files and
2844 do something with them: >
2845 :vimgrep /theword/jg *.c
2846 :for d in getqflist()
2847 : echo bufname(d.bufnr) ':' d.lnum '=' d.text
2848 :endfor
2849
2850
Bram Moolenaar2389c3c2005-05-22 22:07:59 +00002851getreg([{regname} [, 1]]) *getreg()*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002852 The result is a String, which is the contents of register
Bram Moolenaar402d2fe2005-04-15 21:00:38 +00002853 {regname}. Example: >
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002854 :let cliptext = getreg('*')
2855< getreg('=') returns the last evaluated value of the expression
Bram Moolenaar402d2fe2005-04-15 21:00:38 +00002856 register. (For use in maps.)
Bram Moolenaar2389c3c2005-05-22 22:07:59 +00002857 getreg('=', 1) returns the expression itself, so that it can
2858 be restored with |setreg()|. For other registers the extra
2859 argument is ignored, thus you can always give it.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002860 If {regname} is not specified, |v:register| is used.
2861
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00002862
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002863getregtype([{regname}]) *getregtype()*
2864 The result is a String, which is type of register {regname}.
2865 The value will be one of:
2866 "v" for |characterwise| text
2867 "V" for |linewise| text
2868 "<CTRL-V>{width}" for |blockwise-visual| text
2869 0 for an empty or unknown register
2870 <CTRL-V> is one character with value 0x16.
2871 If {regname} is not specified, |v:register| is used.
2872
Bram Moolenaarc6249bb2006-04-15 20:25:09 +00002873gettabwinvar({tabnr}, {winnr}, {varname}) *gettabwinvar()*
2874 Get the value of an option or local window variable {varname}
2875 in window {winnr} in tab page {tabnr}.
2876 Tabs are numbered starting with one. For the current tabpage
2877 use |getwinvar()|.
2878 When {winnr} is zero the current window is used.
2879 This also works for a global option, buffer-local option and
2880 window-local option, but it doesn't work for a global variable
2881 or buffer-local variable.
2882 Note that the name without "w:" must be used.
2883 Examples: >
2884 :let list_is_on = gettabwinvar(1, 2, '&list')
2885 :echo "myvar = " . gettabwinvar(3, 1, 'myvar')
2886
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002887 *getwinposx()*
2888getwinposx() The result is a Number, which is the X coordinate in pixels of
2889 the left hand side of the GUI Vim window. The result will be
2890 -1 if the information is not available.
2891
2892 *getwinposy()*
2893getwinposy() The result is a Number, which is the Y coordinate in pixels of
2894 the top of the GUI Vim window. The result will be -1 if the
2895 information is not available.
2896
Bram Moolenaarc6249bb2006-04-15 20:25:09 +00002897getwinvar({winnr}, {varname}) *getwinvar()*
2898 Like |gettabwinvar()| for the current tabpage.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002899 Examples: >
2900 :let list_is_on = getwinvar(2, '&list')
2901 :echo "myvar = " . getwinvar(1, 'myvar')
2902<
2903 *glob()*
2904glob({expr}) Expand the file wildcards in {expr}. The result is a String.
2905 When there are several matches, they are separated by <NL>
2906 characters.
2907 If the expansion fails, the result is an empty string.
2908 A name for a non-existing file is not included.
2909
2910 For most systems backticks can be used to get files names from
2911 any external command. Example: >
2912 :let tagfiles = glob("`find . -name tags -print`")
2913 :let &tags = substitute(tagfiles, "\n", ",", "g")
2914< The result of the program inside the backticks should be one
2915 item per line. Spaces inside an item are allowed.
2916
2917 See |expand()| for expanding special Vim variables. See
2918 |system()| for getting the raw output of an external command.
2919
2920globpath({path}, {expr}) *globpath()*
2921 Perform glob() on all directories in {path} and concatenate
2922 the results. Example: >
2923 :echo globpath(&rtp, "syntax/c.vim")
2924< {path} is a comma-separated list of directory names. Each
2925 directory name is prepended to {expr} and expanded like with
2926 glob(). A path separator is inserted when needed.
2927 To add a comma inside a directory name escape it with a
2928 backslash. Note that on MS-Windows a directory may have a
2929 trailing backslash, remove it if you put a comma after it.
2930 If the expansion fails for one of the directories, there is no
2931 error message.
2932 The 'wildignore' option applies: Names matching one of the
2933 patterns in 'wildignore' will be skipped.
2934
Bram Moolenaar02743632005-07-25 20:42:36 +00002935 The "**" item can be used to search in a directory tree.
2936 For example, to find all "README.txt" files in the directories
2937 in 'runtimepath' and below: >
2938 :echo globpath(&rtp, "**/README.txt")
2939<
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002940 *has()*
2941has({feature}) The result is a Number, which is 1 if the feature {feature} is
2942 supported, zero otherwise. The {feature} argument is a
2943 string. See |feature-list| below.
2944 Also see |exists()|.
2945
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00002946
2947has_key({dict}, {key}) *has_key()*
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00002948 The result is a Number, which is 1 if |Dictionary| {dict} has
2949 an entry with key {key}. Zero otherwise.
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00002950
2951
Bram Moolenaar97b2ad32006-03-18 21:40:56 +00002952hasmapto({what} [, {mode} [, {abbr}]]) *hasmapto()*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002953 The result is a Number, which is 1 if there is a mapping that
2954 contains {what} in somewhere in the rhs (what it is mapped to)
2955 and this mapping exists in one of the modes indicated by
2956 {mode}.
Bram Moolenaar97b2ad32006-03-18 21:40:56 +00002957 When {abbr} is there and it is non-zero use abbreviations
Bram Moolenaar39f05632006-03-19 22:15:26 +00002958 instead of mappings. Don't forget to specify Insert and/or
2959 Command-line mode.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002960 Both the global mappings and the mappings local to the current
2961 buffer are checked for a match.
2962 If no matching mapping is found 0 is returned.
2963 The following characters are recognized in {mode}:
2964 n Normal mode
2965 v Visual mode
2966 o Operator-pending mode
2967 i Insert mode
2968 l Language-Argument ("r", "f", "t", etc.)
2969 c Command-line mode
2970 When {mode} is omitted, "nvo" is used.
2971
2972 This function is useful to check if a mapping already exists
2973 to a function in a Vim script. Example: >
2974 :if !hasmapto('\ABCdoit')
2975 : map <Leader>d \ABCdoit
2976 :endif
2977< This installs the mapping to "\ABCdoit" only if there isn't
2978 already a mapping to "\ABCdoit".
2979
2980histadd({history}, {item}) *histadd()*
2981 Add the String {item} to the history {history} which can be
2982 one of: *hist-names*
2983 "cmd" or ":" command line history
2984 "search" or "/" search pattern history
2985 "expr" or "=" typed expression history
2986 "input" or "@" input line history
2987 If {item} does already exist in the history, it will be
2988 shifted to become the newest entry.
2989 The result is a Number: 1 if the operation was successful,
2990 otherwise 0 is returned.
2991
2992 Example: >
2993 :call histadd("input", strftime("%Y %b %d"))
2994 :let date=input("Enter date: ")
2995< This function is not available in the |sandbox|.
2996
2997histdel({history} [, {item}]) *histdel()*
Bram Moolenaar402d2fe2005-04-15 21:00:38 +00002998 Clear {history}, i.e. delete all its entries. See |hist-names|
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002999 for the possible values of {history}.
3000
3001 If the parameter {item} is given as String, this is seen
3002 as regular expression. All entries matching that expression
3003 will be removed from the history (if there are any).
3004 Upper/lowercase must match, unless "\c" is used |/\c|.
3005 If {item} is a Number, it will be interpreted as index, see
3006 |:history-indexing|. The respective entry will be removed
3007 if it exists.
3008
3009 The result is a Number: 1 for a successful operation,
3010 otherwise 0 is returned.
3011
3012 Examples:
3013 Clear expression register history: >
3014 :call histdel("expr")
3015<
3016 Remove all entries starting with "*" from the search history: >
3017 :call histdel("/", '^\*')
3018<
3019 The following three are equivalent: >
3020 :call histdel("search", histnr("search"))
3021 :call histdel("search", -1)
3022 :call histdel("search", '^'.histget("search", -1).'$')
3023<
3024 To delete the last search pattern and use the last-but-one for
3025 the "n" command and 'hlsearch': >
3026 :call histdel("search", -1)
3027 :let @/ = histget("search", -1)
3028
3029histget({history} [, {index}]) *histget()*
3030 The result is a String, the entry with Number {index} from
3031 {history}. See |hist-names| for the possible values of
3032 {history}, and |:history-indexing| for {index}. If there is
3033 no such entry, an empty String is returned. When {index} is
3034 omitted, the most recent item from the history is used.
3035
3036 Examples:
3037 Redo the second last search from history. >
3038 :execute '/' . histget("search", -2)
3039
3040< Define an Ex command ":H {num}" that supports re-execution of
3041 the {num}th entry from the output of |:history|. >
3042 :command -nargs=1 H execute histget("cmd", 0+<args>)
3043<
3044histnr({history}) *histnr()*
3045 The result is the Number of the current entry in {history}.
3046 See |hist-names| for the possible values of {history}.
3047 If an error occurred, -1 is returned.
3048
3049 Example: >
3050 :let inp_index = histnr("expr")
3051<
3052hlexists({name}) *hlexists()*
3053 The result is a Number, which is non-zero if a highlight group
3054 called {name} exists. This is when the group has been
3055 defined in some way. Not necessarily when highlighting has
3056 been defined for it, it may also have been used for a syntax
3057 item.
3058 *highlight_exists()*
3059 Obsolete name: highlight_exists().
3060
3061 *hlID()*
3062hlID({name}) The result is a Number, which is the ID of the highlight group
3063 with name {name}. When the highlight group doesn't exist,
3064 zero is returned.
3065 This can be used to retrieve information about the highlight
3066 group. For example, to get the background color of the
3067 "Comment" group: >
3068 :echo synIDattr(synIDtrans(hlID("Comment")), "bg")
3069< *highlightID()*
3070 Obsolete name: highlightID().
3071
3072hostname() *hostname()*
3073 The result is a String, which is the name of the machine on
Bram Moolenaar402d2fe2005-04-15 21:00:38 +00003074 which Vim is currently running. Machine names greater than
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003075 256 characters long are truncated.
3076
3077iconv({expr}, {from}, {to}) *iconv()*
3078 The result is a String, which is the text {expr} converted
3079 from encoding {from} to encoding {to}.
3080 When the conversion fails an empty string is returned.
3081 The encoding names are whatever the iconv() library function
3082 can accept, see ":!man 3 iconv".
3083 Most conversions require Vim to be compiled with the |+iconv|
3084 feature. Otherwise only UTF-8 to latin1 conversion and back
3085 can be done.
3086 This can be used to display messages with special characters,
3087 no matter what 'encoding' is set to. Write the message in
3088 UTF-8 and use: >
3089 echo iconv(utf8_str, "utf-8", &enc)
3090< Note that Vim uses UTF-8 for all Unicode encodings, conversion
3091 from/to UCS-2 is automatically changed to use UTF-8. You
3092 cannot use UCS-2 in a string anyway, because of the NUL bytes.
3093 {only available when compiled with the +multi_byte feature}
3094
3095 *indent()*
3096indent({lnum}) The result is a Number, which is indent of line {lnum} in the
3097 current buffer. The indent is counted in spaces, the value
3098 of 'tabstop' is relevant. {lnum} is used just like in
3099 |getline()|.
3100 When {lnum} is invalid -1 is returned.
3101
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +00003102
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00003103index({list}, {expr} [, {start} [, {ic}]]) *index()*
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00003104 Return the lowest index in |List| {list} where the item has a
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +00003105 value equal to {expr}.
Bram Moolenaar748bf032005-02-02 23:04:36 +00003106 If {start} is given then start looking at the item with index
3107 {start} (may be negative for an item relative to the end).
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +00003108 When {ic} is given and it is non-zero, ignore case. Otherwise
3109 case must match.
3110 -1 is returned when {expr} is not found in {list}.
3111 Example: >
3112 :let idx = index(words, "the")
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +00003113 :if index(numbers, 123) >= 0
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +00003114
3115
Bram Moolenaarbfd8fc02005-09-20 23:22:24 +00003116input({prompt} [, {text} [, {completion}]]) *input()*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003117 The result is a String, which is whatever the user typed on
3118 the command-line. The parameter is either a prompt string, or
3119 a blank string (for no prompt). A '\n' can be used in the
Bram Moolenaarbfd8fc02005-09-20 23:22:24 +00003120 prompt to start a new line.
3121 The highlighting set with |:echohl| is used for the prompt.
3122 The input is entered just like a command-line, with the same
3123 editing commands and mappings. There is a separate history
3124 for lines typed for input().
3125 Example: >
3126 :if input("Coffee or beer? ") == "beer"
3127 : echo "Cheers!"
3128 :endif
3129<
Bram Moolenaar1e015462005-09-25 22:16:38 +00003130 If the optional {text} is present and not empty, this is used
3131 for the default reply, as if the user typed this. Example: >
Bram Moolenaarbfd8fc02005-09-20 23:22:24 +00003132 :let color = input("Color? ", "white")
3133
3134< The optional {completion} argument specifies the type of
3135 completion supported for the input. Without it completion is
3136 not performed. The supported completion types are the same as
3137 that can be supplied to a user-defined command using the
3138 "-complete=" argument. Refer to |:command-completion| for
3139 more information. Example: >
3140 let fname = input("File: ", "", "file")
3141<
3142 NOTE: This function must not be used in a startup file, for
3143 the versions that only run in GUI mode (e.g., the Win32 GUI).
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003144 Note: When input() is called from within a mapping it will
3145 consume remaining characters from that mapping, because a
3146 mapping is handled like the characters were typed.
3147 Use |inputsave()| before input() and |inputrestore()|
3148 after input() to avoid that. Another solution is to avoid
3149 that further characters follow in the mapping, e.g., by using
3150 |:execute| or |:normal|.
3151
Bram Moolenaarbfd8fc02005-09-20 23:22:24 +00003152 Example with a mapping: >
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003153 :nmap \x :call GetFoo()<CR>:exe "/" . Foo<CR>
3154 :function GetFoo()
3155 : call inputsave()
3156 : let g:Foo = input("enter search pattern: ")
3157 : call inputrestore()
3158 :endfunction
3159
3160inputdialog({prompt} [, {text} [, {cancelreturn}]]) *inputdialog()*
3161 Like input(), but when the GUI is running and text dialogs are
3162 supported, a dialog window pops up to input the text.
3163 Example: >
3164 :let n = inputdialog("value for shiftwidth", &sw)
3165 :if n != ""
3166 : let &sw = n
3167 :endif
3168< When the dialog is cancelled {cancelreturn} is returned. When
3169 omitted an empty string is returned.
3170 Hitting <Enter> works like pressing the OK button. Hitting
3171 <Esc> works like pressing the Cancel button.
Bram Moolenaarbfd8fc02005-09-20 23:22:24 +00003172 NOTE: Command-line completion is not supported.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003173
Bram Moolenaar578b49e2005-09-10 19:22:57 +00003174inputlist({textlist}) *inputlist()*
Bram Moolenaar910f66f2006-04-05 20:41:53 +00003175 {textlist} must be a |List| of strings. This |List| is
3176 displayed, one string per line. The user will be prompted to
3177 enter a number, which is returned.
Bram Moolenaar578b49e2005-09-10 19:22:57 +00003178 The user can also select an item by clicking on it with the
3179 mouse. For the first string 0 is returned. When clicking
3180 above the first item a negative number is returned. When
3181 clicking on the prompt one more than the length of {textlist}
3182 is returned.
3183 Make sure {textlist} has less then 'lines' entries, otherwise
3184 it won't work. It's a good idea to put the entry number at
3185 the start of the string. Example: >
3186 let color = inputlist(['Select color:', '1. red',
3187 \ '2. green', '3. blue'])
3188
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003189inputrestore() *inputrestore()*
3190 Restore typeahead that was saved with a previous inputsave().
3191 Should be called the same number of times inputsave() is
3192 called. Calling it more often is harmless though.
3193 Returns 1 when there is nothing to restore, 0 otherwise.
3194
3195inputsave() *inputsave()*
3196 Preserve typeahead (also from mappings) and clear it, so that
3197 a following prompt gets input from the user. Should be
3198 followed by a matching inputrestore() after the prompt. Can
3199 be used several times, in which case there must be just as
3200 many inputrestore() calls.
3201 Returns 1 when out of memory, 0 otherwise.
3202
3203inputsecret({prompt} [, {text}]) *inputsecret()*
3204 This function acts much like the |input()| function with but
3205 two exceptions:
3206 a) the user's response will be displayed as a sequence of
3207 asterisks ("*") thereby keeping the entry secret, and
3208 b) the user's response will not be recorded on the input
3209 |history| stack.
3210 The result is a String, which is whatever the user actually
3211 typed on the command-line in response to the issued prompt.
Bram Moolenaarbfd8fc02005-09-20 23:22:24 +00003212 NOTE: Command-line completion is not supported.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003213
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00003214insert({list}, {item} [, {idx}]) *insert()*
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00003215 Insert {item} at the start of |List| {list}.
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00003216 If {idx} is specified insert {item} before the item with index
3217 {idx}. If {idx} is zero it goes before the first item, just
3218 like omitting {idx}. A negative {idx} is also possible, see
3219 |list-index|. -1 inserts just before the last item.
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00003220 Returns the resulting |List|. Examples: >
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00003221 :let mylist = insert([2, 3, 5], 1)
3222 :call insert(mylist, 4, -1)
3223 :call insert(mylist, 6, len(mylist))
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00003224< The last example can be done simpler with |add()|.
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00003225 Note that when {item} is a |List| it is inserted as a single
Bram Moolenaara23ccb82006-02-27 00:08:02 +00003226 item. Use |extend()| to concatenate |Lists|.
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00003227
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003228isdirectory({directory}) *isdirectory()*
3229 The result is a Number, which is non-zero when a directory
3230 with the name {directory} exists. If {directory} doesn't
3231 exist, or isn't a directory, the result is FALSE. {directory}
3232 is any expression, which is used as a String.
3233
Bram Moolenaar910f66f2006-04-05 20:41:53 +00003234islocked({expr}) *islocked()* *E786*
Bram Moolenaar2ce06f62005-01-31 19:19:04 +00003235 The result is a Number, which is non-zero when {expr} is the
3236 name of a locked variable.
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00003237 {expr} must be the name of a variable, |List| item or
3238 |Dictionary| entry, not the variable itself! Example: >
Bram Moolenaar2ce06f62005-01-31 19:19:04 +00003239 :let alist = [0, ['a', 'b'], 2, 3]
3240 :lockvar 1 alist
3241 :echo islocked('alist') " 1
3242 :echo islocked('alist[1]') " 0
3243
3244< When {expr} is a variable that does not exist you get an error
3245 message. Use |exists()| to check for existance.
3246
Bram Moolenaar677ee682005-01-27 14:41:15 +00003247items({dict}) *items()*
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00003248 Return a |List| with all the key-value pairs of {dict}. Each
3249 |List| item is a list with two items: the key of a {dict}
3250 entry and the value of this entry. The |List| is in arbitrary
3251 order.
Bram Moolenaar677ee682005-01-27 14:41:15 +00003252
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00003253
3254join({list} [, {sep}]) *join()*
3255 Join the items in {list} together into one String.
3256 When {sep} is specified it is put in between the items. If
3257 {sep} is omitted a single space is used.
3258 Note that {sep} is not added at the end. You might want to
3259 add it there too: >
3260 let lines = join(mylist, "\n") . "\n"
Bram Moolenaara23ccb82006-02-27 00:08:02 +00003261< String items are used as-is. |Lists| and |Dictionaries| are
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00003262 converted into a string like with |string()|.
3263 The opposite function is |split()|.
3264
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +00003265keys({dict}) *keys()*
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00003266 Return a |List| with all the keys of {dict}. The |List| is in
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +00003267 arbitrary order.
3268
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +00003269 *len()* *E701*
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00003270len({expr}) The result is a Number, which is the length of the argument.
3271 When {expr} is a String or a Number the length in bytes is
3272 used, as with |strlen()|.
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00003273 When {expr} is a |List| the number of items in the |List| is
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00003274 returned.
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00003275 When {expr} is a |Dictionary| the number of entries in the
3276 |Dictionary| is returned.
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00003277 Otherwise an error is given.
3278
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003279 *libcall()* *E364* *E368*
3280libcall({libname}, {funcname}, {argument})
3281 Call function {funcname} in the run-time library {libname}
3282 with single argument {argument}.
3283 This is useful to call functions in a library that you
3284 especially made to be used with Vim. Since only one argument
3285 is possible, calling standard library functions is rather
3286 limited.
3287 The result is the String returned by the function. If the
3288 function returns NULL, this will appear as an empty string ""
3289 to Vim.
3290 If the function returns a number, use libcallnr()!
3291 If {argument} is a number, it is passed to the function as an
3292 int; if {argument} is a string, it is passed as a
3293 null-terminated string.
3294 This function will fail in |restricted-mode|.
3295
3296 libcall() allows you to write your own 'plug-in' extensions to
3297 Vim without having to recompile the program. It is NOT a
3298 means to call system functions! If you try to do so Vim will
3299 very probably crash.
3300
3301 For Win32, the functions you write must be placed in a DLL
3302 and use the normal C calling convention (NOT Pascal which is
3303 used in Windows System DLLs). The function must take exactly
3304 one parameter, either a character pointer or a long integer,
3305 and must return a character pointer or NULL. The character
3306 pointer returned must point to memory that will remain valid
3307 after the function has returned (e.g. in static data in the
3308 DLL). If it points to allocated memory, that memory will
3309 leak away. Using a static buffer in the function should work,
3310 it's then freed when the DLL is unloaded.
3311
3312 WARNING: If the function returns a non-valid pointer, Vim may
3313 crash! This also happens if the function returns a number,
3314 because Vim thinks it's a pointer.
3315 For Win32 systems, {libname} should be the filename of the DLL
3316 without the ".DLL" suffix. A full path is only required if
3317 the DLL is not in the usual places.
3318 For Unix: When compiling your own plugins, remember that the
3319 object code must be compiled as position-independent ('PIC').
3320 {only in Win32 on some Unix versions, when the |+libcall|
3321 feature is present}
3322 Examples: >
3323 :echo libcall("libc.so", "getenv", "HOME")
3324 :echo libcallnr("/usr/lib/libc.so", "getpid", "")
3325<
3326 *libcallnr()*
3327libcallnr({libname}, {funcname}, {argument})
3328 Just like libcall(), but used for a function that returns an
3329 int instead of a string.
3330 {only in Win32 on some Unix versions, when the |+libcall|
3331 feature is present}
3332 Example (not very useful...): >
3333 :call libcallnr("libc.so", "printf", "Hello World!\n")
3334 :call libcallnr("libc.so", "sleep", 10)
3335<
3336 *line()*
3337line({expr}) The result is a Number, which is the line number of the file
3338 position given with {expr}. The accepted positions are:
3339 . the cursor position
3340 $ the last line in the current buffer
3341 'x position of mark x (if the mark is not set, 0 is
3342 returned)
Bram Moolenaarc7453f52006-02-10 23:20:28 +00003343 w0 first line visible in current window
3344 w$ last line visible in current window
Bram Moolenaar65c923a2006-03-03 22:56:30 +00003345 Note that a mark in another file can be used.
Bram Moolenaar0b238792006-03-02 22:49:12 +00003346 To get the column number use |col()|. To get both use
3347 |getpos()|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003348 Examples: >
3349 line(".") line number of the cursor
3350 line("'t") line number of mark t
3351 line("'" . marker) line number of mark marker
3352< *last-position-jump*
3353 This autocommand jumps to the last known position in a file
3354 just after opening it, if the '" mark is set: >
3355 :au BufReadPost * if line("'\"") > 0 && line("'\"") <= line("$") | exe "normal g'\"" | endif
Bram Moolenaar69a7cb42004-06-20 12:51:53 +00003356
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003357line2byte({lnum}) *line2byte()*
3358 Return the byte count from the start of the buffer for line
3359 {lnum}. This includes the end-of-line character, depending on
3360 the 'fileformat' option for the current buffer. The first
3361 line returns 1.
3362 This can also be used to get the byte count for the line just
3363 below the last line: >
3364 line2byte(line("$") + 1)
3365< This is the file size plus one.
3366 When {lnum} is invalid, or the |+byte_offset| feature has been
3367 disabled at compile time, -1 is returned.
3368 Also see |byte2line()|, |go| and |:goto|.
3369
3370lispindent({lnum}) *lispindent()*
3371 Get the amount of indent for line {lnum} according the lisp
3372 indenting rules, as with 'lisp'.
3373 The indent is counted in spaces, the value of 'tabstop' is
3374 relevant. {lnum} is used just like in |getline()|.
3375 When {lnum} is invalid or Vim was not compiled the
3376 |+lispindent| feature, -1 is returned.
3377
3378localtime() *localtime()*
3379 Return the current time, measured as seconds since 1st Jan
3380 1970. See also |strftime()| and |getftime()|.
3381
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00003382
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00003383map({expr}, {string}) *map()*
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00003384 {expr} must be a |List| or a |Dictionary|.
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00003385 Replace each item in {expr} with the result of evaluating
3386 {string}.
3387 Inside {string} |v:val| has the value of the current item.
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00003388 For a |Dictionary| |v:key| has the key of the current item.
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00003389 Example: >
3390 :call map(mylist, '"> " . v:val . " <"')
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00003391< This puts "> " before and " <" after each item in "mylist".
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00003392
Bram Moolenaar3a7c85b2005-02-05 21:39:53 +00003393 Note that {string} is the result of an expression and is then
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00003394 used as an expression again. Often it is good to use a
Bram Moolenaar3a7c85b2005-02-05 21:39:53 +00003395 |literal-string| to avoid having to double backslashes. You
3396 still have to double ' quotes
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00003397
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00003398 The operation is done in-place. If you want a |List| or
3399 |Dictionary| to remain unmodified make a copy first: >
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +00003400 :let tlist = map(copy(mylist), ' & . "\t"')
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00003401
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00003402< Returns {expr}, the |List| or |Dictionary| that was filtered.
Bram Moolenaar280f1262006-01-30 00:14:18 +00003403 When an error is encountered while evaluating {string} no
3404 further items in {expr} are processed.
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00003405
3406
Bram Moolenaar97b2ad32006-03-18 21:40:56 +00003407maparg({name}[, {mode} [, {abbr}]]) *maparg()*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003408 Return the rhs of mapping {name} in mode {mode}. When there
3409 is no mapping for {name}, an empty String is returned.
Bram Moolenaard12f5c12006-01-25 22:10:52 +00003410 {mode} can be one of these strings:
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003411 "n" Normal
3412 "v" Visual
3413 "o" Operator-pending
3414 "i" Insert
3415 "c" Cmd-line
3416 "l" langmap |language-mapping|
3417 "" Normal, Visual and Operator-pending
Bram Moolenaard12f5c12006-01-25 22:10:52 +00003418 When {mode} is omitted, the modes for "" are used.
Bram Moolenaar97b2ad32006-03-18 21:40:56 +00003419 When {abbr} is there and it is non-zero use abbreviations
3420 instead of mappings.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003421 The {name} can have special key names, like in the ":map"
3422 command. The returned String has special characters
3423 translated like in the output of the ":map" command listing.
3424 The mappings local to the current buffer are checked first,
3425 then the global mappings.
Bram Moolenaara40ceaf2006-01-13 22:35:40 +00003426 This function can be used to map a key even when it's already
3427 mapped, and have it do the original mapping too. Sketch: >
3428 exe 'nnoremap <Tab> ==' . maparg('<Tab>', 'n')
3429
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003430
Bram Moolenaar97b2ad32006-03-18 21:40:56 +00003431mapcheck({name}[, {mode} [, {abbr}]]) *mapcheck()*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003432 Check if there is a mapping that matches with {name} in mode
3433 {mode}. See |maparg()| for {mode} and special names in
3434 {name}.
Bram Moolenaar97b2ad32006-03-18 21:40:56 +00003435 When {abbr} is there and it is non-zero use abbreviations
3436 instead of mappings.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003437 A match happens with a mapping that starts with {name} and
3438 with a mapping which is equal to the start of {name}.
3439
3440 matches mapping "a" "ab" "abc" ~
3441 mapcheck("a") yes yes yes
3442 mapcheck("abc") yes yes yes
3443 mapcheck("ax") yes no no
3444 mapcheck("b") no no no
3445
3446 The difference with maparg() is that mapcheck() finds a
3447 mapping that matches with {name}, while maparg() only finds a
3448 mapping for {name} exactly.
3449 When there is no mapping that starts with {name}, an empty
3450 String is returned. If there is one, the rhs of that mapping
3451 is returned. If there are several mappings that start with
3452 {name}, the rhs of one of them is returned.
3453 The mappings local to the current buffer are checked first,
3454 then the global mappings.
3455 This function can be used to check if a mapping can be added
3456 without being ambiguous. Example: >
3457 :if mapcheck("_vv") == ""
3458 : map _vv :set guifont=7x13<CR>
3459 :endif
3460< This avoids adding the "_vv" mapping when there already is a
3461 mapping for "_v" or for "_vvv".
3462
Bram Moolenaar89cb5e02004-07-19 20:55:54 +00003463match({expr}, {pat}[, {start}[, {count}]]) *match()*
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00003464 When {expr} is a |List| then this returns the index of the
3465 first item where {pat} matches. Each item is used as a
Bram Moolenaara23ccb82006-02-27 00:08:02 +00003466 String, |Lists| and |Dictionaries| are used as echoed.
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00003467 Otherwise, {expr} is used as a String. The result is a
3468 Number, which gives the index (byte offset) in {expr} where
3469 {pat} matches.
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00003470 A match at the first character or |List| item returns zero.
Bram Moolenaar89cb5e02004-07-19 20:55:54 +00003471 If there is no match -1 is returned.
3472 Example: >
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00003473 :echo match("testing", "ing") " results in 4
Bram Moolenaar362e1a32006-03-06 23:29:24 +00003474 :echo match([1, 'x'], '\a') " results in 1
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00003475< See |string-match| for how {pat} is used.
Bram Moolenaar05159a02005-02-26 23:04:13 +00003476 *strpbrk()*
3477 Vim doesn't have a strpbrk() function. But you can do: >
3478 :let sepidx = match(line, '[.,;: \t]')
3479< *strcasestr()*
3480 Vim doesn't have a strcasestr() function. But you can add
3481 "\c" to the pattern to ignore case: >
3482 :let idx = match(haystack, '\cneedle')
3483<
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00003484 If {start} is given, the search starts from byte index
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00003485 {start} in a String or item {start} in a |List|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003486 The result, however, is still the index counted from the
Bram Moolenaar402d2fe2005-04-15 21:00:38 +00003487 first character/item. Example: >
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003488 :echo match("testing", "ing", 2)
3489< result is again "4". >
3490 :echo match("testing", "ing", 4)
3491< result is again "4". >
3492 :echo match("testing", "t", 2)
3493< result is "3".
Bram Moolenaar5e3cb7e2006-02-27 23:58:35 +00003494 For a String, if {start} > 0 then it is like the string starts
Bram Moolenaar0b238792006-03-02 22:49:12 +00003495 {start} bytes later, thus "^" will match at {start}. Except
3496 when {count} is given, then it's like matches before the
3497 {start} byte are ignored (this is a bit complicated to keep it
3498 backwards compatible).
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00003499 For a String, if {start} < 0, it will be set to 0. For a list
3500 the index is counted from the end.
Bram Moolenaare224ffa2006-03-01 00:01:28 +00003501 If {start} is out of range ({start} > strlen({expr}) for a
3502 String or {start} > len({expr}) for a |List|) -1 is returned.
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00003503
Bram Moolenaar5e3cb7e2006-02-27 23:58:35 +00003504 When {count} is given use the {count}'th match. When a match
Bram Moolenaare224ffa2006-03-01 00:01:28 +00003505 is found in a String the search for the next one starts one
Bram Moolenaar5e3cb7e2006-02-27 23:58:35 +00003506 character further. Thus this example results in 1: >
3507 echo match("testing", "..", 0, 2)
3508< In a |List| the search continues in the next item.
Bram Moolenaar0b238792006-03-02 22:49:12 +00003509 Note that when {count} is added the way {start} works changes,
3510 see above.
Bram Moolenaar5e3cb7e2006-02-27 23:58:35 +00003511
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003512 See |pattern| for the patterns that are accepted.
3513 The 'ignorecase' option is used to set the ignore-caseness of
3514 the pattern. 'smartcase' is NOT used. The matching is always
3515 done like 'magic' is set and 'cpoptions' is empty.
3516
Bram Moolenaar910f66f2006-04-05 20:41:53 +00003517
3518matcharg({nr}) *matcharg()*
3519 Selects the {nr} match item, as set with a |:match|,
3520 |:2match| or |:3match| command.
3521 Return a |List| with two elements:
3522 The name of the highlight group used
3523 The pattern used.
3524 When {nr} is not 1, 2 or 3 returns an empty |List|.
3525 When there is no match item set returns ['', ''].
3526 This is usef to save and restore a |:match|.
3527
3528
Bram Moolenaar89cb5e02004-07-19 20:55:54 +00003529matchend({expr}, {pat}[, {start}[, {count}]]) *matchend()*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003530 Same as match(), but return the index of first character after
3531 the match. Example: >
3532 :echo matchend("testing", "ing")
3533< results in "7".
Bram Moolenaar05159a02005-02-26 23:04:13 +00003534 *strspn()* *strcspn()*
3535 Vim doesn't have a strspn() or strcspn() function, but you can
3536 do it with matchend(): >
3537 :let span = matchend(line, '[a-zA-Z]')
3538 :let span = matchend(line, '[^a-zA-Z]')
3539< Except that -1 is returned when there are no matches.
3540
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003541 The {start}, if given, has the same meaning as for match(). >
3542 :echo matchend("testing", "ing", 2)
3543< results in "7". >
3544 :echo matchend("testing", "ing", 5)
3545< result is "-1".
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00003546 When {expr} is a |List| the result is equal to match().
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003547
Bram Moolenaar3a7c85b2005-02-05 21:39:53 +00003548matchlist({expr}, {pat}[, {start}[, {count}]]) *matchlist()*
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00003549 Same as match(), but return a |List|. The first item in the
Bram Moolenaar3a7c85b2005-02-05 21:39:53 +00003550 list is the matched string, same as what matchstr() would
3551 return. Following items are submatches, like "\1", "\2", etc.
3552 in |:substitute|.
3553 When there is no match an empty list is returned.
3554
Bram Moolenaar89cb5e02004-07-19 20:55:54 +00003555matchstr({expr}, {pat}[, {start}[, {count}]]) *matchstr()*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003556 Same as match(), but return the matched string. Example: >
3557 :echo matchstr("testing", "ing")
3558< results in "ing".
3559 When there is no match "" is returned.
3560 The {start}, if given, has the same meaning as for match(). >
3561 :echo matchstr("testing", "ing", 2)
3562< results in "ing". >
3563 :echo matchstr("testing", "ing", 5)
3564< result is "".
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00003565 When {expr} is a |List| then the matching item is returned.
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00003566 The type isn't changed, it's not necessarily a String.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003567
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +00003568 *max()*
3569max({list}) Return the maximum value of all items in {list}.
3570 If {list} is not a list or one of the items in {list} cannot
3571 be used as a Number this results in an error.
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00003572 An empty |List| results in zero.
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +00003573
3574 *min()*
3575min({list}) Return the minumum value of all items in {list}.
3576 If {list} is not a list or one of the items in {list} cannot
3577 be used as a Number this results in an error.
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00003578 An empty |List| results in zero.
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +00003579
Bram Moolenaar26a60b42005-02-22 08:49:11 +00003580 *mkdir()* *E749*
3581mkdir({name} [, {path} [, {prot}]])
3582 Create directory {name}.
3583 If {path} is "p" then intermediate directories are created as
3584 necessary. Otherwise it must be "".
3585 If {prot} is given it is used to set the protection bits of
3586 the new directory. The default is 0755 (rwxr-xr-x: r/w for
3587 the user readable for others). Use 0700 to make it unreadable
3588 for others.
3589 This function is not available in the |sandbox|.
3590 Not available on all systems. To check use: >
3591 :if exists("*mkdir")
3592<
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003593 *mode()*
3594mode() Return a string that indicates the current mode:
3595 n Normal
3596 v Visual by character
3597 V Visual by line
3598 CTRL-V Visual blockwise
3599 s Select by character
3600 S Select by line
3601 CTRL-S Select blockwise
3602 i Insert
3603 R Replace
3604 c Command-line
3605 r Hit-enter prompt
3606 This is useful in the 'statusline' option. In most other
3607 places it always returns "c" or "n".
3608
3609nextnonblank({lnum}) *nextnonblank()*
3610 Return the line number of the first line at or below {lnum}
3611 that is not blank. Example: >
3612 if getline(nextnonblank(1)) =~ "Java"
3613< When {lnum} is invalid or there is no non-blank line at or
3614 below it, zero is returned.
3615 See also |prevnonblank()|.
3616
3617nr2char({expr}) *nr2char()*
3618 Return a string with a single character, which has the number
3619 value {expr}. Examples: >
3620 nr2char(64) returns "@"
3621 nr2char(32) returns " "
3622< The current 'encoding' is used. Example for "utf-8": >
3623 nr2char(300) returns I with bow character
3624< Note that a NUL character in the file is specified with
3625 nr2char(10), because NULs are represented with newline
3626 characters. nr2char(0) is a real NUL and terminates the
Bram Moolenaar383f9bc2005-01-19 22:18:32 +00003627 string, thus results in an empty string.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003628
Bram Moolenaar0b238792006-03-02 22:49:12 +00003629 *getpos()*
Bram Moolenaar65c923a2006-03-03 22:56:30 +00003630getpos({expr}) Get the position for {expr}. For possible values of {expr}
3631 see |line()|.
3632 The result is a |List| with four numbers:
3633 [bufnum, lnum, col, off]
3634 "bufnum" is zero, unless a mark like '0 or 'A is used, then it
3635 is the buffer number of the mark.
3636 "lnum" and "col" are the position in the buffer. The first
3637 column is 1.
Bram Moolenaar0b238792006-03-02 22:49:12 +00003638 The "off" number is zero, unless 'virtualedit' is used. Then
3639 it is the offset in screen columns from the start of the
3640 character. E.g., a position within a Tab or after the last
3641 character.
3642 This can be used to save and restore the cursor position: >
3643 let save_cursor = getpos(".")
3644 MoveTheCursorAround
Bram Moolenaardb552d602006-03-23 22:59:57 +00003645 call setpos('.', save_cursor)
Bram Moolenaar65c923a2006-03-03 22:56:30 +00003646< Also see |setpos()|.
Bram Moolenaar0b238792006-03-02 22:49:12 +00003647
Bram Moolenaar910f66f2006-04-05 20:41:53 +00003648pathshorten({expr}) *pathshorten()*
3649 Shorten directory names in the path {expr} and return the
3650 result. The tail, the file name, is kept as-is. The other
3651 components in the path are reduced to single letters. Leading
3652 '~' and '.' characters are kept. Example: >
3653 :echo pathshorten('~/.vim/autoload/myfile.vim')
3654< ~/.v/a/myfile.vim ~
3655 It doesn't matter if the path exists or not.
3656
Bram Moolenaar1d2ba7f2006-02-14 22:29:30 +00003657prevnonblank({lnum}) *prevnonblank()*
3658 Return the line number of the first line at or above {lnum}
3659 that is not blank. Example: >
3660 let ind = indent(prevnonblank(v:lnum - 1))
3661< When {lnum} is invalid or there is no non-blank line at or
3662 above it, zero is returned.
3663 Also see |nextnonblank()|.
3664
3665
Bram Moolenaar4be06f92005-07-29 22:36:03 +00003666printf({fmt}, {expr1} ...) *printf()*
3667 Return a String with {fmt}, where "%" items are replaced by
3668 the formatted form of their respective arguments. Example: >
Bram Moolenaar5a8684e2005-07-30 22:43:24 +00003669 printf("%4d: E%d %.30s", lnum, errno, msg)
Bram Moolenaar4be06f92005-07-29 22:36:03 +00003670< May result in:
Bram Moolenaar5a8684e2005-07-30 22:43:24 +00003671 " 99: E42 asdfasdfasdfasdfasdfasdfasdfas" ~
Bram Moolenaar4be06f92005-07-29 22:36:03 +00003672
3673 Often used items are:
3674 %s string
Bram Moolenaar98692072006-02-04 00:57:42 +00003675 %6s string right-aligned in 6 bytes
3676 %.9s string truncated to 9 bytes
Bram Moolenaar5a8684e2005-07-30 22:43:24 +00003677 %c single byte
Bram Moolenaar4be06f92005-07-29 22:36:03 +00003678 %d decimal number
3679 %5d decimal number padded with spaces to 5 characters
3680 %x hex number
3681 %04x hex number padded with zeros to at least 4 characters
3682 %X hex number using upper case letters
3683 %o octal number
Bram Moolenaar98692072006-02-04 00:57:42 +00003684 %% the % character itself
Bram Moolenaar4be06f92005-07-29 22:36:03 +00003685
3686 Conversion specifications start with '%' and end with the
3687 conversion type. All other characters are copied unchanged to
3688 the result.
3689
3690 The "%" starts a conversion specification. The following
Bram Moolenaar5a8684e2005-07-30 22:43:24 +00003691 arguments appear in sequence:
Bram Moolenaar4be06f92005-07-29 22:36:03 +00003692
Bram Moolenaar5a8684e2005-07-30 22:43:24 +00003693 % [flags] [field-width] [.precision] type
Bram Moolenaar4be06f92005-07-29 22:36:03 +00003694
Bram Moolenaar5a8684e2005-07-30 22:43:24 +00003695 flags
3696 Zero or more of the following flags:
3697
Bram Moolenaar4be06f92005-07-29 22:36:03 +00003698 # The value should be converted to an "alternate
3699 form". For c, d, and s conversions, this option
3700 has no effect. For o conversions, the precision
3701 of the number is increased to force the first
3702 character of the output string to a zero (except
3703 if a zero value is printed with an explicit
3704 precision of zero).
3705 For x and X conversions, a non-zero result has
3706 the string "0x" (or "0X" for X conversions)
3707 prepended to it.
Bram Moolenaar5a8684e2005-07-30 22:43:24 +00003708
Bram Moolenaar4be06f92005-07-29 22:36:03 +00003709 0 (zero) Zero padding. For all conversions the converted
3710 value is padded on the left with zeros rather
3711 than blanks. If a precision is given with a
3712 numeric conversion (d, o, x, and X), the 0 flag
3713 is ignored.
Bram Moolenaar5a8684e2005-07-30 22:43:24 +00003714
Bram Moolenaar4be06f92005-07-29 22:36:03 +00003715 - A negative field width flag; the converted value
3716 is to be left adjusted on the field boundary.
3717 The converted value is padded on the right with
3718 blanks, rather than on the left with blanks or
3719 zeros. A - overrides a 0 if both are given.
Bram Moolenaar5a8684e2005-07-30 22:43:24 +00003720
Bram Moolenaar4be06f92005-07-29 22:36:03 +00003721 ' ' (space) A blank should be left before a positive
3722 number produced by a signed conversion (d).
Bram Moolenaar5a8684e2005-07-30 22:43:24 +00003723
Bram Moolenaar4be06f92005-07-29 22:36:03 +00003724 + A sign must always be placed before a number
3725 produced by a signed conversion. A + overrides
3726 a space if both are used.
Bram Moolenaar5a8684e2005-07-30 22:43:24 +00003727
3728 field-width
3729 An optional decimal digit string specifying a minimum
Bram Moolenaar98692072006-02-04 00:57:42 +00003730 field width. If the converted value has fewer bytes
3731 than the field width, it will be padded with spaces on
3732 the left (or right, if the left-adjustment flag has
3733 been given) to fill out the field width.
Bram Moolenaar5a8684e2005-07-30 22:43:24 +00003734
3735 .precision
3736 An optional precision, in the form of a period '.'
3737 followed by an optional digit string. If the digit
3738 string is omitted, the precision is taken as zero.
3739 This gives the minimum number of digits to appear for
3740 d, o, x, and X conversions, or the maximum number of
Bram Moolenaar98692072006-02-04 00:57:42 +00003741 bytes to be printed from a string for s conversions.
Bram Moolenaar5a8684e2005-07-30 22:43:24 +00003742
3743 type
3744 A character that specifies the type of conversion to
3745 be applied, see below.
3746
Bram Moolenaar4be06f92005-07-29 22:36:03 +00003747 A field width or precision, or both, may be indicated by an
3748 asterisk '*' instead of a digit string. In this case, a
3749 Number argument supplies the field width or precision. A
3750 negative field width is treated as a left adjustment flag
3751 followed by a positive field width; a negative precision is
3752 treated as though it were missing. Example: >
Bram Moolenaar5a8684e2005-07-30 22:43:24 +00003753 :echo printf("%d: %.*s", nr, width, line)
Bram Moolenaar4be06f92005-07-29 22:36:03 +00003754< This limits the length of the text used from "line" to
Bram Moolenaar5a8684e2005-07-30 22:43:24 +00003755 "width" bytes.
Bram Moolenaar4be06f92005-07-29 22:36:03 +00003756
3757 The conversion specifiers and their meanings are:
Bram Moolenaar5a8684e2005-07-30 22:43:24 +00003758
Bram Moolenaar4be06f92005-07-29 22:36:03 +00003759 doxX The Number argument is converted to signed decimal
3760 (d), unsigned octal (o), or unsigned hexadecimal (x
3761 and X) notation. The letters "abcdef" are used for
3762 x conversions; the letters "ABCDEF" are used for X
Bram Moolenaar5a8684e2005-07-30 22:43:24 +00003763 conversions.
3764 The precision, if any, gives the minimum number of
3765 digits that must appear; if the converted value
3766 requires fewer digits, it is padded on the left with
3767 zeros.
3768 In no case does a non-existent or small field width
3769 cause truncation of a numeric field; if the result of
3770 a conversion is wider than the field width, the field
3771 is expanded to contain the conversion result.
3772
3773 c The Number argument is converted to a byte, and the
3774 resulting character is written.
3775
3776 s The text of the String argument is used. If a
3777 precision is specified, no more bytes than the number
3778 specified are used.
3779
Bram Moolenaar4be06f92005-07-29 22:36:03 +00003780 % A '%' is written. No argument is converted. The
3781 complete conversion specification is "%%".
Bram Moolenaar4be06f92005-07-29 22:36:03 +00003782
Bram Moolenaar5a8684e2005-07-30 22:43:24 +00003783 Each argument can be Number or String and is converted
3784 automatically to fit the conversion specifier. Any other
3785 argument type results in an error message.
Bram Moolenaar4be06f92005-07-29 22:36:03 +00003786
Bram Moolenaar83bab712005-08-01 21:58:57 +00003787 *E766* *E767*
Bram Moolenaar4be06f92005-07-29 22:36:03 +00003788 The number of {exprN} arguments must exactly match the number
3789 of "%" items. If there are not sufficient or too many
Bram Moolenaar5a8684e2005-07-30 22:43:24 +00003790 arguments an error is given. Up to 18 arguments can be used.
Bram Moolenaar4be06f92005-07-29 22:36:03 +00003791
3792
Bram Moolenaar1d2ba7f2006-02-14 22:29:30 +00003793pumvisible() *pumvisible()*
3794 Returns non-zero when the popup menu is visible, zero
3795 otherwise. See |ins-completion-menu|.
Bram Moolenaar87b5ca52006-03-04 21:55:31 +00003796 This can be used to avoid some things that would remove the
3797 popup menu.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003798
Bram Moolenaar4a85b412006-04-23 22:40:29 +00003799pushkeys({string} [, {mode}]) *pushkeys()*
3800 Characters in {string} are queued for processing as if they
3801 were typed by user. They are added to the end of the
3802 typeahead buffer, thus if a mapping is still being executed
3803 these characters come after them.
3804 The function does not wait for processing of keys contained in
3805 {string}.
3806 To include special keys into {string}, use double-quotes
3807 and "\..." notation |expr-quote|. For example,
3808 pushkeys("\<CR>") simulates pressing of the Enter key. But
3809 pushkeys('\<CR>') pushes 5 characters.
3810 If {mode} is absent, keys are remapped.
3811 {mode} is a String, which can contain these character flags:
3812 'm' remap keys. This is default.
3813 'n' do not remap keys
3814 Return value is always 0.
3815
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00003816 *E726* *E727*
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +00003817range({expr} [, {max} [, {stride}]]) *range()*
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00003818 Returns a |List| with Numbers:
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +00003819 - If only {expr} is specified: [0, 1, ..., {expr} - 1]
3820 - If {max} is specified: [{expr}, {expr} + 1, ..., {max}]
3821 - If {stride} is specified: [{expr}, {expr} + {stride}, ...,
3822 {max}] (increasing {expr} with {stride} each time, not
3823 producing a value past {max}).
Bram Moolenaare7566042005-06-17 22:00:15 +00003824 When the maximum is one before the start the result is an
3825 empty list. When the maximum is more than one before the
3826 start this is an error.
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +00003827 Examples: >
3828 range(4) " [0, 1, 2, 3]
3829 range(2, 4) " [2, 3, 4]
3830 range(2, 9, 3) " [2, 5, 8]
3831 range(2, -2, -1) " [2, 1, 0, -1, -2]
Bram Moolenaare7566042005-06-17 22:00:15 +00003832 range(0) " []
3833 range(2, 0) " error!
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +00003834<
Bram Moolenaar3a7c85b2005-02-05 21:39:53 +00003835 *readfile()*
Bram Moolenaar26a60b42005-02-22 08:49:11 +00003836readfile({fname} [, {binary} [, {max}]])
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00003837 Read file {fname} and return a |List|, each line of the file
3838 as an item. Lines broken at NL characters. Macintosh files
Bram Moolenaar3a7c85b2005-02-05 21:39:53 +00003839 separated with CR will result in a single long line (unless a
3840 NL appears somewhere).
3841 When {binary} is equal to "b" binary mode is used:
3842 - When the last line ends in a NL an extra empty list item is
3843 added.
3844 - No CR characters are removed.
3845 Otherwise:
3846 - CR characters that appear before a NL are removed.
3847 - Whether the last line ends in a NL or not does not matter.
3848 All NUL characters are replaced with a NL character.
Bram Moolenaar26a60b42005-02-22 08:49:11 +00003849 When {max} is given this specifies the maximum number of lines
3850 to be read. Useful if you only want to check the first ten
3851 lines of a file: >
3852 :for line in readfile(fname, '', 10)
3853 : if line =~ 'Date' | echo line | endif
3854 :endfor
Bram Moolenaar582fd852005-03-28 20:58:01 +00003855< When {max} is negative -{max} lines from the end of the file
3856 are returned, or as many as there are.
3857 When {max} is zero the result is an empty list.
Bram Moolenaar26a60b42005-02-22 08:49:11 +00003858 Note that without {max} the whole file is read into memory.
3859 Also note that there is no recognition of encoding. Read a
3860 file into a buffer if you need to.
Bram Moolenaar3a7c85b2005-02-05 21:39:53 +00003861 When the file can't be opened an error message is given and
3862 the result is an empty list.
3863 Also see |writefile()|.
3864
Bram Moolenaar433f7c82006-03-21 21:29:36 +00003865reltime([{start} [, {end}]]) *reltime()*
3866 Return an item that represents a time value. The format of
3867 the item depends on the system. It can be passed to
3868 |reltimestr()| to convert it to a string.
3869 Without an argument it returns the current time.
3870 With one argument is returns the time passed since the time
3871 specified in the argument.
3872 With two arguments it returns the time passed betweein {start}
3873 and {end}.
3874 The {start} and {end} arguments must be values returned by
3875 reltime().
3876 {only available when compiled with the +reltime feature}
3877
3878reltimestr({time}) *reltimestr()*
3879 Return a String that represents the time value of {time}.
3880 This is the number of seconds, a dot and the number of
3881 microseconds. Example: >
3882 let start = reltime()
3883 call MyFunction()
3884 echo reltimestr(reltime(start))
3885< Note that overhead for the commands will be added to the time.
3886 The accuracy depends on the system.
3887 Also see |profiling|.
3888 {only available when compiled with the +reltime feature}
3889
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003890 *remote_expr()* *E449*
3891remote_expr({server}, {string} [, {idvar}])
3892 Send the {string} to {server}. The string is sent as an
3893 expression and the result is returned after evaluation.
Bram Moolenaar362e1a32006-03-06 23:29:24 +00003894 The result must be a String or a |List|. A |List| is turned
3895 into a String by joining the items with a line break in
3896 between (not at the end), like with join(expr, "\n").
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003897 If {idvar} is present, it is taken as the name of a
3898 variable and a {serverid} for later use with
3899 remote_read() is stored there.
3900 See also |clientserver| |RemoteReply|.
3901 This function is not available in the |sandbox|.
3902 {only available when compiled with the |+clientserver| feature}
3903 Note: Any errors will cause a local error message to be issued
3904 and the result will be the empty string.
3905 Examples: >
3906 :echo remote_expr("gvim", "2+2")
3907 :echo remote_expr("gvim1", "b:current_syntax")
3908<
3909
3910remote_foreground({server}) *remote_foreground()*
3911 Move the Vim server with the name {server} to the foreground.
3912 This works like: >
3913 remote_expr({server}, "foreground()")
3914< Except that on Win32 systems the client does the work, to work
3915 around the problem that the OS doesn't always allow the server
3916 to bring itself to the foreground.
Bram Moolenaar9372a112005-12-06 19:59:18 +00003917 Note: This does not restore the window if it was minimized,
3918 like foreground() does.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003919 This function is not available in the |sandbox|.
3920 {only in the Win32, Athena, Motif and GTK GUI versions and the
3921 Win32 console version}
3922
3923
3924remote_peek({serverid} [, {retvar}]) *remote_peek()*
3925 Returns a positive number if there are available strings
3926 from {serverid}. Copies any reply string into the variable
3927 {retvar} if specified. {retvar} must be a string with the
3928 name of a variable.
3929 Returns zero if none are available.
3930 Returns -1 if something is wrong.
3931 See also |clientserver|.
3932 This function is not available in the |sandbox|.
3933 {only available when compiled with the |+clientserver| feature}
3934 Examples: >
3935 :let repl = ""
3936 :echo "PEEK: ".remote_peek(id, "repl").": ".repl
3937
3938remote_read({serverid}) *remote_read()*
3939 Return the oldest available reply from {serverid} and consume
3940 it. It blocks until a reply is available.
3941 See also |clientserver|.
3942 This function is not available in the |sandbox|.
3943 {only available when compiled with the |+clientserver| feature}
3944 Example: >
3945 :echo remote_read(id)
3946<
3947 *remote_send()* *E241*
3948remote_send({server}, {string} [, {idvar}])
Bram Moolenaard4755bb2004-09-02 19:12:26 +00003949 Send the {string} to {server}. The string is sent as input
3950 keys and the function returns immediately. At the Vim server
3951 the keys are not mapped |:map|.
Bram Moolenaar1d2ba7f2006-02-14 22:29:30 +00003952 If {idvar} is present, it is taken as the name of a variable
3953 and a {serverid} for later use with remote_read() is stored
3954 there.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003955 See also |clientserver| |RemoteReply|.
3956 This function is not available in the |sandbox|.
3957 {only available when compiled with the |+clientserver| feature}
3958 Note: Any errors will be reported in the server and may mess
3959 up the display.
3960 Examples: >
3961 :echo remote_send("gvim", ":DropAndReply ".file, "serverid").
3962 \ remote_read(serverid)
3963
3964 :autocmd NONE RemoteReply *
3965 \ echo remote_read(expand("<amatch>"))
3966 :echo remote_send("gvim", ":sleep 10 | echo ".
3967 \ 'server2client(expand("<client>"), "HELLO")<CR>')
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00003968<
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +00003969remove({list}, {idx} [, {end}]) *remove()*
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00003970 Without {end}: Remove the item at {idx} from |List| {list} and
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +00003971 return it.
3972 With {end}: Remove items from {idx} to {end} (inclusive) and
3973 return a list with these items. When {idx} points to the same
3974 item as {end} a list with one item is returned. When {end}
3975 points to an item before {idx} this is an error.
3976 See |list-index| for possible values of {idx} and {end}.
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00003977 Example: >
3978 :echo "last item: " . remove(mylist, -1)
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +00003979 :call remove(mylist, 0, 9)
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +00003980remove({dict}, {key})
3981 Remove the entry from {dict} with key {key}. Example: >
3982 :echo "removed " . remove(dict, "one")
3983< If there is no {key} in {dict} this is an error.
3984
3985 Use |delete()| to remove a file.
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00003986
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003987rename({from}, {to}) *rename()*
3988 Rename the file by the name {from} to the name {to}. This
3989 should also work to move files across file systems. The
3990 result is a Number, which is 0 if the file was renamed
3991 successfully, and non-zero when the renaming failed.
3992 This function is not available in the |sandbox|.
3993
Bram Moolenaarab79bcb2004-07-18 21:34:53 +00003994repeat({expr}, {count}) *repeat()*
3995 Repeat {expr} {count} times and return the concatenated
3996 result. Example: >
3997 :let seperator = repeat('-', 80)
3998< When {count} is zero or negative the result is empty.
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00003999 When {expr} is a |List| the result is {expr} concatenated
Bram Moolenaar402d2fe2005-04-15 21:00:38 +00004000 {count} times. Example: >
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +00004001 :let longlist = repeat(['a', 'b'], 3)
4002< Results in ['a', 'b', 'a', 'b', 'a', 'b'].
Bram Moolenaarab79bcb2004-07-18 21:34:53 +00004003
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00004004
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004005resolve({filename}) *resolve()* *E655*
4006 On MS-Windows, when {filename} is a shortcut (a .lnk file),
4007 returns the path the shortcut points to in a simplified form.
4008 On Unix, repeat resolving symbolic links in all path
4009 components of {filename} and return the simplified result.
4010 To cope with link cycles, resolving of symbolic links is
4011 stopped after 100 iterations.
4012 On other systems, return the simplified {filename}.
4013 The simplification step is done as by |simplify()|.
4014 resolve() keeps a leading path component specifying the
4015 current directory (provided the result is still a relative
4016 path name) and also keeps a trailing path separator.
4017
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00004018 *reverse()*
4019reverse({list}) Reverse the order of items in {list} in-place. Returns
4020 {list}.
4021 If you want a list to remain unmodified make a copy first: >
4022 :let revlist = reverse(copy(mylist))
4023
Bram Moolenaara23ccb82006-02-27 00:08:02 +00004024search({pattern} [, {flags} [, {stopline}]]) *search()*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004025 Search for regexp pattern {pattern}. The search starts at the
Bram Moolenaar383f9bc2005-01-19 22:18:32 +00004026 cursor position (you can use |cursor()| to set it).
Bram Moolenaar65c923a2006-03-03 22:56:30 +00004027
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004028 {flags} is a String, which can contain these character flags:
4029 'b' search backward instead of forward
Bram Moolenaar87b5ca52006-03-04 21:55:31 +00004030 'c' accept a match at the cursor position
4031 'e' move to the End of the match
Bram Moolenaar5eb86f92004-07-26 12:53:41 +00004032 'n' do Not move the cursor
Bram Moolenaar87b5ca52006-03-04 21:55:31 +00004033 'p' return number of matching sub-pattern (see below)
4034 's' set the ' mark at the previous location of the cursor
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004035 'w' wrap around the end of the file
4036 'W' don't wrap around the end of the file
4037 If neither 'w' or 'W' is given, the 'wrapscan' option applies.
4038
Bram Moolenaar02743632005-07-25 20:42:36 +00004039 If the 's' flag is supplied, the ' mark is set, only if the
4040 cursor is moved. The 's' flag cannot be combined with the 'n'
4041 flag.
4042
Bram Moolenaara23ccb82006-02-27 00:08:02 +00004043 When the {stopline} argument is given then the search stops
4044 after searching this line. This is useful to restrict the
4045 search to a range of lines. Examples: >
4046 let match = search('(', 'b', line("w0"))
4047 let end = search('END', '', line("w$"))
4048< When {stopline} is used and it is not zero this also implies
4049 that the search does not wrap around the end of the file.
4050
Bram Moolenaar5eb86f92004-07-26 12:53:41 +00004051 If there is no match a 0 is returned and the cursor doesn't
4052 move. No error message is given.
Bram Moolenaar362e1a32006-03-06 23:29:24 +00004053 When a match has been found its line number is returned.
4054 *search()-sub-match*
4055 With the 'p' flag the returned value is one more than the
4056 first sub-match in \(\). One if none of them matched but the
4057 whole pattern did match.
Bram Moolenaara23ccb82006-02-27 00:08:02 +00004058 To get the column number too use |searchpos()|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004059
Bram Moolenaar87b5ca52006-03-04 21:55:31 +00004060 The cursor will be positioned at the match, unless the 'n'
4061 flag is used.
4062
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004063 Example (goes over all files in the argument list): >
4064 :let n = 1
4065 :while n <= argc() " loop over all files in arglist
4066 : exe "argument " . n
4067 : " start at the last char in the file and wrap for the
4068 : " first search to find match at start of file
4069 : normal G$
4070 : let flags = "w"
4071 : while search("foo", flags) > 0
4072 : s/foo/bar/g
4073 : let flags = "W"
4074 : endwhile
4075 : update " write the file if modified
4076 : let n = n + 1
4077 :endwhile
4078<
Bram Moolenaar87b5ca52006-03-04 21:55:31 +00004079 Example for using some flags: >
4080 :echo search('\<if\|\(else\)\|\(endif\)', 'ncpe')
4081< This will search for the keywords "if", "else", and "endif"
4082 under or after the cursor. Because of the 'p' flag, it
4083 returns 1, 2, or 3 depending on which keyword is found, or 0
4084 if the search fails. With the cursor on the first word of the
4085 line:
4086 if (foo == 0) | let foo = foo + 1 | endif ~
4087 the function returns 1. Without the 'c' flag, the function
4088 finds the "endif" and returns 3. The same thing happens
4089 without the 'e' flag if the cursor is on the "f" of "if".
4090 The 'n' flag tells the function not to move the cursor.
4091
Bram Moolenaar92d640f2005-09-05 22:11:52 +00004092
Bram Moolenaarf75a9632005-09-13 21:20:47 +00004093searchdecl({name} [, {global} [, {thisblock}]]) *searchdecl()*
4094 Search for the declaration of {name}.
4095
4096 With a non-zero {global} argument it works like |gD|, find
4097 first match in the file. Otherwise it works like |gd|, find
4098 first match in the function.
4099
4100 With a non-zero {thisblock} argument matches in a {} block
4101 that ends before the cursor position are ignored. Avoids
4102 finding variable declarations only valid in another scope.
4103
Bram Moolenaar92d640f2005-09-05 22:11:52 +00004104 Moves the cursor to the found match.
4105 Returns zero for success, non-zero for failure.
4106 Example: >
4107 if searchdecl('myvar') == 0
4108 echo getline('.')
4109 endif
4110<
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004111 *searchpair()*
Bram Moolenaara23ccb82006-02-27 00:08:02 +00004112searchpair({start}, {middle}, {end} [, {flags} [, {skip} [, {stopline}]]])
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004113 Search for the match of a nested start-end pair. This can be
4114 used to find the "endif" that matches an "if", while other
4115 if/endif pairs in between are ignored.
Bram Moolenaarfaa959a2006-02-20 21:37:40 +00004116 The search starts at the cursor. The default is to search
4117 forward, include 'b' in {flags} to search backward.
4118 If a match is found, the cursor is positioned at it and the
4119 line number is returned. If no match is found 0 or -1 is
4120 returned and the cursor doesn't move. No error message is
4121 given.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004122
4123 {start}, {middle} and {end} are patterns, see |pattern|. They
4124 must not contain \( \) pairs. Use of \%( \) is allowed. When
4125 {middle} is not empty, it is found when searching from either
4126 direction, but only when not in a nested start-end pair. A
4127 typical use is: >
4128 searchpair('\<if\>', '\<else\>', '\<endif\>')
4129< By leaving {middle} empty the "else" is skipped.
4130
Bram Moolenaar87b5ca52006-03-04 21:55:31 +00004131 {flags} 'b', 'c', 'n', 's', 'w' and 'W' are used like with
4132 |search()|. Additionally:
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004133 'r' Repeat until no more matches found; will find the
4134 outer pair
4135 'm' return number of Matches instead of line number with
Bram Moolenaar87b5ca52006-03-04 21:55:31 +00004136 the match; will be > 1 when 'r' is used.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004137
4138 When a match for {start}, {middle} or {end} is found, the
4139 {skip} expression is evaluated with the cursor positioned on
4140 the start of the match. It should return non-zero if this
4141 match is to be skipped. E.g., because it is inside a comment
4142 or a string.
4143 When {skip} is omitted or empty, every match is accepted.
4144 When evaluating {skip} causes an error the search is aborted
4145 and -1 returned.
4146
Bram Moolenaara23ccb82006-02-27 00:08:02 +00004147 For {stopline} see |search()|.
4148
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004149 The value of 'ignorecase' is used. 'magic' is ignored, the
4150 patterns are used like it's on.
4151
4152 The search starts exactly at the cursor. A match with
4153 {start}, {middle} or {end} at the next character, in the
4154 direction of searching, is the first one found. Example: >
4155 if 1
4156 if 2
4157 endif 2
4158 endif 1
4159< When starting at the "if 2", with the cursor on the "i", and
4160 searching forwards, the "endif 2" is found. When starting on
4161 the character just before the "if 2", the "endif 1" will be
4162 found. That's because the "if 2" will be found first, and
4163 then this is considered to be a nested if/endif from "if 2" to
4164 "endif 2".
4165 When searching backwards and {end} is more than one character,
4166 it may be useful to put "\zs" at the end of the pattern, so
4167 that when the cursor is inside a match with the end it finds
4168 the matching start.
4169
4170 Example, to find the "endif" command in a Vim script: >
4171
4172 :echo searchpair('\<if\>', '\<el\%[seif]\>', '\<en\%[dif]\>', 'W',
4173 \ 'getline(".") =~ "^\\s*\""')
4174
4175< The cursor must be at or after the "if" for which a match is
4176 to be found. Note that single-quote strings are used to avoid
4177 having to double the backslashes. The skip expression only
4178 catches comments at the start of a line, not after a command.
4179 Also, a word "en" or "if" halfway a line is considered a
4180 match.
4181 Another example, to search for the matching "{" of a "}": >
4182
4183 :echo searchpair('{', '', '}', 'bW')
4184
4185< This works when the cursor is at or before the "}" for which a
4186 match is to be found. To reject matches that syntax
4187 highlighting recognized as strings: >
4188
4189 :echo searchpair('{', '', '}', 'bW',
4190 \ 'synIDattr(synID(line("."), col("."), 0), "name") =~? "string"')
4191<
Bram Moolenaar1d2ba7f2006-02-14 22:29:30 +00004192 *searchpairpos()*
Bram Moolenaara23ccb82006-02-27 00:08:02 +00004193searchpairpos({start}, {middle}, {end} [, {flags} [, {skip} [, {stopline}]]])
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00004194 Same as searchpair(), but returns a |List| with the line and
4195 column position of the match. The first element of the |List|
4196 is the line number and the second element is the byte index of
Bram Moolenaar1d2ba7f2006-02-14 22:29:30 +00004197 the column position of the match. If no match is found,
4198 returns [0, 0].
4199>
4200 :let [lnum,col] = searchpairpos('{', '', '}', 'n')
4201<
4202 See |match-parens| for a bigger and more useful example.
4203
Bram Moolenaara23ccb82006-02-27 00:08:02 +00004204searchpos({pattern} [, {flags} [, {stopline}]]) *searchpos()*
4205 Same as |search()|, but returns a |List| with the line and
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00004206 column position of the match. The first element of the |List|
4207 is the line number and the second element is the byte index of
4208 the column position of the match. If no match is found,
4209 returns [0, 0].
Bram Moolenaar362e1a32006-03-06 23:29:24 +00004210 Example: >
4211 :let [lnum, col] = searchpos('mypattern', 'n')
4212
4213< When the 'p' flag is given then there is an extra item with
4214 the sub-pattern match number |search()-sub-match|. Example: >
4215 :let [lnum, col, submatch] = searchpos('\(\l\)\|\(\u\)', 'np')
4216< In this example "submatch" is 2 when a lowercase letter is
4217 found |/\l|, 3 when an uppercase letter is found |/\u|.
4218
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004219server2client( {clientid}, {string}) *server2client()*
4220 Send a reply string to {clientid}. The most recent {clientid}
4221 that sent a string can be retrieved with expand("<client>").
4222 {only available when compiled with the |+clientserver| feature}
4223 Note:
4224 This id has to be stored before the next command can be
Bram Moolenaar402d2fe2005-04-15 21:00:38 +00004225 received. I.e. before returning from the received command and
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004226 before calling any commands that waits for input.
4227 See also |clientserver|.
4228 Example: >
4229 :echo server2client(expand("<client>"), "HELLO")
4230<
4231serverlist() *serverlist()*
4232 Return a list of available server names, one per line.
4233 When there are no servers or the information is not available
4234 an empty string is returned. See also |clientserver|.
4235 {only available when compiled with the |+clientserver| feature}
4236 Example: >
4237 :echo serverlist()
4238<
4239setbufvar({expr}, {varname}, {val}) *setbufvar()*
4240 Set option or local variable {varname} in buffer {expr} to
4241 {val}.
4242 This also works for a global or local window option, but it
4243 doesn't work for a global or local window variable.
4244 For a local window option the global value is unchanged.
4245 For the use of {expr}, see |bufname()| above.
4246 Note that the variable name without "b:" must be used.
4247 Examples: >
4248 :call setbufvar(1, "&mod", 1)
4249 :call setbufvar("todo", "myvar", "foobar")
4250< This function is not available in the |sandbox|.
4251
4252setcmdpos({pos}) *setcmdpos()*
4253 Set the cursor position in the command line to byte position
4254 {pos}. The first position is 1.
4255 Use |getcmdpos()| to obtain the current position.
4256 Only works while editing the command line, thus you must use
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +00004257 |c_CTRL-\_e|, |c_CTRL-R_=| or |c_CTRL-R_CTRL-R| with '='. For
4258 |c_CTRL-\_e| and |c_CTRL-R_CTRL-R| with '=' the position is
4259 set after the command line is set to the expression. For
4260 |c_CTRL-R_=| it is set after evaluating the expression but
4261 before inserting the resulting text.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004262 When the number is too big the cursor is put at the end of the
4263 line. A number smaller than one has undefined results.
4264 Returns 0 when successful, 1 when not editing the command
4265 line.
4266
4267setline({lnum}, {line}) *setline()*
Bram Moolenaar402d2fe2005-04-15 21:00:38 +00004268 Set line {lnum} of the current buffer to {line}.
4269 {lnum} is used like with |getline()|.
Bram Moolenaar2389c3c2005-05-22 22:07:59 +00004270 When {lnum} is just below the last line the {line} will be
4271 added as a new line.
Bram Moolenaar402d2fe2005-04-15 21:00:38 +00004272 If this succeeds, 0 is returned. If this fails (most likely
4273 because {lnum} is invalid) 1 is returned. Example: >
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004274 :call setline(5, strftime("%c"))
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00004275< When {line} is a |List| then line {lnum} and following lines
Bram Moolenaar2389c3c2005-05-22 22:07:59 +00004276 will be set to the items in the list. Example: >
4277 :call setline(5, ['aaa', 'bbb', 'ccc'])
4278< This is equivalent to: >
4279 :for [n, l] in [[5, 6, 7], ['aaa', 'bbb', 'ccc']]
4280 : call setline(n, l)
4281 :endfor
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004282< Note: The '[ and '] marks are not set.
4283
Bram Moolenaar17c7c012006-01-26 22:25:15 +00004284setloclist({nr}, {list} [, {action}]) *setloclist()*
4285 Create or replace or add to the location list for window {nr}.
4286 When {nr} is zero the current window is used. For a location
Bram Moolenaar280f1262006-01-30 00:14:18 +00004287 list window, the displayed location list is modified. For an
4288 invalid window number {nr}, -1 is returned.
Bram Moolenaar17c7c012006-01-26 22:25:15 +00004289 Otherwise, same as setqflist().
Bram Moolenaar68b76a62005-03-25 21:53:48 +00004290
Bram Moolenaar65c923a2006-03-03 22:56:30 +00004291 *setpos()*
4292setpos({expr}, {list})
4293 Set the position for {expr}. Possible values:
4294 . the cursor
4295 'x mark x
4296
4297 {list} must be a |List| with four numbers:
4298 [bufnum, lnum, col, off]
4299
4300 "bufnum" is the buffer number. Zero can be used for the
4301 current buffer. Setting the cursor is only possible for
4302 the current buffer. To set a mark in another buffer you can
4303 use the |bufnr()| function to turn a file name into a buffer
4304 number.
Bram Moolenaardb552d602006-03-23 22:59:57 +00004305 Does not change the jumplist.
Bram Moolenaar65c923a2006-03-03 22:56:30 +00004306
4307 "lnum" and "col" are the position in the buffer. The first
4308 column is 1. Use a zero "lnum" to delete a mark.
4309
4310 The "off" number is only used when 'virtualedit' is set. Then
4311 it is the offset in screen columns from the start of the
4312 character. E.g., a position within a Tab or after the last
4313 character.
4314
4315 Also see |getpos()|
4316
4317
Bram Moolenaar35c54e52005-05-20 21:25:31 +00004318setqflist({list} [, {action}]) *setqflist()*
Bram Moolenaar17c7c012006-01-26 22:25:15 +00004319 Create or replace or add to the quickfix list using the items
4320 in {list}. Each item in {list} is a dictionary.
4321 Non-dictionary items in {list} are ignored. Each dictionary
4322 item can contain the following entries:
Bram Moolenaar68b76a62005-03-25 21:53:48 +00004323
4324 filename name of a file
4325 lnum line number in the file
Bram Moolenaar68b76a62005-03-25 21:53:48 +00004326 pattern search pattern used to locate the error
Bram Moolenaar582fd852005-03-28 20:58:01 +00004327 col column number
4328 vcol when non-zero: "col" is visual column
4329 when zero: "col" is byte index
4330 nr error number
Bram Moolenaar68b76a62005-03-25 21:53:48 +00004331 text description of the error
Bram Moolenaar582fd852005-03-28 20:58:01 +00004332 type single-character error type, 'E', 'W', etc.
Bram Moolenaar68b76a62005-03-25 21:53:48 +00004333
Bram Moolenaar582fd852005-03-28 20:58:01 +00004334 The "col", "vcol", "nr", "type" and "text" entries are
4335 optional. Either "lnum" or "pattern" entry can be used to
4336 locate a matching error line.
Bram Moolenaar68b76a62005-03-25 21:53:48 +00004337 If the "filename" entry is not present or neither the "lnum"
4338 or "pattern" entries are present, then the item will not be
4339 handled as an error line.
4340 If both "pattern" and "lnum" are present then "pattern" will
4341 be used.
4342
Bram Moolenaar35c54e52005-05-20 21:25:31 +00004343 If {action} is set to 'a', then the items from {list} are
4344 added to the existing quickfix list. If there is no existing
4345 list, then a new list is created. If {action} is set to 'r',
4346 then the items from the current quickfix list are replaced
4347 with the items from {list}. If {action} is not present or is
4348 set to ' ', then a new list is created.
4349
Bram Moolenaar68b76a62005-03-25 21:53:48 +00004350 Returns zero for success, -1 for failure.
4351
4352 This function can be used to create a quickfix list
4353 independent of the 'errorformat' setting. Use a command like
4354 ":cc 1" to jump to the first position.
4355
4356
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004357 *setreg()*
4358setreg({regname}, {value} [,{options}])
4359 Set the register {regname} to {value}.
4360 If {options} contains "a" or {regname} is upper case,
4361 then the value is appended.
4362 {options} can also contains a register type specification:
4363 "c" or "v" |characterwise| mode
4364 "l" or "V" |linewise| mode
4365 "b" or "<CTRL-V>" |blockwise-visual| mode
4366 If a number immediately follows "b" or "<CTRL-V>" then this is
4367 used as the width of the selection - if it is not specified
4368 then the width of the block is set to the number of characters
4369 in the longest line (counting a <TAB> as 1 character).
4370
4371 If {options} contains no register settings, then the default
4372 is to use character mode unless {value} ends in a <NL>.
4373 Setting the '=' register is not possible.
4374 Returns zero for success, non-zero for failure.
4375
4376 Examples: >
4377 :call setreg(v:register, @*)
4378 :call setreg('*', @%, 'ac')
4379 :call setreg('a', "1\n2\n3", 'b5')
4380
4381< This example shows using the functions to save and restore a
4382 register. >
Bram Moolenaar2389c3c2005-05-22 22:07:59 +00004383 :let var_a = getreg('a', 1)
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004384 :let var_amode = getregtype('a')
4385 ....
4386 :call setreg('a', var_a, var_amode)
4387
4388< You can also change the type of a register by appending
4389 nothing: >
4390 :call setreg('a', '', 'al')
4391
Bram Moolenaarc6249bb2006-04-15 20:25:09 +00004392settabwinvar({tabnr}, {winnr}, {varname}, {val}) *settabwinvar()*
4393 Set option or local variable {varname} in window {winnr} to
4394 {val}.
4395 Tabs are numbered starting with one. For the current tabpage
4396 use |setwinvar()|.
4397 When {winnr} is zero the current window is used.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004398 This also works for a global or local buffer option, but it
4399 doesn't work for a global or local buffer variable.
4400 For a local buffer option the global value is unchanged.
4401 Note that the variable name without "w:" must be used.
Bram Moolenaarc6249bb2006-04-15 20:25:09 +00004402 Vim briefly goes to the tab page {tabnr}, this may trigger
4403 TabLeave and TabEnter autocommands.
4404 Examples: >
4405 :call settabwinvar(1, 1, "&list", 0)
4406 :call settabwinvar(3, 2, "myvar", "foobar")
4407< This function is not available in the |sandbox|.
4408
4409setwinvar({nr}, {varname}, {val}) *setwinvar()*
4410 Like |settabwinvar()| for the current tab page.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004411 Examples: >
4412 :call setwinvar(1, "&list", 0)
4413 :call setwinvar(2, "myvar", "foobar")
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004414
4415simplify({filename}) *simplify()*
4416 Simplify the file name as much as possible without changing
4417 the meaning. Shortcuts (on MS-Windows) or symbolic links (on
4418 Unix) are not resolved. If the first path component in
4419 {filename} designates the current directory, this will be
4420 valid for the result as well. A trailing path separator is
4421 not removed either.
4422 Example: >
4423 simplify("./dir/.././/file/") == "./file/"
4424< Note: The combination "dir/.." is only removed if "dir" is
4425 a searchable directory or does not exist. On Unix, it is also
4426 removed when "dir" is a symbolic link within the same
4427 directory. In order to resolve all the involved symbolic
4428 links before simplifying the path name, use |resolve()|.
4429
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00004430
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +00004431sort({list} [, {func}]) *sort()* *E702*
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00004432 Sort the items in {list} in-place. Returns {list}. If you
4433 want a list to remain unmodified make a copy first: >
4434 :let sortedlist = sort(copy(mylist))
4435< Uses the string representation of each item to sort on.
Bram Moolenaara23ccb82006-02-27 00:08:02 +00004436 Numbers sort after Strings, |Lists| after Numbers.
Bram Moolenaar2389c3c2005-05-22 22:07:59 +00004437 For sorting text in the current buffer use |:sort|.
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00004438 When {func} is given and it is one then case is ignored.
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00004439 When {func} is a |Funcref| or a function name, this function
4440 is called to compare items. The function is invoked with two
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00004441 items as argument and must return zero if they are equal, 1 if
4442 the first one sorts after the second one, -1 if the first one
4443 sorts before the second one. Example: >
4444 func MyCompare(i1, i2)
4445 return a:i1 == a:i2 ? 0 : a:i1 > a:i2 ? 1 : -1
4446 endfunc
4447 let sortedlist = sort(mylist, "MyCompare")
Bram Moolenaard857f0e2005-06-21 22:37:39 +00004448<
4449
Bram Moolenaar24bbcfe2005-06-28 23:32:02 +00004450 *soundfold()*
4451soundfold({word})
4452 Return the sound-folded equivalent of {word}. Uses the first
4453 language in 'spellang' for the current window that supports
Bram Moolenaar42eeac32005-06-29 22:40:58 +00004454 soundfolding. 'spell' must be set. When no sound folding is
4455 possible the {word} is returned unmodified.
Bram Moolenaar24bbcfe2005-06-28 23:32:02 +00004456 This can be used for making spelling suggestions. Note that
4457 the method can be quite slow.
4458
Bram Moolenaard857f0e2005-06-21 22:37:39 +00004459 *spellbadword()*
Bram Moolenaar1e015462005-09-25 22:16:38 +00004460spellbadword([{sentence}])
4461 Without argument: The result is the badly spelled word under
4462 or after the cursor. The cursor is moved to the start of the
4463 bad word. When no bad word is found in the cursor line the
4464 result is an empty string and the cursor doesn't move.
4465
4466 With argument: The result is the first word in {sentence} that
4467 is badly spelled. If there are no spelling mistakes the
4468 result is an empty string.
4469
4470 The return value is a list with two items:
4471 - The badly spelled word or an empty string.
4472 - The type of the spelling error:
4473 "bad" spelling mistake
4474 "rare" rare word
4475 "local" word only valid in another region
4476 "caps" word should start with Capital
4477 Example: >
4478 echo spellbadword("the quik brown fox")
4479< ['quik', 'bad'] ~
4480
4481 The spelling information for the current window is used. The
4482 'spell' option must be set and the value of 'spelllang' is
4483 used.
Bram Moolenaard857f0e2005-06-21 22:37:39 +00004484
4485 *spellsuggest()*
Bram Moolenaarc54b8a72005-09-30 21:20:29 +00004486spellsuggest({word} [, {max} [, {capital}]])
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00004487 Return a |List| with spelling suggestions to replace {word}.
Bram Moolenaard857f0e2005-06-21 22:37:39 +00004488 When {max} is given up to this number of suggestions are
4489 returned. Otherwise up to 25 suggestions are returned.
4490
Bram Moolenaarc54b8a72005-09-30 21:20:29 +00004491 When the {capital} argument is given and it's non-zero only
4492 suggestions with a leading capital will be given. Use this
4493 after a match with 'spellcapcheck'.
4494
Bram Moolenaard857f0e2005-06-21 22:37:39 +00004495 {word} can be a badly spelled word followed by other text.
4496 This allows for joining two words that were split. The
Bram Moolenaarf461c8e2005-06-25 23:04:51 +00004497 suggestions also include the following text, thus you can
4498 replace a line.
4499
4500 {word} may also be a good word. Similar words will then be
Bram Moolenaarc54b8a72005-09-30 21:20:29 +00004501 returned. {word} itself is not included in the suggestions,
4502 although it may appear capitalized.
Bram Moolenaard857f0e2005-06-21 22:37:39 +00004503
4504 The spelling information for the current window is used. The
Bram Moolenaar42eeac32005-06-29 22:40:58 +00004505 'spell' option must be set and the values of 'spelllang' and
4506 'spellsuggest' are used.
Bram Moolenaard857f0e2005-06-21 22:37:39 +00004507
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00004508
Bram Moolenaar2389c3c2005-05-22 22:07:59 +00004509split({expr} [, {pattern} [, {keepempty}]]) *split()*
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00004510 Make a |List| out of {expr}. When {pattern} is omitted or
4511 empty each white-separated sequence of characters becomes an
4512 item.
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00004513 Otherwise the string is split where {pattern} matches,
Bram Moolenaar2389c3c2005-05-22 22:07:59 +00004514 removing the matched characters.
4515 When the first or last item is empty it is omitted, unless the
4516 {keepempty} argument is given and it's non-zero.
Bram Moolenaar5c06f8b2005-05-31 22:14:58 +00004517 Other empty items are kept when {pattern} matches at least one
4518 character or when {keepempty} is non-zero.
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00004519 Example: >
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00004520 :let words = split(getline('.'), '\W\+')
Bram Moolenaar2389c3c2005-05-22 22:07:59 +00004521< To split a string in individual characters: >
Bram Moolenaar402d2fe2005-04-15 21:00:38 +00004522 :for c in split(mystring, '\zs')
Bram Moolenaar0cb032e2005-04-23 20:52:00 +00004523< If you want to keep the separator you can also use '\zs': >
4524 :echo split('abc:def:ghi', ':\zs')
4525< ['abc:', 'def:', 'ghi'] ~
Bram Moolenaar2389c3c2005-05-22 22:07:59 +00004526 Splitting a table where the first element can be empty: >
4527 :let items = split(line, ':', 1)
4528< The opposite function is |join()|.
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00004529
4530
Bram Moolenaar97b2ad32006-03-18 21:40:56 +00004531str2nr( {expr} [, {base}]) *str2nr()*
4532 Convert string {expr} to a number.
4533 {base} is the conversion base, it can be 8, 10 or 16.
4534 When {base} is omitted base 10 is used. This also means that
4535 a leading zero doesn't cause octal conversion to be used, as
4536 with the default String to Number conversion.
4537 When {base} is 16 a leading "0x" or "0X" is ignored. With a
4538 different base the result will be zero.
4539 Text after the number is silently ignored.
4540
4541
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004542strftime({format} [, {time}]) *strftime()*
4543 The result is a String, which is a formatted date and time, as
4544 specified by the {format} string. The given {time} is used,
4545 or the current time if no time is given. The accepted
4546 {format} depends on your system, thus this is not portable!
4547 See the manual page of the C function strftime() for the
4548 format. The maximum length of the result is 80 characters.
4549 See also |localtime()| and |getftime()|.
4550 The language can be changed with the |:language| command.
4551 Examples: >
4552 :echo strftime("%c") Sun Apr 27 11:49:23 1997
4553 :echo strftime("%Y %b %d %X") 1997 Apr 27 11:53:25
4554 :echo strftime("%y%m%d %T") 970427 11:53:55
4555 :echo strftime("%H:%M") 11:55
4556 :echo strftime("%c", getftime("file.c"))
4557 Show mod time of file.c.
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00004558< Not available on all systems. To check use: >
4559 :if exists("*strftime")
4560
Bram Moolenaar8f999f12005-01-25 22:12:55 +00004561stridx({haystack}, {needle} [, {start}]) *stridx()*
4562 The result is a Number, which gives the byte index in
4563 {haystack} of the first occurrence of the String {needle}.
Bram Moolenaar677ee682005-01-27 14:41:15 +00004564 If {start} is specified, the search starts at index {start}.
4565 This can be used to find a second match: >
4566 :let comma1 = stridx(line, ",")
4567 :let comma2 = stridx(line, ",", comma1 + 1)
4568< The search is done case-sensitive.
Bram Moolenaare2cc9702005-03-15 22:43:58 +00004569 For pattern searches use |match()|.
Bram Moolenaar8f999f12005-01-25 22:12:55 +00004570 -1 is returned if the {needle} does not occur in {haystack}.
Bram Moolenaar677ee682005-01-27 14:41:15 +00004571 See also |strridx()|.
4572 Examples: >
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004573 :echo stridx("An Example", "Example") 3
4574 :echo stridx("Starting point", "Start") 0
4575 :echo stridx("Starting point", "start") -1
Bram Moolenaar05159a02005-02-26 23:04:13 +00004576< *strstr()* *strchr()*
4577 stridx() works similar to the C function strstr(). When used
4578 with a single character it works similar to strchr().
4579
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00004580 *string()*
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00004581string({expr}) Return {expr} converted to a String. If {expr} is a Number,
4582 String or a composition of them, then the result can be parsed
4583 back with |eval()|.
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00004584 {expr} type result ~
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +00004585 String 'string'
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00004586 Number 123
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +00004587 Funcref function('name')
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00004588 List [item, item]
Bram Moolenaar9ba0eb82005-06-13 22:28:56 +00004589 Dictionary {key: value, key: value}
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +00004590 Note that in String values the ' character is doubled.
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00004591
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004592 *strlen()*
4593strlen({expr}) The result is a Number, which is the length of the String
Bram Moolenaare344bea2005-09-01 20:46:49 +00004594 {expr} in bytes.
4595 If you want to count the number of multi-byte characters (not
4596 counting composing characters) use something like this: >
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004597
4598 :let len = strlen(substitute(str, ".", "x", "g"))
Bram Moolenaare344bea2005-09-01 20:46:49 +00004599<
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00004600 If the argument is a Number it is first converted to a String.
4601 For other types an error is given.
4602 Also see |len()|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004603
4604strpart({src}, {start}[, {len}]) *strpart()*
4605 The result is a String, which is part of {src}, starting from
Bram Moolenaar9372a112005-12-06 19:59:18 +00004606 byte {start}, with the byte length {len}.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004607 When non-existing bytes are included, this doesn't result in
4608 an error, the bytes are simply omitted.
4609 If {len} is missing, the copy continues from {start} till the
4610 end of the {src}. >
4611 strpart("abcdefg", 3, 2) == "de"
4612 strpart("abcdefg", -2, 4) == "ab"
4613 strpart("abcdefg", 5, 4) == "fg"
4614 strpart("abcdefg", 3) == "defg"
4615< Note: To get the first character, {start} must be 0. For
4616 example, to get three bytes under and after the cursor: >
Bram Moolenaar61660ea2006-04-07 21:40:07 +00004617 strpart(getline("."), col(".") - 1, 3)
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004618<
Bram Moolenaar677ee682005-01-27 14:41:15 +00004619strridx({haystack}, {needle} [, {start}]) *strridx()*
4620 The result is a Number, which gives the byte index in
4621 {haystack} of the last occurrence of the String {needle}.
4622 When {start} is specified, matches beyond this index are
4623 ignored. This can be used to find a match before a previous
4624 match: >
4625 :let lastcomma = strridx(line, ",")
4626 :let comma2 = strridx(line, ",", lastcomma - 1)
4627< The search is done case-sensitive.
Bram Moolenaar8f999f12005-01-25 22:12:55 +00004628 For pattern searches use |match()|.
4629 -1 is returned if the {needle} does not occur in {haystack}.
Bram Moolenaard4755bb2004-09-02 19:12:26 +00004630 If the {needle} is empty the length of {haystack} is returned.
Bram Moolenaar402d2fe2005-04-15 21:00:38 +00004631 See also |stridx()|. Examples: >
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004632 :echo strridx("an angry armadillo", "an") 3
Bram Moolenaar05159a02005-02-26 23:04:13 +00004633< *strrchr()*
4634 When used with a single character it works similar to the C
4635 function strrchr().
4636
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004637strtrans({expr}) *strtrans()*
4638 The result is a String, which is {expr} with all unprintable
4639 characters translated into printable characters |'isprint'|.
4640 Like they are shown in a window. Example: >
4641 echo strtrans(@a)
4642< This displays a newline in register a as "^@" instead of
4643 starting a new line.
4644
4645submatch({nr}) *submatch()*
4646 Only for an expression in a |:substitute| command. Returns
4647 the {nr}'th submatch of the matched text. When {nr} is 0
4648 the whole matched text is returned.
4649 Example: >
4650 :s/\d\+/\=submatch(0) + 1/
4651< This finds the first number in the line and adds one to it.
4652 A line break is included as a newline character.
4653
4654substitute({expr}, {pat}, {sub}, {flags}) *substitute()*
4655 The result is a String, which is a copy of {expr}, in which
4656 the first match of {pat} is replaced with {sub}. This works
4657 like the ":substitute" command (without any flags). But the
4658 matching with {pat} is always done like the 'magic' option is
4659 set and 'cpoptions' is empty (to make scripts portable).
4660 See |string-match| for how {pat} is used.
4661 And a "~" in {sub} is not replaced with the previous {sub}.
4662 Note that some codes in {sub} have a special meaning
4663 |sub-replace-special|. For example, to replace something with
4664 "\n" (two characters), use "\\\\n" or '\\n'.
4665 When {pat} does not match in {expr}, {expr} is returned
4666 unmodified.
4667 When {flags} is "g", all matches of {pat} in {expr} are
4668 replaced. Otherwise {flags} should be "".
4669 Example: >
4670 :let &path = substitute(&path, ",\\=[^,]*$", "", "")
4671< This removes the last component of the 'path' option. >
4672 :echo substitute("testing", ".*", "\\U\\0", "")
4673< results in "TESTING".
4674
Bram Moolenaar47136d72004-10-12 20:02:24 +00004675synID({lnum}, {col}, {trans}) *synID()*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004676 The result is a Number, which is the syntax ID at the position
Bram Moolenaar47136d72004-10-12 20:02:24 +00004677 {lnum} and {col} in the current window.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004678 The syntax ID can be used with |synIDattr()| and
4679 |synIDtrans()| to obtain syntax information about text.
Bram Moolenaarce0842a2005-07-18 21:58:11 +00004680
Bram Moolenaar47136d72004-10-12 20:02:24 +00004681 {col} is 1 for the leftmost column, {lnum} is 1 for the first
Bram Moolenaarce0842a2005-07-18 21:58:11 +00004682 line. 'synmaxcol' applies, in a longer line zero is returned.
4683
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004684 When {trans} is non-zero, transparent items are reduced to the
4685 item that they reveal. This is useful when wanting to know
4686 the effective color. When {trans} is zero, the transparent
4687 item is returned. This is useful when wanting to know which
4688 syntax item is effective (e.g. inside parens).
4689 Warning: This function can be very slow. Best speed is
4690 obtained by going through the file in forward direction.
4691
4692 Example (echoes the name of the syntax item under the cursor): >
4693 :echo synIDattr(synID(line("."), col("."), 1), "name")
4694<
4695synIDattr({synID}, {what} [, {mode}]) *synIDattr()*
4696 The result is a String, which is the {what} attribute of
4697 syntax ID {synID}. This can be used to obtain information
4698 about a syntax item.
4699 {mode} can be "gui", "cterm" or "term", to get the attributes
4700 for that mode. When {mode} is omitted, or an invalid value is
4701 used, the attributes for the currently active highlighting are
4702 used (GUI, cterm or term).
4703 Use synIDtrans() to follow linked highlight groups.
4704 {what} result
4705 "name" the name of the syntax item
4706 "fg" foreground color (GUI: color name used to set
4707 the color, cterm: color number as a string,
4708 term: empty string)
4709 "bg" background color (like "fg")
4710 "fg#" like "fg", but for the GUI and the GUI is
4711 running the name in "#RRGGBB" form
4712 "bg#" like "fg#" for "bg"
4713 "bold" "1" if bold
4714 "italic" "1" if italic
4715 "reverse" "1" if reverse
4716 "inverse" "1" if inverse (= reverse)
4717 "underline" "1" if underlined
Bram Moolenaare2cc9702005-03-15 22:43:58 +00004718 "undercurl" "1" if undercurled
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004719
4720 Example (echoes the color of the syntax item under the
4721 cursor): >
4722 :echo synIDattr(synIDtrans(synID(line("."), col("."), 1)), "fg")
4723<
4724synIDtrans({synID}) *synIDtrans()*
4725 The result is a Number, which is the translated syntax ID of
4726 {synID}. This is the syntax group ID of what is being used to
4727 highlight the character. Highlight links given with
4728 ":highlight link" are followed.
4729
Bram Moolenaarc0197e22004-09-13 20:26:32 +00004730system({expr} [, {input}]) *system()* *E677*
4731 Get the output of the shell command {expr}.
4732 When {input} is given, this string is written to a file and
4733 passed as stdin to the command. The string is written as-is,
4734 you need to take care of using the correct line separators
Bram Moolenaar05159a02005-02-26 23:04:13 +00004735 yourself. Pipes are not used.
Bram Moolenaarc0197e22004-09-13 20:26:32 +00004736 Note: newlines in {expr} may cause the command to fail. The
4737 characters in 'shellquote' and 'shellxquote' may also cause
4738 trouble.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004739 This is not to be used for interactive commands.
4740 The result is a String. Example: >
4741
4742 :let files = system("ls")
4743
4744< To make the result more system-independent, the shell output
4745 is filtered to replace <CR> with <NL> for Macintosh, and
4746 <CR><NL> with <NL> for DOS-like systems.
4747 The command executed is constructed using several options:
4748 'shell' 'shellcmdflag' 'shellxquote' {expr} 'shellredir' {tmp} 'shellxquote'
4749 ({tmp} is an automatically generated file name).
4750 For Unix and OS/2 braces are put around {expr} to allow for
4751 concatenated commands.
4752
Bram Moolenaar433f7c82006-03-21 21:29:36 +00004753 The command will be executed in "cooked" mode, so that a
4754 CTRL-C will interrupt the command (on Unix at least).
4755
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004756 The resulting error code can be found in |v:shell_error|.
4757 This function will fail in |restricted-mode|.
Bram Moolenaar4770d092006-01-12 23:22:24 +00004758
4759 Note that any wrong value in the options mentioned above may
4760 make the function fail. It has also been reported to fail
4761 when using a security agent application.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004762 Unlike ":!cmd" there is no automatic check for changed files.
4763 Use |:checktime| to force a check.
4764
Bram Moolenaare2cc9702005-03-15 22:43:58 +00004765
Bram Moolenaarfaa959a2006-02-20 21:37:40 +00004766tabpagebuflist([{arg}]) *tabpagebuflist()*
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00004767 The result is a |List|, where each item is the number of the
Bram Moolenaarfaa959a2006-02-20 21:37:40 +00004768 buffer associated with each window in the current tab page.
4769 {arg} specifies the number of tab page to be used. When
4770 omitted the current tab page is used.
4771 When {arg} is invalid the number zero is returned.
4772 To get a list of all buffers in all tabs use this: >
4773 tablist = []
4774 for i in range(tabpagenr('$'))
4775 call extend(tablist, tabpagebuflist(i + 1))
4776 endfor
4777< Note that a buffer may appear in more than one window.
4778
4779
4780tabpagenr([{arg}]) *tabpagenr()*
Bram Moolenaar7e8fd632006-02-18 22:14:51 +00004781 The result is a Number, which is the number of the current
4782 tab page. The first tab page has number 1.
4783 When the optional argument is "$", the number of the last tab
4784 page is returned (the tab page count).
4785 The number can be used with the |:tab| command.
4786
4787
Bram Moolenaarfaa959a2006-02-20 21:37:40 +00004788tabpagewinnr({tabarg}, [{arg}]) *tabpagewinnr()*
4789 Like |winnr()| but for tab page {arg}.
4790 {tabarg} specifies the number of tab page to be used.
4791 {arg} is used like with |winnr()|:
4792 - When omitted the current window number is returned. This is
4793 the window which will be used when going to this tab page.
4794 - When "$" the number of windows is returned.
4795 - When "#" the previous window nr is returned.
4796 Useful examples: >
4797 tabpagewinnr(1) " current window of tab page 1
4798 tabpagewinnr(4, '$') " number of windows in tab page 4
4799< When {tabarg} is invalid zero is returned.
4800
Bram Moolenaarfa1d1402006-03-25 21:59:56 +00004801 *tagfiles()*
4802tagfiles() Returns a |List| with the file names used to search for tags
4803 for the current buffer. This is the 'tags' option expanded.
4804
4805
Bram Moolenaare2cc9702005-03-15 22:43:58 +00004806taglist({expr}) *taglist()*
4807 Returns a list of tags matching the regular expression {expr}.
Bram Moolenaard8c00872005-07-22 21:52:15 +00004808 Each list item is a dictionary with at least the following
4809 entries:
Bram Moolenaar280f1262006-01-30 00:14:18 +00004810 name Name of the tag.
4811 filename Name of the file where the tag is
Bram Moolenaare2cc9702005-03-15 22:43:58 +00004812 defined.
4813 cmd Ex command used to locate the tag in
4814 the file.
Bram Moolenaar280f1262006-01-30 00:14:18 +00004815 kind Type of the tag. The value for this
Bram Moolenaare2cc9702005-03-15 22:43:58 +00004816 entry depends on the language specific
4817 kind values generated by the ctags
4818 tool.
Bram Moolenaar280f1262006-01-30 00:14:18 +00004819 static A file specific tag. Refer to
Bram Moolenaare2cc9702005-03-15 22:43:58 +00004820 |static-tag| for more information.
Bram Moolenaar4317d9b2005-03-18 20:25:31 +00004821 The "kind" entry is only available when using Exuberant ctags
4822 generated tags file. More entries may be present, depending
4823 on the content of the tags file: access, implementation,
4824 inherits and signature. Refer to the ctags documentation for
4825 information about these fields. For C code the fields
4826 "struct", "class" and "enum" may appear, they give the name of
4827 the entity the tag is contained in.
Bram Moolenaar5a8684e2005-07-30 22:43:24 +00004828
Bram Moolenaar4317d9b2005-03-18 20:25:31 +00004829 The ex-command 'cmd' can be either an ex search pattern, a
4830 line number or a line number followed by a byte number.
Bram Moolenaare2cc9702005-03-15 22:43:58 +00004831
4832 If there are no matching tags, then an empty list is returned.
4833
4834 To get an exact tag match, the anchors '^' and '$' should be
4835 used in {expr}. Refer to |tag-regexp| for more information
4836 about the tag search regular expression pattern.
4837
4838 Refer to |'tags'| for information about how the tags file is
4839 located by Vim. Refer to |tags-file-format| for the format of
4840 the tags file generated by the different ctags tools.
4841
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004842tempname() *tempname()* *temp-file-name*
4843 The result is a String, which is the name of a file that
4844 doesn't exist. It can be used for a temporary file. The name
4845 is different for at least 26 consecutive calls. Example: >
4846 :let tmpfile = tempname()
4847 :exe "redir > " . tmpfile
4848< For Unix, the file will be in a private directory (only
4849 accessible by the current user) to avoid security problems
4850 (e.g., a symlink attack or other people reading your file).
4851 When Vim exits the directory and all files in it are deleted.
4852 For MS-Windows forward slashes are used when the 'shellslash'
4853 option is set or when 'shellcmdflag' starts with '-'.
4854
4855tolower({expr}) *tolower()*
4856 The result is a copy of the String given, with all uppercase
4857 characters turned into lowercase (just like applying |gu| to
4858 the string).
4859
4860toupper({expr}) *toupper()*
4861 The result is a copy of the String given, with all lowercase
4862 characters turned into uppercase (just like applying |gU| to
4863 the string).
4864
Bram Moolenaar8299df92004-07-10 09:47:34 +00004865tr({src}, {fromstr}, {tostr}) *tr()*
4866 The result is a copy of the {src} string with all characters
4867 which appear in {fromstr} replaced by the character in that
4868 position in the {tostr} string. Thus the first character in
4869 {fromstr} is translated into the first character in {tostr}
4870 and so on. Exactly like the unix "tr" command.
4871 This code also deals with multibyte characters properly.
4872
4873 Examples: >
4874 echo tr("hello there", "ht", "HT")
4875< returns "Hello THere" >
4876 echo tr("<blob>", "<>", "{}")
4877< returns "{blob}"
4878
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +00004879 *type()*
4880type({expr}) The result is a Number, depending on the type of {expr}:
Bram Moolenaar748bf032005-02-02 23:04:36 +00004881 Number: 0
4882 String: 1
4883 Funcref: 2
4884 List: 3
4885 Dictionary: 4
4886 To avoid the magic numbers it should be used this way: >
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +00004887 :if type(myvar) == type(0)
4888 :if type(myvar) == type("")
4889 :if type(myvar) == type(function("tr"))
4890 :if type(myvar) == type([])
Bram Moolenaar748bf032005-02-02 23:04:36 +00004891 :if type(myvar) == type({})
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004892
Bram Moolenaar677ee682005-01-27 14:41:15 +00004893values({dict}) *values()*
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00004894 Return a |List| with all the values of {dict}. The |List| is
4895 in arbitrary order.
Bram Moolenaar677ee682005-01-27 14:41:15 +00004896
4897
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004898virtcol({expr}) *virtcol()*
4899 The result is a Number, which is the screen column of the file
4900 position given with {expr}. That is, the last screen position
4901 occupied by the character at that position, when the screen
4902 would be of unlimited width. When there is a <Tab> at the
4903 position, the returned Number will be the column at the end of
4904 the <Tab>. For example, for a <Tab> in column 1, with 'ts'
4905 set to 8, it returns 8.
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00004906 For the use of {expr} see |col()|. Additionally you can use
Bram Moolenaar5c8837f2006-02-25 21:52:33 +00004907 [lnum, col]: a |List| with the line and column number. When
4908 "lnum" or "col" is out of range then virtcol() returns zero.
Bram Moolenaar0b238792006-03-02 22:49:12 +00004909 When 'virtualedit' is used it can be [lnum, col, off], where
4910 "off" is the offset in screen columns from the start of the
4911 character. E.g., a position within a Tab or after the last
4912 character.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004913 For the byte position use |col()|.
4914 When Virtual editing is active in the current mode, a position
4915 beyond the end of the line can be returned. |'virtualedit'|
4916 The accepted positions are:
4917 . the cursor position
4918 $ the end of the cursor line (the result is the
4919 number of displayed characters in the cursor line
4920 plus one)
4921 'x position of mark x (if the mark is not set, 0 is
4922 returned)
4923 Note that only marks in the current file can be used.
4924 Examples: >
4925 virtcol(".") with text "foo^Lbar", with cursor on the "^L", returns 5
4926 virtcol("$") with text "foo^Lbar", returns 9
4927 virtcol("'t") with text " there", with 't at 'h', returns 6
4928< The first column is 1. 0 is returned for an error.
4929
4930visualmode([expr]) *visualmode()*
4931 The result is a String, which describes the last Visual mode
4932 used. Initially it returns an empty string, but once Visual
4933 mode has been used, it returns "v", "V", or "<CTRL-V>" (a
4934 single CTRL-V character) for character-wise, line-wise, or
4935 block-wise Visual mode respectively.
4936 Example: >
4937 :exe "normal " . visualmode()
4938< This enters the same Visual mode as before. It is also useful
4939 in scripts if you wish to act differently depending on the
4940 Visual mode that was used.
4941
4942 If an expression is supplied that results in a non-zero number
4943 or a non-empty string, then the Visual mode will be cleared
4944 and the old value is returned. Note that " " and "0" are also
4945 non-empty strings, thus cause the mode to be cleared.
4946
4947 *winbufnr()*
4948winbufnr({nr}) The result is a Number, which is the number of the buffer
Bram Moolenaar402d2fe2005-04-15 21:00:38 +00004949 associated with window {nr}. When {nr} is zero, the number of
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004950 the buffer in the current window is returned. When window
4951 {nr} doesn't exist, -1 is returned.
4952 Example: >
4953 :echo "The file in the current window is " . bufname(winbufnr(0))
4954<
4955 *wincol()*
4956wincol() The result is a Number, which is the virtual column of the
4957 cursor in the window. This is counting screen cells from the
4958 left side of the window. The leftmost column is one.
4959
4960winheight({nr}) *winheight()*
4961 The result is a Number, which is the height of window {nr}.
4962 When {nr} is zero, the height of the current window is
4963 returned. When window {nr} doesn't exist, -1 is returned.
4964 An existing window always has a height of zero or more.
4965 Examples: >
4966 :echo "The current window has " . winheight(0) . " lines."
4967<
4968 *winline()*
4969winline() The result is a Number, which is the screen line of the cursor
4970 in the window. This is counting screen lines from the top of
4971 the window. The first line is one.
Bram Moolenaarbfd8fc02005-09-20 23:22:24 +00004972 If the cursor was moved the view on the file will be updated
4973 first, this may cause a scroll.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004974
4975 *winnr()*
Bram Moolenaar5eb86f92004-07-26 12:53:41 +00004976winnr([{arg}]) The result is a Number, which is the number of the current
4977 window. The top window has number 1.
4978 When the optional argument is "$", the number of the
Bram Moolenaar7e8fd632006-02-18 22:14:51 +00004979 last window is returned (the window count).
Bram Moolenaar5eb86f92004-07-26 12:53:41 +00004980 When the optional argument is "#", the number of the last
4981 accessed window is returned (where |CTRL-W_p| goes to).
4982 If there is no previous window 0 is returned.
4983 The number can be used with |CTRL-W_w| and ":wincmd w"
4984 |:wincmd|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004985
4986 *winrestcmd()*
4987winrestcmd() Returns a sequence of |:resize| commands that should restore
4988 the current window sizes. Only works properly when no windows
Bram Moolenaar87b5ca52006-03-04 21:55:31 +00004989 are opened or closed and the current window and tab page is
4990 unchanged.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004991 Example: >
4992 :let cmd = winrestcmd()
4993 :call MessWithWindowSizes()
4994 :exe cmd
Bram Moolenaar87b5ca52006-03-04 21:55:31 +00004995<
4996 *winrestview()*
4997winrestview({dict})
4998 Uses the |Dictionary| returned by |winsaveview()| to restore
4999 the view of the current window.
5000 If you have changed the values the result is unpredictable.
5001 If the window size changed the result won't be the same.
5002
5003 *winsaveview()*
5004winsaveview() Returns a |Dictionary| that contains information to restore
5005 the view of the current window. Use |winrestview()| to
5006 restore the view.
5007 This is useful if you have a mapping that jumps around in the
5008 buffer and you want to go back to the original view.
5009 This does not save fold information. Use the 'foldenable'
Bram Moolenaardb552d602006-03-23 22:59:57 +00005010 option to temporarily switch off folding, so that folds are
5011 not opened when moving around.
Bram Moolenaar87b5ca52006-03-04 21:55:31 +00005012 The return value includes:
5013 lnum cursor line number
5014 col cursor column
5015 coladd cursor column offset for 'virtualedit'
5016 curswant column for vertical movement
5017 topline first line in the window
5018 topfill filler lines, only in diff mode
5019 leftcol first column displayed
5020 skipcol columns skipped
5021 Note that no option values are saved.
5022
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005023
5024winwidth({nr}) *winwidth()*
5025 The result is a Number, which is the width of window {nr}.
5026 When {nr} is zero, the width of the current window is
5027 returned. When window {nr} doesn't exist, -1 is returned.
5028 An existing window always has a width of zero or more.
5029 Examples: >
5030 :echo "The current window has " . winwidth(0) . " columns."
5031 :if winwidth(0) <= 50
5032 : exe "normal 50\<C-W>|"
5033 :endif
5034<
Bram Moolenaar3a7c85b2005-02-05 21:39:53 +00005035 *writefile()*
5036writefile({list}, {fname} [, {binary}])
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00005037 Write |List| {list} to file {fname}. Each list item is
Bram Moolenaar3a7c85b2005-02-05 21:39:53 +00005038 separated with a NL. Each list item must be a String or
5039 Number.
5040 When {binary} is equal to "b" binary mode is used: There will
5041 not be a NL after the last list item. An empty item at the
5042 end does cause the last line in the file to end in a NL.
5043 All NL characters are replaced with a NUL character.
5044 Inserting CR characters needs to be done before passing {list}
5045 to writefile().
5046 An existing file is overwritten, if possible.
5047 When the write fails -1 is returned, otherwise 0. There is an
5048 error message if the file can't be created or when writing
5049 fails.
5050 Also see |readfile()|.
5051 To copy a file byte for byte: >
5052 :let fl = readfile("foo", "b")
5053 :call writefile(fl, "foocopy", "b")
5054<
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005055
5056 *feature-list*
5057There are three types of features:
50581. Features that are only supported when they have been enabled when Vim
5059 was compiled |+feature-list|. Example: >
5060 :if has("cindent")
50612. Features that are only supported when certain conditions have been met.
5062 Example: >
5063 :if has("gui_running")
5064< *has-patch*
50653. Included patches. First check |v:version| for the version of Vim.
5066 Then the "patch123" feature means that patch 123 has been included for
5067 this version. Example (checking version 6.2.148 or later): >
5068 :if v:version > 602 || v:version == 602 && has("patch148")
5069
5070all_builtin_terms Compiled with all builtin terminals enabled.
5071amiga Amiga version of Vim.
5072arabic Compiled with Arabic support |Arabic|.
5073arp Compiled with ARP support (Amiga).
Bram Moolenaara9b1e742005-12-19 22:14:58 +00005074autocmd Compiled with autocommand support. |autocommand|
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005075balloon_eval Compiled with |balloon-eval| support.
Bram Moolenaar45360022005-07-21 21:08:21 +00005076balloon_multiline GUI supports multiline balloons.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005077beos BeOS version of Vim.
5078browse Compiled with |:browse| support, and browse() will
5079 work.
5080builtin_terms Compiled with some builtin terminals.
5081byte_offset Compiled with support for 'o' in 'statusline'
5082cindent Compiled with 'cindent' support.
5083clientserver Compiled with remote invocation support |clientserver|.
5084clipboard Compiled with 'clipboard' support.
5085cmdline_compl Compiled with |cmdline-completion| support.
5086cmdline_hist Compiled with |cmdline-history| support.
5087cmdline_info Compiled with 'showcmd' and 'ruler' support.
5088comments Compiled with |'comments'| support.
5089cryptv Compiled with encryption support |encryption|.
5090cscope Compiled with |cscope| support.
5091compatible Compiled to be very Vi compatible.
5092debug Compiled with "DEBUG" defined.
5093dialog_con Compiled with console dialog support.
5094dialog_gui Compiled with GUI dialog support.
5095diff Compiled with |vimdiff| and 'diff' support.
5096digraphs Compiled with support for digraphs.
5097dnd Compiled with support for the "~ register |quote_~|.
5098dos32 32 bits DOS (DJGPP) version of Vim.
5099dos16 16 bits DOS version of Vim.
5100ebcdic Compiled on a machine with ebcdic character set.
5101emacs_tags Compiled with support for Emacs tags.
5102eval Compiled with expression evaluation support. Always
5103 true, of course!
5104ex_extra Compiled with extra Ex commands |+ex_extra|.
5105extra_search Compiled with support for |'incsearch'| and
5106 |'hlsearch'|
5107farsi Compiled with Farsi support |farsi|.
5108file_in_path Compiled with support for |gf| and |<cfile>|
Bram Moolenaar26a60b42005-02-22 08:49:11 +00005109filterpipe When 'shelltemp' is off pipes are used for shell
5110 read/write/filter commands
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005111find_in_path Compiled with support for include file searches
5112 |+find_in_path|.
5113fname_case Case in file names matters (for Amiga, MS-DOS, and
5114 Windows this is not present).
5115folding Compiled with |folding| support.
5116footer Compiled with GUI footer support. |gui-footer|
5117fork Compiled to use fork()/exec() instead of system().
5118gettext Compiled with message translation |multi-lang|
5119gui Compiled with GUI enabled.
5120gui_athena Compiled with Athena GUI.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005121gui_gtk Compiled with GTK+ GUI (any version).
5122gui_gtk2 Compiled with GTK+ 2 GUI (gui_gtk is also defined).
5123gui_mac Compiled with Macintosh GUI.
5124gui_motif Compiled with Motif GUI.
5125gui_photon Compiled with Photon GUI.
5126gui_win32 Compiled with MS Windows Win32 GUI.
5127gui_win32s idem, and Win32s system being used (Windows 3.1)
5128gui_running Vim is running in the GUI, or it will start soon.
5129hangul_input Compiled with Hangul input support. |hangul|
5130iconv Can use iconv() for conversion.
5131insert_expand Compiled with support for CTRL-X expansion commands in
5132 Insert mode.
5133jumplist Compiled with |jumplist| support.
5134keymap Compiled with 'keymap' support.
5135langmap Compiled with 'langmap' support.
5136libcall Compiled with |libcall()| support.
5137linebreak Compiled with 'linebreak', 'breakat' and 'showbreak'
5138 support.
5139lispindent Compiled with support for lisp indenting.
5140listcmds Compiled with commands for the buffer list |:files|
5141 and the argument list |arglist|.
5142localmap Compiled with local mappings and abbr. |:map-local|
5143mac Macintosh version of Vim.
5144macunix Macintosh version of Vim, using Unix files (OS-X).
5145menu Compiled with support for |:menu|.
5146mksession Compiled with support for |:mksession|.
5147modify_fname Compiled with file name modifiers. |filename-modifiers|
5148mouse Compiled with support mouse.
5149mouseshape Compiled with support for 'mouseshape'.
5150mouse_dec Compiled with support for Dec terminal mouse.
5151mouse_gpm Compiled with support for gpm (Linux console mouse)
5152mouse_netterm Compiled with support for netterm mouse.
5153mouse_pterm Compiled with support for qnx pterm mouse.
5154mouse_xterm Compiled with support for xterm mouse.
5155multi_byte Compiled with support for editing Korean et al.
5156multi_byte_ime Compiled with support for IME input method.
5157multi_lang Compiled with support for multiple languages.
Bram Moolenaar325b7a22004-07-05 15:58:32 +00005158mzscheme Compiled with MzScheme interface |mzscheme|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005159netbeans_intg Compiled with support for |netbeans|.
Bram Moolenaar009b2592004-10-24 19:18:58 +00005160netbeans_enabled Compiled with support for |netbeans| and it's used.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005161ole Compiled with OLE automation support for Win32.
5162os2 OS/2 version of Vim.
5163osfiletype Compiled with support for osfiletypes |+osfiletype|
5164path_extra Compiled with up/downwards search in 'path' and 'tags'
5165perl Compiled with Perl interface.
5166postscript Compiled with PostScript file printing.
5167printer Compiled with |:hardcopy| support.
Bram Moolenaar05159a02005-02-26 23:04:13 +00005168profile Compiled with |:profile| support.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005169python Compiled with Python interface.
5170qnx QNX version of Vim.
5171quickfix Compiled with |quickfix| support.
5172rightleft Compiled with 'rightleft' support.
5173ruby Compiled with Ruby interface |ruby|.
5174scrollbind Compiled with 'scrollbind' support.
5175showcmd Compiled with 'showcmd' support.
5176signs Compiled with |:sign| support.
5177smartindent Compiled with 'smartindent' support.
Bram Moolenaar69a7cb42004-06-20 12:51:53 +00005178sniff Compiled with SNiFF interface support.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005179statusline Compiled with support for 'statusline', 'rulerformat'
5180 and special formats of 'titlestring' and 'iconstring'.
5181sun_workshop Compiled with support for Sun |workshop|.
Bram Moolenaar82cf9b62005-06-07 21:09:25 +00005182spell Compiled with spell checking support |spell|.
5183syntax Compiled with syntax highlighting support |syntax|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005184syntax_items There are active syntax highlighting items for the
5185 current buffer.
5186system Compiled to use system() instead of fork()/exec().
5187tag_binary Compiled with binary searching in tags files
5188 |tag-binary-search|.
5189tag_old_static Compiled with support for old static tags
5190 |tag-old-static|.
5191tag_any_white Compiled with support for any white characters in tags
5192 files |tag-any-white|.
5193tcl Compiled with Tcl interface.
5194terminfo Compiled with terminfo instead of termcap.
5195termresponse Compiled with support for |t_RV| and |v:termresponse|.
5196textobjects Compiled with support for |text-objects|.
5197tgetent Compiled with tgetent support, able to use a termcap
5198 or terminfo file.
5199title Compiled with window title support |'title'|.
5200toolbar Compiled with support for |gui-toolbar|.
5201unix Unix version of Vim.
5202user_commands User-defined commands.
5203viminfo Compiled with viminfo support.
5204vim_starting True while initial source'ing takes place.
5205vertsplit Compiled with vertically split windows |:vsplit|.
5206virtualedit Compiled with 'virtualedit' option.
5207visual Compiled with Visual mode.
5208visualextra Compiled with extra Visual mode commands.
5209 |blockwise-operators|.
5210vms VMS version of Vim.
5211vreplace Compiled with |gR| and |gr| commands.
5212wildignore Compiled with 'wildignore' option.
5213wildmenu Compiled with 'wildmenu' option.
5214windows Compiled with support for more than one window.
5215winaltkeys Compiled with 'winaltkeys' option.
5216win16 Win16 version of Vim (MS-Windows 3.1).
5217win32 Win32 version of Vim (MS-Windows 95/98/ME/NT/2000/XP).
5218win64 Win64 version of Vim (MS-Windows 64 bit).
5219win32unix Win32 version of Vim, using Unix files (Cygwin)
5220win95 Win32 version for MS-Windows 95/98/ME.
5221writebackup Compiled with 'writebackup' default on.
5222xfontset Compiled with X fontset support |xfontset|.
5223xim Compiled with X input method support |xim|.
5224xsmp Compiled with X session management support.
5225xsmp_interact Compiled with interactive X session management support.
5226xterm_clipboard Compiled with support for xterm clipboard.
5227xterm_save Compiled with support for saving and restoring the
5228 xterm screen.
5229x11 Compiled with X11 support.
5230
5231 *string-match*
5232Matching a pattern in a String
5233
5234A regexp pattern as explained at |pattern| is normally used to find a match in
5235the buffer lines. When a pattern is used to find a match in a String, almost
5236everything works in the same way. The difference is that a String is handled
5237like it is one line. When it contains a "\n" character, this is not seen as a
5238line break for the pattern. It can be matched with a "\n" in the pattern, or
5239with ".". Example: >
5240 :let a = "aaaa\nxxxx"
5241 :echo matchstr(a, "..\n..")
5242 aa
5243 xx
5244 :echo matchstr(a, "a.x")
5245 a
5246 x
5247
5248Don't forget that "^" will only match at the first character of the String and
5249"$" at the last character of the string. They don't match after or before a
5250"\n".
5251
5252==============================================================================
52535. Defining functions *user-functions*
5254
5255New functions can be defined. These can be called just like builtin
5256functions. The function executes a sequence of Ex commands. Normal mode
5257commands can be executed with the |:normal| command.
5258
5259The function name must start with an uppercase letter, to avoid confusion with
5260builtin functions. To prevent from using the same name in different scripts
5261avoid obvious, short names. A good habit is to start the function name with
5262the name of the script, e.g., "HTMLcolor()".
5263
Bram Moolenaar92d640f2005-09-05 22:11:52 +00005264It's also possible to use curly braces, see |curly-braces-names|. And the
5265|autoload| facility is useful to define a function only when it's called.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005266
5267 *local-function*
5268A function local to a script must start with "s:". A local script function
5269can only be called from within the script and from functions, user commands
5270and autocommands defined in the script. It is also possible to call the
5271function from a mappings defined in the script, but then |<SID>| must be used
5272instead of "s:" when the mapping is expanded outside of the script.
5273
5274 *:fu* *:function* *E128* *E129* *E123*
5275:fu[nction] List all functions and their arguments.
5276
5277:fu[nction] {name} List function {name}.
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00005278 {name} can also be a |Dictionary| entry that is a
5279 |Funcref|: >
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00005280 :function dict.init
Bram Moolenaar92d640f2005-09-05 22:11:52 +00005281
5282:fu[nction] /{pattern} List functions with a name matching {pattern}.
5283 Example that lists all functions ending with "File": >
5284 :function /File$
Bram Moolenaar5b8d8fd2005-08-16 23:01:50 +00005285<
5286 *:function-verbose*
5287When 'verbose' is non-zero, listing a function will also display where it was
5288last defined. Example: >
5289
5290 :verbose function SetFileTypeSH
5291 function SetFileTypeSH(name)
5292 Last set from /usr/share/vim/vim-7.0/filetype.vim
5293<
Bram Moolenaar8aff23a2005-08-19 20:40:30 +00005294See |:verbose-cmd| for more information.
Bram Moolenaar5b8d8fd2005-08-16 23:01:50 +00005295
5296 *E124* *E125*
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00005297:fu[nction][!] {name}([arguments]) [range] [abort] [dict]
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005298 Define a new function by the name {name}. The name
5299 must be made of alphanumeric characters and '_', and
5300 must start with a capital or "s:" (see above).
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00005301
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00005302 {name} can also be a |Dictionary| entry that is a
5303 |Funcref|: >
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00005304 :function dict.init(arg)
5305< "dict" must be an existing dictionary. The entry
5306 "init" is added if it didn't exist yet. Otherwise [!]
5307 is required to overwrite an existing function. The
5308 result is a |Funcref| to a numbered function. The
5309 function can only be used with a |Funcref| and will be
5310 deleted if there are no more references to it.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005311 *E127* *E122*
5312 When a function by this name already exists and [!] is
5313 not used an error message is given. When [!] is used,
5314 an existing function is silently replaced. Unless it
5315 is currently being executed, that is an error.
Bram Moolenaar8f999f12005-01-25 22:12:55 +00005316
5317 For the {arguments} see |function-argument|.
5318
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005319 *a:firstline* *a:lastline*
5320 When the [range] argument is added, the function is
5321 expected to take care of a range itself. The range is
5322 passed as "a:firstline" and "a:lastline". If [range]
5323 is excluded, ":{range}call" will call the function for
5324 each line in the range, with the cursor on the start
5325 of each line. See |function-range-example|.
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00005326
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005327 When the [abort] argument is added, the function will
5328 abort as soon as an error is detected.
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00005329
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00005330 When the [dict] argument is added, the function must
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00005331 be invoked through an entry in a |Dictionary|. The
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00005332 local variable "self" will then be set to the
5333 dictionary. See |Dictionary-function|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005334
Bram Moolenaar98692072006-02-04 00:57:42 +00005335 The last used search pattern and the redo command "."
5336 will not be changed by the function.
5337
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005338 *:endf* *:endfunction* *E126* *E193*
5339:endf[unction] The end of a function definition. Must be on a line
5340 by its own, without other commands.
5341
5342 *:delf* *:delfunction* *E130* *E131*
5343:delf[unction] {name} Delete function {name}.
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00005344 {name} can also be a |Dictionary| entry that is a
5345 |Funcref|: >
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00005346 :delfunc dict.init
5347< This will remove the "init" entry from "dict". The
5348 function is deleted if there are no more references to
5349 it.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005350 *:retu* *:return* *E133*
5351:retu[rn] [expr] Return from a function. When "[expr]" is given, it is
5352 evaluated and returned as the result of the function.
5353 If "[expr]" is not given, the number 0 is returned.
5354 When a function ends without an explicit ":return",
5355 the number 0 is returned.
5356 Note that there is no check for unreachable lines,
5357 thus there is no warning if commands follow ":return".
5358
5359 If the ":return" is used after a |:try| but before the
5360 matching |:finally| (if present), the commands
5361 following the ":finally" up to the matching |:endtry|
5362 are executed first. This process applies to all
5363 nested ":try"s inside the function. The function
5364 returns at the outermost ":endtry".
5365
Bram Moolenaar8f999f12005-01-25 22:12:55 +00005366 *function-argument* *a:var*
5367An argument can be defined by giving its name. In the function this can then
5368be used as "a:name" ("a:" for argument).
5369 *a:0* *a:1* *a:000* *E740*
5370Up to 20 arguments can be given, separated by commas. After the named
5371arguments an argument "..." can be specified, which means that more arguments
5372may optionally be following. In the function the extra arguments can be used
5373as "a:1", "a:2", etc. "a:0" is set to the number of extra arguments (which
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00005374can be 0). "a:000" is set to a |List| that contains these arguments. Note
5375that "a:1" is the same as "a:000[0]".
Bram Moolenaar2ce06f62005-01-31 19:19:04 +00005376 *E742*
5377The a: scope and the variables in it cannot be changed, they are fixed.
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00005378However, if a |List| or |Dictionary| is used, you can changes their contents.
5379Thus you can pass a |List| to a function and have the function add an item to
5380it. If you want to make sure the function cannot change a |List| or
5381|Dictionary| use |:lockvar|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005382
Bram Moolenaar8f999f12005-01-25 22:12:55 +00005383When not using "...", the number of arguments in a function call must be equal
5384to the number of named arguments. When using "...", the number of arguments
5385may be larger.
5386
5387It is also possible to define a function without any arguments. You must
5388still supply the () then. The body of the function follows in the next lines,
5389until the matching |:endfunction|. It is allowed to define another function
5390inside a function body.
5391
5392 *local-variables*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005393Inside a function variables can be used. These are local variables, which
5394will disappear when the function returns. Global variables need to be
5395accessed with "g:".
5396
5397Example: >
5398 :function Table(title, ...)
5399 : echohl Title
5400 : echo a:title
5401 : echohl None
Bram Moolenaar677ee682005-01-27 14:41:15 +00005402 : echo a:0 . " items:"
5403 : for s in a:000
5404 : echon ' ' . s
5405 : endfor
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005406 :endfunction
5407
5408This function can then be called with: >
Bram Moolenaar677ee682005-01-27 14:41:15 +00005409 call Table("Table", "line1", "line2")
5410 call Table("Empty Table")
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005411
5412To return more than one value, pass the name of a global variable: >
5413 :function Compute(n1, n2, divname)
5414 : if a:n2 == 0
5415 : return "fail"
5416 : endif
5417 : let g:{a:divname} = a:n1 / a:n2
5418 : return "ok"
5419 :endfunction
5420
5421This function can then be called with: >
5422 :let success = Compute(13, 1324, "div")
5423 :if success == "ok"
5424 : echo div
5425 :endif
5426
5427An alternative is to return a command that can be executed. This also works
5428with local variables in a calling function. Example: >
5429 :function Foo()
5430 : execute Bar()
5431 : echo "line " . lnum . " column " . col
5432 :endfunction
5433
5434 :function Bar()
5435 : return "let lnum = " . line(".") . " | let col = " . col(".")
5436 :endfunction
5437
5438The names "lnum" and "col" could also be passed as argument to Bar(), to allow
5439the caller to set the names.
5440
Bram Moolenaar39f05632006-03-19 22:15:26 +00005441 *:cal* *:call* *E107* *E117*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005442:[range]cal[l] {name}([arguments])
5443 Call a function. The name of the function and its arguments
5444 are as specified with |:function|. Up to 20 arguments can be
5445 used.
5446 Without a range and for functions that accept a range, the
5447 function is called once. When a range is given the cursor is
5448 positioned at the start of the first line before executing the
5449 function.
5450 When a range is given and the function doesn't handle it
5451 itself, the function is executed for each line in the range,
5452 with the cursor in the first column of that line. The cursor
5453 is left at the last line (possibly moved by the last function
5454 call). The arguments are re-evaluated for each line. Thus
5455 this works:
5456 *function-range-example* >
5457 :function Mynumber(arg)
5458 : echo line(".") . " " . a:arg
5459 :endfunction
5460 :1,5call Mynumber(getline("."))
5461<
5462 The "a:firstline" and "a:lastline" are defined anyway, they
5463 can be used to do something different at the start or end of
5464 the range.
5465
5466 Example of a function that handles the range itself: >
5467
5468 :function Cont() range
5469 : execute (a:firstline + 1) . "," . a:lastline . 's/^/\t\\ '
5470 :endfunction
5471 :4,8call Cont()
5472<
5473 This function inserts the continuation character "\" in front
5474 of all the lines in the range, except the first one.
5475
5476 *E132*
5477The recursiveness of user functions is restricted with the |'maxfuncdepth'|
5478option.
5479
Bram Moolenaar7c626922005-02-07 22:01:03 +00005480
5481AUTOMATICALLY LOADING FUNCTIONS ~
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005482 *autoload-functions*
5483When using many or large functions, it's possible to automatically define them
Bram Moolenaar7c626922005-02-07 22:01:03 +00005484only when they are used. There are two methods: with an autocommand and with
5485the "autoload" directory in 'runtimepath'.
5486
5487
5488Using an autocommand ~
5489
Bram Moolenaar05159a02005-02-26 23:04:13 +00005490This is introduced in the user manual, section |41.14|.
5491
Bram Moolenaar7c626922005-02-07 22:01:03 +00005492The autocommand is useful if you have a plugin that is a long Vim script file.
5493You can define the autocommand and quickly quit the script with |:finish|.
5494That makes Vim startup faster. The autocommand should then load the same file
5495again, setting a variable to skip the |:finish| command.
5496
5497Use the FuncUndefined autocommand event with a pattern that matches the
5498function(s) to be defined. Example: >
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005499
5500 :au FuncUndefined BufNet* source ~/vim/bufnetfuncs.vim
5501
5502The file "~/vim/bufnetfuncs.vim" should then define functions that start with
5503"BufNet". Also see |FuncUndefined|.
5504
Bram Moolenaar7c626922005-02-07 22:01:03 +00005505
5506Using an autoload script ~
Bram Moolenaar26a60b42005-02-22 08:49:11 +00005507 *autoload* *E746*
Bram Moolenaar05159a02005-02-26 23:04:13 +00005508This is introduced in the user manual, section |41.15|.
5509
Bram Moolenaar7c626922005-02-07 22:01:03 +00005510Using a script in the "autoload" directory is simpler, but requires using
5511exactly the right file name. A function that can be autoloaded has a name
5512like this: >
5513
Bram Moolenaara7fc0102005-05-18 22:17:12 +00005514 :call filename#funcname()
Bram Moolenaar7c626922005-02-07 22:01:03 +00005515
5516When such a function is called, and it is not defined yet, Vim will search the
5517"autoload" directories in 'runtimepath' for a script file called
5518"filename.vim". For example "~/.vim/autoload/filename.vim". That file should
5519then define the function like this: >
5520
Bram Moolenaara7fc0102005-05-18 22:17:12 +00005521 function filename#funcname()
Bram Moolenaar7c626922005-02-07 22:01:03 +00005522 echo "Done!"
5523 endfunction
5524
Bram Moolenaar60a795a2005-09-16 21:55:43 +00005525The file name and the name used before the # in the function must match
Bram Moolenaar7c626922005-02-07 22:01:03 +00005526exactly, and the defined function must have the name exactly as it will be
5527called.
5528
Bram Moolenaara7fc0102005-05-18 22:17:12 +00005529It is possible to use subdirectories. Every # in the function name works like
5530a path separator. Thus when calling a function: >
Bram Moolenaar7c626922005-02-07 22:01:03 +00005531
Bram Moolenaara7fc0102005-05-18 22:17:12 +00005532 :call foo#bar#func()
Bram Moolenaar7c626922005-02-07 22:01:03 +00005533
5534Vim will look for the file "autoload/foo/bar.vim" in 'runtimepath'.
5535
Bram Moolenaar26a60b42005-02-22 08:49:11 +00005536This also works when reading a variable that has not been set yet: >
5537
Bram Moolenaara7fc0102005-05-18 22:17:12 +00005538 :let l = foo#bar#lvar
Bram Moolenaar26a60b42005-02-22 08:49:11 +00005539
Bram Moolenaara5792f52005-11-23 21:25:05 +00005540However, when the autoload script was already loaded it won't be loaded again
5541for an unknown variable.
5542
Bram Moolenaar26a60b42005-02-22 08:49:11 +00005543When assigning a value to such a variable nothing special happens. This can
5544be used to pass settings to the autoload script before it's loaded: >
5545
Bram Moolenaara7fc0102005-05-18 22:17:12 +00005546 :let foo#bar#toggle = 1
5547 :call foo#bar#func()
Bram Moolenaar26a60b42005-02-22 08:49:11 +00005548
Bram Moolenaar4399ef42005-02-12 14:29:27 +00005549Note that when you make a mistake and call a function that is supposed to be
5550defined in an autoload script, but the script doesn't actually define the
5551function, the script will be sourced every time you try to call the function.
Bram Moolenaar26a60b42005-02-22 08:49:11 +00005552And you will get an error message every time.
5553
5554Also note that if you have two script files, and one calls a function in the
5555other and vise versa, before the used function is defined, it won't work.
5556Avoid using the autoload functionality at the toplevel.
Bram Moolenaar7c626922005-02-07 22:01:03 +00005557
Bram Moolenaar433f7c82006-03-21 21:29:36 +00005558Hint: If you distribute a bunch of scripts you can pack them together with the
5559|vimball| utility. Also read the user manual |distribute-script|.
5560
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005561==============================================================================
55626. Curly braces names *curly-braces-names*
5563
5564Wherever you can use a variable, you can use a "curly braces name" variable.
5565This is a regular variable name with one or more expressions wrapped in braces
5566{} like this: >
5567 my_{adjective}_variable
5568
5569When Vim encounters this, it evaluates the expression inside the braces, puts
5570that in place of the expression, and re-interprets the whole as a variable
5571name. So in the above example, if the variable "adjective" was set to
5572"noisy", then the reference would be to "my_noisy_variable", whereas if
5573"adjective" was set to "quiet", then it would be to "my_quiet_variable".
5574
5575One application for this is to create a set of variables governed by an option
5576value. For example, the statement >
5577 echo my_{&background}_message
5578
5579would output the contents of "my_dark_message" or "my_light_message" depending
5580on the current value of 'background'.
5581
5582You can use multiple brace pairs: >
5583 echo my_{adverb}_{adjective}_message
5584..or even nest them: >
5585 echo my_{ad{end_of_word}}_message
5586where "end_of_word" is either "verb" or "jective".
5587
5588However, the expression inside the braces must evaluate to a valid single
Bram Moolenaar402d2fe2005-04-15 21:00:38 +00005589variable name, e.g. this is invalid: >
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005590 :let foo='a + b'
5591 :echo c{foo}d
5592.. since the result of expansion is "ca + bd", which is not a variable name.
5593
5594 *curly-braces-function-names*
5595You can call and define functions by an evaluated name in a similar way.
5596Example: >
5597 :let func_end='whizz'
5598 :call my_func_{func_end}(parameter)
5599
5600This would call the function "my_func_whizz(parameter)".
5601
5602==============================================================================
56037. Commands *expression-commands*
5604
5605:let {var-name} = {expr1} *:let* *E18*
5606 Set internal variable {var-name} to the result of the
5607 expression {expr1}. The variable will get the type
5608 from the {expr}. If {var-name} didn't exist yet, it
5609 is created.
5610
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +00005611:let {var-name}[{idx}] = {expr1} *E689*
5612 Set a list item to the result of the expression
5613 {expr1}. {var-name} must refer to a list and {idx}
5614 must be a valid index in that list. For nested list
5615 the index can be repeated.
5616 This cannot be used to add an item to a list.
5617
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00005618 *E711* *E719*
5619:let {var-name}[{idx1}:{idx2}] = {expr1} *E708* *E709* *E710*
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00005620 Set a sequence of items in a |List| to the result of
5621 the expression {expr1}, which must be a list with the
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +00005622 correct number of items.
5623 {idx1} can be omitted, zero is used instead.
5624 {idx2} can be omitted, meaning the end of the list.
5625 When the selected range of items is partly past the
5626 end of the list, items will be added.
5627
Bram Moolenaar748bf032005-02-02 23:04:36 +00005628 *:let+=* *:let-=* *:let.=* *E734*
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00005629:let {var} += {expr1} Like ":let {var} = {var} + {expr1}".
5630:let {var} -= {expr1} Like ":let {var} = {var} - {expr1}".
5631:let {var} .= {expr1} Like ":let {var} = {var} . {expr1}".
5632 These fail if {var} was not set yet and when the type
5633 of {var} and {expr1} don't fit the operator.
5634
5635
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005636:let ${env-name} = {expr1} *:let-environment* *:let-$*
5637 Set environment variable {env-name} to the result of
5638 the expression {expr1}. The type is always String.
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00005639:let ${env-name} .= {expr1}
5640 Append {expr1} to the environment variable {env-name}.
5641 If the environment variable didn't exist yet this
5642 works like "=".
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005643
5644:let @{reg-name} = {expr1} *:let-register* *:let-@*
5645 Write the result of the expression {expr1} in register
5646 {reg-name}. {reg-name} must be a single letter, and
5647 must be the name of a writable register (see
5648 |registers|). "@@" can be used for the unnamed
5649 register, "@/" for the search pattern.
5650 If the result of {expr1} ends in a <CR> or <NL>, the
5651 register will be linewise, otherwise it will be set to
5652 characterwise.
5653 This can be used to clear the last search pattern: >
5654 :let @/ = ""
5655< This is different from searching for an empty string,
5656 that would match everywhere.
5657
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00005658:let @{reg-name} .= {expr1}
5659 Append {expr1} to register {reg-name}. If the
5660 register was empty it's like setting it to {expr1}.
5661
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005662:let &{option-name} = {expr1} *:let-option* *:let-star*
5663 Set option {option-name} to the result of the
Bram Moolenaarfca34d62005-01-04 21:38:36 +00005664 expression {expr1}. A String or Number value is
5665 always converted to the type of the option.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005666 For an option local to a window or buffer the effect
5667 is just like using the |:set| command: both the local
Bram Moolenaara5fac542005-10-12 20:58:49 +00005668 value and the global value are changed.
Bram Moolenaarfca34d62005-01-04 21:38:36 +00005669 Example: >
5670 :let &path = &path . ',/usr/local/include'
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005671
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00005672:let &{option-name} .= {expr1}
5673 For a string option: Append {expr1} to the value.
5674 Does not insert a comma like |:set+=|.
5675
5676:let &{option-name} += {expr1}
5677:let &{option-name} -= {expr1}
5678 For a number or boolean option: Add or subtract
5679 {expr1}.
5680
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005681:let &l:{option-name} = {expr1}
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00005682:let &l:{option-name} .= {expr1}
5683:let &l:{option-name} += {expr1}
5684:let &l:{option-name} -= {expr1}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005685 Like above, but only set the local value of an option
5686 (if there is one). Works like |:setlocal|.
5687
5688:let &g:{option-name} = {expr1}
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00005689:let &g:{option-name} .= {expr1}
5690:let &g:{option-name} += {expr1}
5691:let &g:{option-name} -= {expr1}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005692 Like above, but only set the global value of an option
5693 (if there is one). Works like |:setglobal|.
5694
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +00005695:let [{name1}, {name2}, ...] = {expr1} *:let-unpack* *E687* *E688*
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00005696 {expr1} must evaluate to a |List|. The first item in
Bram Moolenaarfca34d62005-01-04 21:38:36 +00005697 the list is assigned to {name1}, the second item to
5698 {name2}, etc.
5699 The number of names must match the number of items in
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00005700 the |List|.
Bram Moolenaarfca34d62005-01-04 21:38:36 +00005701 Each name can be one of the items of the ":let"
5702 command as mentioned above.
5703 Example: >
5704 :let [s, item] = GetItem(s)
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00005705< Detail: {expr1} is evaluated first, then the
5706 assignments are done in sequence. This matters if
5707 {name2} depends on {name1}. Example: >
5708 :let x = [0, 1]
5709 :let i = 0
5710 :let [i, x[i]] = [1, 2]
5711 :echo x
5712< The result is [0, 2].
5713
5714:let [{name1}, {name2}, ...] .= {expr1}
5715:let [{name1}, {name2}, ...] += {expr1}
5716:let [{name1}, {name2}, ...] -= {expr1}
5717 Like above, but append/add/subtract the value for each
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00005718 |List| item.
Bram Moolenaarfca34d62005-01-04 21:38:36 +00005719
5720:let [{name}, ..., ; {lastname}] = {expr1}
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00005721 Like |:let-unpack| above, but the |List| may have more
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00005722 items than there are names. A list of the remaining
5723 items is assigned to {lastname}. If there are no
5724 remaining items {lastname} is set to an empty list.
Bram Moolenaarfca34d62005-01-04 21:38:36 +00005725 Example: >
5726 :let [a, b; rest] = ["aval", "bval", 3, 4]
5727<
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00005728:let [{name}, ..., ; {lastname}] .= {expr1}
5729:let [{name}, ..., ; {lastname}] += {expr1}
5730:let [{name}, ..., ; {lastname}] -= {expr1}
5731 Like above, but append/add/subtract the value for each
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00005732 |List| item.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005733 *E106*
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00005734:let {var-name} .. List the value of variable {var-name}. Multiple
Bram Moolenaardcaf10e2005-01-21 11:55:25 +00005735 variable names may be given. Special names recognized
5736 here: *E738*
Bram Moolenaarca003e12006-03-17 23:19:38 +00005737 g: global variables
5738 b: local buffer variables
5739 w: local window variables
Bram Moolenaar910f66f2006-04-05 20:41:53 +00005740 t: local tab page variables
Bram Moolenaarca003e12006-03-17 23:19:38 +00005741 s: script-local variables
5742 l: local function variables
Bram Moolenaardcaf10e2005-01-21 11:55:25 +00005743 v: Vim variables.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005744
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00005745:let List the values of all variables. The type of the
5746 variable is indicated before the value:
5747 <nothing> String
5748 # Number
5749 * Funcref
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005750
Bram Moolenaar2ce06f62005-01-31 19:19:04 +00005751
5752:unl[et][!] {name} ... *:unlet* *:unl* *E108*
5753 Remove the internal variable {name}. Several variable
5754 names can be given, they are all removed. The name
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00005755 may also be a |List| or |Dictionary| item.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005756 With [!] no error message is given for non-existing
5757 variables.
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00005758 One or more items from a |List| can be removed: >
Bram Moolenaar9cd15162005-01-16 22:02:49 +00005759 :unlet list[3] " remove fourth item
5760 :unlet list[3:] " remove fourth item to last
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00005761< One item from a |Dictionary| can be removed at a time: >
Bram Moolenaar9cd15162005-01-16 22:02:49 +00005762 :unlet dict['two']
5763 :unlet dict.two
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005764
Bram Moolenaar2ce06f62005-01-31 19:19:04 +00005765:lockv[ar][!] [depth] {name} ... *:lockvar* *:lockv*
5766 Lock the internal variable {name}. Locking means that
5767 it can no longer be changed (until it is unlocked).
5768 A locked variable can be deleted: >
5769 :lockvar v
5770 :let v = 'asdf' " fails!
5771 :unlet v
5772< *E741*
5773 If you try to change a locked variable you get an
5774 error message: "E741: Value of {name} is locked"
5775
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00005776 [depth] is relevant when locking a |List| or
5777 |Dictionary|. It specifies how deep the locking goes:
5778 1 Lock the |List| or |Dictionary| itself,
Bram Moolenaar2ce06f62005-01-31 19:19:04 +00005779 cannot add or remove items, but can
5780 still change their values.
5781 2 Also lock the values, cannot change
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00005782 the items. If an item is a |List| or
5783 |Dictionary|, cannot add or remove
Bram Moolenaar2ce06f62005-01-31 19:19:04 +00005784 items, but can still change the
5785 values.
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00005786 3 Like 2 but for the |List| /
5787 |Dictionary| in the |List| /
5788 |Dictionary|, one level deeper.
5789 The default [depth] is 2, thus when {name} is a |List|
5790 or |Dictionary| the values cannot be changed.
Bram Moolenaar2ce06f62005-01-31 19:19:04 +00005791 *E743*
5792 For unlimited depth use [!] and omit [depth].
5793 However, there is a maximum depth of 100 to catch
5794 loops.
5795
Bram Moolenaar32466aa2006-02-24 23:53:04 +00005796 Note that when two variables refer to the same |List|
5797 and you lock one of them, the |List| will also be
Bram Moolenaar910f66f2006-04-05 20:41:53 +00005798 locked when used through the other variable.
5799 Example: >
Bram Moolenaar2ce06f62005-01-31 19:19:04 +00005800 :let l = [0, 1, 2, 3]
5801 :let cl = l
5802 :lockvar l
5803 :let cl[1] = 99 " won't work!
5804< You may want to make a copy of a list to avoid this.
5805 See |deepcopy()|.
5806
5807
5808:unlo[ckvar][!] [depth] {name} ... *:unlockvar* *:unlo*
5809 Unlock the internal variable {name}. Does the
5810 opposite of |:lockvar|.
5811
5812
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005813:if {expr1} *:if* *:endif* *:en* *E171* *E579* *E580*
5814:en[dif] Execute the commands until the next matching ":else"
5815 or ":endif" if {expr1} evaluates to non-zero.
5816
5817 From Vim version 4.5 until 5.0, every Ex command in
5818 between the ":if" and ":endif" is ignored. These two
5819 commands were just to allow for future expansions in a
5820 backwards compatible way. Nesting was allowed. Note
5821 that any ":else" or ":elseif" was ignored, the "else"
5822 part was not executed either.
5823
5824 You can use this to remain compatible with older
5825 versions: >
5826 :if version >= 500
5827 : version-5-specific-commands
5828 :endif
5829< The commands still need to be parsed to find the
5830 "endif". Sometimes an older Vim has a problem with a
5831 new command. For example, ":silent" is recognized as
5832 a ":substitute" command. In that case ":execute" can
5833 avoid problems: >
5834 :if version >= 600
5835 : execute "silent 1,$delete"
5836 :endif
5837<
5838 NOTE: The ":append" and ":insert" commands don't work
5839 properly in between ":if" and ":endif".
5840
5841 *:else* *:el* *E581* *E583*
5842:el[se] Execute the commands until the next matching ":else"
5843 or ":endif" if they previously were not being
5844 executed.
5845
5846 *:elseif* *:elsei* *E582* *E584*
5847:elsei[f] {expr1} Short for ":else" ":if", with the addition that there
5848 is no extra ":endif".
5849
5850:wh[ile] {expr1} *:while* *:endwhile* *:wh* *:endw*
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00005851 *E170* *E585* *E588* *E733*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005852:endw[hile] Repeat the commands between ":while" and ":endwhile",
5853 as long as {expr1} evaluates to non-zero.
5854 When an error is detected from a command inside the
5855 loop, execution continues after the "endwhile".
Bram Moolenaar12805862005-01-05 22:16:17 +00005856 Example: >
5857 :let lnum = 1
5858 :while lnum <= line("$")
5859 :call FixLine(lnum)
5860 :let lnum = lnum + 1
5861 :endwhile
5862<
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005863 NOTE: The ":append" and ":insert" commands don't work
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +00005864 properly inside a ":while" and ":for" loop.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005865
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00005866:for {var} in {list} *:for* *E690* *E732*
Bram Moolenaar12805862005-01-05 22:16:17 +00005867:endfo[r] *:endfo* *:endfor*
5868 Repeat the commands between ":for" and ":endfor" for
Bram Moolenaar3a7c85b2005-02-05 21:39:53 +00005869 each item in {list}. Variable {var} is set to the
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +00005870 value of each item.
5871 When an error is detected for a command inside the
Bram Moolenaar12805862005-01-05 22:16:17 +00005872 loop, execution continues after the "endfor".
Bram Moolenaar572cb562005-08-05 21:35:02 +00005873 Changing {list} inside the loop affects what items are
5874 used. Make a copy if this is unwanted: >
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +00005875 :for item in copy(mylist)
5876< When not making a copy, Vim stores a reference to the
5877 next item in the list, before executing the commands
5878 with the current item. Thus the current item can be
5879 removed without effect. Removing any later item means
5880 it will not be found. Thus the following example
5881 works (an inefficient way to make a list empty): >
5882 :for item in mylist
Bram Moolenaar12805862005-01-05 22:16:17 +00005883 :call remove(mylist, 0)
5884 :endfor
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +00005885< Note that reordering the list (e.g., with sort() or
5886 reverse()) may have unexpected effects.
5887 Note that the type of each list item should be
Bram Moolenaar12805862005-01-05 22:16:17 +00005888 identical to avoid errors for the type of {var}
5889 changing. Unlet the variable at the end of the loop
5890 to allow multiple item types.
5891
Bram Moolenaar12805862005-01-05 22:16:17 +00005892:for [{var1}, {var2}, ...] in {listlist}
5893:endfo[r]
5894 Like ":for" above, but each item in {listlist} must be
5895 a list, of which each item is assigned to {var1},
5896 {var2}, etc. Example: >
5897 :for [lnum, col] in [[1, 3], [2, 5], [3, 8]]
5898 :echo getline(lnum)[col]
5899 :endfor
5900<
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005901 *:continue* *:con* *E586*
Bram Moolenaar12805862005-01-05 22:16:17 +00005902:con[tinue] When used inside a ":while" or ":for" loop, jumps back
5903 to the start of the loop.
5904 If it is used after a |:try| inside the loop but
5905 before the matching |:finally| (if present), the
5906 commands following the ":finally" up to the matching
5907 |:endtry| are executed first. This process applies to
5908 all nested ":try"s inside the loop. The outermost
5909 ":endtry" then jumps back to the start of the loop.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005910
5911 *:break* *:brea* *E587*
Bram Moolenaar12805862005-01-05 22:16:17 +00005912:brea[k] When used inside a ":while" or ":for" loop, skips to
5913 the command after the matching ":endwhile" or
5914 ":endfor".
5915 If it is used after a |:try| inside the loop but
5916 before the matching |:finally| (if present), the
5917 commands following the ":finally" up to the matching
5918 |:endtry| are executed first. This process applies to
5919 all nested ":try"s inside the loop. The outermost
5920 ":endtry" then jumps to the command after the loop.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00005921
5922:try *:try* *:endt* *:endtry* *E600* *E601* *E602*
5923:endt[ry] Change the error handling for the commands between
5924 ":try" and ":endtry" including everything being
5925 executed across ":source" commands, function calls,
5926 or autocommand invocations.
5927
5928 When an error or interrupt is detected and there is
5929 a |:finally| command following, execution continues
5930 after the ":finally". Otherwise, or when the
5931 ":endtry" is reached thereafter, the next
5932 (dynamically) surrounding ":try" is checked for
5933 a corresponding ":finally" etc. Then the script
5934 processing is terminated. (Whether a function
5935 definition has an "abort" argument does not matter.)
5936 Example: >
5937 :try | edit too much | finally | echo "cleanup" | endtry
5938 :echo "impossible" " not reached, script terminated above
5939<
5940 Moreover, an error or interrupt (dynamically) inside
5941 ":try" and ":endtry" is converted to an exception. It
5942 can be caught as if it were thrown by a |:throw|
5943 command (see |:catch|). In this case, the script
5944 processing is not terminated.
5945
5946 The value "Vim:Interrupt" is used for an interrupt
5947 exception. An error in a Vim command is converted
5948 to a value of the form "Vim({command}):{errmsg}",
5949 other errors are converted to a value of the form
5950 "Vim:{errmsg}". {command} is the full command name,
5951 and {errmsg} is the message that is displayed if the
5952 error exception is not caught, always beginning with
5953 the error number.
5954 Examples: >
5955 :try | sleep 100 | catch /^Vim:Interrupt$/ | endtry
5956 :try | edit | catch /^Vim(edit):E\d\+/ | echo "error" | endtry
5957<
5958 *:cat* *:catch* *E603* *E604* *E605*
5959:cat[ch] /{pattern}/ The following commands until the next ":catch",
5960 |:finally|, or |:endtry| that belongs to the same
5961 |:try| as the ":catch" are executed when an exception
5962 matching {pattern} is being thrown and has not yet
5963 been caught by a previous ":catch". Otherwise, these
5964 commands are skipped.
5965 When {pattern} is omitted all errors are caught.
5966 Examples: >
5967 :catch /^Vim:Interrupt$/ " catch interrupts (CTRL-C)
5968 :catch /^Vim\%((\a\+)\)\=:E/ " catch all Vim errors
5969 :catch /^Vim\%((\a\+)\)\=:/ " catch errors and interrupts
5970 :catch /^Vim(write):/ " catch all errors in :write
5971 :catch /^Vim\%((\a\+)\)\=:E123/ " catch error E123
5972 :catch /my-exception/ " catch user exception
5973 :catch /.*/ " catch everything
5974 :catch " same as /.*/
5975<
5976 Another character can be used instead of / around the
5977 {pattern}, so long as it does not have a special
5978 meaning (e.g., '|' or '"') and doesn't occur inside
5979 {pattern}.
5980 NOTE: It is not reliable to ":catch" the TEXT of
5981 an error message because it may vary in different
5982 locales.
5983
5984 *:fina* *:finally* *E606* *E607*
5985:fina[lly] The following commands until the matching |:endtry|
5986 are executed whenever the part between the matching
5987 |:try| and the ":finally" is left: either by falling
5988 through to the ":finally" or by a |:continue|,
5989 |:break|, |:finish|, or |:return|, or by an error or
5990 interrupt or exception (see |:throw|).
5991
5992 *:th* *:throw* *E608*
5993:th[row] {expr1} The {expr1} is evaluated and thrown as an exception.
5994 If the ":throw" is used after a |:try| but before the
5995 first corresponding |:catch|, commands are skipped
5996 until the first ":catch" matching {expr1} is reached.
5997 If there is no such ":catch" or if the ":throw" is
5998 used after a ":catch" but before the |:finally|, the
5999 commands following the ":finally" (if present) up to
6000 the matching |:endtry| are executed. If the ":throw"
6001 is after the ":finally", commands up to the ":endtry"
6002 are skipped. At the ":endtry", this process applies
6003 again for the next dynamically surrounding ":try"
6004 (which may be found in a calling function or sourcing
6005 script), until a matching ":catch" has been found.
6006 If the exception is not caught, the command processing
6007 is terminated.
6008 Example: >
6009 :try | throw "oops" | catch /^oo/ | echo "caught" | endtry
6010<
6011
6012 *:ec* *:echo*
6013:ec[ho] {expr1} .. Echoes each {expr1}, with a space in between. The
6014 first {expr1} starts on a new line.
6015 Also see |:comment|.
6016 Use "\n" to start a new line. Use "\r" to move the
6017 cursor to the first column.
6018 Uses the highlighting set by the |:echohl| command.
6019 Cannot be followed by a comment.
6020 Example: >
6021 :echo "the value of 'shell' is" &shell
6022< A later redraw may make the message disappear again.
6023 To avoid that a command from before the ":echo" causes
6024 a redraw afterwards (redraws are often postponed until
6025 you type something), force a redraw with the |:redraw|
6026 command. Example: >
6027 :new | redraw | echo "there is a new window"
6028<
6029 *:echon*
6030:echon {expr1} .. Echoes each {expr1}, without anything added. Also see
6031 |:comment|.
6032 Uses the highlighting set by the |:echohl| command.
6033 Cannot be followed by a comment.
6034 Example: >
6035 :echon "the value of 'shell' is " &shell
6036<
6037 Note the difference between using ":echo", which is a
6038 Vim command, and ":!echo", which is an external shell
6039 command: >
6040 :!echo % --> filename
6041< The arguments of ":!" are expanded, see |:_%|. >
6042 :!echo "%" --> filename or "filename"
6043< Like the previous example. Whether you see the double
6044 quotes or not depends on your 'shell'. >
6045 :echo % --> nothing
6046< The '%' is an illegal character in an expression. >
6047 :echo "%" --> %
6048< This just echoes the '%' character. >
6049 :echo expand("%") --> filename
6050< This calls the expand() function to expand the '%'.
6051
6052 *:echoh* *:echohl*
6053:echoh[l] {name} Use the highlight group {name} for the following
6054 |:echo|, |:echon| and |:echomsg| commands. Also used
6055 for the |input()| prompt. Example: >
6056 :echohl WarningMsg | echo "Don't panic!" | echohl None
6057< Don't forget to set the group back to "None",
6058 otherwise all following echo's will be highlighted.
6059
6060 *:echom* *:echomsg*
6061:echom[sg] {expr1} .. Echo the expression(s) as a true message, saving the
6062 message in the |message-history|.
6063 Spaces are placed between the arguments as with the
6064 |:echo| command. But unprintable characters are
6065 displayed, not interpreted.
6066 Uses the highlighting set by the |:echohl| command.
6067 Example: >
6068 :echomsg "It's a Zizzer Zazzer Zuzz, as you can plainly see."
6069<
6070 *:echoe* *:echoerr*
6071:echoe[rr] {expr1} .. Echo the expression(s) as an error message, saving the
6072 message in the |message-history|. When used in a
6073 script or function the line number will be added.
6074 Spaces are placed between the arguments as with the
6075 :echo command. When used inside a try conditional,
6076 the message is raised as an error exception instead
6077 (see |try-echoerr|).
6078 Example: >
6079 :echoerr "This script just failed!"
6080< If you just want a highlighted message use |:echohl|.
6081 And to get a beep: >
6082 :exe "normal \<Esc>"
6083<
6084 *:exe* *:execute*
6085:exe[cute] {expr1} .. Executes the string that results from the evaluation
6086 of {expr1} as an Ex command. Multiple arguments are
6087 concatenated, with a space in between. {expr1} is
6088 used as the processed command, command line editing
6089 keys are not recognized.
6090 Cannot be followed by a comment.
6091 Examples: >
6092 :execute "buffer " nextbuf
6093 :execute "normal " count . "w"
6094<
6095 ":execute" can be used to append a command to commands
6096 that don't accept a '|'. Example: >
6097 :execute '!ls' | echo "theend"
6098
6099< ":execute" is also a nice way to avoid having to type
6100 control characters in a Vim script for a ":normal"
6101 command: >
6102 :execute "normal ixxx\<Esc>"
6103< This has an <Esc> character, see |expr-string|.
6104
6105 Note: The executed string may be any command-line, but
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +00006106 you cannot start or end a "while", "for" or "if"
6107 command. Thus this is illegal: >
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00006108 :execute 'while i > 5'
6109 :execute 'echo "test" | break'
6110<
6111 It is allowed to have a "while" or "if" command
6112 completely in the executed string: >
6113 :execute 'while i < 5 | echo i | let i = i + 1 | endwhile'
6114<
6115
6116 *:comment*
6117 ":execute", ":echo" and ":echon" cannot be followed by
6118 a comment directly, because they see the '"' as the
6119 start of a string. But, you can use '|' followed by a
6120 comment. Example: >
6121 :echo "foo" | "this is a comment
6122
6123==============================================================================
61248. Exception handling *exception-handling*
6125
6126The Vim script language comprises an exception handling feature. This section
6127explains how it can be used in a Vim script.
6128
6129Exceptions may be raised by Vim on an error or on interrupt, see
6130|catch-errors| and |catch-interrupt|. You can also explicitly throw an
6131exception by using the ":throw" command, see |throw-catch|.
6132
6133
6134TRY CONDITIONALS *try-conditionals*
6135
6136Exceptions can be caught or can cause cleanup code to be executed. You can
6137use a try conditional to specify catch clauses (that catch exceptions) and/or
6138a finally clause (to be executed for cleanup).
6139 A try conditional begins with a |:try| command and ends at the matching
6140|:endtry| command. In between, you can use a |:catch| command to start
6141a catch clause, or a |:finally| command to start a finally clause. There may
6142be none or multiple catch clauses, but there is at most one finally clause,
6143which must not be followed by any catch clauses. The lines before the catch
6144clauses and the finally clause is called a try block. >
6145
6146 :try
6147 : ...
6148 : ... TRY BLOCK
6149 : ...
6150 :catch /{pattern}/
6151 : ...
6152 : ... CATCH CLAUSE
6153 : ...
6154 :catch /{pattern}/
6155 : ...
6156 : ... CATCH CLAUSE
6157 : ...
6158 :finally
6159 : ...
6160 : ... FINALLY CLAUSE
6161 : ...
6162 :endtry
6163
6164The try conditional allows to watch code for exceptions and to take the
6165appropriate actions. Exceptions from the try block may be caught. Exceptions
6166from the try block and also the catch clauses may cause cleanup actions.
6167 When no exception is thrown during execution of the try block, the control
6168is transferred to the finally clause, if present. After its execution, the
6169script continues with the line following the ":endtry".
6170 When an exception occurs during execution of the try block, the remaining
6171lines in the try block are skipped. The exception is matched against the
6172patterns specified as arguments to the ":catch" commands. The catch clause
6173after the first matching ":catch" is taken, other catch clauses are not
6174executed. The catch clause ends when the next ":catch", ":finally", or
6175":endtry" command is reached - whatever is first. Then, the finally clause
6176(if present) is executed. When the ":endtry" is reached, the script execution
6177continues in the following line as usual.
6178 When an exception that does not match any of the patterns specified by the
6179":catch" commands is thrown in the try block, the exception is not caught by
6180that try conditional and none of the catch clauses is executed. Only the
6181finally clause, if present, is taken. The exception pends during execution of
6182the finally clause. It is resumed at the ":endtry", so that commands after
6183the ":endtry" are not executed and the exception might be caught elsewhere,
6184see |try-nesting|.
6185 When during execution of a catch clause another exception is thrown, the
6186remaining lines in that catch clause are not executed. The new exception is
6187not matched against the patterns in any of the ":catch" commands of the same
6188try conditional and none of its catch clauses is taken. If there is, however,
6189a finally clause, it is executed, and the exception pends during its
6190execution. The commands following the ":endtry" are not executed. The new
6191exception might, however, be caught elsewhere, see |try-nesting|.
6192 When during execution of the finally clause (if present) an exception is
6193thrown, the remaining lines in the finally clause are skipped. If the finally
6194clause has been taken because of an exception from the try block or one of the
6195catch clauses, the original (pending) exception is discarded. The commands
6196following the ":endtry" are not executed, and the exception from the finally
6197clause is propagated and can be caught elsewhere, see |try-nesting|.
6198
6199The finally clause is also executed, when a ":break" or ":continue" for
6200a ":while" loop enclosing the complete try conditional is executed from the
6201try block or a catch clause. Or when a ":return" or ":finish" is executed
6202from the try block or a catch clause of a try conditional in a function or
6203sourced script, respectively. The ":break", ":continue", ":return", or
6204":finish" pends during execution of the finally clause and is resumed when the
6205":endtry" is reached. It is, however, discarded when an exception is thrown
6206from the finally clause.
6207 When a ":break" or ":continue" for a ":while" loop enclosing the complete
6208try conditional or when a ":return" or ":finish" is encountered in the finally
6209clause, the rest of the finally clause is skipped, and the ":break",
6210":continue", ":return" or ":finish" is executed as usual. If the finally
6211clause has been taken because of an exception or an earlier ":break",
6212":continue", ":return", or ":finish" from the try block or a catch clause,
6213this pending exception or command is discarded.
6214
6215For examples see |throw-catch| and |try-finally|.
6216
6217
6218NESTING OF TRY CONDITIONALS *try-nesting*
6219
6220Try conditionals can be nested arbitrarily. That is, a complete try
6221conditional can be put into the try block, a catch clause, or the finally
6222clause of another try conditional. If the inner try conditional does not
6223catch an exception thrown in its try block or throws a new exception from one
6224of its catch clauses or its finally clause, the outer try conditional is
6225checked according to the rules above. If the inner try conditional is in the
6226try block of the outer try conditional, its catch clauses are checked, but
6227otherwise only the finally clause is executed. It does not matter for
6228nesting, whether the inner try conditional is directly contained in the outer
6229one, or whether the outer one sources a script or calls a function containing
6230the inner try conditional.
6231
6232When none of the active try conditionals catches an exception, just their
6233finally clauses are executed. Thereafter, the script processing terminates.
6234An error message is displayed in case of an uncaught exception explicitly
6235thrown by a ":throw" command. For uncaught error and interrupt exceptions
6236implicitly raised by Vim, the error message(s) or interrupt message are shown
6237as usual.
6238
6239For examples see |throw-catch|.
6240
6241
6242EXAMINING EXCEPTION HANDLING CODE *except-examine*
6243
6244Exception handling code can get tricky. If you are in doubt what happens, set
6245'verbose' to 13 or use the ":13verbose" command modifier when sourcing your
6246script file. Then you see when an exception is thrown, discarded, caught, or
6247finished. When using a verbosity level of at least 14, things pending in
6248a finally clause are also shown. This information is also given in debug mode
6249(see |debug-scripts|).
6250
6251
6252THROWING AND CATCHING EXCEPTIONS *throw-catch*
6253
6254You can throw any number or string as an exception. Use the |:throw| command
6255and pass the value to be thrown as argument: >
6256 :throw 4711
6257 :throw "string"
6258< *throw-expression*
6259You can also specify an expression argument. The expression is then evaluated
6260first, and the result is thrown: >
6261 :throw 4705 + strlen("string")
6262 :throw strpart("strings", 0, 6)
6263
6264An exception might be thrown during evaluation of the argument of the ":throw"
6265command. Unless it is caught there, the expression evaluation is abandoned.
6266The ":throw" command then does not throw a new exception.
6267 Example: >
6268
6269 :function! Foo(arg)
6270 : try
6271 : throw a:arg
6272 : catch /foo/
6273 : endtry
6274 : return 1
6275 :endfunction
6276 :
6277 :function! Bar()
6278 : echo "in Bar"
6279 : return 4710
6280 :endfunction
6281 :
6282 :throw Foo("arrgh") + Bar()
6283
6284This throws "arrgh", and "in Bar" is not displayed since Bar() is not
6285executed. >
6286 :throw Foo("foo") + Bar()
6287however displays "in Bar" and throws 4711.
6288
6289Any other command that takes an expression as argument might also be
6290abandoned by an (uncaught) exception during the expression evaluation. The
6291exception is then propagated to the caller of the command.
6292 Example: >
6293
6294 :if Foo("arrgh")
6295 : echo "then"
6296 :else
6297 : echo "else"
6298 :endif
6299
6300Here neither of "then" or "else" is displayed.
6301
6302 *catch-order*
6303Exceptions can be caught by a try conditional with one or more |:catch|
6304commands, see |try-conditionals|. The values to be caught by each ":catch"
6305command can be specified as a pattern argument. The subsequent catch clause
6306gets executed when a matching exception is caught.
6307 Example: >
6308
6309 :function! Foo(value)
6310 : try
6311 : throw a:value
6312 : catch /^\d\+$/
6313 : echo "Number thrown"
6314 : catch /.*/
6315 : echo "String thrown"
6316 : endtry
6317 :endfunction
6318 :
6319 :call Foo(0x1267)
6320 :call Foo('string')
6321
6322The first call to Foo() displays "Number thrown", the second "String thrown".
6323An exception is matched against the ":catch" commands in the order they are
6324specified. Only the first match counts. So you should place the more
6325specific ":catch" first. The following order does not make sense: >
6326
6327 : catch /.*/
6328 : echo "String thrown"
6329 : catch /^\d\+$/
6330 : echo "Number thrown"
6331
6332The first ":catch" here matches always, so that the second catch clause is
6333never taken.
6334
6335 *throw-variables*
6336If you catch an exception by a general pattern, you may access the exact value
6337in the variable |v:exception|: >
6338
6339 : catch /^\d\+$/
6340 : echo "Number thrown. Value is" v:exception
6341
6342You may also be interested where an exception was thrown. This is stored in
6343|v:throwpoint|. Note that "v:exception" and "v:throwpoint" are valid for the
6344exception most recently caught as long it is not finished.
6345 Example: >
6346
6347 :function! Caught()
6348 : if v:exception != ""
6349 : echo 'Caught "' . v:exception . '" in ' . v:throwpoint
6350 : else
6351 : echo 'Nothing caught'
6352 : endif
6353 :endfunction
6354 :
6355 :function! Foo()
6356 : try
6357 : try
6358 : try
6359 : throw 4711
6360 : finally
6361 : call Caught()
6362 : endtry
6363 : catch /.*/
6364 : call Caught()
6365 : throw "oops"
6366 : endtry
6367 : catch /.*/
6368 : call Caught()
6369 : finally
6370 : call Caught()
6371 : endtry
6372 :endfunction
6373 :
6374 :call Foo()
6375
6376This displays >
6377
6378 Nothing caught
6379 Caught "4711" in function Foo, line 4
6380 Caught "oops" in function Foo, line 10
6381 Nothing caught
6382
6383A practical example: The following command ":LineNumber" displays the line
6384number in the script or function where it has been used: >
6385
6386 :function! LineNumber()
6387 : return substitute(v:throwpoint, '.*\D\(\d\+\).*', '\1', "")
6388 :endfunction
6389 :command! LineNumber try | throw "" | catch | echo LineNumber() | endtry
6390<
6391 *try-nested*
6392An exception that is not caught by a try conditional can be caught by
6393a surrounding try conditional: >
6394
6395 :try
6396 : try
6397 : throw "foo"
6398 : catch /foobar/
6399 : echo "foobar"
6400 : finally
6401 : echo "inner finally"
6402 : endtry
6403 :catch /foo/
6404 : echo "foo"
6405 :endtry
6406
6407The inner try conditional does not catch the exception, just its finally
6408clause is executed. The exception is then caught by the outer try
6409conditional. The example displays "inner finally" and then "foo".
6410
6411 *throw-from-catch*
6412You can catch an exception and throw a new one to be caught elsewhere from the
6413catch clause: >
6414
6415 :function! Foo()
6416 : throw "foo"
6417 :endfunction
6418 :
6419 :function! Bar()
6420 : try
6421 : call Foo()
6422 : catch /foo/
6423 : echo "Caught foo, throw bar"
6424 : throw "bar"
6425 : endtry
6426 :endfunction
6427 :
6428 :try
6429 : call Bar()
6430 :catch /.*/
6431 : echo "Caught" v:exception
6432 :endtry
6433
6434This displays "Caught foo, throw bar" and then "Caught bar".
6435
6436 *rethrow*
6437There is no real rethrow in the Vim script language, but you may throw
6438"v:exception" instead: >
6439
6440 :function! Bar()
6441 : try
6442 : call Foo()
6443 : catch /.*/
6444 : echo "Rethrow" v:exception
6445 : throw v:exception
6446 : endtry
6447 :endfunction
6448< *try-echoerr*
6449Note that this method cannot be used to "rethrow" Vim error or interrupt
6450exceptions, because it is not possible to fake Vim internal exceptions.
6451Trying so causes an error exception. You should throw your own exception
6452denoting the situation. If you want to cause a Vim error exception containing
6453the original error exception value, you can use the |:echoerr| command: >
6454
6455 :try
6456 : try
6457 : asdf
6458 : catch /.*/
6459 : echoerr v:exception
6460 : endtry
6461 :catch /.*/
6462 : echo v:exception
6463 :endtry
6464
6465This code displays
6466
6467 Vim(echoerr):Vim:E492: Not an editor command: asdf ~
6468
6469
6470CLEANUP CODE *try-finally*
6471
6472Scripts often change global settings and restore them at their end. If the
6473user however interrupts the script by pressing CTRL-C, the settings remain in
6474an inconsistent state. The same may happen to you in the development phase of
6475a script when an error occurs or you explicitly throw an exception without
6476catching it. You can solve these problems by using a try conditional with
6477a finally clause for restoring the settings. Its execution is guaranteed on
6478normal control flow, on error, on an explicit ":throw", and on interrupt.
6479(Note that errors and interrupts from inside the try conditional are converted
6480to exceptions. When not caught, they terminate the script after the finally
6481clause has been executed.)
6482Example: >
6483
6484 :try
6485 : let s:saved_ts = &ts
6486 : set ts=17
6487 :
6488 : " Do the hard work here.
6489 :
6490 :finally
6491 : let &ts = s:saved_ts
6492 : unlet s:saved_ts
6493 :endtry
6494
6495This method should be used locally whenever a function or part of a script
6496changes global settings which need to be restored on failure or normal exit of
6497that function or script part.
6498
6499 *break-finally*
6500Cleanup code works also when the try block or a catch clause is left by
6501a ":continue", ":break", ":return", or ":finish".
6502 Example: >
6503
6504 :let first = 1
6505 :while 1
6506 : try
6507 : if first
6508 : echo "first"
6509 : let first = 0
6510 : continue
6511 : else
6512 : throw "second"
6513 : endif
6514 : catch /.*/
6515 : echo v:exception
6516 : break
6517 : finally
6518 : echo "cleanup"
6519 : endtry
6520 : echo "still in while"
6521 :endwhile
6522 :echo "end"
6523
6524This displays "first", "cleanup", "second", "cleanup", and "end". >
6525
6526 :function! Foo()
6527 : try
6528 : return 4711
6529 : finally
6530 : echo "cleanup\n"
6531 : endtry
6532 : echo "Foo still active"
6533 :endfunction
6534 :
6535 :echo Foo() "returned by Foo"
6536
6537This displays "cleanup" and "4711 returned by Foo". You don't need to add an
6538extra ":return" in the finally clause. (Above all, this would override the
6539return value.)
6540
6541 *except-from-finally*
6542Using either of ":continue", ":break", ":return", ":finish", or ":throw" in
6543a finally clause is possible, but not recommended since it abandons the
6544cleanup actions for the try conditional. But, of course, interrupt and error
6545exceptions might get raised from a finally clause.
6546 Example where an error in the finally clause stops an interrupt from
6547working correctly: >
6548
6549 :try
6550 : try
6551 : echo "Press CTRL-C for interrupt"
6552 : while 1
6553 : endwhile
6554 : finally
6555 : unlet novar
6556 : endtry
6557 :catch /novar/
6558 :endtry
6559 :echo "Script still running"
6560 :sleep 1
6561
6562If you need to put commands that could fail into a finally clause, you should
6563think about catching or ignoring the errors in these commands, see
6564|catch-errors| and |ignore-errors|.
6565
6566
6567CATCHING ERRORS *catch-errors*
6568
6569If you want to catch specific errors, you just have to put the code to be
6570watched in a try block and add a catch clause for the error message. The
6571presence of the try conditional causes all errors to be converted to an
6572exception. No message is displayed and |v:errmsg| is not set then. To find
6573the right pattern for the ":catch" command, you have to know how the format of
6574the error exception is.
6575 Error exceptions have the following format: >
6576
6577 Vim({cmdname}):{errmsg}
6578or >
6579 Vim:{errmsg}
6580
6581{cmdname} is the name of the command that failed; the second form is used when
6582the command name is not known. {errmsg} is the error message usually produced
6583when the error occurs outside try conditionals. It always begins with
6584a capital "E", followed by a two or three-digit error number, a colon, and
6585a space.
6586
6587Examples:
6588
6589The command >
6590 :unlet novar
6591normally produces the error message >
6592 E108: No such variable: "novar"
6593which is converted inside try conditionals to an exception >
6594 Vim(unlet):E108: No such variable: "novar"
6595
6596The command >
6597 :dwim
6598normally produces the error message >
6599 E492: Not an editor command: dwim
6600which is converted inside try conditionals to an exception >
6601 Vim:E492: Not an editor command: dwim
6602
6603You can catch all ":unlet" errors by a >
6604 :catch /^Vim(unlet):/
6605or all errors for misspelled command names by a >
6606 :catch /^Vim:E492:/
6607
6608Some error messages may be produced by different commands: >
6609 :function nofunc
6610and >
6611 :delfunction nofunc
6612both produce the error message >
6613 E128: Function name must start with a capital: nofunc
6614which is converted inside try conditionals to an exception >
6615 Vim(function):E128: Function name must start with a capital: nofunc
6616or >
6617 Vim(delfunction):E128: Function name must start with a capital: nofunc
6618respectively. You can catch the error by its number independently on the
6619command that caused it if you use the following pattern: >
6620 :catch /^Vim(\a\+):E128:/
6621
6622Some commands like >
6623 :let x = novar
6624produce multiple error messages, here: >
6625 E121: Undefined variable: novar
6626 E15: Invalid expression: novar
6627Only the first is used for the exception value, since it is the most specific
6628one (see |except-several-errors|). So you can catch it by >
6629 :catch /^Vim(\a\+):E121:/
6630
6631You can catch all errors related to the name "nofunc" by >
6632 :catch /\<nofunc\>/
6633
6634You can catch all Vim errors in the ":write" and ":read" commands by >
6635 :catch /^Vim(\(write\|read\)):E\d\+:/
6636
6637You can catch all Vim errors by the pattern >
6638 :catch /^Vim\((\a\+)\)\=:E\d\+:/
6639<
6640 *catch-text*
6641NOTE: You should never catch the error message text itself: >
6642 :catch /No such variable/
6643only works in the english locale, but not when the user has selected
6644a different language by the |:language| command. It is however helpful to
6645cite the message text in a comment: >
6646 :catch /^Vim(\a\+):E108:/ " No such variable
6647
6648
6649IGNORING ERRORS *ignore-errors*
6650
6651You can ignore errors in a specific Vim command by catching them locally: >
6652
6653 :try
6654 : write
6655 :catch
6656 :endtry
6657
6658But you are strongly recommended NOT to use this simple form, since it could
6659catch more than you want. With the ":write" command, some autocommands could
6660be executed and cause errors not related to writing, for instance: >
6661
6662 :au BufWritePre * unlet novar
6663
6664There could even be such errors you are not responsible for as a script
6665writer: a user of your script might have defined such autocommands. You would
6666then hide the error from the user.
6667 It is much better to use >
6668
6669 :try
6670 : write
6671 :catch /^Vim(write):/
6672 :endtry
6673
6674which only catches real write errors. So catch only what you'd like to ignore
6675intentionally.
6676
6677For a single command that does not cause execution of autocommands, you could
6678even suppress the conversion of errors to exceptions by the ":silent!"
6679command: >
6680 :silent! nunmap k
6681This works also when a try conditional is active.
6682
6683
6684CATCHING INTERRUPTS *catch-interrupt*
6685
6686When there are active try conditionals, an interrupt (CTRL-C) is converted to
6687the exception "Vim:Interrupt". You can catch it like every exception. The
6688script is not terminated, then.
6689 Example: >
6690
6691 :function! TASK1()
6692 : sleep 10
6693 :endfunction
6694
6695 :function! TASK2()
6696 : sleep 20
6697 :endfunction
6698
6699 :while 1
6700 : let command = input("Type a command: ")
6701 : try
6702 : if command == ""
6703 : continue
6704 : elseif command == "END"
6705 : break
6706 : elseif command == "TASK1"
6707 : call TASK1()
6708 : elseif command == "TASK2"
6709 : call TASK2()
6710 : else
6711 : echo "\nIllegal command:" command
6712 : continue
6713 : endif
6714 : catch /^Vim:Interrupt$/
6715 : echo "\nCommand interrupted"
6716 : " Caught the interrupt. Continue with next prompt.
6717 : endtry
6718 :endwhile
6719
6720You can interrupt a task here by pressing CTRL-C; the script then asks for
6721a new command. If you press CTRL-C at the prompt, the script is terminated.
6722
6723For testing what happens when CTRL-C would be pressed on a specific line in
6724your script, use the debug mode and execute the |>quit| or |>interrupt|
6725command on that line. See |debug-scripts|.
6726
6727
6728CATCHING ALL *catch-all*
6729
6730The commands >
6731
6732 :catch /.*/
6733 :catch //
6734 :catch
6735
6736catch everything, error exceptions, interrupt exceptions and exceptions
6737explicitly thrown by the |:throw| command. This is useful at the top level of
6738a script in order to catch unexpected things.
6739 Example: >
6740
6741 :try
6742 :
6743 : " do the hard work here
6744 :
6745 :catch /MyException/
6746 :
6747 : " handle known problem
6748 :
6749 :catch /^Vim:Interrupt$/
6750 : echo "Script interrupted"
6751 :catch /.*/
6752 : echo "Internal error (" . v:exception . ")"
6753 : echo " - occurred at " . v:throwpoint
6754 :endtry
6755 :" end of script
6756
6757Note: Catching all might catch more things than you want. Thus, you are
6758strongly encouraged to catch only for problems that you can really handle by
6759specifying a pattern argument to the ":catch".
6760 Example: Catching all could make it nearly impossible to interrupt a script
6761by pressing CTRL-C: >
6762
6763 :while 1
6764 : try
6765 : sleep 1
6766 : catch
6767 : endtry
6768 :endwhile
6769
6770
6771EXCEPTIONS AND AUTOCOMMANDS *except-autocmd*
6772
6773Exceptions may be used during execution of autocommands. Example: >
6774
6775 :autocmd User x try
6776 :autocmd User x throw "Oops!"
6777 :autocmd User x catch
6778 :autocmd User x echo v:exception
6779 :autocmd User x endtry
6780 :autocmd User x throw "Arrgh!"
6781 :autocmd User x echo "Should not be displayed"
6782 :
6783 :try
6784 : doautocmd User x
6785 :catch
6786 : echo v:exception
6787 :endtry
6788
6789This displays "Oops!" and "Arrgh!".
6790
6791 *except-autocmd-Pre*
6792For some commands, autocommands get executed before the main action of the
6793command takes place. If an exception is thrown and not caught in the sequence
6794of autocommands, the sequence and the command that caused its execution are
6795abandoned and the exception is propagated to the caller of the command.
6796 Example: >
6797
6798 :autocmd BufWritePre * throw "FAIL"
6799 :autocmd BufWritePre * echo "Should not be displayed"
6800 :
6801 :try
6802 : write
6803 :catch
6804 : echo "Caught:" v:exception "from" v:throwpoint
6805 :endtry
6806
6807Here, the ":write" command does not write the file currently being edited (as
6808you can see by checking 'modified'), since the exception from the BufWritePre
6809autocommand abandons the ":write". The exception is then caught and the
6810script displays: >
6811
6812 Caught: FAIL from BufWrite Auto commands for "*"
6813<
6814 *except-autocmd-Post*
6815For some commands, autocommands get executed after the main action of the
6816command has taken place. If this main action fails and the command is inside
6817an active try conditional, the autocommands are skipped and an error exception
6818is thrown that can be caught by the caller of the command.
6819 Example: >
6820
6821 :autocmd BufWritePost * echo "File successfully written!"
6822 :
6823 :try
6824 : write /i/m/p/o/s/s/i/b/l/e
6825 :catch
6826 : echo v:exception
6827 :endtry
6828
6829This just displays: >
6830
6831 Vim(write):E212: Can't open file for writing (/i/m/p/o/s/s/i/b/l/e)
6832
6833If you really need to execute the autocommands even when the main action
6834fails, trigger the event from the catch clause.
6835 Example: >
6836
6837 :autocmd BufWritePre * set noreadonly
6838 :autocmd BufWritePost * set readonly
6839 :
6840 :try
6841 : write /i/m/p/o/s/s/i/b/l/e
6842 :catch
6843 : doautocmd BufWritePost /i/m/p/o/s/s/i/b/l/e
6844 :endtry
6845<
6846You can also use ":silent!": >
6847
6848 :let x = "ok"
6849 :let v:errmsg = ""
6850 :autocmd BufWritePost * if v:errmsg != ""
6851 :autocmd BufWritePost * let x = "after fail"
6852 :autocmd BufWritePost * endif
6853 :try
6854 : silent! write /i/m/p/o/s/s/i/b/l/e
6855 :catch
6856 :endtry
6857 :echo x
6858
6859This displays "after fail".
6860
6861If the main action of the command does not fail, exceptions from the
6862autocommands will be catchable by the caller of the command: >
6863
6864 :autocmd BufWritePost * throw ":-("
6865 :autocmd BufWritePost * echo "Should not be displayed"
6866 :
6867 :try
6868 : write
6869 :catch
6870 : echo v:exception
6871 :endtry
6872<
6873 *except-autocmd-Cmd*
6874For some commands, the normal action can be replaced by a sequence of
6875autocommands. Exceptions from that sequence will be catchable by the caller
6876of the command.
6877 Example: For the ":write" command, the caller cannot know whether the file
6878had actually been written when the exception occurred. You need to tell it in
6879some way. >
6880
6881 :if !exists("cnt")
6882 : let cnt = 0
6883 :
6884 : autocmd BufWriteCmd * if &modified
6885 : autocmd BufWriteCmd * let cnt = cnt + 1
6886 : autocmd BufWriteCmd * if cnt % 3 == 2
6887 : autocmd BufWriteCmd * throw "BufWriteCmdError"
6888 : autocmd BufWriteCmd * endif
6889 : autocmd BufWriteCmd * write | set nomodified
6890 : autocmd BufWriteCmd * if cnt % 3 == 0
6891 : autocmd BufWriteCmd * throw "BufWriteCmdError"
6892 : autocmd BufWriteCmd * endif
6893 : autocmd BufWriteCmd * echo "File successfully written!"
6894 : autocmd BufWriteCmd * endif
6895 :endif
6896 :
6897 :try
6898 : write
6899 :catch /^BufWriteCmdError$/
6900 : if &modified
6901 : echo "Error on writing (file contents not changed)"
6902 : else
6903 : echo "Error after writing"
6904 : endif
6905 :catch /^Vim(write):/
6906 : echo "Error on writing"
6907 :endtry
6908
6909When this script is sourced several times after making changes, it displays
6910first >
6911 File successfully written!
6912then >
6913 Error on writing (file contents not changed)
6914then >
6915 Error after writing
6916etc.
6917
6918 *except-autocmd-ill*
6919You cannot spread a try conditional over autocommands for different events.
6920The following code is ill-formed: >
6921
6922 :autocmd BufWritePre * try
6923 :
6924 :autocmd BufWritePost * catch
6925 :autocmd BufWritePost * echo v:exception
6926 :autocmd BufWritePost * endtry
6927 :
6928 :write
6929
6930
6931EXCEPTION HIERARCHIES AND PARAMETERIZED EXCEPTIONS *except-hier-param*
6932
6933Some programming languages allow to use hierarchies of exception classes or to
6934pass additional information with the object of an exception class. You can do
6935similar things in Vim.
6936 In order to throw an exception from a hierarchy, just throw the complete
6937class name with the components separated by a colon, for instance throw the
6938string "EXCEPT:MATHERR:OVERFLOW" for an overflow in a mathematical library.
6939 When you want to pass additional information with your exception class, add
6940it in parentheses, for instance throw the string "EXCEPT:IO:WRITEERR(myfile)"
6941for an error when writing "myfile".
6942 With the appropriate patterns in the ":catch" command, you can catch for
6943base classes or derived classes of your hierarchy. Additional information in
6944parentheses can be cut out from |v:exception| with the ":substitute" command.
6945 Example: >
6946
6947 :function! CheckRange(a, func)
6948 : if a:a < 0
6949 : throw "EXCEPT:MATHERR:RANGE(" . a:func . ")"
6950 : endif
6951 :endfunction
6952 :
6953 :function! Add(a, b)
6954 : call CheckRange(a:a, "Add")
6955 : call CheckRange(a:b, "Add")
6956 : let c = a:a + a:b
6957 : if c < 0
6958 : throw "EXCEPT:MATHERR:OVERFLOW"
6959 : endif
6960 : return c
6961 :endfunction
6962 :
6963 :function! Div(a, b)
6964 : call CheckRange(a:a, "Div")
6965 : call CheckRange(a:b, "Div")
6966 : if (a:b == 0)
6967 : throw "EXCEPT:MATHERR:ZERODIV"
6968 : endif
6969 : return a:a / a:b
6970 :endfunction
6971 :
6972 :function! Write(file)
6973 : try
6974 : execute "write" a:file
6975 : catch /^Vim(write):/
6976 : throw "EXCEPT:IO(" . getcwd() . ", " . a:file . "):WRITEERR"
6977 : endtry
6978 :endfunction
6979 :
6980 :try
6981 :
6982 : " something with arithmetics and I/O
6983 :
6984 :catch /^EXCEPT:MATHERR:RANGE/
6985 : let function = substitute(v:exception, '.*(\(\a\+\)).*', '\1', "")
6986 : echo "Range error in" function
6987 :
6988 :catch /^EXCEPT:MATHERR/ " catches OVERFLOW and ZERODIV
6989 : echo "Math error"
6990 :
6991 :catch /^EXCEPT:IO/
6992 : let dir = substitute(v:exception, '.*(\(.\+\),\s*.\+).*', '\1', "")
6993 : let file = substitute(v:exception, '.*(.\+,\s*\(.\+\)).*', '\1', "")
6994 : if file !~ '^/'
6995 : let file = dir . "/" . file
6996 : endif
6997 : echo 'I/O error for "' . file . '"'
6998 :
6999 :catch /^EXCEPT/
7000 : echo "Unspecified error"
7001 :
7002 :endtry
7003
7004The exceptions raised by Vim itself (on error or when pressing CTRL-C) use
7005a flat hierarchy: they are all in the "Vim" class. You cannot throw yourself
7006exceptions with the "Vim" prefix; they are reserved for Vim.
7007 Vim error exceptions are parameterized with the name of the command that
7008failed, if known. See |catch-errors|.
7009
7010
7011PECULIARITIES
7012 *except-compat*
7013The exception handling concept requires that the command sequence causing the
7014exception is aborted immediately and control is transferred to finally clauses
7015and/or a catch clause.
7016
7017In the Vim script language there are cases where scripts and functions
7018continue after an error: in functions without the "abort" flag or in a command
7019after ":silent!", control flow goes to the following line, and outside
7020functions, control flow goes to the line following the outermost ":endwhile"
7021or ":endif". On the other hand, errors should be catchable as exceptions
7022(thus, requiring the immediate abortion).
7023
7024This problem has been solved by converting errors to exceptions and using
7025immediate abortion (if not suppressed by ":silent!") only when a try
7026conditional is active. This is no restriction since an (error) exception can
7027be caught only from an active try conditional. If you want an immediate
7028termination without catching the error, just use a try conditional without
7029catch clause. (You can cause cleanup code being executed before termination
7030by specifying a finally clause.)
7031
7032When no try conditional is active, the usual abortion and continuation
7033behavior is used instead of immediate abortion. This ensures compatibility of
7034scripts written for Vim 6.1 and earlier.
7035
7036However, when sourcing an existing script that does not use exception handling
7037commands (or when calling one of its functions) from inside an active try
7038conditional of a new script, you might change the control flow of the existing
7039script on error. You get the immediate abortion on error and can catch the
7040error in the new script. If however the sourced script suppresses error
7041messages by using the ":silent!" command (checking for errors by testing
7042|v:errmsg| if appropriate), its execution path is not changed. The error is
7043not converted to an exception. (See |:silent|.) So the only remaining cause
7044where this happens is for scripts that don't care about errors and produce
7045error messages. You probably won't want to use such code from your new
7046scripts.
7047
7048 *except-syntax-err*
7049Syntax errors in the exception handling commands are never caught by any of
7050the ":catch" commands of the try conditional they belong to. Its finally
7051clauses, however, is executed.
7052 Example: >
7053
7054 :try
7055 : try
7056 : throw 4711
7057 : catch /\(/
7058 : echo "in catch with syntax error"
7059 : catch
7060 : echo "inner catch-all"
7061 : finally
7062 : echo "inner finally"
7063 : endtry
7064 :catch
7065 : echo 'outer catch-all caught "' . v:exception . '"'
7066 : finally
7067 : echo "outer finally"
7068 :endtry
7069
7070This displays: >
7071 inner finally
7072 outer catch-all caught "Vim(catch):E54: Unmatched \("
7073 outer finally
7074The original exception is discarded and an error exception is raised, instead.
7075
7076 *except-single-line*
7077The ":try", ":catch", ":finally", and ":endtry" commands can be put on
7078a single line, but then syntax errors may make it difficult to recognize the
7079"catch" line, thus you better avoid this.
7080 Example: >
7081 :try | unlet! foo # | catch | endtry
7082raises an error exception for the trailing characters after the ":unlet!"
7083argument, but does not see the ":catch" and ":endtry" commands, so that the
7084error exception is discarded and the "E488: Trailing characters" message gets
7085displayed.
7086
7087 *except-several-errors*
7088When several errors appear in a single command, the first error message is
7089usually the most specific one and therefor converted to the error exception.
7090 Example: >
7091 echo novar
7092causes >
7093 E121: Undefined variable: novar
7094 E15: Invalid expression: novar
7095The value of the error exception inside try conditionals is: >
7096 Vim(echo):E121: Undefined variable: novar
7097< *except-syntax-error*
7098But when a syntax error is detected after a normal error in the same command,
7099the syntax error is used for the exception being thrown.
7100 Example: >
7101 unlet novar #
7102causes >
7103 E108: No such variable: "novar"
7104 E488: Trailing characters
7105The value of the error exception inside try conditionals is: >
7106 Vim(unlet):E488: Trailing characters
7107This is done because the syntax error might change the execution path in a way
7108not intended by the user. Example: >
7109 try
7110 try | unlet novar # | catch | echo v:exception | endtry
7111 catch /.*/
7112 echo "outer catch:" v:exception
7113 endtry
7114This displays "outer catch: Vim(unlet):E488: Trailing characters", and then
7115a "E600: Missing :endtry" error message is given, see |except-single-line|.
7116
7117==============================================================================
71189. Examples *eval-examples*
7119
7120Printing in Hex ~
7121>
7122 :" The function Nr2Hex() returns the Hex string of a number.
7123 :func Nr2Hex(nr)
7124 : let n = a:nr
7125 : let r = ""
7126 : while n
7127 : let r = '0123456789ABCDEF'[n % 16] . r
7128 : let n = n / 16
7129 : endwhile
7130 : return r
7131 :endfunc
7132
7133 :" The function String2Hex() converts each character in a string to a two
7134 :" character Hex string.
7135 :func String2Hex(str)
7136 : let out = ''
7137 : let ix = 0
7138 : while ix < strlen(a:str)
7139 : let out = out . Nr2Hex(char2nr(a:str[ix]))
7140 : let ix = ix + 1
7141 : endwhile
7142 : return out
7143 :endfunc
7144
7145Example of its use: >
7146 :echo Nr2Hex(32)
7147result: "20" >
7148 :echo String2Hex("32")
7149result: "3332"
7150
7151
7152Sorting lines (by Robert Webb) ~
7153
7154Here is a Vim script to sort lines. Highlight the lines in Vim and type
7155":Sort". This doesn't call any external programs so it'll work on any
7156platform. The function Sort() actually takes the name of a comparison
7157function as its argument, like qsort() does in C. So you could supply it
7158with different comparison functions in order to sort according to date etc.
7159>
7160 :" Function for use with Sort(), to compare two strings.
7161 :func! Strcmp(str1, str2)
7162 : if (a:str1 < a:str2)
7163 : return -1
7164 : elseif (a:str1 > a:str2)
7165 : return 1
7166 : else
7167 : return 0
7168 : endif
7169 :endfunction
7170
7171 :" Sort lines. SortR() is called recursively.
7172 :func! SortR(start, end, cmp)
7173 : if (a:start >= a:end)
7174 : return
7175 : endif
7176 : let partition = a:start - 1
7177 : let middle = partition
7178 : let partStr = getline((a:start + a:end) / 2)
7179 : let i = a:start
7180 : while (i <= a:end)
7181 : let str = getline(i)
7182 : exec "let result = " . a:cmp . "(str, partStr)"
7183 : if (result <= 0)
7184 : " Need to put it before the partition. Swap lines i and partition.
7185 : let partition = partition + 1
7186 : if (result == 0)
7187 : let middle = partition
7188 : endif
7189 : if (i != partition)
7190 : let str2 = getline(partition)
7191 : call setline(i, str2)
7192 : call setline(partition, str)
7193 : endif
7194 : endif
7195 : let i = i + 1
7196 : endwhile
7197
7198 : " Now we have a pointer to the "middle" element, as far as partitioning
7199 : " goes, which could be anywhere before the partition. Make sure it is at
7200 : " the end of the partition.
7201 : if (middle != partition)
7202 : let str = getline(middle)
7203 : let str2 = getline(partition)
7204 : call setline(middle, str2)
7205 : call setline(partition, str)
7206 : endif
7207 : call SortR(a:start, partition - 1, a:cmp)
7208 : call SortR(partition + 1, a:end, a:cmp)
7209 :endfunc
7210
7211 :" To Sort a range of lines, pass the range to Sort() along with the name of a
7212 :" function that will compare two lines.
7213 :func! Sort(cmp) range
7214 : call SortR(a:firstline, a:lastline, a:cmp)
7215 :endfunc
7216
7217 :" :Sort takes a range of lines and sorts them.
7218 :command! -nargs=0 -range Sort <line1>,<line2>call Sort("Strcmp")
7219<
7220 *sscanf*
7221There is no sscanf() function in Vim. If you need to extract parts from a
7222line, you can use matchstr() and substitute() to do it. This example shows
7223how to get the file name, line number and column number out of a line like
7224"foobar.txt, 123, 45". >
7225 :" Set up the match bit
7226 :let mx='\(\f\+\),\s*\(\d\+\),\s*\(\d\+\)'
7227 :"get the part matching the whole expression
7228 :let l = matchstr(line, mx)
7229 :"get each item out of the match
7230 :let file = substitute(l, mx, '\1', '')
7231 :let lnum = substitute(l, mx, '\2', '')
7232 :let col = substitute(l, mx, '\3', '')
7233
7234The input is in the variable "line", the results in the variables "file",
7235"lnum" and "col". (idea from Michael Geddes)
7236
7237==============================================================================
723810. No +eval feature *no-eval-feature*
7239
7240When the |+eval| feature was disabled at compile time, none of the expression
7241evaluation commands are available. To prevent this from causing Vim scripts
7242to generate all kinds of errors, the ":if" and ":endif" commands are still
7243recognized, though the argument of the ":if" and everything between the ":if"
7244and the matching ":endif" is ignored. Nesting of ":if" blocks is allowed, but
7245only if the commands are at the start of the line. The ":else" command is not
7246recognized.
7247
7248Example of how to avoid executing commands when the |+eval| feature is
7249missing: >
7250
7251 :if 1
7252 : echo "Expression evaluation is compiled in"
7253 :else
7254 : echo "You will _never_ see this message"
7255 :endif
7256
7257==============================================================================
725811. The sandbox *eval-sandbox* *sandbox* *E48*
7259
7260The 'foldexpr', 'includeexpr', 'indentexpr', 'statusline' and 'foldtext'
7261options are evaluated in a sandbox. This means that you are protected from
7262these expressions having nasty side effects. This gives some safety for when
7263these options are set from a modeline. It is also used when the command from
Bram Moolenaarebefac62005-12-28 22:39:57 +00007264a tags file is executed and for CTRL-R = in the command line.
Bram Moolenaar7b0294c2004-10-11 10:16:09 +00007265The sandbox is also used for the |:sandbox| command.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00007266
7267These items are not allowed in the sandbox:
7268 - changing the buffer text
7269 - defining or changing mapping, autocommands, functions, user commands
7270 - setting certain options (see |option-summary|)
7271 - executing a shell command
7272 - reading or writing a file
7273 - jumping to another buffer or editing a file
Bram Moolenaar4770d092006-01-12 23:22:24 +00007274 - executing Python, Perl, etc. commands
Bram Moolenaar7b0294c2004-10-11 10:16:09 +00007275This is not guaranteed 100% secure, but it should block most attacks.
7276
7277 *:san* *:sandbox*
Bram Moolenaar045e82d2005-07-08 22:25:33 +00007278:san[dbox] {cmd} Execute {cmd} in the sandbox. Useful to evaluate an
Bram Moolenaar7b0294c2004-10-11 10:16:09 +00007279 option that may have been set from a modeline, e.g.
7280 'foldexpr'.
7281
Bram Moolenaarb71eaae2006-01-20 23:10:18 +00007282 *sandbox-option*
7283A few options contain an expression. When this expression is evaluated it may
Bram Moolenaar9b2200a2006-03-20 21:55:45 +00007284have to be done in the sandbox to avoid a security risk. But the sandbox is
Bram Moolenaarb71eaae2006-01-20 23:10:18 +00007285restrictive, thus this only happens when the option was set from an insecure
7286location. Insecure in this context are:
7287- sourcing a .vimrc or .exrc in the current directlry
7288- while executing in the sandbox
7289- value coming from a modeline
7290
7291Note that when in the sandbox and saving an option value and restoring it, the
7292option will still be marked as it was set in the sandbox.
7293
7294==============================================================================
729512. Textlock *textlock*
7296
7297In a few situations it is not allowed to change the text in the buffer, jump
7298to another window and some other things that might confuse or break what Vim
7299is currently doing. This mostly applies to things that happen when Vim is
7300actually doing something else. For example, evaluating the 'balloonexpr' may
7301happen any moment the mouse cursor is resting at some position.
7302
7303This is not allowed when the textlock is active:
7304 - changing the buffer text
7305 - jumping to another buffer or window
7306 - editing another file
7307 - closing a window or quitting Vim
7308 - etc.
7309
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00007310
7311 vim:tw=78:ts=8:ft=help:norl: