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Bram Moolenaar3a7c85b2005-02-05 21:39:53 +00001*eval.txt* For Vim version 7.0aa. Last change: 2005 Feb 05
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002
3
4 VIM REFERENCE MANUAL by Bram Moolenaar
5
6
7Expression evaluation *expression* *expr* *E15* *eval*
8
9Using expressions is introduced in chapter 41 of the user manual |usr_41.txt|.
10
11Note: Expression evaluation can be disabled at compile time. If this has been
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +000012done, the features in this document are not available. See |+eval| and
13|no-eval-feature|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +000014
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000151. Variables |variables|
16 1.1 Variable types
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +000017 1.2 Function references |Funcref|
18 1.3 Lists |List|
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +000019 1.4 Dictionaries |Dictionaries|
20 1.5 More about variables |more-variables|
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000212. Expression syntax |expression-syntax|
223. Internal variable |internal-variables|
234. Builtin Functions |functions|
245. Defining functions |user-functions|
256. Curly braces names |curly-braces-names|
267. Commands |expression-commands|
278. Exception handling |exception-handling|
289. Examples |eval-examples|
2910. No +eval feature |no-eval-feature|
3011. The sandbox |eval-sandbox|
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +000031
32{Vi does not have any of these commands}
33
34==============================================================================
351. Variables *variables*
36
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000371.1 Variable types ~
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +000038 *E712*
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +000039There are four types of variables:
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +000040
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +000041Number A 32 bit signed number.
42 Examples: -123 0x10 0177
43
44String A NUL terminated string of 8-bit unsigned characters (bytes).
45 Examples: "ab\txx\"--" 'x-z''a,c'
46
47Funcref A reference to a function |Funcref|.
48 Example: function("strlen")
49
50List An ordered sequence of items |List|.
51 Example: [1, 2, ['a', 'b']]
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +000052
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +000053The Number and String types are converted automatically, depending on how they
54are used.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +000055
56Conversion from a Number to a String is by making the ASCII representation of
57the Number. Examples: >
58 Number 123 --> String "123"
59 Number 0 --> String "0"
60 Number -1 --> String "-1"
61
62Conversion from a String to a Number is done by converting the first digits
63to a number. Hexadecimal "0xf9" and Octal "017" numbers are recognized. If
64the String doesn't start with digits, the result is zero. Examples: >
65 String "456" --> Number 456
66 String "6bar" --> Number 6
67 String "foo" --> Number 0
68 String "0xf1" --> Number 241
69 String "0100" --> Number 64
70 String "-8" --> Number -8
71 String "+8" --> Number 0
72
73To force conversion from String to Number, add zero to it: >
74 :echo "0100" + 0
75
76For boolean operators Numbers are used. Zero is FALSE, non-zero is TRUE.
77
78Note that in the command >
79 :if "foo"
80"foo" is converted to 0, which means FALSE. To test for a non-empty string,
81use strlen(): >
82 :if strlen("foo")
Bram Moolenaar748bf032005-02-02 23:04:36 +000083< *E745* *E728* *E703* *E729* *E730* *E731*
84List, Dictionary and Funcref types are not automatically converted.
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +000085
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +000086 *E706*
87You will get an error if you try to change the type of a variable. You need
88to |:unlet| it first to avoid this error. String and Number are considered
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +000089equivalent though. Consider this sequence of commands: >
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +000090 :let l = "string"
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +000091 :let l = 44 " changes type from String to Number
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +000092 :let l = [1, 2, 3] " error!
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +000093
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +000094
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +0000951.2 Function references ~
Bram Moolenaar748bf032005-02-02 23:04:36 +000096 *Funcref* *E695* *E718*
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +000097A Funcref variable is obtained with the |function()| function. It can be used
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +000098in an expression in the place of a function name, before the parenthesis
99around the arguments, to invoke the function it refers to. Example: >
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000100
101 :let Fn = function("MyFunc")
102 :echo Fn()
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000103< *E704* *E705* *E707*
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000104A Funcref variable must start with a capital, "s:", "w:" or "b:". You cannot
105have both a Funcref variable and a function with the same name.
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000106
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000107A special case is defining a function and directly assigning its Funcref to a
108Dictionary entry. Example: >
109 :function dict.init() dict
110 : let self.val = 0
111 :endfunction
112
113The key of the Dictionary can start with a lower case letter. The actual
114function name is not used here. Also see |numbered-function|.
115
116A Funcref can also be used with the |:call| command: >
117 :call Fn()
118 :call dict.init()
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000119
120The name of the referenced function can be obtained with |string()|. >
Bram Moolenaar383f9bc2005-01-19 22:18:32 +0000121 :let func = string(Fn)
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000122
123You can use |call()| to invoke a Funcref and use a list variable for the
124arguments: >
Bram Moolenaar383f9bc2005-01-19 22:18:32 +0000125 :let r = call(Fn, mylist)
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000126
127
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +00001281.3 Lists ~
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000129 *List* *E686*
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000130A List is an ordered sequence of items. An item can be of any type. Items
131can be accessed by their index number. Items can be added and removed at any
132position in the sequence.
133
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000134
135List creation ~
136 *E696* *E697*
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000137A List is created with a comma separated list of items in square brackets.
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000138Examples: >
139 :let mylist = [1, two, 3, "four"]
140 :let emptylist = []
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000141
142An item can be any expression. Using a List for an item creates a
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000143nested List: >
144 :let nestlist = [[11, 12], [21, 22], [31, 32]]
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000145
146An extra comma after the last item is ignored.
147
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000148
149List index ~
150 *list-index* *E684*
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000151An item in the List can be accessed by putting the index in square brackets
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000152after the List. Indexes are zero-based, thus the first item has index zero. >
153 :let item = mylist[0] " get the first item: 1
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000154 :let item = mylist[2] " get the third item: 3
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000155
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +0000156When the resulting item is a list this can be repeated: >
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000157 :let item = nestlist[0][1] " get the first list, second item: 12
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000158<
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000159A negative index is counted from the end. Index -1 refers to the last item in
160the List, -2 to the last but one item, etc. >
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000161 :let last = mylist[-1] " get the last item: "four"
162
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000163To avoid an error for an invalid index use the |get()| function. When an item
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +0000164is not available it returns zero or the default value you specify: >
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000165 :echo get(mylist, idx)
166 :echo get(mylist, idx, "NONE")
167
168
169List concatenation ~
170
171Two lists can be concatenated with the "+" operator: >
172 :let longlist = mylist + [5, 6]
Bram Moolenaar383f9bc2005-01-19 22:18:32 +0000173 :let mylist += [7, 8]
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000174
175To prepend or append an item turn the item into a list by putting [] around
176it. To change a list in-place see |list-modification| below.
177
178
179Sublist ~
180
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000181A part of the List can be obtained by specifying the first and last index,
182separated by a colon in square brackets: >
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000183 :let shortlist = mylist[2:-1] " get List [3, "four"]
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000184
185Omitting the first index is similar to zero. Omitting the last index is
186similar to -1. The difference is that there is no error if the items are not
187available. >
Bram Moolenaar540d6e32005-01-09 21:20:18 +0000188 :let endlist = mylist[2:] " from item 2 to the end: [3, "four"]
189 :let shortlist = mylist[2:2] " List with one item: [3]
190 :let otherlist = mylist[:] " make a copy of the List
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000191
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000192The second index can be just before the first index. In that case the result
193is an empty list. If the second index is lower, this results in an error. >
194 :echo mylist[2:1] " result: []
195 :echo mylist[2:0] " error!
196
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000197
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000198List identity ~
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000199 *list-identity*
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000200When variable "aa" is a list and you assign it to another variable "bb", both
201variables refer to the same list. Thus changing the list "aa" will also
202change "bb": >
203 :let aa = [1, 2, 3]
204 :let bb = aa
205 :call add(aa, 4)
206 :echo bb
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000207< [1, 2, 3, 4]
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000208
209Making a copy of a list is done with the |copy()| function. Using [:] also
210works, as explained above. This creates a shallow copy of the list: Changing
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +0000211a list item in the list will also change the item in the copied list: >
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000212 :let aa = [[1, 'a'], 2, 3]
213 :let bb = copy(aa)
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000214 :call add(aa, 4)
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000215 :let aa[0][1] = 'aaa'
216 :echo aa
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000217< [[1, aaa], 2, 3, 4] >
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000218 :echo bb
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000219< [[1, aaa], 2, 3]
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000220
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +0000221To make a completely independent list use |deepcopy()|. This also makes a
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000222copy of the values in the list, recursively. Up to a hundred levels deep.
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000223
224The operator "is" can be used to check if two variables refer to the same
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000225List. "isnot" does the opposite. In contrast "==" compares if two lists have
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +0000226the same value. >
227 :let alist = [1, 2, 3]
228 :let blist = [1, 2, 3]
229 :echo alist is blist
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000230< 0 >
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +0000231 :echo alist == blist
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000232< 1
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000233
234
235List unpack ~
236
237To unpack the items in a list to individual variables, put the variables in
238square brackets, like list items: >
239 :let [var1, var2] = mylist
240
241When the number of variables does not match the number of items in the list
242this produces an error. To handle any extra items from the list append ";"
243and a variable name: >
244 :let [var1, var2; rest] = mylist
245
246This works like: >
247 :let var1 = mylist[0]
248 :let var2 = mylist[1]
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +0000249 :let rest = mylist[2:]
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000250
251Except that there is no error if there are only two items. "rest" will be an
252empty list then.
253
254
255List modification ~
256 *list-modification*
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +0000257To change a specific item of a list use |:let| this way: >
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000258 :let list[4] = "four"
259 :let listlist[0][3] = item
260
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +0000261To change part of a list you can specify the first and last item to be
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000262modified. The value must at least have the number of items in the range: >
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +0000263 :let list[3:5] = [3, 4, 5]
264
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000265Adding and removing items from a list is done with functions. Here are a few
266examples: >
267 :call insert(list, 'a') " prepend item 'a'
268 :call insert(list, 'a', 3) " insert item 'a' before list[3]
269 :call add(list, "new") " append String item
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000270 :call add(list, [1, 2]) " append a List as one new item
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000271 :call extend(list, [1, 2]) " extend the list with two more items
272 :let i = remove(list, 3) " remove item 3
Bram Moolenaar9cd15162005-01-16 22:02:49 +0000273 :unlet list[3] " idem
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000274 :let l = remove(list, 3, -1) " remove items 3 to last item
Bram Moolenaar9cd15162005-01-16 22:02:49 +0000275 :unlet list[3 : ] " idem
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000276 :call filter(list, 'v:val !~ "x"') " remove items with an 'x'
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000277
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000278Changing the order of items in a list: >
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +0000279 :call sort(list) " sort a list alphabetically
280 :call reverse(list) " reverse the order of items
281
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000282
283For loop ~
284
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +0000285The |:for| loop executes commands for each item in a list. A variable is set
286to each item in the list in sequence. Example: >
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000287 :for item in mylist
288 : call Doit(item)
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000289 :endfor
290
291This works like: >
292 :let index = 0
293 :while index < len(mylist)
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000294 : let item = mylist[index]
295 : :call Doit(item)
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000296 : let index = index + 1
297 :endwhile
298
299Note that all items in the list should be of the same type, otherwise this
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000300results in error |E706|. To avoid this |:unlet| the variable at the end of
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +0000301the loop.
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000302
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +0000303If all you want to do is modify each item in the list then the |map()|
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000304function will be a simpler method than a for loop.
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +0000305
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000306Just like the |:let| command, |:for| also accepts a list of variables. This
307requires the argument to be a list of lists. >
308 :for [lnum, col] in [[1, 3], [2, 8], [3, 0]]
309 : call Doit(lnum, col)
310 :endfor
311
312This works like a |:let| command is done for each list item. Again, the types
313must remain the same to avoid an error.
314
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000315It is also possible to put remaining items in a List variable: >
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000316 :for [i, j; rest] in listlist
317 : call Doit(i, j)
318 : if !empty(rest)
319 : echo "remainder: " . string(rest)
320 : endif
321 :endfor
322
323
324List functions ~
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000325 *E714*
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000326Functions that are useful with a List: >
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +0000327 :let r = call(funcname, list) " call a function with an argument list
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000328 :if empty(list) " check if list is empty
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000329 :let l = len(list) " number of items in list
330 :let big = max(list) " maximum value in list
331 :let small = min(list) " minimum value in list
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +0000332 :let xs = count(list, 'x') " count nr of times 'x' appears in list
333 :let i = index(list, 'x') " index of first 'x' in list
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000334 :let lines = getline(1, 10) " get ten text lines from buffer
335 :call append('$', lines) " append text lines in buffer
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +0000336 :let list = split("a b c") " create list from items in a string
337 :let string = join(list, ', ') " create string from list items
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000338 :let s = string(list) " String representation of list
339 :call map(list, '">> " . v:val') " prepend ">> " to each item
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000340
341
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +00003421.4 Dictionaries ~
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000343 *Dictionaries* *Dictionary*
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000344A Dictionary is an associative array: Each entry has a key and a value. The
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000345entry can be located with the key. The entries are stored without a specific
346ordering.
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000347
348
349Dictionary creation ~
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000350 *E720* *E721* *E722* *E723*
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000351A Dictionary is created with a comma separated list of entries in curly
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000352braces. Each entry has a key and a value, separated by a colon. Each key can
353only appear once. Examples: >
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000354 :let mydict = {1: 'one', 2: 'two', 3: 'three'}
355 :let emptydict = {}
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000356< *E713* *E716* *E717*
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000357A key is always a String. You can use a Number, it will be converted to a
358String automatically. Thus the String '4' and the number 4 will find the same
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000359entry. Note that the String '04' and the Number 04 are different, since the
360Number will be converted to the String '4'.
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000361
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000362A value can be any expression. Using a Dictionary for a value creates a
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000363nested Dictionary: >
364 :let nestdict = {1: {11: 'a', 12: 'b'}, 2: {21: 'c'}}
365
366An extra comma after the last entry is ignored.
367
368
369Accessing entries ~
370
371The normal way to access an entry is by putting the key in square brackets: >
372 :let val = mydict["one"]
373 :let mydict["four"] = 4
374
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000375You can add new entries to an existing Dictionary this way, unlike Lists.
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000376
377For keys that consist entirely of letters, digits and underscore the following
378form can be used |expr-entry|: >
379 :let val = mydict.one
380 :let mydict.four = 4
381
382Since an entry can be any type, also a List and a Dictionary, the indexing and
383key lookup can be repeated: >
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000384 :echo dict.key[idx].key
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000385
386
387Dictionary to List conversion ~
388
389You may want to loop over the entries in a dictionary. For this you need to
390turn the Dictionary into a List and pass it to |:for|.
391
392Most often you want to loop over the keys, using the |keys()| function: >
393 :for key in keys(mydict)
394 : echo key . ': ' . mydict[key]
395 :endfor
396
397The List of keys is unsorted. You may want to sort them first: >
398 :for key in sort(keys(mydict))
399
400To loop over the values use the |values()| function: >
401 :for v in values(mydict)
402 : echo "value: " . v
403 :endfor
404
405If you want both the key and the value use the |items()| function. It returns
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000406a List in which each item is a List with two items, the key and the value: >
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000407 :for entry in items(mydict)
408 : echo entry[0] . ': ' . entry[1]
409 :endfor
410
411
412Dictionary identity ~
413
414Just like Lists you need to use |copy()| and |deepcopy()| to make a copy of a
415Dictionary. Otherwise, assignment results in referring to the same
416Dictionary: >
417 :let onedict = {'a': 1, 'b': 2}
418 :let adict = onedict
419 :let adict['a'] = 11
420 :echo onedict['a']
421 11
422
423For more info see |list-identity|.
424
425
426Dictionary modification ~
427 *dict-modification*
428To change an already existing entry of a Dictionary, or to add a new entry,
429use |:let| this way: >
430 :let dict[4] = "four"
431 :let dict['one'] = item
432
Bram Moolenaar9cd15162005-01-16 22:02:49 +0000433Removing an entry from a Dictionary is done with |remove()| or |:unlet|.
434Three ways to remove the entry with key "aaa" from dict: >
435 :let i = remove(dict, 'aaa')
436 :unlet dict.aaa
437 :unlet dict['aaa']
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000438
439Merging a Dictionary with another is done with |extend()|: >
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000440 :call extend(adict, bdict)
441This extends adict with all entries from bdict. Duplicate keys cause entries
442in adict to be overwritten. An optional third argument can change this.
Bram Moolenaar383f9bc2005-01-19 22:18:32 +0000443Note that the order of entries in a Dictionary is irrelevant, thus don't
444expect ":echo adict" to show the items from bdict after the older entries in
445adict.
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000446
447Weeding out entries from a Dictionary can be done with |filter()|: >
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000448 :call filter(dict 'v:val =~ "x"')
449This removes all entries from "dict" with a value not matching 'x'.
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000450
451
452Dictionary function ~
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000453 *Dictionary-function* *self* *E725*
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000454When a function is defined with the "dict" attribute it can be used in a
455special way with a dictionary. Example: >
456 :function Mylen() dict
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000457 : return len(self.data)
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000458 :endfunction
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000459 :let mydict = {'data': [0, 1, 2, 3], 'len': function("Mylen")}
460 :echo mydict.len()
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000461
462This is like a method in object oriented programming. The entry in the
463Dictionary is a |Funcref|. The local variable "self" refers to the dictionary
464the function was invoked from.
465
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000466It is also possible to add a function without the "dict" attribute as a
467Funcref to a Dictionary, but the "self" variable is not available then.
468
469 *numbered-function*
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000470To avoid the extra name for the function it can be defined and directly
471assigned to a Dictionary in this way: >
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000472 :let mydict = {'data': [0, 1, 2, 3]}
473 :function mydict.len() dict
474 : return len(self.data)
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000475 :endfunction
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000476 :echo mydict.len()
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000477
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000478The function will then get a number and the value of dict.len is a |Funcref|
479that references this function. The function can only be used through a
480|Funcref|. It will automatically be deleted when there is no |Funcref|
481remaining that refers to it.
482
483It is not necessary to use the "dict" attribute for a numbered function.
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000484
485
486Functions for Dictionaries ~
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000487 *E715*
488Functions that can be used with a Dictionary: >
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000489 :if has_key(dict, 'foo') " TRUE if dict has entry with key "foo"
490 :if empty(dict) " TRUE if dict is empty
491 :let l = len(dict) " number of items in dict
492 :let big = max(dict) " maximum value in dict
493 :let small = min(dict) " minimum value in dict
494 :let xs = count(dict, 'x') " count nr of times 'x' appears in dict
495 :let s = string(dict) " String representation of dict
496 :call map(dict, '">> " . v:val') " prepend ">> " to each item
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000497
498
4991.5 More about variables ~
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000500 *more-variables*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000501If you need to know the type of a variable or expression, use the |type()|
502function.
503
504When the '!' flag is included in the 'viminfo' option, global variables that
505start with an uppercase letter, and don't contain a lowercase letter, are
506stored in the viminfo file |viminfo-file|.
507
508When the 'sessionoptions' option contains "global", global variables that
509start with an uppercase letter and contain at least one lowercase letter are
510stored in the session file |session-file|.
511
512variable name can be stored where ~
513my_var_6 not
514My_Var_6 session file
515MY_VAR_6 viminfo file
516
517
518It's possible to form a variable name with curly braces, see
519|curly-braces-names|.
520
521==============================================================================
5222. Expression syntax *expression-syntax*
523
524Expression syntax summary, from least to most significant:
525
526|expr1| expr2 ? expr1 : expr1 if-then-else
527
528|expr2| expr3 || expr3 .. logical OR
529
530|expr3| expr4 && expr4 .. logical AND
531
532|expr4| expr5 == expr5 equal
533 expr5 != expr5 not equal
534 expr5 > expr5 greater than
535 expr5 >= expr5 greater than or equal
536 expr5 < expr5 smaller than
537 expr5 <= expr5 smaller than or equal
538 expr5 =~ expr5 regexp matches
539 expr5 !~ expr5 regexp doesn't match
540
541 expr5 ==? expr5 equal, ignoring case
542 expr5 ==# expr5 equal, match case
543 etc. As above, append ? for ignoring case, # for
544 matching case
545
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +0000546 expr5 is expr5 same List instance
547 expr5 isnot expr5 different List instance
548
549|expr5| expr6 + expr6 .. number addition or list concatenation
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000550 expr6 - expr6 .. number subtraction
551 expr6 . expr6 .. string concatenation
552
553|expr6| expr7 * expr7 .. number multiplication
554 expr7 / expr7 .. number division
555 expr7 % expr7 .. number modulo
556
557|expr7| ! expr7 logical NOT
558 - expr7 unary minus
559 + expr7 unary plus
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000560
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000561
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000562|expr8| expr8[expr1] byte of a String or item of a List
563 expr8[expr1 : expr1] substring of a String or sublist of a List
564 expr8.name entry in a Dictionary
565 expr8(expr1, ...) function call with Funcref variable
566
567|expr9| number number constant
Bram Moolenaar3fdfa4a2004-10-07 21:02:47 +0000568 "string" string constant, backslash is special
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000569 'string' string constant, ' is doubled
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000570 [expr1, ...] List
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000571 {expr1: expr1, ...} Dictionary
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000572 &option option value
573 (expr1) nested expression
574 variable internal variable
575 va{ria}ble internal variable with curly braces
576 $VAR environment variable
577 @r contents of register 'r'
578 function(expr1, ...) function call
579 func{ti}on(expr1, ...) function call with curly braces
580
581
582".." indicates that the operations in this level can be concatenated.
583Example: >
584 &nu || &list && &shell == "csh"
585
586All expressions within one level are parsed from left to right.
587
588
589expr1 *expr1* *E109*
590-----
591
592expr2 ? expr1 : expr1
593
594The expression before the '?' is evaluated to a number. If it evaluates to
595non-zero, the result is the value of the expression between the '?' and ':',
596otherwise the result is the value of the expression after the ':'.
597Example: >
598 :echo lnum == 1 ? "top" : lnum
599
600Since the first expression is an "expr2", it cannot contain another ?:. The
601other two expressions can, thus allow for recursive use of ?:.
602Example: >
603 :echo lnum == 1 ? "top" : lnum == 1000 ? "last" : lnum
604
605To keep this readable, using |line-continuation| is suggested: >
606 :echo lnum == 1
607 :\ ? "top"
608 :\ : lnum == 1000
609 :\ ? "last"
610 :\ : lnum
611
612
613expr2 and expr3 *expr2* *expr3*
614---------------
615
616 *expr-barbar* *expr-&&*
617The "||" and "&&" operators take one argument on each side. The arguments
618are (converted to) Numbers. The result is:
619
620 input output ~
621n1 n2 n1 || n2 n1 && n2 ~
622zero zero zero zero
623zero non-zero non-zero zero
624non-zero zero non-zero zero
625non-zero non-zero non-zero non-zero
626
627The operators can be concatenated, for example: >
628
629 &nu || &list && &shell == "csh"
630
631Note that "&&" takes precedence over "||", so this has the meaning of: >
632
633 &nu || (&list && &shell == "csh")
634
635Once the result is known, the expression "short-circuits", that is, further
636arguments are not evaluated. This is like what happens in C. For example: >
637
638 let a = 1
639 echo a || b
640
641This is valid even if there is no variable called "b" because "a" is non-zero,
642so the result must be non-zero. Similarly below: >
643
644 echo exists("b") && b == "yes"
645
646This is valid whether "b" has been defined or not. The second clause will
647only be evaluated if "b" has been defined.
648
649
650expr4 *expr4*
651-----
652
653expr5 {cmp} expr5
654
655Compare two expr5 expressions, resulting in a 0 if it evaluates to false, or 1
656if it evaluates to true.
657
658 *expr-==* *expr-!=* *expr->* *expr->=*
659 *expr-<* *expr-<=* *expr-=~* *expr-!~*
660 *expr-==#* *expr-!=#* *expr->#* *expr->=#*
661 *expr-<#* *expr-<=#* *expr-=~#* *expr-!~#*
662 *expr-==?* *expr-!=?* *expr->?* *expr->=?*
663 *expr-<?* *expr-<=?* *expr-=~?* *expr-!~?*
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +0000664 *expr-is*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000665 use 'ignorecase' match case ignore case ~
666equal == ==# ==?
667not equal != !=# !=?
668greater than > ># >?
669greater than or equal >= >=# >=?
670smaller than < <# <?
671smaller than or equal <= <=# <=?
672regexp matches =~ =~# =~?
673regexp doesn't match !~ !~# !~?
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +0000674same instance is
675different instance isnot
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000676
677Examples:
678"abc" ==# "Abc" evaluates to 0
679"abc" ==? "Abc" evaluates to 1
680"abc" == "Abc" evaluates to 1 if 'ignorecase' is set, 0 otherwise
681
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000682 *E691* *E692*
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +0000683A List can only be compared with a List and only "equal", "not equal" and "is"
684can be used. This compares the values of the list, recursively. Ignoring
685case means case is ignored when comparing item values.
686
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +0000687 *E735* *E736*
688A Dictionary can only be compared with a Dictionary and only "equal", "not
689equal" and "is" can be used. This compares the key/values of the Dictionary,
690recursively. Ignoring case means case is ignored when comparing item values.
691
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +0000692 *E693* *E694*
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +0000693A Funcref can only be compared with a Funcref and only "equal" and "not equal"
694can be used. Case is never ignored.
695
696When using "is" or "isnot" with a List this checks if the expressions are
697referring to the same List instance. A copy of a List is different from the
698original List. When using "is" without a List it is equivalent to using
699"equal", using "isnot" equivalent to using "not equal". Except that a
700different type means the values are different. "4 == '4'" is true, "4 is '4'"
701is false.
702
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000703When comparing a String with a Number, the String is converted to a Number,
704and the comparison is done on Numbers. This means that "0 == 'x'" is TRUE,
705because 'x' converted to a Number is zero.
706
707When comparing two Strings, this is done with strcmp() or stricmp(). This
708results in the mathematical difference (comparing byte values), not
709necessarily the alphabetical difference in the local language.
710
711When using the operators with a trailing '#", or the short version and
712'ignorecase' is off, the comparing is done with strcmp().
713
714When using the operators with a trailing '?', or the short version and
715'ignorecase' is set, the comparing is done with stricmp().
716
717The "=~" and "!~" operators match the lefthand argument with the righthand
718argument, which is used as a pattern. See |pattern| for what a pattern is.
719This matching is always done like 'magic' was set and 'cpoptions' is empty, no
720matter what the actual value of 'magic' or 'cpoptions' is. This makes scripts
721portable. To avoid backslashes in the regexp pattern to be doubled, use a
722single-quote string, see |literal-string|.
723Since a string is considered to be a single line, a multi-line pattern
724(containing \n, backslash-n) will not match. However, a literal NL character
725can be matched like an ordinary character. Examples:
726 "foo\nbar" =~ "\n" evaluates to 1
727 "foo\nbar" =~ "\\n" evaluates to 0
728
729
730expr5 and expr6 *expr5* *expr6*
731---------------
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +0000732expr6 + expr6 .. Number addition or List concatenation *expr-+*
733expr6 - expr6 .. Number subtraction *expr--*
734expr6 . expr6 .. String concatenation *expr-.*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000735
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +0000736For Lists only "+" is possible and then both expr6 must be a list. The result
737is a new list with the two lists Concatenated.
738
739expr7 * expr7 .. number multiplication *expr-star*
740expr7 / expr7 .. number division *expr-/*
741expr7 % expr7 .. number modulo *expr-%*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000742
743For all, except ".", Strings are converted to Numbers.
744
745Note the difference between "+" and ".":
746 "123" + "456" = 579
747 "123" . "456" = "123456"
748
749When the righthand side of '/' is zero, the result is 0x7fffffff.
750When the righthand side of '%' is zero, the result is 0.
751
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +0000752None of these work for Funcrefs.
753
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000754
755expr7 *expr7*
756-----
757! expr7 logical NOT *expr-!*
758- expr7 unary minus *expr-unary--*
759+ expr7 unary plus *expr-unary-+*
760
761For '!' non-zero becomes zero, zero becomes one.
762For '-' the sign of the number is changed.
763For '+' the number is unchanged.
764
765A String will be converted to a Number first.
766
767These three can be repeated and mixed. Examples:
768 !-1 == 0
769 !!8 == 1
770 --9 == 9
771
772
773expr8 *expr8*
774-----
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000775expr8[expr1] item of String or List *expr-[]* *E111*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000776
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000777If expr8 is a Number or String this results in a String that contains the
778expr1'th single byte from expr8. expr8 is used as a String, expr1 as a
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000779Number. Note that this doesn't recognize multi-byte encodings.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000780
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000781Index zero gives the first character. This is like it works in C. Careful:
782text column numbers start with one! Example, to get the character under the
783cursor: >
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000784 :let c = getline(line("."))[col(".") - 1]
785
786If the length of the String is less than the index, the result is an empty
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000787String. A negative index always results in an empty string (reason: backwards
788compatibility). Use [-1:] to get the last byte.
789
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000790If expr8 is a List then it results the item at index expr1. See |list-index|
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000791for possible index values. If the index is out of range this results in an
792error. Example: >
793 :let item = mylist[-1] " get last item
794
795Generally, if a List index is equal to or higher than the length of the List,
796or more negative than the length of the List, this results in an error.
797
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000798
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000799expr8[expr1a : expr1b] substring or sublist *expr-[:]*
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000800
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000801If expr8 is a Number or String this results in the substring with the bytes
802from expr1a to and including expr1b. expr8 is used as a String, expr1a and
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000803expr1b are used as a Number. Note that this doesn't recognize multi-byte
804encodings.
805
806If expr1a is omitted zero is used. If expr1b is omitted the length of the
807string minus one is used.
808
809A negative number can be used to measure from the end of the string. -1 is
810the last character, -2 the last but one, etc.
811
812If an index goes out of range for the string characters are omitted. If
813expr1b is smaller than expr1a the result is an empty string.
814
815Examples: >
816 :let c = name[-1:] " last byte of a string
817 :let c = name[-2:-2] " last but one byte of a string
818 :let s = line(".")[4:] " from the fifth byte to the end
819 :let s = s[:-3] " remove last two bytes
820
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000821If expr8 is a List this results in a new List with the items indicated by the
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +0000822indexes expr1a and expr1b. This works like with a String, as explained just
823above, except that indexes out of range cause an error. Examples: >
824 :let l = mylist[:3] " first four items
825 :let l = mylist[4:4] " List with one item
826 :let l = mylist[:] " shallow copy of a List
827
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000828Using expr8[expr1] or expr8[expr1a : expr1b] on a Funcref results in an error.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000829
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000830
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000831expr8.name entry in a Dictionary *expr-entry*
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000832
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000833If expr8 is a Dictionary and it is followed by a dot, then the following name
834will be used as a key in the Dictionary. This is just like: expr8[name].
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000835
836The name must consist of alphanumeric characters, just like a variable name,
837but it may start with a number. Curly braces cannot be used.
838
839There must not be white space before or after the dot.
840
841Examples: >
842 :let dict = {"one": 1, 2: "two"}
843 :echo dict.one
844 :echo dict .2
845
846Note that the dot is also used for String concatenation. To avoid confusion
847always put spaces around the dot for String concatenation.
848
849
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +0000850expr8(expr1, ...) Funcref function call
851
852When expr8 is a |Funcref| type variable, invoke the function it refers to.
853
854
855
856 *expr9*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000857number
858------
859number number constant *expr-number*
860
861Decimal, Hexadecimal (starting with 0x or 0X), or Octal (starting with 0).
862
863
864string *expr-string* *E114*
865------
866"string" string constant *expr-quote*
867
868Note that double quotes are used.
869
870A string constant accepts these special characters:
871\... three-digit octal number (e.g., "\316")
872\.. two-digit octal number (must be followed by non-digit)
873\. one-digit octal number (must be followed by non-digit)
874\x.. byte specified with two hex numbers (e.g., "\x1f")
875\x. byte specified with one hex number (must be followed by non-hex char)
876\X.. same as \x..
877\X. same as \x.
878\u.... character specified with up to 4 hex numbers, stored according to the
879 current value of 'encoding' (e.g., "\u02a4")
880\U.... same as \u....
881\b backspace <BS>
882\e escape <Esc>
883\f formfeed <FF>
884\n newline <NL>
885\r return <CR>
886\t tab <Tab>
887\\ backslash
888\" double quote
889\<xxx> Special key named "xxx". e.g. "\<C-W>" for CTRL-W.
890
891Note that "\000" and "\x00" force the end of the string.
892
893
894literal-string *literal-string* *E115*
895---------------
Bram Moolenaar3fdfa4a2004-10-07 21:02:47 +0000896'string' string constant *expr-'*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000897
898Note that single quotes are used.
899
Bram Moolenaar3fdfa4a2004-10-07 21:02:47 +0000900This string is taken as it is. No backslashes are removed or have a special
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +0000901meaning. The only exception is that two quotes stand for one quote.
Bram Moolenaar3fdfa4a2004-10-07 21:02:47 +0000902
903Single quoted strings are useful for patterns, so that backslashes do not need
904to be doubled. These two commands are equivalent: >
905 if a =~ "\\s*"
906 if a =~ '\s*'
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000907
908
909option *expr-option* *E112* *E113*
910------
911&option option value, local value if possible
912&g:option global option value
913&l:option local option value
914
915Examples: >
916 echo "tabstop is " . &tabstop
917 if &insertmode
918
919Any option name can be used here. See |options|. When using the local value
920and there is no buffer-local or window-local value, the global value is used
921anyway.
922
923
924register *expr-register*
925--------
926@r contents of register 'r'
927
928The result is the contents of the named register, as a single string.
929Newlines are inserted where required. To get the contents of the unnamed
930register use @" or @@. The '=' register can not be used here. See
931|registers| for an explanation of the available registers.
932
933
934nesting *expr-nesting* *E110*
935-------
936(expr1) nested expression
937
938
939environment variable *expr-env*
940--------------------
941$VAR environment variable
942
943The String value of any environment variable. When it is not defined, the
944result is an empty string.
945 *expr-env-expand*
946Note that there is a difference between using $VAR directly and using
947expand("$VAR"). Using it directly will only expand environment variables that
948are known inside the current Vim session. Using expand() will first try using
949the environment variables known inside the current Vim session. If that
950fails, a shell will be used to expand the variable. This can be slow, but it
951does expand all variables that the shell knows about. Example: >
952 :echo $version
953 :echo expand("$version")
954The first one probably doesn't echo anything, the second echoes the $version
955variable (if your shell supports it).
956
957
958internal variable *expr-variable*
959-----------------
960variable internal variable
961See below |internal-variables|.
962
963
964function call *expr-function* *E116* *E117* *E118* *E119* *E120*
965-------------
966function(expr1, ...) function call
967See below |functions|.
968
969
970==============================================================================
9713. Internal variable *internal-variables* *E121*
972 *E461*
973An internal variable name can be made up of letters, digits and '_'. But it
974cannot start with a digit. It's also possible to use curly braces, see
975|curly-braces-names|.
976
977An internal variable is created with the ":let" command |:let|.
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +0000978An internal variable is explicitly destroyed with the ":unlet" command
979|:unlet|.
980Using a name that is not an internal variable or refers to a variable that has
981been destroyed results in an error.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +0000982
983There are several name spaces for variables. Which one is to be used is
984specified by what is prepended:
985
986 (nothing) In a function: local to a function; otherwise: global
987|buffer-variable| b: Local to the current buffer.
988|window-variable| w: Local to the current window.
989|global-variable| g: Global.
990|local-variable| l: Local to a function.
991|script-variable| s: Local to a |:source|'ed Vim script.
992|function-argument| a: Function argument (only inside a function).
993|vim-variable| v: Global, predefined by Vim.
994
Bram Moolenaar8f999f12005-01-25 22:12:55 +0000995The scope name by itself can be used as a Dictionary. For example, to delete
996all script-local variables: >
997 :for k in keys(s:)
998 : unlet s:[k]
999 :endfor
1000<
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001001 *buffer-variable* *b:var*
1002A variable name that is preceded with "b:" is local to the current buffer.
1003Thus you can have several "b:foo" variables, one for each buffer.
1004This kind of variable is deleted when the buffer is wiped out or deleted with
1005|:bdelete|.
1006
1007One local buffer variable is predefined:
1008 *b:changedtick-variable* *changetick*
1009b:changedtick The total number of changes to the current buffer. It is
1010 incremented for each change. An undo command is also a change
1011 in this case. This can be used to perform an action only when
1012 the buffer has changed. Example: >
1013 :if my_changedtick != b:changedtick
1014 : let my_changedtick = b:changedtick
1015 : call My_Update()
1016 :endif
1017<
1018 *window-variable* *w:var*
1019A variable name that is preceded with "w:" is local to the current window. It
1020is deleted when the window is closed.
1021
1022 *global-variable* *g:var*
1023Inside functions global variables are accessed with "g:". Omitting this will
1024access a variable local to a function. But "g:" can also be used in any other
1025place if you like.
1026
1027 *local-variable* *l:var*
1028Inside functions local variables are accessed without prepending anything.
1029But you can also prepend "l:" if you like.
1030
1031 *script-variable* *s:var*
1032In a Vim script variables starting with "s:" can be used. They cannot be
1033accessed from outside of the scripts, thus are local to the script.
1034
1035They can be used in:
1036- commands executed while the script is sourced
1037- functions defined in the script
1038- autocommands defined in the script
1039- functions and autocommands defined in functions and autocommands which were
1040 defined in the script (recursively)
1041- user defined commands defined in the script
1042Thus not in:
1043- other scripts sourced from this one
1044- mappings
1045- etc.
1046
1047script variables can be used to avoid conflicts with global variable names.
1048Take this example:
1049
1050 let s:counter = 0
1051 function MyCounter()
1052 let s:counter = s:counter + 1
1053 echo s:counter
1054 endfunction
1055 command Tick call MyCounter()
1056
1057You can now invoke "Tick" from any script, and the "s:counter" variable in
1058that script will not be changed, only the "s:counter" in the script where
1059"Tick" was defined is used.
1060
1061Another example that does the same: >
1062
1063 let s:counter = 0
1064 command Tick let s:counter = s:counter + 1 | echo s:counter
1065
1066When calling a function and invoking a user-defined command, the context for
Bram Moolenaar69a7cb42004-06-20 12:51:53 +00001067script variables is set to the script where the function or command was
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001068defined.
1069
1070The script variables are also available when a function is defined inside a
1071function that is defined in a script. Example: >
1072
1073 let s:counter = 0
1074 function StartCounting(incr)
1075 if a:incr
1076 function MyCounter()
1077 let s:counter = s:counter + 1
1078 endfunction
1079 else
1080 function MyCounter()
1081 let s:counter = s:counter - 1
1082 endfunction
1083 endif
1084 endfunction
1085
1086This defines the MyCounter() function either for counting up or counting down
1087when calling StartCounting(). It doesn't matter from where StartCounting() is
1088called, the s:counter variable will be accessible in MyCounter().
1089
1090When the same script is sourced again it will use the same script variables.
1091They will remain valid as long as Vim is running. This can be used to
1092maintain a counter: >
1093
1094 if !exists("s:counter")
1095 let s:counter = 1
1096 echo "script executed for the first time"
1097 else
1098 let s:counter = s:counter + 1
1099 echo "script executed " . s:counter . " times now"
1100 endif
1101
1102Note that this means that filetype plugins don't get a different set of script
1103variables for each buffer. Use local buffer variables instead |b:var|.
1104
1105
1106Predefined Vim variables: *vim-variable* *v:var*
1107
1108 *v:charconvert_from* *charconvert_from-variable*
1109v:charconvert_from
1110 The name of the character encoding of a file to be converted.
1111 Only valid while evaluating the 'charconvert' option.
1112
1113 *v:charconvert_to* *charconvert_to-variable*
1114v:charconvert_to
1115 The name of the character encoding of a file after conversion.
1116 Only valid while evaluating the 'charconvert' option.
1117
1118 *v:cmdarg* *cmdarg-variable*
1119v:cmdarg This variable is used for two purposes:
1120 1. The extra arguments given to a file read/write command.
1121 Currently these are "++enc=" and "++ff=". This variable is
1122 set before an autocommand event for a file read/write
1123 command is triggered. There is a leading space to make it
1124 possible to append this variable directly after the
1125 read/write command. Note: The "+cmd" argument isn't
1126 included here, because it will be executed anyway.
1127 2. When printing a PostScript file with ":hardcopy" this is
1128 the argument for the ":hardcopy" command. This can be used
1129 in 'printexpr'.
1130
1131 *v:cmdbang* *cmdbang-variable*
1132v:cmdbang Set like v:cmdarg for a file read/write command. When a "!"
1133 was used the value is 1, otherwise it is 0. Note that this
1134 can only be used in autocommands. For user commands |<bang>|
1135 can be used.
1136
1137 *v:count* *count-variable*
1138v:count The count given for the last Normal mode command. Can be used
1139 to get the count before a mapping. Read-only. Example: >
1140 :map _x :<C-U>echo "the count is " . v:count<CR>
1141< Note: The <C-U> is required to remove the line range that you
1142 get when typing ':' after a count.
1143 "count" also works, for backwards compatibility.
1144
1145 *v:count1* *count1-variable*
1146v:count1 Just like "v:count", but defaults to one when no count is
1147 used.
1148
1149 *v:ctype* *ctype-variable*
1150v:ctype The current locale setting for characters of the runtime
1151 environment. This allows Vim scripts to be aware of the
1152 current locale encoding. Technical: it's the value of
1153 LC_CTYPE. When not using a locale the value is "C".
1154 This variable can not be set directly, use the |:language|
1155 command.
1156 See |multi-lang|.
1157
1158 *v:dying* *dying-variable*
1159v:dying Normally zero. When a deadly signal is caught it's set to
1160 one. When multiple signals are caught the number increases.
1161 Can be used in an autocommand to check if Vim didn't
1162 terminate normally. {only works on Unix}
1163 Example: >
1164 :au VimLeave * if v:dying | echo "\nAAAAaaaarrrggghhhh!!!\n" | endif
1165<
1166 *v:errmsg* *errmsg-variable*
1167v:errmsg Last given error message. It's allowed to set this variable.
1168 Example: >
1169 :let v:errmsg = ""
1170 :silent! next
1171 :if v:errmsg != ""
1172 : ... handle error
1173< "errmsg" also works, for backwards compatibility.
1174
1175 *v:exception* *exception-variable*
1176v:exception The value of the exception most recently caught and not
1177 finished. See also |v:throwpoint| and |throw-variables|.
1178 Example: >
1179 :try
1180 : throw "oops"
1181 :catch /.*/
1182 : echo "caught" v:exception
1183 :endtry
1184< Output: "caught oops".
1185
1186 *v:fname_in* *fname_in-variable*
1187v:fname_in The name of the input file. Only valid while evaluating:
1188 option used for ~
1189 'charconvert' file to be converted
1190 'diffexpr' original file
1191 'patchexpr' original file
1192 'printexpr' file to be printed
1193
1194 *v:fname_out* *fname_out-variable*
1195v:fname_out The name of the output file. Only valid while
1196 evaluating:
1197 option used for ~
1198 'charconvert' resulting converted file (*)
1199 'diffexpr' output of diff
1200 'patchexpr' resulting patched file
1201 (*) When doing conversion for a write command (e.g., ":w
1202 file") it will be equal to v:fname_in. When doing conversion
1203 for a read command (e.g., ":e file") it will be a temporary
1204 file and different from v:fname_in.
1205
1206 *v:fname_new* *fname_new-variable*
1207v:fname_new The name of the new version of the file. Only valid while
1208 evaluating 'diffexpr'.
1209
1210 *v:fname_diff* *fname_diff-variable*
1211v:fname_diff The name of the diff (patch) file. Only valid while
1212 evaluating 'patchexpr'.
1213
1214 *v:folddashes* *folddashes-variable*
1215v:folddashes Used for 'foldtext': dashes representing foldlevel of a closed
1216 fold.
Bram Moolenaar7b0294c2004-10-11 10:16:09 +00001217 Read-only in the |sandbox|. |fold-foldtext|
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001218
1219 *v:foldlevel* *foldlevel-variable*
1220v:foldlevel Used for 'foldtext': foldlevel of closed fold.
Bram Moolenaar7b0294c2004-10-11 10:16:09 +00001221 Read-only in the |sandbox|. |fold-foldtext|
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001222
1223 *v:foldend* *foldend-variable*
1224v:foldend Used for 'foldtext': last line of closed fold.
Bram Moolenaar7b0294c2004-10-11 10:16:09 +00001225 Read-only in the |sandbox|. |fold-foldtext|
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001226
1227 *v:foldstart* *foldstart-variable*
1228v:foldstart Used for 'foldtext': first line of closed fold.
Bram Moolenaar7b0294c2004-10-11 10:16:09 +00001229 Read-only in the |sandbox|. |fold-foldtext|
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001230
Bram Moolenaar843ee412004-06-30 16:16:41 +00001231 *v:insertmode* *insertmode-variable*
1232v:insertmode Used for the |InsertEnter| and |InsertChange| autocommand
1233 events. Values:
1234 i Insert mode
1235 r Replace mode
1236 v Virtual Replace mode
1237
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00001238 *v:key* *key-variable*
1239v:key Key of the current item of a Dictionary. Only valid while
1240 evaluating the expression used with |map()| and |filter()|.
1241 Read-only.
1242
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001243 *v:lang* *lang-variable*
1244v:lang The current locale setting for messages of the runtime
1245 environment. This allows Vim scripts to be aware of the
1246 current language. Technical: it's the value of LC_MESSAGES.
1247 The value is system dependent.
1248 This variable can not be set directly, use the |:language|
1249 command.
1250 It can be different from |v:ctype| when messages are desired
1251 in a different language than what is used for character
1252 encoding. See |multi-lang|.
1253
1254 *v:lc_time* *lc_time-variable*
1255v:lc_time The current locale setting for time messages of the runtime
1256 environment. This allows Vim scripts to be aware of the
1257 current language. Technical: it's the value of LC_TIME.
1258 This variable can not be set directly, use the |:language|
1259 command. See |multi-lang|.
1260
1261 *v:lnum* *lnum-variable*
Bram Moolenaar7b0294c2004-10-11 10:16:09 +00001262v:lnum Line number for the 'foldexpr' |fold-expr| and 'indentexpr'
1263 expressions. Only valid while one of these expressions is
1264 being evaluated. Read-only when in the |sandbox|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001265
1266 *v:prevcount* *prevcount-variable*
1267v:prevcount The count given for the last but one Normal mode command.
1268 This is the v:count value of the previous command. Useful if
1269 you want to cancel Visual mode and then use the count. >
1270 :vmap % <Esc>:call MyFilter(v:prevcount)<CR>
1271< Read-only.
1272
1273 *v:progname* *progname-variable*
1274v:progname Contains the name (with path removed) with which Vim was
1275 invoked. Allows you to do special initialisations for "view",
1276 "evim" etc., or any other name you might symlink to Vim.
1277 Read-only.
1278
1279 *v:register* *register-variable*
1280v:register The name of the register supplied to the last normal mode
1281 command. Empty if none were supplied. |getreg()| |setreg()|
1282
1283 *v:servername* *servername-variable*
1284v:servername The resulting registered |x11-clientserver| name if any.
1285 Read-only.
1286
1287 *v:shell_error* *shell_error-variable*
1288v:shell_error Result of the last shell command. When non-zero, the last
1289 shell command had an error. When zero, there was no problem.
1290 This only works when the shell returns the error code to Vim.
1291 The value -1 is often used when the command could not be
1292 executed. Read-only.
1293 Example: >
1294 :!mv foo bar
1295 :if v:shell_error
1296 : echo 'could not rename "foo" to "bar"!'
1297 :endif
1298< "shell_error" also works, for backwards compatibility.
1299
1300 *v:statusmsg* *statusmsg-variable*
1301v:statusmsg Last given status message. It's allowed to set this variable.
1302
1303 *v:termresponse* *termresponse-variable*
1304v:termresponse The escape sequence returned by the terminal for the |t_RV|
1305 termcap entry. It is set when Vim receives an escape sequence
1306 that starts with ESC [ or CSI and ends in a 'c', with only
1307 digits, ';' and '.' in between.
1308 When this option is set, the TermResponse autocommand event is
1309 fired, so that you can react to the response from the
1310 terminal.
1311 The response from a new xterm is: "<Esc>[ Pp ; Pv ; Pc c". Pp
1312 is the terminal type: 0 for vt100 and 1 for vt220. Pv is the
1313 patch level (since this was introduced in patch 95, it's
1314 always 95 or bigger). Pc is always zero.
1315 {only when compiled with |+termresponse| feature}
1316
1317 *v:this_session* *this_session-variable*
1318v:this_session Full filename of the last loaded or saved session file. See
1319 |:mksession|. It is allowed to set this variable. When no
1320 session file has been saved, this variable is empty.
1321 "this_session" also works, for backwards compatibility.
1322
1323 *v:throwpoint* *throwpoint-variable*
1324v:throwpoint The point where the exception most recently caught and not
1325 finished was thrown. Not set when commands are typed. See
1326 also |v:exception| and |throw-variables|.
1327 Example: >
1328 :try
1329 : throw "oops"
1330 :catch /.*/
1331 : echo "Exception from" v:throwpoint
1332 :endtry
1333< Output: "Exception from test.vim, line 2"
1334
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00001335 *v:val* *val-variable*
1336v:val Value of the current item of a List or Dictionary. Only valid
1337 while evaluating the expression used with |map()| and
1338 |filter()|. Read-only.
1339
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001340 *v:version* *version-variable*
1341v:version Version number of Vim: Major version number times 100 plus
1342 minor version number. Version 5.0 is 500. Version 5.1 (5.01)
1343 is 501. Read-only. "version" also works, for backwards
1344 compatibility.
1345 Use |has()| to check if a certain patch was included, e.g.: >
1346 if has("patch123")
1347< Note that patch numbers are specific to the version, thus both
1348 version 5.0 and 5.1 may have a patch 123, but these are
1349 completely different.
1350
1351 *v:warningmsg* *warningmsg-variable*
1352v:warningmsg Last given warning message. It's allowed to set this variable.
1353
1354==============================================================================
13554. Builtin Functions *functions*
1356
1357See |function-list| for a list grouped by what the function is used for.
1358
1359(Use CTRL-] on the function name to jump to the full explanation)
1360
1361USAGE RESULT DESCRIPTION ~
1362
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00001363add( {list}, {item}) List append {item} to List {list}
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001364append( {lnum}, {string}) Number append {string} below line {lnum}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001365argc() Number number of files in the argument list
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001366argidx() Number current index in the argument list
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001367argv( {nr}) String {nr} entry of the argument list
1368browse( {save}, {title}, {initdir}, {default})
1369 String put up a file requester
Bram Moolenaar7b0294c2004-10-11 10:16:09 +00001370browsedir( {title}, {initdir}) String put up a directory requester
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001371bufexists( {expr}) Number TRUE if buffer {expr} exists
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001372buflisted( {expr}) Number TRUE if buffer {expr} is listed
1373bufloaded( {expr}) Number TRUE if buffer {expr} is loaded
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001374bufname( {expr}) String Name of the buffer {expr}
1375bufnr( {expr}) Number Number of the buffer {expr}
1376bufwinnr( {expr}) Number window number of buffer {expr}
1377byte2line( {byte}) Number line number at byte count {byte}
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001378byteidx( {expr}, {nr}) Number byte index of {nr}'th char in {expr}
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00001379call( {func}, {arglist} [, {dict}])
1380 any call {func} with arguments {arglist}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001381char2nr( {expr}) Number ASCII value of first char in {expr}
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001382cindent( {lnum}) Number C indent for line {lnum}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001383col( {expr}) Number column nr of cursor or mark
1384confirm( {msg} [, {choices} [, {default} [, {type}]]])
1385 Number number of choice picked by user
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001386copy( {expr}) any make a shallow copy of {expr}
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00001387count( {list}, {expr} [, {start} [, {ic}]])
1388 Number count how many {expr} are in {list}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001389cscope_connection( [{num} , {dbpath} [, {prepend}]])
1390 Number checks existence of cscope connection
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001391cursor( {lnum}, {col}) Number position cursor at {lnum}, {col}
1392deepcopy( {expr}) any make a full copy of {expr}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001393delete( {fname}) Number delete file {fname}
1394did_filetype() Number TRUE if FileType autocommand event used
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001395diff_filler( {lnum}) Number diff filler lines about {lnum}
1396diff_hlID( {lnum}, {col}) Number diff highlighting at {lnum}/{col}
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +00001397empty( {expr}) Number TRUE if {expr} is empty
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001398escape( {string}, {chars}) String escape {chars} in {string} with '\'
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00001399eval( {string}) any evaluate {string} into its value
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001400eventhandler( ) Number TRUE if inside an event handler
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001401executable( {expr}) Number 1 if executable {expr} exists
1402exists( {expr}) Number TRUE if {expr} exists
1403expand( {expr}) String expand special keywords in {expr}
1404filereadable( {file}) Number TRUE if {file} is a readable file
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00001405filter( {expr}, {string}) List/Dict remove items from {expr} where
1406 {string} is 0
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00001407finddir( {name}[, {path}[, {count}]])
1408 String Find directory {name} in {path}
Bram Moolenaar89cb5e02004-07-19 20:55:54 +00001409findfile( {name}[, {path}[, {count}]])
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00001410 String Find file {name} in {path}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001411filewritable( {file}) Number TRUE if {file} is a writable file
1412fnamemodify( {fname}, {mods}) String modify file name
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001413foldclosed( {lnum}) Number first line of fold at {lnum} if closed
1414foldclosedend( {lnum}) Number last line of fold at {lnum} if closed
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001415foldlevel( {lnum}) Number fold level at {lnum}
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001416foldtext( ) String line displayed for closed fold
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001417foreground( ) Number bring the Vim window to the foreground
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001418function( {name}) Funcref reference to function {name}
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00001419get( {list}, {idx} [, {def}]) any get item {idx} from {list} or {def}
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00001420get( {dict}, {key} [, {def}]) any get item {key} from {dict} or {def}
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001421getchar( [expr]) Number get one character from the user
1422getcharmod( ) Number modifiers for the last typed character
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001423getbufvar( {expr}, {varname}) variable {varname} in buffer {expr}
1424getcmdline() String return the current command-line
1425getcmdpos() Number return cursor position in command-line
1426getcwd() String the current working directory
Bram Moolenaar5eb86f92004-07-26 12:53:41 +00001427getfperm( {fname}) String file permissions of file {fname}
1428getfsize( {fname}) Number size in bytes of file {fname}
Bram Moolenaard8b0cf12004-12-12 11:33:30 +00001429getfontname( [{name}]) String name of font being used
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001430getftime( {fname}) Number last modification time of file
Bram Moolenaar5eb86f92004-07-26 12:53:41 +00001431getftype( {fname}) String description of type of file {fname}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001432getline( {lnum}) String line {lnum} from current buffer
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001433getreg( [{regname}]) String contents of register
1434getregtype( [{regname}]) String type of register
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001435getwinposx() Number X coord in pixels of GUI Vim window
1436getwinposy() Number Y coord in pixels of GUI Vim window
1437getwinvar( {nr}, {varname}) variable {varname} in window {nr}
1438glob( {expr}) String expand file wildcards in {expr}
1439globpath( {path}, {expr}) String do glob({expr}) for all dirs in {path}
1440has( {feature}) Number TRUE if feature {feature} supported
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00001441has_key( {dict}, {key}) Number TRUE if {dict} has entry {key}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001442hasmapto( {what} [, {mode}]) Number TRUE if mapping to {what} exists
1443histadd( {history},{item}) String add an item to a history
1444histdel( {history} [, {item}]) String remove an item from a history
1445histget( {history} [, {index}]) String get the item {index} from a history
1446histnr( {history}) Number highest index of a history
1447hlexists( {name}) Number TRUE if highlight group {name} exists
1448hlID( {name}) Number syntax ID of highlight group {name}
1449hostname() String name of the machine Vim is running on
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001450iconv( {expr}, {from}, {to}) String convert encoding of {expr}
1451indent( {lnum}) Number indent of line {lnum}
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00001452index( {list}, {expr} [, {start} [, {ic}]])
1453 Number index in {list} where {expr} appears
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001454input( {prompt} [, {text}]) String get input from the user
1455inputdialog( {p} [, {t} [, {c}]]) String like input() but in a GUI dialog
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001456inputrestore() Number restore typeahead
1457inputsave() Number save and clear typeahead
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001458inputsecret( {prompt} [, {text}]) String like input() but hiding the text
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001459insert( {list}, {item} [, {idx}]) List insert {item} in {list} [before {idx}]
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001460isdirectory( {directory}) Number TRUE if {directory} is a directory
Bram Moolenaar2ce06f62005-01-31 19:19:04 +00001461islocked( {expr}) Number TRUE if {expr} is locked
Bram Moolenaar677ee682005-01-27 14:41:15 +00001462items( {dict}) List List of key-value pairs in {dict}
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00001463join( {list} [, {sep}]) String join {list} items into one String
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +00001464keys( {dict}) List List of keys in {dict}
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001465len( {expr}) Number the length of {expr}
1466libcall( {lib}, {func}, {arg}) String call {func} in library {lib} with {arg}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001467libcallnr( {lib}, {func}, {arg}) Number idem, but return a Number
1468line( {expr}) Number line nr of cursor, last line or mark
1469line2byte( {lnum}) Number byte count of line {lnum}
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001470lispindent( {lnum}) Number Lisp indent for line {lnum}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001471localtime() Number current time
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00001472map( {expr}, {string}) List/Dict change each item in {expr} to {expr}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001473maparg( {name}[, {mode}]) String rhs of mapping {name} in mode {mode}
1474mapcheck( {name}[, {mode}]) String check for mappings matching {name}
Bram Moolenaar89cb5e02004-07-19 20:55:54 +00001475match( {expr}, {pat}[, {start}[, {count}]])
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001476 Number position where {pat} matches in {expr}
Bram Moolenaar89cb5e02004-07-19 20:55:54 +00001477matchend( {expr}, {pat}[, {start}[, {count}]])
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001478 Number position where {pat} ends in {expr}
Bram Moolenaar3a7c85b2005-02-05 21:39:53 +00001479matchlist( {expr}, {pat}[, {start}[, {count}]])
1480 List match and submatches of {pat} in {expr}
Bram Moolenaar89cb5e02004-07-19 20:55:54 +00001481matchstr( {expr}, {pat}[, {start}[, {count}]])
1482 String {count}'th match of {pat} in {expr}
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +00001483max({list}) Number maximum value of items in {list}
1484min({list}) Number minumum value of items in {list}
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001485mode() String current editing mode
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001486nextnonblank( {lnum}) Number line nr of non-blank line >= {lnum}
1487nr2char( {expr}) String single char with ASCII value {expr}
1488prevnonblank( {lnum}) Number line nr of non-blank line <= {lnum}
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +00001489range( {expr} [, {max} [, {stride}]])
1490 List items from {expr} to {max}
Bram Moolenaar3a7c85b2005-02-05 21:39:53 +00001491readfile({fname} [, {binary}]) List get list of lines from file {fname}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001492remote_expr( {server}, {string} [, {idvar}])
1493 String send expression
1494remote_foreground( {server}) Number bring Vim server to the foreground
1495remote_peek( {serverid} [, {retvar}])
1496 Number check for reply string
1497remote_read( {serverid}) String read reply string
1498remote_send( {server}, {string} [, {idvar}])
1499 String send key sequence
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +00001500remove( {list}, {idx} [, {end}]) any remove items {idx}-{end} from {list}
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +00001501remove( {dict}, {key}) any remove entry {key} from {dict}
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001502rename( {from}, {to}) Number rename (move) file from {from} to {to}
1503repeat( {expr}, {count}) String repeat {expr} {count} times
1504resolve( {filename}) String get filename a shortcut points to
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00001505reverse( {list}) List reverse {list} in-place
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001506search( {pattern} [, {flags}]) Number search for {pattern}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001507searchpair( {start}, {middle}, {end} [, {flags} [, {skip}]])
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001508 Number search for other end of start/end pair
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001509server2client( {clientid}, {string})
1510 Number send reply string
1511serverlist() String get a list of available servers
1512setbufvar( {expr}, {varname}, {val}) set {varname} in buffer {expr} to {val}
1513setcmdpos( {pos}) Number set cursor position in command-line
1514setline( {lnum}, {line}) Number set line {lnum} to {line}
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001515setreg( {n}, {v}[, {opt}]) Number set register to value and type
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001516setwinvar( {nr}, {varname}, {val}) set {varname} in window {nr} to {val}
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001517simplify( {filename}) String simplify filename as much as possible
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00001518sort( {list} [, {func}]) List sort {list}, using {func} to compare
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00001519split( {expr} [, {pat}]) List make List from {pat} separated {expr}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001520strftime( {format}[, {time}]) String time in specified format
Bram Moolenaar8f999f12005-01-25 22:12:55 +00001521stridx( {haystack}, {needle}[, {start}])
1522 Number index of {needle} in {haystack}
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00001523string( {expr}) String String representation of {expr} value
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001524strlen( {expr}) Number length of the String {expr}
1525strpart( {src}, {start}[, {len}])
1526 String {len} characters of {src} at {start}
Bram Moolenaar677ee682005-01-27 14:41:15 +00001527strridx( {haystack}, {needle} [, {start}])
1528 Number last index of {needle} in {haystack}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001529strtrans( {expr}) String translate string to make it printable
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001530submatch( {nr}) String specific match in ":substitute"
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001531substitute( {expr}, {pat}, {sub}, {flags})
1532 String all {pat} in {expr} replaced with {sub}
Bram Moolenaar47136d72004-10-12 20:02:24 +00001533synID( {lnum}, {col}, {trans}) Number syntax ID at {lnum} and {col}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001534synIDattr( {synID}, {what} [, {mode}])
1535 String attribute {what} of syntax ID {synID}
1536synIDtrans( {synID}) Number translated syntax ID of {synID}
Bram Moolenaarc0197e22004-09-13 20:26:32 +00001537system( {expr} [, {input}]) String output of shell command/filter {expr}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001538tempname() String name for a temporary file
1539tolower( {expr}) String the String {expr} switched to lowercase
1540toupper( {expr}) String the String {expr} switched to uppercase
Bram Moolenaar8299df92004-07-10 09:47:34 +00001541tr( {src}, {fromstr}, {tostr}) String translate chars of {src} in {fromstr}
1542 to chars in {tostr}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001543type( {name}) Number type of variable {name}
Bram Moolenaar677ee682005-01-27 14:41:15 +00001544values( {dict}) List List of values in {dict}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001545virtcol( {expr}) Number screen column of cursor or mark
1546visualmode( [expr]) String last visual mode used
1547winbufnr( {nr}) Number buffer number of window {nr}
1548wincol() Number window column of the cursor
1549winheight( {nr}) Number height of window {nr}
1550winline() Number window line of the cursor
1551winnr() Number number of current window
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001552winrestcmd() String returns command to restore window sizes
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001553winwidth( {nr}) Number width of window {nr}
Bram Moolenaar3a7c85b2005-02-05 21:39:53 +00001554writefile({list}, {fname} [, {binary}])
1555 Number write list of lines to file {fname}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001556
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00001557add({list}, {expr}) *add()*
1558 Append the item {expr} to List {list}. Returns the resulting
1559 List. Examples: >
1560 :let alist = add([1, 2, 3], item)
1561 :call add(mylist, "woodstock")
1562< Note that when {expr} is a List it is appended as a single
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001563 item. Use |extend()| to concatenate Lists.
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +00001564 Use |insert()| to add an item at another position.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001565
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00001566
1567append({lnum}, {expr}) *append()*
Bram Moolenaar748bf032005-02-02 23:04:36 +00001568 When {expr} is a List: Append each item of the List as a text
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00001569 line below line {lnum} in the current buffer.
Bram Moolenaar748bf032005-02-02 23:04:36 +00001570 Otherwise append {expr} as one text line below line {lnum} in
1571 the current buffer.
1572 {lnum} can be zero to insert a line before the first one.
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00001573 Returns 1 for failure ({lnum} out of range or out of memory),
1574 0 for success. Example: >
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001575 :let failed = append(line('$'), "# THE END")
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00001576 :let failed = append(0, ["Chapter 1", "the beginning"])
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001577<
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001578 *argc()*
1579argc() The result is the number of files in the argument list of the
1580 current window. See |arglist|.
1581
1582 *argidx()*
1583argidx() The result is the current index in the argument list. 0 is
1584 the first file. argc() - 1 is the last one. See |arglist|.
1585
1586 *argv()*
1587argv({nr}) The result is the {nr}th file in the argument list of the
1588 current window. See |arglist|. "argv(0)" is the first one.
1589 Example: >
1590 :let i = 0
1591 :while i < argc()
1592 : let f = escape(argv(i), '. ')
1593 : exe 'amenu Arg.' . f . ' :e ' . f . '<CR>'
1594 : let i = i + 1
1595 :endwhile
1596<
1597 *browse()*
1598browse({save}, {title}, {initdir}, {default})
1599 Put up a file requester. This only works when "has("browse")"
1600 returns non-zero (only in some GUI versions).
1601 The input fields are:
1602 {save} when non-zero, select file to write
1603 {title} title for the requester
1604 {initdir} directory to start browsing in
1605 {default} default file name
1606 When the "Cancel" button is hit, something went wrong, or
1607 browsing is not possible, an empty string is returned.
1608
Bram Moolenaar7b0294c2004-10-11 10:16:09 +00001609 *browsedir()*
1610browsedir({title}, {initdir})
1611 Put up a directory requester. This only works when
1612 "has("browse")" returns non-zero (only in some GUI versions).
1613 On systems where a directory browser is not supported a file
1614 browser is used. In that case: select a file in the directory
1615 to be used.
1616 The input fields are:
1617 {title} title for the requester
1618 {initdir} directory to start browsing in
1619 When the "Cancel" button is hit, something went wrong, or
1620 browsing is not possible, an empty string is returned.
1621
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001622bufexists({expr}) *bufexists()*
1623 The result is a Number, which is non-zero if a buffer called
1624 {expr} exists.
Bram Moolenaar69a7cb42004-06-20 12:51:53 +00001625 If the {expr} argument is a number, buffer numbers are used.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001626 If the {expr} argument is a string it must match a buffer name
Bram Moolenaar69a7cb42004-06-20 12:51:53 +00001627 exactly. The name can be:
1628 - Relative to the current directory.
1629 - A full path.
1630 - The name of a buffer with 'filetype' set to "nofile".
1631 - A URL name.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001632 Unlisted buffers will be found.
1633 Note that help files are listed by their short name in the
1634 output of |:buffers|, but bufexists() requires using their
1635 long name to be able to find them.
1636 Use "bufexists(0)" to test for the existence of an alternate
1637 file name.
1638 *buffer_exists()*
1639 Obsolete name: buffer_exists().
1640
1641buflisted({expr}) *buflisted()*
1642 The result is a Number, which is non-zero if a buffer called
1643 {expr} exists and is listed (has the 'buflisted' option set).
Bram Moolenaar69a7cb42004-06-20 12:51:53 +00001644 The {expr} argument is used like with |bufexists()|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001645
1646bufloaded({expr}) *bufloaded()*
1647 The result is a Number, which is non-zero if a buffer called
1648 {expr} exists and is loaded (shown in a window or hidden).
Bram Moolenaar69a7cb42004-06-20 12:51:53 +00001649 The {expr} argument is used like with |bufexists()|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001650
1651bufname({expr}) *bufname()*
1652 The result is the name of a buffer, as it is displayed by the
1653 ":ls" command.
1654 If {expr} is a Number, that buffer number's name is given.
1655 Number zero is the alternate buffer for the current window.
1656 If {expr} is a String, it is used as a |file-pattern| to match
1657 with the buffer names. This is always done like 'magic' is
1658 set and 'cpoptions' is empty. When there is more than one
1659 match an empty string is returned.
1660 "" or "%" can be used for the current buffer, "#" for the
1661 alternate buffer.
1662 A full match is preferred, otherwise a match at the start, end
1663 or middle of the buffer name is accepted.
1664 Listed buffers are found first. If there is a single match
1665 with a listed buffer, that one is returned. Next unlisted
1666 buffers are searched for.
1667 If the {expr} is a String, but you want to use it as a buffer
1668 number, force it to be a Number by adding zero to it: >
1669 :echo bufname("3" + 0)
1670< If the buffer doesn't exist, or doesn't have a name, an empty
1671 string is returned. >
1672 bufname("#") alternate buffer name
1673 bufname(3) name of buffer 3
1674 bufname("%") name of current buffer
1675 bufname("file2") name of buffer where "file2" matches.
1676< *buffer_name()*
1677 Obsolete name: buffer_name().
1678
1679 *bufnr()*
1680bufnr({expr}) The result is the number of a buffer, as it is displayed by
1681 the ":ls" command. For the use of {expr}, see |bufname()|
1682 above. If the buffer doesn't exist, -1 is returned.
1683 bufnr("$") is the last buffer: >
1684 :let last_buffer = bufnr("$")
1685< The result is a Number, which is the highest buffer number
1686 of existing buffers. Note that not all buffers with a smaller
1687 number necessarily exist, because ":bwipeout" may have removed
1688 them. Use bufexists() to test for the existence of a buffer.
1689 *buffer_number()*
1690 Obsolete name: buffer_number().
1691 *last_buffer_nr()*
1692 Obsolete name for bufnr("$"): last_buffer_nr().
1693
1694bufwinnr({expr}) *bufwinnr()*
1695 The result is a Number, which is the number of the first
1696 window associated with buffer {expr}. For the use of {expr},
1697 see |bufname()| above. If buffer {expr} doesn't exist or
1698 there is no such window, -1 is returned. Example: >
1699
1700 echo "A window containing buffer 1 is " . (bufwinnr(1))
1701
1702< The number can be used with |CTRL-W_w| and ":wincmd w"
1703 |:wincmd|.
1704
1705
1706byte2line({byte}) *byte2line()*
1707 Return the line number that contains the character at byte
1708 count {byte} in the current buffer. This includes the
1709 end-of-line character, depending on the 'fileformat' option
1710 for the current buffer. The first character has byte count
1711 one.
1712 Also see |line2byte()|, |go| and |:goto|.
1713 {not available when compiled without the |+byte_offset|
1714 feature}
1715
Bram Moolenaarab79bcb2004-07-18 21:34:53 +00001716byteidx({expr}, {nr}) *byteidx()*
1717 Return byte index of the {nr}'th character in the string
1718 {expr}. Use zero for the first character, it returns zero.
1719 This function is only useful when there are multibyte
1720 characters, otherwise the returned value is equal to {nr}.
1721 Composing characters are counted as a separate character.
1722 Example : >
1723 echo matchstr(str, ".", byteidx(str, 3))
1724< will display the fourth character. Another way to do the
1725 same: >
1726 let s = strpart(str, byteidx(str, 3))
1727 echo strpart(s, 0, byteidx(s, 1))
1728< If there are less than {nr} characters -1 is returned.
1729 If there are exactly {nr} characters the length of the string
1730 is returned.
1731
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00001732call({func}, {arglist} [, {dict}]) *call()* *E699*
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +00001733 Call function {func} with the items in List {arglist} as
1734 arguments.
1735 {func} can either be a Funcref or the name of a function.
1736 a:firstline and a:lastline are set to the cursor line.
1737 Returns the return value of the called function.
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00001738 {dict} is for functions with the "dict" attribute. It will be
1739 used to set the local variable "self". |Dictionary-function|
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +00001740
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001741char2nr({expr}) *char2nr()*
1742 Return number value of the first char in {expr}. Examples: >
1743 char2nr(" ") returns 32
1744 char2nr("ABC") returns 65
1745< The current 'encoding' is used. Example for "utf-8": >
1746 char2nr("á") returns 225
1747 char2nr("á"[0]) returns 195
1748
1749cindent({lnum}) *cindent()*
1750 Get the amount of indent for line {lnum} according the C
1751 indenting rules, as with 'cindent'.
1752 The indent is counted in spaces, the value of 'tabstop' is
1753 relevant. {lnum} is used just like in |getline()|.
1754 When {lnum} is invalid or Vim was not compiled the |+cindent|
1755 feature, -1 is returned.
1756
1757 *col()*
Bram Moolenaarc0197e22004-09-13 20:26:32 +00001758col({expr}) The result is a Number, which is the byte index of the column
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001759 position given with {expr}. The accepted positions are:
1760 . the cursor position
1761 $ the end of the cursor line (the result is the
1762 number of characters in the cursor line plus one)
1763 'x position of mark x (if the mark is not set, 0 is
1764 returned)
1765 For the screen column position use |virtcol()|.
1766 Note that only marks in the current file can be used.
1767 Examples: >
1768 col(".") column of cursor
1769 col("$") length of cursor line plus one
1770 col("'t") column of mark t
1771 col("'" . markname) column of mark markname
1772< The first column is 1. 0 is returned for an error.
1773 For the cursor position, when 'virtualedit' is active, the
1774 column is one higher if the cursor is after the end of the
1775 line. This can be used to obtain the column in Insert mode: >
1776 :imap <F2> <C-O>:let save_ve = &ve<CR>
1777 \<C-O>:set ve=all<CR>
1778 \<C-O>:echo col(".") . "\n" <Bar>
1779 \let &ve = save_ve<CR>
1780<
1781 *confirm()*
1782confirm({msg} [, {choices} [, {default} [, {type}]]])
1783 Confirm() offers the user a dialog, from which a choice can be
1784 made. It returns the number of the choice. For the first
1785 choice this is 1.
1786 Note: confirm() is only supported when compiled with dialog
1787 support, see |+dialog_con| and |+dialog_gui|.
1788 {msg} is displayed in a |dialog| with {choices} as the
1789 alternatives. When {choices} is missing or empty, "&OK" is
1790 used (and translated).
1791 {msg} is a String, use '\n' to include a newline. Only on
1792 some systems the string is wrapped when it doesn't fit.
1793 {choices} is a String, with the individual choices separated
1794 by '\n', e.g. >
1795 confirm("Save changes?", "&Yes\n&No\n&Cancel")
1796< The letter after the '&' is the shortcut key for that choice.
1797 Thus you can type 'c' to select "Cancel". The shortcut does
1798 not need to be the first letter: >
1799 confirm("file has been modified", "&Save\nSave &All")
1800< For the console, the first letter of each choice is used as
1801 the default shortcut key.
1802 The optional {default} argument is the number of the choice
1803 that is made if the user hits <CR>. Use 1 to make the first
1804 choice the default one. Use 0 to not set a default. If
1805 {default} is omitted, 1 is used.
1806 The optional {type} argument gives the type of dialog. This
1807 is only used for the icon of the Win32 GUI. It can be one of
1808 these values: "Error", "Question", "Info", "Warning" or
1809 "Generic". Only the first character is relevant. When {type}
1810 is omitted, "Generic" is used.
1811 If the user aborts the dialog by pressing <Esc>, CTRL-C,
1812 or another valid interrupt key, confirm() returns 0.
1813
1814 An example: >
1815 :let choice = confirm("What do you want?", "&Apples\n&Oranges\n&Bananas", 2)
1816 :if choice == 0
1817 : echo "make up your mind!"
1818 :elseif choice == 3
1819 : echo "tasteful"
1820 :else
1821 : echo "I prefer bananas myself."
1822 :endif
1823< In a GUI dialog, buttons are used. The layout of the buttons
1824 depends on the 'v' flag in 'guioptions'. If it is included,
1825 the buttons are always put vertically. Otherwise, confirm()
1826 tries to put the buttons in one horizontal line. If they
1827 don't fit, a vertical layout is used anyway. For some systems
1828 the horizontal layout is always used.
1829
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001830 *copy()*
1831copy({expr}) Make a copy of {expr}. For Numbers and Strings this isn't
1832 different from using {expr} directly.
1833 When {expr} is a List a shallow copy is created. This means
1834 that the original List can be changed without changing the
1835 copy, and vise versa. But the items are identical, thus
1836 changing an item changes the contents of both Lists. Also see
1837 |deepcopy()|.
1838
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00001839count({comp}, {expr} [, {ic} [, {start}]]) *count()*
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +00001840 Return the number of times an item with value {expr} appears
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00001841 in List or Dictionary {comp}.
1842 If {start} is given then start with the item with this index.
1843 {start} can only be used with a List.
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +00001844 When {ic} is given and it's non-zero then case is ignored.
1845
1846
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001847 *cscope_connection()*
1848cscope_connection([{num} , {dbpath} [, {prepend}]])
1849 Checks for the existence of a |cscope| connection. If no
1850 parameters are specified, then the function returns:
1851 0, if cscope was not available (not compiled in), or
1852 if there are no cscope connections;
1853 1, if there is at least one cscope connection.
1854
1855 If parameters are specified, then the value of {num}
1856 determines how existence of a cscope connection is checked:
1857
1858 {num} Description of existence check
1859 ----- ------------------------------
1860 0 Same as no parameters (e.g., "cscope_connection()").
1861 1 Ignore {prepend}, and use partial string matches for
1862 {dbpath}.
1863 2 Ignore {prepend}, and use exact string matches for
1864 {dbpath}.
1865 3 Use {prepend}, use partial string matches for both
1866 {dbpath} and {prepend}.
1867 4 Use {prepend}, use exact string matches for both
1868 {dbpath} and {prepend}.
1869
1870 Note: All string comparisons are case sensitive!
1871
1872 Examples. Suppose we had the following (from ":cs show"): >
1873
1874 # pid database name prepend path
1875 0 27664 cscope.out /usr/local
1876<
1877 Invocation Return Val ~
1878 ---------- ---------- >
1879 cscope_connection() 1
1880 cscope_connection(1, "out") 1
1881 cscope_connection(2, "out") 0
1882 cscope_connection(3, "out") 0
1883 cscope_connection(3, "out", "local") 1
1884 cscope_connection(4, "out") 0
1885 cscope_connection(4, "out", "local") 0
1886 cscope_connection(4, "cscope.out", "/usr/local") 1
1887<
1888cursor({lnum}, {col}) *cursor()*
1889 Positions the cursor at the column {col} in the line {lnum}.
1890 Does not change the jumplist.
1891 If {lnum} is greater than the number of lines in the buffer,
1892 the cursor will be positioned at the last line in the buffer.
1893 If {lnum} is zero, the cursor will stay in the current line.
1894 If {col} is greater than the number of characters in the line,
1895 the cursor will be positioned at the last character in the
1896 line.
1897 If {col} is zero, the cursor will stay in the current column.
1898
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001899
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +00001900deepcopy({expr}) *deepcopy()* *E698*
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001901 Make a copy of {expr}. For Numbers and Strings this isn't
1902 different from using {expr} directly.
1903 When {expr} is a List a full copy is created. This means
1904 that the original List can be changed without changing the
1905 copy, and vise versa. When an item is a List, a copy for it
1906 is made, recursively. Thus changing an item in the copy does
1907 not change the contents of the original List.
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00001908 *E724*
1909 Nesting is possible up to 100 levels. When there is an item
1910 that refers back to a higher level making a deep copy will
1911 fail.
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001912 Also see |copy()|.
1913
1914delete({fname}) *delete()*
1915 Deletes the file by the name {fname}. The result is a Number,
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001916 which is 0 if the file was deleted successfully, and non-zero
1917 when the deletion failed.
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00001918 Use |remove()| to delete an item from a List.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001919
1920 *did_filetype()*
1921did_filetype() Returns non-zero when autocommands are being executed and the
1922 FileType event has been triggered at least once. Can be used
1923 to avoid triggering the FileType event again in the scripts
1924 that detect the file type. |FileType|
1925 When editing another file, the counter is reset, thus this
1926 really checks if the FileType event has been triggered for the
1927 current buffer. This allows an autocommand that starts
1928 editing another buffer to set 'filetype' and load a syntax
1929 file.
1930
Bram Moolenaar47136d72004-10-12 20:02:24 +00001931diff_filler({lnum}) *diff_filler()*
1932 Returns the number of filler lines above line {lnum}.
1933 These are the lines that were inserted at this point in
1934 another diff'ed window. These filler lines are shown in the
1935 display but don't exist in the buffer.
1936 {lnum} is used like with |getline()|. Thus "." is the current
1937 line, "'m" mark m, etc.
1938 Returns 0 if the current window is not in diff mode.
1939
1940diff_hlID({lnum}, {col}) *diff_hlID()*
1941 Returns the highlight ID for diff mode at line {lnum} column
1942 {col} (byte index). When the current line does not have a
1943 diff change zero is returned.
1944 {lnum} is used like with |getline()|. Thus "." is the current
1945 line, "'m" mark m, etc.
1946 {col} is 1 for the leftmost column, {lnum} is 1 for the first
1947 line.
1948 The highlight ID can be used with |synIDattr()| to obtain
1949 syntax information about the highlighting.
1950
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +00001951empty({expr}) *empty()*
1952 Return the Number 1 if {expr} is empty, zero otherwise.
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00001953 A List or Dictionary is empty when it does not have any items.
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +00001954 A Number is empty when its value is zero.
1955 For a long List this is much faster then comparing the length
1956 with zero.
1957
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001958escape({string}, {chars}) *escape()*
1959 Escape the characters in {chars} that occur in {string} with a
1960 backslash. Example: >
1961 :echo escape('c:\program files\vim', ' \')
1962< results in: >
1963 c:\\program\ files\\vim
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00001964
1965< *eval()*
1966eval({string}) Evaluate {string} and return the result. Especially useful to
1967 turn the result of |string()| back into the original value.
1968 This works for Numbers, Strings and composites of them.
1969 Also works for Funcrefs that refer to existing functions.
1970
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001971eventhandler() *eventhandler()*
1972 Returns 1 when inside an event handler. That is that Vim got
1973 interrupted while waiting for the user to type a character,
1974 e.g., when dropping a file on Vim. This means interactive
1975 commands cannot be used. Otherwise zero is returned.
1976
1977executable({expr}) *executable()*
1978 This function checks if an executable with the name {expr}
1979 exists. {expr} must be the name of the program without any
Bram Moolenaarf4b8e572004-06-24 15:53:16 +00001980 arguments.
1981 executable() uses the value of $PATH and/or the normal
1982 searchpath for programs. *PATHEXT*
1983 On MS-DOS and MS-Windows the ".exe", ".bat", etc. can
1984 optionally be included. Then the extensions in $PATHEXT are
1985 tried. Thus if "foo.exe" does not exist, "foo.exe.bat" can be
1986 found. If $PATHEXT is not set then ".exe;.com;.bat;.cmd" is
1987 used. A dot by itself can be used in $PATHEXT to try using
1988 the name without an extension. When 'shell' looks like a
1989 Unix shell, then the name is also tried without adding an
1990 extension.
1991 On MS-DOS and MS-Windows it only checks if the file exists and
1992 is not a directory, not if it's really executable.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00001993 The result is a Number:
1994 1 exists
1995 0 does not exist
1996 -1 not implemented on this system
1997
1998 *exists()*
1999exists({expr}) The result is a Number, which is non-zero if {expr} is
2000 defined, zero otherwise. The {expr} argument is a string,
2001 which contains one of these:
2002 &option-name Vim option (only checks if it exists,
2003 not if it really works)
2004 +option-name Vim option that works.
2005 $ENVNAME environment variable (could also be
2006 done by comparing with an empty
2007 string)
2008 *funcname built-in function (see |functions|)
2009 or user defined function (see
2010 |user-functions|).
2011 varname internal variable (see
Bram Moolenaar3a7c85b2005-02-05 21:39:53 +00002012 |internal-variables|). Also works
2013 for |curly-braces-names|, Dictionary
2014 entries, List items, etc. Beware that
2015 this may cause functions to be
2016 invoked cause an error message for an
2017 invalid expression.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002018 :cmdname Ex command: built-in command, user
2019 command or command modifier |:command|.
2020 Returns:
2021 1 for match with start of a command
2022 2 full match with a command
2023 3 matches several user commands
2024 To check for a supported command
2025 always check the return value to be 2.
2026 #event autocommand defined for this event
2027 #event#pattern autocommand defined for this event and
2028 pattern (the pattern is taken
2029 literally and compared to the
2030 autocommand patterns character by
2031 character)
2032 For checking for a supported feature use |has()|.
2033
2034 Examples: >
2035 exists("&shortname")
2036 exists("$HOSTNAME")
2037 exists("*strftime")
2038 exists("*s:MyFunc")
2039 exists("bufcount")
2040 exists(":Make")
2041 exists("#CursorHold");
2042 exists("#BufReadPre#*.gz")
2043< There must be no space between the symbol (&/$/*/#) and the
2044 name.
2045 Note that the argument must be a string, not the name of the
2046 variable itself! For example: >
2047 exists(bufcount)
2048< This doesn't check for existence of the "bufcount" variable,
2049 but gets the contents of "bufcount", and checks if that
2050 exists.
2051
2052expand({expr} [, {flag}]) *expand()*
2053 Expand wildcards and the following special keywords in {expr}.
2054 The result is a String.
2055
2056 When there are several matches, they are separated by <NL>
2057 characters. [Note: in version 5.0 a space was used, which
2058 caused problems when a file name contains a space]
2059
2060 If the expansion fails, the result is an empty string. A name
2061 for a non-existing file is not included.
2062
2063 When {expr} starts with '%', '#' or '<', the expansion is done
2064 like for the |cmdline-special| variables with their associated
2065 modifiers. Here is a short overview:
2066
2067 % current file name
2068 # alternate file name
2069 #n alternate file name n
2070 <cfile> file name under the cursor
2071 <afile> autocmd file name
2072 <abuf> autocmd buffer number (as a String!)
2073 <amatch> autocmd matched name
2074 <sfile> sourced script file name
2075 <cword> word under the cursor
2076 <cWORD> WORD under the cursor
2077 <client> the {clientid} of the last received
2078 message |server2client()|
2079 Modifiers:
2080 :p expand to full path
2081 :h head (last path component removed)
2082 :t tail (last path component only)
2083 :r root (one extension removed)
2084 :e extension only
2085
2086 Example: >
2087 :let &tags = expand("%:p:h") . "/tags"
2088< Note that when expanding a string that starts with '%', '#' or
2089 '<', any following text is ignored. This does NOT work: >
2090 :let doesntwork = expand("%:h.bak")
2091< Use this: >
2092 :let doeswork = expand("%:h") . ".bak"
2093< Also note that expanding "<cfile>" and others only returns the
2094 referenced file name without further expansion. If "<cfile>"
2095 is "~/.cshrc", you need to do another expand() to have the
2096 "~/" expanded into the path of the home directory: >
2097 :echo expand(expand("<cfile>"))
2098<
2099 There cannot be white space between the variables and the
2100 following modifier. The |fnamemodify()| function can be used
2101 to modify normal file names.
2102
2103 When using '%' or '#', and the current or alternate file name
2104 is not defined, an empty string is used. Using "%:p" in a
2105 buffer with no name, results in the current directory, with a
2106 '/' added.
2107
2108 When {expr} does not start with '%', '#' or '<', it is
2109 expanded like a file name is expanded on the command line.
2110 'suffixes' and 'wildignore' are used, unless the optional
2111 {flag} argument is given and it is non-zero. Names for
2112 non-existing files are included.
2113
2114 Expand() can also be used to expand variables and environment
2115 variables that are only known in a shell. But this can be
2116 slow, because a shell must be started. See |expr-env-expand|.
2117 The expanded variable is still handled like a list of file
2118 names. When an environment variable cannot be expanded, it is
2119 left unchanged. Thus ":echo expand('$FOOBAR')" results in
2120 "$FOOBAR".
2121
2122 See |glob()| for finding existing files. See |system()| for
2123 getting the raw output of an external command.
2124
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00002125extend({expr1}, {expr2} [, {expr3}]) *extend()*
2126 {expr1} and {expr2} must be both Lists or both Dictionaries.
2127
2128 If they are Lists: Append {expr2} to {expr1}.
2129 If {expr3} is given insert the items of {expr2} before item
2130 {expr3} in {expr1}. When {expr3} is zero insert before the
2131 first item. When {expr3} is equal to len({expr1}) then
2132 {expr2} is appended.
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +00002133 Examples: >
2134 :echo sort(extend(mylist, [7, 5]))
2135 :call extend(mylist, [2, 3], 1)
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00002136< Use |add()| to concatenate one item to a list. To concatenate
2137 two lists into a new list use the + operator: >
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +00002138 :let newlist = [1, 2, 3] + [4, 5]
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00002139<
2140 If they are Dictionaries:
2141 Add all entries from {expr2} to {expr1}.
2142 If a key exists in both {expr1} and {expr2} then {expr3} is
2143 used to decide what to do:
2144 {expr3} = "keep": keep the value of {expr1}
2145 {expr3} = "force": use the value of {expr2}
Bram Moolenaar383f9bc2005-01-19 22:18:32 +00002146 {expr3} = "error": give an error message *E737*
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00002147 When {expr3} is omitted then "force" is assumed.
2148
2149 {expr1} is changed when {expr2} is not empty. If necessary
2150 make a copy of {expr1} first.
2151 {expr2} remains unchanged.
2152 Returns {expr1}.
2153
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +00002154
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002155filereadable({file}) *filereadable()*
2156 The result is a Number, which is TRUE when a file with the
2157 name {file} exists, and can be read. If {file} doesn't exist,
2158 or is a directory, the result is FALSE. {file} is any
2159 expression, which is used as a String.
2160 *file_readable()*
2161 Obsolete name: file_readable().
2162
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00002163
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00002164filter({expr}, {string}) *filter()*
2165 {expr} must be a List or a Dictionary.
2166 For each item in {expr} evaluate {string} and when the result
2167 is zero remove the item from the List or Dictionary.
2168 Inside {string} |v:val| has the value of the current item.
2169 For a Dictionary |v:key| has the key of the current item.
2170 Examples: >
2171 :call filter(mylist, 'v:val !~ "OLD"')
2172< Removes the items where "OLD" appears. >
2173 :call filter(mydict, 'v:key >= 8')
2174< Removes the items with a key below 8. >
2175 :call filter(var, 0)
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +00002176< Removes all the items, thus clears the List or Dictionary.
2177
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00002178 Note that {string} is the result of expression and is then
2179 used as an expression again. Often it is good to use a
2180 |literal-string| to avoid having to double backslashes.
2181
2182 The operation is done in-place. If you want a List or
2183 Dictionary to remain unmodified make a copy first: >
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +00002184 :let l = filter(copy(mylist), '& =~ "KEEP"')
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00002185
2186< Returns {expr}, the List or Dictionary that was filtered.
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00002187
2188
Bram Moolenaar89cb5e02004-07-19 20:55:54 +00002189finddir({name}[, {path}[, {count}]]) *finddir()*
2190 Find directory {name} in {path}.
2191 If {path} is omitted or empty then 'path' is used.
2192 If the optional {count} is given, find {count}'s occurrence of
2193 {name} in {path}.
2194 This is quite similar to the ex-command |:find|.
2195 When the found directory is below the current directory a
2196 relative path is returned. Otherwise a full path is returned.
2197 Example: >
2198 :echo findfile("tags.vim", ".;")
2199< Searches from the current directory upwards until it finds
2200 the file "tags.vim".
2201 {only available when compiled with the +file_in_path feature}
2202
2203findfile({name}[, {path}[, {count}]]) *findfile()*
2204 Just like |finddir()|, but find a file instead of a directory.
2205
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002206filewritable({file}) *filewritable()*
2207 The result is a Number, which is 1 when a file with the
2208 name {file} exists, and can be written. If {file} doesn't
2209 exist, or is not writable, the result is 0. If (file) is a
2210 directory, and we can write to it, the result is 2.
2211
2212fnamemodify({fname}, {mods}) *fnamemodify()*
2213 Modify file name {fname} according to {mods}. {mods} is a
2214 string of characters like it is used for file names on the
2215 command line. See |filename-modifiers|.
2216 Example: >
2217 :echo fnamemodify("main.c", ":p:h")
2218< results in: >
2219 /home/mool/vim/vim/src
2220< Note: Environment variables and "~" don't work in {fname}, use
2221 |expand()| first then.
2222
2223foldclosed({lnum}) *foldclosed()*
2224 The result is a Number. If the line {lnum} is in a closed
2225 fold, the result is the number of the first line in that fold.
2226 If the line {lnum} is not in a closed fold, -1 is returned.
2227
2228foldclosedend({lnum}) *foldclosedend()*
2229 The result is a Number. If the line {lnum} is in a closed
2230 fold, the result is the number of the last line in that fold.
2231 If the line {lnum} is not in a closed fold, -1 is returned.
2232
2233foldlevel({lnum}) *foldlevel()*
2234 The result is a Number, which is the foldlevel of line {lnum}
2235 in the current buffer. For nested folds the deepest level is
2236 returned. If there is no fold at line {lnum}, zero is
2237 returned. It doesn't matter if the folds are open or closed.
2238 When used while updating folds (from 'foldexpr') -1 is
2239 returned for lines where folds are still to be updated and the
2240 foldlevel is unknown. As a special case the level of the
2241 previous line is usually available.
2242
2243 *foldtext()*
2244foldtext() Returns a String, to be displayed for a closed fold. This is
2245 the default function used for the 'foldtext' option and should
2246 only be called from evaluating 'foldtext'. It uses the
2247 |v:foldstart|, |v:foldend| and |v:folddashes| variables.
2248 The returned string looks like this: >
2249 +-- 45 lines: abcdef
2250< The number of dashes depends on the foldlevel. The "45" is
2251 the number of lines in the fold. "abcdef" is the text in the
2252 first non-blank line of the fold. Leading white space, "//"
2253 or "/*" and the text from the 'foldmarker' and 'commentstring'
2254 options is removed.
2255 {not available when compiled without the |+folding| feature}
2256
Bram Moolenaar7b0294c2004-10-11 10:16:09 +00002257foldtextresult({lnum}) *foldtextresult()*
2258 Returns the text that is displayed for the closed fold at line
2259 {lnum}. Evaluates 'foldtext' in the appropriate context.
2260 When there is no closed fold at {lnum} an empty string is
2261 returned.
2262 {lnum} is used like with |getline()|. Thus "." is the current
2263 line, "'m" mark m, etc.
2264 Useful when exporting folded text, e.g., to HTML.
2265 {not available when compiled without the |+folding| feature}
2266
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002267 *foreground()*
2268foreground() Move the Vim window to the foreground. Useful when sent from
2269 a client to a Vim server. |remote_send()|
2270 On Win32 systems this might not work, the OS does not always
2271 allow a window to bring itself to the foreground. Use
2272 |remote_foreground()| instead.
2273 {only in the Win32, Athena, Motif and GTK GUI versions and the
2274 Win32 console version}
2275
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00002276
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +00002277function({name}) *function()* *E700*
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00002278 Return a Funcref variable that refers to function {name}.
2279 {name} can be a user defined function or an internal function.
2280
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00002281
Bram Moolenaar677ee682005-01-27 14:41:15 +00002282get({list}, {idx} [, {default}]) *get()*
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00002283 Get item {idx} from List {list}. When this item is not
2284 available return {default}. Return zero when {default} is
2285 omitted.
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00002286get({dict}, {key} [, {default}])
2287 Get item with key {key} from Dictionary {dict}. When this
2288 item is not available return {default}. Return zero when
2289 {default} is omitted.
2290
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00002291
2292getbufvar({expr}, {varname}) *getbufvar()*
2293 The result is the value of option or local buffer variable
2294 {varname} in buffer {expr}. Note that the name without "b:"
2295 must be used.
2296 This also works for a global or local window option, but it
2297 doesn't work for a global or local window variable.
2298 For the use of {expr}, see |bufname()| above.
2299 When the buffer or variable doesn't exist an empty string is
2300 returned, there is no error message.
2301 Examples: >
2302 :let bufmodified = getbufvar(1, "&mod")
2303 :echo "todo myvar = " . getbufvar("todo", "myvar")
2304<
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002305getchar([expr]) *getchar()*
2306 Get a single character from the user. If it is an 8-bit
2307 character, the result is a number. Otherwise a String is
2308 returned with the encoded character. For a special key it's a
2309 sequence of bytes starting with 0x80 (decimal: 128).
2310 If [expr] is omitted, wait until a character is available.
2311 If [expr] is 0, only get a character when one is available.
2312 If [expr] is 1, only check if a character is available, it is
2313 not consumed. If a normal character is
2314 available, it is returned, otherwise a
2315 non-zero value is returned.
2316 If a normal character available, it is returned as a Number.
2317 Use nr2char() to convert it to a String.
2318 The returned value is zero if no character is available.
2319 The returned value is a string of characters for special keys
2320 and when a modifier (shift, control, alt) was used.
2321 There is no prompt, you will somehow have to make clear to the
2322 user that a character has to be typed.
2323 There is no mapping for the character.
2324 Key codes are replaced, thus when the user presses the <Del>
2325 key you get the code for the <Del> key, not the raw character
2326 sequence. Examples: >
2327 getchar() == "\<Del>"
2328 getchar() == "\<S-Left>"
2329< This example redefines "f" to ignore case: >
2330 :nmap f :call FindChar()<CR>
2331 :function FindChar()
2332 : let c = nr2char(getchar())
2333 : while col('.') < col('$') - 1
2334 : normal l
2335 : if getline('.')[col('.') - 1] ==? c
2336 : break
2337 : endif
2338 : endwhile
2339 :endfunction
2340
2341getcharmod() *getcharmod()*
2342 The result is a Number which is the state of the modifiers for
2343 the last obtained character with getchar() or in another way.
2344 These values are added together:
2345 2 shift
2346 4 control
2347 8 alt (meta)
2348 16 mouse double click
2349 32 mouse triple click
2350 64 mouse quadruple click
2351 128 Macintosh only: command
2352 Only the modifiers that have not been included in the
2353 character itself are obtained. Thus Shift-a results in "A"
2354 with no modifier.
2355
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002356getcmdline() *getcmdline()*
2357 Return the current command-line. Only works when the command
2358 line is being edited, thus requires use of |c_CTRL-\_e| or
2359 |c_CTRL-R_=|.
2360 Example: >
2361 :cmap <F7> <C-\>eescape(getcmdline(), ' \')<CR>
2362< Also see |getcmdpos()| and |setcmdpos()|.
2363
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00002364getcmdpos() *getcmdpos()*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002365 Return the position of the cursor in the command line as a
2366 byte count. The first column is 1.
2367 Only works when editing the command line, thus requires use of
2368 |c_CTRL-\_e| or |c_CTRL-R_=|. Returns 0 otherwise.
2369 Also see |setcmdpos()| and |getcmdline()|.
2370
2371 *getcwd()*
2372getcwd() The result is a String, which is the name of the current
2373 working directory.
2374
2375getfsize({fname}) *getfsize()*
2376 The result is a Number, which is the size in bytes of the
2377 given file {fname}.
2378 If {fname} is a directory, 0 is returned.
2379 If the file {fname} can't be found, -1 is returned.
2380
Bram Moolenaard8b0cf12004-12-12 11:33:30 +00002381getfontname([{name}]) *getfontname()*
2382 Without an argument returns the name of the normal font being
2383 used. Like what is used for the Normal highlight group
2384 |hl-Normal|.
2385 With an argument a check is done whether {name} is a valid
2386 font name. If not then an empty string is returned.
2387 Otherwise the actual font name is returned, or {name} if the
2388 GUI does not support obtaining the real name.
2389 Only works when the GUI is running, thus not you your vimrc or
2390 Note that the GTK 2 GUI accepts any font name, thus checking
2391 for a valid name does not work.
2392 gvimrc file. Use the |GUIEnter| autocommand to use this
2393 function just after the GUI has started.
2394
Bram Moolenaar5eb86f92004-07-26 12:53:41 +00002395getfperm({fname}) *getfperm()*
2396 The result is a String, which is the read, write, and execute
2397 permissions of the given file {fname}.
2398 If {fname} does not exist or its directory cannot be read, an
2399 empty string is returned.
2400 The result is of the form "rwxrwxrwx", where each group of
2401 "rwx" flags represent, in turn, the permissions of the owner
2402 of the file, the group the file belongs to, and other users.
2403 If a user does not have a given permission the flag for this
2404 is replaced with the string "-". Example: >
2405 :echo getfperm("/etc/passwd")
2406< This will hopefully (from a security point of view) display
2407 the string "rw-r--r--" or even "rw-------".
2408
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002409getftime({fname}) *getftime()*
2410 The result is a Number, which is the last modification time of
2411 the given file {fname}. The value is measured as seconds
2412 since 1st Jan 1970, and may be passed to strftime(). See also
2413 |localtime()| and |strftime()|.
2414 If the file {fname} can't be found -1 is returned.
2415
Bram Moolenaar5eb86f92004-07-26 12:53:41 +00002416getftype({fname}) *getftype()*
2417 The result is a String, which is a description of the kind of
2418 file of the given file {fname}.
2419 If {fname} does not exist an empty string is returned.
2420 Here is a table over different kinds of files and their
2421 results:
2422 Normal file "file"
2423 Directory "dir"
2424 Symbolic link "link"
2425 Block device "bdev"
2426 Character device "cdev"
2427 Socket "socket"
2428 FIFO "fifo"
2429 All other "other"
2430 Example: >
2431 getftype("/home")
2432< Note that a type such as "link" will only be returned on
2433 systems that support it. On some systems only "dir" and
2434 "file" are returned.
2435
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002436 *getline()*
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00002437getline({lnum} [, {end}])
2438 Without {end} the result is a String, which is line {lnum}
2439 from the current buffer. Example: >
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002440 getline(1)
2441< When {lnum} is a String that doesn't start with a
2442 digit, line() is called to translate the String into a Number.
2443 To get the line under the cursor: >
2444 getline(".")
2445< When {lnum} is smaller than 1 or bigger than the number of
2446 lines in the buffer, an empty string is returned.
2447
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00002448 When {end} is given the result is a List where each item is a
2449 line from the current buffer in the range {lnum} to {end},
2450 including line {end}.
2451 {end} is used in the same way as {lnum}.
2452 Non-existing lines are silently omitted.
2453 When {end} is before {lnum} an error is given.
2454 Example: >
2455 :let start = line('.')
2456 :let end = search("^$") - 1
2457 :let lines = getline(start, end)
2458
2459
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002460getreg([{regname}]) *getreg()*
2461 The result is a String, which is the contents of register
2462 {regname}. Example: >
2463 :let cliptext = getreg('*')
2464< getreg('=') returns the last evaluated value of the expression
2465 register. (For use in maps).
2466 If {regname} is not specified, |v:register| is used.
2467
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00002468
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002469getregtype([{regname}]) *getregtype()*
2470 The result is a String, which is type of register {regname}.
2471 The value will be one of:
2472 "v" for |characterwise| text
2473 "V" for |linewise| text
2474 "<CTRL-V>{width}" for |blockwise-visual| text
2475 0 for an empty or unknown register
2476 <CTRL-V> is one character with value 0x16.
2477 If {regname} is not specified, |v:register| is used.
2478
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00002479
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002480 *getwinposx()*
2481getwinposx() The result is a Number, which is the X coordinate in pixels of
2482 the left hand side of the GUI Vim window. The result will be
2483 -1 if the information is not available.
2484
2485 *getwinposy()*
2486getwinposy() The result is a Number, which is the Y coordinate in pixels of
2487 the top of the GUI Vim window. The result will be -1 if the
2488 information is not available.
2489
2490getwinvar({nr}, {varname}) *getwinvar()*
2491 The result is the value of option or local window variable
2492 {varname} in window {nr}.
2493 This also works for a global or local buffer option, but it
2494 doesn't work for a global or local buffer variable.
2495 Note that the name without "w:" must be used.
2496 Examples: >
2497 :let list_is_on = getwinvar(2, '&list')
2498 :echo "myvar = " . getwinvar(1, 'myvar')
2499<
2500 *glob()*
2501glob({expr}) Expand the file wildcards in {expr}. The result is a String.
2502 When there are several matches, they are separated by <NL>
2503 characters.
2504 If the expansion fails, the result is an empty string.
2505 A name for a non-existing file is not included.
2506
2507 For most systems backticks can be used to get files names from
2508 any external command. Example: >
2509 :let tagfiles = glob("`find . -name tags -print`")
2510 :let &tags = substitute(tagfiles, "\n", ",", "g")
2511< The result of the program inside the backticks should be one
2512 item per line. Spaces inside an item are allowed.
2513
2514 See |expand()| for expanding special Vim variables. See
2515 |system()| for getting the raw output of an external command.
2516
2517globpath({path}, {expr}) *globpath()*
2518 Perform glob() on all directories in {path} and concatenate
2519 the results. Example: >
2520 :echo globpath(&rtp, "syntax/c.vim")
2521< {path} is a comma-separated list of directory names. Each
2522 directory name is prepended to {expr} and expanded like with
2523 glob(). A path separator is inserted when needed.
2524 To add a comma inside a directory name escape it with a
2525 backslash. Note that on MS-Windows a directory may have a
2526 trailing backslash, remove it if you put a comma after it.
2527 If the expansion fails for one of the directories, there is no
2528 error message.
2529 The 'wildignore' option applies: Names matching one of the
2530 patterns in 'wildignore' will be skipped.
2531
2532 *has()*
2533has({feature}) The result is a Number, which is 1 if the feature {feature} is
2534 supported, zero otherwise. The {feature} argument is a
2535 string. See |feature-list| below.
2536 Also see |exists()|.
2537
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00002538
2539has_key({dict}, {key}) *has_key()*
2540 The result is a Number, which is 1 if Dictionary {dict} has an
2541 entry with key {key}. Zero otherwise.
2542
2543
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002544hasmapto({what} [, {mode}]) *hasmapto()*
2545 The result is a Number, which is 1 if there is a mapping that
2546 contains {what} in somewhere in the rhs (what it is mapped to)
2547 and this mapping exists in one of the modes indicated by
2548 {mode}.
2549 Both the global mappings and the mappings local to the current
2550 buffer are checked for a match.
2551 If no matching mapping is found 0 is returned.
2552 The following characters are recognized in {mode}:
2553 n Normal mode
2554 v Visual mode
2555 o Operator-pending mode
2556 i Insert mode
2557 l Language-Argument ("r", "f", "t", etc.)
2558 c Command-line mode
2559 When {mode} is omitted, "nvo" is used.
2560
2561 This function is useful to check if a mapping already exists
2562 to a function in a Vim script. Example: >
2563 :if !hasmapto('\ABCdoit')
2564 : map <Leader>d \ABCdoit
2565 :endif
2566< This installs the mapping to "\ABCdoit" only if there isn't
2567 already a mapping to "\ABCdoit".
2568
2569histadd({history}, {item}) *histadd()*
2570 Add the String {item} to the history {history} which can be
2571 one of: *hist-names*
2572 "cmd" or ":" command line history
2573 "search" or "/" search pattern history
2574 "expr" or "=" typed expression history
2575 "input" or "@" input line history
2576 If {item} does already exist in the history, it will be
2577 shifted to become the newest entry.
2578 The result is a Number: 1 if the operation was successful,
2579 otherwise 0 is returned.
2580
2581 Example: >
2582 :call histadd("input", strftime("%Y %b %d"))
2583 :let date=input("Enter date: ")
2584< This function is not available in the |sandbox|.
2585
2586histdel({history} [, {item}]) *histdel()*
2587 Clear {history}, ie. delete all its entries. See |hist-names|
2588 for the possible values of {history}.
2589
2590 If the parameter {item} is given as String, this is seen
2591 as regular expression. All entries matching that expression
2592 will be removed from the history (if there are any).
2593 Upper/lowercase must match, unless "\c" is used |/\c|.
2594 If {item} is a Number, it will be interpreted as index, see
2595 |:history-indexing|. The respective entry will be removed
2596 if it exists.
2597
2598 The result is a Number: 1 for a successful operation,
2599 otherwise 0 is returned.
2600
2601 Examples:
2602 Clear expression register history: >
2603 :call histdel("expr")
2604<
2605 Remove all entries starting with "*" from the search history: >
2606 :call histdel("/", '^\*')
2607<
2608 The following three are equivalent: >
2609 :call histdel("search", histnr("search"))
2610 :call histdel("search", -1)
2611 :call histdel("search", '^'.histget("search", -1).'$')
2612<
2613 To delete the last search pattern and use the last-but-one for
2614 the "n" command and 'hlsearch': >
2615 :call histdel("search", -1)
2616 :let @/ = histget("search", -1)
2617
2618histget({history} [, {index}]) *histget()*
2619 The result is a String, the entry with Number {index} from
2620 {history}. See |hist-names| for the possible values of
2621 {history}, and |:history-indexing| for {index}. If there is
2622 no such entry, an empty String is returned. When {index} is
2623 omitted, the most recent item from the history is used.
2624
2625 Examples:
2626 Redo the second last search from history. >
2627 :execute '/' . histget("search", -2)
2628
2629< Define an Ex command ":H {num}" that supports re-execution of
2630 the {num}th entry from the output of |:history|. >
2631 :command -nargs=1 H execute histget("cmd", 0+<args>)
2632<
2633histnr({history}) *histnr()*
2634 The result is the Number of the current entry in {history}.
2635 See |hist-names| for the possible values of {history}.
2636 If an error occurred, -1 is returned.
2637
2638 Example: >
2639 :let inp_index = histnr("expr")
2640<
2641hlexists({name}) *hlexists()*
2642 The result is a Number, which is non-zero if a highlight group
2643 called {name} exists. This is when the group has been
2644 defined in some way. Not necessarily when highlighting has
2645 been defined for it, it may also have been used for a syntax
2646 item.
2647 *highlight_exists()*
2648 Obsolete name: highlight_exists().
2649
2650 *hlID()*
2651hlID({name}) The result is a Number, which is the ID of the highlight group
2652 with name {name}. When the highlight group doesn't exist,
2653 zero is returned.
2654 This can be used to retrieve information about the highlight
2655 group. For example, to get the background color of the
2656 "Comment" group: >
2657 :echo synIDattr(synIDtrans(hlID("Comment")), "bg")
2658< *highlightID()*
2659 Obsolete name: highlightID().
2660
2661hostname() *hostname()*
2662 The result is a String, which is the name of the machine on
2663 which Vim is currently running. Machine names greater than
2664 256 characters long are truncated.
2665
2666iconv({expr}, {from}, {to}) *iconv()*
2667 The result is a String, which is the text {expr} converted
2668 from encoding {from} to encoding {to}.
2669 When the conversion fails an empty string is returned.
2670 The encoding names are whatever the iconv() library function
2671 can accept, see ":!man 3 iconv".
2672 Most conversions require Vim to be compiled with the |+iconv|
2673 feature. Otherwise only UTF-8 to latin1 conversion and back
2674 can be done.
2675 This can be used to display messages with special characters,
2676 no matter what 'encoding' is set to. Write the message in
2677 UTF-8 and use: >
2678 echo iconv(utf8_str, "utf-8", &enc)
2679< Note that Vim uses UTF-8 for all Unicode encodings, conversion
2680 from/to UCS-2 is automatically changed to use UTF-8. You
2681 cannot use UCS-2 in a string anyway, because of the NUL bytes.
2682 {only available when compiled with the +multi_byte feature}
2683
2684 *indent()*
2685indent({lnum}) The result is a Number, which is indent of line {lnum} in the
2686 current buffer. The indent is counted in spaces, the value
2687 of 'tabstop' is relevant. {lnum} is used just like in
2688 |getline()|.
2689 When {lnum} is invalid -1 is returned.
2690
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +00002691
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00002692index({list}, {expr} [, {start} [, {ic}]]) *index()*
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +00002693 Return the lowest index in List {list} where the item has a
2694 value equal to {expr}.
Bram Moolenaar748bf032005-02-02 23:04:36 +00002695 If {start} is given then start looking at the item with index
2696 {start} (may be negative for an item relative to the end).
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +00002697 When {ic} is given and it is non-zero, ignore case. Otherwise
2698 case must match.
2699 -1 is returned when {expr} is not found in {list}.
2700 Example: >
2701 :let idx = index(words, "the")
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +00002702 :if index(numbers, 123) >= 0
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +00002703
2704
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002705input({prompt} [, {text}]) *input()*
2706 The result is a String, which is whatever the user typed on
2707 the command-line. The parameter is either a prompt string, or
2708 a blank string (for no prompt). A '\n' can be used in the
2709 prompt to start a new line. The highlighting set with
2710 |:echohl| is used for the prompt. The input is entered just
2711 like a command-line, with the same editing commands and
2712 mappings. There is a separate history for lines typed for
2713 input().
2714 If the optional {text} is present, this is used for the
2715 default reply, as if the user typed this.
2716 NOTE: This must not be used in a startup file, for the
2717 versions that only run in GUI mode (e.g., the Win32 GUI).
2718 Note: When input() is called from within a mapping it will
2719 consume remaining characters from that mapping, because a
2720 mapping is handled like the characters were typed.
2721 Use |inputsave()| before input() and |inputrestore()|
2722 after input() to avoid that. Another solution is to avoid
2723 that further characters follow in the mapping, e.g., by using
2724 |:execute| or |:normal|.
2725
2726 Example: >
2727 :if input("Coffee or beer? ") == "beer"
2728 : echo "Cheers!"
2729 :endif
2730< Example with default text: >
2731 :let color = input("Color? ", "white")
2732< Example with a mapping: >
2733 :nmap \x :call GetFoo()<CR>:exe "/" . Foo<CR>
2734 :function GetFoo()
2735 : call inputsave()
2736 : let g:Foo = input("enter search pattern: ")
2737 : call inputrestore()
2738 :endfunction
2739
2740inputdialog({prompt} [, {text} [, {cancelreturn}]]) *inputdialog()*
2741 Like input(), but when the GUI is running and text dialogs are
2742 supported, a dialog window pops up to input the text.
2743 Example: >
2744 :let n = inputdialog("value for shiftwidth", &sw)
2745 :if n != ""
2746 : let &sw = n
2747 :endif
2748< When the dialog is cancelled {cancelreturn} is returned. When
2749 omitted an empty string is returned.
2750 Hitting <Enter> works like pressing the OK button. Hitting
2751 <Esc> works like pressing the Cancel button.
2752
2753inputrestore() *inputrestore()*
2754 Restore typeahead that was saved with a previous inputsave().
2755 Should be called the same number of times inputsave() is
2756 called. Calling it more often is harmless though.
2757 Returns 1 when there is nothing to restore, 0 otherwise.
2758
2759inputsave() *inputsave()*
2760 Preserve typeahead (also from mappings) and clear it, so that
2761 a following prompt gets input from the user. Should be
2762 followed by a matching inputrestore() after the prompt. Can
2763 be used several times, in which case there must be just as
2764 many inputrestore() calls.
2765 Returns 1 when out of memory, 0 otherwise.
2766
2767inputsecret({prompt} [, {text}]) *inputsecret()*
2768 This function acts much like the |input()| function with but
2769 two exceptions:
2770 a) the user's response will be displayed as a sequence of
2771 asterisks ("*") thereby keeping the entry secret, and
2772 b) the user's response will not be recorded on the input
2773 |history| stack.
2774 The result is a String, which is whatever the user actually
2775 typed on the command-line in response to the issued prompt.
2776
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00002777insert({list}, {item} [, {idx}]) *insert()*
2778 Insert {item} at the start of List {list}.
2779 If {idx} is specified insert {item} before the item with index
2780 {idx}. If {idx} is zero it goes before the first item, just
2781 like omitting {idx}. A negative {idx} is also possible, see
2782 |list-index|. -1 inserts just before the last item.
2783 Returns the resulting List. Examples: >
2784 :let mylist = insert([2, 3, 5], 1)
2785 :call insert(mylist, 4, -1)
2786 :call insert(mylist, 6, len(mylist))
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00002787< The last example can be done simpler with |add()|.
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00002788 Note that when {item} is a List it is inserted as a single
2789 item. Use |extend()| to concatenate Lists.
2790
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002791isdirectory({directory}) *isdirectory()*
2792 The result is a Number, which is non-zero when a directory
2793 with the name {directory} exists. If {directory} doesn't
2794 exist, or isn't a directory, the result is FALSE. {directory}
2795 is any expression, which is used as a String.
2796
Bram Moolenaar2ce06f62005-01-31 19:19:04 +00002797islocked({expr}) *islocked()*
2798 The result is a Number, which is non-zero when {expr} is the
2799 name of a locked variable.
2800 {expr} must be the name of a variable, List item or Dictionary
2801 entry, not the variable itself! Example: >
2802 :let alist = [0, ['a', 'b'], 2, 3]
2803 :lockvar 1 alist
2804 :echo islocked('alist') " 1
2805 :echo islocked('alist[1]') " 0
2806
2807< When {expr} is a variable that does not exist you get an error
2808 message. Use |exists()| to check for existance.
2809
Bram Moolenaar677ee682005-01-27 14:41:15 +00002810items({dict}) *items()*
2811 Return a List with all the key-value pairs of {dict}. Each
2812 List item is a list with two items: the key of a {dict} entry
2813 and the value of this entry. The List is in arbitrary order.
2814
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00002815
2816join({list} [, {sep}]) *join()*
2817 Join the items in {list} together into one String.
2818 When {sep} is specified it is put in between the items. If
2819 {sep} is omitted a single space is used.
2820 Note that {sep} is not added at the end. You might want to
2821 add it there too: >
2822 let lines = join(mylist, "\n") . "\n"
2823< String items are used as-is. Lists and Dictionaries are
2824 converted into a string like with |string()|.
2825 The opposite function is |split()|.
2826
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +00002827keys({dict}) *keys()*
2828 Return a List with all the keys of {dict}. The List is in
2829 arbitrary order.
2830
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +00002831 *len()* *E701*
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00002832len({expr}) The result is a Number, which is the length of the argument.
2833 When {expr} is a String or a Number the length in bytes is
2834 used, as with |strlen()|.
2835 When {expr} is a List the number of items in the List is
2836 returned.
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00002837 When {expr} is a Dictionary the number of entries in the
2838 Dictionary is returned.
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00002839 Otherwise an error is given.
2840
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002841 *libcall()* *E364* *E368*
2842libcall({libname}, {funcname}, {argument})
2843 Call function {funcname} in the run-time library {libname}
2844 with single argument {argument}.
2845 This is useful to call functions in a library that you
2846 especially made to be used with Vim. Since only one argument
2847 is possible, calling standard library functions is rather
2848 limited.
2849 The result is the String returned by the function. If the
2850 function returns NULL, this will appear as an empty string ""
2851 to Vim.
2852 If the function returns a number, use libcallnr()!
2853 If {argument} is a number, it is passed to the function as an
2854 int; if {argument} is a string, it is passed as a
2855 null-terminated string.
2856 This function will fail in |restricted-mode|.
2857
2858 libcall() allows you to write your own 'plug-in' extensions to
2859 Vim without having to recompile the program. It is NOT a
2860 means to call system functions! If you try to do so Vim will
2861 very probably crash.
2862
2863 For Win32, the functions you write must be placed in a DLL
2864 and use the normal C calling convention (NOT Pascal which is
2865 used in Windows System DLLs). The function must take exactly
2866 one parameter, either a character pointer or a long integer,
2867 and must return a character pointer or NULL. The character
2868 pointer returned must point to memory that will remain valid
2869 after the function has returned (e.g. in static data in the
2870 DLL). If it points to allocated memory, that memory will
2871 leak away. Using a static buffer in the function should work,
2872 it's then freed when the DLL is unloaded.
2873
2874 WARNING: If the function returns a non-valid pointer, Vim may
2875 crash! This also happens if the function returns a number,
2876 because Vim thinks it's a pointer.
2877 For Win32 systems, {libname} should be the filename of the DLL
2878 without the ".DLL" suffix. A full path is only required if
2879 the DLL is not in the usual places.
2880 For Unix: When compiling your own plugins, remember that the
2881 object code must be compiled as position-independent ('PIC').
2882 {only in Win32 on some Unix versions, when the |+libcall|
2883 feature is present}
2884 Examples: >
2885 :echo libcall("libc.so", "getenv", "HOME")
2886 :echo libcallnr("/usr/lib/libc.so", "getpid", "")
2887<
2888 *libcallnr()*
2889libcallnr({libname}, {funcname}, {argument})
2890 Just like libcall(), but used for a function that returns an
2891 int instead of a string.
2892 {only in Win32 on some Unix versions, when the |+libcall|
2893 feature is present}
2894 Example (not very useful...): >
2895 :call libcallnr("libc.so", "printf", "Hello World!\n")
2896 :call libcallnr("libc.so", "sleep", 10)
2897<
2898 *line()*
2899line({expr}) The result is a Number, which is the line number of the file
2900 position given with {expr}. The accepted positions are:
2901 . the cursor position
2902 $ the last line in the current buffer
2903 'x position of mark x (if the mark is not set, 0 is
2904 returned)
2905 Note that only marks in the current file can be used.
2906 Examples: >
2907 line(".") line number of the cursor
2908 line("'t") line number of mark t
2909 line("'" . marker) line number of mark marker
2910< *last-position-jump*
2911 This autocommand jumps to the last known position in a file
2912 just after opening it, if the '" mark is set: >
2913 :au BufReadPost * if line("'\"") > 0 && line("'\"") <= line("$") | exe "normal g'\"" | endif
Bram Moolenaar69a7cb42004-06-20 12:51:53 +00002914
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002915line2byte({lnum}) *line2byte()*
2916 Return the byte count from the start of the buffer for line
2917 {lnum}. This includes the end-of-line character, depending on
2918 the 'fileformat' option for the current buffer. The first
2919 line returns 1.
2920 This can also be used to get the byte count for the line just
2921 below the last line: >
2922 line2byte(line("$") + 1)
2923< This is the file size plus one.
2924 When {lnum} is invalid, or the |+byte_offset| feature has been
2925 disabled at compile time, -1 is returned.
2926 Also see |byte2line()|, |go| and |:goto|.
2927
2928lispindent({lnum}) *lispindent()*
2929 Get the amount of indent for line {lnum} according the lisp
2930 indenting rules, as with 'lisp'.
2931 The indent is counted in spaces, the value of 'tabstop' is
2932 relevant. {lnum} is used just like in |getline()|.
2933 When {lnum} is invalid or Vim was not compiled the
2934 |+lispindent| feature, -1 is returned.
2935
2936localtime() *localtime()*
2937 Return the current time, measured as seconds since 1st Jan
2938 1970. See also |strftime()| and |getftime()|.
2939
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00002940
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00002941map({expr}, {string}) *map()*
2942 {expr} must be a List or a Dictionary.
2943 Replace each item in {expr} with the result of evaluating
2944 {string}.
2945 Inside {string} |v:val| has the value of the current item.
2946 For a Dictionary |v:key| has the key of the current item.
2947 Example: >
2948 :call map(mylist, '"> " . v:val . " <"')
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00002949< This puts "> " before and " <" after each item in "mylist".
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00002950
Bram Moolenaar3a7c85b2005-02-05 21:39:53 +00002951 Note that {string} is the result of an expression and is then
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00002952 used as an expression again. Often it is good to use a
Bram Moolenaar3a7c85b2005-02-05 21:39:53 +00002953 |literal-string| to avoid having to double backslashes. You
2954 still have to double ' quotes
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00002955
2956 The operation is done in-place. If you want a List or
2957 Dictionary to remain unmodified make a copy first: >
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +00002958 :let tlist = map(copy(mylist), ' & . "\t"')
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00002959
2960< Returns {expr}, the List or Dictionary that was filtered.
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00002961
2962
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00002963maparg({name}[, {mode}]) *maparg()*
2964 Return the rhs of mapping {name} in mode {mode}. When there
2965 is no mapping for {name}, an empty String is returned.
2966 These characters can be used for {mode}:
2967 "n" Normal
2968 "v" Visual
2969 "o" Operator-pending
2970 "i" Insert
2971 "c" Cmd-line
2972 "l" langmap |language-mapping|
2973 "" Normal, Visual and Operator-pending
2974 When {mode} is omitted, the modes from "" are used.
2975 The {name} can have special key names, like in the ":map"
2976 command. The returned String has special characters
2977 translated like in the output of the ":map" command listing.
2978 The mappings local to the current buffer are checked first,
2979 then the global mappings.
2980
2981mapcheck({name}[, {mode}]) *mapcheck()*
2982 Check if there is a mapping that matches with {name} in mode
2983 {mode}. See |maparg()| for {mode} and special names in
2984 {name}.
2985 A match happens with a mapping that starts with {name} and
2986 with a mapping which is equal to the start of {name}.
2987
2988 matches mapping "a" "ab" "abc" ~
2989 mapcheck("a") yes yes yes
2990 mapcheck("abc") yes yes yes
2991 mapcheck("ax") yes no no
2992 mapcheck("b") no no no
2993
2994 The difference with maparg() is that mapcheck() finds a
2995 mapping that matches with {name}, while maparg() only finds a
2996 mapping for {name} exactly.
2997 When there is no mapping that starts with {name}, an empty
2998 String is returned. If there is one, the rhs of that mapping
2999 is returned. If there are several mappings that start with
3000 {name}, the rhs of one of them is returned.
3001 The mappings local to the current buffer are checked first,
3002 then the global mappings.
3003 This function can be used to check if a mapping can be added
3004 without being ambiguous. Example: >
3005 :if mapcheck("_vv") == ""
3006 : map _vv :set guifont=7x13<CR>
3007 :endif
3008< This avoids adding the "_vv" mapping when there already is a
3009 mapping for "_v" or for "_vvv".
3010
Bram Moolenaar89cb5e02004-07-19 20:55:54 +00003011match({expr}, {pat}[, {start}[, {count}]]) *match()*
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00003012 When {expr} is a List then this returns the index of the first
3013 item where {pat} matches. Each item is used as a String,
3014 Lists and Dictionaries are used as echoed.
3015 Otherwise, {expr} is used as a String. The result is a
3016 Number, which gives the index (byte offset) in {expr} where
3017 {pat} matches.
3018 A match at the first character or List item returns zero.
Bram Moolenaar89cb5e02004-07-19 20:55:54 +00003019 If there is no match -1 is returned.
3020 Example: >
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00003021 :echo match("testing", "ing") " results in 4
3022 :echo match([1, 'x'], '\a') " results in 2
3023< See |string-match| for how {pat} is used.
3024
Bram Moolenaar89cb5e02004-07-19 20:55:54 +00003025 When {count} is given use the {count}'th match. When a match
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00003026 is found in a String the search for the next one starts on
3027 character further. Thus this example results in 1: >
Bram Moolenaar89cb5e02004-07-19 20:55:54 +00003028 echo match("testing", "..", 0, 2)
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00003029< In a List the search continues in the next item.
3030
3031 If {start} is given, the search starts from byte index
3032 {start} in a String or item {start} in a List.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003033 The result, however, is still the index counted from the
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00003034 first character/item. Example: >
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003035 :echo match("testing", "ing", 2)
3036< result is again "4". >
3037 :echo match("testing", "ing", 4)
3038< result is again "4". >
3039 :echo match("testing", "t", 2)
3040< result is "3".
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00003041 For a String, if {start} < 0, it will be set to 0. For a list
3042 the index is counted from the end.
3043 If {start} is out of range (> strlen({expr} for a String or
3044 > len({expr} for a List) -1 is returned.
3045
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003046 See |pattern| for the patterns that are accepted.
3047 The 'ignorecase' option is used to set the ignore-caseness of
3048 the pattern. 'smartcase' is NOT used. The matching is always
3049 done like 'magic' is set and 'cpoptions' is empty.
3050
Bram Moolenaar89cb5e02004-07-19 20:55:54 +00003051matchend({expr}, {pat}[, {start}[, {count}]]) *matchend()*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003052 Same as match(), but return the index of first character after
3053 the match. Example: >
3054 :echo matchend("testing", "ing")
3055< results in "7".
3056 The {start}, if given, has the same meaning as for match(). >
3057 :echo matchend("testing", "ing", 2)
3058< results in "7". >
3059 :echo matchend("testing", "ing", 5)
3060< result is "-1".
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00003061 When {expr} is a List the result is equal to match().
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003062
Bram Moolenaar3a7c85b2005-02-05 21:39:53 +00003063matchlist({expr}, {pat}[, {start}[, {count}]]) *matchlist()*
3064 Same as match(), but return a List. The first item in the
3065 list is the matched string, same as what matchstr() would
3066 return. Following items are submatches, like "\1", "\2", etc.
3067 in |:substitute|.
3068 When there is no match an empty list is returned.
3069
Bram Moolenaar89cb5e02004-07-19 20:55:54 +00003070matchstr({expr}, {pat}[, {start}[, {count}]]) *matchstr()*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003071 Same as match(), but return the matched string. Example: >
3072 :echo matchstr("testing", "ing")
3073< results in "ing".
3074 When there is no match "" is returned.
3075 The {start}, if given, has the same meaning as for match(). >
3076 :echo matchstr("testing", "ing", 2)
3077< results in "ing". >
3078 :echo matchstr("testing", "ing", 5)
3079< result is "".
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00003080 When {expr} is a List then the matching item is returned.
3081 The type isn't changed, it's not necessarily a String.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003082
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +00003083 *max()*
3084max({list}) Return the maximum value of all items in {list}.
3085 If {list} is not a list or one of the items in {list} cannot
3086 be used as a Number this results in an error.
3087 An empty List results in zero.
3088
3089 *min()*
3090min({list}) Return the minumum value of all items in {list}.
3091 If {list} is not a list or one of the items in {list} cannot
3092 be used as a Number this results in an error.
3093 An empty List results in zero.
3094
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003095 *mode()*
3096mode() Return a string that indicates the current mode:
3097 n Normal
3098 v Visual by character
3099 V Visual by line
3100 CTRL-V Visual blockwise
3101 s Select by character
3102 S Select by line
3103 CTRL-S Select blockwise
3104 i Insert
3105 R Replace
3106 c Command-line
3107 r Hit-enter prompt
3108 This is useful in the 'statusline' option. In most other
3109 places it always returns "c" or "n".
3110
3111nextnonblank({lnum}) *nextnonblank()*
3112 Return the line number of the first line at or below {lnum}
3113 that is not blank. Example: >
3114 if getline(nextnonblank(1)) =~ "Java"
3115< When {lnum} is invalid or there is no non-blank line at or
3116 below it, zero is returned.
3117 See also |prevnonblank()|.
3118
3119nr2char({expr}) *nr2char()*
3120 Return a string with a single character, which has the number
3121 value {expr}. Examples: >
3122 nr2char(64) returns "@"
3123 nr2char(32) returns " "
3124< The current 'encoding' is used. Example for "utf-8": >
3125 nr2char(300) returns I with bow character
3126< Note that a NUL character in the file is specified with
3127 nr2char(10), because NULs are represented with newline
3128 characters. nr2char(0) is a real NUL and terminates the
Bram Moolenaar383f9bc2005-01-19 22:18:32 +00003129 string, thus results in an empty string.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003130
3131prevnonblank({lnum}) *prevnonblank()*
3132 Return the line number of the first line at or above {lnum}
3133 that is not blank. Example: >
3134 let ind = indent(prevnonblank(v:lnum - 1))
3135< When {lnum} is invalid or there is no non-blank line at or
3136 above it, zero is returned.
3137 Also see |nextnonblank()|.
3138
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00003139 *E726* *E727*
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +00003140range({expr} [, {max} [, {stride}]]) *range()*
3141 Returns a List with Numbers:
3142 - If only {expr} is specified: [0, 1, ..., {expr} - 1]
3143 - If {max} is specified: [{expr}, {expr} + 1, ..., {max}]
3144 - If {stride} is specified: [{expr}, {expr} + {stride}, ...,
3145 {max}] (increasing {expr} with {stride} each time, not
3146 producing a value past {max}).
3147 Examples: >
3148 range(4) " [0, 1, 2, 3]
3149 range(2, 4) " [2, 3, 4]
3150 range(2, 9, 3) " [2, 5, 8]
3151 range(2, -2, -1) " [2, 1, 0, -1, -2]
3152<
Bram Moolenaar3a7c85b2005-02-05 21:39:53 +00003153 *readfile()*
3154readfile({fname} [, {binary}])
3155 Read file {fname} and return a List, each line of the file as
3156 an item. Lines broken at NL characters. Macintosh files
3157 separated with CR will result in a single long line (unless a
3158 NL appears somewhere).
3159 When {binary} is equal to "b" binary mode is used:
3160 - When the last line ends in a NL an extra empty list item is
3161 added.
3162 - No CR characters are removed.
3163 Otherwise:
3164 - CR characters that appear before a NL are removed.
3165 - Whether the last line ends in a NL or not does not matter.
3166 All NUL characters are replaced with a NL character.
3167 Note that the whole file is read into memory and there is no
3168 recognition of encoding. Read a file into a buffer if you
3169 need to.
3170 When the file can't be opened an error message is given and
3171 the result is an empty list.
3172 Also see |writefile()|.
3173
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003174 *remote_expr()* *E449*
3175remote_expr({server}, {string} [, {idvar}])
3176 Send the {string} to {server}. The string is sent as an
3177 expression and the result is returned after evaluation.
3178 If {idvar} is present, it is taken as the name of a
3179 variable and a {serverid} for later use with
3180 remote_read() is stored there.
3181 See also |clientserver| |RemoteReply|.
3182 This function is not available in the |sandbox|.
3183 {only available when compiled with the |+clientserver| feature}
3184 Note: Any errors will cause a local error message to be issued
3185 and the result will be the empty string.
3186 Examples: >
3187 :echo remote_expr("gvim", "2+2")
3188 :echo remote_expr("gvim1", "b:current_syntax")
3189<
3190
3191remote_foreground({server}) *remote_foreground()*
3192 Move the Vim server with the name {server} to the foreground.
3193 This works like: >
3194 remote_expr({server}, "foreground()")
3195< Except that on Win32 systems the client does the work, to work
3196 around the problem that the OS doesn't always allow the server
3197 to bring itself to the foreground.
3198 This function is not available in the |sandbox|.
3199 {only in the Win32, Athena, Motif and GTK GUI versions and the
3200 Win32 console version}
3201
3202
3203remote_peek({serverid} [, {retvar}]) *remote_peek()*
3204 Returns a positive number if there are available strings
3205 from {serverid}. Copies any reply string into the variable
3206 {retvar} if specified. {retvar} must be a string with the
3207 name of a variable.
3208 Returns zero if none are available.
3209 Returns -1 if something is wrong.
3210 See also |clientserver|.
3211 This function is not available in the |sandbox|.
3212 {only available when compiled with the |+clientserver| feature}
3213 Examples: >
3214 :let repl = ""
3215 :echo "PEEK: ".remote_peek(id, "repl").": ".repl
3216
3217remote_read({serverid}) *remote_read()*
3218 Return the oldest available reply from {serverid} and consume
3219 it. It blocks until a reply is available.
3220 See also |clientserver|.
3221 This function is not available in the |sandbox|.
3222 {only available when compiled with the |+clientserver| feature}
3223 Example: >
3224 :echo remote_read(id)
3225<
3226 *remote_send()* *E241*
3227remote_send({server}, {string} [, {idvar}])
Bram Moolenaard4755bb2004-09-02 19:12:26 +00003228 Send the {string} to {server}. The string is sent as input
3229 keys and the function returns immediately. At the Vim server
3230 the keys are not mapped |:map|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003231 If {idvar} is present, it is taken as the name of a
3232 variable and a {serverid} for later use with
3233 remote_read() is stored there.
3234 See also |clientserver| |RemoteReply|.
3235 This function is not available in the |sandbox|.
3236 {only available when compiled with the |+clientserver| feature}
3237 Note: Any errors will be reported in the server and may mess
3238 up the display.
3239 Examples: >
3240 :echo remote_send("gvim", ":DropAndReply ".file, "serverid").
3241 \ remote_read(serverid)
3242
3243 :autocmd NONE RemoteReply *
3244 \ echo remote_read(expand("<amatch>"))
3245 :echo remote_send("gvim", ":sleep 10 | echo ".
3246 \ 'server2client(expand("<client>"), "HELLO")<CR>')
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00003247<
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +00003248remove({list}, {idx} [, {end}]) *remove()*
3249 Without {end}: Remove the item at {idx} from List {list} and
3250 return it.
3251 With {end}: Remove items from {idx} to {end} (inclusive) and
3252 return a list with these items. When {idx} points to the same
3253 item as {end} a list with one item is returned. When {end}
3254 points to an item before {idx} this is an error.
3255 See |list-index| for possible values of {idx} and {end}.
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00003256 Example: >
3257 :echo "last item: " . remove(mylist, -1)
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +00003258 :call remove(mylist, 0, 9)
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +00003259remove({dict}, {key})
3260 Remove the entry from {dict} with key {key}. Example: >
3261 :echo "removed " . remove(dict, "one")
3262< If there is no {key} in {dict} this is an error.
3263
3264 Use |delete()| to remove a file.
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00003265
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003266rename({from}, {to}) *rename()*
3267 Rename the file by the name {from} to the name {to}. This
3268 should also work to move files across file systems. The
3269 result is a Number, which is 0 if the file was renamed
3270 successfully, and non-zero when the renaming failed.
3271 This function is not available in the |sandbox|.
3272
Bram Moolenaarab79bcb2004-07-18 21:34:53 +00003273repeat({expr}, {count}) *repeat()*
3274 Repeat {expr} {count} times and return the concatenated
3275 result. Example: >
3276 :let seperator = repeat('-', 80)
3277< When {count} is zero or negative the result is empty.
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +00003278 When {expr} is a List the result is {expr} concatenated
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +00003279 {count} times. Example: >
3280 :let longlist = repeat(['a', 'b'], 3)
3281< Results in ['a', 'b', 'a', 'b', 'a', 'b'].
Bram Moolenaarab79bcb2004-07-18 21:34:53 +00003282
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00003283
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003284resolve({filename}) *resolve()* *E655*
3285 On MS-Windows, when {filename} is a shortcut (a .lnk file),
3286 returns the path the shortcut points to in a simplified form.
3287 On Unix, repeat resolving symbolic links in all path
3288 components of {filename} and return the simplified result.
3289 To cope with link cycles, resolving of symbolic links is
3290 stopped after 100 iterations.
3291 On other systems, return the simplified {filename}.
3292 The simplification step is done as by |simplify()|.
3293 resolve() keeps a leading path component specifying the
3294 current directory (provided the result is still a relative
3295 path name) and also keeps a trailing path separator.
3296
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00003297 *reverse()*
3298reverse({list}) Reverse the order of items in {list} in-place. Returns
3299 {list}.
3300 If you want a list to remain unmodified make a copy first: >
3301 :let revlist = reverse(copy(mylist))
3302
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003303search({pattern} [, {flags}]) *search()*
3304 Search for regexp pattern {pattern}. The search starts at the
Bram Moolenaar383f9bc2005-01-19 22:18:32 +00003305 cursor position (you can use |cursor()| to set it).
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003306 {flags} is a String, which can contain these character flags:
3307 'b' search backward instead of forward
Bram Moolenaar5eb86f92004-07-26 12:53:41 +00003308 'n' do Not move the cursor
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003309 'w' wrap around the end of the file
3310 'W' don't wrap around the end of the file
3311 If neither 'w' or 'W' is given, the 'wrapscan' option applies.
3312
Bram Moolenaar5eb86f92004-07-26 12:53:41 +00003313 When a match has been found its line number is returned.
3314 The cursor will be positioned at the match, unless the 'n'
3315 flag is used).
3316 If there is no match a 0 is returned and the cursor doesn't
3317 move. No error message is given.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003318
3319 Example (goes over all files in the argument list): >
3320 :let n = 1
3321 :while n <= argc() " loop over all files in arglist
3322 : exe "argument " . n
3323 : " start at the last char in the file and wrap for the
3324 : " first search to find match at start of file
3325 : normal G$
3326 : let flags = "w"
3327 : while search("foo", flags) > 0
3328 : s/foo/bar/g
3329 : let flags = "W"
3330 : endwhile
3331 : update " write the file if modified
3332 : let n = n + 1
3333 :endwhile
3334<
3335 *searchpair()*
3336searchpair({start}, {middle}, {end} [, {flags} [, {skip}]])
3337 Search for the match of a nested start-end pair. This can be
3338 used to find the "endif" that matches an "if", while other
3339 if/endif pairs in between are ignored.
3340 The search starts at the cursor. If a match is found, the
3341 cursor is positioned at it and the line number is returned.
3342 If no match is found 0 or -1 is returned and the cursor
3343 doesn't move. No error message is given.
3344
3345 {start}, {middle} and {end} are patterns, see |pattern|. They
3346 must not contain \( \) pairs. Use of \%( \) is allowed. When
3347 {middle} is not empty, it is found when searching from either
3348 direction, but only when not in a nested start-end pair. A
3349 typical use is: >
3350 searchpair('\<if\>', '\<else\>', '\<endif\>')
3351< By leaving {middle} empty the "else" is skipped.
3352
3353 {flags} are used like with |search()|. Additionally:
3354 'n' do Not move the cursor
3355 'r' Repeat until no more matches found; will find the
3356 outer pair
3357 'm' return number of Matches instead of line number with
3358 the match; will only be > 1 when 'r' is used.
3359
3360 When a match for {start}, {middle} or {end} is found, the
3361 {skip} expression is evaluated with the cursor positioned on
3362 the start of the match. It should return non-zero if this
3363 match is to be skipped. E.g., because it is inside a comment
3364 or a string.
3365 When {skip} is omitted or empty, every match is accepted.
3366 When evaluating {skip} causes an error the search is aborted
3367 and -1 returned.
3368
3369 The value of 'ignorecase' is used. 'magic' is ignored, the
3370 patterns are used like it's on.
3371
3372 The search starts exactly at the cursor. A match with
3373 {start}, {middle} or {end} at the next character, in the
3374 direction of searching, is the first one found. Example: >
3375 if 1
3376 if 2
3377 endif 2
3378 endif 1
3379< When starting at the "if 2", with the cursor on the "i", and
3380 searching forwards, the "endif 2" is found. When starting on
3381 the character just before the "if 2", the "endif 1" will be
3382 found. That's because the "if 2" will be found first, and
3383 then this is considered to be a nested if/endif from "if 2" to
3384 "endif 2".
3385 When searching backwards and {end} is more than one character,
3386 it may be useful to put "\zs" at the end of the pattern, so
3387 that when the cursor is inside a match with the end it finds
3388 the matching start.
3389
3390 Example, to find the "endif" command in a Vim script: >
3391
3392 :echo searchpair('\<if\>', '\<el\%[seif]\>', '\<en\%[dif]\>', 'W',
3393 \ 'getline(".") =~ "^\\s*\""')
3394
3395< The cursor must be at or after the "if" for which a match is
3396 to be found. Note that single-quote strings are used to avoid
3397 having to double the backslashes. The skip expression only
3398 catches comments at the start of a line, not after a command.
3399 Also, a word "en" or "if" halfway a line is considered a
3400 match.
3401 Another example, to search for the matching "{" of a "}": >
3402
3403 :echo searchpair('{', '', '}', 'bW')
3404
3405< This works when the cursor is at or before the "}" for which a
3406 match is to be found. To reject matches that syntax
3407 highlighting recognized as strings: >
3408
3409 :echo searchpair('{', '', '}', 'bW',
3410 \ 'synIDattr(synID(line("."), col("."), 0), "name") =~? "string"')
3411<
3412server2client( {clientid}, {string}) *server2client()*
3413 Send a reply string to {clientid}. The most recent {clientid}
3414 that sent a string can be retrieved with expand("<client>").
3415 {only available when compiled with the |+clientserver| feature}
3416 Note:
3417 This id has to be stored before the next command can be
3418 received. Ie. before returning from the received command and
3419 before calling any commands that waits for input.
3420 See also |clientserver|.
3421 Example: >
3422 :echo server2client(expand("<client>"), "HELLO")
3423<
3424serverlist() *serverlist()*
3425 Return a list of available server names, one per line.
3426 When there are no servers or the information is not available
3427 an empty string is returned. See also |clientserver|.
3428 {only available when compiled with the |+clientserver| feature}
3429 Example: >
3430 :echo serverlist()
3431<
3432setbufvar({expr}, {varname}, {val}) *setbufvar()*
3433 Set option or local variable {varname} in buffer {expr} to
3434 {val}.
3435 This also works for a global or local window option, but it
3436 doesn't work for a global or local window variable.
3437 For a local window option the global value is unchanged.
3438 For the use of {expr}, see |bufname()| above.
3439 Note that the variable name without "b:" must be used.
3440 Examples: >
3441 :call setbufvar(1, "&mod", 1)
3442 :call setbufvar("todo", "myvar", "foobar")
3443< This function is not available in the |sandbox|.
3444
3445setcmdpos({pos}) *setcmdpos()*
3446 Set the cursor position in the command line to byte position
3447 {pos}. The first position is 1.
3448 Use |getcmdpos()| to obtain the current position.
3449 Only works while editing the command line, thus you must use
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +00003450 |c_CTRL-\_e|, |c_CTRL-R_=| or |c_CTRL-R_CTRL-R| with '='. For
3451 |c_CTRL-\_e| and |c_CTRL-R_CTRL-R| with '=' the position is
3452 set after the command line is set to the expression. For
3453 |c_CTRL-R_=| it is set after evaluating the expression but
3454 before inserting the resulting text.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003455 When the number is too big the cursor is put at the end of the
3456 line. A number smaller than one has undefined results.
3457 Returns 0 when successful, 1 when not editing the command
3458 line.
3459
3460setline({lnum}, {line}) *setline()*
3461 Set line {lnum} of the current buffer to {line}. If this
3462 succeeds, 0 is returned. If this fails (most likely because
3463 {lnum} is invalid) 1 is returned. Example: >
3464 :call setline(5, strftime("%c"))
3465< Note: The '[ and '] marks are not set.
3466
3467 *setreg()*
3468setreg({regname}, {value} [,{options}])
3469 Set the register {regname} to {value}.
3470 If {options} contains "a" or {regname} is upper case,
3471 then the value is appended.
3472 {options} can also contains a register type specification:
3473 "c" or "v" |characterwise| mode
3474 "l" or "V" |linewise| mode
3475 "b" or "<CTRL-V>" |blockwise-visual| mode
3476 If a number immediately follows "b" or "<CTRL-V>" then this is
3477 used as the width of the selection - if it is not specified
3478 then the width of the block is set to the number of characters
3479 in the longest line (counting a <TAB> as 1 character).
3480
3481 If {options} contains no register settings, then the default
3482 is to use character mode unless {value} ends in a <NL>.
3483 Setting the '=' register is not possible.
3484 Returns zero for success, non-zero for failure.
3485
3486 Examples: >
3487 :call setreg(v:register, @*)
3488 :call setreg('*', @%, 'ac')
3489 :call setreg('a', "1\n2\n3", 'b5')
3490
3491< This example shows using the functions to save and restore a
3492 register. >
3493 :let var_a = getreg('a')
3494 :let var_amode = getregtype('a')
3495 ....
3496 :call setreg('a', var_a, var_amode)
3497
3498< You can also change the type of a register by appending
3499 nothing: >
3500 :call setreg('a', '', 'al')
3501
3502setwinvar({nr}, {varname}, {val}) *setwinvar()*
3503 Set option or local variable {varname} in window {nr} to
3504 {val}.
3505 This also works for a global or local buffer option, but it
3506 doesn't work for a global or local buffer variable.
3507 For a local buffer option the global value is unchanged.
3508 Note that the variable name without "w:" must be used.
3509 Examples: >
3510 :call setwinvar(1, "&list", 0)
3511 :call setwinvar(2, "myvar", "foobar")
3512< This function is not available in the |sandbox|.
3513
3514simplify({filename}) *simplify()*
3515 Simplify the file name as much as possible without changing
3516 the meaning. Shortcuts (on MS-Windows) or symbolic links (on
3517 Unix) are not resolved. If the first path component in
3518 {filename} designates the current directory, this will be
3519 valid for the result as well. A trailing path separator is
3520 not removed either.
3521 Example: >
3522 simplify("./dir/.././/file/") == "./file/"
3523< Note: The combination "dir/.." is only removed if "dir" is
3524 a searchable directory or does not exist. On Unix, it is also
3525 removed when "dir" is a symbolic link within the same
3526 directory. In order to resolve all the involved symbolic
3527 links before simplifying the path name, use |resolve()|.
3528
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00003529
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +00003530sort({list} [, {func}]) *sort()* *E702*
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00003531 Sort the items in {list} in-place. Returns {list}. If you
3532 want a list to remain unmodified make a copy first: >
3533 :let sortedlist = sort(copy(mylist))
3534< Uses the string representation of each item to sort on.
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00003535 Numbers sort after Strings, Lists after Numbers.
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00003536 When {func} is given and it is one then case is ignored.
3537 When {func} is a Funcref or a function name, this function is
3538 called to compare items. The function is invoked with two
3539 items as argument and must return zero if they are equal, 1 if
3540 the first one sorts after the second one, -1 if the first one
3541 sorts before the second one. Example: >
3542 func MyCompare(i1, i2)
3543 return a:i1 == a:i2 ? 0 : a:i1 > a:i2 ? 1 : -1
3544 endfunc
3545 let sortedlist = sort(mylist, "MyCompare")
3546
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00003547split({expr} [, {pattern}]) *split()*
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00003548 Make a List out of {expr}. When {pattern} is omitted each
3549 white-separated sequence of characters becomes an item.
3550 Otherwise the string is split where {pattern} matches,
3551 removing the matched characters. Empty strings are omitted.
3552 Example: >
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00003553 :let words = split(getline('.'), '\W\+')
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00003554< Since empty strings are not added the "\+" isn't required but
3555 it makes the function work a bit faster.
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00003556 The opposite function is |join()|.
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00003557
3558
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003559strftime({format} [, {time}]) *strftime()*
3560 The result is a String, which is a formatted date and time, as
3561 specified by the {format} string. The given {time} is used,
3562 or the current time if no time is given. The accepted
3563 {format} depends on your system, thus this is not portable!
3564 See the manual page of the C function strftime() for the
3565 format. The maximum length of the result is 80 characters.
3566 See also |localtime()| and |getftime()|.
3567 The language can be changed with the |:language| command.
3568 Examples: >
3569 :echo strftime("%c") Sun Apr 27 11:49:23 1997
3570 :echo strftime("%Y %b %d %X") 1997 Apr 27 11:53:25
3571 :echo strftime("%y%m%d %T") 970427 11:53:55
3572 :echo strftime("%H:%M") 11:55
3573 :echo strftime("%c", getftime("file.c"))
3574 Show mod time of file.c.
Bram Moolenaara14de3d2005-01-07 21:48:26 +00003575< Not available on all systems. To check use: >
3576 :if exists("*strftime")
3577
Bram Moolenaar8f999f12005-01-25 22:12:55 +00003578stridx({haystack}, {needle} [, {start}]) *stridx()*
3579 The result is a Number, which gives the byte index in
3580 {haystack} of the first occurrence of the String {needle}.
Bram Moolenaar677ee682005-01-27 14:41:15 +00003581 If {start} is specified, the search starts at index {start}.
3582 This can be used to find a second match: >
3583 :let comma1 = stridx(line, ",")
3584 :let comma2 = stridx(line, ",", comma1 + 1)
3585< The search is done case-sensitive.
Bram Moolenaar8f999f12005-01-25 22:12:55 +00003586 For pattern searches use |match()|.
3587 -1 is returned if the {needle} does not occur in {haystack}.
Bram Moolenaar677ee682005-01-27 14:41:15 +00003588 See also |strridx()|.
3589 Examples: >
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003590 :echo stridx("An Example", "Example") 3
3591 :echo stridx("Starting point", "Start") 0
3592 :echo stridx("Starting point", "start") -1
3593<
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00003594 *string()*
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00003595string({expr}) Return {expr} converted to a String. If {expr} is a Number,
3596 String or a composition of them, then the result can be parsed
3597 back with |eval()|.
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00003598 {expr} type result ~
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +00003599 String 'string'
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00003600 Number 123
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +00003601 Funcref function('name')
Bram Moolenaar5f2bb9f2005-01-11 21:29:04 +00003602 List [item, item]
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +00003603 Note that in String values the ' character is doubled.
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00003604
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003605 *strlen()*
3606strlen({expr}) The result is a Number, which is the length of the String
3607 {expr} in bytes. If you want to count the number of
3608 multi-byte characters use something like this: >
3609
3610 :let len = strlen(substitute(str, ".", "x", "g"))
3611
3612< Composing characters are not counted.
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00003613 If the argument is a Number it is first converted to a String.
3614 For other types an error is given.
3615 Also see |len()|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003616
3617strpart({src}, {start}[, {len}]) *strpart()*
3618 The result is a String, which is part of {src}, starting from
3619 byte {start}, with the length {len}.
3620 When non-existing bytes are included, this doesn't result in
3621 an error, the bytes are simply omitted.
3622 If {len} is missing, the copy continues from {start} till the
3623 end of the {src}. >
3624 strpart("abcdefg", 3, 2) == "de"
3625 strpart("abcdefg", -2, 4) == "ab"
3626 strpart("abcdefg", 5, 4) == "fg"
3627 strpart("abcdefg", 3) == "defg"
3628< Note: To get the first character, {start} must be 0. For
3629 example, to get three bytes under and after the cursor: >
3630 strpart(getline(line(".")), col(".") - 1, 3)
3631<
Bram Moolenaar677ee682005-01-27 14:41:15 +00003632strridx({haystack}, {needle} [, {start}]) *strridx()*
3633 The result is a Number, which gives the byte index in
3634 {haystack} of the last occurrence of the String {needle}.
3635 When {start} is specified, matches beyond this index are
3636 ignored. This can be used to find a match before a previous
3637 match: >
3638 :let lastcomma = strridx(line, ",")
3639 :let comma2 = strridx(line, ",", lastcomma - 1)
3640< The search is done case-sensitive.
Bram Moolenaar8f999f12005-01-25 22:12:55 +00003641 For pattern searches use |match()|.
3642 -1 is returned if the {needle} does not occur in {haystack}.
Bram Moolenaard4755bb2004-09-02 19:12:26 +00003643 If the {needle} is empty the length of {haystack} is returned.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003644 See also |stridx()|. Examples: >
3645 :echo strridx("an angry armadillo", "an") 3
3646<
3647strtrans({expr}) *strtrans()*
3648 The result is a String, which is {expr} with all unprintable
3649 characters translated into printable characters |'isprint'|.
3650 Like they are shown in a window. Example: >
3651 echo strtrans(@a)
3652< This displays a newline in register a as "^@" instead of
3653 starting a new line.
3654
3655submatch({nr}) *submatch()*
3656 Only for an expression in a |:substitute| command. Returns
3657 the {nr}'th submatch of the matched text. When {nr} is 0
3658 the whole matched text is returned.
3659 Example: >
3660 :s/\d\+/\=submatch(0) + 1/
3661< This finds the first number in the line and adds one to it.
3662 A line break is included as a newline character.
3663
3664substitute({expr}, {pat}, {sub}, {flags}) *substitute()*
3665 The result is a String, which is a copy of {expr}, in which
3666 the first match of {pat} is replaced with {sub}. This works
3667 like the ":substitute" command (without any flags). But the
3668 matching with {pat} is always done like the 'magic' option is
3669 set and 'cpoptions' is empty (to make scripts portable).
3670 See |string-match| for how {pat} is used.
3671 And a "~" in {sub} is not replaced with the previous {sub}.
3672 Note that some codes in {sub} have a special meaning
3673 |sub-replace-special|. For example, to replace something with
3674 "\n" (two characters), use "\\\\n" or '\\n'.
3675 When {pat} does not match in {expr}, {expr} is returned
3676 unmodified.
3677 When {flags} is "g", all matches of {pat} in {expr} are
3678 replaced. Otherwise {flags} should be "".
3679 Example: >
3680 :let &path = substitute(&path, ",\\=[^,]*$", "", "")
3681< This removes the last component of the 'path' option. >
3682 :echo substitute("testing", ".*", "\\U\\0", "")
3683< results in "TESTING".
3684
Bram Moolenaar47136d72004-10-12 20:02:24 +00003685synID({lnum}, {col}, {trans}) *synID()*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003686 The result is a Number, which is the syntax ID at the position
Bram Moolenaar47136d72004-10-12 20:02:24 +00003687 {lnum} and {col} in the current window.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003688 The syntax ID can be used with |synIDattr()| and
3689 |synIDtrans()| to obtain syntax information about text.
Bram Moolenaar47136d72004-10-12 20:02:24 +00003690 {col} is 1 for the leftmost column, {lnum} is 1 for the first
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003691 line.
3692 When {trans} is non-zero, transparent items are reduced to the
3693 item that they reveal. This is useful when wanting to know
3694 the effective color. When {trans} is zero, the transparent
3695 item is returned. This is useful when wanting to know which
3696 syntax item is effective (e.g. inside parens).
3697 Warning: This function can be very slow. Best speed is
3698 obtained by going through the file in forward direction.
3699
3700 Example (echoes the name of the syntax item under the cursor): >
3701 :echo synIDattr(synID(line("."), col("."), 1), "name")
3702<
3703synIDattr({synID}, {what} [, {mode}]) *synIDattr()*
3704 The result is a String, which is the {what} attribute of
3705 syntax ID {synID}. This can be used to obtain information
3706 about a syntax item.
3707 {mode} can be "gui", "cterm" or "term", to get the attributes
3708 for that mode. When {mode} is omitted, or an invalid value is
3709 used, the attributes for the currently active highlighting are
3710 used (GUI, cterm or term).
3711 Use synIDtrans() to follow linked highlight groups.
3712 {what} result
3713 "name" the name of the syntax item
3714 "fg" foreground color (GUI: color name used to set
3715 the color, cterm: color number as a string,
3716 term: empty string)
3717 "bg" background color (like "fg")
3718 "fg#" like "fg", but for the GUI and the GUI is
3719 running the name in "#RRGGBB" form
3720 "bg#" like "fg#" for "bg"
3721 "bold" "1" if bold
3722 "italic" "1" if italic
3723 "reverse" "1" if reverse
3724 "inverse" "1" if inverse (= reverse)
3725 "underline" "1" if underlined
3726
3727 Example (echoes the color of the syntax item under the
3728 cursor): >
3729 :echo synIDattr(synIDtrans(synID(line("."), col("."), 1)), "fg")
3730<
3731synIDtrans({synID}) *synIDtrans()*
3732 The result is a Number, which is the translated syntax ID of
3733 {synID}. This is the syntax group ID of what is being used to
3734 highlight the character. Highlight links given with
3735 ":highlight link" are followed.
3736
Bram Moolenaarc0197e22004-09-13 20:26:32 +00003737system({expr} [, {input}]) *system()* *E677*
3738 Get the output of the shell command {expr}.
3739 When {input} is given, this string is written to a file and
3740 passed as stdin to the command. The string is written as-is,
3741 you need to take care of using the correct line separators
3742 yourself.
3743 Note: newlines in {expr} may cause the command to fail. The
3744 characters in 'shellquote' and 'shellxquote' may also cause
3745 trouble.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003746 This is not to be used for interactive commands.
3747 The result is a String. Example: >
3748
3749 :let files = system("ls")
3750
3751< To make the result more system-independent, the shell output
3752 is filtered to replace <CR> with <NL> for Macintosh, and
3753 <CR><NL> with <NL> for DOS-like systems.
3754 The command executed is constructed using several options:
3755 'shell' 'shellcmdflag' 'shellxquote' {expr} 'shellredir' {tmp} 'shellxquote'
3756 ({tmp} is an automatically generated file name).
3757 For Unix and OS/2 braces are put around {expr} to allow for
3758 concatenated commands.
3759
3760 The resulting error code can be found in |v:shell_error|.
3761 This function will fail in |restricted-mode|.
3762 Unlike ":!cmd" there is no automatic check for changed files.
3763 Use |:checktime| to force a check.
3764
3765tempname() *tempname()* *temp-file-name*
3766 The result is a String, which is the name of a file that
3767 doesn't exist. It can be used for a temporary file. The name
3768 is different for at least 26 consecutive calls. Example: >
3769 :let tmpfile = tempname()
3770 :exe "redir > " . tmpfile
3771< For Unix, the file will be in a private directory (only
3772 accessible by the current user) to avoid security problems
3773 (e.g., a symlink attack or other people reading your file).
3774 When Vim exits the directory and all files in it are deleted.
3775 For MS-Windows forward slashes are used when the 'shellslash'
3776 option is set or when 'shellcmdflag' starts with '-'.
3777
3778tolower({expr}) *tolower()*
3779 The result is a copy of the String given, with all uppercase
3780 characters turned into lowercase (just like applying |gu| to
3781 the string).
3782
3783toupper({expr}) *toupper()*
3784 The result is a copy of the String given, with all lowercase
3785 characters turned into uppercase (just like applying |gU| to
3786 the string).
3787
Bram Moolenaar8299df92004-07-10 09:47:34 +00003788tr({src}, {fromstr}, {tostr}) *tr()*
3789 The result is a copy of the {src} string with all characters
3790 which appear in {fromstr} replaced by the character in that
3791 position in the {tostr} string. Thus the first character in
3792 {fromstr} is translated into the first character in {tostr}
3793 and so on. Exactly like the unix "tr" command.
3794 This code also deals with multibyte characters properly.
3795
3796 Examples: >
3797 echo tr("hello there", "ht", "HT")
3798< returns "Hello THere" >
3799 echo tr("<blob>", "<>", "{}")
3800< returns "{blob}"
3801
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +00003802 *type()*
3803type({expr}) The result is a Number, depending on the type of {expr}:
Bram Moolenaar748bf032005-02-02 23:04:36 +00003804 Number: 0
3805 String: 1
3806 Funcref: 2
3807 List: 3
3808 Dictionary: 4
3809 To avoid the magic numbers it should be used this way: >
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +00003810 :if type(myvar) == type(0)
3811 :if type(myvar) == type("")
3812 :if type(myvar) == type(function("tr"))
3813 :if type(myvar) == type([])
Bram Moolenaar748bf032005-02-02 23:04:36 +00003814 :if type(myvar) == type({})
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003815
Bram Moolenaar677ee682005-01-27 14:41:15 +00003816values({dict}) *values()*
3817 Return a List with all the values of {dict}. The List is in
3818 arbitrary order.
3819
3820
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003821virtcol({expr}) *virtcol()*
3822 The result is a Number, which is the screen column of the file
3823 position given with {expr}. That is, the last screen position
3824 occupied by the character at that position, when the screen
3825 would be of unlimited width. When there is a <Tab> at the
3826 position, the returned Number will be the column at the end of
3827 the <Tab>. For example, for a <Tab> in column 1, with 'ts'
3828 set to 8, it returns 8.
3829 For the byte position use |col()|.
3830 When Virtual editing is active in the current mode, a position
3831 beyond the end of the line can be returned. |'virtualedit'|
3832 The accepted positions are:
3833 . the cursor position
3834 $ the end of the cursor line (the result is the
3835 number of displayed characters in the cursor line
3836 plus one)
3837 'x position of mark x (if the mark is not set, 0 is
3838 returned)
3839 Note that only marks in the current file can be used.
3840 Examples: >
3841 virtcol(".") with text "foo^Lbar", with cursor on the "^L", returns 5
3842 virtcol("$") with text "foo^Lbar", returns 9
3843 virtcol("'t") with text " there", with 't at 'h', returns 6
3844< The first column is 1. 0 is returned for an error.
3845
3846visualmode([expr]) *visualmode()*
3847 The result is a String, which describes the last Visual mode
3848 used. Initially it returns an empty string, but once Visual
3849 mode has been used, it returns "v", "V", or "<CTRL-V>" (a
3850 single CTRL-V character) for character-wise, line-wise, or
3851 block-wise Visual mode respectively.
3852 Example: >
3853 :exe "normal " . visualmode()
3854< This enters the same Visual mode as before. It is also useful
3855 in scripts if you wish to act differently depending on the
3856 Visual mode that was used.
3857
3858 If an expression is supplied that results in a non-zero number
3859 or a non-empty string, then the Visual mode will be cleared
3860 and the old value is returned. Note that " " and "0" are also
3861 non-empty strings, thus cause the mode to be cleared.
3862
3863 *winbufnr()*
3864winbufnr({nr}) The result is a Number, which is the number of the buffer
3865 associated with window {nr}. When {nr} is zero, the number of
3866 the buffer in the current window is returned. When window
3867 {nr} doesn't exist, -1 is returned.
3868 Example: >
3869 :echo "The file in the current window is " . bufname(winbufnr(0))
3870<
3871 *wincol()*
3872wincol() The result is a Number, which is the virtual column of the
3873 cursor in the window. This is counting screen cells from the
3874 left side of the window. The leftmost column is one.
3875
3876winheight({nr}) *winheight()*
3877 The result is a Number, which is the height of window {nr}.
3878 When {nr} is zero, the height of the current window is
3879 returned. When window {nr} doesn't exist, -1 is returned.
3880 An existing window always has a height of zero or more.
3881 Examples: >
3882 :echo "The current window has " . winheight(0) . " lines."
3883<
3884 *winline()*
3885winline() The result is a Number, which is the screen line of the cursor
3886 in the window. This is counting screen lines from the top of
3887 the window. The first line is one.
3888
3889 *winnr()*
Bram Moolenaar5eb86f92004-07-26 12:53:41 +00003890winnr([{arg}]) The result is a Number, which is the number of the current
3891 window. The top window has number 1.
3892 When the optional argument is "$", the number of the
3893 last window is returnd (the window count).
3894 When the optional argument is "#", the number of the last
3895 accessed window is returned (where |CTRL-W_p| goes to).
3896 If there is no previous window 0 is returned.
3897 The number can be used with |CTRL-W_w| and ":wincmd w"
3898 |:wincmd|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003899
3900 *winrestcmd()*
3901winrestcmd() Returns a sequence of |:resize| commands that should restore
3902 the current window sizes. Only works properly when no windows
3903 are opened or closed and the current window is unchanged.
3904 Example: >
3905 :let cmd = winrestcmd()
3906 :call MessWithWindowSizes()
3907 :exe cmd
3908
3909winwidth({nr}) *winwidth()*
3910 The result is a Number, which is the width of window {nr}.
3911 When {nr} is zero, the width of the current window is
3912 returned. When window {nr} doesn't exist, -1 is returned.
3913 An existing window always has a width of zero or more.
3914 Examples: >
3915 :echo "The current window has " . winwidth(0) . " columns."
3916 :if winwidth(0) <= 50
3917 : exe "normal 50\<C-W>|"
3918 :endif
3919<
Bram Moolenaar3a7c85b2005-02-05 21:39:53 +00003920 *writefile()*
3921writefile({list}, {fname} [, {binary}])
3922 Write List {list} to file {fname}. Each list item is
3923 separated with a NL. Each list item must be a String or
3924 Number.
3925 When {binary} is equal to "b" binary mode is used: There will
3926 not be a NL after the last list item. An empty item at the
3927 end does cause the last line in the file to end in a NL.
3928 All NL characters are replaced with a NUL character.
3929 Inserting CR characters needs to be done before passing {list}
3930 to writefile().
3931 An existing file is overwritten, if possible.
3932 When the write fails -1 is returned, otherwise 0. There is an
3933 error message if the file can't be created or when writing
3934 fails.
3935 Also see |readfile()|.
3936 To copy a file byte for byte: >
3937 :let fl = readfile("foo", "b")
3938 :call writefile(fl, "foocopy", "b")
3939<
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00003940
3941 *feature-list*
3942There are three types of features:
39431. Features that are only supported when they have been enabled when Vim
3944 was compiled |+feature-list|. Example: >
3945 :if has("cindent")
39462. Features that are only supported when certain conditions have been met.
3947 Example: >
3948 :if has("gui_running")
3949< *has-patch*
39503. Included patches. First check |v:version| for the version of Vim.
3951 Then the "patch123" feature means that patch 123 has been included for
3952 this version. Example (checking version 6.2.148 or later): >
3953 :if v:version > 602 || v:version == 602 && has("patch148")
3954
3955all_builtin_terms Compiled with all builtin terminals enabled.
3956amiga Amiga version of Vim.
3957arabic Compiled with Arabic support |Arabic|.
3958arp Compiled with ARP support (Amiga).
3959autocmd Compiled with autocommands support.
3960balloon_eval Compiled with |balloon-eval| support.
3961beos BeOS version of Vim.
3962browse Compiled with |:browse| support, and browse() will
3963 work.
3964builtin_terms Compiled with some builtin terminals.
3965byte_offset Compiled with support for 'o' in 'statusline'
3966cindent Compiled with 'cindent' support.
3967clientserver Compiled with remote invocation support |clientserver|.
3968clipboard Compiled with 'clipboard' support.
3969cmdline_compl Compiled with |cmdline-completion| support.
3970cmdline_hist Compiled with |cmdline-history| support.
3971cmdline_info Compiled with 'showcmd' and 'ruler' support.
3972comments Compiled with |'comments'| support.
3973cryptv Compiled with encryption support |encryption|.
3974cscope Compiled with |cscope| support.
3975compatible Compiled to be very Vi compatible.
3976debug Compiled with "DEBUG" defined.
3977dialog_con Compiled with console dialog support.
3978dialog_gui Compiled with GUI dialog support.
3979diff Compiled with |vimdiff| and 'diff' support.
3980digraphs Compiled with support for digraphs.
3981dnd Compiled with support for the "~ register |quote_~|.
3982dos32 32 bits DOS (DJGPP) version of Vim.
3983dos16 16 bits DOS version of Vim.
3984ebcdic Compiled on a machine with ebcdic character set.
3985emacs_tags Compiled with support for Emacs tags.
3986eval Compiled with expression evaluation support. Always
3987 true, of course!
3988ex_extra Compiled with extra Ex commands |+ex_extra|.
3989extra_search Compiled with support for |'incsearch'| and
3990 |'hlsearch'|
3991farsi Compiled with Farsi support |farsi|.
3992file_in_path Compiled with support for |gf| and |<cfile>|
3993find_in_path Compiled with support for include file searches
3994 |+find_in_path|.
3995fname_case Case in file names matters (for Amiga, MS-DOS, and
3996 Windows this is not present).
3997folding Compiled with |folding| support.
3998footer Compiled with GUI footer support. |gui-footer|
3999fork Compiled to use fork()/exec() instead of system().
4000gettext Compiled with message translation |multi-lang|
4001gui Compiled with GUI enabled.
4002gui_athena Compiled with Athena GUI.
Bram Moolenaar69a7cb42004-06-20 12:51:53 +00004003gui_beos Compiled with BeOS GUI.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004004gui_gtk Compiled with GTK+ GUI (any version).
4005gui_gtk2 Compiled with GTK+ 2 GUI (gui_gtk is also defined).
Bram Moolenaar843ee412004-06-30 16:16:41 +00004006gui_kde Compiled with KDE GUI |KVim|
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004007gui_mac Compiled with Macintosh GUI.
4008gui_motif Compiled with Motif GUI.
4009gui_photon Compiled with Photon GUI.
4010gui_win32 Compiled with MS Windows Win32 GUI.
4011gui_win32s idem, and Win32s system being used (Windows 3.1)
4012gui_running Vim is running in the GUI, or it will start soon.
4013hangul_input Compiled with Hangul input support. |hangul|
4014iconv Can use iconv() for conversion.
4015insert_expand Compiled with support for CTRL-X expansion commands in
4016 Insert mode.
4017jumplist Compiled with |jumplist| support.
4018keymap Compiled with 'keymap' support.
4019langmap Compiled with 'langmap' support.
4020libcall Compiled with |libcall()| support.
4021linebreak Compiled with 'linebreak', 'breakat' and 'showbreak'
4022 support.
4023lispindent Compiled with support for lisp indenting.
4024listcmds Compiled with commands for the buffer list |:files|
4025 and the argument list |arglist|.
4026localmap Compiled with local mappings and abbr. |:map-local|
4027mac Macintosh version of Vim.
4028macunix Macintosh version of Vim, using Unix files (OS-X).
4029menu Compiled with support for |:menu|.
4030mksession Compiled with support for |:mksession|.
4031modify_fname Compiled with file name modifiers. |filename-modifiers|
4032mouse Compiled with support mouse.
4033mouseshape Compiled with support for 'mouseshape'.
4034mouse_dec Compiled with support for Dec terminal mouse.
4035mouse_gpm Compiled with support for gpm (Linux console mouse)
4036mouse_netterm Compiled with support for netterm mouse.
4037mouse_pterm Compiled with support for qnx pterm mouse.
4038mouse_xterm Compiled with support for xterm mouse.
4039multi_byte Compiled with support for editing Korean et al.
4040multi_byte_ime Compiled with support for IME input method.
4041multi_lang Compiled with support for multiple languages.
Bram Moolenaar325b7a22004-07-05 15:58:32 +00004042mzscheme Compiled with MzScheme interface |mzscheme|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004043netbeans_intg Compiled with support for |netbeans|.
Bram Moolenaar009b2592004-10-24 19:18:58 +00004044netbeans_enabled Compiled with support for |netbeans| and it's used.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004045ole Compiled with OLE automation support for Win32.
4046os2 OS/2 version of Vim.
4047osfiletype Compiled with support for osfiletypes |+osfiletype|
4048path_extra Compiled with up/downwards search in 'path' and 'tags'
4049perl Compiled with Perl interface.
4050postscript Compiled with PostScript file printing.
4051printer Compiled with |:hardcopy| support.
4052python Compiled with Python interface.
4053qnx QNX version of Vim.
4054quickfix Compiled with |quickfix| support.
4055rightleft Compiled with 'rightleft' support.
4056ruby Compiled with Ruby interface |ruby|.
4057scrollbind Compiled with 'scrollbind' support.
4058showcmd Compiled with 'showcmd' support.
4059signs Compiled with |:sign| support.
4060smartindent Compiled with 'smartindent' support.
Bram Moolenaar69a7cb42004-06-20 12:51:53 +00004061sniff Compiled with SNiFF interface support.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004062statusline Compiled with support for 'statusline', 'rulerformat'
4063 and special formats of 'titlestring' and 'iconstring'.
4064sun_workshop Compiled with support for Sun |workshop|.
4065syntax Compiled with syntax highlighting support.
4066syntax_items There are active syntax highlighting items for the
4067 current buffer.
4068system Compiled to use system() instead of fork()/exec().
4069tag_binary Compiled with binary searching in tags files
4070 |tag-binary-search|.
4071tag_old_static Compiled with support for old static tags
4072 |tag-old-static|.
4073tag_any_white Compiled with support for any white characters in tags
4074 files |tag-any-white|.
4075tcl Compiled with Tcl interface.
4076terminfo Compiled with terminfo instead of termcap.
4077termresponse Compiled with support for |t_RV| and |v:termresponse|.
4078textobjects Compiled with support for |text-objects|.
4079tgetent Compiled with tgetent support, able to use a termcap
4080 or terminfo file.
4081title Compiled with window title support |'title'|.
4082toolbar Compiled with support for |gui-toolbar|.
4083unix Unix version of Vim.
4084user_commands User-defined commands.
4085viminfo Compiled with viminfo support.
4086vim_starting True while initial source'ing takes place.
4087vertsplit Compiled with vertically split windows |:vsplit|.
4088virtualedit Compiled with 'virtualedit' option.
4089visual Compiled with Visual mode.
4090visualextra Compiled with extra Visual mode commands.
4091 |blockwise-operators|.
4092vms VMS version of Vim.
4093vreplace Compiled with |gR| and |gr| commands.
4094wildignore Compiled with 'wildignore' option.
4095wildmenu Compiled with 'wildmenu' option.
4096windows Compiled with support for more than one window.
4097winaltkeys Compiled with 'winaltkeys' option.
4098win16 Win16 version of Vim (MS-Windows 3.1).
4099win32 Win32 version of Vim (MS-Windows 95/98/ME/NT/2000/XP).
4100win64 Win64 version of Vim (MS-Windows 64 bit).
4101win32unix Win32 version of Vim, using Unix files (Cygwin)
4102win95 Win32 version for MS-Windows 95/98/ME.
4103writebackup Compiled with 'writebackup' default on.
4104xfontset Compiled with X fontset support |xfontset|.
4105xim Compiled with X input method support |xim|.
4106xsmp Compiled with X session management support.
4107xsmp_interact Compiled with interactive X session management support.
4108xterm_clipboard Compiled with support for xterm clipboard.
4109xterm_save Compiled with support for saving and restoring the
4110 xterm screen.
4111x11 Compiled with X11 support.
4112
4113 *string-match*
4114Matching a pattern in a String
4115
4116A regexp pattern as explained at |pattern| is normally used to find a match in
4117the buffer lines. When a pattern is used to find a match in a String, almost
4118everything works in the same way. The difference is that a String is handled
4119like it is one line. When it contains a "\n" character, this is not seen as a
4120line break for the pattern. It can be matched with a "\n" in the pattern, or
4121with ".". Example: >
4122 :let a = "aaaa\nxxxx"
4123 :echo matchstr(a, "..\n..")
4124 aa
4125 xx
4126 :echo matchstr(a, "a.x")
4127 a
4128 x
4129
4130Don't forget that "^" will only match at the first character of the String and
4131"$" at the last character of the string. They don't match after or before a
4132"\n".
4133
4134==============================================================================
41355. Defining functions *user-functions*
4136
4137New functions can be defined. These can be called just like builtin
4138functions. The function executes a sequence of Ex commands. Normal mode
4139commands can be executed with the |:normal| command.
4140
4141The function name must start with an uppercase letter, to avoid confusion with
4142builtin functions. To prevent from using the same name in different scripts
4143avoid obvious, short names. A good habit is to start the function name with
4144the name of the script, e.g., "HTMLcolor()".
4145
4146It's also possible to use curly braces, see |curly-braces-names|.
4147
4148 *local-function*
4149A function local to a script must start with "s:". A local script function
4150can only be called from within the script and from functions, user commands
4151and autocommands defined in the script. It is also possible to call the
4152function from a mappings defined in the script, but then |<SID>| must be used
4153instead of "s:" when the mapping is expanded outside of the script.
4154
4155 *:fu* *:function* *E128* *E129* *E123*
4156:fu[nction] List all functions and their arguments.
4157
4158:fu[nction] {name} List function {name}.
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00004159 {name} can also be a Dictionary entry that is a
4160 Funcref: >
4161 :function dict.init
4162< *E124* *E125*
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00004163:fu[nction][!] {name}([arguments]) [range] [abort] [dict]
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004164 Define a new function by the name {name}. The name
4165 must be made of alphanumeric characters and '_', and
4166 must start with a capital or "s:" (see above).
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00004167
4168 {name} can also be a Dictionary entry that is a
4169 Funcref: >
4170 :function dict.init(arg)
4171< "dict" must be an existing dictionary. The entry
4172 "init" is added if it didn't exist yet. Otherwise [!]
4173 is required to overwrite an existing function. The
4174 result is a |Funcref| to a numbered function. The
4175 function can only be used with a |Funcref| and will be
4176 deleted if there are no more references to it.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004177 *E127* *E122*
4178 When a function by this name already exists and [!] is
4179 not used an error message is given. When [!] is used,
4180 an existing function is silently replaced. Unless it
4181 is currently being executed, that is an error.
Bram Moolenaar8f999f12005-01-25 22:12:55 +00004182
4183 For the {arguments} see |function-argument|.
4184
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004185 *a:firstline* *a:lastline*
4186 When the [range] argument is added, the function is
4187 expected to take care of a range itself. The range is
4188 passed as "a:firstline" and "a:lastline". If [range]
4189 is excluded, ":{range}call" will call the function for
4190 each line in the range, with the cursor on the start
4191 of each line. See |function-range-example|.
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00004192
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004193 When the [abort] argument is added, the function will
4194 abort as soon as an error is detected.
4195 The last used search pattern and the redo command "."
4196 will not be changed by the function.
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00004197
Bram Moolenaar2fda12f2005-01-15 22:14:15 +00004198 When the [dict] argument is added, the function must
4199 be invoked through an entry in a Dictionary. The
4200 local variable "self" will then be set to the
4201 dictionary. See |Dictionary-function|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004202
4203 *:endf* *:endfunction* *E126* *E193*
4204:endf[unction] The end of a function definition. Must be on a line
4205 by its own, without other commands.
4206
4207 *:delf* *:delfunction* *E130* *E131*
4208:delf[unction] {name} Delete function {name}.
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00004209 {name} can also be a Dictionary entry that is a
4210 Funcref: >
4211 :delfunc dict.init
4212< This will remove the "init" entry from "dict". The
4213 function is deleted if there are no more references to
4214 it.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004215 *:retu* *:return* *E133*
4216:retu[rn] [expr] Return from a function. When "[expr]" is given, it is
4217 evaluated and returned as the result of the function.
4218 If "[expr]" is not given, the number 0 is returned.
4219 When a function ends without an explicit ":return",
4220 the number 0 is returned.
4221 Note that there is no check for unreachable lines,
4222 thus there is no warning if commands follow ":return".
4223
4224 If the ":return" is used after a |:try| but before the
4225 matching |:finally| (if present), the commands
4226 following the ":finally" up to the matching |:endtry|
4227 are executed first. This process applies to all
4228 nested ":try"s inside the function. The function
4229 returns at the outermost ":endtry".
4230
Bram Moolenaar8f999f12005-01-25 22:12:55 +00004231 *function-argument* *a:var*
4232An argument can be defined by giving its name. In the function this can then
4233be used as "a:name" ("a:" for argument).
4234 *a:0* *a:1* *a:000* *E740*
4235Up to 20 arguments can be given, separated by commas. After the named
4236arguments an argument "..." can be specified, which means that more arguments
4237may optionally be following. In the function the extra arguments can be used
4238as "a:1", "a:2", etc. "a:0" is set to the number of extra arguments (which
Bram Moolenaar2ce06f62005-01-31 19:19:04 +00004239can be 0). "a:000" is set to a List that contains these arguments. Note that
4240"a:1" is the same as "a:000[0]".
4241 *E742*
4242The a: scope and the variables in it cannot be changed, they are fixed.
4243However, if a List or Dictionary is used, you can changes their contents.
4244Thus you can pass a List to a function and have the function add an item to
4245it. If you want to make sure the function cannot change a List or Dictionary
4246use |:lockvar|.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004247
Bram Moolenaar8f999f12005-01-25 22:12:55 +00004248When not using "...", the number of arguments in a function call must be equal
4249to the number of named arguments. When using "...", the number of arguments
4250may be larger.
4251
4252It is also possible to define a function without any arguments. You must
4253still supply the () then. The body of the function follows in the next lines,
4254until the matching |:endfunction|. It is allowed to define another function
4255inside a function body.
4256
4257 *local-variables*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004258Inside a function variables can be used. These are local variables, which
4259will disappear when the function returns. Global variables need to be
4260accessed with "g:".
4261
4262Example: >
4263 :function Table(title, ...)
4264 : echohl Title
4265 : echo a:title
4266 : echohl None
Bram Moolenaar677ee682005-01-27 14:41:15 +00004267 : echo a:0 . " items:"
4268 : for s in a:000
4269 : echon ' ' . s
4270 : endfor
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004271 :endfunction
4272
4273This function can then be called with: >
Bram Moolenaar677ee682005-01-27 14:41:15 +00004274 call Table("Table", "line1", "line2")
4275 call Table("Empty Table")
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004276
4277To return more than one value, pass the name of a global variable: >
4278 :function Compute(n1, n2, divname)
4279 : if a:n2 == 0
4280 : return "fail"
4281 : endif
4282 : let g:{a:divname} = a:n1 / a:n2
4283 : return "ok"
4284 :endfunction
4285
4286This function can then be called with: >
4287 :let success = Compute(13, 1324, "div")
4288 :if success == "ok"
4289 : echo div
4290 :endif
4291
4292An alternative is to return a command that can be executed. This also works
4293with local variables in a calling function. Example: >
4294 :function Foo()
4295 : execute Bar()
4296 : echo "line " . lnum . " column " . col
4297 :endfunction
4298
4299 :function Bar()
4300 : return "let lnum = " . line(".") . " | let col = " . col(".")
4301 :endfunction
4302
4303The names "lnum" and "col" could also be passed as argument to Bar(), to allow
4304the caller to set the names.
4305
4306 *:cal* *:call* *E107*
4307:[range]cal[l] {name}([arguments])
4308 Call a function. The name of the function and its arguments
4309 are as specified with |:function|. Up to 20 arguments can be
4310 used.
4311 Without a range and for functions that accept a range, the
4312 function is called once. When a range is given the cursor is
4313 positioned at the start of the first line before executing the
4314 function.
4315 When a range is given and the function doesn't handle it
4316 itself, the function is executed for each line in the range,
4317 with the cursor in the first column of that line. The cursor
4318 is left at the last line (possibly moved by the last function
4319 call). The arguments are re-evaluated for each line. Thus
4320 this works:
4321 *function-range-example* >
4322 :function Mynumber(arg)
4323 : echo line(".") . " " . a:arg
4324 :endfunction
4325 :1,5call Mynumber(getline("."))
4326<
4327 The "a:firstline" and "a:lastline" are defined anyway, they
4328 can be used to do something different at the start or end of
4329 the range.
4330
4331 Example of a function that handles the range itself: >
4332
4333 :function Cont() range
4334 : execute (a:firstline + 1) . "," . a:lastline . 's/^/\t\\ '
4335 :endfunction
4336 :4,8call Cont()
4337<
4338 This function inserts the continuation character "\" in front
4339 of all the lines in the range, except the first one.
4340
4341 *E132*
4342The recursiveness of user functions is restricted with the |'maxfuncdepth'|
4343option.
4344
4345 *autoload-functions*
4346When using many or large functions, it's possible to automatically define them
4347only when they are used. Use the FuncUndefined autocommand event with a
4348pattern that matches the function(s) to be defined. Example: >
4349
4350 :au FuncUndefined BufNet* source ~/vim/bufnetfuncs.vim
4351
4352The file "~/vim/bufnetfuncs.vim" should then define functions that start with
4353"BufNet". Also see |FuncUndefined|.
4354
4355==============================================================================
43566. Curly braces names *curly-braces-names*
4357
4358Wherever you can use a variable, you can use a "curly braces name" variable.
4359This is a regular variable name with one or more expressions wrapped in braces
4360{} like this: >
4361 my_{adjective}_variable
4362
4363When Vim encounters this, it evaluates the expression inside the braces, puts
4364that in place of the expression, and re-interprets the whole as a variable
4365name. So in the above example, if the variable "adjective" was set to
4366"noisy", then the reference would be to "my_noisy_variable", whereas if
4367"adjective" was set to "quiet", then it would be to "my_quiet_variable".
4368
4369One application for this is to create a set of variables governed by an option
4370value. For example, the statement >
4371 echo my_{&background}_message
4372
4373would output the contents of "my_dark_message" or "my_light_message" depending
4374on the current value of 'background'.
4375
4376You can use multiple brace pairs: >
4377 echo my_{adverb}_{adjective}_message
4378..or even nest them: >
4379 echo my_{ad{end_of_word}}_message
4380where "end_of_word" is either "verb" or "jective".
4381
4382However, the expression inside the braces must evaluate to a valid single
4383variable name. e.g. this is invalid: >
4384 :let foo='a + b'
4385 :echo c{foo}d
4386.. since the result of expansion is "ca + bd", which is not a variable name.
4387
4388 *curly-braces-function-names*
4389You can call and define functions by an evaluated name in a similar way.
4390Example: >
4391 :let func_end='whizz'
4392 :call my_func_{func_end}(parameter)
4393
4394This would call the function "my_func_whizz(parameter)".
4395
4396==============================================================================
43977. Commands *expression-commands*
4398
4399:let {var-name} = {expr1} *:let* *E18*
4400 Set internal variable {var-name} to the result of the
4401 expression {expr1}. The variable will get the type
4402 from the {expr}. If {var-name} didn't exist yet, it
4403 is created.
4404
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +00004405:let {var-name}[{idx}] = {expr1} *E689*
4406 Set a list item to the result of the expression
4407 {expr1}. {var-name} must refer to a list and {idx}
4408 must be a valid index in that list. For nested list
4409 the index can be repeated.
4410 This cannot be used to add an item to a list.
4411
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00004412 *E711* *E719*
4413:let {var-name}[{idx1}:{idx2}] = {expr1} *E708* *E709* *E710*
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +00004414 Set a sequence of items in a List to the result of the
4415 expression {expr1}, which must be a list with the
4416 correct number of items.
4417 {idx1} can be omitted, zero is used instead.
4418 {idx2} can be omitted, meaning the end of the list.
4419 When the selected range of items is partly past the
4420 end of the list, items will be added.
4421
Bram Moolenaar748bf032005-02-02 23:04:36 +00004422 *:let+=* *:let-=* *:let.=* *E734*
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00004423:let {var} += {expr1} Like ":let {var} = {var} + {expr1}".
4424:let {var} -= {expr1} Like ":let {var} = {var} - {expr1}".
4425:let {var} .= {expr1} Like ":let {var} = {var} . {expr1}".
4426 These fail if {var} was not set yet and when the type
4427 of {var} and {expr1} don't fit the operator.
4428
4429
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004430:let ${env-name} = {expr1} *:let-environment* *:let-$*
4431 Set environment variable {env-name} to the result of
4432 the expression {expr1}. The type is always String.
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00004433:let ${env-name} .= {expr1}
4434 Append {expr1} to the environment variable {env-name}.
4435 If the environment variable didn't exist yet this
4436 works like "=".
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004437
4438:let @{reg-name} = {expr1} *:let-register* *:let-@*
4439 Write the result of the expression {expr1} in register
4440 {reg-name}. {reg-name} must be a single letter, and
4441 must be the name of a writable register (see
4442 |registers|). "@@" can be used for the unnamed
4443 register, "@/" for the search pattern.
4444 If the result of {expr1} ends in a <CR> or <NL>, the
4445 register will be linewise, otherwise it will be set to
4446 characterwise.
4447 This can be used to clear the last search pattern: >
4448 :let @/ = ""
4449< This is different from searching for an empty string,
4450 that would match everywhere.
4451
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00004452:let @{reg-name} .= {expr1}
4453 Append {expr1} to register {reg-name}. If the
4454 register was empty it's like setting it to {expr1}.
4455
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004456:let &{option-name} = {expr1} *:let-option* *:let-star*
4457 Set option {option-name} to the result of the
Bram Moolenaarfca34d62005-01-04 21:38:36 +00004458 expression {expr1}. A String or Number value is
4459 always converted to the type of the option.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004460 For an option local to a window or buffer the effect
4461 is just like using the |:set| command: both the local
4462 value and the global value is changed.
Bram Moolenaarfca34d62005-01-04 21:38:36 +00004463 Example: >
4464 :let &path = &path . ',/usr/local/include'
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004465
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00004466:let &{option-name} .= {expr1}
4467 For a string option: Append {expr1} to the value.
4468 Does not insert a comma like |:set+=|.
4469
4470:let &{option-name} += {expr1}
4471:let &{option-name} -= {expr1}
4472 For a number or boolean option: Add or subtract
4473 {expr1}.
4474
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004475:let &l:{option-name} = {expr1}
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00004476:let &l:{option-name} .= {expr1}
4477:let &l:{option-name} += {expr1}
4478:let &l:{option-name} -= {expr1}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004479 Like above, but only set the local value of an option
4480 (if there is one). Works like |:setlocal|.
4481
4482:let &g:{option-name} = {expr1}
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00004483:let &g:{option-name} .= {expr1}
4484:let &g:{option-name} += {expr1}
4485:let &g:{option-name} -= {expr1}
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004486 Like above, but only set the global value of an option
4487 (if there is one). Works like |:setglobal|.
4488
Bram Moolenaar13065c42005-01-08 16:08:21 +00004489:let [{name1}, {name2}, ...] = {expr1} *:let-unpack* *E687* *E688*
Bram Moolenaarfca34d62005-01-04 21:38:36 +00004490 {expr1} must evaluate to a List. The first item in
4491 the list is assigned to {name1}, the second item to
4492 {name2}, etc.
4493 The number of names must match the number of items in
4494 the List.
4495 Each name can be one of the items of the ":let"
4496 command as mentioned above.
4497 Example: >
4498 :let [s, item] = GetItem(s)
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00004499< Detail: {expr1} is evaluated first, then the
4500 assignments are done in sequence. This matters if
4501 {name2} depends on {name1}. Example: >
4502 :let x = [0, 1]
4503 :let i = 0
4504 :let [i, x[i]] = [1, 2]
4505 :echo x
4506< The result is [0, 2].
4507
4508:let [{name1}, {name2}, ...] .= {expr1}
4509:let [{name1}, {name2}, ...] += {expr1}
4510:let [{name1}, {name2}, ...] -= {expr1}
4511 Like above, but append/add/subtract the value for each
4512 List item.
Bram Moolenaarfca34d62005-01-04 21:38:36 +00004513
4514:let [{name}, ..., ; {lastname}] = {expr1}
Bram Moolenaar677ee682005-01-27 14:41:15 +00004515 Like |:let-unpack| above, but the List may have more
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00004516 items than there are names. A list of the remaining
4517 items is assigned to {lastname}. If there are no
4518 remaining items {lastname} is set to an empty list.
Bram Moolenaarfca34d62005-01-04 21:38:36 +00004519 Example: >
4520 :let [a, b; rest] = ["aval", "bval", 3, 4]
4521<
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00004522:let [{name}, ..., ; {lastname}] .= {expr1}
4523:let [{name}, ..., ; {lastname}] += {expr1}
4524:let [{name}, ..., ; {lastname}] -= {expr1}
4525 Like above, but append/add/subtract the value for each
4526 List item.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004527 *E106*
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00004528:let {var-name} .. List the value of variable {var-name}. Multiple
Bram Moolenaardcaf10e2005-01-21 11:55:25 +00004529 variable names may be given. Special names recognized
4530 here: *E738*
4531 g: global variables.
4532 b: local buffer variables.
4533 w: local window variables.
4534 v: Vim variables.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004535
Bram Moolenaard7ee7ce2005-01-03 21:02:03 +00004536:let List the values of all variables. The type of the
4537 variable is indicated before the value:
4538 <nothing> String
4539 # Number
4540 * Funcref
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004541
Bram Moolenaar2ce06f62005-01-31 19:19:04 +00004542
4543:unl[et][!] {name} ... *:unlet* *:unl* *E108*
4544 Remove the internal variable {name}. Several variable
4545 names can be given, they are all removed. The name
4546 may also be a List or Dictionary item.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004547 With [!] no error message is given for non-existing
4548 variables.
Bram Moolenaar9cd15162005-01-16 22:02:49 +00004549 One or more items from a List can be removed: >
4550 :unlet list[3] " remove fourth item
4551 :unlet list[3:] " remove fourth item to last
4552< One item from a Dictionary can be removed at a time: >
4553 :unlet dict['two']
4554 :unlet dict.two
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004555
Bram Moolenaar2ce06f62005-01-31 19:19:04 +00004556:lockv[ar][!] [depth] {name} ... *:lockvar* *:lockv*
4557 Lock the internal variable {name}. Locking means that
4558 it can no longer be changed (until it is unlocked).
4559 A locked variable can be deleted: >
4560 :lockvar v
4561 :let v = 'asdf' " fails!
4562 :unlet v
4563< *E741*
4564 If you try to change a locked variable you get an
4565 error message: "E741: Value of {name} is locked"
4566
4567 [depth] is relevant when locking a List or Dictionary.
4568 It specifies how deep the locking goes:
4569 1 Lock the List or Dictionary itself,
4570 cannot add or remove items, but can
4571 still change their values.
4572 2 Also lock the values, cannot change
4573 the items. If an item is a List or
4574 Dictionary, cannot add or remove
4575 items, but can still change the
4576 values.
4577 3 Like 2 but for the List/Dictionary in
4578 the List/Dictionary, one level deeper.
4579 The default [depth] is 2, thus when {name} is a List
4580 or Dictionary the values cannot be changed.
4581 *E743*
4582 For unlimited depth use [!] and omit [depth].
4583 However, there is a maximum depth of 100 to catch
4584 loops.
4585
4586 Note that when two variables refer to the same List
4587 and you lock one of them, the List will also be locked
4588 when used through the other variable. Example: >
4589 :let l = [0, 1, 2, 3]
4590 :let cl = l
4591 :lockvar l
4592 :let cl[1] = 99 " won't work!
4593< You may want to make a copy of a list to avoid this.
4594 See |deepcopy()|.
4595
4596
4597:unlo[ckvar][!] [depth] {name} ... *:unlockvar* *:unlo*
4598 Unlock the internal variable {name}. Does the
4599 opposite of |:lockvar|.
4600
4601
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004602:if {expr1} *:if* *:endif* *:en* *E171* *E579* *E580*
4603:en[dif] Execute the commands until the next matching ":else"
4604 or ":endif" if {expr1} evaluates to non-zero.
4605
4606 From Vim version 4.5 until 5.0, every Ex command in
4607 between the ":if" and ":endif" is ignored. These two
4608 commands were just to allow for future expansions in a
4609 backwards compatible way. Nesting was allowed. Note
4610 that any ":else" or ":elseif" was ignored, the "else"
4611 part was not executed either.
4612
4613 You can use this to remain compatible with older
4614 versions: >
4615 :if version >= 500
4616 : version-5-specific-commands
4617 :endif
4618< The commands still need to be parsed to find the
4619 "endif". Sometimes an older Vim has a problem with a
4620 new command. For example, ":silent" is recognized as
4621 a ":substitute" command. In that case ":execute" can
4622 avoid problems: >
4623 :if version >= 600
4624 : execute "silent 1,$delete"
4625 :endif
4626<
4627 NOTE: The ":append" and ":insert" commands don't work
4628 properly in between ":if" and ":endif".
4629
4630 *:else* *:el* *E581* *E583*
4631:el[se] Execute the commands until the next matching ":else"
4632 or ":endif" if they previously were not being
4633 executed.
4634
4635 *:elseif* *:elsei* *E582* *E584*
4636:elsei[f] {expr1} Short for ":else" ":if", with the addition that there
4637 is no extra ":endif".
4638
4639:wh[ile] {expr1} *:while* *:endwhile* *:wh* *:endw*
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00004640 *E170* *E585* *E588* *E733*
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004641:endw[hile] Repeat the commands between ":while" and ":endwhile",
4642 as long as {expr1} evaluates to non-zero.
4643 When an error is detected from a command inside the
4644 loop, execution continues after the "endwhile".
Bram Moolenaar12805862005-01-05 22:16:17 +00004645 Example: >
4646 :let lnum = 1
4647 :while lnum <= line("$")
4648 :call FixLine(lnum)
4649 :let lnum = lnum + 1
4650 :endwhile
4651<
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004652 NOTE: The ":append" and ":insert" commands don't work
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +00004653 properly inside a ":while" and ":for" loop.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004654
Bram Moolenaar3a3a7232005-01-17 22:16:15 +00004655:for {var} in {list} *:for* *E690* *E732*
Bram Moolenaar12805862005-01-05 22:16:17 +00004656:endfo[r] *:endfo* *:endfor*
4657 Repeat the commands between ":for" and ":endfor" for
Bram Moolenaar3a7c85b2005-02-05 21:39:53 +00004658 each item in {list}. Variable {var} is set to the
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +00004659 value of each item.
4660 When an error is detected for a command inside the
Bram Moolenaar12805862005-01-05 22:16:17 +00004661 loop, execution continues after the "endfor".
Bram Moolenaarde8866b2005-01-06 23:24:37 +00004662 Changing {list} affects what items are used. Make a
4663 copy if this is unwanted: >
4664 :for item in copy(mylist)
4665< When not making a copy, Vim stores a reference to the
4666 next item in the list, before executing the commands
4667 with the current item. Thus the current item can be
4668 removed without effect. Removing any later item means
4669 it will not be found. Thus the following example
4670 works (an inefficient way to make a list empty): >
4671 :for item in mylist
Bram Moolenaar12805862005-01-05 22:16:17 +00004672 :call remove(mylist, 0)
4673 :endfor
Bram Moolenaar9588a0f2005-01-08 21:45:39 +00004674< Note that reordering the list (e.g., with sort() or
4675 reverse()) may have unexpected effects.
4676 Note that the type of each list item should be
Bram Moolenaar12805862005-01-05 22:16:17 +00004677 identical to avoid errors for the type of {var}
4678 changing. Unlet the variable at the end of the loop
4679 to allow multiple item types.
4680
4681:for {var} in {string}
4682:endfo[r] Like ":for" above, but use each character in {string}
4683 as a list item.
4684 Composing characters are used as separate characters.
4685 A Number is first converted to a String.
4686
4687:for [{var1}, {var2}, ...] in {listlist}
4688:endfo[r]
4689 Like ":for" above, but each item in {listlist} must be
4690 a list, of which each item is assigned to {var1},
4691 {var2}, etc. Example: >
4692 :for [lnum, col] in [[1, 3], [2, 5], [3, 8]]
4693 :echo getline(lnum)[col]
4694 :endfor
4695<
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004696 *:continue* *:con* *E586*
Bram Moolenaar12805862005-01-05 22:16:17 +00004697:con[tinue] When used inside a ":while" or ":for" loop, jumps back
4698 to the start of the loop.
4699 If it is used after a |:try| inside the loop but
4700 before the matching |:finally| (if present), the
4701 commands following the ":finally" up to the matching
4702 |:endtry| are executed first. This process applies to
4703 all nested ":try"s inside the loop. The outermost
4704 ":endtry" then jumps back to the start of the loop.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004705
4706 *:break* *:brea* *E587*
Bram Moolenaar12805862005-01-05 22:16:17 +00004707:brea[k] When used inside a ":while" or ":for" loop, skips to
4708 the command after the matching ":endwhile" or
4709 ":endfor".
4710 If it is used after a |:try| inside the loop but
4711 before the matching |:finally| (if present), the
4712 commands following the ":finally" up to the matching
4713 |:endtry| are executed first. This process applies to
4714 all nested ":try"s inside the loop. The outermost
4715 ":endtry" then jumps to the command after the loop.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004716
4717:try *:try* *:endt* *:endtry* *E600* *E601* *E602*
4718:endt[ry] Change the error handling for the commands between
4719 ":try" and ":endtry" including everything being
4720 executed across ":source" commands, function calls,
4721 or autocommand invocations.
4722
4723 When an error or interrupt is detected and there is
4724 a |:finally| command following, execution continues
4725 after the ":finally". Otherwise, or when the
4726 ":endtry" is reached thereafter, the next
4727 (dynamically) surrounding ":try" is checked for
4728 a corresponding ":finally" etc. Then the script
4729 processing is terminated. (Whether a function
4730 definition has an "abort" argument does not matter.)
4731 Example: >
4732 :try | edit too much | finally | echo "cleanup" | endtry
4733 :echo "impossible" " not reached, script terminated above
4734<
4735 Moreover, an error or interrupt (dynamically) inside
4736 ":try" and ":endtry" is converted to an exception. It
4737 can be caught as if it were thrown by a |:throw|
4738 command (see |:catch|). In this case, the script
4739 processing is not terminated.
4740
4741 The value "Vim:Interrupt" is used for an interrupt
4742 exception. An error in a Vim command is converted
4743 to a value of the form "Vim({command}):{errmsg}",
4744 other errors are converted to a value of the form
4745 "Vim:{errmsg}". {command} is the full command name,
4746 and {errmsg} is the message that is displayed if the
4747 error exception is not caught, always beginning with
4748 the error number.
4749 Examples: >
4750 :try | sleep 100 | catch /^Vim:Interrupt$/ | endtry
4751 :try | edit | catch /^Vim(edit):E\d\+/ | echo "error" | endtry
4752<
4753 *:cat* *:catch* *E603* *E604* *E605*
4754:cat[ch] /{pattern}/ The following commands until the next ":catch",
4755 |:finally|, or |:endtry| that belongs to the same
4756 |:try| as the ":catch" are executed when an exception
4757 matching {pattern} is being thrown and has not yet
4758 been caught by a previous ":catch". Otherwise, these
4759 commands are skipped.
4760 When {pattern} is omitted all errors are caught.
4761 Examples: >
4762 :catch /^Vim:Interrupt$/ " catch interrupts (CTRL-C)
4763 :catch /^Vim\%((\a\+)\)\=:E/ " catch all Vim errors
4764 :catch /^Vim\%((\a\+)\)\=:/ " catch errors and interrupts
4765 :catch /^Vim(write):/ " catch all errors in :write
4766 :catch /^Vim\%((\a\+)\)\=:E123/ " catch error E123
4767 :catch /my-exception/ " catch user exception
4768 :catch /.*/ " catch everything
4769 :catch " same as /.*/
4770<
4771 Another character can be used instead of / around the
4772 {pattern}, so long as it does not have a special
4773 meaning (e.g., '|' or '"') and doesn't occur inside
4774 {pattern}.
4775 NOTE: It is not reliable to ":catch" the TEXT of
4776 an error message because it may vary in different
4777 locales.
4778
4779 *:fina* *:finally* *E606* *E607*
4780:fina[lly] The following commands until the matching |:endtry|
4781 are executed whenever the part between the matching
4782 |:try| and the ":finally" is left: either by falling
4783 through to the ":finally" or by a |:continue|,
4784 |:break|, |:finish|, or |:return|, or by an error or
4785 interrupt or exception (see |:throw|).
4786
4787 *:th* *:throw* *E608*
4788:th[row] {expr1} The {expr1} is evaluated and thrown as an exception.
4789 If the ":throw" is used after a |:try| but before the
4790 first corresponding |:catch|, commands are skipped
4791 until the first ":catch" matching {expr1} is reached.
4792 If there is no such ":catch" or if the ":throw" is
4793 used after a ":catch" but before the |:finally|, the
4794 commands following the ":finally" (if present) up to
4795 the matching |:endtry| are executed. If the ":throw"
4796 is after the ":finally", commands up to the ":endtry"
4797 are skipped. At the ":endtry", this process applies
4798 again for the next dynamically surrounding ":try"
4799 (which may be found in a calling function or sourcing
4800 script), until a matching ":catch" has been found.
4801 If the exception is not caught, the command processing
4802 is terminated.
4803 Example: >
4804 :try | throw "oops" | catch /^oo/ | echo "caught" | endtry
4805<
4806
4807 *:ec* *:echo*
4808:ec[ho] {expr1} .. Echoes each {expr1}, with a space in between. The
4809 first {expr1} starts on a new line.
4810 Also see |:comment|.
4811 Use "\n" to start a new line. Use "\r" to move the
4812 cursor to the first column.
4813 Uses the highlighting set by the |:echohl| command.
4814 Cannot be followed by a comment.
4815 Example: >
4816 :echo "the value of 'shell' is" &shell
4817< A later redraw may make the message disappear again.
4818 To avoid that a command from before the ":echo" causes
4819 a redraw afterwards (redraws are often postponed until
4820 you type something), force a redraw with the |:redraw|
4821 command. Example: >
4822 :new | redraw | echo "there is a new window"
4823<
4824 *:echon*
4825:echon {expr1} .. Echoes each {expr1}, without anything added. Also see
4826 |:comment|.
4827 Uses the highlighting set by the |:echohl| command.
4828 Cannot be followed by a comment.
4829 Example: >
4830 :echon "the value of 'shell' is " &shell
4831<
4832 Note the difference between using ":echo", which is a
4833 Vim command, and ":!echo", which is an external shell
4834 command: >
4835 :!echo % --> filename
4836< The arguments of ":!" are expanded, see |:_%|. >
4837 :!echo "%" --> filename or "filename"
4838< Like the previous example. Whether you see the double
4839 quotes or not depends on your 'shell'. >
4840 :echo % --> nothing
4841< The '%' is an illegal character in an expression. >
4842 :echo "%" --> %
4843< This just echoes the '%' character. >
4844 :echo expand("%") --> filename
4845< This calls the expand() function to expand the '%'.
4846
4847 *:echoh* *:echohl*
4848:echoh[l] {name} Use the highlight group {name} for the following
4849 |:echo|, |:echon| and |:echomsg| commands. Also used
4850 for the |input()| prompt. Example: >
4851 :echohl WarningMsg | echo "Don't panic!" | echohl None
4852< Don't forget to set the group back to "None",
4853 otherwise all following echo's will be highlighted.
4854
4855 *:echom* *:echomsg*
4856:echom[sg] {expr1} .. Echo the expression(s) as a true message, saving the
4857 message in the |message-history|.
4858 Spaces are placed between the arguments as with the
4859 |:echo| command. But unprintable characters are
4860 displayed, not interpreted.
4861 Uses the highlighting set by the |:echohl| command.
4862 Example: >
4863 :echomsg "It's a Zizzer Zazzer Zuzz, as you can plainly see."
4864<
4865 *:echoe* *:echoerr*
4866:echoe[rr] {expr1} .. Echo the expression(s) as an error message, saving the
4867 message in the |message-history|. When used in a
4868 script or function the line number will be added.
4869 Spaces are placed between the arguments as with the
4870 :echo command. When used inside a try conditional,
4871 the message is raised as an error exception instead
4872 (see |try-echoerr|).
4873 Example: >
4874 :echoerr "This script just failed!"
4875< If you just want a highlighted message use |:echohl|.
4876 And to get a beep: >
4877 :exe "normal \<Esc>"
4878<
4879 *:exe* *:execute*
4880:exe[cute] {expr1} .. Executes the string that results from the evaluation
4881 of {expr1} as an Ex command. Multiple arguments are
4882 concatenated, with a space in between. {expr1} is
4883 used as the processed command, command line editing
4884 keys are not recognized.
4885 Cannot be followed by a comment.
4886 Examples: >
4887 :execute "buffer " nextbuf
4888 :execute "normal " count . "w"
4889<
4890 ":execute" can be used to append a command to commands
4891 that don't accept a '|'. Example: >
4892 :execute '!ls' | echo "theend"
4893
4894< ":execute" is also a nice way to avoid having to type
4895 control characters in a Vim script for a ":normal"
4896 command: >
4897 :execute "normal ixxx\<Esc>"
4898< This has an <Esc> character, see |expr-string|.
4899
4900 Note: The executed string may be any command-line, but
Bram Moolenaard8b02732005-01-14 21:48:43 +00004901 you cannot start or end a "while", "for" or "if"
4902 command. Thus this is illegal: >
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00004903 :execute 'while i > 5'
4904 :execute 'echo "test" | break'
4905<
4906 It is allowed to have a "while" or "if" command
4907 completely in the executed string: >
4908 :execute 'while i < 5 | echo i | let i = i + 1 | endwhile'
4909<
4910
4911 *:comment*
4912 ":execute", ":echo" and ":echon" cannot be followed by
4913 a comment directly, because they see the '"' as the
4914 start of a string. But, you can use '|' followed by a
4915 comment. Example: >
4916 :echo "foo" | "this is a comment
4917
4918==============================================================================
49198. Exception handling *exception-handling*
4920
4921The Vim script language comprises an exception handling feature. This section
4922explains how it can be used in a Vim script.
4923
4924Exceptions may be raised by Vim on an error or on interrupt, see
4925|catch-errors| and |catch-interrupt|. You can also explicitly throw an
4926exception by using the ":throw" command, see |throw-catch|.
4927
4928
4929TRY CONDITIONALS *try-conditionals*
4930
4931Exceptions can be caught or can cause cleanup code to be executed. You can
4932use a try conditional to specify catch clauses (that catch exceptions) and/or
4933a finally clause (to be executed for cleanup).
4934 A try conditional begins with a |:try| command and ends at the matching
4935|:endtry| command. In between, you can use a |:catch| command to start
4936a catch clause, or a |:finally| command to start a finally clause. There may
4937be none or multiple catch clauses, but there is at most one finally clause,
4938which must not be followed by any catch clauses. The lines before the catch
4939clauses and the finally clause is called a try block. >
4940
4941 :try
4942 : ...
4943 : ... TRY BLOCK
4944 : ...
4945 :catch /{pattern}/
4946 : ...
4947 : ... CATCH CLAUSE
4948 : ...
4949 :catch /{pattern}/
4950 : ...
4951 : ... CATCH CLAUSE
4952 : ...
4953 :finally
4954 : ...
4955 : ... FINALLY CLAUSE
4956 : ...
4957 :endtry
4958
4959The try conditional allows to watch code for exceptions and to take the
4960appropriate actions. Exceptions from the try block may be caught. Exceptions
4961from the try block and also the catch clauses may cause cleanup actions.
4962 When no exception is thrown during execution of the try block, the control
4963is transferred to the finally clause, if present. After its execution, the
4964script continues with the line following the ":endtry".
4965 When an exception occurs during execution of the try block, the remaining
4966lines in the try block are skipped. The exception is matched against the
4967patterns specified as arguments to the ":catch" commands. The catch clause
4968after the first matching ":catch" is taken, other catch clauses are not
4969executed. The catch clause ends when the next ":catch", ":finally", or
4970":endtry" command is reached - whatever is first. Then, the finally clause
4971(if present) is executed. When the ":endtry" is reached, the script execution
4972continues in the following line as usual.
4973 When an exception that does not match any of the patterns specified by the
4974":catch" commands is thrown in the try block, the exception is not caught by
4975that try conditional and none of the catch clauses is executed. Only the
4976finally clause, if present, is taken. The exception pends during execution of
4977the finally clause. It is resumed at the ":endtry", so that commands after
4978the ":endtry" are not executed and the exception might be caught elsewhere,
4979see |try-nesting|.
4980 When during execution of a catch clause another exception is thrown, the
4981remaining lines in that catch clause are not executed. The new exception is
4982not matched against the patterns in any of the ":catch" commands of the same
4983try conditional and none of its catch clauses is taken. If there is, however,
4984a finally clause, it is executed, and the exception pends during its
4985execution. The commands following the ":endtry" are not executed. The new
4986exception might, however, be caught elsewhere, see |try-nesting|.
4987 When during execution of the finally clause (if present) an exception is
4988thrown, the remaining lines in the finally clause are skipped. If the finally
4989clause has been taken because of an exception from the try block or one of the
4990catch clauses, the original (pending) exception is discarded. The commands
4991following the ":endtry" are not executed, and the exception from the finally
4992clause is propagated and can be caught elsewhere, see |try-nesting|.
4993
4994The finally clause is also executed, when a ":break" or ":continue" for
4995a ":while" loop enclosing the complete try conditional is executed from the
4996try block or a catch clause. Or when a ":return" or ":finish" is executed
4997from the try block or a catch clause of a try conditional in a function or
4998sourced script, respectively. The ":break", ":continue", ":return", or
4999":finish" pends during execution of the finally clause and is resumed when the
5000":endtry" is reached. It is, however, discarded when an exception is thrown
5001from the finally clause.
5002 When a ":break" or ":continue" for a ":while" loop enclosing the complete
5003try conditional or when a ":return" or ":finish" is encountered in the finally
5004clause, the rest of the finally clause is skipped, and the ":break",
5005":continue", ":return" or ":finish" is executed as usual. If the finally
5006clause has been taken because of an exception or an earlier ":break",
5007":continue", ":return", or ":finish" from the try block or a catch clause,
5008this pending exception or command is discarded.
5009
5010For examples see |throw-catch| and |try-finally|.
5011
5012
5013NESTING OF TRY CONDITIONALS *try-nesting*
5014
5015Try conditionals can be nested arbitrarily. That is, a complete try
5016conditional can be put into the try block, a catch clause, or the finally
5017clause of another try conditional. If the inner try conditional does not
5018catch an exception thrown in its try block or throws a new exception from one
5019of its catch clauses or its finally clause, the outer try conditional is
5020checked according to the rules above. If the inner try conditional is in the
5021try block of the outer try conditional, its catch clauses are checked, but
5022otherwise only the finally clause is executed. It does not matter for
5023nesting, whether the inner try conditional is directly contained in the outer
5024one, or whether the outer one sources a script or calls a function containing
5025the inner try conditional.
5026
5027When none of the active try conditionals catches an exception, just their
5028finally clauses are executed. Thereafter, the script processing terminates.
5029An error message is displayed in case of an uncaught exception explicitly
5030thrown by a ":throw" command. For uncaught error and interrupt exceptions
5031implicitly raised by Vim, the error message(s) or interrupt message are shown
5032as usual.
5033
5034For examples see |throw-catch|.
5035
5036
5037EXAMINING EXCEPTION HANDLING CODE *except-examine*
5038
5039Exception handling code can get tricky. If you are in doubt what happens, set
5040'verbose' to 13 or use the ":13verbose" command modifier when sourcing your
5041script file. Then you see when an exception is thrown, discarded, caught, or
5042finished. When using a verbosity level of at least 14, things pending in
5043a finally clause are also shown. This information is also given in debug mode
5044(see |debug-scripts|).
5045
5046
5047THROWING AND CATCHING EXCEPTIONS *throw-catch*
5048
5049You can throw any number or string as an exception. Use the |:throw| command
5050and pass the value to be thrown as argument: >
5051 :throw 4711
5052 :throw "string"
5053< *throw-expression*
5054You can also specify an expression argument. The expression is then evaluated
5055first, and the result is thrown: >
5056 :throw 4705 + strlen("string")
5057 :throw strpart("strings", 0, 6)
5058
5059An exception might be thrown during evaluation of the argument of the ":throw"
5060command. Unless it is caught there, the expression evaluation is abandoned.
5061The ":throw" command then does not throw a new exception.
5062 Example: >
5063
5064 :function! Foo(arg)
5065 : try
5066 : throw a:arg
5067 : catch /foo/
5068 : endtry
5069 : return 1
5070 :endfunction
5071 :
5072 :function! Bar()
5073 : echo "in Bar"
5074 : return 4710
5075 :endfunction
5076 :
5077 :throw Foo("arrgh") + Bar()
5078
5079This throws "arrgh", and "in Bar" is not displayed since Bar() is not
5080executed. >
5081 :throw Foo("foo") + Bar()
5082however displays "in Bar" and throws 4711.
5083
5084Any other command that takes an expression as argument might also be
5085abandoned by an (uncaught) exception during the expression evaluation. The
5086exception is then propagated to the caller of the command.
5087 Example: >
5088
5089 :if Foo("arrgh")
5090 : echo "then"
5091 :else
5092 : echo "else"
5093 :endif
5094
5095Here neither of "then" or "else" is displayed.
5096
5097 *catch-order*
5098Exceptions can be caught by a try conditional with one or more |:catch|
5099commands, see |try-conditionals|. The values to be caught by each ":catch"
5100command can be specified as a pattern argument. The subsequent catch clause
5101gets executed when a matching exception is caught.
5102 Example: >
5103
5104 :function! Foo(value)
5105 : try
5106 : throw a:value
5107 : catch /^\d\+$/
5108 : echo "Number thrown"
5109 : catch /.*/
5110 : echo "String thrown"
5111 : endtry
5112 :endfunction
5113 :
5114 :call Foo(0x1267)
5115 :call Foo('string')
5116
5117The first call to Foo() displays "Number thrown", the second "String thrown".
5118An exception is matched against the ":catch" commands in the order they are
5119specified. Only the first match counts. So you should place the more
5120specific ":catch" first. The following order does not make sense: >
5121
5122 : catch /.*/
5123 : echo "String thrown"
5124 : catch /^\d\+$/
5125 : echo "Number thrown"
5126
5127The first ":catch" here matches always, so that the second catch clause is
5128never taken.
5129
5130 *throw-variables*
5131If you catch an exception by a general pattern, you may access the exact value
5132in the variable |v:exception|: >
5133
5134 : catch /^\d\+$/
5135 : echo "Number thrown. Value is" v:exception
5136
5137You may also be interested where an exception was thrown. This is stored in
5138|v:throwpoint|. Note that "v:exception" and "v:throwpoint" are valid for the
5139exception most recently caught as long it is not finished.
5140 Example: >
5141
5142 :function! Caught()
5143 : if v:exception != ""
5144 : echo 'Caught "' . v:exception . '" in ' . v:throwpoint
5145 : else
5146 : echo 'Nothing caught'
5147 : endif
5148 :endfunction
5149 :
5150 :function! Foo()
5151 : try
5152 : try
5153 : try
5154 : throw 4711
5155 : finally
5156 : call Caught()
5157 : endtry
5158 : catch /.*/
5159 : call Caught()
5160 : throw "oops"
5161 : endtry
5162 : catch /.*/
5163 : call Caught()
5164 : finally
5165 : call Caught()
5166 : endtry
5167 :endfunction
5168 :
5169 :call Foo()
5170
5171This displays >
5172
5173 Nothing caught
5174 Caught "4711" in function Foo, line 4
5175 Caught "oops" in function Foo, line 10
5176 Nothing caught
5177
5178A practical example: The following command ":LineNumber" displays the line
5179number in the script or function where it has been used: >
5180
5181 :function! LineNumber()
5182 : return substitute(v:throwpoint, '.*\D\(\d\+\).*', '\1', "")
5183 :endfunction
5184 :command! LineNumber try | throw "" | catch | echo LineNumber() | endtry
5185<
5186 *try-nested*
5187An exception that is not caught by a try conditional can be caught by
5188a surrounding try conditional: >
5189
5190 :try
5191 : try
5192 : throw "foo"
5193 : catch /foobar/
5194 : echo "foobar"
5195 : finally
5196 : echo "inner finally"
5197 : endtry
5198 :catch /foo/
5199 : echo "foo"
5200 :endtry
5201
5202The inner try conditional does not catch the exception, just its finally
5203clause is executed. The exception is then caught by the outer try
5204conditional. The example displays "inner finally" and then "foo".
5205
5206 *throw-from-catch*
5207You can catch an exception and throw a new one to be caught elsewhere from the
5208catch clause: >
5209
5210 :function! Foo()
5211 : throw "foo"
5212 :endfunction
5213 :
5214 :function! Bar()
5215 : try
5216 : call Foo()
5217 : catch /foo/
5218 : echo "Caught foo, throw bar"
5219 : throw "bar"
5220 : endtry
5221 :endfunction
5222 :
5223 :try
5224 : call Bar()
5225 :catch /.*/
5226 : echo "Caught" v:exception
5227 :endtry
5228
5229This displays "Caught foo, throw bar" and then "Caught bar".
5230
5231 *rethrow*
5232There is no real rethrow in the Vim script language, but you may throw
5233"v:exception" instead: >
5234
5235 :function! Bar()
5236 : try
5237 : call Foo()
5238 : catch /.*/
5239 : echo "Rethrow" v:exception
5240 : throw v:exception
5241 : endtry
5242 :endfunction
5243< *try-echoerr*
5244Note that this method cannot be used to "rethrow" Vim error or interrupt
5245exceptions, because it is not possible to fake Vim internal exceptions.
5246Trying so causes an error exception. You should throw your own exception
5247denoting the situation. If you want to cause a Vim error exception containing
5248the original error exception value, you can use the |:echoerr| command: >
5249
5250 :try
5251 : try
5252 : asdf
5253 : catch /.*/
5254 : echoerr v:exception
5255 : endtry
5256 :catch /.*/
5257 : echo v:exception
5258 :endtry
5259
5260This code displays
5261
5262 Vim(echoerr):Vim:E492: Not an editor command: asdf ~
5263
5264
5265CLEANUP CODE *try-finally*
5266
5267Scripts often change global settings and restore them at their end. If the
5268user however interrupts the script by pressing CTRL-C, the settings remain in
5269an inconsistent state. The same may happen to you in the development phase of
5270a script when an error occurs or you explicitly throw an exception without
5271catching it. You can solve these problems by using a try conditional with
5272a finally clause for restoring the settings. Its execution is guaranteed on
5273normal control flow, on error, on an explicit ":throw", and on interrupt.
5274(Note that errors and interrupts from inside the try conditional are converted
5275to exceptions. When not caught, they terminate the script after the finally
5276clause has been executed.)
5277Example: >
5278
5279 :try
5280 : let s:saved_ts = &ts
5281 : set ts=17
5282 :
5283 : " Do the hard work here.
5284 :
5285 :finally
5286 : let &ts = s:saved_ts
5287 : unlet s:saved_ts
5288 :endtry
5289
5290This method should be used locally whenever a function or part of a script
5291changes global settings which need to be restored on failure or normal exit of
5292that function or script part.
5293
5294 *break-finally*
5295Cleanup code works also when the try block or a catch clause is left by
5296a ":continue", ":break", ":return", or ":finish".
5297 Example: >
5298
5299 :let first = 1
5300 :while 1
5301 : try
5302 : if first
5303 : echo "first"
5304 : let first = 0
5305 : continue
5306 : else
5307 : throw "second"
5308 : endif
5309 : catch /.*/
5310 : echo v:exception
5311 : break
5312 : finally
5313 : echo "cleanup"
5314 : endtry
5315 : echo "still in while"
5316 :endwhile
5317 :echo "end"
5318
5319This displays "first", "cleanup", "second", "cleanup", and "end". >
5320
5321 :function! Foo()
5322 : try
5323 : return 4711
5324 : finally
5325 : echo "cleanup\n"
5326 : endtry
5327 : echo "Foo still active"
5328 :endfunction
5329 :
5330 :echo Foo() "returned by Foo"
5331
5332This displays "cleanup" and "4711 returned by Foo". You don't need to add an
5333extra ":return" in the finally clause. (Above all, this would override the
5334return value.)
5335
5336 *except-from-finally*
5337Using either of ":continue", ":break", ":return", ":finish", or ":throw" in
5338a finally clause is possible, but not recommended since it abandons the
5339cleanup actions for the try conditional. But, of course, interrupt and error
5340exceptions might get raised from a finally clause.
5341 Example where an error in the finally clause stops an interrupt from
5342working correctly: >
5343
5344 :try
5345 : try
5346 : echo "Press CTRL-C for interrupt"
5347 : while 1
5348 : endwhile
5349 : finally
5350 : unlet novar
5351 : endtry
5352 :catch /novar/
5353 :endtry
5354 :echo "Script still running"
5355 :sleep 1
5356
5357If you need to put commands that could fail into a finally clause, you should
5358think about catching or ignoring the errors in these commands, see
5359|catch-errors| and |ignore-errors|.
5360
5361
5362CATCHING ERRORS *catch-errors*
5363
5364If you want to catch specific errors, you just have to put the code to be
5365watched in a try block and add a catch clause for the error message. The
5366presence of the try conditional causes all errors to be converted to an
5367exception. No message is displayed and |v:errmsg| is not set then. To find
5368the right pattern for the ":catch" command, you have to know how the format of
5369the error exception is.
5370 Error exceptions have the following format: >
5371
5372 Vim({cmdname}):{errmsg}
5373or >
5374 Vim:{errmsg}
5375
5376{cmdname} is the name of the command that failed; the second form is used when
5377the command name is not known. {errmsg} is the error message usually produced
5378when the error occurs outside try conditionals. It always begins with
5379a capital "E", followed by a two or three-digit error number, a colon, and
5380a space.
5381
5382Examples:
5383
5384The command >
5385 :unlet novar
5386normally produces the error message >
5387 E108: No such variable: "novar"
5388which is converted inside try conditionals to an exception >
5389 Vim(unlet):E108: No such variable: "novar"
5390
5391The command >
5392 :dwim
5393normally produces the error message >
5394 E492: Not an editor command: dwim
5395which is converted inside try conditionals to an exception >
5396 Vim:E492: Not an editor command: dwim
5397
5398You can catch all ":unlet" errors by a >
5399 :catch /^Vim(unlet):/
5400or all errors for misspelled command names by a >
5401 :catch /^Vim:E492:/
5402
5403Some error messages may be produced by different commands: >
5404 :function nofunc
5405and >
5406 :delfunction nofunc
5407both produce the error message >
5408 E128: Function name must start with a capital: nofunc
5409which is converted inside try conditionals to an exception >
5410 Vim(function):E128: Function name must start with a capital: nofunc
5411or >
5412 Vim(delfunction):E128: Function name must start with a capital: nofunc
5413respectively. You can catch the error by its number independently on the
5414command that caused it if you use the following pattern: >
5415 :catch /^Vim(\a\+):E128:/
5416
5417Some commands like >
5418 :let x = novar
5419produce multiple error messages, here: >
5420 E121: Undefined variable: novar
5421 E15: Invalid expression: novar
5422Only the first is used for the exception value, since it is the most specific
5423one (see |except-several-errors|). So you can catch it by >
5424 :catch /^Vim(\a\+):E121:/
5425
5426You can catch all errors related to the name "nofunc" by >
5427 :catch /\<nofunc\>/
5428
5429You can catch all Vim errors in the ":write" and ":read" commands by >
5430 :catch /^Vim(\(write\|read\)):E\d\+:/
5431
5432You can catch all Vim errors by the pattern >
5433 :catch /^Vim\((\a\+)\)\=:E\d\+:/
5434<
5435 *catch-text*
5436NOTE: You should never catch the error message text itself: >
5437 :catch /No such variable/
5438only works in the english locale, but not when the user has selected
5439a different language by the |:language| command. It is however helpful to
5440cite the message text in a comment: >
5441 :catch /^Vim(\a\+):E108:/ " No such variable
5442
5443
5444IGNORING ERRORS *ignore-errors*
5445
5446You can ignore errors in a specific Vim command by catching them locally: >
5447
5448 :try
5449 : write
5450 :catch
5451 :endtry
5452
5453But you are strongly recommended NOT to use this simple form, since it could
5454catch more than you want. With the ":write" command, some autocommands could
5455be executed and cause errors not related to writing, for instance: >
5456
5457 :au BufWritePre * unlet novar
5458
5459There could even be such errors you are not responsible for as a script
5460writer: a user of your script might have defined such autocommands. You would
5461then hide the error from the user.
5462 It is much better to use >
5463
5464 :try
5465 : write
5466 :catch /^Vim(write):/
5467 :endtry
5468
5469which only catches real write errors. So catch only what you'd like to ignore
5470intentionally.
5471
5472For a single command that does not cause execution of autocommands, you could
5473even suppress the conversion of errors to exceptions by the ":silent!"
5474command: >
5475 :silent! nunmap k
5476This works also when a try conditional is active.
5477
5478
5479CATCHING INTERRUPTS *catch-interrupt*
5480
5481When there are active try conditionals, an interrupt (CTRL-C) is converted to
5482the exception "Vim:Interrupt". You can catch it like every exception. The
5483script is not terminated, then.
5484 Example: >
5485
5486 :function! TASK1()
5487 : sleep 10
5488 :endfunction
5489
5490 :function! TASK2()
5491 : sleep 20
5492 :endfunction
5493
5494 :while 1
5495 : let command = input("Type a command: ")
5496 : try
5497 : if command == ""
5498 : continue
5499 : elseif command == "END"
5500 : break
5501 : elseif command == "TASK1"
5502 : call TASK1()
5503 : elseif command == "TASK2"
5504 : call TASK2()
5505 : else
5506 : echo "\nIllegal command:" command
5507 : continue
5508 : endif
5509 : catch /^Vim:Interrupt$/
5510 : echo "\nCommand interrupted"
5511 : " Caught the interrupt. Continue with next prompt.
5512 : endtry
5513 :endwhile
5514
5515You can interrupt a task here by pressing CTRL-C; the script then asks for
5516a new command. If you press CTRL-C at the prompt, the script is terminated.
5517
5518For testing what happens when CTRL-C would be pressed on a specific line in
5519your script, use the debug mode and execute the |>quit| or |>interrupt|
5520command on that line. See |debug-scripts|.
5521
5522
5523CATCHING ALL *catch-all*
5524
5525The commands >
5526
5527 :catch /.*/
5528 :catch //
5529 :catch
5530
5531catch everything, error exceptions, interrupt exceptions and exceptions
5532explicitly thrown by the |:throw| command. This is useful at the top level of
5533a script in order to catch unexpected things.
5534 Example: >
5535
5536 :try
5537 :
5538 : " do the hard work here
5539 :
5540 :catch /MyException/
5541 :
5542 : " handle known problem
5543 :
5544 :catch /^Vim:Interrupt$/
5545 : echo "Script interrupted"
5546 :catch /.*/
5547 : echo "Internal error (" . v:exception . ")"
5548 : echo " - occurred at " . v:throwpoint
5549 :endtry
5550 :" end of script
5551
5552Note: Catching all might catch more things than you want. Thus, you are
5553strongly encouraged to catch only for problems that you can really handle by
5554specifying a pattern argument to the ":catch".
5555 Example: Catching all could make it nearly impossible to interrupt a script
5556by pressing CTRL-C: >
5557
5558 :while 1
5559 : try
5560 : sleep 1
5561 : catch
5562 : endtry
5563 :endwhile
5564
5565
5566EXCEPTIONS AND AUTOCOMMANDS *except-autocmd*
5567
5568Exceptions may be used during execution of autocommands. Example: >
5569
5570 :autocmd User x try
5571 :autocmd User x throw "Oops!"
5572 :autocmd User x catch
5573 :autocmd User x echo v:exception
5574 :autocmd User x endtry
5575 :autocmd User x throw "Arrgh!"
5576 :autocmd User x echo "Should not be displayed"
5577 :
5578 :try
5579 : doautocmd User x
5580 :catch
5581 : echo v:exception
5582 :endtry
5583
5584This displays "Oops!" and "Arrgh!".
5585
5586 *except-autocmd-Pre*
5587For some commands, autocommands get executed before the main action of the
5588command takes place. If an exception is thrown and not caught in the sequence
5589of autocommands, the sequence and the command that caused its execution are
5590abandoned and the exception is propagated to the caller of the command.
5591 Example: >
5592
5593 :autocmd BufWritePre * throw "FAIL"
5594 :autocmd BufWritePre * echo "Should not be displayed"
5595 :
5596 :try
5597 : write
5598 :catch
5599 : echo "Caught:" v:exception "from" v:throwpoint
5600 :endtry
5601
5602Here, the ":write" command does not write the file currently being edited (as
5603you can see by checking 'modified'), since the exception from the BufWritePre
5604autocommand abandons the ":write". The exception is then caught and the
5605script displays: >
5606
5607 Caught: FAIL from BufWrite Auto commands for "*"
5608<
5609 *except-autocmd-Post*
5610For some commands, autocommands get executed after the main action of the
5611command has taken place. If this main action fails and the command is inside
5612an active try conditional, the autocommands are skipped and an error exception
5613is thrown that can be caught by the caller of the command.
5614 Example: >
5615
5616 :autocmd BufWritePost * echo "File successfully written!"
5617 :
5618 :try
5619 : write /i/m/p/o/s/s/i/b/l/e
5620 :catch
5621 : echo v:exception
5622 :endtry
5623
5624This just displays: >
5625
5626 Vim(write):E212: Can't open file for writing (/i/m/p/o/s/s/i/b/l/e)
5627
5628If you really need to execute the autocommands even when the main action
5629fails, trigger the event from the catch clause.
5630 Example: >
5631
5632 :autocmd BufWritePre * set noreadonly
5633 :autocmd BufWritePost * set readonly
5634 :
5635 :try
5636 : write /i/m/p/o/s/s/i/b/l/e
5637 :catch
5638 : doautocmd BufWritePost /i/m/p/o/s/s/i/b/l/e
5639 :endtry
5640<
5641You can also use ":silent!": >
5642
5643 :let x = "ok"
5644 :let v:errmsg = ""
5645 :autocmd BufWritePost * if v:errmsg != ""
5646 :autocmd BufWritePost * let x = "after fail"
5647 :autocmd BufWritePost * endif
5648 :try
5649 : silent! write /i/m/p/o/s/s/i/b/l/e
5650 :catch
5651 :endtry
5652 :echo x
5653
5654This displays "after fail".
5655
5656If the main action of the command does not fail, exceptions from the
5657autocommands will be catchable by the caller of the command: >
5658
5659 :autocmd BufWritePost * throw ":-("
5660 :autocmd BufWritePost * echo "Should not be displayed"
5661 :
5662 :try
5663 : write
5664 :catch
5665 : echo v:exception
5666 :endtry
5667<
5668 *except-autocmd-Cmd*
5669For some commands, the normal action can be replaced by a sequence of
5670autocommands. Exceptions from that sequence will be catchable by the caller
5671of the command.
5672 Example: For the ":write" command, the caller cannot know whether the file
5673had actually been written when the exception occurred. You need to tell it in
5674some way. >
5675
5676 :if !exists("cnt")
5677 : let cnt = 0
5678 :
5679 : autocmd BufWriteCmd * if &modified
5680 : autocmd BufWriteCmd * let cnt = cnt + 1
5681 : autocmd BufWriteCmd * if cnt % 3 == 2
5682 : autocmd BufWriteCmd * throw "BufWriteCmdError"
5683 : autocmd BufWriteCmd * endif
5684 : autocmd BufWriteCmd * write | set nomodified
5685 : autocmd BufWriteCmd * if cnt % 3 == 0
5686 : autocmd BufWriteCmd * throw "BufWriteCmdError"
5687 : autocmd BufWriteCmd * endif
5688 : autocmd BufWriteCmd * echo "File successfully written!"
5689 : autocmd BufWriteCmd * endif
5690 :endif
5691 :
5692 :try
5693 : write
5694 :catch /^BufWriteCmdError$/
5695 : if &modified
5696 : echo "Error on writing (file contents not changed)"
5697 : else
5698 : echo "Error after writing"
5699 : endif
5700 :catch /^Vim(write):/
5701 : echo "Error on writing"
5702 :endtry
5703
5704When this script is sourced several times after making changes, it displays
5705first >
5706 File successfully written!
5707then >
5708 Error on writing (file contents not changed)
5709then >
5710 Error after writing
5711etc.
5712
5713 *except-autocmd-ill*
5714You cannot spread a try conditional over autocommands for different events.
5715The following code is ill-formed: >
5716
5717 :autocmd BufWritePre * try
5718 :
5719 :autocmd BufWritePost * catch
5720 :autocmd BufWritePost * echo v:exception
5721 :autocmd BufWritePost * endtry
5722 :
5723 :write
5724
5725
5726EXCEPTION HIERARCHIES AND PARAMETERIZED EXCEPTIONS *except-hier-param*
5727
5728Some programming languages allow to use hierarchies of exception classes or to
5729pass additional information with the object of an exception class. You can do
5730similar things in Vim.
5731 In order to throw an exception from a hierarchy, just throw the complete
5732class name with the components separated by a colon, for instance throw the
5733string "EXCEPT:MATHERR:OVERFLOW" for an overflow in a mathematical library.
5734 When you want to pass additional information with your exception class, add
5735it in parentheses, for instance throw the string "EXCEPT:IO:WRITEERR(myfile)"
5736for an error when writing "myfile".
5737 With the appropriate patterns in the ":catch" command, you can catch for
5738base classes or derived classes of your hierarchy. Additional information in
5739parentheses can be cut out from |v:exception| with the ":substitute" command.
5740 Example: >
5741
5742 :function! CheckRange(a, func)
5743 : if a:a < 0
5744 : throw "EXCEPT:MATHERR:RANGE(" . a:func . ")"
5745 : endif
5746 :endfunction
5747 :
5748 :function! Add(a, b)
5749 : call CheckRange(a:a, "Add")
5750 : call CheckRange(a:b, "Add")
5751 : let c = a:a + a:b
5752 : if c < 0
5753 : throw "EXCEPT:MATHERR:OVERFLOW"
5754 : endif
5755 : return c
5756 :endfunction
5757 :
5758 :function! Div(a, b)
5759 : call CheckRange(a:a, "Div")
5760 : call CheckRange(a:b, "Div")
5761 : if (a:b == 0)
5762 : throw "EXCEPT:MATHERR:ZERODIV"
5763 : endif
5764 : return a:a / a:b
5765 :endfunction
5766 :
5767 :function! Write(file)
5768 : try
5769 : execute "write" a:file
5770 : catch /^Vim(write):/
5771 : throw "EXCEPT:IO(" . getcwd() . ", " . a:file . "):WRITEERR"
5772 : endtry
5773 :endfunction
5774 :
5775 :try
5776 :
5777 : " something with arithmetics and I/O
5778 :
5779 :catch /^EXCEPT:MATHERR:RANGE/
5780 : let function = substitute(v:exception, '.*(\(\a\+\)).*', '\1', "")
5781 : echo "Range error in" function
5782 :
5783 :catch /^EXCEPT:MATHERR/ " catches OVERFLOW and ZERODIV
5784 : echo "Math error"
5785 :
5786 :catch /^EXCEPT:IO/
5787 : let dir = substitute(v:exception, '.*(\(.\+\),\s*.\+).*', '\1', "")
5788 : let file = substitute(v:exception, '.*(.\+,\s*\(.\+\)).*', '\1', "")
5789 : if file !~ '^/'
5790 : let file = dir . "/" . file
5791 : endif
5792 : echo 'I/O error for "' . file . '"'
5793 :
5794 :catch /^EXCEPT/
5795 : echo "Unspecified error"
5796 :
5797 :endtry
5798
5799The exceptions raised by Vim itself (on error or when pressing CTRL-C) use
5800a flat hierarchy: they are all in the "Vim" class. You cannot throw yourself
5801exceptions with the "Vim" prefix; they are reserved for Vim.
5802 Vim error exceptions are parameterized with the name of the command that
5803failed, if known. See |catch-errors|.
5804
5805
5806PECULIARITIES
5807 *except-compat*
5808The exception handling concept requires that the command sequence causing the
5809exception is aborted immediately and control is transferred to finally clauses
5810and/or a catch clause.
5811
5812In the Vim script language there are cases where scripts and functions
5813continue after an error: in functions without the "abort" flag or in a command
5814after ":silent!", control flow goes to the following line, and outside
5815functions, control flow goes to the line following the outermost ":endwhile"
5816or ":endif". On the other hand, errors should be catchable as exceptions
5817(thus, requiring the immediate abortion).
5818
5819This problem has been solved by converting errors to exceptions and using
5820immediate abortion (if not suppressed by ":silent!") only when a try
5821conditional is active. This is no restriction since an (error) exception can
5822be caught only from an active try conditional. If you want an immediate
5823termination without catching the error, just use a try conditional without
5824catch clause. (You can cause cleanup code being executed before termination
5825by specifying a finally clause.)
5826
5827When no try conditional is active, the usual abortion and continuation
5828behavior is used instead of immediate abortion. This ensures compatibility of
5829scripts written for Vim 6.1 and earlier.
5830
5831However, when sourcing an existing script that does not use exception handling
5832commands (or when calling one of its functions) from inside an active try
5833conditional of a new script, you might change the control flow of the existing
5834script on error. You get the immediate abortion on error and can catch the
5835error in the new script. If however the sourced script suppresses error
5836messages by using the ":silent!" command (checking for errors by testing
5837|v:errmsg| if appropriate), its execution path is not changed. The error is
5838not converted to an exception. (See |:silent|.) So the only remaining cause
5839where this happens is for scripts that don't care about errors and produce
5840error messages. You probably won't want to use such code from your new
5841scripts.
5842
5843 *except-syntax-err*
5844Syntax errors in the exception handling commands are never caught by any of
5845the ":catch" commands of the try conditional they belong to. Its finally
5846clauses, however, is executed.
5847 Example: >
5848
5849 :try
5850 : try
5851 : throw 4711
5852 : catch /\(/
5853 : echo "in catch with syntax error"
5854 : catch
5855 : echo "inner catch-all"
5856 : finally
5857 : echo "inner finally"
5858 : endtry
5859 :catch
5860 : echo 'outer catch-all caught "' . v:exception . '"'
5861 : finally
5862 : echo "outer finally"
5863 :endtry
5864
5865This displays: >
5866 inner finally
5867 outer catch-all caught "Vim(catch):E54: Unmatched \("
5868 outer finally
5869The original exception is discarded and an error exception is raised, instead.
5870
5871 *except-single-line*
5872The ":try", ":catch", ":finally", and ":endtry" commands can be put on
5873a single line, but then syntax errors may make it difficult to recognize the
5874"catch" line, thus you better avoid this.
5875 Example: >
5876 :try | unlet! foo # | catch | endtry
5877raises an error exception for the trailing characters after the ":unlet!"
5878argument, but does not see the ":catch" and ":endtry" commands, so that the
5879error exception is discarded and the "E488: Trailing characters" message gets
5880displayed.
5881
5882 *except-several-errors*
5883When several errors appear in a single command, the first error message is
5884usually the most specific one and therefor converted to the error exception.
5885 Example: >
5886 echo novar
5887causes >
5888 E121: Undefined variable: novar
5889 E15: Invalid expression: novar
5890The value of the error exception inside try conditionals is: >
5891 Vim(echo):E121: Undefined variable: novar
5892< *except-syntax-error*
5893But when a syntax error is detected after a normal error in the same command,
5894the syntax error is used for the exception being thrown.
5895 Example: >
5896 unlet novar #
5897causes >
5898 E108: No such variable: "novar"
5899 E488: Trailing characters
5900The value of the error exception inside try conditionals is: >
5901 Vim(unlet):E488: Trailing characters
5902This is done because the syntax error might change the execution path in a way
5903not intended by the user. Example: >
5904 try
5905 try | unlet novar # | catch | echo v:exception | endtry
5906 catch /.*/
5907 echo "outer catch:" v:exception
5908 endtry
5909This displays "outer catch: Vim(unlet):E488: Trailing characters", and then
5910a "E600: Missing :endtry" error message is given, see |except-single-line|.
5911
5912==============================================================================
59139. Examples *eval-examples*
5914
5915Printing in Hex ~
5916>
5917 :" The function Nr2Hex() returns the Hex string of a number.
5918 :func Nr2Hex(nr)
5919 : let n = a:nr
5920 : let r = ""
5921 : while n
5922 : let r = '0123456789ABCDEF'[n % 16] . r
5923 : let n = n / 16
5924 : endwhile
5925 : return r
5926 :endfunc
5927
5928 :" The function String2Hex() converts each character in a string to a two
5929 :" character Hex string.
5930 :func String2Hex(str)
5931 : let out = ''
5932 : let ix = 0
5933 : while ix < strlen(a:str)
5934 : let out = out . Nr2Hex(char2nr(a:str[ix]))
5935 : let ix = ix + 1
5936 : endwhile
5937 : return out
5938 :endfunc
5939
5940Example of its use: >
5941 :echo Nr2Hex(32)
5942result: "20" >
5943 :echo String2Hex("32")
5944result: "3332"
5945
5946
5947Sorting lines (by Robert Webb) ~
5948
5949Here is a Vim script to sort lines. Highlight the lines in Vim and type
5950":Sort". This doesn't call any external programs so it'll work on any
5951platform. The function Sort() actually takes the name of a comparison
5952function as its argument, like qsort() does in C. So you could supply it
5953with different comparison functions in order to sort according to date etc.
5954>
5955 :" Function for use with Sort(), to compare two strings.
5956 :func! Strcmp(str1, str2)
5957 : if (a:str1 < a:str2)
5958 : return -1
5959 : elseif (a:str1 > a:str2)
5960 : return 1
5961 : else
5962 : return 0
5963 : endif
5964 :endfunction
5965
5966 :" Sort lines. SortR() is called recursively.
5967 :func! SortR(start, end, cmp)
5968 : if (a:start >= a:end)
5969 : return
5970 : endif
5971 : let partition = a:start - 1
5972 : let middle = partition
5973 : let partStr = getline((a:start + a:end) / 2)
5974 : let i = a:start
5975 : while (i <= a:end)
5976 : let str = getline(i)
5977 : exec "let result = " . a:cmp . "(str, partStr)"
5978 : if (result <= 0)
5979 : " Need to put it before the partition. Swap lines i and partition.
5980 : let partition = partition + 1
5981 : if (result == 0)
5982 : let middle = partition
5983 : endif
5984 : if (i != partition)
5985 : let str2 = getline(partition)
5986 : call setline(i, str2)
5987 : call setline(partition, str)
5988 : endif
5989 : endif
5990 : let i = i + 1
5991 : endwhile
5992
5993 : " Now we have a pointer to the "middle" element, as far as partitioning
5994 : " goes, which could be anywhere before the partition. Make sure it is at
5995 : " the end of the partition.
5996 : if (middle != partition)
5997 : let str = getline(middle)
5998 : let str2 = getline(partition)
5999 : call setline(middle, str2)
6000 : call setline(partition, str)
6001 : endif
6002 : call SortR(a:start, partition - 1, a:cmp)
6003 : call SortR(partition + 1, a:end, a:cmp)
6004 :endfunc
6005
6006 :" To Sort a range of lines, pass the range to Sort() along with the name of a
6007 :" function that will compare two lines.
6008 :func! Sort(cmp) range
6009 : call SortR(a:firstline, a:lastline, a:cmp)
6010 :endfunc
6011
6012 :" :Sort takes a range of lines and sorts them.
6013 :command! -nargs=0 -range Sort <line1>,<line2>call Sort("Strcmp")
6014<
6015 *sscanf*
6016There is no sscanf() function in Vim. If you need to extract parts from a
6017line, you can use matchstr() and substitute() to do it. This example shows
6018how to get the file name, line number and column number out of a line like
6019"foobar.txt, 123, 45". >
6020 :" Set up the match bit
6021 :let mx='\(\f\+\),\s*\(\d\+\),\s*\(\d\+\)'
6022 :"get the part matching the whole expression
6023 :let l = matchstr(line, mx)
6024 :"get each item out of the match
6025 :let file = substitute(l, mx, '\1', '')
6026 :let lnum = substitute(l, mx, '\2', '')
6027 :let col = substitute(l, mx, '\3', '')
6028
6029The input is in the variable "line", the results in the variables "file",
6030"lnum" and "col". (idea from Michael Geddes)
6031
6032==============================================================================
603310. No +eval feature *no-eval-feature*
6034
6035When the |+eval| feature was disabled at compile time, none of the expression
6036evaluation commands are available. To prevent this from causing Vim scripts
6037to generate all kinds of errors, the ":if" and ":endif" commands are still
6038recognized, though the argument of the ":if" and everything between the ":if"
6039and the matching ":endif" is ignored. Nesting of ":if" blocks is allowed, but
6040only if the commands are at the start of the line. The ":else" command is not
6041recognized.
6042
6043Example of how to avoid executing commands when the |+eval| feature is
6044missing: >
6045
6046 :if 1
6047 : echo "Expression evaluation is compiled in"
6048 :else
6049 : echo "You will _never_ see this message"
6050 :endif
6051
6052==============================================================================
605311. The sandbox *eval-sandbox* *sandbox* *E48*
6054
6055The 'foldexpr', 'includeexpr', 'indentexpr', 'statusline' and 'foldtext'
6056options are evaluated in a sandbox. This means that you are protected from
6057these expressions having nasty side effects. This gives some safety for when
6058these options are set from a modeline. It is also used when the command from
6059a tags file is executed.
Bram Moolenaar7b0294c2004-10-11 10:16:09 +00006060The sandbox is also used for the |:sandbox| command.
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00006061
6062These items are not allowed in the sandbox:
6063 - changing the buffer text
6064 - defining or changing mapping, autocommands, functions, user commands
6065 - setting certain options (see |option-summary|)
6066 - executing a shell command
6067 - reading or writing a file
6068 - jumping to another buffer or editing a file
Bram Moolenaar7b0294c2004-10-11 10:16:09 +00006069This is not guaranteed 100% secure, but it should block most attacks.
6070
6071 *:san* *:sandbox*
6072:sandbox {cmd} Execute {cmd} in the sandbox. Useful to evaluate an
6073 option that may have been set from a modeline, e.g.
6074 'foldexpr'.
6075
Bram Moolenaar071d4272004-06-13 20:20:40 +00006076
6077 vim:tw=78:ts=8:ft=help:norl: