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- *eval.txt* Nvim
- VIM REFERENCE MANUAL by Bram Moolenaar
- Expression evaluation *vimscript* *expression* *expr* *E15* *eval*
- Using expressions is introduced in chapter 41 of the user manual |usr_41.txt|.
- Type |gO| to see the table of contents.
- ==============================================================================
- 1. Variables *variables*
- 1.1 Variable types ~
- *E712* *E896* *E897* *E899*
- There are seven types of variables:
- *Number* *Integer*
- Number A 32 or 64 bit signed number. |expr-number|
- The number of bits is available in |v:numbersize|.
- Examples: -123 0x10 0177 0o177 0b1011
- Float A floating point number. |floating-point-format| *Float*
- Examples: 123.456 1.15e-6 -1.1e3
- String A NUL terminated string of 8-bit unsigned characters (bytes).
- |expr-string| Examples: "ab\txx\"--" 'x-z''a,c'
- Funcref A reference to a function |Funcref|.
- Example: function("strlen")
- It can be bound to a dictionary and arguments, it then works
- like a Partial.
- Example: function("Callback", [arg], myDict)
- List An ordered sequence of items, see |List| for details.
- Example: [1, 2, ['a', 'b']]
- Dictionary An associative, unordered array: Each entry has a key and a
- value. |Dictionary|
- Examples: >
- {"blue": "#0000ff", "red": "#ff0000"}
- #{blue: "#0000ff", red: "#ff0000"}
- Blob Binary Large Object. Stores any sequence of bytes. See |Blob|
- for details.
- Example: 0zFF00ED015DAF
- 0z is an empty Blob.
- The Number and String types are converted automatically, depending on how they
- are used.
- Conversion from a Number to a String is by making the ASCII representation of
- the Number. Examples:
- Number 123 --> String "123" ~
- Number 0 --> String "0" ~
- Number -1 --> String "-1" ~
- *octal*
- Conversion from a String to a Number is done by converting the first digits to
- a number. Hexadecimal "0xf9", Octal "017" or "0o17", and Binary "0b10"
- numbers are recognized. If the String doesn't start with digits, the result
- is zero. Examples:
- String "456" --> Number 456 ~
- String "6bar" --> Number 6 ~
- String "foo" --> Number 0 ~
- String "0xf1" --> Number 241 ~
- String "0100" --> Number 64 ~
- String "0o100" --> Number 64 ~
- String "0b101" --> Number 5 ~
- String "-8" --> Number -8 ~
- String "+8" --> Number 0 ~
- To force conversion from String to Number, add zero to it: >
- :echo "0100" + 0
- < 64 ~
- To avoid a leading zero to cause octal conversion, or for using a different
- base, use |str2nr()|.
- *TRUE* *FALSE* *Boolean*
- For boolean operators Numbers are used. Zero is FALSE, non-zero is TRUE.
- You can also use |v:false| and |v:true|.
- When TRUE is returned from a function it is the Number one, FALSE is the
- number zero.
- Note that in the command: >
- :if "foo"
- :" NOT executed
- "foo" is converted to 0, which means FALSE. If the string starts with a
- non-zero number it means TRUE: >
- :if "8foo"
- :" executed
- To test for a non-empty string, use empty(): >
- :if !empty("foo")
- < *falsy* *truthy*
- An expression can be used as a condition, ignoring the type and only using
- whether the value is "sort of true" or "sort of false". Falsy is:
- the number zero
- empty string, blob, list or dictionary
- Other values are truthy. Examples:
- 0 falsy
- 1 truthy
- -1 truthy
- 0.0 falsy
- 0.1 truthy
- '' falsy
- 'x' truthy
- [] falsy
- [0] truthy
- {} falsy
- #{x: 1} truthy
- 0z falsy
- 0z00 truthy
- *non-zero-arg*
- Function arguments often behave slightly different from |TRUE|: If the
- argument is present and it evaluates to a non-zero Number, |v:true| or a
- non-empty String, then the value is considered to be TRUE.
- Note that " " and "0" are also non-empty strings, thus considered to be TRUE.
- A List, Dictionary or Float is not a Number or String, thus evaluate to FALSE.
- *E745* *E728* *E703* *E729* *E730* *E731*
- *E974* *E975* *E976*
- |List|, |Dictionary|, |Funcref|, and |Blob| types are not automatically
- converted.
- *E805* *E806* *E808*
- When mixing Number and Float the Number is converted to Float. Otherwise
- there is no automatic conversion of Float. You can use str2float() for String
- to Float, printf() for Float to String and float2nr() for Float to Number.
- *E362* *E891* *E892* *E893* *E894* *E907*
- When expecting a Float a Number can also be used, but nothing else.
- *no-type-checking*
- You will not get an error if you try to change the type of a variable.
- 1.2 Function references ~
- *Funcref* *E695* *E718* *E1192*
- A Funcref variable is obtained with the |function()| function, the |funcref()|
- function or created with the lambda expression |expr-lambda|. It can be used
- in an expression in the place of a function name, before the parenthesis
- around the arguments, to invoke the function it refers to. Example: >
- :let Fn = function("MyFunc")
- :echo Fn()
- < *E704* *E705* *E707*
- A Funcref variable must start with a capital, "s:", "w:", "t:" or "b:". You
- can use "g:" but the following name must still start with a capital. You
- cannot have both a Funcref variable and a function with the same name.
- A special case is defining a function and directly assigning its Funcref to a
- Dictionary entry. Example: >
- :function dict.init() dict
- : let self.val = 0
- :endfunction
- The key of the Dictionary can start with a lower case letter. The actual
- function name is not used here. Also see |numbered-function|.
- A Funcref can also be used with the |:call| command: >
- :call Fn()
- :call dict.init()
- The name of the referenced function can be obtained with |string()|. >
- :let func = string(Fn)
- You can use |call()| to invoke a Funcref and use a list variable for the
- arguments: >
- :let r = call(Fn, mylist)
- <
- *Partial*
- A Funcref optionally binds a Dictionary and/or arguments. This is also called
- a Partial. This is created by passing the Dictionary and/or arguments to
- function() or funcref(). When calling the function the Dictionary and/or
- arguments will be passed to the function. Example: >
- let Cb = function('Callback', ['foo'], myDict)
- call Cb('bar')
- This will invoke the function as if using: >
- call myDict.Callback('foo', 'bar')
- Note that binding a function to a Dictionary also happens when the function is
- a member of the Dictionary: >
- let myDict.myFunction = MyFunction
- call myDict.myFunction()
- Here MyFunction() will get myDict passed as "self". This happens when the
- "myFunction" member is accessed. When assigning "myFunction" to otherDict
- and calling it, it will be bound to otherDict: >
- let otherDict.myFunction = myDict.myFunction
- call otherDict.myFunction()
- Now "self" will be "otherDict". But when the dictionary was bound explicitly
- this won't happen: >
- let myDict.myFunction = function(MyFunction, myDict)
- let otherDict.myFunction = myDict.myFunction
- call otherDict.myFunction()
- Here "self" will be "myDict", because it was bound explicitly.
- 1.3 Lists ~
- *list* *List* *Lists* *E686*
- A List is an ordered sequence of items. An item can be of any type. Items
- can be accessed by their index number. Items can be added and removed at any
- position in the sequence.
- List creation ~
- *E696* *E697*
- A List is created with a comma-separated list of items in square brackets.
- Examples: >
- :let mylist = [1, two, 3, "four"]
- :let emptylist = []
- An item can be any expression. Using a List for an item creates a
- List of Lists: >
- :let nestlist = [[11, 12], [21, 22], [31, 32]]
- An extra comma after the last item is ignored.
- List index ~
- *list-index* *E684*
- An item in the List can be accessed by putting the index in square brackets
- after the List. Indexes are zero-based, thus the first item has index zero. >
- :let item = mylist[0] " get the first item: 1
- :let item = mylist[2] " get the third item: 3
- When the resulting item is a list this can be repeated: >
- :let item = nestlist[0][1] " get the first list, second item: 12
- <
- A negative index is counted from the end. Index -1 refers to the last item in
- the List, -2 to the last but one item, etc. >
- :let last = mylist[-1] " get the last item: "four"
- To avoid an error for an invalid index use the |get()| function. When an item
- is not available it returns zero or the default value you specify: >
- :echo get(mylist, idx)
- :echo get(mylist, idx, "NONE")
- List concatenation ~
- *list-concatenation*
- Two lists can be concatenated with the "+" operator: >
- :let longlist = mylist + [5, 6]
- :let longlist = [5, 6] + mylist
- To prepend or append an item, turn it into a list by putting [] around it.
- A list can be concatenated with another one in-place using |:let+=| or
- |extend()|: >
- :let mylist += [7, 8]
- :call extend(mylist, [7, 8])
- <
- See |list-modification| below for more about changing a list in-place.
- Sublist ~
- *sublist*
- A part of the List can be obtained by specifying the first and last index,
- separated by a colon in square brackets: >
- :let shortlist = mylist[2:-1] " get List [3, "four"]
- Omitting the first index is similar to zero. Omitting the last index is
- similar to -1. >
- :let endlist = mylist[2:] " from item 2 to the end: [3, "four"]
- :let shortlist = mylist[2:2] " List with one item: [3]
- :let otherlist = mylist[:] " make a copy of the List
- Notice that the last index is inclusive. If you prefer using an exclusive
- index use the |slice()| method.
- If the first index is beyond the last item of the List or the second item is
- before the first item, the result is an empty list. There is no error
- message.
- If the second index is equal to or greater than the length of the list the
- length minus one is used: >
- :let mylist = [0, 1, 2, 3]
- :echo mylist[2:8] " result: [2, 3]
- NOTE: mylist[s:e] means using the variable "s:e" as index. Watch out for
- using a single letter variable before the ":". Insert a space when needed:
- mylist[s : e].
- List identity ~
- *list-identity*
- When variable "aa" is a list and you assign it to another variable "bb", both
- variables refer to the same list. Thus changing the list "aa" will also
- change "bb": >
- :let aa = [1, 2, 3]
- :let bb = aa
- :call add(aa, 4)
- :echo bb
- < [1, 2, 3, 4]
- Making a copy of a list is done with the |copy()| function. Using [:] also
- works, as explained above. This creates a shallow copy of the list: Changing
- a list item in the list will also change the item in the copied list: >
- :let aa = [[1, 'a'], 2, 3]
- :let bb = copy(aa)
- :call add(aa, 4)
- :let aa[0][1] = 'aaa'
- :echo aa
- < [[1, aaa], 2, 3, 4] >
- :echo bb
- < [[1, aaa], 2, 3]
- To make a completely independent list use |deepcopy()|. This also makes a
- copy of the values in the list, recursively. Up to a hundred levels deep.
- The operator "is" can be used to check if two variables refer to the same
- List. "isnot" does the opposite. In contrast "==" compares if two lists have
- the same value. >
- :let alist = [1, 2, 3]
- :let blist = [1, 2, 3]
- :echo alist is blist
- < 0 >
- :echo alist == blist
- < 1
- Note about comparing lists: Two lists are considered equal if they have the
- same length and all items compare equal, as with using "==". There is one
- exception: When comparing a number with a string they are considered
- different. There is no automatic type conversion, as with using "==" on
- variables. Example: >
- echo 4 == "4"
- < 1 >
- echo [4] == ["4"]
- < 0
- Thus comparing Lists is more strict than comparing numbers and strings. You
- can compare simple values this way too by putting them in a list: >
- :let a = 5
- :let b = "5"
- :echo a == b
- < 1 >
- :echo [a] == [b]
- < 0
- List unpack ~
- To unpack the items in a list to individual variables, put the variables in
- square brackets, like list items: >
- :let [var1, var2] = mylist
- When the number of variables does not match the number of items in the list
- this produces an error. To handle any extra items from the list append ";"
- and a variable name: >
- :let [var1, var2; rest] = mylist
- This works like: >
- :let var1 = mylist[0]
- :let var2 = mylist[1]
- :let rest = mylist[2:]
- Except that there is no error if there are only two items. "rest" will be an
- empty list then.
- List modification ~
- *list-modification*
- To change a specific item of a list use |:let| this way: >
- :let list[4] = "four"
- :let listlist[0][3] = item
- To change part of a list you can specify the first and last item to be
- modified. The value must at least have the number of items in the range: >
- :let list[3:5] = [3, 4, 5]
- To add items to a List in-place, you can use |:let+=| (|list-concatenation|): >
- :let listA = [1, 2]
- :let listA += [3, 4]
- <
- When two variables refer to the same List, changing one List in-place will
- cause the referenced List to be changed in-place: >
- :let listA = [1, 2]
- :let listB = listA
- :let listB += [3, 4]
- :echo listA
- [1, 2, 3, 4]
- <
- Adding and removing items from a list is done with functions. Here are a few
- examples: >
- :call insert(list, 'a') " prepend item 'a'
- :call insert(list, 'a', 3) " insert item 'a' before list[3]
- :call add(list, "new") " append String item
- :call add(list, [1, 2]) " append a List as one new item
- :call extend(list, [1, 2]) " extend the list with two more items
- :let i = remove(list, 3) " remove item 3
- :unlet list[3] " idem
- :let l = remove(list, 3, -1) " remove items 3 to last item
- :unlet list[3 : ] " idem
- :call filter(list, 'v:val !~ "x"') " remove items with an 'x'
- Changing the order of items in a list: >
- :call sort(list) " sort a list alphabetically
- :call reverse(list) " reverse the order of items
- :call uniq(sort(list)) " sort and remove duplicates
- For loop ~
- The |:for| loop executes commands for each item in a |List|, |String| or |Blob|.
- A variable is set to each item in sequence. Example with a List: >
- :for item in mylist
- : call Doit(item)
- :endfor
- This works like: >
- :let index = 0
- :while index < len(mylist)
- : let item = mylist[index]
- : :call Doit(item)
- : let index = index + 1
- :endwhile
- If all you want to do is modify each item in the list then the |map()|
- function will be a simpler method than a for loop.
- Just like the |:let| command, |:for| also accepts a list of variables. This
- requires the argument to be a List of Lists. >
- :for [lnum, col] in [[1, 3], [2, 8], [3, 0]]
- : call Doit(lnum, col)
- :endfor
- This works like a |:let| command is done for each list item. Again, the types
- must remain the same to avoid an error.
- It is also possible to put remaining items in a List variable: >
- :for [i, j; rest] in listlist
- : call Doit(i, j)
- : if !empty(rest)
- : echo "remainder: " .. string(rest)
- : endif
- :endfor
- For a Blob one byte at a time is used.
- For a String one character, including any composing characters, is used as a
- String. Example: >
- for c in text
- echo 'This character is ' .. c
- endfor
- List functions ~
- *E714*
- Functions that are useful with a List: >
- :let r = call(funcname, list) " call a function with an argument list
- :if empty(list) " check if list is empty
- :let l = len(list) " number of items in list
- :let big = max(list) " maximum value in list
- :let small = min(list) " minimum value in list
- :let xs = count(list, 'x') " count nr of times 'x' appears in list
- :let i = index(list, 'x') " index of first 'x' in list
- :let lines = getline(1, 10) " get ten text lines from buffer
- :call append('$', lines) " append text lines in buffer
- :let list = split("a b c") " create list from items in a string
- :let string = join(list, ', ') " create string from list items
- :let s = string(list) " String representation of list
- :call map(list, '">> " .. v:val') " prepend ">> " to each item
- Don't forget that a combination of features can make things simple. For
- example, to add up all the numbers in a list: >
- :exe 'let sum = ' .. join(nrlist, '+')
- 1.4 Dictionaries ~
- *Dict* *dict* *Dictionaries* *Dictionary*
- A Dictionary is an associative array: Each entry has a key and a value. The
- entry can be located with the key. The entries are stored without a specific
- ordering.
- Dictionary creation ~
- *E720* *E721* *E722* *E723*
- A Dictionary is created with a comma-separated list of entries in curly
- braces. Each entry has a key and a value, separated by a colon. Each key can
- only appear once. Examples: >
- :let mydict = {1: 'one', 2: 'two', 3: 'three'}
- :let emptydict = {}
- < *E713* *E716* *E717*
- A key is always a String. You can use a Number, it will be converted to a
- String automatically. Thus the String '4' and the number 4 will find the same
- entry. Note that the String '04' and the Number 04 are different, since the
- Number will be converted to the String '4', leading zeros are dropped. The
- empty string can also be used as a key.
- *literal-Dict* *#{}*
- To avoid having to put quotes around every key the #{} form can be used. This
- does require the key to consist only of ASCII letters, digits, '-' and '_'.
- Example: >
- :let mydict = #{zero: 0, one_key: 1, two-key: 2, 333: 3}
- Note that 333 here is the string "333". Empty keys are not possible with #{}.
- A value can be any expression. Using a Dictionary for a value creates a
- nested Dictionary: >
- :let nestdict = {1: {11: 'a', 12: 'b'}, 2: {21: 'c'}}
- An extra comma after the last entry is ignored.
- Accessing entries ~
- The normal way to access an entry is by putting the key in square brackets: >
- :let val = mydict["one"]
- :let mydict["four"] = 4
- You can add new entries to an existing Dictionary this way, unlike Lists.
- For keys that consist entirely of letters, digits and underscore the following
- form can be used |expr-entry|: >
- :let val = mydict.one
- :let mydict.four = 4
- Since an entry can be any type, also a List and a Dictionary, the indexing and
- key lookup can be repeated: >
- :echo dict.key[idx].key
- Dictionary to List conversion ~
- You may want to loop over the entries in a dictionary. For this you need to
- turn the Dictionary into a List and pass it to |:for|.
- Most often you want to loop over the keys, using the |keys()| function: >
- :for key in keys(mydict)
- : echo key .. ': ' .. mydict[key]
- :endfor
- The List of keys is unsorted. You may want to sort them first: >
- :for key in sort(keys(mydict))
- To loop over the values use the |values()| function: >
- :for v in values(mydict)
- : echo "value: " .. v
- :endfor
- If you want both the key and the value use the |items()| function. It returns
- a List in which each item is a List with two items, the key and the value: >
- :for [key, value] in items(mydict)
- : echo key .. ': ' .. value
- :endfor
- Dictionary identity ~
- *dict-identity*
- Just like Lists you need to use |copy()| and |deepcopy()| to make a copy of a
- Dictionary. Otherwise, assignment results in referring to the same
- Dictionary: >
- :let onedict = {'a': 1, 'b': 2}
- :let adict = onedict
- :let adict['a'] = 11
- :echo onedict['a']
- 11
- Two Dictionaries compare equal if all the key-value pairs compare equal. For
- more info see |list-identity|.
- Dictionary modification ~
- *dict-modification*
- To change an already existing entry of a Dictionary, or to add a new entry,
- use |:let| this way: >
- :let dict[4] = "four"
- :let dict['one'] = item
- Removing an entry from a Dictionary is done with |remove()| or |:unlet|.
- Three ways to remove the entry with key "aaa" from dict: >
- :let i = remove(dict, 'aaa')
- :unlet dict.aaa
- :unlet dict['aaa']
- Merging a Dictionary with another is done with |extend()|: >
- :call extend(adict, bdict)
- This extends adict with all entries from bdict. Duplicate keys cause entries
- in adict to be overwritten. An optional third argument can change this.
- Note that the order of entries in a Dictionary is irrelevant, thus don't
- expect ":echo adict" to show the items from bdict after the older entries in
- adict.
- Weeding out entries from a Dictionary can be done with |filter()|: >
- :call filter(dict, 'v:val =~ "x"')
- This removes all entries from "dict" with a value not matching 'x'.
- This can also be used to remove all entries: >
- call filter(dict, 0)
- Dictionary function ~
- *Dictionary-function* *self* *E725* *E862*
- When a function is defined with the "dict" attribute it can be used in a
- special way with a dictionary. Example: >
- :function Mylen() dict
- : return len(self.data)
- :endfunction
- :let mydict = {'data': [0, 1, 2, 3], 'len': function("Mylen")}
- :echo mydict.len()
- This is like a method in object oriented programming. The entry in the
- Dictionary is a |Funcref|. The local variable "self" refers to the dictionary
- the function was invoked from.
- It is also possible to add a function without the "dict" attribute as a
- Funcref to a Dictionary, but the "self" variable is not available then.
- *numbered-function* *anonymous-function*
- To avoid the extra name for the function it can be defined and directly
- assigned to a Dictionary in this way: >
- :let mydict = {'data': [0, 1, 2, 3]}
- :function mydict.len()
- : return len(self.data)
- :endfunction
- :echo mydict.len()
- The function will then get a number and the value of dict.len is a |Funcref|
- that references this function. The function can only be used through a
- |Funcref|. It will automatically be deleted when there is no |Funcref|
- remaining that refers to it.
- It is not necessary to use the "dict" attribute for a numbered function.
- If you get an error for a numbered function, you can find out what it is with
- a trick. Assuming the function is 42, the command is: >
- :function g:42
- Functions for Dictionaries ~
- *E715*
- Functions that can be used with a Dictionary: >
- :if has_key(dict, 'foo') " TRUE if dict has entry with key "foo"
- :if empty(dict) " TRUE if dict is empty
- :let l = len(dict) " number of items in dict
- :let big = max(dict) " maximum value in dict
- :let small = min(dict) " minimum value in dict
- :let xs = count(dict, 'x') " count nr of times 'x' appears in dict
- :let s = string(dict) " String representation of dict
- :call map(dict, '">> " .. v:val') " prepend ">> " to each item
- 1.5 Blobs ~
- *blob* *Blob* *Blobs* *E978*
- A Blob is a binary object. It can be used to read an image from a file and
- send it over a channel, for example.
- A Blob mostly behaves like a |List| of numbers, where each number has the
- value of an 8-bit byte, from 0 to 255.
- Blob creation ~
- A Blob can be created with a |blob-literal|: >
- :let b = 0zFF00ED015DAF
- Dots can be inserted between bytes (pair of hex characters) for readability,
- they don't change the value: >
- :let b = 0zFF00.ED01.5DAF
- A blob can be read from a file with |readfile()| passing the {type} argument
- set to "B", for example: >
- :let b = readfile('image.png', 'B')
- Blob index ~
- *blob-index* *E979*
- A byte in the Blob can be accessed by putting the index in square brackets
- after the Blob. Indexes are zero-based, thus the first byte has index zero. >
- :let myblob = 0z00112233
- :let byte = myblob[0] " get the first byte: 0x00
- :let byte = myblob[2] " get the third byte: 0x22
- A negative index is counted from the end. Index -1 refers to the last byte in
- the Blob, -2 to the last but one byte, etc. >
- :let last = myblob[-1] " get the last byte: 0x33
- To avoid an error for an invalid index use the |get()| function. When an item
- is not available it returns -1 or the default value you specify: >
- :echo get(myblob, idx)
- :echo get(myblob, idx, 999)
- Blob iteration ~
- The |:for| loop executes commands for each byte of a Blob. The loop variable is
- set to each byte in the Blob. Example: >
- :for byte in 0z112233
- : call Doit(byte)
- :endfor
- This calls Doit() with 0x11, 0x22 and 0x33.
- Blob concatenation ~
- *blob-concatenation*
- Two blobs can be concatenated with the "+" operator: >
- :let longblob = myblob + 0z4455
- :let longblob = 0z4455 + myblob
- <
- A blob can be concatenated with another one in-place using |:let+=|: >
- :let myblob += 0z6677
- <
- See |blob-modification| below for more about changing a blob in-place.
- Part of a blob ~
- A part of the Blob can be obtained by specifying the first and last index,
- separated by a colon in square brackets: >
- :let myblob = 0z00112233
- :let shortblob = myblob[1:2] " get 0z1122
- :let shortblob = myblob[2:-1] " get 0z2233
- Omitting the first index is similar to zero. Omitting the last index is
- similar to -1. >
- :let endblob = myblob[2:] " from item 2 to the end: 0z2233
- :let shortblob = myblob[2:2] " Blob with one byte: 0z22
- :let otherblob = myblob[:] " make a copy of the Blob
- If the first index is beyond the last byte of the Blob or the second index is
- before the first index, the result is an empty Blob. There is no error
- message.
- If the second index is equal to or greater than the length of the Blob the
- length minus one is used: >
- :echo myblob[2:8] " result: 0z2233
- Blob modification ~
- *blob-modification*
- To change a specific byte of a blob use |:let| this way: >
- :let blob[4] = 0x44
- When the index is just one beyond the end of the Blob, it is appended. Any
- higher index is an error.
- To change a sequence of bytes the [:] notation can be used: >
- let blob[1:3] = 0z445566
- The length of the replaced bytes must be exactly the same as the value
- provided. *E972*
- To change part of a blob you can specify the first and last byte to be
- modified. The value must have the same number of bytes in the range: >
- :let blob[3:5] = 0z334455
- To add items to a Blob in-place, you can use |:let+=| (|blob-concatenation|): >
- :let blobA = 0z1122
- :let blobA += 0z3344
- <
- When two variables refer to the same Blob, changing one Blob in-place will
- cause the referenced Blob to be changed in-place: >
- :let blobA = 0z1122
- :let blobB = blobA
- :let blobB += 0z3344
- :echo blobA
- 0z11223344
- <
- You can also use the functions |add()|, |remove()| and |insert()|.
- Blob identity ~
- Blobs can be compared for equality: >
- if blob == 0z001122
- And for equal identity: >
- if blob is otherblob
- < *blob-identity* *E977*
- When variable "aa" is a Blob and you assign it to another variable "bb", both
- variables refer to the same Blob. Then the "is" operator returns true.
- When making a copy using [:] or |copy()| the values are the same, but the
- identity is different: >
- :let blob = 0z112233
- :let blob2 = blob
- :echo blob == blob2
- < 1 >
- :echo blob is blob2
- < 1 >
- :let blob3 = blob[:]
- :echo blob == blob3
- < 1 >
- :echo blob is blob3
- < 0
- Making a copy of a Blob is done with the |copy()| function. Using [:] also
- works, as explained above.
- 1.6 More about variables ~
- *more-variables*
- If you need to know the type of a variable or expression, use the |type()|
- function.
- When the '!' flag is included in the 'shada' option, global variables that
- start with an uppercase letter, and don't contain a lowercase letter, are
- stored in the shada file |shada-file|.
- When the 'sessionoptions' option contains "global", global variables that
- start with an uppercase letter and contain at least one lowercase letter are
- stored in the session file |session-file|.
- variable name can be stored where ~
- my_var_6 not
- My_Var_6 session file
- MY_VAR_6 shada file
- It's possible to form a variable name with curly braces, see
- |curly-braces-names|.
- ==============================================================================
- 2. Expression syntax *expression-syntax*
- Expression syntax summary, from least to most significant:
- |expr1| expr2
- expr2 ? expr1 : expr1 if-then-else
- |expr2| expr3
- expr3 || expr3 ... logical OR
- |expr3| expr4
- expr4 && expr4 ... logical AND
- |expr4| expr5
- expr5 == expr5 equal
- expr5 != expr5 not equal
- expr5 > expr5 greater than
- expr5 >= expr5 greater than or equal
- expr5 < expr5 smaller than
- expr5 <= expr5 smaller than or equal
- expr5 =~ expr5 regexp matches
- expr5 !~ expr5 regexp doesn't match
- expr5 ==? expr5 equal, ignoring case
- expr5 ==# expr5 equal, match case
- etc. As above, append ? for ignoring case, # for
- matching case
- expr5 is expr5 same |List|, |Dictionary| or |Blob| instance
- expr5 isnot expr5 different |List|, |Dictionary| or |Blob|
- instance
- |expr5| expr6
- expr6 + expr6 ... number addition, list or blob concatenation
- expr6 - expr6 ... number subtraction
- expr6 . expr6 ... string concatenation
- expr6 .. expr6 ... string concatenation
- |expr6| expr7
- expr7 * expr7 ... number multiplication
- expr7 / expr7 ... number division
- expr7 % expr7 ... number modulo
- |expr7| expr8
- ! expr7 logical NOT
- - expr7 unary minus
- + expr7 unary plus
- |expr8| expr9
- expr8[expr1] byte of a String or item of a |List|
- expr8[expr1 : expr1] substring of a String or sublist of a |List|
- expr8.name entry in a |Dictionary|
- expr8(expr1, ...) function call with |Funcref| variable
- expr8->name(expr1, ...) |method| call
- |expr9| number number constant
- "string" string constant, backslash is special
- `'string'` string constant, ' is doubled
- [expr1, ...] |List|
- `{expr1: expr1, ...}` |Dictionary|
- #{key: expr1, ...} |Dictionary|
- &option option value
- (expr1) nested expression
- variable internal variable
- va{ria}ble internal variable with curly braces
- $VAR environment variable
- @r contents of register "r"
- function(expr1, ...) function call
- func{ti}on(expr1, ...) function call with curly braces
- `{args -> expr1}` lambda expression
- "..." indicates that the operations in this level can be concatenated.
- Example: >
- &nu || &list && &shell == "csh"
- All expressions within one level are parsed from left to right.
- Expression nesting is limited to 1000 levels deep (300 when build with MSVC)
- to avoid running out of stack and crashing. *E1169*
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- expr1 *expr1* *ternary* *falsy-operator* *??* *E109*
- The ternary operator: expr2 ? expr1 : expr1
- The falsy operator: expr2 ?? expr1
- Ternary operator ~
- The expression before the '?' is evaluated to a number. If it evaluates to
- |TRUE|, the result is the value of the expression between the '?' and ':',
- otherwise the result is the value of the expression after the ':'.
- Example: >
- :echo lnum == 1 ? "top" : lnum
- Since the first expression is an "expr2", it cannot contain another ?:. The
- other two expressions can, thus allow for recursive use of ?:.
- Example: >
- :echo lnum == 1 ? "top" : lnum == 1000 ? "last" : lnum
- To keep this readable, using |line-continuation| is suggested: >
- :echo lnum == 1
- :\ ? "top"
- :\ : lnum == 1000
- :\ ? "last"
- :\ : lnum
- You should always put a space before the ':', otherwise it can be mistaken for
- use in a variable such as "a:1".
- Falsy operator ~
- This is also known as the "null coalescing operator", but that's too
- complicated, thus we just call it the falsy operator.
- The expression before the '??' is evaluated. If it evaluates to
- |truthy|, this is used as the result. Otherwise the expression after the '??'
- is evaluated and used as the result. This is most useful to have a default
- value for an expression that may result in zero or empty: >
- echo theList ?? 'list is empty'
- echo GetName() ?? 'unknown'
- These are similar, but not equal: >
- expr2 ?? expr1
- expr2 ? expr2 : expr1
- In the second line "expr2" is evaluated twice.
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- expr2 and expr3 *expr2* *expr3*
- expr3 || expr3 .. logical OR *expr-barbar*
- expr4 && expr4 .. logical AND *expr-&&*
- The "||" and "&&" operators take one argument on each side. The arguments
- are (converted to) Numbers. The result is:
- input output ~
- n1 n2 n1 || n2 n1 && n2 ~
- |FALSE| |FALSE| |FALSE| |FALSE|
- |FALSE| |TRUE| |TRUE| |FALSE|
- |TRUE| |FALSE| |TRUE| |FALSE|
- |TRUE| |TRUE| |TRUE| |TRUE|
- The operators can be concatenated, for example: >
- &nu || &list && &shell == "csh"
- Note that "&&" takes precedence over "||", so this has the meaning of: >
- &nu || (&list && &shell == "csh")
- Once the result is known, the expression "short-circuits", that is, further
- arguments are not evaluated. This is like what happens in C. For example: >
- let a = 1
- echo a || b
- This is valid even if there is no variable called "b" because "a" is |TRUE|,
- so the result must be |TRUE|. Similarly below: >
- echo exists("b") && b == "yes"
- This is valid whether "b" has been defined or not. The second clause will
- only be evaluated if "b" has been defined.
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- expr4 *expr4*
- expr5 {cmp} expr5
- Compare two expr5 expressions, resulting in a 0 if it evaluates to false, or 1
- if it evaluates to true.
- *expr-==* *expr-!=* *expr->* *expr->=*
- *expr-<* *expr-<=* *expr-=~* *expr-!~*
- *expr-==#* *expr-!=#* *expr->#* *expr->=#*
- *expr-<#* *expr-<=#* *expr-=~#* *expr-!~#*
- *expr-==?* *expr-!=?* *expr->?* *expr->=?*
- *expr-<?* *expr-<=?* *expr-=~?* *expr-!~?*
- *expr-is* *expr-isnot* *expr-is#* *expr-isnot#*
- *expr-is?* *expr-isnot?*
- use 'ignorecase' match case ignore case ~
- equal == ==# ==?
- not equal != !=# !=?
- greater than > ># >?
- greater than or equal >= >=# >=?
- smaller than < <# <?
- smaller than or equal <= <=# <=?
- regexp matches =~ =~# =~?
- regexp doesn't match !~ !~# !~?
- same instance is is# is?
- different instance isnot isnot# isnot?
- Examples:
- "abc" ==# "Abc" evaluates to 0
- "abc" ==? "Abc" evaluates to 1
- "abc" == "Abc" evaluates to 1 if 'ignorecase' is set, 0 otherwise
- *E691* *E692*
- A |List| can only be compared with a |List| and only "equal", "not equal",
- "is" and "isnot" can be used. This compares the values of the list,
- recursively. Ignoring case means case is ignored when comparing item values.
- *E735* *E736*
- A |Dictionary| can only be compared with a |Dictionary| and only "equal", "not
- equal", "is" and "isnot" can be used. This compares the key/values of the
- |Dictionary| recursively. Ignoring case means case is ignored when comparing
- item values.
- *E694*
- A |Funcref| can only be compared with a |Funcref| and only "equal", "not
- equal", "is" and "isnot" can be used. Case is never ignored. Whether
- arguments or a Dictionary are bound (with a partial) matters. The
- Dictionaries must also be equal (or the same, in case of "is") and the
- arguments must be equal (or the same).
- To compare Funcrefs to see if they refer to the same function, ignoring bound
- Dictionary and arguments, use |get()| to get the function name: >
- if get(Part1, 'name') == get(Part2, 'name')
- " Part1 and Part2 refer to the same function
- Using "is" or "isnot" with a |List|, |Dictionary| or |Blob| checks whether
- the expressions are referring to the same |List|, |Dictionary| or |Blob|
- instance. A copy of a |List| is different from the original |List|. When
- using "is" without a |List|, |Dictionary| or |Blob|, it is equivalent to
- using "equal", using "isnot" is equivalent to using "not equal". Except that
- a different type means the values are different: >
- echo 4 == '4'
- 1
- echo 4 is '4'
- 0
- echo 0 is []
- 0
- "is#"/"isnot#" and "is?"/"isnot?" can be used to match and ignore case.
- When comparing a String with a Number, the String is converted to a Number,
- and the comparison is done on Numbers. This means that: >
- echo 0 == 'x'
- 1
- because 'x' converted to a Number is zero. However: >
- echo [0] == ['x']
- 0
- Inside a List or Dictionary this conversion is not used.
- When comparing two Strings, this is done with strcmp() or stricmp(). This
- results in the mathematical difference (comparing byte values), not
- necessarily the alphabetical difference in the local language.
- When using the operators with a trailing '#', or the short version and
- 'ignorecase' is off, the comparing is done with strcmp(): case matters.
- When using the operators with a trailing '?', or the short version and
- 'ignorecase' is set, the comparing is done with stricmp(): case is ignored.
- 'smartcase' is not used.
- The "=~" and "!~" operators match the lefthand argument with the righthand
- argument, which is used as a pattern. See |pattern| for what a pattern is.
- This matching is always done like 'magic' was set and 'cpoptions' is empty, no
- matter what the actual value of 'magic' or 'cpoptions' is. This makes scripts
- portable. To avoid backslashes in the regexp pattern to be doubled, use a
- single-quote string, see |literal-string|.
- Since a string is considered to be a single line, a multi-line pattern
- (containing \n, backslash-n) will not match. However, a literal NL character
- can be matched like an ordinary character. Examples:
- "foo\nbar" =~ "\n" evaluates to 1
- "foo\nbar" =~ "\\n" evaluates to 0
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- expr5 and expr6 *expr5* *expr6*
- expr6 + expr6 Number addition, |List| or |Blob| concatenation *expr-+*
- expr6 - expr6 Number subtraction *expr--*
- expr6 . expr6 String concatenation *expr-.*
- expr6 .. expr6 String concatenation *expr-..*
- For |Lists| only "+" is possible and then both expr6 must be a list. The
- result is a new list with the two lists Concatenated.
- For String concatenation ".." is preferred, since "." is ambiguous, it is also
- used for |Dict| member access and floating point numbers.
- expr7 * expr7 Number multiplication *expr-star*
- expr7 / expr7 Number division *expr-/*
- expr7 % expr7 Number modulo *expr-%*
- For all, except "." and "..", Strings are converted to Numbers.
- For bitwise operators see |and()|, |or()| and |xor()|.
- Note the difference between "+" and ".":
- "123" + "456" = 579
- "123" . "456" = "123456"
- Since '.' has the same precedence as '+' and '-', you need to read: >
- 1 . 90 + 90.0
- As: >
- (1 . 90) + 90.0
- That works, since the String "190" is automatically converted to the Number
- 190, which can be added to the Float 90.0. However: >
- 1 . 90 * 90.0
- Should be read as: >
- 1 . (90 * 90.0)
- Since '.' has lower precedence than "*". This does NOT work, since this
- attempts to concatenate a Float and a String.
- When dividing a Number by zero the result depends on the value:
- 0 / 0 = -0x80000000 (like NaN for Float)
- >0 / 0 = 0x7fffffff (like positive infinity)
- <0 / 0 = -0x7fffffff (like negative infinity)
- (before Vim 7.2 it was always 0x7fffffff)
- When 64-bit Number support is enabled:
- 0 / 0 = -0x8000000000000000 (like NaN for Float)
- >0 / 0 = 0x7fffffffffffffff (like positive infinity)
- <0 / 0 = -0x7fffffffffffffff (like negative infinity)
- When the righthand side of '%' is zero, the result is 0.
- None of these work for |Funcref|s.
- . and % do not work for Float. *E804*
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- expr7 *expr7*
- ! expr7 logical NOT *expr-!*
- - expr7 unary minus *expr-unary--*
- + expr7 unary plus *expr-unary-+*
- For '!' |TRUE| becomes |FALSE|, |FALSE| becomes |TRUE| (one).
- For '-' the sign of the number is changed.
- For '+' the number is unchanged. Note: "++" has no effect.
- A String will be converted to a Number first.
- These three can be repeated and mixed. Examples:
- !-1 == 0
- !!8 == 1
- --9 == 9
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- expr8 *expr8*
- This expression is either |expr9| or a sequence of the alternatives below,
- in any order. E.g., these are all possible:
- expr8[expr1].name
- expr8.name[expr1]
- expr8(expr1, ...)[expr1].name
- expr8->(expr1, ...)[expr1]
- Evaluation is always from left to right.
- expr8[expr1] item of String or |List| *expr-[]* *E111*
- *subscript*
- In legacy Vim script:
- If expr8 is a Number or String this results in a String that contains the
- expr1'th single byte from expr8. expr8 is used as a String (a number is
- automatically converted to a String), expr1 as a Number. This doesn't
- recognize multibyte encodings, see `byteidx()` for an alternative, or use
- `split()` to turn the string into a list of characters. Example, to get the
- byte under the cursor: >
- :let c = getline(".")[col(".") - 1]
- Index zero gives the first byte. This is like it works in C. Careful:
- text column numbers start with one! Example, to get the byte under the
- cursor: >
- :let c = getline(".")[col(".") - 1]
- Index zero gives the first byte. Careful: text column numbers start with one!
- If the length of the String is less than the index, the result is an empty
- String. A negative index always results in an empty string (reason: backward
- compatibility). Use [-1:] to get the last byte.
- If expr8 is a |List| then it results the item at index expr1. See |list-index|
- for possible index values. If the index is out of range this results in an
- error. Example: >
- :let item = mylist[-1] " get last item
- Generally, if a |List| index is equal to or higher than the length of the
- |List|, or more negative than the length of the |List|, this results in an
- error.
- expr8[expr1a : expr1b] substring or |sublist| *expr-[:]* *substring*
- If expr8 is a String this results in the substring with the bytes or
- characters from expr1a to and including expr1b. expr8 is used as a String,
- expr1a and expr1b are used as a Number.
- In legacy Vim script the indexes are byte indexes. This doesn't recognize
- multibyte encodings, see |byteidx()| for computing the indexes. If expr8 is
- a Number it is first converted to a String.
- The item at index expr1b is included, it is inclusive. For an exclusive index
- use the |slice()| function.
- If expr1a is omitted zero is used. If expr1b is omitted the length of the
- string minus one is used.
- A negative number can be used to measure from the end of the string. -1 is
- the last character, -2 the last but one, etc.
- If an index goes out of range for the string characters are omitted. If
- expr1b is smaller than expr1a the result is an empty string.
- Examples: >
- :let c = name[-1:] " last byte of a string
- :let c = name[0:-1] " the whole string
- :let c = name[-2:-2] " last but one byte of a string
- :let s = line(".")[4:] " from the fifth byte to the end
- :let s = s[:-3] " remove last two bytes
- <
- *slice*
- If expr8 is a |List| this results in a new |List| with the items indicated by
- the indexes expr1a and expr1b. This works like with a String, as explained
- just above. Also see |sublist| below. Examples: >
- :let l = mylist[:3] " first four items
- :let l = mylist[4:4] " List with one item
- :let l = mylist[:] " shallow copy of a List
- If expr8 is a |Blob| this results in a new |Blob| with the bytes in the
- indexes expr1a and expr1b, inclusive. Examples: >
- :let b = 0zDEADBEEF
- :let bs = b[1:2] " 0zADBE
- :let bs = b[] " copy of 0zDEADBEEF
- Using expr8[expr1] or expr8[expr1a : expr1b] on a |Funcref| results in an
- error.
- Watch out for confusion between a namespace and a variable followed by a colon
- for a sublist: >
- mylist[n:] " uses variable n
- mylist[s:] " uses namespace s:, error!
- expr8.name entry in a |Dictionary| *expr-entry*
- If expr8 is a |Dictionary| and it is followed by a dot, then the following
- name will be used as a key in the |Dictionary|. This is just like:
- expr8[name].
- The name must consist of alphanumeric characters, just like a variable name,
- but it may start with a number. Curly braces cannot be used.
- There must not be white space before or after the dot.
- Examples: >
- :let dict = {"one": 1, 2: "two"}
- :echo dict.one " shows "1"
- :echo dict.2 " shows "two"
- :echo dict .2 " error because of space before the dot
- Note that the dot is also used for String concatenation. To avoid confusion
- always put spaces around the dot for String concatenation.
- expr8(expr1, ...) |Funcref| function call *E1085*
- When expr8 is a |Funcref| type variable, invoke the function it refers to.
- expr8->name([args]) method call *method* *->*
- expr8->{lambda}([args])
- *E260* *E276*
- For methods that are also available as global functions this is the same as: >
- name(expr8 [, args])
- There can also be methods specifically for the type of "expr8".
- This allows for chaining, passing the value that one method returns to the
- next method: >
- mylist->filter(filterexpr)->map(mapexpr)->sort()->join()
- <
- Example of using a lambda: >
- GetPercentage()->{x -> x * 100}()->printf('%d%%')
- <
- When using -> the |expr7| operators will be applied first, thus: >
- -1.234->string()
- Is equivalent to: >
- (-1.234)->string()
- And NOT: >
- -(1.234->string())
- <
- *E274*
- "->name(" must not contain white space. There can be white space before the
- "->" and after the "(", thus you can split the lines like this: >
- mylist
- \ ->filter(filterexpr)
- \ ->map(mapexpr)
- \ ->sort()
- \ ->join()
- When using the lambda form there must be no white space between the } and the
- (.
- *expr9*
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- number
- number number constant *expr-number*
- *0x* *hex-number* *0o* *octal-number* *binary-number*
- Decimal, Hexadecimal (starting with 0x or 0X), Binary (starting with 0b or 0B)
- and Octal (starting with 0, 0o or 0O).
- *floating-point-format*
- Floating point numbers can be written in two forms:
- [-+]{N}.{M}
- [-+]{N}.{M}[eE][-+]{exp}
- {N} and {M} are numbers. Both {N} and {M} must be present and can only
- contain digits.
- [-+] means there is an optional plus or minus sign.
- {exp} is the exponent, power of 10.
- Only a decimal point is accepted, not a comma. No matter what the current
- locale is.
- Examples:
- 123.456
- +0.0001
- 55.0
- -0.123
- 1.234e03
- 1.0E-6
- -3.1416e+88
- These are INVALID:
- 3. empty {M}
- 1e40 missing .{M}
- Rationale:
- Before floating point was introduced, the text "123.456" was interpreted as
- the two numbers "123" and "456", both converted to a string and concatenated,
- resulting in the string "123456". Since this was considered pointless, and we
- could not find it intentionally being used in Vim scripts, this backwards
- incompatibility was accepted in favor of being able to use the normal notation
- for floating point numbers.
- *float-pi* *float-e*
- A few useful values to copy&paste: >
- :let pi = 3.14159265359
- :let e = 2.71828182846
- Or, if you don't want to write them in as floating-point literals, you can
- also use functions, like the following: >
- :let pi = acos(-1.0)
- :let e = exp(1.0)
- <
- *floating-point-precision*
- The precision and range of floating points numbers depends on what "double"
- means in the library Vim was compiled with. There is no way to change this at
- runtime.
- The default for displaying a |Float| is to use 6 decimal places, like using
- printf("%g", f). You can select something else when using the |printf()|
- function. Example: >
- :echo printf('%.15e', atan(1))
- < 7.853981633974483e-01
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- string *string* *String* *expr-string* *E114*
- "string" string constant *expr-quote*
- Note that double quotes are used.
- A string constant accepts these special characters:
- \... three-digit octal number (e.g., "\316")
- \.. two-digit octal number (must be followed by non-digit)
- \. one-digit octal number (must be followed by non-digit)
- \x.. byte specified with two hex numbers (e.g., "\x1f")
- \x. byte specified with one hex number (must be followed by non-hex char)
- \X.. same as \x..
- \X. same as \x.
- \u.... character specified with up to 4 hex numbers, stored as UTF-8
- (e.g., "\u02a4")
- \U.... same as \u but allows up to 8 hex numbers.
- \b backspace <BS>
- \e escape <Esc>
- \f formfeed 0x0C
- \n newline <NL>
- \r return <CR>
- \t tab <Tab>
- \\ backslash
- \" double quote
- \<xxx> Special key named "xxx". e.g. "\<C-W>" for CTRL-W. This is for use
- in mappings, the 0x80 byte is escaped.
- To use the double quote character it must be escaped: "<M-\">".
- Don't use <Char-xxxx> to get a UTF-8 character, use \uxxxx as
- mentioned above.
- \<*xxx> Like \<xxx> but prepends a modifier instead of including it in the
- character. E.g. "\<C-w>" is one character 0x17 while "\<*C-w>" is four
- bytes: 3 for the CTRL modifier and then character "W".
- Note that "\xff" is stored as the byte 255, which may be invalid in some
- encodings. Use "\u00ff" to store character 255 correctly as UTF-8.
- Note that "\000" and "\x00" force the end of the string.
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- blob-literal *blob-literal* *E973*
- Hexadecimal starting with 0z or 0Z, with an arbitrary number of bytes.
- The sequence must be an even number of hex characters. Example: >
- :let b = 0zFF00ED015DAF
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- literal-string *literal-string* *E115*
- 'string' string constant *expr-'*
- Note that single quotes are used.
- This string is taken as it is. No backslashes are removed or have a special
- meaning. The only exception is that two quotes stand for one quote.
- Single quoted strings are useful for patterns, so that backslashes do not need
- to be doubled. These two commands are equivalent: >
- if a =~ "\\s*"
- if a =~ '\s*'
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- interpolated-string *$quote* *interpolated-string*
- $"string" interpolated string constant *expr-$quote*
- $'string' interpolated literal string constant *expr-$'*
- Interpolated strings are an extension of the |string| and |literal-string|,
- allowing the inclusion of Vim script expressions (see |expr1|). Any
- expression returning a value can be enclosed between curly braces. The value
- is converted to a string. All the text and results of the expressions
- are concatenated to make a new string.
- *E1278*
- To include an opening brace '{' or closing brace '}' in the string content
- double it. For double quoted strings using a backslash also works. A single
- closing brace '}' will result in an error.
- Examples: >
- let your_name = input("What's your name? ")
- < What's your name? Peter ~
- >
- echo
- echo $"Hello, {your_name}!"
- < Hello, Peter! ~
- >
- echo $"The square root of {{9}} is {sqrt(9)}"
- < The square root of {9} is 3.0 ~
- *string-offset-encoding*
- A string consists of multiple characters. UTF-8 uses one byte for ASCII
- characters, two bytes for other latin characters and more bytes for other
- characters.
- A string offset can count characters or bytes. Other programs may use
- UTF-16 encoding (16-bit words) and an offset of UTF-16 words. Some functions
- use byte offsets, usually for UTF-8 encoding. Other functions use character
- offsets, in which case the encoding doesn't matter.
- The different offsets for the string "a©😊" are below:
- UTF-8 offsets:
- [0]: 61, [1]: C2, [2]: A9, [3]: F0, [4]: 9F, [5]: 98, [6]: 8A
- UTF-16 offsets:
- [0]: 0061, [1]: 00A9, [2]: D83D, [3]: DE0A
- UTF-32 (character) offsets:
- [0]: 00000061, [1]: 000000A9, [2]: 0001F60A
- You can use the "g8" and "ga" commands on a character to see the
- decimal/hex/octal values.
- The functions |byteidx()|, |utf16idx()| and |charidx()| can be used to convert
- between these indices. The functions |strlen()|, |strutf16len()| and
- |strcharlen()| return the number of bytes, UTF-16 code units and characters in
- a string respectively.
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- option *expr-option* *E112* *E113*
- &option option value, local value if possible
- &g:option global option value
- &l:option local option value
- Examples: >
- echo "tabstop is " .. &tabstop
- if &expandtab
- Any option name can be used here. See |options|. When using the local value
- and there is no buffer-local or window-local value, the global value is used
- anyway.
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- register *expr-register* *@r*
- @r contents of register 'r'
- The result is the contents of the named register, as a single string.
- Newlines are inserted where required. To get the contents of the unnamed
- register use @" or @@. See |registers| for an explanation of the available
- registers.
- When using the '=' register you get the expression itself, not what it
- evaluates to. Use |eval()| to evaluate it.
- nesting *expr-nesting* *E110*
- -------
- (expr1) nested expression
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- environment variable *expr-env*
- $VAR environment variable
- The String value of any environment variable. When it is not defined, the
- result is an empty string.
- The functions `getenv()` and `setenv()` can also be used and work for
- environment variables with non-alphanumeric names.
- The function `environ()` can be used to get a Dict with all environment
- variables.
- *expr-env-expand*
- Note that there is a difference between using $VAR directly and using
- expand("$VAR"). Using it directly will only expand environment variables that
- are known inside the current Vim session. Using expand() will first try using
- the environment variables known inside the current Vim session. If that
- fails, a shell will be used to expand the variable. This can be slow, but it
- does expand all variables that the shell knows about. Example: >
- :echo $shell
- :echo expand("$shell")
- The first one probably doesn't echo anything, the second echoes the $shell
- variable (if your shell supports it).
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- internal variable *expr-variable*
- variable internal variable
- See below |internal-variables|.
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- function call *expr-function* *E116* *E118* *E119* *E120*
- function(expr1, ...) function call
- See below |functions|.
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- lambda expression *expr-lambda* *lambda*
- `{args -> expr1}` lambda expression *E451*
- A lambda expression creates a new unnamed function which returns the result of
- evaluating |expr1|. Lambda expressions differ from |user-function|s in
- the following ways:
- 1. The body of the lambda expression is an |expr1| and not a sequence of |Ex|
- commands.
- 2. The prefix "a:" should not be used for arguments. E.g.: >
- :let F = {arg1, arg2 -> arg1 - arg2}
- :echo F(5, 2)
- < 3
- The arguments are optional. Example: >
- :let F = {-> 'error function'}
- :echo F('ignored')
- < error function
- *closure*
- Lambda expressions can access outer scope variables and arguments. This is
- often called a closure. Example where "i" and "a:arg" are used in a lambda
- while they already exist in the function scope. They remain valid even after
- the function returns: >
- :function Foo(arg)
- : let i = 3
- : return {x -> x + i - a:arg}
- :endfunction
- :let Bar = Foo(4)
- :echo Bar(6)
- < 5
- Note that the variables must exist in the outer scope before the lambda is
- defined for this to work. See also |:func-closure|.
- Lambda and closure support can be checked with: >
- if has('lambda')
- Examples for using a lambda expression with |sort()|, |map()| and |filter()|: >
- :echo map([1, 2, 3], {idx, val -> val + 1})
- < [2, 3, 4] >
- :echo sort([3,7,2,1,4], {a, b -> a - b})
- < [1, 2, 3, 4, 7]
- The lambda expression is also useful for jobs and timers: >
- :let timer = timer_start(500,
- \ {-> execute("echo 'Handler called'", "")},
- \ {'repeat': 3})
- < Handler called
- Handler called
- Handler called
- Note that it is possible to cause memory to be used and not freed if the
- closure is referenced by the context it depends on: >
- function Function()
- let x = 0
- let F = {-> x}
- endfunction
- The closure uses "x" from the function scope, and "F" in that same scope
- refers to the closure. This cycle results in the memory not being freed.
- Recommendation: don't do this.
- Notice how execute() is used to execute an Ex command. That's ugly though.
- Lambda expressions have internal names like '<lambda>42'. If you get an error
- for a lambda expression, you can find what it is with the following command: >
- :function <lambda>42
- See also: |numbered-function|
- ==============================================================================
- 3. Internal variable *internal-variables* *E461*
- An internal variable name can be made up of letters, digits and '_'. But it
- cannot start with a digit. It's also possible to use curly braces, see
- |curly-braces-names|.
- An internal variable is created with the ":let" command |:let|.
- An internal variable is explicitly destroyed with the ":unlet" command
- |:unlet|.
- Using a name that is not an internal variable or refers to a variable that has
- been destroyed results in an error.
- *variable-scope*
- There are several name spaces for variables. Which one is to be used is
- specified by what is prepended:
- (nothing) In a function: local to a function; otherwise: global
- |buffer-variable| b: Local to the current buffer.
- |window-variable| w: Local to the current window.
- |tabpage-variable| t: Local to the current tab page.
- |global-variable| g: Global.
- |local-variable| l: Local to a function.
- |script-variable| s: Local to a |:source|d Vim script.
- |function-argument| a: Function argument (only inside a function).
- |vim-variable| v: Global, predefined by Vim.
- The scope name by itself can be used as a |Dictionary|. For example, to
- delete all script-local variables: >
- :for k in keys(s:)
- : unlet s:[k]
- :endfor
- <
- *buffer-variable* *b:var* *b:*
- A variable name that is preceded with "b:" is local to the current buffer.
- Thus you can have several "b:foo" variables, one for each buffer.
- This kind of variable is deleted when the buffer is wiped out or deleted with
- |:bdelete|.
- One local buffer variable is predefined:
- *b:changedtick* *changetick*
- b:changedtick The total number of changes to the current buffer. It is
- incremented for each change. An undo command is also a change
- in this case. Resetting 'modified' when writing the buffer is
- also counted.
- This can be used to perform an action only when the buffer has
- changed. Example: >
- :if my_changedtick != b:changedtick
- : let my_changedtick = b:changedtick
- : call My_Update()
- :endif
- < You cannot change or delete the b:changedtick variable.
- *window-variable* *w:var* *w:*
- A variable name that is preceded with "w:" is local to the current window. It
- is deleted when the window is closed.
- *tabpage-variable* *t:var* *t:*
- A variable name that is preceded with "t:" is local to the current tab page,
- It is deleted when the tab page is closed.
- *global-variable* *g:var* *g:*
- Inside functions global variables are accessed with "g:". Omitting this will
- access a variable local to a function. But "g:" can also be used in any other
- place if you like.
- *local-variable* *l:var* *l:*
- Inside functions local variables are accessed without prepending anything.
- But you can also prepend "l:" if you like. However, without prepending "l:"
- you may run into reserved variable names. For example "count". By itself it
- refers to "v:count". Using "l:count" you can have a local variable with the
- same name.
- *script-variable* *s:var*
- In a Vim script variables starting with "s:" can be used. They cannot be
- accessed from outside of the scripts, thus are local to the script.
- They can be used in:
- - commands executed while the script is sourced
- - functions defined in the script
- - autocommands defined in the script
- - functions and autocommands defined in functions and autocommands which were
- defined in the script (recursively)
- - user defined commands defined in the script
- Thus not in:
- - other scripts sourced from this one
- - mappings
- - menus
- - etc.
- Script variables can be used to avoid conflicts with global variable names.
- Take this example: >
- let s:counter = 0
- function MyCounter()
- let s:counter = s:counter + 1
- echo s:counter
- endfunction
- command Tick call MyCounter()
- You can now invoke "Tick" from any script, and the "s:counter" variable in
- that script will not be changed, only the "s:counter" in the script where
- "Tick" was defined is used.
- Another example that does the same: >
- let s:counter = 0
- command Tick let s:counter = s:counter + 1 | echo s:counter
- When calling a function and invoking a user-defined command, the context for
- script variables is set to the script where the function or command was
- defined.
- The script variables are also available when a function is defined inside a
- function that is defined in a script. Example: >
- let s:counter = 0
- function StartCounting(incr)
- if a:incr
- function MyCounter()
- let s:counter = s:counter + 1
- endfunction
- else
- function MyCounter()
- let s:counter = s:counter - 1
- endfunction
- endif
- endfunction
- This defines the MyCounter() function either for counting up or counting down
- when calling StartCounting(). It doesn't matter from where StartCounting() is
- called, the s:counter variable will be accessible in MyCounter().
- When the same script is sourced again it will use the same script variables.
- They will remain valid as long as Vim is running. This can be used to
- maintain a counter: >
- if !exists("s:counter")
- let s:counter = 1
- echo "script executed for the first time"
- else
- let s:counter = s:counter + 1
- echo "script executed " .. s:counter .. " times now"
- endif
- Note that this means that filetype plugins don't get a different set of script
- variables for each buffer. Use local buffer variables instead |b:var|.
- PREDEFINED VIM VARIABLES *vim-variable* *v:var* *v:*
- *E963*
- The alphabetic list of all builtin variables and details are in a separate
- help file: |vvars|.
- ==============================================================================
- 4. Builtin Functions *vim-function* *functions*
- The Vimscript subsystem (referred to as "eval" internally) provides builtin
- functions. Scripts can also define |user-function|s.
- See |function-list| to browse functions by topic.
- The alphabetic list of all builtin functions and details are in a separate
- help file: |builtin-functions|.
- ==============================================================================
- 5. Defining functions *user-function*
- New functions can be defined. These can be called just like builtin
- functions. The function takes arguments, executes a sequence of Ex commands
- and can return a value.
- You can find most information about defining functions in |userfunc.txt|.
- ==============================================================================
- 6. Curly braces names *curly-braces-names*
- In most places where you can use a variable, you can use a "curly braces name"
- variable. This is a regular variable name with one or more expressions
- wrapped in braces {} like this: >
- my_{adjective}_variable
- When Vim encounters this, it evaluates the expression inside the braces, puts
- that in place of the expression, and re-interprets the whole as a variable
- name. So in the above example, if the variable "adjective" was set to
- "noisy", then the reference would be to "my_noisy_variable", whereas if
- "adjective" was set to "quiet", then it would be to "my_quiet_variable".
- One application for this is to create a set of variables governed by an option
- value. For example, the statement >
- echo my_{&background}_message
- would output the contents of "my_dark_message" or "my_light_message" depending
- on the current value of 'background'.
- You can use multiple brace pairs: >
- echo my_{adverb}_{adjective}_message
- ..or even nest them: >
- echo my_{ad{end_of_word}}_message
- where "end_of_word" is either "verb" or "jective".
- However, the expression inside the braces must evaluate to a valid single
- variable name, e.g. this is invalid: >
- :let foo='a + b'
- :echo c{foo}d
- .. since the result of expansion is "ca + bd", which is not a variable name.
- *curly-braces-function-names*
- You can call and define functions by an evaluated name in a similar way.
- Example: >
- :let func_end='whizz'
- :call my_func_{func_end}(parameter)
- This would call the function "my_func_whizz(parameter)".
- This does NOT work: >
- :let i = 3
- :let @{i} = '' " error
- :echo @{i} " error
- ==============================================================================
- 7. Commands *expression-commands*
- :let {var-name} = {expr1} *:let* *E18*
- Set internal variable {var-name} to the result of the
- expression {expr1}. The variable will get the type
- from the {expr}. If {var-name} didn't exist yet, it
- is created.
- :let {var-name}[{idx}] = {expr1} *E689*
- Set a list item to the result of the expression
- {expr1}. {var-name} must refer to a list and {idx}
- must be a valid index in that list. For nested list
- the index can be repeated.
- This cannot be used to add an item to a |List|.
- This cannot be used to set a byte in a String. You
- can do that like this: >
- :let var = var[0:2] .. 'X' .. var[4:]
- < When {var-name} is a |Blob| then {idx} can be the
- length of the blob, in which case one byte is
- appended.
- *E711* *E719*
- :let {var-name}[{idx1}:{idx2}] = {expr1} *E708* *E709* *E710*
- Set a sequence of items in a |List| to the result of
- the expression {expr1}, which must be a list with the
- correct number of items.
- {idx1} can be omitted, zero is used instead.
- {idx2} can be omitted, meaning the end of the list.
- When the selected range of items is partly past the
- end of the list, items will be added.
- *:let+=* *:let-=* *:letstar=*
- *:let/=* *:let%=* *:let.=* *:let..=* *E734*
- :let {var} += {expr1} Like ":let {var} = {var} + {expr1}".
- :let {var} -= {expr1} Like ":let {var} = {var} - {expr1}".
- `:let {var} *= {expr1}` Like ":let {var} = {var} * {expr1}".
- :let {var} /= {expr1} Like ":let {var} = {var} / {expr1}".
- :let {var} %= {expr1} Like ":let {var} = {var} % {expr1}".
- :let {var} .= {expr1} Like ":let {var} = {var} . {expr1}".
- :let {var} ..= {expr1} Like ":let {var} = {var} .. {expr1}".
- These fail if {var} was not set yet and when the type
- of {var} and {expr1} don't fit the operator.
- `+=` modifies a |List| or a |Blob| in-place instead of
- creating a new one.
- :let ${env-name} = {expr1} *:let-environment* *:let-$*
- Set environment variable {env-name} to the result of
- the expression {expr1}. The type is always String.
- :let ${env-name} .= {expr1}
- Append {expr1} to the environment variable {env-name}.
- If the environment variable didn't exist yet this
- works like "=".
- :let @{reg-name} = {expr1} *:let-register* *:let-@*
- Write the result of the expression {expr1} in register
- {reg-name}. {reg-name} must be a single letter, and
- must be the name of a writable register (see
- |registers|). "@@" can be used for the unnamed
- register, "@/" for the search pattern.
- If the result of {expr1} ends in a <CR> or <NL>, the
- register will be linewise, otherwise it will be set to
- charwise.
- This can be used to clear the last search pattern: >
- :let @/ = ""
- < This is different from searching for an empty string,
- that would match everywhere.
- :let @{reg-name} .= {expr1}
- Append {expr1} to register {reg-name}. If the
- register was empty it's like setting it to {expr1}.
- :let &{option-name} = {expr1} *:let-option* *:let-&*
- Set option {option-name} to the result of the
- expression {expr1}. A String or Number value is
- always converted to the type of the option.
- For an option local to a window or buffer the effect
- is just like using the |:set| command: both the local
- value and the global value are changed.
- Example: >
- :let &path = &path .. ',/usr/local/include'
- :let &{option-name} .= {expr1}
- For a string option: Append {expr1} to the value.
- Does not insert a comma like |:set+=|.
- :let &{option-name} += {expr1}
- :let &{option-name} -= {expr1}
- For a number or boolean option: Add or subtract
- {expr1}.
- :let &l:{option-name} = {expr1}
- :let &l:{option-name} .= {expr1}
- :let &l:{option-name} += {expr1}
- :let &l:{option-name} -= {expr1}
- Like above, but only set the local value of an option
- (if there is one). Works like |:setlocal|.
- :let &g:{option-name} = {expr1}
- :let &g:{option-name} .= {expr1}
- :let &g:{option-name} += {expr1}
- :let &g:{option-name} -= {expr1}
- Like above, but only set the global value of an option
- (if there is one). Works like |:setglobal|.
- :let [{name1}, {name2}, ...] = {expr1} *:let-unpack* *E687* *E688*
- {expr1} must evaluate to a |List|. The first item in
- the list is assigned to {name1}, the second item to
- {name2}, etc.
- The number of names must match the number of items in
- the |List|.
- Each name can be one of the items of the ":let"
- command as mentioned above.
- Example: >
- :let [s, item] = GetItem(s)
- < Detail: {expr1} is evaluated first, then the
- assignments are done in sequence. This matters if
- {name2} depends on {name1}. Example: >
- :let x = [0, 1]
- :let i = 0
- :let [i, x[i]] = [1, 2]
- :echo x
- < The result is [0, 2].
- :let [{name1}, {name2}, ...] .= {expr1}
- :let [{name1}, {name2}, ...] += {expr1}
- :let [{name1}, {name2}, ...] -= {expr1}
- Like above, but append/add/subtract the value for each
- |List| item.
- :let [{name}, ..., ; {lastname}] = {expr1} *E452*
- Like |:let-unpack| above, but the |List| may have more
- items than there are names. A list of the remaining
- items is assigned to {lastname}. If there are no
- remaining items {lastname} is set to an empty list.
- Example: >
- :let [a, b; rest] = ["aval", "bval", 3, 4]
- <
- :let [{name}, ..., ; {lastname}] .= {expr1}
- :let [{name}, ..., ; {lastname}] += {expr1}
- :let [{name}, ..., ; {lastname}] -= {expr1}
- Like above, but append/add/subtract the value for each
- |List| item.
- *:let=<<* *:let-heredoc*
- *E990* *E991* *E172* *E221* *E1145*
- :let {var-name} =<< [trim] [eval] {endmarker}
- text...
- text...
- {endmarker}
- Set internal variable {var-name} to a |List|
- containing the lines of text bounded by the string
- {endmarker}.
- If "eval" is not specified, then each line of text is
- used as a |literal-string|, except that single quotes
- does not need to be doubled.
- If "eval" is specified, then any Vim expression in the
- form {expr} is evaluated and the result replaces the
- expression, like with |interpolated-string|.
- Example where $HOME is expanded: >
- let lines =<< trim eval END
- some text
- See the file {$HOME}/.vimrc
- more text
- END
- < There can be multiple Vim expressions in a single line
- but an expression cannot span multiple lines. If any
- expression evaluation fails, then the assignment fails.
- {endmarker} must not contain white space.
- {endmarker} cannot start with a lower case character.
- The last line should end only with the {endmarker}
- string without any other character. Watch out for
- white space after {endmarker}!
- Without "trim" any white space characters in the lines
- of text are preserved. If "trim" is specified before
- {endmarker}, then indentation is stripped so you can
- do: >
- let text =<< trim END
- if ok
- echo 'done'
- endif
- END
- < Results in: `["if ok", " echo 'done'", "endif"]`
- The marker must line up with "let" and the indentation
- of the first line is removed from all the text lines.
- Specifically: all the leading indentation exactly
- matching the leading indentation of the first
- non-empty text line is stripped from the input lines.
- All leading indentation exactly matching the leading
- indentation before `let` is stripped from the line
- containing {endmarker}. Note that the difference
- between space and tab matters here.
- If {var-name} didn't exist yet, it is created.
- Cannot be followed by another command, but can be
- followed by a comment.
- To avoid line continuation to be applied, consider
- adding 'C' to 'cpoptions': >
- set cpo+=C
- let var =<< END
- \ leading backslash
- END
- set cpo-=C
- <
- Examples: >
- let var1 =<< END
- Sample text 1
- Sample text 2
- Sample text 3
- END
- let data =<< trim DATA
- 1 2 3 4
- 5 6 7 8
- DATA
- let code =<< trim eval CODE
- let v = {10 + 20}
- let h = "{$HOME}"
- let s = "{Str1()} abc {Str2()}"
- let n = {MyFunc(3, 4)}
- CODE
- <
- *E121*
- :let {var-name} .. List the value of variable {var-name}. Multiple
- variable names may be given. Special names recognized
- here: *E738*
- g: global variables
- b: local buffer variables
- w: local window variables
- t: local tab page variables
- s: script-local variables
- l: local function variables
- v: Vim variables.
- :let List the values of all variables. The type of the
- variable is indicated before the value:
- <nothing> String
- # Number
- * Funcref
- :unl[et][!] {name} ... *:unlet* *:unl* *E108* *E795*
- Remove the internal variable {name}. Several variable
- names can be given, they are all removed. The name
- may also be a |List| or |Dictionary| item.
- With [!] no error message is given for non-existing
- variables.
- One or more items from a |List| can be removed: >
- :unlet list[3] " remove fourth item
- :unlet list[3:] " remove fourth item to last
- < One item from a |Dictionary| can be removed at a time: >
- :unlet dict['two']
- :unlet dict.two
- < This is especially useful to clean up used global
- variables and script-local variables (these are not
- deleted when the script ends). Function-local
- variables are automatically deleted when the function
- ends.
- :unl[et] ${env-name} ... *:unlet-environment* *:unlet-$*
- Remove environment variable {env-name}.
- Can mix {name} and ${env-name} in one :unlet command.
- No error message is given for a non-existing
- variable, also without !.
- If the system does not support deleting an environment
- variable, it is made empty.
- *:cons* *:const*
- :cons[t] {var-name} = {expr1}
- :cons[t] [{name1}, {name2}, ...] = {expr1}
- :cons[t] [{name}, ..., ; {lastname}] = {expr1}
- :cons[t] {var-name} =<< [trim] [eval] {marker}
- text...
- text...
- {marker}
- Similar to |:let|, but additionally lock the variable
- after setting the value. This is the same as locking
- the variable with |:lockvar| just after |:let|, thus: >
- :const x = 1
- < is equivalent to: >
- :let x = 1
- :lockvar! x
- < This is useful if you want to make sure the variable
- is not modified. If the value is a List or Dictionary
- literal then the items also cannot be changed: >
- const ll = [1, 2, 3]
- let ll[1] = 5 " Error!
- < Nested references are not locked: >
- let lvar = ['a']
- const lconst = [0, lvar]
- let lconst[0] = 2 " Error!
- let lconst[1][0] = 'b' " OK
- < *E995*
- It is an error to specify an existing variable with
- |:const|. >
- :let x = 1
- :const x = 1 " Error!
- < *E996*
- Note that environment variables, option values and
- register values cannot be used here, since they cannot
- be locked.
- :cons[t]
- :cons[t] {var-name}
- If no argument is given or only {var-name} is given,
- the behavior is the same as |:let|.
- :lockv[ar][!] [depth] {name} ... *:lockvar* *:lockv*
- Lock the internal variable {name}. Locking means that
- it can no longer be changed (until it is unlocked).
- A locked variable can be deleted: >
- :lockvar v
- :let v = 'asdf' " fails!
- :unlet v " works
- < *E741* *E940* *E1122*
- If you try to change a locked variable you get an
- error message: "E741: Value is locked: {name}".
- If you try to lock or unlock a built-in variable you
- will get an error message "E940: Cannot lock or unlock
- variable {name}".
- [depth] is relevant when locking a |List| or
- |Dictionary|. It specifies how deep the locking goes:
- 0 Lock the variable {name} but not its
- value.
- 1 Lock the |List| or |Dictionary| itself,
- cannot add or remove items, but can
- still change their values.
- 2 Also lock the values, cannot change
- the items. If an item is a |List| or
- |Dictionary|, cannot add or remove
- items, but can still change the
- values.
- 3 Like 2 but for the |List| /
- |Dictionary| in the |List| /
- |Dictionary|, one level deeper.
- The default [depth] is 2, thus when {name} is a |List|
- or |Dictionary| the values cannot be changed.
- Example with [depth] 0: >
- let mylist = [1, 2, 3]
- lockvar 0 mylist
- let mylist[0] = 77 " OK
- call add(mylist, 4) " OK
- let mylist = [7, 8, 9] " Error!
- < *E743*
- For unlimited depth use [!] and omit [depth].
- However, there is a maximum depth of 100 to catch
- loops.
- Note that when two variables refer to the same |List|
- and you lock one of them, the |List| will also be
- locked when used through the other variable.
- Example: >
- :let l = [0, 1, 2, 3]
- :let cl = l
- :lockvar l
- :let cl[1] = 99 " won't work!
- < You may want to make a copy of a list to avoid this.
- See |deepcopy()|.
- :unlo[ckvar][!] [depth] {name} ... *:unlockvar* *:unlo*
- Unlock the internal variable {name}. Does the
- opposite of |:lockvar|.
- No error is given if {name} does not exist.
- :if {expr1} *:if* *:end* *:endif* *:en* *E171* *E579* *E580*
- :en[dif] Execute the commands until the next matching `:else`
- or `:endif` if {expr1} evaluates to non-zero.
- Although the short forms work, it is recommended to
- always use `:endif` to avoid confusion and to make
- auto-indenting work properly.
- From Vim version 4.5 until 5.0, every Ex command in
- between the `:if` and `:endif` is ignored. These two
- commands were just to allow for future expansions in a
- backward compatible way. Nesting was allowed. Note
- that any `:else` or `:elseif` was ignored, the `else`
- part was not executed either.
- You can use this to remain compatible with older
- versions: >
- :if version >= 500
- : version-5-specific-commands
- :endif
- < The commands still need to be parsed to find the
- `endif`. Sometimes an older Vim has a problem with a
- new command. For example, `:silent` is recognized as
- a `:substitute` command. In that case `:execute` can
- avoid problems: >
- :if version >= 600
- : execute "silent 1,$delete"
- :endif
- <
- NOTE: The `:append` and `:insert` commands don't work
- properly in between `:if` and `:endif`.
- *:else* *:el* *E581* *E583*
- :el[se] Execute the commands until the next matching `:else`
- or `:endif` if they previously were not being
- executed.
- *:elseif* *:elsei* *E582* *E584*
- :elsei[f] {expr1} Short for `:else` `:if`, with the addition that there
- is no extra `:endif`.
- :wh[ile] {expr1} *:while* *:endwhile* *:wh* *:endw*
- *E170* *E585* *E588* *E733*
- :endw[hile] Repeat the commands between `:while` and `:endwhile`,
- as long as {expr1} evaluates to non-zero.
- When an error is detected from a command inside the
- loop, execution continues after the `endwhile`.
- Example: >
- :let lnum = 1
- :while lnum <= line("$")
- :call FixLine(lnum)
- :let lnum = lnum + 1
- :endwhile
- <
- NOTE: The `:append` and `:insert` commands don't work
- properly inside a `:while` and `:for` loop.
- :for {var} in {object} *:for* *E690* *E732*
- :endfo[r] *:endfo* *:endfor*
- Repeat the commands between `:for` and `:endfor` for
- each item in {object}. {object} can be a |List|,
- a |Blob| or a |String|.
- Variable {var} is set to the value of each item.
- When an error is detected for a command inside the
- loop, execution continues after the `endfor`.
- Changing {object} inside the loop affects what items
- are used. Make a copy if this is unwanted: >
- :for item in copy(mylist)
- <
- When {object} is a |List| and not making a copy, Vim
- stores a reference to the next item in the |List|
- before executing the commands with the current item.
- Thus the current item can be removed without effect.
- Removing any later item means it will not be found.
- Thus the following example works (an inefficient way
- to make a |List| empty): >
- for item in mylist
- call remove(mylist, 0)
- endfor
- < Note that reordering the |List| (e.g., with sort() or
- reverse()) may have unexpected effects.
- When {object} is a |Blob|, Vim always makes a copy to
- iterate over. Unlike with |List|, modifying the
- |Blob| does not affect the iteration.
- When {object} is a |String| each item is a string with
- one character, plus any combining characters.
- :for [{var1}, {var2}, ...] in {listlist}
- :endfo[r]
- Like `:for` above, but each item in {listlist} must be
- a list, of which each item is assigned to {var1},
- {var2}, etc. Example: >
- :for [lnum, col] in [[1, 3], [2, 5], [3, 8]]
- :echo getline(lnum)[col]
- :endfor
- <
- *:continue* *:con* *E586*
- :con[tinue] When used inside a `:while` or `:for` loop, jumps back
- to the start of the loop.
- If it is used after a `:try` inside the loop but
- before the matching `:finally` (if present), the
- commands following the `:finally` up to the matching
- `:endtry` are executed first. This process applies to
- all nested `:try`s inside the loop. The outermost
- `:endtry` then jumps back to the start of the loop.
- *:break* *:brea* *E587*
- :brea[k] When used inside a `:while` or `:for` loop, skips to
- the command after the matching `:endwhile` or
- `:endfor`.
- If it is used after a `:try` inside the loop but
- before the matching `:finally` (if present), the
- commands following the `:finally` up to the matching
- `:endtry` are executed first. This process applies to
- all nested `:try`s inside the loop. The outermost
- `:endtry` then jumps to the command after the loop.
- :try *:try* *:endt* *:endtry* *E600* *E601* *E602*
- :endt[ry] Change the error handling for the commands between
- `:try` and `:endtry` including everything being
- executed across `:source` commands, function calls,
- or autocommand invocations.
- When an error or interrupt is detected and there is
- a `:finally` command following, execution continues
- after the `:finally`. Otherwise, or when the
- `:endtry` is reached thereafter, the next
- (dynamically) surrounding `:try` is checked for
- a corresponding `:finally` etc. Then the script
- processing is terminated. Whether a function
- definition has an "abort" argument does not matter.
- Example: >
- try | call Unknown() | finally | echomsg "cleanup" | endtry
- echomsg "not reached"
- <
- Moreover, an error or interrupt (dynamically) inside
- `:try` and `:endtry` is converted to an exception. It
- can be caught as if it were thrown by a `:throw`
- command (see `:catch`). In this case, the script
- processing is not terminated.
- The value "Vim:Interrupt" is used for an interrupt
- exception. An error in a Vim command is converted
- to a value of the form "Vim({command}):{errmsg}",
- other errors are converted to a value of the form
- "Vim:{errmsg}". {command} is the full command name,
- and {errmsg} is the message that is displayed if the
- error exception is not caught, always beginning with
- the error number.
- Examples: >
- try | sleep 100 | catch /^Vim:Interrupt$/ | endtry
- try | edit | catch /^Vim(edit):E\d\+/ | echo "error" | endtry
- <
- *:cat* *:catch* *E603* *E604* *E605*
- :cat[ch] /{pattern}/ The following commands until the next `:catch`,
- `:finally`, or `:endtry` that belongs to the same
- `:try` as the `:catch` are executed when an exception
- matching {pattern} is being thrown and has not yet
- been caught by a previous `:catch`. Otherwise, these
- commands are skipped.
- When {pattern} is omitted all errors are caught.
- Examples: >
- :catch /^Vim:Interrupt$/ " catch interrupts (CTRL-C)
- :catch /^Vim\%((\a\+)\)\=:E/ " catch all Vim errors
- :catch /^Vim\%((\a\+)\)\=:/ " catch errors and interrupts
- :catch /^Vim(write):/ " catch all errors in :write
- :catch /^Vim\%((\a\+)\)\=:E123:/ " catch error E123
- :catch /my-exception/ " catch user exception
- :catch /.*/ " catch everything
- :catch " same as /.*/
- <
- Another character can be used instead of / around the
- {pattern}, so long as it does not have a special
- meaning (e.g., '|' or '"') and doesn't occur inside
- {pattern}.
- Information about the exception is available in
- |v:exception|. Also see |throw-variables|.
- NOTE: It is not reliable to ":catch" the TEXT of
- an error message because it may vary in different
- locales.
- *:fina* *:finally* *E606* *E607*
- :fina[lly] The following commands until the matching `:endtry`
- are executed whenever the part between the matching
- `:try` and the `:finally` is left: either by falling
- through to the `:finally` or by a `:continue`,
- `:break`, `:finish`, or `:return`, or by an error or
- interrupt or exception (see `:throw`).
- *:th* *:throw* *E608*
- :th[row] {expr1} The {expr1} is evaluated and thrown as an exception.
- If the `:throw` is used after a `:try` but before the
- first corresponding `:catch`, commands are skipped
- until the first `:catch` matching {expr1} is reached.
- If there is no such `:catch` or if the `:throw` is
- used after a `:catch` but before the `:finally`, the
- commands following the `:finally` (if present) up to
- the matching `:endtry` are executed. If the `:throw`
- is after the `:finally`, commands up to the `:endtry`
- are skipped. At the `:endtry`, this process applies
- again for the next dynamically surrounding `:try`
- (which may be found in a calling function or sourcing
- script), until a matching `:catch` has been found.
- If the exception is not caught, the command processing
- is terminated.
- Example: >
- :try | throw "oops" | catch /^oo/ | echo "caught" | endtry
- < Note that "catch" may need to be on a separate line
- for when an error causes the parsing to skip the whole
- line and not see the "|" that separates the commands.
- *:ec* *:echo*
- :ec[ho] {expr1} .. Echoes each {expr1}, with a space in between. The
- first {expr1} starts on a new line.
- Also see |:comment|.
- Use "\n" to start a new line. Use "\r" to move the
- cursor to the first column.
- Uses the highlighting set by the `:echohl` command.
- Cannot be followed by a comment.
- Example: >
- :echo "the value of 'shell' is" &shell
- < *:echo-redraw*
- A later redraw may make the message disappear again.
- And since Vim mostly postpones redrawing until it's
- finished with a sequence of commands this happens
- quite often. To avoid that a command from before the
- `:echo` causes a redraw afterwards (redraws are often
- postponed until you type something), force a redraw
- with the `:redraw` command. Example: >
- :new | redraw | echo "there is a new window"
- < *:echo-self-refer*
- When printing nested containers echo prints second
- occurrence of the self-referencing container using
- "[...@level]" (self-referencing |List|) or
- "{...@level}" (self-referencing |Dict|): >
- :let l = []
- :call add(l, l)
- :let l2 = []
- :call add(l2, [l2])
- :echo l l2
- < echoes "[[...@0]] [[[...@0]]]". Echoing "[l]" will
- echo "[[[...@1]]]" because l first occurs at second
- level.
- *:echon*
- :echon {expr1} .. Echoes each {expr1}, without anything added. Also see
- |:comment|.
- Uses the highlighting set by the `:echohl` command.
- Cannot be followed by a comment.
- Example: >
- :echon "the value of 'shell' is " &shell
- <
- Note the difference between using `:echo`, which is a
- Vim command, and `:!echo`, which is an external shell
- command: >
- :!echo % --> filename
- < The arguments of ":!" are expanded, see |:_%|. >
- :!echo "%" --> filename or "filename"
- < Like the previous example. Whether you see the double
- quotes or not depends on your 'shell'. >
- :echo % --> nothing
- < The '%' is an illegal character in an expression. >
- :echo "%" --> %
- < This just echoes the '%' character. >
- :echo expand("%") --> filename
- < This calls the expand() function to expand the '%'.
- *:echoh* *:echohl*
- :echoh[l] {name} Use the highlight group {name} for the following
- `:echo`, `:echon` and `:echomsg` commands. Also used
- for the `input()` prompt. Example: >
- :echohl WarningMsg | echo "Don't panic!" | echohl None
- < Don't forget to set the group back to "None",
- otherwise all following echo's will be highlighted.
- *:echom* *:echomsg*
- :echom[sg] {expr1} .. Echo the expression(s) as a true message, saving the
- message in the |message-history|.
- Spaces are placed between the arguments as with the
- `:echo` command. But unprintable characters are
- displayed, not interpreted.
- The parsing works slightly different from `:echo`,
- more like `:execute`. All the expressions are first
- evaluated and concatenated before echoing anything.
- If expressions does not evaluate to a Number or
- String, string() is used to turn it into a string.
- Uses the highlighting set by the `:echohl` command.
- Example: >
- :echomsg "It's a Zizzer Zazzer Zuzz, as you can plainly see."
- < See |:echo-redraw| to avoid the message disappearing
- when the screen is redrawn.
- *:echoe* *:echoerr*
- :echoe[rr] {expr1} .. Echo the expression(s) as an error message, saving the
- message in the |message-history|. When used in a
- script or function the line number will be added.
- Spaces are placed between the arguments as with the
- `:echomsg` command. When used inside a try conditional,
- the message is raised as an error exception instead
- (see |try-echoerr|).
- Example: >
- :echoerr "This script just failed!"
- < If you just want a highlighted message use `:echohl`.
- And to get a beep: >
- :exe "normal \<Esc>"
- <
- *:eval*
- :eval {expr} Evaluate {expr} and discard the result. Example: >
- :eval Getlist()->Filter()->append('$')
- < The expression is supposed to have a side effect,
- since the resulting value is not used. In the example
- the `append()` call appends the List with text to the
- buffer. This is similar to `:call` but works with any
- expression.
- The command can be shortened to `:ev` or `:eva`, but
- these are hard to recognize and therefore not to be
- used.
- The command cannot be followed by "|" and another
- command, since "|" is seen as part of the expression.
- *:exe* *:execute*
- :exe[cute] {expr1} .. Executes the string that results from the evaluation
- of {expr1} as an Ex command.
- Multiple arguments are concatenated, with a space in
- between. To avoid the extra space use the ".."
- operator to concatenate strings into one argument.
- {expr1} is used as the processed command, command line
- editing keys are not recognized.
- Cannot be followed by a comment.
- Examples: >
- :execute "buffer" nextbuf
- :execute "normal" count .. "w"
- <
- ":execute" can be used to append a command to commands
- that don't accept a '|'. Example: >
- :execute '!ls' | echo "theend"
- < ":execute" is also a nice way to avoid having to type
- control characters in a Vim script for a ":normal"
- command: >
- :execute "normal ixxx\<Esc>"
- < This has an <Esc> character, see |expr-string|.
- Be careful to correctly escape special characters in
- file names. The |fnameescape()| function can be used
- for Vim commands, |shellescape()| for |:!| commands.
- Examples: >
- :execute "e " .. fnameescape(filename)
- :execute "!ls " .. shellescape(filename, 1)
- <
- Note: The executed string may be any command-line, but
- starting or ending "if", "while" and "for" does not
- always work, because when commands are skipped the
- ":execute" is not evaluated and Vim loses track of
- where blocks start and end. Also "break" and
- "continue" should not be inside ":execute".
- This example does not work, because the ":execute" is
- not evaluated and Vim does not see the "while", and
- gives an error for finding an ":endwhile": >
- :if 0
- : execute 'while i > 5'
- : echo "test"
- : endwhile
- :endif
- <
- It is allowed to have a "while" or "if" command
- completely in the executed string: >
- :execute 'while i < 5 | echo i | let i = i + 1 | endwhile'
- <
- *:exe-comment*
- ":execute", ":echo" and ":echon" cannot be followed by
- a comment directly, because they see the '"' as the
- start of a string. But, you can use '|' followed by a
- comment. Example: >
- :echo "foo" | "this is a comment
- ==============================================================================
- 8. Exception handling *exception-handling*
- The Vim script language comprises an exception handling feature. This section
- explains how it can be used in a Vim script.
- Exceptions may be raised by Vim on an error or on interrupt, see
- |catch-errors| and |catch-interrupt|. You can also explicitly throw an
- exception by using the ":throw" command, see |throw-catch|.
- TRY CONDITIONALS *try-conditionals*
- Exceptions can be caught or can cause cleanup code to be executed. You can
- use a try conditional to specify catch clauses (that catch exceptions) and/or
- a finally clause (to be executed for cleanup).
- A try conditional begins with a |:try| command and ends at the matching
- |:endtry| command. In between, you can use a |:catch| command to start
- a catch clause, or a |:finally| command to start a finally clause. There may
- be none or multiple catch clauses, but there is at most one finally clause,
- which must not be followed by any catch clauses. The lines before the catch
- clauses and the finally clause is called a try block. >
- :try
- : ...
- : ... TRY BLOCK
- : ...
- :catch /{pattern}/
- : ...
- : ... CATCH CLAUSE
- : ...
- :catch /{pattern}/
- : ...
- : ... CATCH CLAUSE
- : ...
- :finally
- : ...
- : ... FINALLY CLAUSE
- : ...
- :endtry
- The try conditional allows to watch code for exceptions and to take the
- appropriate actions. Exceptions from the try block may be caught. Exceptions
- from the try block and also the catch clauses may cause cleanup actions.
- When no exception is thrown during execution of the try block, the control
- is transferred to the finally clause, if present. After its execution, the
- script continues with the line following the ":endtry".
- When an exception occurs during execution of the try block, the remaining
- lines in the try block are skipped. The exception is matched against the
- patterns specified as arguments to the ":catch" commands. The catch clause
- after the first matching ":catch" is taken, other catch clauses are not
- executed. The catch clause ends when the next ":catch", ":finally", or
- ":endtry" command is reached - whatever is first. Then, the finally clause
- (if present) is executed. When the ":endtry" is reached, the script execution
- continues in the following line as usual.
- When an exception that does not match any of the patterns specified by the
- ":catch" commands is thrown in the try block, the exception is not caught by
- that try conditional and none of the catch clauses is executed. Only the
- finally clause, if present, is taken. The exception pends during execution of
- the finally clause. It is resumed at the ":endtry", so that commands after
- the ":endtry" are not executed and the exception might be caught elsewhere,
- see |try-nesting|.
- When during execution of a catch clause another exception is thrown, the
- remaining lines in that catch clause are not executed. The new exception is
- not matched against the patterns in any of the ":catch" commands of the same
- try conditional and none of its catch clauses is taken. If there is, however,
- a finally clause, it is executed, and the exception pends during its
- execution. The commands following the ":endtry" are not executed. The new
- exception might, however, be caught elsewhere, see |try-nesting|.
- When during execution of the finally clause (if present) an exception is
- thrown, the remaining lines in the finally clause are skipped. If the finally
- clause has been taken because of an exception from the try block or one of the
- catch clauses, the original (pending) exception is discarded. The commands
- following the ":endtry" are not executed, and the exception from the finally
- clause is propagated and can be caught elsewhere, see |try-nesting|.
- The finally clause is also executed, when a ":break" or ":continue" for
- a ":while" loop enclosing the complete try conditional is executed from the
- try block or a catch clause. Or when a ":return" or ":finish" is executed
- from the try block or a catch clause of a try conditional in a function or
- sourced script, respectively. The ":break", ":continue", ":return", or
- ":finish" pends during execution of the finally clause and is resumed when the
- ":endtry" is reached. It is, however, discarded when an exception is thrown
- from the finally clause.
- When a ":break" or ":continue" for a ":while" loop enclosing the complete
- try conditional or when a ":return" or ":finish" is encountered in the finally
- clause, the rest of the finally clause is skipped, and the ":break",
- ":continue", ":return" or ":finish" is executed as usual. If the finally
- clause has been taken because of an exception or an earlier ":break",
- ":continue", ":return", or ":finish" from the try block or a catch clause,
- this pending exception or command is discarded.
- For examples see |throw-catch| and |try-finally|.
- NESTING OF TRY CONDITIONALS *try-nesting*
- Try conditionals can be nested arbitrarily. That is, a complete try
- conditional can be put into the try block, a catch clause, or the finally
- clause of another try conditional. If the inner try conditional does not
- catch an exception thrown in its try block or throws a new exception from one
- of its catch clauses or its finally clause, the outer try conditional is
- checked according to the rules above. If the inner try conditional is in the
- try block of the outer try conditional, its catch clauses are checked, but
- otherwise only the finally clause is executed. It does not matter for
- nesting, whether the inner try conditional is directly contained in the outer
- one, or whether the outer one sources a script or calls a function containing
- the inner try conditional.
- When none of the active try conditionals catches an exception, just their
- finally clauses are executed. Thereafter, the script processing terminates.
- An error message is displayed in case of an uncaught exception explicitly
- thrown by a ":throw" command. For uncaught error and interrupt exceptions
- implicitly raised by Vim, the error message(s) or interrupt message are shown
- as usual.
- For examples see |throw-catch|.
- EXAMINING EXCEPTION HANDLING CODE *except-examine*
- Exception handling code can get tricky. If you are in doubt what happens, set
- 'verbose' to 13 or use the ":13verbose" command modifier when sourcing your
- script file. Then you see when an exception is thrown, discarded, caught, or
- finished. When using a verbosity level of at least 14, things pending in
- a finally clause are also shown. This information is also given in debug mode
- (see |debug-scripts|).
- THROWING AND CATCHING EXCEPTIONS *throw-catch*
- You can throw any number or string as an exception. Use the |:throw| command
- and pass the value to be thrown as argument: >
- :throw 4711
- :throw "string"
- < *throw-expression*
- You can also specify an expression argument. The expression is then evaluated
- first, and the result is thrown: >
- :throw 4705 + strlen("string")
- :throw strpart("strings", 0, 6)
- An exception might be thrown during evaluation of the argument of the ":throw"
- command. Unless it is caught there, the expression evaluation is abandoned.
- The ":throw" command then does not throw a new exception.
- Example: >
- :function! Foo(arg)
- : try
- : throw a:arg
- : catch /foo/
- : endtry
- : return 1
- :endfunction
- :
- :function! Bar()
- : echo "in Bar"
- : return 4710
- :endfunction
- :
- :throw Foo("arrgh") + Bar()
- This throws "arrgh", and "in Bar" is not displayed since Bar() is not
- executed. >
- :throw Foo("foo") + Bar()
- however displays "in Bar" and throws 4711.
- Any other command that takes an expression as argument might also be
- abandoned by an (uncaught) exception during the expression evaluation. The
- exception is then propagated to the caller of the command.
- Example: >
- :if Foo("arrgh")
- : echo "then"
- :else
- : echo "else"
- :endif
- Here neither of "then" or "else" is displayed.
- *catch-order*
- Exceptions can be caught by a try conditional with one or more |:catch|
- commands, see |try-conditionals|. The values to be caught by each ":catch"
- command can be specified as a pattern argument. The subsequent catch clause
- gets executed when a matching exception is caught.
- Example: >
- :function! Foo(value)
- : try
- : throw a:value
- : catch /^\d\+$/
- : echo "Number thrown"
- : catch /.*/
- : echo "String thrown"
- : endtry
- :endfunction
- :
- :call Foo(0x1267)
- :call Foo('string')
- The first call to Foo() displays "Number thrown", the second "String thrown".
- An exception is matched against the ":catch" commands in the order they are
- specified. Only the first match counts. So you should place the more
- specific ":catch" first. The following order does not make sense: >
- : catch /.*/
- : echo "String thrown"
- : catch /^\d\+$/
- : echo "Number thrown"
- The first ":catch" here matches always, so that the second catch clause is
- never taken.
- *throw-variables*
- If you catch an exception by a general pattern, you may access the exact value
- in the variable |v:exception|: >
- : catch /^\d\+$/
- : echo "Number thrown. Value is" v:exception
- You may also be interested where an exception was thrown. This is stored in
- |v:throwpoint|. And you can obtain the stack trace from |v:stacktrace|.
- Note that "v:exception", "v:stacktrace" and "v:throwpoint" are valid for the
- exception most recently caught as long it is not finished.
- Example: >
- :function! Caught()
- : if v:exception != ""
- : echo 'Caught "' .. v:exception .. '" in ' .. v:throwpoint
- : else
- : echo 'Nothing caught'
- : endif
- :endfunction
- :
- :function! Foo()
- : try
- : try
- : try
- : throw 4711
- : finally
- : call Caught()
- : endtry
- : catch /.*/
- : call Caught()
- : throw "oops"
- : endtry
- : catch /.*/
- : call Caught()
- : finally
- : call Caught()
- : endtry
- :endfunction
- :
- :call Foo()
- This displays >
- Nothing caught
- Caught "4711" in function Foo, line 4
- Caught "oops" in function Foo, line 10
- Nothing caught
- A practical example: The following command ":LineNumber" displays the line
- number in the script or function where it has been used: >
- :function! LineNumber()
- : return substitute(v:throwpoint, '.*\D\(\d\+\).*', '\1', "")
- :endfunction
- :command! LineNumber try | throw "" | catch | echo LineNumber() | endtry
- <
- *try-nested*
- An exception that is not caught by a try conditional can be caught by
- a surrounding try conditional: >
- :try
- : try
- : throw "foo"
- : catch /foobar/
- : echo "foobar"
- : finally
- : echo "inner finally"
- : endtry
- :catch /foo/
- : echo "foo"
- :endtry
- The inner try conditional does not catch the exception, just its finally
- clause is executed. The exception is then caught by the outer try
- conditional. The example displays "inner finally" and then "foo".
- *throw-from-catch*
- You can catch an exception and throw a new one to be caught elsewhere from the
- catch clause: >
- :function! Foo()
- : throw "foo"
- :endfunction
- :
- :function! Bar()
- : try
- : call Foo()
- : catch /foo/
- : echo "Caught foo, throw bar"
- : throw "bar"
- : endtry
- :endfunction
- :
- :try
- : call Bar()
- :catch /.*/
- : echo "Caught" v:exception
- :endtry
- This displays "Caught foo, throw bar" and then "Caught bar".
- *rethrow*
- There is no real rethrow in the Vim script language, but you may throw
- "v:exception" instead: >
- :function! Bar()
- : try
- : call Foo()
- : catch /.*/
- : echo "Rethrow" v:exception
- : throw v:exception
- : endtry
- :endfunction
- < *try-echoerr*
- Note that this method cannot be used to "rethrow" Vim error or interrupt
- exceptions, because it is not possible to fake Vim internal exceptions.
- Trying so causes an error exception. You should throw your own exception
- denoting the situation. If you want to cause a Vim error exception containing
- the original error exception value, you can use the |:echoerr| command: >
- :try
- : try
- : asdf
- : catch /.*/
- : echoerr v:exception
- : endtry
- :catch /.*/
- : echo v:exception
- :endtry
- This code displays
- Vim(echoerr):Vim:E492: Not an editor command: asdf ~
- CLEANUP CODE *try-finally*
- Scripts often change global settings and restore them at their end. If the
- user however interrupts the script by pressing CTRL-C, the settings remain in
- an inconsistent state. The same may happen to you in the development phase of
- a script when an error occurs or you explicitly throw an exception without
- catching it. You can solve these problems by using a try conditional with
- a finally clause for restoring the settings. Its execution is guaranteed on
- normal control flow, on error, on an explicit ":throw", and on interrupt.
- (Note that errors and interrupts from inside the try conditional are converted
- to exceptions. When not caught, they terminate the script after the finally
- clause has been executed.)
- Example: >
- :try
- : let s:saved_ts = &ts
- : set ts=17
- :
- : " Do the hard work here.
- :
- :finally
- : let &ts = s:saved_ts
- : unlet s:saved_ts
- :endtry
- This method should be used locally whenever a function or part of a script
- changes global settings which need to be restored on failure or normal exit of
- that function or script part.
- *break-finally*
- Cleanup code works also when the try block or a catch clause is left by
- a ":continue", ":break", ":return", or ":finish".
- Example: >
- :let first = 1
- :while 1
- : try
- : if first
- : echo "first"
- : let first = 0
- : continue
- : else
- : throw "second"
- : endif
- : catch /.*/
- : echo v:exception
- : break
- : finally
- : echo "cleanup"
- : endtry
- : echo "still in while"
- :endwhile
- :echo "end"
- This displays "first", "cleanup", "second", "cleanup", and "end". >
- :function! Foo()
- : try
- : return 4711
- : finally
- : echo "cleanup\n"
- : endtry
- : echo "Foo still active"
- :endfunction
- :
- :echo Foo() "returned by Foo"
- This displays "cleanup" and "4711 returned by Foo". You don't need to add an
- extra ":return" in the finally clause. (Above all, this would override the
- return value.)
- *except-from-finally*
- Using either of ":continue", ":break", ":return", ":finish", or ":throw" in
- a finally clause is possible, but not recommended since it abandons the
- cleanup actions for the try conditional. But, of course, interrupt and error
- exceptions might get raised from a finally clause.
- Example where an error in the finally clause stops an interrupt from
- working correctly: >
- :try
- : try
- : echo "Press CTRL-C for interrupt"
- : while 1
- : endwhile
- : finally
- : unlet novar
- : endtry
- :catch /novar/
- :endtry
- :echo "Script still running"
- :sleep 1
- If you need to put commands that could fail into a finally clause, you should
- think about catching or ignoring the errors in these commands, see
- |catch-errors| and |ignore-errors|.
- CATCHING ERRORS *catch-errors*
- If you want to catch specific errors, you just have to put the code to be
- watched in a try block and add a catch clause for the error message. The
- presence of the try conditional causes all errors to be converted to an
- exception. No message is displayed and |v:errmsg| is not set then. To find
- the right pattern for the ":catch" command, you have to know how the format of
- the error exception is.
- Error exceptions have the following format: >
- Vim({cmdname}):{errmsg}
- or >
- Vim:{errmsg}
- {cmdname} is the name of the command that failed; the second form is used when
- the command name is not known. {errmsg} is the error message usually produced
- when the error occurs outside try conditionals. It always begins with
- a capital "E", followed by a two or three-digit error number, a colon, and
- a space.
- Examples:
- The command >
- :unlet novar
- normally produces the error message >
- E108: No such variable: "novar"
- which is converted inside try conditionals to an exception >
- Vim(unlet):E108: No such variable: "novar"
- The command >
- :dwim
- normally produces the error message >
- E492: Not an editor command: dwim
- which is converted inside try conditionals to an exception >
- Vim:E492: Not an editor command: dwim
- You can catch all ":unlet" errors by a >
- :catch /^Vim(unlet):/
- or all errors for misspelled command names by a >
- :catch /^Vim:E492:/
- Some error messages may be produced by different commands: >
- :function nofunc
- and >
- :delfunction nofunc
- both produce the error message >
- E128: Function name must start with a capital: nofunc
- which is converted inside try conditionals to an exception >
- Vim(function):E128: Function name must start with a capital: nofunc
- or >
- Vim(delfunction):E128: Function name must start with a capital: nofunc
- respectively. You can catch the error by its number independently on the
- command that caused it if you use the following pattern: >
- :catch /^Vim(\a\+):E128:/
- Some commands like >
- :let x = novar
- produce multiple error messages, here: >
- E121: Undefined variable: novar
- E15: Invalid expression: novar
- Only the first is used for the exception value, since it is the most specific
- one (see |except-several-errors|). So you can catch it by >
- :catch /^Vim(\a\+):E121:/
- You can catch all errors related to the name "nofunc" by >
- :catch /\<nofunc\>/
- You can catch all Vim errors in the ":write" and ":read" commands by >
- :catch /^Vim(\(write\|read\)):E\d\+:/
- You can catch all Vim errors by the pattern >
- :catch /^Vim\((\a\+)\)\=:E\d\+:/
- <
- *catch-text*
- NOTE: You should never catch the error message text itself: >
- :catch /No such variable/
- only works in the English locale, but not when the user has selected
- a different language by the |:language| command. It is however helpful to
- cite the message text in a comment: >
- :catch /^Vim(\a\+):E108:/ " No such variable
- IGNORING ERRORS *ignore-errors*
- You can ignore errors in a specific Vim command by catching them locally: >
- :try
- : write
- :catch
- :endtry
- But you are strongly recommended NOT to use this simple form, since it could
- catch more than you want. With the ":write" command, some autocommands could
- be executed and cause errors not related to writing, for instance: >
- :au BufWritePre * unlet novar
- There could even be such errors you are not responsible for as a script
- writer: a user of your script might have defined such autocommands. You would
- then hide the error from the user.
- It is much better to use >
- :try
- : write
- :catch /^Vim(write):/
- :endtry
- which only catches real write errors. So catch only what you'd like to ignore
- intentionally.
- For a single command that does not cause execution of autocommands, you could
- even suppress the conversion of errors to exceptions by the ":silent!"
- command: >
- :silent! nunmap k
- This works also when a try conditional is active.
- CATCHING INTERRUPTS *catch-interrupt*
- When there are active try conditionals, an interrupt (CTRL-C) is converted to
- the exception "Vim:Interrupt". You can catch it like every exception. The
- script is not terminated, then.
- Example: >
- :function! TASK1()
- : sleep 10
- :endfunction
- :function! TASK2()
- : sleep 20
- :endfunction
- :while 1
- : let command = input("Type a command: ")
- : try
- : if command == ""
- : continue
- : elseif command == "END"
- : break
- : elseif command == "TASK1"
- : call TASK1()
- : elseif command == "TASK2"
- : call TASK2()
- : else
- : echo "\nIllegal command:" command
- : continue
- : endif
- : catch /^Vim:Interrupt$/
- : echo "\nCommand interrupted"
- : " Caught the interrupt. Continue with next prompt.
- : endtry
- :endwhile
- You can interrupt a task here by pressing CTRL-C; the script then asks for
- a new command. If you press CTRL-C at the prompt, the script is terminated.
- For testing what happens when CTRL-C would be pressed on a specific line in
- your script, use the debug mode and execute the |>quit| or |>interrupt|
- command on that line. See |debug-scripts|.
- CATCHING ALL *catch-all*
- The commands >
- :catch /.*/
- :catch //
- :catch
- catch everything, error exceptions, interrupt exceptions and exceptions
- explicitly thrown by the |:throw| command. This is useful at the top level of
- a script in order to catch unexpected things.
- Example: >
- :try
- :
- : " do the hard work here
- :
- :catch /MyException/
- :
- : " handle known problem
- :
- :catch /^Vim:Interrupt$/
- : echo "Script interrupted"
- :catch /.*/
- : echo "Internal error (" .. v:exception .. ")"
- : echo " - occurred at " .. v:throwpoint
- :endtry
- :" end of script
- Note: Catching all might catch more things than you want. Thus, you are
- strongly encouraged to catch only for problems that you can really handle by
- specifying a pattern argument to the ":catch".
- Example: Catching all could make it nearly impossible to interrupt a script
- by pressing CTRL-C: >
- :while 1
- : try
- : sleep 1
- : catch
- : endtry
- :endwhile
- EXCEPTIONS AND AUTOCOMMANDS *except-autocmd*
- Exceptions may be used during execution of autocommands. Example: >
- :autocmd User x try
- :autocmd User x throw "Oops!"
- :autocmd User x catch
- :autocmd User x echo v:exception
- :autocmd User x endtry
- :autocmd User x throw "Arrgh!"
- :autocmd User x echo "Should not be displayed"
- :
- :try
- : doautocmd User x
- :catch
- : echo v:exception
- :endtry
- This displays "Oops!" and "Arrgh!".
- *except-autocmd-Pre*
- For some commands, autocommands get executed before the main action of the
- command takes place. If an exception is thrown and not caught in the sequence
- of autocommands, the sequence and the command that caused its execution are
- abandoned and the exception is propagated to the caller of the command.
- Example: >
- :autocmd BufWritePre * throw "FAIL"
- :autocmd BufWritePre * echo "Should not be displayed"
- :
- :try
- : write
- :catch
- : echo "Caught:" v:exception "from" v:throwpoint
- :endtry
- Here, the ":write" command does not write the file currently being edited (as
- you can see by checking 'modified'), since the exception from the BufWritePre
- autocommand abandons the ":write". The exception is then caught and the
- script displays: >
- Caught: FAIL from BufWrite Auto commands for "*"
- <
- *except-autocmd-Post*
- For some commands, autocommands get executed after the main action of the
- command has taken place. If this main action fails and the command is inside
- an active try conditional, the autocommands are skipped and an error exception
- is thrown that can be caught by the caller of the command.
- Example: >
- :autocmd BufWritePost * echo "File successfully written!"
- :
- :try
- : write /i/m/p/o/s/s/i/b/l/e
- :catch
- : echo v:exception
- :endtry
- This just displays: >
- Vim(write):E212: Can't open file for writing (/i/m/p/o/s/s/i/b/l/e)
- If you really need to execute the autocommands even when the main action
- fails, trigger the event from the catch clause.
- Example: >
- :autocmd BufWritePre * set noreadonly
- :autocmd BufWritePost * set readonly
- :
- :try
- : write /i/m/p/o/s/s/i/b/l/e
- :catch
- : doautocmd BufWritePost /i/m/p/o/s/s/i/b/l/e
- :endtry
- <
- You can also use ":silent!": >
- :let x = "ok"
- :let v:errmsg = ""
- :autocmd BufWritePost * if v:errmsg != ""
- :autocmd BufWritePost * let x = "after fail"
- :autocmd BufWritePost * endif
- :try
- : silent! write /i/m/p/o/s/s/i/b/l/e
- :catch
- :endtry
- :echo x
- This displays "after fail".
- If the main action of the command does not fail, exceptions from the
- autocommands will be catchable by the caller of the command: >
- :autocmd BufWritePost * throw ":-("
- :autocmd BufWritePost * echo "Should not be displayed"
- :
- :try
- : write
- :catch
- : echo v:exception
- :endtry
- <
- *except-autocmd-Cmd*
- For some commands, the normal action can be replaced by a sequence of
- autocommands. Exceptions from that sequence will be catchable by the caller
- of the command.
- Example: For the ":write" command, the caller cannot know whether the file
- had actually been written when the exception occurred. You need to tell it in
- some way. >
- :if !exists("cnt")
- : let cnt = 0
- :
- : autocmd BufWriteCmd * if &modified
- : autocmd BufWriteCmd * let cnt = cnt + 1
- : autocmd BufWriteCmd * if cnt % 3 == 2
- : autocmd BufWriteCmd * throw "BufWriteCmdError"
- : autocmd BufWriteCmd * endif
- : autocmd BufWriteCmd * write | set nomodified
- : autocmd BufWriteCmd * if cnt % 3 == 0
- : autocmd BufWriteCmd * throw "BufWriteCmdError"
- : autocmd BufWriteCmd * endif
- : autocmd BufWriteCmd * echo "File successfully written!"
- : autocmd BufWriteCmd * endif
- :endif
- :
- :try
- : write
- :catch /^BufWriteCmdError$/
- : if &modified
- : echo "Error on writing (file contents not changed)"
- : else
- : echo "Error after writing"
- : endif
- :catch /^Vim(write):/
- : echo "Error on writing"
- :endtry
- When this script is sourced several times after making changes, it displays
- first >
- File successfully written!
- then >
- Error on writing (file contents not changed)
- then >
- Error after writing
- etc.
- *except-autocmd-ill*
- You cannot spread a try conditional over autocommands for different events.
- The following code is ill-formed: >
- :autocmd BufWritePre * try
- :
- :autocmd BufWritePost * catch
- :autocmd BufWritePost * echo v:exception
- :autocmd BufWritePost * endtry
- :
- :write
- EXCEPTION HIERARCHIES AND PARAMETERIZED EXCEPTIONS *except-hier-param*
- Some programming languages allow to use hierarchies of exception classes or to
- pass additional information with the object of an exception class. You can do
- similar things in Vim.
- In order to throw an exception from a hierarchy, just throw the complete
- class name with the components separated by a colon, for instance throw the
- string "EXCEPT:MATHERR:OVERFLOW" for an overflow in a mathematical library.
- When you want to pass additional information with your exception class, add
- it in parentheses, for instance throw the string "EXCEPT:IO:WRITEERR(myfile)"
- for an error when writing "myfile".
- With the appropriate patterns in the ":catch" command, you can catch for
- base classes or derived classes of your hierarchy. Additional information in
- parentheses can be cut out from |v:exception| with the ":substitute" command.
- Example: >
- :function! CheckRange(a, func)
- : if a:a < 0
- : throw "EXCEPT:MATHERR:RANGE(" .. a:func .. ")"
- : endif
- :endfunction
- :
- :function! Add(a, b)
- : call CheckRange(a:a, "Add")
- : call CheckRange(a:b, "Add")
- : let c = a:a + a:b
- : if c < 0
- : throw "EXCEPT:MATHERR:OVERFLOW"
- : endif
- : return c
- :endfunction
- :
- :function! Div(a, b)
- : call CheckRange(a:a, "Div")
- : call CheckRange(a:b, "Div")
- : if (a:b == 0)
- : throw "EXCEPT:MATHERR:ZERODIV"
- : endif
- : return a:a / a:b
- :endfunction
- :
- :function! Write(file)
- : try
- : execute "write" fnameescape(a:file)
- : catch /^Vim(write):/
- : throw "EXCEPT:IO(" .. getcwd() .. ", " .. a:file .. "):WRITEERR"
- : endtry
- :endfunction
- :
- :try
- :
- : " something with arithmetic and I/O
- :
- :catch /^EXCEPT:MATHERR:RANGE/
- : let function = substitute(v:exception, '.*(\(\a\+\)).*', '\1', "")
- : echo "Range error in" function
- :
- :catch /^EXCEPT:MATHERR/ " catches OVERFLOW and ZERODIV
- : echo "Math error"
- :
- :catch /^EXCEPT:IO/
- : let dir = substitute(v:exception, '.*(\(.\+\),\s*.\+).*', '\1', "")
- : let file = substitute(v:exception, '.*(.\+,\s*\(.\+\)).*', '\1', "")
- : if file !~ '^/'
- : let file = dir .. "/" .. file
- : endif
- : echo 'I/O error for "' .. file .. '"'
- :
- :catch /^EXCEPT/
- : echo "Unspecified error"
- :
- :endtry
- The exceptions raised by Vim itself (on error or when pressing CTRL-C) use
- a flat hierarchy: they are all in the "Vim" class. You cannot throw yourself
- exceptions with the "Vim" prefix; they are reserved for Vim.
- Vim error exceptions are parameterized with the name of the command that
- failed, if known. See |catch-errors|.
- PECULIARITIES
- *except-compat*
- The exception handling concept requires that the command sequence causing the
- exception is aborted immediately and control is transferred to finally clauses
- and/or a catch clause.
- In the Vim script language there are cases where scripts and functions
- continue after an error: in functions without the "abort" flag or in a command
- after ":silent!", control flow goes to the following line, and outside
- functions, control flow goes to the line following the outermost ":endwhile"
- or ":endif". On the other hand, errors should be catchable as exceptions
- (thus, requiring the immediate abortion).
- This problem has been solved by converting errors to exceptions and using
- immediate abortion (if not suppressed by ":silent!") only when a try
- conditional is active. This is no restriction since an (error) exception can
- be caught only from an active try conditional. If you want an immediate
- termination without catching the error, just use a try conditional without
- catch clause. (You can cause cleanup code being executed before termination
- by specifying a finally clause.)
- When no try conditional is active, the usual abortion and continuation
- behavior is used instead of immediate abortion. This ensures compatibility of
- scripts written for Vim 6.1 and earlier.
- However, when sourcing an existing script that does not use exception handling
- commands (or when calling one of its functions) from inside an active try
- conditional of a new script, you might change the control flow of the existing
- script on error. You get the immediate abortion on error and can catch the
- error in the new script. If however the sourced script suppresses error
- messages by using the ":silent!" command (checking for errors by testing
- |v:errmsg| if appropriate), its execution path is not changed. The error is
- not converted to an exception. (See |:silent|.) So the only remaining cause
- where this happens is for scripts that don't care about errors and produce
- error messages. You probably won't want to use such code from your new
- scripts.
- *except-syntax-err*
- Syntax errors in the exception handling commands are never caught by any of
- the ":catch" commands of the try conditional they belong to. Its finally
- clauses, however, is executed.
- Example: >
- :try
- : try
- : throw 4711
- : catch /\(/
- : echo "in catch with syntax error"
- : catch
- : echo "inner catch-all"
- : finally
- : echo "inner finally"
- : endtry
- :catch
- : echo 'outer catch-all caught "' .. v:exception .. '"'
- : finally
- : echo "outer finally"
- :endtry
- This displays: >
- inner finally
- outer catch-all caught "Vim(catch):E54: Unmatched \("
- outer finally
- The original exception is discarded and an error exception is raised, instead.
- *except-single-line*
- The ":try", ":catch", ":finally", and ":endtry" commands can be put on
- a single line, but then syntax errors may make it difficult to recognize the
- "catch" line, thus you better avoid this.
- Example: >
- :try | unlet! foo # | catch | endtry
- raises an error exception for the trailing characters after the ":unlet!"
- argument, but does not see the ":catch" and ":endtry" commands, so that the
- error exception is discarded and the "E488: Trailing characters" message gets
- displayed.
- *except-several-errors*
- When several errors appear in a single command, the first error message is
- usually the most specific one and therefore converted to the error exception.
- Example: >
- echo novar
- causes >
- E121: Undefined variable: novar
- E15: Invalid expression: novar
- The value of the error exception inside try conditionals is: >
- Vim(echo):E121: Undefined variable: novar
- < *except-syntax-error*
- But when a syntax error is detected after a normal error in the same command,
- the syntax error is used for the exception being thrown.
- Example: >
- unlet novar #
- causes >
- E108: No such variable: "novar"
- E488: Trailing characters
- The value of the error exception inside try conditionals is: >
- Vim(unlet):E488: Trailing characters
- This is done because the syntax error might change the execution path in a way
- not intended by the user. Example: >
- try
- try | unlet novar # | catch | echo v:exception | endtry
- catch /.*/
- echo "outer catch:" v:exception
- endtry
- This displays "outer catch: Vim(unlet):E488: Trailing characters", and then
- a "E600: Missing :endtry" error message is given, see |except-single-line|.
- ==============================================================================
- 9. Examples *eval-examples*
- Printing in Binary ~
- >
- :" The function Nr2Bin() returns the binary string representation of a number.
- :func Nr2Bin(nr)
- : let n = a:nr
- : let r = ""
- : while n
- : let r = '01'[n % 2] .. r
- : let n = n / 2
- : endwhile
- : return r
- :endfunc
- :" The function String2Bin() converts each character in a string to a
- :" binary string, separated with dashes.
- :func String2Bin(str)
- : let out = ''
- : for ix in range(strlen(a:str))
- : let out = out .. '-' .. Nr2Bin(char2nr(a:str[ix]))
- : endfor
- : return out[1:]
- :endfunc
- Example of its use: >
- :echo Nr2Bin(32)
- result: "100000" >
- :echo String2Bin("32")
- result: "110011-110010"
- Sorting lines ~
- This example sorts lines with a specific compare function. >
- :func SortBuffer()
- : let lines = getline(1, '$')
- : call sort(lines, function("Strcmp"))
- : call setline(1, lines)
- :endfunction
- As a one-liner: >
- :call setline(1, sort(getline(1, '$'), function("Strcmp")))
- <
- scanf() replacement ~
- *sscanf*
- There is no sscanf() function in Vim. If you need to extract parts from a
- line, you can use matchstr() and substitute() to do it. This example shows
- how to get the file name, line number and column number out of a line like
- "foobar.txt, 123, 45". >
- :" Set up the match bit
- :let mx='\(\f\+\),\s*\(\d\+\),\s*\(\d\+\)'
- :"get the part matching the whole expression
- :let l = matchstr(line, mx)
- :"get each item out of the match
- :let file = substitute(l, mx, '\1', '')
- :let lnum = substitute(l, mx, '\2', '')
- :let col = substitute(l, mx, '\3', '')
- The input is in the variable "line", the results in the variables "file",
- "lnum" and "col". (idea from Michael Geddes)
- getting the scriptnames in a Dictionary ~
- *scriptnames-dictionary*
- The `:scriptnames` command can be used to get a list of all script files that
- have been sourced. There is also the `getscriptinfo()` function, but the
- information returned is not exactly the same. In case you need to manipulate
- the output of `scriptnames` this code can be used: >
- " Get the output of ":scriptnames" in the scriptnames_output variable.
- let scriptnames_output = ''
- redir => scriptnames_output
- silent scriptnames
- redir END
- " Split the output into lines and parse each line. Add an entry to the
- " "scripts" dictionary.
- let scripts = {}
- for line in split(scriptnames_output, "\n")
- " Only do non-blank lines.
- if line =~ '\S'
- " Get the first number in the line.
- let nr = matchstr(line, '\d\+')
- " Get the file name, remove the script number " 123: ".
- let name = substitute(line, '.\+:\s*', '', '')
- " Add an item to the Dictionary
- let scripts[nr] = name
- endif
- endfor
- unlet scriptnames_output
- ==============================================================================
- The sandbox *eval-sandbox* *sandbox*
- The 'foldexpr', 'formatexpr', 'includeexpr', 'indentexpr', 'statusline' and
- 'foldtext' options may be evaluated in a sandbox. This means that you are
- protected from these expressions having nasty side effects. This gives some
- safety for when these options are set from a modeline. It is also used when
- the command from a tags file is executed and for CTRL-R = in the command line.
- The sandbox is also used for the |:sandbox| command.
- *E48*
- These items are not allowed in the sandbox:
- - changing the buffer text
- - defining or changing mapping, autocommands, user commands
- - setting certain options (see |option-summary|)
- - setting certain v: variables (see |v:var|) *E794*
- - executing a shell command
- - reading or writing a file
- - jumping to another buffer or editing a file
- - executing Python, Perl, etc. commands
- This is not guaranteed 100% secure, but it should block most attacks.
- *:san* *:sandbox*
- :san[dbox] {cmd} Execute {cmd} in the sandbox. Useful to evaluate an
- option that may have been set from a modeline, e.g.
- 'foldexpr'.
- *sandbox-option*
- A few options contain an expression. When this expression is evaluated it may
- have to be done in the sandbox to avoid a security risk. But the sandbox is
- restrictive, thus this only happens when the option was set from an insecure
- location. Insecure in this context are:
- - sourcing a .nvimrc or .exrc in the current directory
- - while executing in the sandbox
- - value coming from a modeline
- - executing a function that was defined in the sandbox
- Note that when in the sandbox and saving an option value and restoring it, the
- option will still be marked as it was set in the sandbox.
- ==============================================================================
- Textlock *textlock*
- In a few situations it is not allowed to change the text in the buffer, jump
- to another window and some other things that might confuse or break what Vim
- is currently doing. This mostly applies to things that happen when Vim is
- actually doing something else. For example, a TextYankPost autocommand cannot
- edit the text it is yanking.
- This is not allowed when the textlock is active:
- - changing the buffer text
- - jumping to another buffer or window
- - editing another file
- - closing a window or quitting Vim
- - etc.
- ==============================================================================
- Vim script library *vim-script-library*
- Vim comes bundled with a Vim script library, that can be used by runtime,
- script authors. Currently, it only includes very few functions, but it may
- grow over time.
- *dist#vim*
- The functions make use of the autoloaded prefix "dist#vim".
- The following functions are available:
- dist#vim#IsSafeExecutable(filetype, executable) ~
- This function takes a filetype and an executable and checks whether it is safe
- to execute the given executable. For security reasons users may not want to
- have Vim execute random executables or may have forbidden to do so for
- specific filetypes by setting the "<filetype>_exec" variable (|plugin_exec|).
- It returns |TRUE| or |FALSE| to indicate whether the plugin should run the given
- executable. It takes the following arguments:
- argument type ~
- filetype string
- executable string
- ==============================================================================
- Command-line expressions highlighting *expr-highlight*
- Expressions entered by the user in |i_CTRL-R_=|, |c_CTRL-\_e|, |quote=| are
- highlighted by the built-in expressions parser. It uses highlight groups
- described in the table below, which may be overridden by colorschemes.
- *hl-NvimInvalid*
- Besides the "Nvim"-prefixed highlight groups described below, there are
- "NvimInvalid"-prefixed highlight groups which have the same meaning but
- indicate that the token contains an error or that an error occurred just
- before it. They have mostly the same hierarchy, except that (by default) in
- place of any non-Nvim-prefixed group NvimInvalid linking to `Error` is used
- and some other intermediate groups are present.
- Group Default link Colored expression ~
- *hl-NvimInternalError* None, red/red Parser bug
- *hl-NvimAssignment* Operator Generic assignment
- *hl-NvimPlainAssignment* NvimAssignment `=` in |:let|
- *hl-NvimAugmentedAssignment* NvimAssignment Generic, `+=`/`-=`/`.=`
- *hl-NvimAssignmentWithAddition* NvimAugmentedAssignment `+=` in |:let+=|
- *hl-NvimAssignmentWithSubtraction* NvimAugmentedAssignment `-=` in |:let-=|
- *hl-NvimAssignmentWithConcatenation* NvimAugmentedAssignment `.=` in |:let.=|
- *hl-NvimOperator* Operator Generic operator
- *hl-NvimUnaryOperator* NvimOperator Generic unary op
- *hl-NvimUnaryPlus* NvimUnaryOperator |expr-unary-+|
- *hl-NvimUnaryMinus* NvimUnaryOperator |expr-unary--|
- *hl-NvimNot* NvimUnaryOperator |expr-!|
- *hl-NvimBinaryOperator* NvimOperator Generic binary op
- *hl-NvimComparison* NvimBinaryOperator Any |expr4| operator
- *hl-NvimComparisonModifier* NvimComparison `#`/`?` near |expr4| op
- *hl-NvimBinaryPlus* NvimBinaryOperator |expr-+|
- *hl-NvimBinaryMinus* NvimBinaryOperator |expr--|
- *hl-NvimConcat* NvimBinaryOperator |expr-.|
- *hl-NvimConcatOrSubscript* NvimConcat |expr-.| or |expr-entry|
- *hl-NvimOr* NvimBinaryOperator |expr-barbar|
- *hl-NvimAnd* NvimBinaryOperator |expr-&&|
- *hl-NvimMultiplication* NvimBinaryOperator |expr-star|
- *hl-NvimDivision* NvimBinaryOperator |expr-/|
- *hl-NvimMod* NvimBinaryOperator |expr-%|
- *hl-NvimTernary* NvimOperator `?` in |expr1|
- *hl-NvimTernaryColon* NvimTernary `:` in |expr1|
- *hl-NvimParenthesis* Delimiter Generic bracket
- *hl-NvimLambda* NvimParenthesis `{`/`}` in |lambda|
- *hl-NvimNestingParenthesis* NvimParenthesis `(`/`)` in |expr-nesting|
- *hl-NvimCallingParenthesis* NvimParenthesis `(`/`)` in |expr-function|
- *hl-NvimSubscript* NvimParenthesis Generic subscript
- *hl-NvimSubscriptBracket* NvimSubscript `[`/`]` in |expr-[]|
- *hl-NvimSubscriptColon* NvimSubscript `:` in |expr-[:]|
- *hl-NvimCurly* NvimSubscript `{`/`}` in
- |curly-braces-names|
- *hl-NvimContainer* NvimParenthesis Generic container
- *hl-NvimDict* NvimContainer `{`/`}` in |dict| literal
- *hl-NvimList* NvimContainer `[`/`]` in |list| literal
- *hl-NvimIdentifier* Identifier Generic identifier
- *hl-NvimIdentifierScope* NvimIdentifier Namespace: letter
- before `:` in
- |internal-variables|
- *hl-NvimIdentifierScopeDelimiter* NvimIdentifier `:` after namespace
- letter
- *hl-NvimIdentifierName* NvimIdentifier Rest of the ident
- *hl-NvimIdentifierKey* NvimIdentifier Identifier after
- |expr-entry|
- *hl-NvimColon* Delimiter `:` in |dict| literal
- *hl-NvimComma* Delimiter `,` in |dict| or |list|
- literal or
- |expr-function|
- *hl-NvimArrow* Delimiter `->` in |lambda|
- *hl-NvimRegister* SpecialChar |expr-register|
- *hl-NvimNumber* Number Non-prefix digits
- in integer
- |expr-number|
- *hl-NvimNumberPrefix* Type `0` for |octal-number|
- `0x` for |hex-number|
- `0b` for |binary-number|
- *hl-NvimFloat* NvimNumber Floating-point
- number
- *hl-NvimOptionSigil* Type `&` in |expr-option|
- *hl-NvimOptionScope* NvimIdentifierScope Option scope if any
- *hl-NvimOptionScopeDelimiter* NvimIdentifierScopeDelimiter
- `:` after option scope
- *hl-NvimOptionName* NvimIdentifier Option name
- *hl-NvimEnvironmentSigil* NvimOptionSigil `$` in |expr-env|
- *hl-NvimEnvironmentName* NvimIdentifier Env variable name
- *hl-NvimString* String Generic string
- *hl-NvimStringBody* NvimString Generic string
- literal body
- *hl-NvimStringQuote* NvimString Generic string quote
- *hl-NvimStringSpecial* SpecialChar Generic string
- non-literal body
- *hl-NvimSingleQuote* NvimStringQuote `'` in |expr-'|
- *hl-NvimSingleQuotedBody* NvimStringBody Literal part of
- |expr-'| string body
- *hl-NvimSingleQuotedQuote* NvimStringSpecial `''` inside |expr-'|
- string body
- *hl-NvimDoubleQuote* NvimStringQuote `"` in |expr-quote|
- *hl-NvimDoubleQuotedBody* NvimStringBody Literal part of
- |expr-quote| body
- *hl-NvimDoubleQuotedEscape* NvimStringSpecial Valid |expr-quote|
- escape sequence
- *hl-NvimDoubleQuotedUnknownEscape* NvimInvalidValue Unrecognized
- |expr-quote| escape
- sequence
- vim:tw=78:ts=8:noet:ft=help:norl:
|