http://www.freesoftwaremagazine.com
Getting more out of Vim: some tips
(Article by Tony Mobily)
If you like this article, please feel free to share it by twitting about it, or by forwarding this email to your friends!
http://www.freesoftwaremagazine.com/columns/getting_more_out_vim_some_tips
I'm donning my flame-proof suit for this post. Vim is arguably one of the two
most popular text-editors used in the free software world: built on vi (its
name stands for VIiMproved) it will be found as a default package in many
GNU/Linux distributions. The other popular editor is EMACS (although I am sure
there are those who will argue that EMACS is much more than a _mere_
text-editor). I use Vim a lot in my work and have found it to be a little like
chess: a moment to learn a lifetime to master. With that in mind here are some
of the tips and handy commands I have picked up over the years. I thought I'd
pass them on in case they help.
=========================================================
AD: Join us in Boston, MA, March 30-April 1, 2011, for USENIX NSDI '11.
NSDI '11 brings together leading researchers to explore the design principles of
large-scale networked and distributed systems. This year's technical program
includes 27 technical papers with topics including data-intensive computing,
energy and storage, debugging and correctness, and more. NSDI '11 will also
feature a poster session showcasing early research in progress. Take advantage
of this opportunity to meet with premier researchers in the computer
networking, distributed systems, and operating systems communities.
Register by March 7 and save! Additional discounts are available!
http://www.usenix.org/nsdi11/fsm
=========================================================
I'm going to assume you are familiar with the basics of Vim: moving the
cursor, entering modes and adding/editing content. I'm also going to presume
you know what entering a command that starts with a `:` means. This is not a
beginners class, but it's not an expert one either. This is not the place to
begin learning Vim - sorry. Some of these were seemingly obvious to me, but
unknown to other Vim users I've encountered. The rest are the reverse of that
scenario. I've limited myself to ten, because honestly something like this go
on forever without such a limit. These are not necessarily the best or most
needed tips but they are the ones I found were best received by vim users when
they first heard them (including me).
# Moving around
* [{ -> move to the beginning of the current codeblock
This one depends upon the language you are coding in, but it works pretty much
wherever there are clear demarcations of code blocks. `]}` moves to the end of
the current codeblock.
* :<line_num> -> go to <line_num>
Okay an obvious one but worth mentioning because I have seen people scrolling
up and down to get to a specific line number.
* Ctrl+O -> put cursor back to its previous location
Often I find myself adding break points of making debugging code in several
places within a file. Once the debug is finished, finding and removing these
can be a pain. Ctrl+O (not zero) will move the cursor backwards within the
locations where you changed the file. Think of it like an undo without
actually performing the undo. `Ctrl+I` will move forward in the list of
locations.
# Editing
* xp -> reverse the next two characters
It's surprising how many typos involve two characters being typed in the
w_or_ng order (see what I did there?). Correct them with just two keystrokes.
* Ctrl+P -> autocomplete the current word
I lose track of how many times I used to be dubugging and find the problem was
that I was using two slightly different variable names to refer to the same
thing. This command will toggle through the available words in the file and/or
dictionary in an attempt to complete the one you have started. `Ctrl+P` does
this by going forward through the list of words. `Ctrl+N` does it by going
backwards.
* n. -> repeat the previous command `n` times
If you have just made a complex command and you need to repeat it somewhere
else in the file you can do so by pressing "`.`". Giving a number before it
will repeat the command that many times.
# Multiple files
* :set wildmode = longest,list -> change file name autocomplete behave more
* like BASH
Most people know you can open another file with `:e`, write to a different one
with `:w` or open one alongside the current one with `:vs`. An annoyance to me
was always that Vim's autocomplete when specifying file names is to give you
the full path of the first file that matched rather than the way BASH does it,
which is to stop on the first ambiguity and give you the choice of where to go
next. Setting the wildmode option as shown will make Vim behave more like BASH
in these instances.
* -O, -o -> open multiple files alongside each other
I was surprised how many people didn't know this one. When running Vim you can
use specify multiple file names to be opened in the same session. Give the -O
parameter to have them displayed in a split-view next to each other and -o to
have them shown above or below each other. If you are new to working on
multiple viewports you can use `Ctrl+W` and a cursor key to switch between the
files.
# When you're not coding
There are times when you might use Vim to edit a non-coding file (no really,
it's true).
* g Ctrl+G -> word count
Okay so it's a bit more than just that but it's one of the more useful er uses
I've found for this command. `g` then `Ctrl+G` will display something like
`Col 179 of 179; Line 23 of 24; Word 791 of 791; Byte 4312 of 4314` at the
bottom of the screen. If you select some text first (using `v` for example)
you will be presented with the stats for the selection and not the whole file.
* :s/pattern//gn -> number of occurrences of `pattern` in the file
Sometimes you need to know how often a word appears in a file. This command
will tell you.
As said, this is not an exhaustive list and I appreciate this is a bit of a
niche topic and I'm not expecting big reading figures here, but these kinds of
tips are the ones you often rack your brain trying to remember so having them
in a blog post will hopefully save your little grey cells the effort. One of
the things about free software is the multiplicity of options available to
you, and I am sure there are plenty who can think of "better" ways to do some
if not all of this. If so, feel free to post them as comments here. If you
want to read more tips on using Vim (at various levels of expertise) have a
look at the [Vim Tips Wiki](http://vim.wikia.com/wiki/Vim_Tips_Wiki). I'd
expect most if not all of these tips to be on there (along with a myriad of
others) but it's not where I got them from.
---------------------------------------------------------
You received this email because you subscribed to the newsletter run by Free Software Magazime (http://www.freesoftwaremagazine.com). If you don't want to receive these emails anymore, please login by
clicking here:
http://www.freesoftwaremagazine.com/user
Then, click Click on "My Account" (on the left hand side), "Edit" (a tab at the top") and "Opt in/out" (a sub-tab). Finally, Tick "Do not receive the newsletter (fortnightly)"
If you don't remember your login/password, please click here:
http://www.freesoftwaremagazine.com/user/password
If everything fails, please contact our support line: helpdesk@freesoftwaremagazine.com
Hiç yorum yok:
Yorum Gönder