Some questions about MS Gvim - vim

I am a MS Gvim user and I have some questions about MS Gvim.I hope that I can get answers from here. Thanks all of you in advance.
1.How is the Gvim on windows version developed?Using Visual Studio or Qt?how can I get the source code?
2.When I have installed the Gvim ,I will have a directory in C:\Program Files(x86)\Vim.
In Vim directory, there are two directories and a file: (1)vim74 (2)vimfiles (3)_vimrc
I just wonder what the two directories represent and how it is used when I start my Gvim.
3.Can vimscript be called a language? How is it compiled or interpreted?

Development and source code
The latest source code and runtime files can be downloaded via FTP or retrieved from Mercurial; see vim.org for details. Using Mercurial is easiest:
hg clone https://vim.googlecode.com/hg/ vim
Vim can be compiled with various versions of the Visual Studio C++ compilers, see the corresponding Makefile in src/Make_mvc.mak. You don't need a full Visual Studio installation, the (free) compiler from the Windows SDK will do:
nmake -f Make_mvc.mak
Alternatively, you can use the MinGW compiler through src/Make_ming.mak.
GVIM uses the native Win32 widgets; Qt isn't used (on Unix, Gnome is the prevalent UI toolkit).
Vim installation structure
The Vim binaries and supporting files reside in the (versioned, so you can have multiple versions installed in parallel) vim74 directory. vimfiles and _vimrc contain a default configuration. Note that it is recommended to do customizations to copies in your home directory instead. The whole process and which files are read (it's complex) is described under :help startup.
Vimscript
Yes, Vimscript is the language used for extending Vim and writing plugins (though a variety of other languages like Perl, Python, and Ruby can be integrated with Vim and then be invoked via a single Vimscript command).
It started as the set of Ex commands (:delete, :substitute, etc.) it inherited from vi, but also has built-in functions (e.g. getbufvar(), system()) and the ability to define custom functions and (primitive) objects. Since version 7.0, Vimscript has (Python-inspired) data structures like List and Dictionary, and is a fully-fledged, powerful (but still in some aspects somewhat quirky) language.

Related

Is it possible to use VSCode language-server-protocol engine along with the Vim or NeoVim?

I have tried different code-analysis engines and tools (like tern_for_vim) for Vim, but they do not provide such a great autocompletion, goto and rename functionality as in VSCode.
As I know VSCode uses language-server-protocol technology to provide IDE functionality. So here is my question:
Is it possible to use VSCode language-server-protocol engine inside the Vim or NeoVim? In other words, it is possible to provide the same good quality of IDE-like functionality as VSCode do?
I have tried javascript-typescript-langserver with deoplete.vim, but the quality of autocompletion and goto-declaration was bad.
Yes, you can use it via coc.nvim installing which is a fork of VSCode. You then apply one of its packages for a specific language eg coc-python.
This is the installation guide for coc.nvim. You then need to install the language package with this command in (Neo)Vim:
:CocInstall coc-python
You can then use the default VS Code completion engine immediately (jedi) or upgrade to what will become its successor, MSPLS:
For MSPLS run the command :CocConfig and enter this in to the file which is opened:
{
"python.jediEnabled": false
}
Then run :CocRestart
There are other other engines like coc.nvim such as YouCompleteMe. They all have small variations / tailoring for specific languages.
In theory, yes. http://langserver.org/ provides a list of editor plugins and language server implementations.
With packages like https://github.com/autozimu/LanguageClient-neovim (which is for neovim, there are others for both vim and neovim) you can use language servers in neovim.
However, some implementations are tied to the way it works within vscode (like haxe lsp), so it may be a little hard to get it working. Javascript should be better integrated, but I didn't try it myself.

VIM as an IDE - Suggestions

I am looking for recommendations on using VIM as an IDE. I generally code in a number of programming languages, including C, C++, assembler, MATLAB, Maple, BASH scripts, to name a few.
In general, I like to use a single IDE for the bulk of my projects for the sake of consistency, and I have found that I perform about 90% of all my coding in VIM, and occasionally use Eclipse instead for certain projects in C/C++ (ie: projects people have already put together as an Eclipse project, or PIC24/32 projects from www.microchip.com).
I am already very familiar with the basic functionality of VIM (windows vs buffers, text manipulation, scripting), and would like to use it as my primary IDE. I have already taken a few tips from here:
http://vim.wikia.com/wiki/Use_Vim_like_an_IDE#Writing_Code
I already use the nerdTree plugin for directory browsing in a project, etc, but I need to do something about code completion and symbol resolution, as those are my two greatest concerns.
Symbol resolution
I have some limited experience in the use of C-tags, and wanted a suggestion on what I should use if I am working with a VERY large code-base that changes frequently. The projects I work on typically are pulling in header files from at least a dozen other projects, and I would like to be able to jump to the file where a function, constant, or macro is defined quickly (ie: like the CTRL-G feature in Eclipse, "jump to definition"), as well as rapidly get a list of all calls/references to a function/macro/constant/etc (ie: like the CTRL-SHIFT-G feature in Eclipse, "Show all references in project or current working directory").
Tab completion
One of the features I really like in Visual Studio and Eclipse, for example, is when I type in a variable name (ie: pointer to struct) and it resolves the names and types of all structure members and gives me a tab completion list to choose the appropriate member. They also point out when I've incorrectly used "." vs "->" for member access. I've tried superTab in VIM, but I just couldn't get it working. I also want the tab-completion feature to use the same C-tags as generated by the symbol resolution plugin
Handling build output
The final concern of mine is having an auto-generated list of build warnings and build errors. When I, for example, just run "make all" at the command-line prompt, it is a pain to have to read through code listings to manually find all build warnings.
I realize this is a lot to ask, and that I could always just fall-back to Visual Studio or Eclipse, but I really want just a simple cross-platform console-capable modal editor for all my development needs, and none of the major IDE's out there fill this need.
Thank you all in advance.
http://eclim.org/ - bring Eclipse functionality to the Vim editor
https://github.com/scrooloose/syntastic - syntax checker warnings in quickfix list
I think (but haven't checked) that Eclim satisfies #1 and #2 while I'm sure that Syntastic satisfies #3. More things of interest:
https://github.com/Lokaltog/vim-powerline - just nice
https://github.com/kien/ctrlp.vim - quick file finder
https://github.com/tpope/vim-pathogen - plugin manager (to install the others)
And are you aware of omnicompletion via Ctrl-p and Ctrl-n (prev and next) in insert mode? That's not code completion, but frequently does the job.
For the auto-completion part (point 2), I am proficiently using clang_complete.
For a quick setup and reference, try this page: http://zwiener.org/vimautocomplete.html
EDIT: this is for C, C++ and Objective-C only.
I use the following configuration in vim:
zipped file
It has autocomplete based on tag list, ctags, nerd commenter and some more plugins.
Hope it helps.. :)
I have been using Vim as an IDE for about a year now. All of my customization is online at github.
That said, I don't think a Vim beginner should start using vim like this; rather I think the Vim beginner should learn vim incrementally. The only changes that I think are so essential I would make them from the very beginning are:
Remap ESC to jk
Switch : and ;
Set leader key to ,

Are there any ide's out there with good support for vim/vi bindings?

Finding vim plugin maintenance and configuring is too laborious and relies on external configurations (such as ruby) tricky. What I want is an IDE like Eclipse, Visual Studio, that I can use vim in. I still want to be able to use different modes (command, visual, insert), but I don't want these inbuilt commands to conflict with the IDE's commands.
I've heard PIDA is good for this but looks like a bit of a mission to configure on Mac.
Eclipse has a VIM plugin. Eclipse runs on OS X
http://www.vimplugin.org/
Also, I think the Komodo IDEs and editors have VIM bindings, but I have little experience with them. Apparently, they also run on OS X.
http://docs.activestate.com/komodo/4.4/vikeybind.html
I use Komodo Edit on OS X, Ubuntu and Windows. It's open source, supports a ton of languages and has good Vi/Vim key binding support without getting in the way of itself. It's also easy to add in support for additional key bindings. It's built on the Mozilla code base and can be extended with Add-ons (Remote Drive Tree/Source Tree/MoreKomodo are great examples). I also personally love being able to write macros for myself in either JS or Python to add extra functionality.
The full fledged IDE is worth looking at if you can use the extra features. For most of the things that I work on, I can't use a full fledged remote debugger so Komodo Edit suits my needs.
It also has built in SSH support all in a package that is very responsive on my 5 year old work machine with several 1000 line files open in tabs.
Emacs has a vi emulation mode called Viper ;-)
Besides the vim plugin for Eclipse there is also ViEmu for (amongst others) Visual Studio, if you are not afraid of shelling out some $. Haven't used it though, as vim is my IDE :)
This AutoHotKey script isn't quite what you asked for, but I mention it in case it's helpful.
As you say, PIDA has real Vim, nothing can come close to that. Keybinding emulation only goes so far. It's not that bad to get running on a Mac, Windows is a mission though.
QT creator has Vi bindings.

Emacs/VIM vs. Compiler

Since Emacs and VIM are just text editors, does that mean I have to copy paste the code into an IDE so it can be compiled?
Well you edit your files in emacs or vim. Then you save them and then you invoke the target language compiler.
Typically, C projects would use Makefiles that are meant to track down the files needed to be compiled into a program, and their dependencies. Then you typically type make in the command line and make reads the Makefile you authored and takes care of invoking the compiler on the files etc...
For Java, people often use Ant or Maven to build their software.
...I know that my answer is vague, the list of languages and build tools is long, you should narrow down your question.
Very often, under Linux, when I don't need a massive IDE, I'm using Pida. It brings me a list view of the different Vim buffers, a convenient treeview of the filesystem and a shell: see screenshot.
See:
GNU Make
CMake
Autotools
Ant
Maven
[insert your favorite build tool here]
Text editors just edit files.
Compilers just compile files.
IDE's just bring files and the compiler together in a convenient way.
So... No, you don't need to copy/paste the code into an IDE, however you do have to make sure your compiler (IDE in your case) knows where to find the file you want to compile.
You don't need an IDE to compile a program. You just need a compiler. Emacs/Vim are text editors that allow you to write your program. You then call the compiler and it will do the compilation.
Also, Emacs and Vim are scriptable and have routines that allow you to call a compiler directly on the file you're editing.
In vim, you type :make. In emacs, you type a M-x compile-frobnicate style command which I'm sure someone will provide.
Apart from what already has been said, take a few tutorials to learn how to code/compile with vim and Emacs:
Intro to C/C++ Programming with vim
Using Emacs for programming
In VIM (with no extensions installed) something like
! /path/to/make (C/C++ world)
or
! /path/to/ant build (Java world)
It depends on your compiler, platform, and program. Most, like gcc, can be called from the command line (or from within either of those editors) although you may have to first write a makefile for the linker. Other compilers are integrated into IDEs (or are difficult to control externally), although even these won't require copy/pasting. Simply save your program and open it from within the IDE.
So far: IDE = a poor editor + compiler + debugger + other_unnecessary_stuffs
Go get a compiler and a debugger and you do not need an IDE anymore
Many IDEs can detect if the source file is changed by an external program, and prompt you to reload. I know this is the case with MS Visual Studio and CodeWarrior.
This is useful if your project is already managed by the IDE and you don't want to move it to something like Make, for example if you're on a team who mostly use the IDE, but you want to use a different editor. Simply edit and save the file in vim or emacs, switch back to your editor and hit Compile.
No, you don't need an IDE to compile code that you write in emacs.
I use emacs very extensively for building .NET code in C#.
The .NET runtime includes compilers.
I downloaded the .NET SDK, which includes other tools, like nmake, msbuild, XML tools, debuggers and so on.
I grabbed csharp-mode.el, which teaches emacs how to highlight and indent C# modules.
C-x C-e , for me, runs the command compile. I type in msbuild there, and emacs runs the build, using the .NET SDK tools.
I do something similar with C code, and with Java code, and with Javascript.
The same idea will work with other languages as well.
For Visual Studio integration, I highly recommend ViEmu.
It basically turns the editor in VS into Vim. I use it every day at work, and it is very stable. I can't imagine working without it!
(source: viemu.com)

Vim as Visual Studio IDE

I have spent lot of time doing research on VIM. I am Windows guy since last 6 yrs and was using VS.
Now started working on Linux. I want to make VIM as close as possible to VS.
I want features like
Project Navigation
Files in Different Tabs
Search in Project
AutoCompletion
I have found plugins for the above requirements
Project Pligin
MiniExplore
Taglist
OmniComplete
I am not able to correctly set vimrc script.
When I try to open file from Project it gets open in different tabs.I want to get it open in different buffers.
Also when I want to close file in buffer , complete window gets closed.
Open taglist and project window makes all mess.
Has any one done settings with these plugin..
Could you guys please post your vimrc files??
It will save lot of time for newbies like me..
Vim is a very different tool than Visual Studio. Plugins may help you get certain bits of functionality you desire, but do not expect them to work exactly like VS, work well together, or even work at all.
If you are looking for a programming environment more like Visual Studio, there are many good graphical IDE's you can use such as NetBeans, Eclipse, Code::Blocks, KDevelop, Anjuta, etc. Some of these tools are, IMHO, better heavyweight IDE's than Visual Studio, and all are available on Linux for free.
You should either learn to use Vim the way it was built to be used, or find a different tool that suits you better. Shoehorning Vim into a surrogate for Visual Studio will probably cause you more pain than it's worth.
Yes it's different to VS, but that doesn't mean it can't be used in the same way. It's just not as easy to do it :)
Personally I go the other way and use ViEmu to get VS to behave like VIM. But I'm not in the same situation as the author of this question.
Why not have a dig through some uploaded vimrc files on dotfiles.org?
You can use the following script, Trinity.
http://www.vim.org/scripts/script.php?script_id=2347
It will require 3 more scripts, and Vim will look like an IDE.
The TagList at left, a file exporer (NERDTree) at right, and Source Explorer at bottom.
Also, you can find some very useful blog entries at
http://kevin-berridge.blogspot.com/search/label/vim
The author, Kevin, explains how to compile solutions form inside Vim. He also shows interfacing and jumping between them which is very useful too.
Furhermore, there is the script vim-visual-studio which can be found at
http://code.google.com/p/vim-visual-studio/
This script is using Python extension. I have Python 2.5 installed in Windows. I am using Gvim 7.2 which is compiled with Python 2.4. So, I have replaced the executables of Gvim as explained here:
http://www.gooli.org/blog/gvim-72-with-python-2526-support-windows-binaries/
So, Gvim became compatible with Python 2.5 and raised no problems. Also, a menu entry "Visual Studio" has appeared as expected. It connects to Visual Studio itself, and it works perfectly. It does not just compiles a file, it can compile a solution containing more than one project as in Visual Studio. You can even use the Vim's 'quickfix' feature. Hope this helps.
If you really want to have vim as the front end, try Eclim. It uses Eclipse as a backend daemon for code completion and project management, and vim as the interface.
If you only like vim because of the vi key bindings, but want it to be more IDE like, you could try the latest MonoDevelop that has it built in.
These plugins used to exist long before vim had tabs. I'd be quite surprised there isn't a way to tune these plugins to split windows instead of opening tabs.
Now I can't help you much as I don't use these specific plugins but other ones. You should look at their help (:h project, :h taglist, etc)
PS: in vim terminology (it will help you browse the help files), what you call "buffer" is actually called "window", while a "buffer" is just the text you are working on, it may be associated to a file, or not. For a given buffer, there may be no or several window displaying parts of the buffer.
you can give a try to eXvim
http://code.google.com/p/exvim/

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