Vim mappings for commands like JSON pretty-print and perltidy

imap :!python -m json.tool
map :%!perltidy

?
nmap :%!python -m json.tool

# AB
nmap :%!python -m json.tool
map :!perl -cW %
map :%!perltidy
map :resize +10

Syntax highlight in vim by file extension

How to add file extension syntax highlighting to vi.
Whack this in your ~/.vimrc

au BufNewFile,BufRead *.tt set filetype=perl

(source)

Emacs for a vi user

In the past I've exclusively used vi, but now I want to use Emacs as I've heard it has some useful modes, for example 'font-lock-keywords' mode which is one way to easily highlight certain keywords in a program's console output. I don't want to mess around compiling specialised text highlighting programs, and they're not in my standard repos. Emacs is much more likely to already be available wherever I need it.

Emacs commands:

• To exit: C-x C-c
• Turn on syntax highlighting: M-x font-lock-mode

Key:

C = Ctrl

M = Meta (Alt)

Thanks to the rest of the web

UPDATE: It turns out font-lock-keywords can easily be implemented in a 3 line bash script. Call it "highlight":

    # Usage: tail -f error.log | highlight "error"
    RED="$(tput setaf 1)"
    RESET="$(tput setaf 7)"
    sed "s/$1/$RED$1$RESET/"

But I would still like to see the Perl debugger integrated into Emacs

Vim experiment: Disable arrow keys

" EXPERIMENTAL

" Disable the arrow keys so you're forced to use h,j,k,l
" and other key bindings and will therefore be more productive
" an experiment

"  inoremap  <Up>     <NOP>
"  inoremap  <Down>   <NOP>
"  inoremap  <Left>   <NOP>
"  inoremap  <Right>  <NOP>
"  noremap   <Up>     <NOP>
"  noremap   <Down>   <NOP>
"  noremap   <Left>   <NOP>
"  noremap   <Right>  <NOP>

" cf the default statusline: %<%f\ %h%m%r%=%-14.(%l,%c%V%)\ %P
" format markers:
"   %< truncation point
"   %n buffer number
"   %f relative path to file
"   %m modified flag [+] (modified), [-] (unmodifiable) or nothing
"   %r readonly flag [RO]
"   %y filetype [ruby]
"   %= split point for left and right justification
"   %-35. width specification
"   %l current line number
"   %L number of lines in buffer
"   %c current column number
"   %V current virtual column number (-n), if different from %c
"   %P percentage through buffer
"   %) end of width specification
"set statusline=%<\ %n:%f\ %m%r%y%=%-35.(line:\ %l\ of\ %L,\ col:\ %c%V\ (%P)%)

vimdiff fun with git

Step 1: add this to your .gitconfig
[diff]
  external = git_diff_wrapper
[pager]
  diff =

Step 2: create a file named git_diff_wrapper, put it somewhere in your $PATH
#!/bin/sh
vimdiff "$2" "$5"

Still have access to the default git diff behavior with the --no-ext-diff flag. Here’s a function to put in your bash configuration files:
function git_diff() {
  git diff --no-ext-diff -w "$@" | vim -R -
}

Source: http://technotales.wordpress.com/2009/05/17/git-diff-with-vimdiff/

Diff fun with vi and svn

Diff two files side-by-side
(search for this to highlight differences only -- replace ^I with actual tabs -- / <^I| <$| >^I| >$| \|^I )
diff --side-by-side [a] [b] | less

Diff two files side-by-side using vi
(use Ctrl-W+W to switch sides; may need :syntax off to prevent colours clashing)
vimdiff [a] [b]

Subversion diff using vi
Step 1. Create a diff command script for svn (and set the execute bit):
#!/bin/sh
# Subversion provides the paths we need as the sixth and seventh parameters.
LEFT=${6}
RIGHT=${5%    (working copy)}
[ "$RIGHT" == "$5" ] && RIGHT=$7
# Call the diff command (change the following line to make sense for your merge program).
# diffopt+=iwhite ignores whitespace differences
# \<c-w>\<c-w> switches to the right-hand pane
vimdiff "+set diffopt+=iwhite" '+execute "normal \<c-w>\<c-w>"' $LEFT $RIGHT


Step 2. Create a diff script for you to use:
#!/bin/bash
# Call the diff command (change the following line to make sense for your merge program).
# "-x -w" ignores all whitespace
svn diff -x -w --diff-cmd /path/to/diff/command/script/above $1


Step 3. Run the diff script
name_of_your_script [file in workspace]

Using vim's viewports

• :sp [filename] will split the Vim window horizontally
• Can be written out entirely as :split
• [filename] is optional, if it's omitted then the current file is loaded in the new viewport
• :vsp [filename] will split the Vim window vertically
• Can be written out as :vsplit
• Ctrl-e [filename] loads a new file into the current viewport
• Ctrl-w Ctrl-w moves between Vim viewports.
• Ctrl-w j moves one viewport down.
• Ctrl-w k moves one viewport up.
• Ctrl-w h moves one viewport to the left.
• Ctrl-w l moves one viewport to the right.
• Can also use the arrow keys instead of h/j/k/l
• Ctrl-w = tells Vim to resize viewports to be of equal size.
• Ctrl-w - reduce active viewport by one line.
• Ctrl-w 10- reduce active viewport by ten lines.
• Ctrl-w + increase active viewport by one line.
• Ctrl-w 10+ increase active viewport by ten lines.
• Ctrl-w q will close the active window.
• Ctrl-w r will rotate windows to the right.
• Ctrl-w R will rotate windows to the left.

Full article

Run bash in a viewport, with this plugin (easy installation).

Dedupe lines in place

in vim, select a list of values with shift-V (visual mode), and then type :sort u to sort them and remove duplicates.

Toggle comments in vi

Add a comment for one line only:
&

Vim features

• Line numbering: set number
• Text completion: Ctrl-n or Ctrl-P (while in insert mode)
• Marks: mc (to set mark c) 'c (to go to mark c)
• Perl syntax compiler
• Tag explorer
• Block commenting
• Colour schemes
• Visible tabs: :set listchars=tab:\|\
• last character is a space
• Perldoc integration
• Text folding: set foldmethod=marker and set foldmarker="{{{,}}}"work)
• see other fold methods including perl_fold
• Map keys to other keys:
• " e.g. map Ctrl-E to end-of-line (in insert mode)
• imap $i

Leonid, I salute you!

• Auto-complete (for Perl files): start typing, then press Ctrl-Shift-P

Vim navigation

1. Vim Line Navigation

Following are the four navigation that can be done line by line.

• k – navigate upwards
• j – navigate downwards
• l – navigate right side
• h – navigate left side

By using the repeat factor in VIM we can do this operation for N times. For example, when you want to

go down by 10 lines, then type “10j”.

Within a line if you want to navigate to different position, you have 4 other options.

• 0 – go to the starting of the current line.
• ^ – go to the first non blank character of the line.
• $ – go to the end of the current line.
• g_ – go to the last non blank character of the line.

2. Vim Screen Navigation

Following are the three navigation which can be done in relation to text shown in the screen.

• H – Go to the first line of current screen.
• M – Go to the middle line of current screen.
• L – Go to the last line of current screen.
• ctrl+f – Jump forward one full screen.
• ctrl+b – Jump backwards one full screen
• ctrl+d – Jump forward (down) a half screen
• ctrl+u – Jump back (up) one half screen

3. Vim Special Navigation

You may want to do some special navigation inside a file, which are:

• N% – Go to the Nth percentage line of the file.
• NG – Go to the Nth line of the file.
• G – Go to the end of the file.
• `” – Go to the position where you were in NORMAL MODE while last closing the file.
• `^ – Go to the position where you were in INSERT MODE while last closing the file.
• gg – Go to the beginning of the file.

4. Vim Word Navigation

You may want to do several navigation in relation to the words, such as:

• e – go to the end of the current word.
• E – go to the end of the current WORD.
• b – go to the previous (before) word.
• B – go to the previous (before) WORD.
• w – go to the next word.
• W – go to the next WORD.

5. Vim Paragraph Navigation

• { – Go to the beginning of the current paragraph. By pressing { again and again move to the previous paragraph beginnings.
• } – Go to the end of the current paragraph. By pressing } again and again move to the next paragraph end, and again.

6. Vim Search Navigation

• /i – Search for a pattern which will you take you to the next occurrence of it.
• ?i – Search for a pattern which will you take you to the previous occurrence of it.
• * - Go to the next occurrence of the current word under the cursor.
• # - Go to the previous occurrence of the current word under the cursor.

7. Vim Code Navigation

% – Go to the matching braces, or parenthesis inside code.

8. Vim Navigation from Command Line

Vim +N filename: Go to the Nth line of the file after opening it.

vim +10 /etc/passwd

An easy way to browse the file system is the command:

:Sex

Really!

Perl sub name in vi status line

" Thanks Ovid!
" http://blogs.perl.org/users/ovid/2011/01/show-perl-subname-in-vim-statusline.html


:set laststatus=2


if ! exists("g:did_perl_statusline")
    setlocal statusline+=%(\ %{StatusLineIndexLine()}%)
    setlocal statusline+=%=
    setlocal statusline+=%f\ 
    setlocal statusline+=%P
    let g:did_perl_statusline = 1
endif


if has( 'perl' )
perl << EOP
    use strict;
    sub current_sub {

        my $curwin = $main::curwin;
        my $curbuf = $main::curbuf;


        my @document = map { $curbuf->Get($_) } 0 .. $curbuf->Count;
        my ( $line_number, $column  ) = $curwin->Cursor;


        my $sub_name;
        # for modules, display the current sub name
        for my $i ( reverse ( 1 .. $line_number  -1 ) ) {
            my $line = $document[$i];
            if ( $line =~ /^\s*sub\s+(\w+)\b/ ) {
                $sub_name = $1;
                last;
            }
        }
        # for templates, display the current block starting line
        if (not $sub_name) {
            for my $i ( reverse ( 1 .. $line_number  -1 ) ) {
                my $line = $document[$i];
                # if ($input_state eq 'next_disc_at_station') {
                if ( $line =~ /^}/ ) {
                    # we're below a block
                    last;
                }
                elsif ( $line =~ /^(\S.+{)\s*$/ ) {
                    $sub_name = $1;
                    $sub_name =~ s/'/''/g; #' # escape single quotes for vim function
                    last;
                }
            }
        }
        # TODO:
        # * Reset sub name if we're out of the sub (check for closing bracket: })
        # * Search upwards vertically in the same column for nested blocks
        $sub_name ||= '..';
        VIM::DoCommand "let subName='$line_number: $sub_name'";
    }
EOP


function! StatusLineIndexLine()
  perl current_sub()
  return subName
endfunction
endif

Set an option in vim

:set cmdheight=3

or

:set ch=3

navigation in vim

• Why you should disable your arrow keys
• Efficient Editing With vim

vi keybindings

Summary:

• h - move left
• l - move right
• j - move down
• k - move up
• g, then j or k - move only one screen line (for long lines)
• w - go forward one word
• e - go to end of word
• b - go to beginning of word
• { - jump up to next blank line
• } - jump down to next blank line
• m? - set mark ? (where ? is a lowercase letter a-z)
• '? - jump to mark ? (where ? is a-z) NOTE: This is a single quote mark followed by a lowercase letter

My vim config

Superceded by https://github.com/willsheppard/dotfiles/blob/master/.vimrc

in ~/.vimrc:

" TABS

" make tabs 4 characters wide

:set tabstop=4

" make > and < keys shift by 4 characters

:set shiftwidth=4

" turn tabs into 4 spaces

:set expandtab

" automatically tab to the right place, after pressing enter                     
:set autoindent

" COLOURS

" less bright colours

:set background=light 

" set colour of comments

:highlight Comment ctermfg=Green

" HIGHLIGHTING
" See also http://vim.wikia.com/wiki/Fix_syntax_highlighting

" syncronise syntax highlighting properly

:syntax on

autocmd BufEnter * :syntax sync fromstart 

" highlight terms for which you've searched
:set hlsearch


" SCRIPTS
" allow Shift-K to look up stuff
":set keywordprg=/path/to/a/script



" PLUGINS
" For Taglist: http://vim-taglist.sourceforge.net/
" Show name of current subroutine

map q :TlistShowTag<Enter>

" Show list of all subroutines

nnoremap <silent> <tab> :TlistToggle<Enter>

" Enable code folding for perl subroutines
:let perl_fold=1
" don't fold the whole package up, just subroutines (type zazO with cursor on the package name to unfold everything)
":set foldlevelstart=1
" don't fold anything (type za while in a subroutine to fold it up)
:set foldlevelstart=99

" EXAMPLE of mapping a keypress to a sequence of other keypresses
" map CTRL-E to end-of-line (while in insert mode)
imap <C-e> <esc>$i<right>

" Also set .vim/ftplugin/perl.vim to display the current Perl subroutine name in the status line



" save local marks a-z for up to 100 files ('100), save global marks A-Z upon exit (f1)
set viminfo='100,f1


" don't clear the screen upon exiting vim
set t_ti= t_te=

" load custom filetypes
:filetype on
au BufNewFile,BufRead *.tt set filetype=html

Insert non-printable characters in vi

• Ctrl-V, then Ctrl-[X]

Where [X] is A-F

Have vi detect perl mason .html files

In ~/.vim/ftdetect/mason.vim:

" Mason detection
au BufRead,BufNewFile *
\   if search('^\s*<%\(args\|once\|init\|perl\|shared\|attr\)>\s*$','n')
\|    set filetype=mason
\|  endif

Perl tools

Perl Needs Better Tools

IDEs

• Padre is free, supposedly it knows more about Perl internals than other IDEs.
• Syntax highlighting: View|Style|Evening
• Current line highlight colour: Tools|Preferences|Appearance|Editor Current Line Background Colour
• Eclipse is free but, seems very heavyweight. Extensible with plugins (Version control, etc. See EPIC for Perl)
• Komodo is paid, but is explicitly designed for Perl. It has a remote debugging feature, which works! You have to install a script on the remote server, and have access to the remote fileystem to display the source code.
• NetBeans is free
• IntelliJ IDEA is paid, and has no Perl plugin

Text editors

• vim - I use this a lot. It has keyword lookup (if you can configure it), a powerful but difficult-to-use scripting language, and tabs, but no debugging support. Lots of scripts/add-ons available.
• Emacs - some of my colleagues use it, can be very powerful with add-ons/perl modules
• UltraEdit
• Textpad - Windows only. Nice to use, has plugins
• Sublime - A nice text editor

Further reading

• Why should I use an IDE?
• TODO: [an article on coding horror or somewhere "what would a good IDE look like?"] where is it?

Make vi recognise different filetypes

In ~/.vimrc:

" load custom filetypes

:filetype on
au BufNewFile,BufRead *.tt set filetype=html

Eclipse plugins

Eclipse 3.5

• Target Management (Remote file browsing, via SSH): http://www.eclipse.org/dsdp/tm/
• works great (but sshfs is simpler)
• Instead of that, see also http://wills-tech-notes.blogspot.com/2010/07/remote-file-browsing.html
• XSLT: http://www.eclipse.org/webtools/
• can't download through update manager, it's too slow
• supposed to offer XML/XSL features, but I can't see any
• Oxygen XML/XSLT: http://www.oxygenxml.com/download_oxygenxml_editor.html#Eclipse
• Works. To use step-through debugging,you need to open the 'Debug Scenario' in the XML or XSL menu (it appears when you open an XML or XSL file)
• vim -- why not use vim editor inside Eclipse? No good solution, apparently (none of these were tested):
• http://www.viplugin.com/viplugin/ (2009 - costs a few pounds)
• http://eclim.org/vim/ (recent)
• http://vrapper.sourceforge.net/ (recent)
• http://sourceforge.net/projects/vimplugin/ (2007, but states it supports syntax files)
• Full Screen: http://code.google.com/p/eclipse-fullscreen/ (just works) 
• P4WSAD: Perforce plugin: http://www.perforce.com/perforce/products/p4wsad.html (had to download zip file from FTP site and install manually, as automatic install URL was too slow)
• Plugin can be slow to use if you browse the repository directly, but is faster if you check out, then do right-click | Import as project, and use the standard Eclipse Navigator or Project tab to work with the files.