244 lines
11 KiB
Markdown
244 lines
11 KiB
Markdown
# Beyond the basics
|
|
|
|
By now you have used enough `vim` to see it's tremendous text editing potential.
|
|
Out of the box it works very well, but with some additional configuration and a few plugins installed it get's even better.
|
|
We'll go over all basic aspects of tweaking your `~/.vimrc` file from some welcome changes, some aesthetic to a complete IDE.
|
|
For IDE features we'll focus on `python3` and `bash` but I'll leave some links to point you in the right direction for other languages.
|
|
The point of this chapter is not to race towards the end but to understand what every step adds to your working comfort.
|
|
I highly advise to take the changes to your vimrc *slowly* and see if you actually *like* the change.
|
|
If you don't like a feature you don't have to use it, but it's still good to be aware of where you can take vim for future reference.
|
|
|
|
## Which vim to install
|
|
|
|
A simple `sudo apt install vim` installs a *basic* version of vim but when you're on a server and need to do some scripting it's a better idea to install `vim-nox`.
|
|
What's the difference?
|
|
We can get some information about both packages via `sudo apt-cache show vim vim-nox`.
|
|
|
|
Classic vim will give you the following description:
|
|
|
|
```
|
|
Description-en: Vi IMproved - enhanced vi editor
|
|
Vim is an almost compatible version of the UNIX editor Vi.
|
|
.
|
|
Many new features have been added: multi level undo, syntax
|
|
highlighting, command line history, on-line help, filename
|
|
completion, block operations, folding, Unicode support, etc.
|
|
.
|
|
This package contains a version of vim compiled with a rather
|
|
standard set of features. This package does not provide a GUI
|
|
version of Vim. See the other vim-* packages if you need more
|
|
(or less).
|
|
```
|
|
|
|
And vim-nox the following:
|
|
|
|
```
|
|
Description-en: Vi IMproved - enhanced vi editor - with scripting languages support
|
|
Vim is an almost compatible version of the UNIX editor Vi.
|
|
.
|
|
Many new features have been added: multi level undo, syntax
|
|
highlighting, command line history, on-line help, filename
|
|
completion, block operations, folding, Unicode support, etc.
|
|
.
|
|
This package contains a version of vim compiled with support for
|
|
scripting with Lua, Perl, Python 3, Ruby, and Tcl but no GUI.
|
|
|
|
```
|
|
|
|
I would *always* install vim-nox but this is personal preference.
|
|
Some people like the graphical versions of vim, or `gvim`, but I'm not a fan.
|
|
Maybe try the vim-gtk package to see if you like it.
|
|
Do keep in mind that the program you'll invoke is **always** `vim` no matter which version you install!
|
|
For graphical vim you'll invoke `gvim`.
|
|
|
|
**From here on out I expect a vim-nox installed!**
|
|
|
|
## Basic improvements
|
|
|
|
You'll probably always want to include the following in your vimrc.
|
|
You can [download](./assets/vimrc_basic) the file if you want to try it out but do take the time to read the comments.
|
|
|
|
```
|
|
" ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
" basic essentials
|
|
" ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
|
|
" don't make vim vi compatible (if not set you miss out on a lot of features!)
|
|
" you'll see this option set in most configuration files found online
|
|
set nocompatible
|
|
|
|
" enable filetype recognition plus indent and plugin (pretty much mandatory)
|
|
filetype plugin indent on
|
|
|
|
" enable syntax highlighting
|
|
syntax on
|
|
|
|
" backspace can be a tricky thing and this setting makes it work a lot better
|
|
set backspace=indent,eol,start
|
|
|
|
" when tab completing on the expert line you don't want to miss out on EDIT vs
|
|
" edit or nerdtree vs NERDTree and this setting ignores case completely
|
|
set ignorecase
|
|
|
|
" highlight your search patterns (very handy when building regexes)
|
|
set hlsearch
|
|
|
|
" highlight the search pattern as-you-go (tremendously helpful when
|
|
" constructing regexes)
|
|
set incsearch
|
|
|
|
" always show a status line at the bottom of your vim which shows some basic
|
|
" information about the file, which line you're at etc
|
|
set laststatus=2
|
|
|
|
" show files in statusbar when opening via expert mode
|
|
set wildmenu
|
|
|
|
" also show all possible expert mode commands in the statusline
|
|
set wildmode=full
|
|
|
|
" reverse numbering (in the sideline) so you don't have to manually count how
|
|
" many lines you have to yank
|
|
set rnu
|
|
|
|
" it's also nice to still have your absolute line number in the sideline
|
|
set nu
|
|
|
|
" can do copy paste from the clipboard
|
|
set clipboard=unnamedplus
|
|
```
|
|
|
|
You can test out the vim configuration above by downloading it to your home directory and telling vim explicitly you want *that* vimrc by invoking `vim -u ~/vimrc_basic test.py` where `test.py` is just an example.
|
|
Each setting has some information about what it does but vim comes with built-in help.
|
|
You can invoke this help by pressing `:help laststatus`.
|
|
|
|
## Getting help
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Now, what has happened here?
|
|
Vim opened it's own documentation in a new *horizontal split* and moved the cursor there.
|
|
At first this is very intimidating but there are just a few command you need to know to manage this situation perfectly.
|
|
Don't worry about messing up the documentation, it's opened in read only mode.
|
|
|
|
* you can read the documentation by pressing `j` to go down and `k` to go up
|
|
* to navigate splits you use `CRTL-w j` to go down, `CRTL-w k` to go up, `CTRL-w l` to to right and `CRTL-w h` to go left
|
|
* to close the documentation you need to be *inside* the documentation split and press `:close` which means it will close the split you're in (if your cursor is on the **other** split you can use `:only` which does the opposite)
|
|
|
|
The `CTRL-w` affair is a shortcut to vim's window navigation.
|
|
You can read up a bit more in the manual at `:help window` but below is the gist of it.
|
|
It might sound a bit confusing at the start but think of `tmux` and it's *panes, splits and windows* and it might make some more sense.
|
|
|
|
```
|
|
Summary:
|
|
A buffer is the in-memory text of a file.
|
|
A window is a viewport on a buffer.
|
|
A tab page is a collection of windows.
|
|
|
|
A window is a viewport onto a buffer. You can use multiple windows on one
|
|
buffer, or several windows on different buffers.
|
|
|
|
A buffer is a file loaded into memory for editing. The original file remains
|
|
unchanged until you write the buffer to the file.
|
|
|
|
A buffer can be in one of three states:
|
|
|
|
*active-buffer*
|
|
active: The buffer is displayed in a window. If there is a file for this
|
|
buffer, it has been read into the buffer. The buffer may have been
|
|
modified since then and thus be different from the file.
|
|
*hidden-buffer*
|
|
hidden: The buffer is not displayed. If there is a file for this buffer, it
|
|
has been read into the buffer. Otherwise it's the same as an active
|
|
buffer, you just can't see it.
|
|
*inactive-buffer*
|
|
inactive: The buffer is not displayed and does not contain anything. Options
|
|
for the buffer are remembered if the file was once loaded. It can
|
|
contain marks from the |viminfo| file. But the buffer doesn't
|
|
contain text.
|
|
```
|
|
|
|
If you actually read the documentation you must have noticed you can make tabs, as in firefox tabs, in vim!
|
|
I tend to mostly use buffers, based on [this](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/26708822/why-do-vim-experts-prefer-buffers-over-tabs) philosophy but you do you.
|
|
As for window navigation I add the following to my vimrc but you will probably not like it too much.
|
|
This remaps the arrow keys, which you should **not** be using for navigation text anyway, to window navigation.
|
|
If the `nnoremap` makes no sense try `:help mapping`.
|
|
|
|
```
|
|
" use the arrows for buffer navigation
|
|
nnoremap <down> <C-W><C-J>
|
|
nnoremap <up> <C-W><C-K>
|
|
nnoremap <left> <C-W><C-H>
|
|
nnoremap <right> <C-W><C-L>
|
|
```
|
|
|
|
## Switching quickly from config file to config file
|
|
|
|
A lot of information about vim online is geared towards programmers and not system administrators but I have a trick for you that will probably help you quite a bit when modifying configuration files.
|
|
You have to get comfortable with opening and navigating buffers first so a quick rundown on the basics.
|
|
To do this exercise properly first prepare the following files by executing the commands below.
|
|
|
|
```
|
|
echo "I am a first file" > ~/first_file.txt
|
|
echo "[unit]\nDescription=looks like a config file\nManual=maybe systemd\n" > ~/test.service
|
|
echo "import datetime\n\nd = datetime.datetime.now()\nprint(d)" >python_test.py
|
|
```
|
|
|
|
### Part one
|
|
|
|
1. Open up vim with my basic vimrc you downloaded above and you should have a blank vim in front of you.
|
|
2. Type `:edit ~/first_file.txt` to open up the first file.
|
|
3. Type `:edit ~/test.service` to open up the second file.
|
|
4. Type `:edit ~/python_test.py` to open up the third file.
|
|
|
|
You have now opened up all three files in one vim but how do you switch from one to the other?
|
|
They are loaded in memory and are called buffers.
|
|
To list all buffers currently opened in vim you type `:buffers` and you should see a list like the one below.
|
|
|
|
```
|
|
:buffers
|
|
1 "first_file.txt" line 1
|
|
2 # "test.service" line 1
|
|
3 %a "python_test.py" line 1
|
|
Press ENTER or type command to continue
|
|
```
|
|
|
|
To go back to the buffer you where are just hit enter but if you want to **switch** to a different one type `:b 1`.
|
|
This will take you to the first buffer.
|
|
As you are opening and editing files in the same instance of vim you can yank and paste from one to the other!
|
|
Try playing around with this and make some changes to some files.
|
|
At some point you'll be confronted with the following message.
|
|
|
|
```
|
|
E37: No write since last change (add ! to override)
|
|
```
|
|
|
|
This means you're trying to switch to an other buffer but you have unsaved changes in the one you're currently at.
|
|
I like to add the following to my vimrc to automatically save a buffer upon leaving.
|
|
Do keep in mind it can be a bit dangerous to overwrite files you're not too certain about.
|
|
|
|
```
|
|
" automatically save buffers
|
|
set autowrite
|
|
set autowriteall
|
|
```
|
|
|
|
Once you feel comfortable move on to the next part.
|
|
|
|
### Part two
|
|
|
|
OK, quit vim completely and go to your home directory, where you created the three files before.
|
|
Open vim up again with my basic configuration but instead of `:edit` use `:find tes<TAB>` where <TAB> is your tab complete key.
|
|
Vim should list all files matching the `tes` pattern inside the folder you're in.
|
|
We can supercharge this behaviour by modifying the `path` vim will search in.
|
|
To see which paths are searched by default type `:set path` and you'll probably see `path=.,/usr/include,,`.
|
|
This is nice from a *programmers* point of view but we can change it to suit our administrator's point of view better.
|
|
To completely override we can change the setting by typing `:set path=/etc/**` and vim will now search our `/etc` folder **recursively**.
|
|
Try it out with `:find ssh<TAB>` to see it's full power!
|
|
This is a setting you can either fix in your vimrc, or change in the fly, your choice.
|
|
|
|
**Don't be greedy and set it to the root of your hard drive.
|
|
This will slow vim down way too much because there are just too many files and folders!**
|
|
|
|
|