In-depth VIM

Why Learn Vim?

• Efficiency: Once you master Vim’s commands, editing becomes extremely fast.

• Customizability: Vim can be tailored to your specific needs with plugins and custom configurations.

• Ubiquity: Vim is available on almost every Unix-based system, making it a useful skill across different environments.

• Community: A large and active community supports Vim, offering numerous plugins, tutorials, and resources.

Opening and Exiting Vim

• Open a file:

  vim filename.txt

• Exit commands:

  • :w – Save the file

  • :q – Quit Vim

  • :wq or :x – Save and quit

  • :q! – Quit without saving

Modes in Vim

Vim has several modes, with the two most important being:

• Normal mode: The default mode for navigation and commands.

• Insert mode: For entering text. Press i to enter Insert mode and Esc to return to Normal mode.

Basic Navigation

• Movement commands:

  • h – move left

  • j – move down

  • k – move up

  • l – move right

• Word-wise navigation:

  • w – jump to the start of the next word

  • b – jump back to the beginning of the word

Editing Basics

• Insert text:

  • i – insert before the cursor

  • a – insert after the cursor

• Deleting text:

  • x – delete the character under the cursor

  • dw – delete a word

  • dd – delete an entire line

• Undo and redo:

  • u – undo

  • Ctrl-r – redo

Searching

• Basic search:

  • /pattern – search forward for a pattern

  • ?pattern – search backward

  • n – repeat the search in the same direction

  • N – repeat in the opposite direction

Working with Multiple Files

• Buffers:
  Vim opens each file in a buffer. You can navigate between buffers using:

  :ls " List all open buffers :b <number> " Switch to buffer with specified number

• Windows and splits:
  Use splits to view multiple files simultaneously.

  • :split filename.txt – horizontal split

  • :vsplit filename.txt – vertical split

  • Use Ctrl-w followed by arrow keys to navigate between splits.

Text Objects and Motions

• Change inside a word:

  • ciw – change inner word

• Change inside quotes:

  • ci" – change text inside double quotes

• Visual mode:

  • v – start visual mode (character-wise)

  • V – start visual line mode

  • Ctrl-v – start visual block mode

Macros and Repeating Actions

• Recording a macro:

  • Start recording: q{register} (e.g., qa to record in register “a”)

  • Perform actions

  • End recording: q

• Playing back a macro:

  • @a – execute macro in register “a”

• Repeat the last macro:

  • @@ – repeat the last executed macro

Advanced Searching and Replacing

• Substitute command:

  • :s/old/new/g – substitute “old” with “new” in the current line

  • :%s/old/new/g – substitute in the entire file

  • Use c after the command (e.g., :%s/old/new/gc) to confirm each substitution

Customizing Vim with .vimrc

Your ~/.vimrc file is where you can store your configuration. Here are some useful settings:

Vim Plugins and Plugin Managers

• Popular Plugin Managers:

  • Vundle

  • Pathogen

  • vim-plug

• Example Plugin Setup using vim-plug:

  call plug#begin('~/.vim/plugged') " File explorer Plug 'scrooloose/nerdtree' " Status line enhancement Plug 'vim-airline/vim-airline' " Fuzzy finder Plug 'junegunn/fzf.vim' call plug#end()

Vim Scripting

Vim script allows you to extend Vim’s functionality. Here’s a simple script example that creates a custom command:

Using Vim as an IDE

• Language-specific plugins:

  
  

  Vim supports many languages through plugins like ALE for linting and YouCompleteMe for code completion.

• Integrated debugging:

  
  

  Plugins such as vimspector allow debugging within Vim.

• Version control integration:

  
  

  Use plugins like fugitive.vim to interact with Git directly from Vim.

Creating Custom Key Mappings

Key mappings allow you to speed up common tasks. Add these to your .vimrc:

Automating Tasks with Vim Scripts

You can write Vim scripts to automate repetitive tasks. For instance, to auto-format your code on save:

Advanced Regular Expressions

Vim uses its own flavor of regular expressions. Some examples include:

• Matching word boundaries:
  Use \< and \> to denote the start and end of a word.

  :%s/\<foo\>/bar/g

• Using capture groups:
  Replace patterns with captured groups:

  :%s/\(foo\)\(bar\)/\2\1/g

Performance Tweaks

• Lazy-loading plugins:

  
  

  Some plugin managers allow you to load plugins only when needed, reducing startup time.

• Minimal configurations:

  
  

  Start with a minimal .vimrc and add customizations gradually to keep Vim snappy.