By Arnold Robbins
Book Price: $9.95 USD
£6.95 GBP
PDF Price: $7.99

Cover | Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: vi Editor Pocket Reference

Content preview·Buy PDF of this chapter|Buy reprint rights for this chapter

This pocket reference is a companion to Learning the vi Editor, by Linda Lamb and Arnold Robbins. It describes the vi command-line options, command mode commands, ex commands and options, regular expressions and the use of the substitute (s) command, and other pertinent information for using vi. Also covered are the additional features in the four vi clones, nvi, elvis, vim, and vile.

The Solaris 2.6 version of vi served as the “reference” version of vi for this pocket reference.

The following font conventions are used in this book:

Courier

Used for command names, options, and everything to be typed literally

Courier Italic

Used for replaceable text within commands

Italic

Used for replaceable text within regular text, program names, filenames, paths, for emphasis, and new terms when first defined

[ … ]

Identifies optional text; the brackets are not typed

CTRL-G

Indicates a keystroke

Command	Action
vi file	Invoke vi on file
vi file1 file2	Invoke vi on files sequentially
view file	Invoke vi on file in read-only mode
vi -R file	Invoke vi on file in read-only mode
vi -r file	Recover file and recent edits after a crash
vi -t tag	Look up tag and start editing at its definition
vi -w n	Set the window size to n ; useful over a slow connection
vi + file	Open file at last line
vi +n file	Open file directly at line number n
vi -c command file	Open file, execute command, which is usually a search command or line number (POSIX)
vi +/pattern file	Open file directly at pattern
ex file	Invoke ex on file
ex - file < script	Invoke ex on file, taking commands from script ; suppress informative messages and prompts
ex -s file < script	Invoke ex on file, taking commands from script ; suppress informative messages and prompts (POSIX)

Most vi commands follow a general pattern:

[command][number]text object

or the equivalent form:

[number][command]text object

Command	Meaning
Character
h, j, k, l	Left, down, up, right (ࢎ, ࢑, ࢏, →)
Text
w, W, b, B	Forward, backward by word
e, E	End of word
), (	Beginning of next, previous sentence
}, {	Beginning of next, previous paragraph

Additional content appearing in this section has been removed.
Purchase this book now or read it online at Safari to get the whole thing!

Introduction

Content preview·Buy PDF of this chapter|Buy reprint rights for this chapter

This pocket reference is a companion to Learning the vi Editor, by Linda Lamb and Arnold Robbins. It describes the vi command-line options, command mode commands, ex commands and options, regular expressions and the use of the substitute (s) command, and other pertinent information for using vi. Also covered are the additional features in the four vi clones, nvi, elvis, vim, and vile.

The Solaris 2.6 version of vi served as the “reference” version of vi for this pocket reference.

Additional content appearing in this section has been removed.
Purchase this book now or read it online at Safari to get the whole thing!

Conventions

Content preview·Buy PDF of this chapter|Buy reprint rights for this chapter

The following font conventions are used in this book:

Courier

Used for command names, options, and everything to be typed literally

Courier Italic

Used for replaceable text within commands

Italic

Used for replaceable text within regular text, program names, filenames, paths, for emphasis, and new terms when first defined

[ … ]

Identifies optional text; the brackets are not typed

CTRL-G

Indicates a keystroke

Additional content appearing in this section has been removed.
Purchase this book now or read it online at Safari to get the whole thing!

Command-Line Options

Content preview·Buy PDF of this chapter|Buy reprint rights for this chapter

Command	Action
vi file	Invoke vi on file
vi file1 file2	Invoke vi on files sequentially
view file	Invoke vi on file in read-only mode
vi -R file	Invoke vi on file in read-only mode
vi -r file	Recover file and recent edits after a crash
vi -t tag	Look up tag and start editing at its definition
vi -w n	Set the window size to n ; useful over a slow connection
vi + file	Open file at last line
vi +n file	Open file directly at line number n
vi -c command file	Open file, execute command, which is usually a search command or line number (POSIX)
vi +/pattern file	Open file directly at pattern
ex file	Invoke ex on file
ex - file < script	Invoke ex on file, taking commands from script ; suppress informative messages and prompts
ex -s file < script	Invoke ex on file, taking commands from script ; suppress informative messages and prompts (POSIX)

Additional content appearing in this section has been removed.
Purchase this book now or read it online at Safari to get the whole thing!

vi Commands

Content preview·Buy PDF of this chapter|Buy reprint rights for this chapter

Most vi commands follow a general pattern:

[command][number]text object

or the equivalent form:

[number][command]text object

Command	Meaning
Character
h, j, k, l	Left, down, up, right (ࢎ, ࢑, ࢏, →)
Text
w, W, b, B	Forward, backward by word
e, E	End of word
), (	Beginning of next, previous sentence
}, {	Beginning of next, previous paragraph
] ], [ [	Beginning of next, previous section
Lines
RETURN	First nonblank character of next line
0, $	First, last position of current line
^	First nonblank character of current line
+, -	First nonblank character of next, previous line
n |	Column n of current line
H	Top line of screen
M	Middle line of screen
L	Last line of screen
nH	n (number) of lines after top line
nL	n (number) of lines before last line
Scrolling
CTRL-F, CTRL-B	Scroll forward, backward one screen
CTRL-D, CTRL-U	Scroll down, up one-half screen
CTRL-E, CTRL-Y	Show one more line at bottom, top of window
z RETURN	Reposition line with cursor: to top of screen
z  .	Reposition line with cursor: to middle of screen
z  –	Reposition line with cursor: to bottom of screen
CTRL-L	Redraw screen (without scrolling)
Searches
/pattern	Search forward for pattern
?pattern	Search backward for pattern
n, N	Repeat last search in same, opposite direction
/, ?	Repeat previous search forward, backward
fx	Search forward for character x in current line
Fx	Search backward for character x in current line
tx	Search forward to character before x in current line
Tx	Search backward to character after x in current line
;	Repeat previous current-line search
,	Repeat previous current-line search in opposite direction
Line number
CTRL-G	Display current line number
nG	Move to line number n
G	Move to last line in file
:n	Move to line n in file
Marking position
mx	Mark current position as x
‘x	Move cursor to mark x
‘‘	Return to previous mark or context
’x	Move to beginning of line containing mark x
’ ’	Return to beginning of line containing previous mark

Command	Action
Insert
i, a	Insert text before, after cursor
I, A	Insert text before beginning, after end of line
o, O	Open new line for text below, above cursor
Change
r	Replace character
cw	Change word
cc	Change current line

Additional content appearing in this section has been removed.
Purchase this book now or read it online at Safari to get the whole thing!

Input Mode Shortcuts

Content preview·Buy PDF of this chapter|Buy reprint rights for this chapter

:ab abbr phrase

Define abbr as an abbreviation for phrase.

:unab abbr

Remove definition of abbr.

Be careful with abbreviation texts that either end with the abbreviation name or contain the abbreviation name in the middle.

:map x sequence

Define character(s) x as a sequence of editing commands.

:unmap x

Disable the sequence defined for x.

:map

List the characters that are currently mapped.

:map! x sequence

Define character(s) x as a sequence of editing commands or text that will be recognized in input mode.

:unmap! x

Disable the sequence defined for the input mode map x.

:map!

List the characters that are currently mapped for interpretation in insert mode.

For both command and input mode maps, the map name x can take several forms:

One character

When you type the character, vi executes the associated sequence of commands.

Multiple characters

All the characters must be typed within one second. The value of notimeout changes the behavior.

#n

Function key notation: a # followed by a digit n represents the sequence of characters sent by the terminal’s function key number n.

To enter characters such as Escape (^[) or carriage return (^M), first type a CTRL-V (^V).

Named buffers provide yet another way to create “macros”—complex command sequences you can repeat with a few keystrokes. Here's how it's done:

1. Type a vi command sequence or an ex command preceded by a colon ; return to command mode.
2. Delete the text into a named buffer.
3. Execute the buffer with the @ command followed by the buffer letter.

The ex command :@buf-name works similarly.

Some versions treat * identically to @ when used from the ex command line. In addition, if the buffer character supplied after the @ or * commands is *, the command is taken from the default (unnamed) buffer.

You enable automatic indentation with the command:

:set autoindent

Four special input sequences affect automatic indentation:

^T

Add one level of indentation; typed in insert mode

^D

Remove one level of indentation; typed in insert mode

^ ^D

Shift the cursor back to the beginning of the line, but only for the current line

0 ^D

Shift the cursor back to the beginning of the line and reset the current auto-indent level to zero

Additional content appearing in this section has been removed.
Purchase this book now or read it online at Safari to get the whole thing!

Substitution and Regular Expressions

Content preview·Buy PDF of this chapter|Buy reprint rights for this chapter

The general form of the substitute command is:

:[addr1[,addr2]]s/old/new/[flags]

Omitting the search pattern (:s//replacement/) uses the last search or substitution regular expression.

An empty replacement part (:s/pattern//) “replaces” the matched text with nothing, effectively deleting it from the line.

Section 1.4.1.1: Substitution flags

Flag	Meaning
c	Confirm each substitution
g	Change all occurrences of old to new on each line (globally)
p	Print the line after the change is made

It's often useful to combine the substitute command with the ex global command, :g:

:g/Object Oriented/s//Buzzword compliant/g

.

Matches any single character except a newline. Remember that spaces are treated as characters.

*

Matches zero or more (as many as there are) of the single character that immediately precedes it.

The * can follow a metacharacter, such as . or a range in brackets.

^

When used at the start of a regular expression, ^ requires that the following regular expression be found at the beginning of the line. When not at the beginning of a regular expression, ^ stands for itself.

$

When used at the end of a regular expression, $ requires that the preceding regular expression be found at the end of the line. When not at the end of a regular expression, $ stands for itself.

\

Treats the following special character as an ordinary character. (Use \ \ to get a literal backslash.)

[ ]

Matches any one of the characters enclosed between the brackets. A range of consecutive characters can be specified by separating the first and last characters in the range with a hyphen.

You can include more than one range inside brackets and specify a mix of ranges and separate characters.

Most metacharacters lose their special meaning inside brackets, so you don’t need to escape them if you want to use them as ordinary characters. Within brackets, the three metacharacters you still need to escape are \ - ]. (The hyphen (-) acquires meaning as a range specifier; to use an actual hyphen, you can also place it as the first character inside the brackets.)

A caret (^) has special meaning only when it's the first character inside the brackets, but in this case, the meaning differs from that of the normal

Additional content appearing in this section has been removed.
Purchase this book now or read it online at Safari to get the whole thing!

ex Commands

Content preview·Buy PDF of this chapter|Buy reprint rights for this chapter

:[address] command [options]

Address	Includes
1,$	All lines in the file
x,y	Lines x through y
x;y	Lines x through y, with current line reset to x
0	Top of file
.	Current line
n	Absolute line number n
$	Last line
%	All lines; same as 1,$
x-n	n lines before x
x+n	n lines after x
-[n]	One or n lines previous
+[n]	One or n lines ahead
’x	Line marked with x
’’	Previous mark
/pat/ or ?pat?	Ahead or back to line where pat matches

Symbol	Meaning
!	A variant form of the command
count	Repeat the command count times
file	Filename: % is current file, # is previous file

Full Name	Command
Abbrev	ab [string text]
Append	[address]a[!] text .
Args	ar
Change	[address] c[!] text .
Copy	[address] co destination
Delete	[address] d [buffer]
Edit	e [!][+n] [filename]
File	f [filename]
Global	[address]g[!]/pattern/[commands]
Insert	[address]i[!] text .
Join	[address]j[!][count]
K (mark)	[address] k char
List	[address] l [count]
Map	map char commands
Mark	[address] ma char
Move	[address] m destination
Next	n[!] [[+command] filelist]
Number	[address] nu [count]
Open	[address] o [/pattern/]
Preserve	pre
Print	[address] p [count] [address] P [count]
Put	[address] pu [char]
Quit	q[!]
Read	[address] r filename
Read	[address] r ! command
Recover	rec [filename]
Rewind	rew[!]
Set	set set option set nooption 6set option=value set option?
Shell	sh
Source	so filename
Substitute	[addr] s [/pat/repl/][opts]
T (to)	[address]t destination
Tag	[address] ta tag
Unabbreviate	una word
Undo	u
Unmap	unm char
V (global exclude)	[address] v/pattern/[commands]
Version	ve
Visual	[address] vi [type] [count]
Visual	vi [+n] [filename]
Write	[address] w[!] [[>>]filename]
Write	[address] w !command
Wq (write + quit)	wq[!]
Xit	x
Yank	[address] y [char] [count]
Z (position line)	[address] z[type] [count] type can be one of: + Place line at the top of the window (default) - Place line at bottom of the window . Place line in the center of the window ^ Print the previous window = Place line in the center of the window and leave the current line at thisline
!	[address] !command
= (line number)	[address] =
< > (shift)	[address] < [count] [address] > [count]
Address

Additional content appearing in this section has been removed.
Purchase this book now or read it online at Safari to get the whole thing!

Initialization and Recovery

Content preview·Buy PDF of this chapter|Buy reprint rights for this chapter

vi performs the following initialization steps:

1. If the EXINIT environment variable exists, execute the commands it contains. Separate multiple commands by a pipe symbol (|).
2. If EXINIT doesn't exist, look for the file $HOME/.exrc. If it exists, read and execute it.
3. If either EXINIT or $HOME/.exrc turns on the exrc option, read and execute the file ./.exrc, if it exists.
4. Execute search or goto commands given with +/pattern or +n command-line options (POSIX: –c option).

The .exrc files are simple scripts of ex commands; they don't need a leading colon. You can put comments in your scripts by starting a line with a double quote ("). This is recommended.

The commands ex -r or vi -r list any files you can recover. You then use the command:

$ vi -r file

to recover a particular file.

Even without a crash, you can force the system to preserve your buffer by using the command :pre (preserve).

Additional content appearing in this section has been removed.
Purchase this book now or read it online at Safari to get the whole thing!

vi Options

Content preview·Buy PDF of this chapter|Buy reprint rights for this chapter

Option	Default
autoindent (ai)	noai
autoprint (ap)	ap
autowrite (aw)	noaw
beautify (bf)	nobf
directory (dir)	/tmp
edcompatible	noedcompatible
errorbells (eb)	errorbells
exrc (ex)	noexrc
hardtabs (ht)	8
ignorecase (ic)	noic
lisp	nolisp
list	nolist
magic	magic
mesg	mesg
novice	nonovice
number (nu)	nonu
open	open
optimize (opt)	noopt
paragraphs (para)	IPLPPPQP LIpplpipbp
prompt	prompt
readonly (ro)	noro
redraw (re)
remap	remap
report	5
scroll	half window
sections (sect)	SHNHH HU
shell (sh)	/bin/sh
shiftwidth (sw)	8
showmatch (sm)	nosm
showmode	noshowmode
slowopen (slow)
tabstop (ts)	8
taglength (tl)	0
tags	tags /usr/lib/tags
tagstack	tagstack
term	(from $TERM)
terse	noterse
timeout (to)	timeout
ttytype	(from $TERM)
warn	warn
window (w)
wrapscan (ws)	ws
wrapmargin (wm)	0
writeany (wa)	nowa

Additional content appearing in this section has been removed.
Purchase this book now or read it online at Safari to get the whole thing!

Enhanced Tags and Tag Stacks

Content preview·Buy PDF of this chapter|Buy reprint rights for this chapter

The “Exuberant ctags” program was written by Darren Hiebert (home page: http://home.hiwaay.net/~darren/ctags/). As of this writing, the current version is 2.0.3.

This enhanced tags file format has three tab-separated fields: the tag name (typically an identifier), the source file containing the tag, and where to find the identifier. Extended attributes are placed after a separating ;". Each attribute is separated from the next by a tab character and consists of two colon-separated subfields. The first subfield is a keyword describing the attribute; the second is the actual value.

Section 1.8.1.1: Extended ctags keywords

Keyword	Meaning
kind	The value is a single letter that indicates the lexical type of the tag
file	For static tags, i.e., local to the file
function	For local tags
struct	For fields in a struct
enum	For values in an enum data type
class	For C++ member functions and variables
scope	Intended mostly for C++ class member functions
arity	For functions

If the field doesn't contain a colon, it's assumed to be of type kind.

Within the value part of each attribute, the backslash, tab, carriage return, and newline characters should be encoded as \\, \t, \r, and \n, respectively.

Section 1.8.2.1: Tag commands

Command	Function
ta[g][!] tagstring	Edit the file containing tagstring as defined in the tags file
po[p][!]	Pop the tag stack by one element

Section 1.8.2.2: Command-mode tag commands

Command	Function
^]	Look up the location of the identifier under the cursor in the tags file and move to that location; if tag stacking is enabled, the current location is automatically pushed onto the tag stack
^T	Return to the previous location in the tag stack, i.e., pop off one element

Section 1.8.2.3: Options for tag management

Option	Function
taglength, tl	Controls the number of significant characters in a tag that is to be looked up; the default value of zero indicates that all characters are significant
tags, tagpath	The value is a list of filenames in which to look for tags; the default value is "tags /usr/lib/tags"
tagstack	When set to true, vi stacks each location on the tag stack

Additional content appearing in this section has been removed.
Purchase this book now or read it online at Safari to get the whole thing!

nvi—New vi

Content preview·Buy PDF of this chapter|Buy reprint rights for this chapter

–c command

Execute command at startup.

–F

Don’t copy the entire file when starting to edit.

–R

Start in read-only mode, setting the readonly option.

–S

Run with the secure option set, disallowing access to external programs.

–s

Enter batch (script) mode. This is only for ex and is intended for running editing scripts. Prompts and nonerror messages are disabled.

Command	Function
bg	Hide the current window
di[splay] b[uffers]	Display all buffers, including named, unnamed, and numeric buffers
di[splay] s[creens]	Display the filenames of all backgrounded windows
Edit filename	Edit filename in a new window
Edit /tmp	Create a new window editing an empty buffer; /tmp is interpreted especially to create a new temporary file
fg filename	Uncover filename into the current window
Fg filename	Uncover filename in a new window; the current window is split
Next	Edit the next file in the argument list in a new window
Previous	Edit the previous file in the argument list in a new window
resize ±nrows	Increase or decrease the size of the current window by nrows rows
Tag tagstring	Edit the file containing tagstring in a new window

The ^W command cycles between windows, top to bottom. The :q and ZZ commands exit the current window.

You may have multiple windows open in the same file. Changes made in one window are reflected in the other.

You use :set extended to enable extended regular expression matching:

|

Indicates alternation. The left and right sides don't need to be single characters.

(…)

Used for grouping, to allow the application of additional regular expression operators.

+

Matches one or more of the preceding regular expressions. This is either a single character or a group of characters enclosed in parentheses.

?

Matches zero or one occurrence of the preceding regular expression.

{…}

Defines an interval expression. Interval expressions describe counted numbers of repetitions. In the following description, n and m represent integer constants:

{n}

Matches exactly n repetitions of the previous regular expression.

{n,}

Matches n or more repetitions of the previous regular expression.

{n,m}

Matches n to m repetitions.

Additional content appearing in this section has been removed.
Purchase this book now or read it online at Safari to get the whole thing!

elvis

Content preview·Buy PDF of this chapter|Buy reprint rights for this chapter

–a

Load each file named on the command line to a separate window.

–R

Start editing each file in read-only mode.

–i

Start editing in input mode instead of in command mode.

–s

Set the safer option for the whole session, not just execution of .exrc files. In elvis 2.1, this option is renamed to –S, and (following the POSIX standard) –s provides ex scripting.

–f filename

Use filename for the session file instead of the default name.

–G gui

Use the given interface.

–c command

Execute command at startup (POSIX version of the historic +command syntax).

–V

Output more verbose status information.

–?

Print a summary of the possible options.

Command	Function
sp[lit] [file]	Create a new window; load it with file if supplied; otherwise, the new window shows the current file
new	Create a new empty buffer and then create a new window to show that buffer
sne[w]
sn[ext] [file…]	Create a new window, showing the next file in the argument list
sN[ext]	Create a new window, showing the previous file in the argument list
sre[wind][!]	Create a new window, showing the first file in the argument list; reset the “current” file as the first with respect to the :next command
sl[ast]	Create a new window, showing the last file in the argument list
sta[g][!] tag	Create a new window showing the file where the requested tag is found
sa[ll]	Create a new window for any files named in the argument list that don’t already have a window
wi[ndow] [target]	With no target, list all windows; the possible values for target are described in the following table
close	Close the current window; the buffer that the window was displaying remains intact
wquit	Write the buffer back to the file and close the window; the file is saved whether or not it has been modified
qall	Issue a :q command for each window; buffers without windows are not affected

Section 1.10.2.1: Arguments to the :window command

Argument	Meaning
+	Switch to the next window, like ^W k
++	Switch to the next window, wrapping like ^W ^W
-	Switch to the previous window, like ^W j
- -	Switch to the previous window, wrapping
num	Switch to the window whose windowid =num
buffer-name	Switch to the window editing the named buffer

Additional content appearing in this section has been removed.
Purchase this book now or read it online at Safari to get the whole thing!

vim—vi Improved

Content preview·Buy PDF of this chapter|Buy reprint rights for this chapter

–c command

Execute command at startup. (POSIX version of the historic +command )

–R

Start in read-only mode, setting the readonly option.

–s

Enter batch (script) mode. This is only for ex and intended for running editing scripts (POSIX version of the historic “–” argument).

–b

Start in binary mode.

–f

For the GUI version, stay in the foreground.

–g

Start the GUI version of vim, if it has been compiled in.

–o [N]

Open N windows, if given; otherwise open one window per file.

–i viminfo

Read the given viminfo file for initialization, instead of the default viminfo file.

–n

Don't create a swap file: recovery won't be possible.

–q filename

Treat filename as the “quick fix” file.

–u vimrc

Read the given .vimrc file for initialization and skip all other normal initialization steps.

–U gvimrc

Read the given .gvimrc file for GUI initialization and skip all other normal GUI initialization steps.

–Z

Enter restricted mode (same as having a leading r in the name).

Command	Function
[N]sp[lit] [position] [file]	Split the current window in half
[N]new [position] [file]	Create a new window, editing an empty buffer
[N]sv[iew] [position] [file]	Same as :split, but set the readonly option for the buffer
q[uit][!]	Quit the current window (exit if given in the last window)
clo[se][!]	Close the current window; behavior affected by the hidden option
hid[e]	Close the current window, if it's not the last one on the screen
on[ly]	Make this window the only one on the screen
res[ize] [±