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265 lines
6.8 KiB
Markdown
265 lines
6.8 KiB
Markdown
---
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title: "Variables and Scopes"
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metaTitle: "Variables and Scopes"
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metaDescription: "What are the different variable scopes in Vim?"
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---
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Before diving into Vimscript functions, let's learn about the different sources and scopes of Vim variables.
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## Mutable And Immutable Variable
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You can assign a value to a variable in Vim with `let`:
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```
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let pancake = "pancake"
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```
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Later you can call that variable any time.
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```
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echo pancake
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" returns "pancake"
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```
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`let` is mutable, meaning you can change the value at any time in the future.
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```
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let pancake = "not waffles"
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echo pancake
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" returns "not waffles"
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```
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Notice that when you want to change the value of a set variable, you still need to use `let`.
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```
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let beverage = "milk"
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beverage = "orange juice"
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" throws an error
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```
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You can define an immutable variable with `const` (both Vim variable setters are similar to Javascript's `let` and `const`).
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```
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const waffle = "waffle"
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echo waffle
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"return waffle
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const waffle = "pancake"
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" returns error
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let waffle = "pancake"
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" returns error
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```
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Before learning native Vimscript variables, it's good to learn the different sources of Vim variables that you can use. There are three more "variables" you can use inside Vim expressions: environment variable, option variable, and register variable.
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### Environment Variable
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Suppose that you have a `SHELL` environment variable already available in your terminal. To access it from Vim:
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```
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echo $SHELL
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" returns $SHELL value. In my case, it returns /bin/bash
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```
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### Option variable
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You can access Vim options with `&` (options are the settings you access with `:set`). To see what background Vim uses, you can run:
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```
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echo &background
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" returns either "light" or "dark"
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```
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Alternatively, you can always run `set background?` to see the value of the `background` option.
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### Register variable
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You can access Vim registers (Ch. 08) with `@`. Suppose the value "chocolate" is already saved to register `a`. To access it, you can use `@a`. You can also update it with `let`.
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```
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echo @a
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" returns chocolate
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let @a .= " donut"
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echo @a
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" returns "chocolate donut"
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```
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Now when you paste from register `a` (`"ap`), it will return "chocolate donut".
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The operator `.=` concatenates two strings. The expression `let @a .= " donut"` is the same as `let @a = @a . " donut"`
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## Variable Scopes
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There are 9 variable scopes in Vim. You can recognize them from their prepended letter:
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```
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g: Global variable
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{nothing} Global variable
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b: Buffer-local variable
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w: Window-local variable
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t: Tab-local variable
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s: Sourced Vimscript variable
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l: Function-local variable
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a: Function formal parameter variable
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v: Built-in Vim variable
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```
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### Global variable
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When you are declaring a "regular" variable:
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```
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let pancake = "pancake"
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```
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`pancake` is actually a global variable. When you define a global variable, you can call them from anywhere.
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Prepending `g:` to a variable also creates a global variable.
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```
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let g:waffle = "waffle"
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```
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Both `pancake` and `g:waffle` have the same scope. You can call each of them with either syntax.
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```
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echo pancake
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" returns "pancake"
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echo g:pancake
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"returns "pancake"
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echo waffle
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" returns "waffle"
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echo g:waffle
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" returns "waffle"
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```
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### Buffer variable
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A variable preceded with `b:` is a buffer variable. A buffer variable is a variable that is local to the current buffer (Ch 02). If you have multiple buffers open, each buffer will have their own separate list of buffer variables.
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In buffer 1:
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```
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const b:donut = "chocolate donut"
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```
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In buffer 2:
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```
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const b:donut = "blueberry donut"
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```
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Each `b:donut` buffer variable lives inside buffers 1 and 2, respectively.
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On the side note, Vim has a *special* buffer variable `b:changedtick` that keeps track of all the changes done to the current buffer.
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1. Run `echo b:changedtick` and note the number it returns..
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2. Make changes in Vim.
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3. Run `echo b:changedtick` again and note the number it now returns.
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### Window variable
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A variable preceded with `w:` is a window variable. It exists only in that window.
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In window 1:
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```
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const w:donut = "chocolate donut"
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```
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In window 2:
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```
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const w:donut = "raspberry donut"
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```
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On each window, you can call `echo w:donut` to get unique values.
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### Tab variable
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A variable preceded with `t:` is a tab variable. It exists only in that tab.
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In tab 1:
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```
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const t:donut = "chocolate donut"
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```
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In tab 2:
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```
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const t:donut = "blackberry donut"
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```
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On each tab, you can call `echo t:donut` to get unique values.
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### Script variable
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A variable preceded with `s:` is a script variable. These variables can only be accessed from inside scripts.
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If you have an arbitrary file `script.vim` and inside it you have:
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```
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let s:dozen = 12
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function Consume()
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let s:dozen -= 1
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echo s:dozen " is left"
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endfunction
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```
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Source the file with `:source dozen.vim`. Now call the `Consume` function:
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```
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:call Consume()
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" returns "11 is left"
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:call Consume()
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" returns "10 is left"
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:echo s:dozen
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" Undefined variable error
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```
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The `Consume` function can be called directly and it increments as expected. When you try to read `s:dozen` directly, Vim won't find it because you are out of scope. `s:dozen` script variable is only accessible from inside `script.vim`.
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Each time you source the `script.vim` file, it resets the `s:dozen` counter. If you are in the middle of decrementing `s:dozen` value and you run `:source dozen.vim`, the counter resets back to 12. This can be a problem for unsuspecting users. To fix this issue, refactor the code:
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```
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if !exists("s:dozen")
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let s:dozen = 12
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endif
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function Consume()
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let s:dozen -= 1
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echo s:dozen
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endfunction
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```
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### Function-local and Function formal parameter variable
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Both the function-local variable (`l:`) and the function formal variable (`a:`) will be covered in the next chapter.
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### Built-in Vim variables
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A variable prepended with `v:` is a special built-in Vim variable. You cannot define these variables. You have seen some of them already. For example:
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- `v:version` tells you what Vim version you are using.
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- `v:key` contains the current item value when iterating through a dictionary.
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- `v:val` contains the current item value when running a `map()` or `filter()` operation.
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- `v:true`, `v:false`, `v:null`, and `v:none` are special data types.
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There are other variables. For a list of Vim built-in variables, check out `:h vim-variable` or `:h v:`.
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## Using Vim Variable Scopes The Smart Way
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Being able to quickly access environment, option, and register variables give you a broad flexibility to customize your editor and terminal environment. You also learned that Vim has 9 different Vimscript variable scopes, each existing under a certain constraints. You can take advantage of these unique variable types to write your own custom plugins. But before that, let's learn how to create functions!
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