Changes: Use Vim like an IDE

Revision as of 16:07, 23 May 2015

Tip 1119 Printable Monobook Previous Next

created 2006 · complexity intermediate · author Matt Zyzik · version 6.0

I use Vim for all text editing, even software development. At one point I stopped using IDEs. One major reason is that Vim can do all the major things I need from IDEs (tabs, file trees, greping, syntax highlighting, indentation, completion, "quickfix"ing, etc).

Vim Plugins

Still Vim needs plugins to do some IDE-like things that aren't built in. Here are some Vim scripts that make Vim more like an IDE.

Note: You can use pathogen to isolate your plugins and make it easier to experiment with new plugins.

Project/Filetree Browsing

NERDTree is a tree explorer plugin for navigating the filesystem.
vtreeexplorer is a tree based file explorer.
project gives you a "project" view of files, rather than a straight file system view
ide Tracks files status (open/edited/closed/read only) within a project with icons; automatically builds and updates syntax highlight rules based on the project files (C/C++/Java); avoids buffer duplication; see demo.
:help netrw for information about the explorer distributed with Vim. It does not display files in a tree by default, but can by using the g:netrw_liststyle option. It also offers useful file-sorting options (by date, size, name).

Buffer/File Browsing

bufexplorer lets you navigate through open buffers
minibufexpl Elegant buffer explorer; takes very little screen space.
lookupfile Lookup files using Vim7 ins-completion
Command-T plugin, inspired by the "Go to File" window bound to Command-T in TextMate
MRU access recently opened files.
ctrlp Fuzzy file, buffer, mru, tag, ... finder with regexp support. Written in vim language. Access all the functions with ctrl-p
FuzzyFinder same as previous.

Code Browsing

taglist gives you an outline of the source you're viewing
Tagbar similar to taglist but can order tags by scope. Recommend for programming languages with classes, e.g. C++, Java, Python.
Indexer generates tags for all files in project automatically and keeps tags up-to-date. Using ctags. Works well with project plugin or independently.
CCTree is a Call-Tree Explorer, Cscope based source-code browser, and code flow analyzer.
exUtility global search, symbol search, tag track...(Like IDE/Source Insight).
ShowMarks visually shows the location of marks.

See also Browsing programs with tags and Cscope.

Writing Code

A plethora of code snippet/template plugins are available, many offering TextMate-like snippet features.
AutoComplPop gives you code completion as you type.
CRefVim A C-reference manual especially designed for Vim.

Vim Functionality

matchit improves % matching
bufkill allows you to delete a buffer without actually closing the window.
undotree or gundo visualizes your undo tree, see Using undo branches.
surround makes it easier to delete/change/add parentheses/quotes/XML-tags/much more.

IDE integration

You may want to use your IDE for some tasks like debugging, so some integration between Vim and the IDE can be helpful.

Integrate gvim with Visual Studio
Eclim brings Eclipse functionality to the Vim editor.

Source Control Integration

There are many Vim plugins for different source control management systems. Here are a few.

vcscommand.vim - CVS/SVN/SVK/git/hg/bzr integration plugin
fugitive - git integration
perforce - perforce integration
lawrencium - mercurial integration

Debugging

There are several projects to add debugging functionality to vim

Clewn implements full gdb support in the vim editor: breakpoints, watch variables, gdb command completion, assembly windows, etc.
pyClewn like clewn but written in python and also supports pdb.
vim-debug, which creates an integrated debugging environment in VIM.
gdbvim plugin: Watch in vim what you debug in gdb. And more.

Refactoring

Comments

When using Visual Studio, see ViEmu.

Code navigation in vi offers much more than a standard IDE, because of the ability to execute the desired combination of commands. Generate an index much more rapidly than an IDE with a heavy GUI interface:

For example, one can take advantage of the tag stack:

For C++, follow the instructions: on using OmniCpp Define a custom .ctags file

--c++-kinds=+p

--fields=+iaS

--extra=+q

--language-force=C++

From a console (the exclude options may vary) generate the tags file as follows:

ctags --exclude=.svn --exclude=target -R .

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-{{review}}
 {{TipImported
 |id=1119
@@ Line 9: / Line 8: @@
 |version=6.0
 |rating=121/61
-|category1=
+|category1=Integration
 |category2=
 }}
 I use Vim for all text editing, even software development. At one point I stopped using IDEs. One major reason is that Vim can do all the major things I need from IDEs (tabs, file trees, greping, syntax highlighting, indentation, completion, "quickfix"ing, etc).
+==Vim Plugins==
-Still Vim needs plugins to do some IDE-like things that aren't built in.
+Still Vim needs plugins to do some IDE-like things that aren't built in. Here are some Vim scripts that make Vim more like an IDE.
+Note: You can use {{script|id=2332|text=pathogen}} to isolate your plugins and make it easier to experiment with new plugins.
-One thing you might want is the vtreeexplorer {{script|id=184}} plugin, which allows you to have a "file list" in a vertically split window. Another thing worth considering is the minibufexpl {{script|id=159}} plugin, which will allow for tabs of all your files (works really well).
+===Project/Filetree Browsing===
-See function Kwbd in [[VimTip622|Deleting a buffer without changing your window layout]] which allows you to delete a buffer without actually closing the window.
+*{{script|id=1658|text=NERDTree}} is a tree explorer plugin for navigating the filesystem.
+*{{script|id=184|text=vtreeexplorer}} is a tree based file explorer.
+*{{script|id=69|text=project}} gives you a "project" view of files, rather than a straight file system view
+*{{script|id=3855|text=ide}} Tracks files status (open/edited/closed/read only) within a project with icons; automatically builds and updates syntax highlight rules based on the project files (C/C++/Java); avoids buffer duplication; see [http://dgomezpr.com/ece/code/ide-vim demo].
+*{{help|netrw}} for information about the explorer distributed with Vim. It does not display files in a tree by default, but can by using the {{help|prefix=no|g:netrw_liststyle}} option. It also offers useful file-sorting options (by date, size, name).
+===Buffer/File Browsing===
-==Comments==
+*{{script|id=42|text=bufexplorer}} lets you navigate through open buffers
-For debugger integration, try http://clewn.sourceforge.net/
+*{{script|id=159|text=minibufexpl}} Elegant buffer explorer; takes very little screen space.
+*{{script|id=1581|text=lookupfile}} Lookup files using Vim7 ins-completion
+*[https://wincent.com/products/command-t/ Command-T plugin], inspired by the "Go to File" window bound to Command-T in TextMate
+*{{script|id=521|text=MRU}} access recently opened files.
+*[http://www.vim.org/scripts/script.php?script_id=3736 ctrlp] Fuzzy file, buffer, mru, tag, ... finder with regexp support. Written in vim language. Access all the functions with '''ctrl-p'''
+*[http://www.vim.org/scripts/script.php?script_id=1984 FuzzyFinder] same as previous.
+===Code Browsing===
-----
+*{{script|id=273|text=taglist}} gives you an outline of the source you're viewing
-What about refactoring? Say you need to reorder the parameters of a function, which means that all calls to that function must also be reordered. Can Vim do that?
+*{{script|id=3465|text=Tagbar}} similar to taglist but can order tags by scope. Recommend for programming languages with classes, e.g. C++, Java, Python.
-:A quick search turned up the following:
+*{{script|id=3221|text=Indexer}} generates tags for all files in project automatically and keeps tags up-to-date. Using ctags. Works well with project plugin or independently.
-:*[[Vim as a refactoring tool and some examples in C sharp]]
+*{{script|id=2368|text=CCTree}} is a Call-Tree Explorer, Cscope based source-code browser, and code flow analyzer.
-:*{{script|id=2087|text='''refactor''' plugin}}
+*{{script|id=1729|text=exUtility}} global search, symbol search, tag track...(Like IDE/Source Insight).
-:*{{script|id=2164|text='''renamec''' plugin}}
+*{{script|id=152|text=ShowMarks}} visually shows the location of marks.
-:A more involved search may turn up more. If you find something you like, feel free to add a section to this tip mentioning it. If you still need help, try the vim_use mailing list or the [[Vim on Freenode|#vim channel on Freenode]]. See [[:Vim_Tips_Wiki:Community_Portal#Asking_questions|our advice for asking questions]] for some options.
-:--[[User:Fritzophrenic|Fritzophrenic]] 15:59, February 24, 2010 (UTC)
+See also [[Browsing programs with tags]] and [[Cscope]].
-----
-For when you're stuck with Visual Studio: see ViEmu at http://www.ngedit.com/viemu.html
+===Writing Code===
+*A plethora of [[:Category:Automated_Text_Insertion#Related_scripts|code snippet/template plugins]] are available, many offering [[wikipedia:Textmate#Snippets|TextMate]]-like snippet features.
+*{{script|id=1879|text=AutoComplPop}} gives you code completion as you type.
+*{{script|id=614|text=CRefVim}} A C-reference manual especially designed for Vim.
+See also [[Omni completion]] and [[Make Vim completion popup menu work just like in an IDE]].
+===Vim Functionality===
+*{{script|id=39|text=matchit}} improves % matching
+*{{script|id=1147|text=bufkill}} allows you to delete a buffer without actually closing the window.
+*{{script|id=4177|text=undotree}} or {{script|id=3304|text=gundo}} visualizes your undo tree, see [[Using undo branches]].
+*{{script|id=1697|text=surround}} makes it easier to delete/change/add parentheses/quotes/XML-tags/much more.
+===IDE integration===
+You may want to use your IDE for some tasks like debugging, so some integration between Vim and the IDE can be helpful.
+*[[Integrate gvim with Visual Studio]]
+*[http://eclim.org/ Eclim] brings Eclipse functionality to the Vim editor.
+===Source Control Integration===
+There are many Vim plugins for different source control management systems. Here are a few.
+*{{script|id=90|text=vcscommand.vim}} - CVS/SVN/SVK/git/hg/bzr integration plugin
+*{{script|id=2975|text=fugitive}} - git integration
+*{{script|id=240|text=perforce}} - perforce integration
+*{{script|id=3861|text=lawrencium}} - mercurial integration
+See also [http://vim.wikia.com/wiki/Category:VersionControl Category:VersionControl]
+==Debugging==
+There are several projects to add debugging functionality to vim
+*[http://clewn.sourceforge.net/ Clewn] implements full gdb support in the vim editor: breakpoints, watch variables, gdb command completion, assembly windows, etc.
+*[http://pyclewn.sourceforge.net/ pyClewn] like clewn but written in python and also supports [https://docs.python.org/2/library/pdb.html pdb].
+*[http://jaredforsyth.com/projects/vim-debug/ vim-debug], which creates an integrated debugging environment in VIM.
+*{{script|id=84|text= gdbvim}} plugin: Watch in vim what you debug in gdb. And more.
+==Refactoring==
+*[[Vim as a refactoring tool and some examples in C sharp]]
+*{{script|id=2087|text='''refactor''' plugin}}
+*{{script|id=2164|text='''renamec''' plugin}}
+==Comments==
+When using Visual Studio, see [http://www.ngedit.com/viemu.html ViEmu].
 ----
+Code navigation in vi offers much more than a standard IDE, because of the ability to execute the desired combination of commands. Generate an index much more rapidly than an IDE with a heavy GUI interface:
+For example, one can take advantage of the tag stack:
+For C++, follow the instructions: [http://design.liberta.co.za/articles/code-completion-intellisense-for-cpp-in-vim-with-omnicppcomplete/ on using OmniCpp]
+Define a custom .ctags file
+:--c++-kinds=+p
+:--fields=+iaS
+:--extra=+q
+:--language-force=C++
+From a console (the exclude options may vary) generate the tags file as follows:
+<pre>
+ctags --exclude=.svn --exclude=target -R .
+</pre>