Larry Alkoff wrote:
Tim Chase wrote:
I know every ex command starts with a colon.
Is the reverse true in every case?
Is _every_ command that starts with a colon an ex command?
Examples
:help Is this an ex command?
:version Is this?
:blahblah This?
My understanding is that _yes_, typing the colon temporarily
enters "ex" mode for one command. To try things out, you can use
"Q" to enter actual "ex" mode (use "vi" to re-enter visual mode).
There may be some caveats, such as in general, one can do
:g/regexp/ex-command
However, while ":g" is an ex command, it can't be nested within
an outer ":g" command (as noted in the help).
There may be a distinction between "what vim treats as 'ex' mode"
and "what classic vi/ex supports", but this might be changeable
by the 'cp' option to ensure compatibility with old vi/ex.
Pretty much any command you can use in ex mode, one can also use
in scripts (and vice-versa) which makes for some very powerful
vim-script actions.
With further information about what you're trying to do, it might
shed light on small nuances of difference, but for the most part,
one can assume that if it starts with a colon, it's an ex command.
-tim
Thanks Tim, Yakov and Martin.
I'll just ASSume from now on that, if it starts with a colon,
it may as be an ex command.
Very interesting information on the use of ex.
Larry
Vhat Vim calls "ex-commands" are prefixed by a colon when typed at the
command-line (the colon is actually used to go from Normal mode to
Command-line mode). There are more of them than what was originally valid in
the "ex" program; and you can even define your own (using the ":command" command).
In scripts, or after another command like ":vertical", ":botright", ":browse",
":verbose", ":autocommand EventName *", etc., the colon is not necessary: e.g.
:vert split foobar.txt
:bot help pattern-overview
:verbose set guifont?
:browse edit
:au VimLeave * set verbose=0
:if has("gui_running") | set lines=9999 columns=9999 | endif
The commands
split foobar.txt
help pattern-overview
set guifont?
edit
set verbose=0
set lines=9999 columns=9999
endif
are ex-commands, which don't need a colon because there is something before
them on the same command-line. (Note that ":if" and ":endif", when typed at
the command-line, should be on the same line as above)
Best regards,
Tony.
--
Watson's Law:
The reliability of machinery is inversely proportional to the
number and significance of any persons watching it.
