| *dev_vimpatch.txt* Nvim | |
| NVIM REFERENCE MANUAL | |
| Merging patches from Vim *dev-vimpatch* | |
| Nvim was forked from Vim 7.4.160; it is kept up-to-date with relevant Vim | |
| patches in order to avoid duplicate work. Run `vim-patch.sh` | |
| https://github.com/neovim/neovim/blob/master/scripts/vim-patch.sh to see the | |
| status of Vim patches: | |
| >bash | |
| ./scripts/vim-patch.sh -l | |
| < | |
| Everyone is welcome to |dev-vimpatch-pull-requests| for relevant Vim | |
| patches, but some types of patches are |dev-vimpatch-not-applicable|. | |
| See |dev-vimpatch-quickstart| to get started immediately. | |
| Type |gO| to see the table of contents. | |
| ============================================================================== | |
| QUICKSTART *dev-vimpatch-quickstart* | |
| 1. Pull the Nvim source: | |
| >bash | |
| git clone https://github.com/neovim/neovim.git | |
| < | |
| 2. Run `./scripts/vim-patch.sh -l` to see the list of missing Vim patches. | |
| 3. Choose a patch from the list (usually the oldest one), e.g. `8.0.0123`. | |
| - Check for open vim-patch PRs | |
| https://github.com/neovim/neovim/pulls?q=is%3Apr+is%3Aopen+label%3Avim-patch. | |
| 4. Run `./scripts/vim-patch.sh -p 8.0.0123` | |
| 5. Follow the instructions given by the script. | |
| NOTES ~ | |
| - It's strongly recommended to work on the oldest missing patch, because | |
| later patches might depend on the changes. | |
| - Use `git log --grep` or `git log -G` to search the Nvim/Vim source history | |
| (even deleted code). E.g. to find `reset_option_was_set`: >bash | |
| git log -p -G reset_option_was_set | |
| < | |
| - Pass `git log` options like `--grep` and `-G` to `./scripts/vim-patch.sh -L` | |
| to filter unmerged Vim patches E.g. to find `+quickfix` patches: >bash | |
| ./scripts/vim-patch.sh -L --grep quickfix -- src | |
| < | |
| ============================================================================== | |
| PULL REQUESTS *dev-vimpatch-pull-requests* | |
| Note: vim-patch.sh automates these steps for you. Use it! | |
| - Install `gh` (https://cli.github.com/) if you want to use `vim-patch.sh` to | |
| create PRs automatically | |
| - The pull request title should include `vim-patch:8.x.xxxx` (no whitespace) | |
| - The commit message | |
| https://github.com/neovim/neovim/commit/4ccf1125ff569eccfc34abc4ad794044c5ab7455 | |
| should include: | |
| - A token indicating the Vim patch number, formatted as follows: | |
| `vim-patch:8.0.0123` (no whitespace) | |
| - A URL pointing to the Vim commit: | |
| https://github.com/vim/vim/commit/c8020ee825b9d9196b1329c0e097424576fc9b3a | |
| - The original Vim commit message, including author | |
| Reviewers: hint for reviewing `runtime/` patches | |
| https://github.com/neovim/neovim/pull/1744#issuecomment-68202876 | |
| ============================================================================== | |
| NA (NOT APPLICABLE) PATCHES *dev-vimpatch-not-applicable* | |
| Many Vim patches are not applicable to Nvim. If you find NA patches, visit an | |
| open "version.c: update" pull request | |
| https://github.com/neovim/neovim/pulls?q=is%3Apr+author%3Aapp%2Fgithub-actions+version.c+is%3Aopen | |
| and mention the NA patches in a comment (please edit/update one comment, | |
| rather than adding a new comment for each patch). | |
| If there are no open `version.c: update` pull requests, include NA patches in | |
| a commit message in the following format: | |
| > | |
| vim-patch:<version-or-commit> | |
| vim-patch:<version-or-commit> | |
| ... | |
| < | |
| where `<version-or-commit>` is a valid Vim version (like `8.0.0123`) or | |
| commit-id (SHA). Each patch is on a separate line. | |
| It is preferred to include NA patches by squashing it in applicable Vim | |
| patches, especially if the Vim patches are related. First line of the commit | |
| message should be from the applicable Vim patch. | |
| > | |
| ./scripts/vim-patch -p <na-patch> | |
| ./scripts/vim-patch -p <na-patch> | |
| ... | |
| ./scripts/vim-patch -P <patch> | |
| git rebase -i master | |
| < | |
| Example: | |
| https://github.com/neovim/neovim/commit/00f60c2ce78fc1280e93d5a36bc7b2267d5f4ac6 | |
| TYPES OF "NOT APPLICABLE" VIM PATCHES ~ | |
| - Vim9script features, and anything related to `:scriptversion`. (Nvim | |
| supports Vimscript version 1 only.) Be aware that patches labelled `Vim9:` | |
| may still contain applicable fixes to other parts of the codebase, so these | |
| patch need to be checked individually. | |
| - Updates to `testdir/Makefile` are usually NA because the Makefile implicitly | |
| finds | |
| https://github.com/neovim/neovim/commit/8a677f8a4bff6005fa39f090c14e970c3dfdbe6e#diff-b3c6ad6680a25a1b42095879e3a87104R52 | |
| all `test_*.vim` files. | |
| - Compiler warning fixes: Nvim strives to have no warnings at all, and has a | |
| very different build system from Vim. | |
| - Note: Coverity fixes in Vim are relevant to Nvim. | |
| - `*.proto` changes: Nvim autogenerates function prototypes | |
| - `#ifdef` tweaking: For example, Vim decided to enable `FEAT_VISUAL` for all | |
| platforms - but Nvim already does that. Adding new `FEAT_` guards also isn't | |
| relevant to Nvim. | |
| - Legacy system support: Fixes for legacy systems such as Amiga, OS/2 Xenix, | |
| Mac OS 9, Windows older than XP SP2, are not needed because they are not | |
| supported by Nvim. | |
| - NA files: `src/Make_*`, `src/testdir/Make__*` | |
| - `if_*.c` changes: `if_python.c` et. al. were removed. | |
| - `term.c` changes: the Nvim TUI uses `libtermkey` to read terminal sequences; | |
| Vim's `term.c` was removed. | |
| - `job` patches: incompatible API and implementation | |
| - NA files: `src/channel_*`, `src/job_*`, `src/testdir/test_channel_*`, | |
| `src/testdir/test_job_*` | |
| - `:terminal` patches that modify NA files: incompatible API and | |
| implementation | |
| - NA files: `src/terminal_*`, `src/testdir/test_terminal_*` | |
| - `defaults.vim` patches | |
| - Most GUI-related changes: Nvim GUIs are implemented external to the core C | |
| codebase. | |
| - NA files: `src/gui_*`, `src/gvim_*`, `src/GvimExt/*`, `src/testdir/test_gui*` | |
| - `balloon` changes: Nvim does not support balloon feature | |
| - NA files: `src/beval_*`, `src/testdir/test_balloon_*` | |
| - Screendump tests from `test_popupwin.vim`, `test_popupwin_textprop.vim`: | |
| https://github.com/neovim/neovim/pull/12741#issuecomment-704677141 | |
| - json changes: incompatible API https://github.com/neovim/neovim/pull/4131 | |
| - NA files: `src/json*`, `src/testdir/test_json.vim` | |
| - `test_restricted.vim` restricted mode is removed in | |
| https://github.com/neovim/neovim/pull/11996 | |
| - Many tests in `test_prompt_buffer.vim` require incompatible Vim features | |
| such as `channel`; they should still be included, but skipped | |
| - non-runtime documentation: Moved to https://neovim.io/doc/, | |
| - NA files: `Filelist`, `README`, `INSTALL`, | |
| - Anything else might be relevant; err on the side of caution, and post an | |
| issue if you aren't sure. | |
| ============================================================================== | |
| VERSION.C *dev-vimpatch-version.c* | |
| The list of Vim patches in `src/nvim/version.c` is automatically updated | |
| https://github.com/neovim/neovim/pull/7780 based on the presence of | |
| `vim-patch:xxx` tokens in the Nvim git log. | |
| - Don't update `src/nvim/version.c` yourself. | |
| - `scripts/vim-patch.sh -p` intentionally omits `version.c` to avoid merge | |
| conflicts and save time when porting a patch. | |
| - The automation script (`scripts/vimpatch.lua`) only recognizes tokens like | |
| `vim-patch:8.0.1206`, not `vim-patch:<hash>`. | |
| ============================================================================== | |
| CODE DIFFERENCES *dev-vimpatch-code-differences* | |
| The following functions have been removed or deprecated in favor of newer | |
| alternatives. See `memory.c` | |
| https://github.com/neovim/neovim/blob/master/src/nvim/memory.c for more | |
| information. | |
| > | |
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------- | |
| Deprecated or removed Replacement | |
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------- | |
| vim_free xfree | |
| VIM_CLEAR(&foo) XFREE_CLEAR(foo) | |
| malloc alloc lalloc lalloc_id ALLOC_ONE xmalloc | |
| calloc lalloc_clear xcalloc | |
| realloc vim_realloc xrealloc | |
| mch_memmove memmove | |
| vim_memset copy_chars copy_spaces memset | |
| vim_strbyte strchr | |
| vim_strncpy strncpy xstrlcpy/xmemcpyz | |
| vim_strcat strncat xstrlcat | |
| VIM_ISWHITE ascii_iswhite | |
| IS_WHITE_OR_NUL ascii_iswhite_or_nul | |
| IS_WHITE_NL_OR_NUL ascii_iswhite_nl_or_nul | |
| vim_isalpha mb_isalpha | |
| vim_isNormalIDc ascii_isident | |
| vim_islower vim_isupper mb_islower mb_isupper | |
| vim_tolower vim_toupper mb_tolower mb_toupper | |
| mb_ptr2len utfc_ptr2len | |
| mb_ptr2len_len utfc_ptr2len_len | |
| mb_char2len utf_char2len | |
| mb_char2bytes utf_char2bytes | |
| mb_ptr2cells utf_ptr2cells | |
| mb_ptr2cells_len utf_ptr2cells_len | |
| mb_char2cells utf_char2cells | |
| mb_off2cells utf_off2cells | |
| mb_ptr2char utf_ptr2char | |
| mb_head_off utf_head_off | |
| mb_tail_off utf_cp_bounds | |
| mb_strnicmp2 utf_strnicmp | |
| MB_STRNICMP2 utf_strnicmp | |
| mb_lefthalve grid_lefthalve | |
| mb_fix_col grid_fix_col | |
| utf_off2cells grid_off2cells | |
| ml_get_curline get_cursor_line_ptr | |
| ml_get_cursor get_cursor_pos_ptr | |
| ml_get_curline_len get_cursor_line_len | |
| ml_get_cursor_len get_cursor_pos_len | |
| screen_char ui_line | |
| screen_line grid_put_linebuf | |
| screen_* (most functions) grid_* | |
| update_prepare, update_finish #9484 removed; use update_screen only | |
| ARRAY_LENGTH ARRAY_SIZE | |
| vim_strsave_escape_csi vim_strsave_escape_ks | |
| vim_unescape_csi vim_unescape_ks | |
| gettail path_tail | |
| mch_isFullName path_is_absolute | |
| script_do_profile profile_init | |
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------- | |
| < | |
| Make sure to note the difference between `utf_` and `utfc_` when replacing | |
| `mb_` functions. Also indirect call syntax `(*mb_ptr2len)(...)` should be | |
| replaced with an ordinary function call `utfc_ptr2len(...)`. | |
| > | |
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------- | |
| Data type Format (Vim source) Portable format (Nvim source) | |
| ------------ ----------------------- ---------------------------------- | |
| long long "%lld" "%" PRId64 | |
| size_t "%ld" "%zu" | |
| linenr_T "%ld" "%" PRIdLINENR | |
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------- | |
| < | |
| - See also: https://github.com/neovim/neovim/pull/1729#discussion_r22423779 | |
| - Vim's `ga_init2` was renamed to `ga_init` and the original `ga_init` is | |
| gone. | |
| - "Old style" Vim tests (`src/testdir/*.in`) should be converted to Lua tests | |
| (see #1286 https://github.com/neovim/neovim/issues/1286 and #1328 | |
| https://github.com/neovim/neovim/pull/1328). See Checklist for migrating | |
| legacy tests | |
| https://github.com/neovim/neovim/blob/master/test/README.md#checklist-for-migrating-legacy-tests. | |
| - However, please do not convert "new style" Vim tests | |
| (`src/testdir/*.vim`) to Lua. The "new style" Vim tests are faster than | |
| the old ones, and converting them takes time and effort better spent | |
| elsewhere. Just copy them to `test/old/testdir/*.vim`. | |
| - Conditions that check `enc_utf8` or `has_mbyte` are obsolete (only the | |
| "true" case is applicable). | |
| - `enc_utf8` and `has_mbyte` macros were removed in | |
| https://github.com/neovim/neovim/pull/13293 | |
| - Check for `CSI` in typeahead buffer is only necessary in Vim with | |
| `FEAT_GUI`. `CSI` does not have a special meaning in typeahead buffer in | |
| Nvim. (also see https://github.com/neovim/neovim/pull/16936) | |
| ============================================================================== | |
| LIST MANAGEMENT *dev-vimpatch-list-management* | |
| Management of lists (types `list_T` and `listitem_T` from vim) was changed in | |
| https://github.com/neovim/neovim/pull/7708/. There is a lint against the "old" | |
| usage, but here are the most important changes. | |
| Declarations for the table | |
| - `list_T list`: a list | |
| - `listitem_T li`: an item of `list` | |
| - `int val` a value for `lv_copyID` | |
| > | |
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | |
| Old New Comment | |
| ------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------ | |
| list->lv_first tv_list_first(list) | |
| list->lv_last tv_list_last(list) | |
| li->li_next TV_LIST_ITEM_NEXT(list, li) To be avoided if possible, must use list which li belongs to. | |
| li->li_prev TV_LIST_ITEM_PREV(list, li) To be avoided if possible, must use list which li belongs to. | |
| Suggestion by @ZyX-l: Use TV_LIST_ITER or indexing instead of the previous two calls. | |
| list->lv_len tv_list_len(list) | |
| list->lv_lock tv_list_locked(list) | |
| &li->li_tv TV_LIST_ITEM_TV(li) | |
| list->lv_refcount++ tv_list_ref(list) | |
| val = list->lv_copyID val = tv_list_copyid(list) | |
| list->lv_copyID = val tv_list_set_copyid(list, val) | |
| for (li = list->lv_first; TV_LIST_ITER_CONST(list, li, Use TV_LIST_ITER(...) if you need to | |
| li != NULL && another_cond; { if (another_cond) {break;} code}) modify list items (note: assigning copyID is also modification and this happens | |
| li = li->li_next) code always when recursively traversing a list). | |
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | |
| < | |
| For more details and some more advanced usage, see `typval.h` and `typval.c`. | |
| ============================================================================== | |
| DOCUMENTATION DIFFERENCES *dev-vimpatch-documentation* | |
| The following should be removed from all imported documentation, and not be | |
| used in new documentation: | |
| - `{Only when compiled with ...}`: the vast majority of features have been | |
| made non-optional (see https://github.com/neovim/neovim/wiki/Introduction) | |
| ============================================================================== | |
| FILETYPE DETECTION *dev-vimpatch-filetype* | |
| Nvim's filetype detection behavior matches Vim, but is implemented as part of | |
| |vim.filetype| (see `$VIMRUNTIME/lua/vim/filetype.lua`). The logic is encoded in | |
| three tables, listed in order of precedence (the first match is returned): | |
| 1. `filename` for literal full path or basename lookup; | |
| 2. `pattern` for matching filenames or paths against |lua-pattern|s, optimized | |
| for fast lookup; | |
| 3. `extension` for literal extension lookup. | |
| Logic that requires checking file contents or buffer variables is implemented | |
| in `$VIMRUNTIME/lua/vim/filetype/detect.lua`. | |
| When porting filetype patches from Vim, keep the following in mind: | |
| Prefer explicit filenames or extensions over patterns, especially for case | |
| insensitive matches (see https://github.com/neovim/neovim/pull/29800): > | |
| "*[mM]akefile" regex -> "makefile", "Makefile" filenames | |
| "*.js\c" regex -> "js", "jS", "Js", "jS" extensions | |
| Pattern matching has several differences: | |
| - It is done using explicit Lua patterns without implicit anchoring instead | |
| of Vim regexes: > | |
| "*/debian/changelog" -> "/debian/changelog$" | |
| "*/bind/db.*" -> "/bind/db%." | |
| < | |
| - Filetype patterns are grouped by their parent pattern to improve matching | |
| performance: If the parent pattern does not match, skip testing all child | |
| patterns. Note that unlike leaf patterns, parent patterns do not have | |
| special matching behaviour if they contain a `/`. | |
| When adding a new filetype with pattern matching, consider the following: | |
| - If there is already a group with appropriate parent pattern, use it. | |
| - If there can be a fast and specific enough pattern to group at least 3 | |
| filetype patterns, add it as a separate grouped entry. | |
| New parent patterns should be | |
| - fast: rule of thumb is that it should be a short explicit string | |
| (i.e. no quantifiers or character sets); | |
| - specific: rules of thumb, in order: | |
| - full directory name (e.g., `"/etc/"`, `"/log/"`); | |
| - part of a rare enough directory name (e.g., `"/conf"`, `"git/"`); | |
| - string rarely used in real full paths (e.g., `"nginx"`). | |
| Example: | |
| - Filetype pattern: `".*/etc/a2ps/.*%.cfg"` | |
| - Good parents: `"/etc/"` or `"%.cfg$"` | |
| - Bad parents: `"%."` (fast but not specific) or `"/a2ps/.*%."` (specific | |
| but slow) | |
| When modifying an existing regular pattern, make sure that it still fits its | |
| group. | |
| vim:tw=78:ts=8:noet:ft=help:norl: | |