variable search and replace in vim

Question

I have a list of items that I want to add a method call to. An example is easiest. Here's what I have now:

 assists: 12,
 level: 14,
 deaths: 5,
 ...

I want to change that list to look like this:

 assists: build_average(:assists),
 level: build_average(:level),
 deaths: build_average(:deaths),
 ...

Is it possible to add that method call to the end of every line with the name of the key as the argument with a neat Vim expression?

It is possible - record a macro for the first line, and then apply it to the rest of the lines. — Kenney
– Kenney, Commented Sep 17, 2015 at 12:39
i'm working on the macro solution that @Kenney suggested now :) I am a novice in vim, I admit, so I'm afraid I didn't know where to start — dax
– dax, Commented Sep 17, 2015 at 12:47
Regex would be best but vim regexes are often not standard.. My vim keystrokes are (starting at the first line): qq0yypk/:ENTERd$abuild_average(ESCJ/ENTERld$a),ESCj2q — Kenney
– Kenney, Commented Sep 17, 2015 at 12:53
@Kenney: You should put that into an answer. It is also a valid (and more intuitive, in my opinion) solution. — Sven Koschnicke
– Sven Koschnicke, Commented Sep 17, 2015 at 12:59

Sven Koschnicke · Accepted Answer · 2015-09-17 13:22:40Z

5

More of a regular expression:

:%s/\(\w\+\):.\+/\1: build_average(:\1),/

Note that this applies to all lines in your file. To only replace in a region, select the region (using V) and then use :s (which results in :<,>s/...).

Using more complex regular expressions in VIM can be tricky, because metacharacters are different from "normal" regular expression syntax (you need to write \+ instead of +, but can use . without escaping it, for example). I found this guide very handy to refer to the special VIM-syntax of regular expressions: http://vimregex.com/#pattern

edited Sep 17, 2015 at 13:22

answered Sep 17, 2015 at 12:41

Sven Koschnicke

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3 Comments

Kenney Over a year ago

I get a E486: pattern not found: $\w+$:.+

Sven Koschnicke Over a year ago

Sorry, always getting the escaping wrong. I fixed it in the answer. Thanks for pointing out!

dax Over a year ago

hi Sven, that's working for me as well as Kenney's macro, thanks for the help :)

Kenney · Accepted Answer · 2015-09-17 13:09:42Z

4

Alternatively you can record a macro:

q                   // record macro
q                   // assign it to letter 'q'
0                   // go to start of line
/:<ENTER>           // search for ':'
l                   // move cursor 1 position to the right
d$                  // delete to end of line (line is now 'assists:')
yyp                 // duplicate current line (cursor moves 1 line down)
k                   // move cursor up
A build_average(    // append " build_average("
<ESC>               // exit edit mode
J                   // join next line
A ),                // append " ),"
<ESC>               // exit edit mode
j                   // move 1 line down
q                   // stop recording macro
2@q                 // execute macro 'q' 2 times

answered Sep 17, 2015 at 13:09

Kenney

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6 Comments

dax Over a year ago

kenney, you responded first and this is a really nice answer, so i'll give the check to you - Sven your answer is also very helpful, so thanks to you both

Sven Koschnicke Over a year ago

Here is a shorter one: 0wyw/:ENTERllvt,pa)ESCbibuild_average(:ESCj ;)

Kenney Over a year ago

:) Or this: 0vw"aywwcwbuild_average()<ESC>h"apj

Ben Over a year ago

I'd use f: instead of /:<Enter> myself :-)

Sven Koschnicke Over a year ago

I had hoped that my comment would provoke this kind of responses. :)

|

Sato Katsura · Accepted Answer · 2015-09-18 07:19:25Z

2

More regexp gymnastics:

:%s/\v(\w+):\s+\zs.*\ze,/build_average(:\1)/

Decrypting it:

:help \v
:help \w
:help \s
:help \zs
:help \ze
:help \1

answered Sep 18, 2015 at 7:19

Sato Katsura

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