VIM: usr_46

## USR_46

    *usr_46.txt*	For Vim version 8.2.  Last change: 2020 Jun 14

    		     VIM USER MANUAL - by Bram Moolenaar

    		       Write plugins using Vim9 script

    The Vim9 script language is used for writing plugins, especially larger ones
    that use multiple files.  This chapter explains how to split up a plugin into
    modules, import and export items and keep the rest local.

    |46.1|	Introduction
    |46.2|	Variable declarations
    |46.3|	Functions and types
    |46.?|	Using a Vim9 script from legacy script

         Next chapter: |usr_90|  Installing Vim
     Previous chapter: |usr_45|  Select your language (locale)
    Table of contents: |usr_toc|

    *46.1*	Introduction				*vim9-script-intro*

    Vim9 script was designed to make it easier to write large Vim scripts.  It
    looks more like other script languages, especially Typescript.  Also,
    functions are compiled into instructions that can be executed quickly.  This
    makes Vim9 script a lot faster, up to a 100 times.

    The basic idea is that a script file has items that are private, only used
    inside the script file, and items that are exported, used outside of the
    script file.  The exported items can then be used by scripts that import them.
    That makes very clear what is defined where.

    Let's start with an example, a script that exports one function and has one
    private function:

    	vim9script  " This indicates a Vim9 script file.

    	export def GetMessage(): string
    	   let result = ''
    	   ...
    	   result = GetPart(count)
    	   ...
    	   return result
    	enddef

    	def GetPart(nr: number): string
    	  if nr == 4
    	     return 'yes'
    	  else
    	     return 'no'
    	  endif
    	enddef

    The `vim9script` command must be the very first command in the file.  Without
    it Vim will assume legacy script syntax.

    The `export def GetMessage(): string` line starts with `export`, meaning that
    this function can be imported and called by other scripts. The line
    `def GetPart(...` does not start with `export`, this is a script-local
    function, it can only be used inside this script file.

    In the `export def GetMessage(): string` line you will notice the colon and
    the return type.  Vim9 functions, defined with `def`, require specifying the
    type of arguments and the return type.  That way Vim can compile the code
    efficiently.  The GetPart function defines an argument "nr" of type "number".

    Notice that the assignment `result = GetPart(count)` does not use the `let`
    command.  That is explained in the next section.

    *46.2*	Variable declarations				*vim9-declarations*

    In Vim9 script variables are declared once with a `:let` or `:const` command.
    Assigning a value is done without `:let` and it is not possible to `:unlet`
    the variable.

    In most cases you will want to declare the variable and initialize it at the
    same time:
    	let myText = 'some text'
    	...
    	myText = 'other text'

    The type of the variable will be inferred from the expression.  In this case
    it is a string.  If you initialize with a number, then the type is number:
    	let myNumber = 1234
    	...
    	myNumber = 0

    If you try to assign a string to this variable, you will get an error:
    	let myNumber = 'this fails!'

    In the rare case you want a variable that can take values of any type, you
    have to specify the type:
    	let myVar: any = 1234
    	myVar = 'text also works'

    You can also declare a variable without assigning a value.  In that case Vim
    will initialize it to zero or empty:
    	let word: string
    	if condition
    	  word = 'yes'
    	else
    	  word = 'no'
    	endif

    Although it's shorter to do:
    	let word = condition ? 'yes' : 'no'

    *46.3*	Functions and types

    Legacy Vim script does have type checking, but this happens at runtime, when
    the code is executed.  And it's permissive, often a computation gives an
    unexpected value instead of reporting an error.  Thus you can define a
    function and think it's fine, but see a problem only later when it is called:
    	let s:collected = ''
    	func ExtendAndReturn(add)
    	   let s:collected += a:add
    	   return s:collected
    	endfunc

    Can you spot the error?  Try this:
    	echo ExtendAndReturn('text')
    And you'll see zero.  Why?  Because in legacy Vim script "+=" will convert the
    arguments to numbers, and any string without a number results in zero!

    With `:def` the type checking happens when compiling the function.  For that
    you need to specify the argument types and the return type.  Also notice that
    the argument is used without the "a:" prefix:
    	let s:collected = ''
    	def ExtendAndReturn(add: string): string
    	   s:collected += add
    	   return s:collected
    	enddef
    	defcompile

    Here we use `:defcompile` to do the compilation right away, without it the
    compilation would happen when the function is called.  Vim will tell you what
    you did wrong:
    	E1013: type mismatch, expected number but got string

    Vim9 script is strict, it uses the "+" operator only for numbers and floats.
    For string concatenation ".." must be used.  This avoids mistakes and avoids
    the automatic conversion that gave a surprising result above.  So you change
    the first line of the function to:
    	   s:collected ..= add
    And now it works.

    If the function does not return anything, just leave out the return type:
    	def ReportResult(result: string)
    	   echo 'The result is: ' .. result
    	enddef

    This is also checked, if you try to return a value you'll get an error.

    In case you don't care about types or have a function that does work with
    multiple types, you can use the "any" type:
    	def Store(key: string, value: any)
    	  resultDict[key] = value
    	enddef

    *46.?*	Using a Vim9 script from legacy script		*source-vim9-script*

    In some cases you have a legacy Vim script where you want to use items from a
    Vim9 script.  For example in your .vimrc you want to initialize a plugin.  The
    best way to do this is to use `:import`.  For example:

    	import Init as NiceInit from 'myNicePlugin.vim'
    	call NiceInit('today')

    This finds the exported function "Init" in the Vim9 script file and makes it
    available as script-local item "NiceInit". `:import` always uses the script
    namespace, even when "s:" is not given.  If "myNicePlugin.vim" was already
    sourced it is not sourced again.

    Besides avoiding putting any items in the global namespace (where name clashes
    can cause unexpected errors), this also means the script is sourced only once,
    no matter how many times items from it are imported.

    In some cases, e.g. for testing, you may just want to source the Vim9 script.
    That is OK, but then only global items will be available.  The Vim9 script
    will have to make sure to use a unique name for these global items. Example:
    	source ~/.vim/extra/myNicePlugin.vim
    	call g:NicePluginTest()

    Next chapter: |usr_90|  Installing Vim

    Copyright: see |manual-copyright|  vim:tw=78:ts=8:noet:ft=help:norl:

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