function for editing command line in ext editor #3627

krader1961 · 2016-12-07T03:46:41Z

This implements a standard function and bindings for editing the command
line in an external editor. This feature has been requested multiple
times in the past year with various solutions cut and pasted into those
issues. This change combines the best aspects of those solutions.

Fixes #1215

zanchey · 2016-12-07T03:55:28Z

doc_src/index.hdr.in

@@ -991,15 +991,19 @@ Some bindings are shared between emacs- and vi-mode because they aren't text edi

 - @key{Control,X} copies the current buffer to the system's clipboard, @key{Control,V} inserts the clipboard contents.

- @key{Alt,D} moves the next word to the <a href="#killring">killring</a>.
+- @key{Alt,d} moves the next word to the <a href="#killring">killring</a>.


Might be worth splitting these other minor changes into a separate commit?

zanchey · 2016-12-07T04:29:58Z

doc_src/index.hdr.in

- @key{Alt,W} prints a short description of the command under the cursor.
+- @key{Alt,w} prints a short description of the command under the cursor.
+
+- @key{Alt,e} Edit the current command line in an external editor defined by the `$EDITOR` env var, else vim if it is in `$PATH`, else emacs if it is in `$PATH`, else an error is displayed.


Suggest: @key{Alt,e} edit [lowercase] the current command line in an external editor. The editor is chosen from the first available of the $EDITORvariable, the$VISUALvariable [if we also add this], or thevimoremacs` commands.

zanchey · 2016-12-07T04:51:53Z

share/functions/edit_command_buffer.fish

+
+    # Edit the command line with the users preferred editor or vim or emacs.
+    commandline -b >$f
+    if set -q EDITOR


Probably worth checking $VISUAL here as well? I know it is old school and most people have both set, but there's probably a few people who will be tripped up by it.

It seems like people who know about both env vars are likely to set EDITOR to something that will work within a terminal and VISUAL to something (e.g., gvim) that will launch a GUI editor in the background. The latter isn't compatible with this function.

OK, sounds good.

I get the feeling that we will get a PR adding it anyway. See #2268 doing that for funced.

Wasn't $VISUAL historically "an editor that displays the text while you are editing it", i.e. not an ed-like?

zanchey · 2016-12-07T04:53:30Z

share/functions/edit_command_buffer.fish

+        emacs $f
+    else
+        echo
+        echo (_ 'Sorry, but you did not define $EDITOR and I could not find vim or emacs.')


In general, I think we should be trying for non-first-person error messages.

How about: "External editor requested but $EDITOR / $VISUAL not set, vim or emacs not available."
"Try setting the EDITOR variable to a text editor, or installing vim or emacs."

This implements a standard function and bindings for editing the command line in an external editor. This feature has been requested multiple times in the past year with various solutions cut and pasted into those issues. This change combines the best aspects of those solutions. Fixes #1215

faho · 2016-12-07T10:36:04Z

share/functions/edit_command_buffer.fish

+function edit_command_buffer --description 'Edit the command buffer in an external editor'
+    set -l f (mktemp)
+    if set -q f[1]
+        mv $f $f.fish


I think you know that this is racy. Though it seems a rather theoretical criticism since this function won't be executed in a tight loop by multiple shells at the same time.

Any fix to this would require either an alternative to mktemp or a mktemp that accepts a suffix, which is unlikely to be available on BSD or macOS.

In psub, we use mktemp -d and then add a file with a suffix.

Even if this were executed in a tight loop it is so improbable there would be collision that it can be safely ignored. It's comparable to getting two commits in the fish project with the same leading eight digits of the commit hash.

faho · 2016-12-07T10:40:30Z

share/functions/edit_command_buffer.fish

+        # Set the command to the output of the edited command and move the cursor to the
+        # end of the edited command.
+        commandline -r (cat $f)
+        commandline -C 999999


We should really have a nicer way to set the cursor to the end, and commandline should probably also accept stdin.

We should really have a nicer way to set the cursor to the end,

-1 perhaps?

@flaom, Perhaps you should open a new issue, and take ownership of it, rather than commenting on a closed PR where your proposal has zero chance of being implemented?

faho · 2016-12-07T10:42:27Z

share/functions/edit_command_buffer.fish

+    else if command -s vim >/dev/null
+        vim $f
+    else if command -s emacs >/dev/null
+        emacs $f


Maybe nano and vi as well? That should be enough for 99.9% of all systems.

Also, since 121109e, we have command -sq, so this could just be command -sq emacs.

Actually, I'm going to add the check for $VISUAL and remove the hardcoded checks for vim and emacs. I've decided that dropping the user into what they might perceive as a randomly chosen editor is a bad idea.

faho · 2016-12-07T10:43:06Z

share/functions/edit_command_buffer.fish

+        return 1
+    end
+
+    if test $status -eq 0 -a -s $f


Maybe comment that this "$status" is the status of the editor, so we need to be careful not to break that pattern here.

faho · 2016-12-07T10:48:27Z

share/functions/edit_command_buffer.fish

+
+    # Edit the command line with the users preferred editor or vim or emacs.
+    commandline -b >$f
+    if set -q EDITOR


I get the feeling that we will get a PR adding it anyway. See #2268 doing that for funced.

Wasn't $VISUAL historically "an editor that displays the text while you are editing it", i.e. not an ed-like?

krader1961 · 2016-12-09T03:18:31Z

Closed by merge of commit 59fa04b.

GaryFurash · 2017-11-21T22:29:17Z

was this ever implemented?

xieyuheng · 2017-11-22T15:48:18Z

how to disable this feature ?

xieyuheng · 2017-11-22T15:50:56Z

how to disable default alt-v alt-e keybinding ?

faho · 2017-11-23T09:59:32Z

@xieyuheng: The same you'd disable any other binding - by either overwriting it with something else, or erasing it.

Add this to a function called fish_user_key_bindings:

bind -e \ee
bind -e \ev

However I'm not sure why you'd want this? Do you have an issue with it? Do you just press these keys accidentally?

xieyuheng · 2017-11-23T10:37:57Z

thanks @faho
I do not need this feature,
because I can open an emacsclient window by a keybinding (Alt-shift-x),
and edit commend there.

and I also often accidentally press Alt-v.

zanchey reviewed Dec 7, 2016

View reviewed changes

Kurtis Rader added 2 commits December 6, 2016 21:08

tweaks per feedback to the PR

c48bfd9

faho reviewed Dec 7, 2016

View reviewed changes

incorporate PR feedback

49d6ea1

krader1961 closed this Dec 9, 2016

krader1961 added the enhancement label Dec 9, 2016

krader1961 added this to the fish 2.5.0 milestone Dec 9, 2016

krader1961 deleted the commandline-edit branch December 9, 2016 04:03

faho mentioned this pull request Dec 9, 2016

{beginning,end}-of-buffer functions need to be documented, used #3632

Closed

This was referenced Sep 19, 2018

support editing the command line with an external editor #1215

Closed

Enable fish to call $EDITOR on command line #2027

Closed

github-actions bot locked as resolved and limited conversation to collaborators Apr 17, 2020

function for editing command line in ext editor #3627

function for editing command line in ext editor #3627

krader1961 commented Dec 7, 2016

zanchey Dec 7, 2016

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krader1961 commented Dec 9, 2016

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xieyuheng commented Nov 22, 2017

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faho commented Nov 23, 2017

xieyuheng commented Nov 23, 2017

function for editing command line in ext editor #3627

function for editing command line in ext editor #3627

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krader1961 commented Dec 7, 2016

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krader1961 commented Dec 9, 2016

GaryFurash commented Nov 21, 2017

xieyuheng commented Nov 22, 2017

xieyuheng commented Nov 22, 2017

faho commented Nov 23, 2017

xieyuheng commented Nov 23, 2017