fireplace.vim: Clojure REPL support

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Tim Pope 53c8e0408b Make the previous two commits actually work		2012-12-15 15:36:50 -05:00
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README.markdown

foreplay.vim

There's a REPL in foreplay, but you probably wouldn't have noticed if I hadn't told you. Such is the way with foreplay.vim. By the way, this plugin is for Clojure.

Installation

Foreplay.vim doesn't provide indenting or syntax highlighting, so you'll want a set of Clojure runtime files.

If you don't have a preferred installation method, I recommend installing pathogen.vim, and then simply copy and paste:

cd ~/.vim/bundle
git clone git://github.com/tpope/vim-foreplay.git
git clone git://github.com/guns/vim-clojure-static.git

Once help tags have been generated, you can view the manual with :help foreplay.

Features

This list isn't exhaustive; see the :help for details. Any snark resembling actual plugins is purely coincidental.

Transparent setup

Foreplay.vim talks to nREPL. With Leiningen 2, it connects automatically based on target/repl-port, otherwise it's just a :Connect away. You can connect to multiple instances of nREPL for different projects, and it will use the right one automatically.

You don't need a custom built nailgun client. You don't need a lein plugin. You don't need to run some specialized server in a separate terminal, then kill and restart it each time you switch projects because the port is hard coded.

Oh, and if you don't have an nREPL connection, it falls back to using java clojure.main, using a class path based on your Leiningen or Maven config. It's a bit slow, but a two second delay its vastly preferable to being forced out of my flow for a single command, in my book.

Not quite a REPL

You know that one plugin that provides a REPL in a split window and works absolutely flawlessly, never breaking just because you did something innocuous like backspace through part of the prompt? No? Such a shame, you really would have liked it.

I've taken a different approach in foreplay.vim. cq (Think "Clojure Quasi-REPL") is the prefix for a set of commands that bring up a command-line window — the same thing you get when you hit q: — but set up for Clojure code.

cqq prepopulates the command-line window with the expression under the cursor. cqc gives you a blank line in insert mode.

Evaluating from the buffer

Standard stuff here. :Eval evaluates a range (:%Eval gets the whole file), :Require requires a namespace with :reload (:Require! does :reload-all), either the current buffer or a given argument. There's a cp operator that evaluates a given motion (cpp for the expression under the cursor).

Navigating and Comprehending

I'm new to Clojure, so stuff that helps me understand code is a top priority.

:Source, :Doc, :FindDoc, and :Apropros, which map to the underlying clojure.repl macro (with tab complete, of course).
K is mapped to look up the symbol under the cursor with doc.
[d is mapped to look up the symbol under the cursor with source.
[<C-D> jumps to the definition of a symbol (even if it's inside a jar file).
gf, everybody's favorite "go to file" command, works on namespaces.

Where possible, I favor enhancing built-ins over inventing a bunch of <Leader> maps.

Omnicomplete

Because why not? It works in the quasi-REPL too.

FAQ

Why does it take so long for Vim to startup?

The short answer is because the JVM is slow.

The first time you load a Clojure file from any given project, foreplay.vim sets about trying to determine your class path, leveraging either lein classpath or mvn dependency:build-classpath. This takes a couple of seconds or so in the best case scenario, and potentially much longer if it decides to hit the network. (I don't understand why "tell me the class path" requires hitting the network, but what do I know?)

Because the class path is oh-so-expensive to retrieve, foreplay.vim caches it in g:CLASSPATH_CACHE. By default, this disappears when you exit Vim, but you can save it across sessions in .viminfo with this handy option:

set viminfo+=!

The cache is expired when the timestamp on project.clj or pom.xml changes.

Contributing

More than any other plugin, I'm in over my head here. I tried to do my homework, but you don't learn best practices overnight. Please, open GitHub issues for bug reports and feature requests. Even better than a feature request is just to tell me the pain you're experiencing, and perhaps some ideas for what might eliminate it. I know Vimscript; you know Clojure. Let's synergize.

I'm a stickler for commit messages, so if you send me a pull request with so much as superfluous period in the subject line, I will reject it, then TP your house.

Self-Promotion

Like foreplay.vim? Follow the repository on GitHub. And if you're feeling especially charitable, follow tpope on Twitter and GitHub.