Re: [Vim-latex-devel] Completion of Tcommands

[Luc H. <her...@fr...>]

Hello,

* On Sun, Jul 13, 2003 at 11:36:28PM -0700, Srinath Avadhanula <sr...@fa...> wrote:
> > My idea is that TTemplate, TMacros, ... would invoke the same
> > function but with different built-in parameters.
> >
> As of now, the templates, custom macros and IMAP() functions in
> latex-suite are all handled by a central
> IMAP_PutTextWithMovement() function with differing arguments and
> wrapper functions (for example, TTemplate provides a prompt for the
> template files etc). So we do not really repeat any work. The jump
> function and marker functionality is all in plugin/imaps.vim.

OK.
But the expansion of "!com!...!com!" and "!exe!...!exe!", ...
are unique to templates, if I am correct. Feature which would be very
interresting to have with macros/packages/...

<adv.>

> Also, one sufficiently important implementation issue in the IMAP()
> function is that you do not have to bind all expansions to non-keyword
> characters like <C-r><space> or <C-r><tab> etc. Most expansions in
> latex-suite are for example triggered just as :imaps work except for
> being able to correct, no timeout etc. Basically, only the last
> character of the first argument of an IMAP() is actually :map'ped to a
> LookupCharacter() function. A reverse lookup over previously typed
> characters is made whenever such a character is encountered and if
> there is a possible completion, it is used... This enables you to have
> 2-key mappings like `8 -> \infty which would have been pretty annoying
> to use if we had to type 8<C-r><tab> each time...

That is not really an issue, µTemplate is easy to enhance with
something like (syntax not tested):
    function s:BindTemplate(file)
        let the_map = fnamemodify(a:file, ":e")
        call IMAP_smart_bind(s:the_leader.the_map, 
             \ "\<c-o>:MuTemplate tex/".the_map)
        " IMAP_smart_bind() beeing the core of the IMAP_... functions.
    endfunction
    command! BindTemplate :call s:BindTemplate("<args>")
    SearchInRuntime! :BindTemplate template/tex/template.*

As a result, if you type "`figure", it will get expanded with the right
template-file -- it is also possible to automatically build more
complex/specific keybindings than this simplistic one.

But, it is already (at this time) possible to use it a stubs-expander
that expands on back-quotes (like Dr Chip Campbell's stubs-expander) --
by just mapping the expansion to "`" instead of "<c-r><tab>", ...
    => :imap <buffer> ` <Plug>MuT_cword
(if you'd rather use <F5> ... it is easy to adapt ... ; for personal
reasons, I've chosen <c-r><tab>)

Which is IMHO more interresting than "`figure" because "f`", "fi`",
..."figure`"  also work -- and if several choices are available ... they
will be proposed to the end-user.

[Little remark: the back-quote is not a French-friendly character as it
is hard-binded to <altgr-7>. French keyboards are definitively
CS-unfriendly :(
]

</adv.>

But that was not my initial point.
My main point is: wouldn't it be more interresting to 
- concentrate on building a really powerfull templates-expander,
- and wrap its calls into functions/commands/menus for
  macros/templates/packages.

BTW, i fixed some little problems from the original µTemplate plugin ;
even one (and a half) i personnaly introduced (two :<range>substitute
calls for "compute" and "execute" was a awkward! ; several "execute"
commands have no reasons to be on a same line.)

<adv.>
Last parenthesis.  The only things you may consider as a lack in my
current version on µTemplate:
- a little patch is still to be applied regarding non-latin1 issues
- placeholders are not converted by the plugin, but instead inserted
  through a call to a dedicated function.
- the filenames of the templates are quite heavy
  ({rtp}/template/template.{the_real_name})
</adv.>

______________

> BTW, very recently I started to have to compile some files multiple
> times and therefore quickly felt the need for a function like
> TKMakeDVI in tex-tools.vim (part of your latex ftplugin package). I
> looked at it and have been extracting parts of it to use in
> latex-suite. 

Feel free to do so !

> I wish to borrow the basic logic of the multiple compilations, but I
> wish to implement various things like TKFilesDiffer() differently to
> make it cross-platform without a lot of platform detection logic... 

This function was definitivelly an headache ! I made minor modifications
on Tomer Kol's initial function, but still it is not perfect :-(

> I have a very rough (and incomplete) draft of this on a non-MAIN
> branch in the vim-latex cvs tree. 


> Another implementation issue is that I have a parallel python
> implementation of the same thing and the script should automatically
> detect python and use the python function instead so all the things
> like filediff's etc can be handled via python much more cleanly than
> in viml.

Sounds like a good idea!

> http://cvs.sourceforge.net/cgi-bin/viewcvs.cgi/vim-latex/vimfiles/ftplugin/tex/Attic/latexm.vim?rev=1.1.2.3&only_with_tag=latex-multi-compile&content-type=text/vnd.viewcvs-markup

After a quick check:
- [adv.] I have dedicated a plugin to portability issues. For instance
  it defines a function SysCat() that returns the name of the external
  program to use according to the current system -- and the path to the
  parameter-files is correctly converted!
  -> system_utils.vim
- Why 
    exec 'silent! 0r! '.g:Tex_CatCmd.' '.a:filename
  and not just:
    if fileexists(a:filename)
      exec 'silent! 0r '.a:filename
    endif
  ?
  It would reduce the problems we can experience because of external
  programs -- another source of headaches.
- Why 
    if search(a:regexp, 'w')
      let retVal = 1
    else
      let retVal = 0
    endif
  instead of:
      let reVal = search(a:regexp, 'w') > 0
  ?
  I'm a militant for the direct use of boolean expressions whenever we
  have "if expression then a=true else a=false endif" :)

_________

Otherwise, I would have a request (partly implemented in my ftplugin).
I'd like to have the choice of the way used to define the main TeX
document between:
- using a [bg]:dedicated_variable_for_this (whatever the final name is)
- or using mainfile.{theproject} (or another name i don't remember) as
  you originally planned
- or using a Makefile (if the right conditions are fulfilled)
- or using the name of the current buffer. 
  

-- 
Luc Hermitte
http://hermitte.free.fr/vim/