Mercurial > vim
diff runtime/doc/netbeans.txt @ 1620:73fe8baea242
updated for version 7.2a
| author | vimboss |
|---|---|
| date | Tue, 24 Jun 2008 21:16:56 +0000 |
| parents | 5bed56fce2b5 |
| children | 0b796e045c42 |
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--- a/runtime/doc/netbeans.txt +++ b/runtime/doc/netbeans.txt @@ -1,23 +1,28 @@ -*netbeans.txt* For Vim version 7.1. Last change: 2006 Nov 14 +*netbeans.txt* For Vim version 7.2a. Last change: 2008 Jun 22 - VIM REFERENCE MANUAL by Gordon Prieur + VIM REFERENCE MANUAL by Gordon Prieur et al. -NetBeans ExternalEditor Integration Features *netbeans* - *netbeans-support* + *socket-interface* *netbeans* *netbeans-support* + +Vim NetBeans Protocol: a socket interface for Vim integration into an IDE. + 1. Introduction |netbeans-intro| -2. NetBeans Key Bindings |netbeans-keybindings| +2. Integration features |netbeans-integration| 3. Configuring Vim for NetBeans |netbeans-configure| -4. Downloading NetBeans |netbeans-download| -5. Preparing NetBeans for Vim |netbeans-preparation| -6. Obtaining the External Editor Module |obtaining-exted| -7. Setting up NetBeans to run with Vim |netbeans-setup| -8. Messages |netbeans-messages| -9. Running Vim from NetBeans |netbeans-run| -10. NetBeans protocol |netbeans-protocol| -11. NetBeans commands |netbeans-commands| -12. Known problems |netbeans-problems| +4. Error Messages |netbeans-messages| +5. Running Vim in NetBeans mode |netbeans-run| +6. NetBeans protocol |netbeans-protocol| +7. NetBeans key |netbeans-key| +8. Known problems |netbeans-problems| +9. Debugging NetBeans protocol |netbeans-debugging| +10. NetBeans External Editor + 10.1. Downloading NetBeans |netbeans-download| + 10.2. NetBeans Key Bindings |netbeans-keybindings| + 10.3. Preparing NetBeans for Vim |netbeans-preparation| + 10.4. Obtaining the External Editor Module |obtaining-exted| + 10.5. Setting up NetBeans to run with Vim |netbeans-setup| {Vi does not have any of these features} {only available when compiled with the |+netbeans_intg| feature} @@ -25,13 +30,47 @@ 12. Known problems |netbeans-problems ============================================================================== 1. Introduction *netbeans-intro* +The NetBeans interface was initially developed to integrate Vim into the +NetBeans Java IDE, using the external editor plugin. This NetBeans plugin no +longer exists for recent versions of NetBeans but the protocol was developed +in such a way that any IDE can use it to integrate Vim. + +The NetBeans protocol of Vim is a text based communication protocol, over a +classical TCP socket. There is no dependency on Java or NetBeans. Any language +or environment providing a socket interface can control Vim using this +protocol. There are existing implementations in C, C++, Python and Java. The +name NetBeans is kept today for historical reasons. + +Current projects using the NetBeans protocol of Vim are: +- VimIntegration, description of various projects doing Vim Integration: + http://www.freehackers.org/VimIntegration +- Agide, an IDE for the AAP project, written in Python: + http://www.a-a-p.org +- Clewn, a gdb integration into Vim, written in C: + http://clewn.sourceforge.net/ +- VimPlugin, integration of Vim inside Eclipse: + http://vimplugin.sourceforge.net/wiki/pmwiki.php +- PIDA, IDE written in Python integrating Vim: + http://pida.co.uk/ +- VimWrapper, library to easy Vim integration into IDE: + http://www.freehackers.org/VimWrapper + +Check the specific project pages to see how to use Vim with these projects. + +In the rest of this help page, we will use the term "Vim Controller" to +describe the program controlling Vim through the NetBeans socket interface. + + +About the NetBeans IDE ~ + NetBeans is an open source Integrated Development Environment developed jointly by Sun Microsystems, Inc. and the netbeans.org developer community. Initially just a Java IDE, NetBeans has had C, C++, and Fortran support added in recent releases. -For more information visit the main NetBeans web site http://www.netbeans.org -or the NetBeans External Editor site at http://externaleditor.netbeans.org. +For more information visit the main NetBeans web site http://www.netbeans.org. +The External Editor is now, unfortunately, declared Obsolte. See + http://externaleditor.netbeans.org. Sun Microsystems, Inc. also ships NetBeans under the name Sun ONE Studio. Visit http://www.sun.com for more information regarding the Sun ONE Studio @@ -41,37 +80,32 @@ Current releases of NetBeans provide ful for C, C++, and Fortran. Current releases of Sun ONE Studio provide full support for Java, C, C++, and Fortran. -The interface to NetBeans is also supported by Agide, the A-A-P GUI IDE. -Agide is very different from NetBeans: -- Based on Python instead of Java, much smaller footprint and fast startup. -- Agide is a framework in which many different tools can work together. -See the A-A-P website for information: http://www.A-A-P.org. - ============================================================================== -2. NetBeans Key Bindings *netbeans-keybindings* +2. Integration features *netbeans-integration* -Vim understands a number of key bindings that execute NetBeans commands. -These are typically all the Function key combinations. To execute a NetBeans -command, the user must press the Pause key followed by a NetBeans key binding. -For example, in order to compile a Java file, the NetBeans key binding is -"F9". So, while in vim, press "Pause F9" to compile a java file. To toggle a -breakpoint at the current line, press "Pause Shift F8". +The NetBeans socket interface of Vim allows to get information from Vim or to +ask Vim to perform specific actions: +- get information about buffer: buffer name, cursor position, buffer content, + etc. +- be notified when buffers are open or closed +- be notified of how the buffer content is modified +- load and save files +- modify the buffer content +- installing special key bindings +- raise the window, control the window geometry -The Pause key is Function key 21. If you don't have a working Pause key and -want to use F8 instead, use: > +For sending key strokes to Vim or for evaluating functions in Vim, you must +use the |clientserver| interface. - :map <F8> <F21> - -The External Editor module dynamically reads the NetBeans key bindings so vim -should always have the latest key bindings, even when NetBeans changes them. ============================================================================== 3. Configuring Vim for NetBeans *netbeans-configure* -For more help installing vim, please read |usr_90.txt| in the Vim User Manual. +For more help installing Vim, please read |usr_90.txt| in the Vim User Manual. -On Unix +On Unix: +-------- When running configure without arguments the NetBeans interface should be included. That is, if the configure check to find out if your system supports @@ -80,15 +114,16 @@ the required features succeeds. In case you do not want the NetBeans interface you can disable it by uncommenting a line with "--disable-netbeans" in the Makefile. -Currently, only gvim is supported in this integration as NetBeans does not -have means to supply a terminal emulator for the vim command. Furthermore, +Currently, only GVim is supported in this integration as NetBeans does not +have means to supply a terminal emulator for the Vim command. Furthermore, there is only GUI support for GTK, GNOME, and Motif. If Motif support is required the user must supply XPM libraries. See |workshop-xpm| for details on obtaining the latest version of XPM. -On MS-Windows +On MS-Windows: +-------------- The Win32 support is now in beta stage. @@ -96,121 +131,56 @@ To use XPM signs on Win32 (e.g. when usi XPM by yourself or use precompiled libraries from http://iamphet.nm.ru/misc/ (for MS Visual C++) or http://gnuwin32.sourceforge.net (for MinGW). -============================================================================== -4. Downloading NetBeans *netbeans-download* - -The NetBeans IDE is available for download from netbeans.org. You can download -a released version, download sources, or use CVS to download the current -source tree. If you choose to download sources, follow directions from -netbeans.org on building NetBeans. - -Depending on the version of NetBeans you download, you may need to do further -work to get the required External Editor module. This is the module which lets -NetBeans work with gvim (or xemacs :-). See http://externaleditor.netbeans.org -for details on downloading this module if your NetBeans release does not have -it. - -For C, C++, and Fortran support you will also need the cpp module. See -http://cpp.netbeans.org for information regarding this module. +Enable debugging: +----------------- -You can also download Sun ONE Studio from Sun Microsystems, Inc for a 30 day -free trial. See http://www.sun.com for further details. - -============================================================================== -5. Preparing NetBeans for Vim *netbeans-preparation* - -In order for NetBeans to work with vim, the NetBeans External Editor module -must be loaded and enabled. If you have a Sun ONE Studio Enterprise Edition -then this module should be loaded and enabled. If you have a NetBeans release -you may need to find another way of obtaining this open source module. - -You can check if you have this module by opening the Tools->Options dialog -and drilling down to the "Modules" list (IDE Configuration->System->Modules). -If your Modules list has an entry for "External Editor" you must make sure -it is enabled (the "Enabled" property should have the value "True"). If your -Modules list has no External Editor see the next section on |obtaining-exted|. +To enable debugging of Vim and of the NetBeans protocol, the "NBDEBUG" macro +needs to be defined. Search in the Makefile of the platform you are using for +"NBDEBUG" to see what line needs to be uncommented. This effectively adds +"-DNBDEBUG" to the compile command. Also see |netbeans-debugging| ============================================================================== -6. Obtaining the External Editor Module *obtaining-exted* - -There are 2 ways of obtaining the External Editor module. The easiest way -is to use the NetBeans Update Center to download and install the module. -Unfortunately, some versions do not have this module in their update -center. If you cannot download via the update center you will need to -download sources and build the module. I will try and get the module -available from the NetBeans Update Center so building will be unnecessary. -Also check http://externaleditor.netbeans.org for other availability options. - -To download the External Editor sources via CVS and build your own module, -see http://externaleditor.netbeans.org and http://www.netbeans.org. -Unfortunately, this is not a trivial procedure. - -============================================================================== -7. Setting up NetBeans to run with Vim *netbeans-setup* - -Assuming you have loaded and enabled the NetBeans External Editor module -as described in |netbeans-preparation| all you need to do is verify that -the gvim command line is properly configured for your environment. +4. Error Messages *netbeans-messages* -Open the Tools->Options dialog and open the Editing category. Select the -External Editor. The right hand pane should contain a Properties tab and -an Expert tab. In the Properties tab make sure the "Editor Type" is set -to "Vim". In the Expert tab make sure the "Vim Command" is correct. - -You should be careful if you change the "Vim Command". There are command -line options there which must be there for the connection to be properly -set up. You can change the command name but that's about it. If your gvim -can be found by your $PATH then the VIM Command can start with "gvim". If -you don't want gvim searched from your $PATH then hard code in the full -Unix path name. At this point you should get a gvim for any source file -you open in NetBeans. - -If some files come up in gvim and others (with different file suffixes) come -up in the default NetBeans editor you should verify the MIME type in the -Expert tab MIME Type property. NetBeans is MIME oriented and the External -Editor will only open MIME types specified in this property. - -============================================================================== -8. Messages *netbeans-messages* - -These messages are specific for NetBeans: +These error messages are specific to NetBeans socket protocol: *E463* Region is guarded, cannot modify - NetBeans defines guarded areas in the text, which you cannot - change. - Also sets the current buffer, if necessary. + The Vim Controller has defined guarded areas in the text, + which you cannot change. Also sets the current buffer, if + necessary. *E656* -NetBeans disallows writes of unmodified buffers - NetBeans does not support writes of unmodified buffers that - were opened from NetBeans. +Writes of unmodified buffers forbidden + Writes of unmodified buffers that were opened from the + Vim Controller are not possible. *E657* -Partial writes disallowed for NetBeans buffers - NetBeans does not support partial writes for buffers that were - opened from NetBeans. +Partial writes disallowed + Partial writes for buffers that were opened from the + Vim Controller are not allowed. *E658* -NetBeans connection lost for this buffer - NetBeans has become confused about the state of this file. - Rather than risk data corruption, NetBeans has severed the - connection for this file. Vim will take over responsibility - for saving changes to this file and NetBeans will no longer - know of these changes. +Connection lost for this buffer + The Vim Controller has become confused about the state of + this file. Rather than risk data corruption, it has severed + the connection for this file. Vim will take over + responsibility for saving changes to this file and the + Vim Controller will no longer know of these changes. *E744* -NetBeans does not allow changes in read-only files +Read-only file Vim normally allows changes to a read-only file and only enforces the read-only rule if you try to write the file. However, NetBeans does not let you make changes to a file - which is read-only and becomes confused if vim does this. - So vim does not allow modifications to files when run with - NetBeans. + which is read-only and becomes confused if Vim does this. + So Vim does not allow modifications to files when run + in NetBeans mode. + ============================================================================== -9. Running Vim from NetBeans *netbeans-run* +5. Running Vim in NetBeans mode *netbeans-run* -NetBeans starts Vim with the |-nb| argument. Three forms can be used, that +Vim must be started with the |-nb| argument. Three forms can be used, that differ in the way the information for the connection is specified: -nb={fname} from a file @@ -231,23 +201,29 @@ lines, in any order: Other lines are ignored. The caller of Vim is responsible for deleting the file afterwards. -{hostname} is the name of the machine where NetBeans is running. When omitted -the environment variable "__NETBEANS_HOST" is used or the default "localhost". +{hostname} is the name of the machine where Vim Controller is running. When +omitted the environment variable "__NETBEANS_HOST" is used or the default +"localhost". -{addr} is the port number for NetBeans. When omitted the environment variable -"__NETBEANS_SOCKET" is used or the default 3219. +{addr} is the port number for the NetBeans interface. When omitted the +environment variable "__NETBEANS_SOCKET" is used or the default 3219. {password} is the password for connecting to NetBeans. When omitted the environment variable "__NETBEANS_VIM_PASSWORD" is used or "changeme". -============================================================================== -10. NetBeans protocol *netbeans-protocol* +Vim will initiate a socket connection (client side) to the specified host and +port upon startup. The password will be sent with the AUTH event when the +connection has been established. + -The communication between NetBeans and Vim uses plain text messages. This -protocol was first designed to work with the external editor module of -NetBeans (see http://externaleditor.netbeans.org). Later it was extended to -work with Agide (A-A-P GUI IDE, see http://www.a-a-p.org). The extensions are -marked with "version 2.1". +============================================================================== +6. NetBeans protocol *netbeans-protocol* + +The communication between the Vim Controller and Vim uses plain text +messages. This protocol was first designed to work with the external editor +module of NetBeans. Later it was extended to work with Agide (A-A-P GUI IDE, +see http://www.a-a-p.org) and then with other IDE. The extensions are marked +with "version 2.1". Version 2.2 of the protocol has several minor changes which should only affect NetBeans users (ie, not Agide users). However, a bug was fixed which could @@ -266,26 +242,16 @@ The messages are currently sent over a s plain UTF-8 text this protocol could also be used with any other communication mechanism. -To see an example implementation look at the gvim tool in Agide. Currently -found here: - http://cvs.sf.net/viewcvs.py/a-a-p/Agide/Tools/GvimTool.py?view=markup - +6.1 Kinds of messages |nb-messages| +6.2 Terms |nb-terms| +6.3 Commands |nb-commands| +6.4 Functions and Replies |nb-functions| +6.5 Events |nb-events| +6.6 Special messages |nb-special| +6.7 Protocol errors |nb-protocol_errors| -10.1 Kinds of messages |nb-messages| -10.2 Terms |nb-terms| -10.3 Commands |nb-commands| -10.4 Functions and Replies |nb-functions| -10.5 Events |nb-events| -10.6 Special messages |nb-special| - -*E627* *E628* *E629* *E630* *E631* *E632* *E633* *E634* *E635* *E636* -*E637* *E638* *E639* *E640* *E641* *E642* *E643* *E644* *E645* *E646* -*E647* *E648* *E649* *E650* *E651* *E652* *E653* *E654* -These errors occur when a message violates the protocol. - - -10.1 Kinds of messages *nb-messages* +6.1 Kinds of messages *nb-messages* There are four kinds of messages: @@ -303,10 +269,11 @@ kind first item example ~ Command bufID:name!seqno 11:showBalloon!123 "text" Function bufID:name/seqno 11:getLength/123 Reply seqno 123 5000 -Event bufID:name=123 11:keyCommand=123 "S-F2" +Event bufID:name=seqno 11:keyCommand=123 "S-F2" -10.2 Terms *nb-terms* + +6.2 Terms *nb-terms* bufID Buffer number. A message may be either for a specific buffer or generic. Generic messages use a bufID of zero. NOTE: this @@ -353,7 +320,7 @@ lnum/col Argument with a line number and pathname String argument: file name with full path. -10.3 Commands *nb-commands* +6.3 Commands *nb-commands* actionMenuItem Not implemented. @@ -381,8 +348,8 @@ close Close the buffer. This leaves us create Creates a buffer without a name. Replaces the current buffer (it's hidden when it was changed). - NetBeans uses this as the first command for a file that is - being opened. The sequence of commands could be: + The Vim Controller should use this as the first command for a + file that is being opened. The sequence of commands could be: create setCaretListener (ignored) setModified (no effect) @@ -413,9 +380,14 @@ defineAnnoType typeNum typeName tooltip editFile pathname Set the name for the buffer and edit the file "pathname", a string argument. - Normal way for the IDE to tell the editor to edit a file. If - the IDE is going to pass the file text to the editor use these - commands instead: + Normal way for the IDE to tell the editor to edit a file. + + You must set a bufId different of 0 with this command to + assign a bufId to the buffer. It will trigger an event + fileOpened with a bufId of 0 but the buffer has been assigned. + + If the IDE is going to pass the file text to the editor use + these commands instead: setFullName insert initDone @@ -437,10 +409,10 @@ initDone Mark the buffer as ready for us the current buffer. Fires the BufReadPost autocommand event. insertDone - Sent by NetBeans to tell vim an initial file insert is done. - This triggers a read message being printed. Prior to version - 2.3, no read messages were displayed after opening a file. - New in version 2.3. + Sent by Vim Controller to tell Vim an initial file insert is + done. This triggers a read message being printed. Prior to + version 2.3, no read messages were displayed after opening a + file. New in version 2.3. moveAnnoToFront serNum Not implemented. @@ -476,9 +448,9 @@ save Save the buffer when it was modifi New in version 2.2. saveDone - Sent by NetBeans to tell vim a save is done. This triggers - a save message being printed. Prior to version 2.3, no save - messages were displayed after a save. + Sent by Vim Controller to tell Vim a save is done. This + triggers a save message being printed. Prior to version 2.3, + no save messages were displayed after a save. New in version 2.3. setAsUser Not implemented. @@ -525,19 +497,20 @@ setModified modified modified, when it is "F" mark it as unmodified. setModtime time - Update a buffers modification time after NetBeans saves the - file. + Update a buffers modification time after the file has been + saved directly by the Vim Controller. New in version 2.3. setReadOnly - Passed by NetBeans to tell vim a file is readonly. - Implemented in verion 2.3. + Set a file as readonly + Implemented in version 2.3. setStyle Not implemented. setTitle name Set the title for the buffer to "name", a string argument. - The title is only used for NetBeans functions, not by Vim. + The title is only used for the Vim Controller functions, not + by Vim. setVisible visible When the boolean argument "visible" is "T", goto the buffer. @@ -551,8 +524,8 @@ showBalloon text specialKeys Map a set of keys (mostly function keys) to be passed back - to NetBeans for processing. This lets NetBeans hotkeys be - used from vim. + to the Vim Controller for processing. This lets regular IDE + hotkeys be used from Vim. Implemented in version 2.3. startAtomic Begin an atomic operation. The screen will not be updated @@ -583,7 +556,7 @@ unguard off len version Not implemented. -10.4 Functions and Replies *nb-functions* +6.4 Functions and Replies *nb-functions* getDot Not implemented. @@ -630,7 +603,7 @@ getText Return the contents of the buff insert off text Insert "text" before position "off". "text" is a string argument, "off" a number. - "off" should have a "\n" (newline) at the end of each line. + "text" should have a "\n" (newline) at the end of each line. Or "\r\n" when 'fileformat' is "dos". When using "insert" in an empty buffer Vim will set 'fileformat' accordingly. When "off" points to the start of a line the text is inserted @@ -665,7 +638,7 @@ saveAndExit Perform the equivalent of cl New in version 2.1. -10.5 Events *nb-events* +6.5 Events *nb-events* balloonEval off len type The mouse pointer rests on text for a short while. When "len" @@ -685,15 +658,15 @@ balloonText text buttonRelease button lnum col Report which button was pressed and the location of the cursor at the time of the release. Only for buffers that are owned - by NetBeans. This event is not sent if the button was - released while the mouse was in the status line or in a + by the Vim Controller. This event is not sent if the button + was released while the mouse was in the status line or in a separator line. If col is less than 1 the button release was in the sign area. New in version 2.2. disconnect - Tell NetBeans that vim is exiting and not to try and read or - write more commands. + Tell the Vim Controller that Vim is exiting and not to try and + read or write more commands. New in version 2.3. fileClosed Not implemented. @@ -776,10 +749,10 @@ unmodified The buffer is now unmodified. Only fired when enabled, see "startDocumentListen". version vers Report the version of the interface implementation. Vim - reports "2.2" (including the quotes). + reports "2.4" (including the quotes). -10.6 Special messages *nb-special* +6.6 Special messages *nb-special* These messages do not follow the style of the messages above. They are terminated by a newline character. @@ -801,22 +774,164 @@ DETACH IDE -> editor: break the connect REJECT Not used. + +6.7 Protocol errors *nb-protocol_errors* + +These errors occur when a message violates the protocol: +*E627* *E628* *E629* *E630* *E631* *E632* *E633* *E634* *E635* *E636* +*E637* *E638* *E639* *E640* *E641* *E642* *E643* *E644* *E645* *E646* +*E647* *E648* *E649* *E650* *E651* *E652* *E653* *E654* + + ============================================================================== -11. NetBeans Commands *netbeans-commands* +7. NetBeans key *netbeans-key* *:nbkey* -:nbkey key Pass the key to NetBeans for processing +:nbkey key Pass the key to the Vim Controller for processing -Pass the key to NetBeans for hot-key processing. You should not need to use -this command directly. However, NetBeans passes a list of hot-keys to Vim at -startup and when one of these keys is pressed, this command is generated to -send the key press back to NetBeans. +When a hot-key has been installed with the specialKeys command, this command +can be used to generate a hotkey messages to the Vim Controller. The events +newDotAndMark, keyCommand and keyAtPos are generated (in this order). + ============================================================================== -12. Known problems *netbeans-problems* +8. Known problems *netbeans-problems* NUL bytes are not possible. For editor -> IDE they will appear as NL characters. For IDE -> editor they cannot be inserted. +============================================================================== +9. Debugging NetBeans protocol *netbeans-debugging* + +To debug the Vim protocol, you must first compile Vim with debugging support +and NetBeans debugging support. See |netbeans-configure| for instructions +about Vim compiling and how to enable debug support. + +When running Vim, set the following environment variables: + + export SPRO_GVIM_DEBUG=netbeans.log + export SPRO_GVIM_DLEVEL=0xffffffff + +Vim will then log all the incoming and outgoing messages of the NetBeans +protocol to the file netbeans.log . + +The content of netbeans.log after a session looks like this: +Tue May 20 17:19:27 2008 +EVT: 0:startupDone=0 +CMD 1: (1) create +CMD 2: (1) setTitle "testfile1.txt" +CMD 3: (1) setFullName "testfile1.txt" +EVT(suppressed): 1:remove=3 0 -1 +EVT: 1:fileOpened=0 "d:\\work\\vimWrapper\\vimWrapper2\\pyvimwrapper\\tests\\testfile1.txt" T F +CMD 4: (1) initDone +FUN 5: (0) getCursor +REP 5: 1 1 0 0 +CMD 6: (2) create +CMD 7: (2) setTitle "testfile2.txt" +CMD 8: (2) setFullName "testfile2.txt" +EVT(suppressed): 2:remove=8 0 -1 +EVT: 2:fileOpened=0 "d:\\work\\vimWrapper\\vimWrapper2\\pyvimwrapper\\tests\\testfile2.txt" T F +CMD 9: (2) initDone + + +============================================================================== +10. NetBeans External Editor + +NOTE: This information is obsolete! Only relevant if you are using an old +version of NetBeans. + + +10.1. Downloading NetBeans *netbeans-download* + +The NetBeans IDE is available for download from netbeans.org. You can download +a released version, download sources, or use CVS to download the current +source tree. If you choose to download sources, follow directions from +netbeans.org on building NetBeans. + +Depending on the version of NetBeans you download, you may need to do further +work to get the required External Editor module. This is the module which lets +NetBeans work with gvim (or xemacs :-). See http://externaleditor.netbeans.org +for details on downloading this module if your NetBeans release does not have +it. + +For C, C++, and Fortran support you will also need the cpp module. See +http://cpp.netbeans.org for information regarding this module. + +You can also download Sun ONE Studio from Sun Microsystems, Inc for a 30 day +free trial. See http://www.sun.com for further details. + + +10.2. NetBeans Key Bindings *netbeans-keybindings* + +Vim understands a number of key bindings that execute NetBeans commands. +These are typically all the Function key combinations. To execute a NetBeans +command, the user must press the Pause key followed by a NetBeans key binding. +For example, in order to compile a Java file, the NetBeans key binding is +"F9". So, while in vim, press "Pause F9" to compile a java file. To toggle a +breakpoint at the current line, press "Pause Shift F8". + +The Pause key is Function key 21. If you don't have a working Pause key and +want to use F8 instead, use: > + + :map <F8> <F21> + +The External Editor module dynamically reads the NetBeans key bindings so vim +should always have the latest key bindings, even when NetBeans changes them. + + +10.3. Preparing NetBeans for Vim *netbeans-preparation* + +In order for NetBeans to work with vim, the NetBeans External Editor module +must be loaded and enabled. If you have a Sun ONE Studio Enterprise Edition +then this module should be loaded and enabled. If you have a NetBeans release +you may need to find another way of obtaining this open source module. + +You can check if you have this module by opening the Tools->Options dialog +and drilling down to the "Modules" list (IDE Configuration->System->Modules). +If your Modules list has an entry for "External Editor" you must make sure +it is enabled (the "Enabled" property should have the value "True"). If your +Modules list has no External Editor see the next section on |obtaining-exted|. + + +10.4. Obtaining the External Editor Module *obtaining-exted* + +There are 2 ways of obtaining the External Editor module. The easiest way +is to use the NetBeans Update Center to download and install the module. +Unfortunately, some versions do not have this module in their update +center. If you cannot download via the update center you will need to +download sources and build the module. I will try and get the module +available from the NetBeans Update Center so building will be unnecessary. +Also check http://externaleditor.netbeans.org for other availability options. + +To download the External Editor sources via CVS and build your own module, +see http://externaleditor.netbeans.org and http://www.netbeans.org. +Unfortunately, this is not a trivial procedure. + + +10.5. Setting up NetBeans to run with Vim *netbeans-setup* + +Assuming you have loaded and enabled the NetBeans External Editor module +as described in |netbeans-preparation| all you need to do is verify that +the gvim command line is properly configured for your environment. + +Open the Tools->Options dialog and open the Editing category. Select the +External Editor. The right hand pane should contain a Properties tab and +an Expert tab. In the Properties tab make sure the "Editor Type" is set +to "Vim". In the Expert tab make sure the "Vim Command" is correct. + +You should be careful if you change the "Vim Command". There are command +line options there which must be there for the connection to be properly +set up. You can change the command name but that's about it. If your gvim +can be found by your $PATH then the VIM Command can start with "gvim". If +you don't want gvim searched from your $PATH then hard code in the full +Unix path name. At this point you should get a gvim for any source file +you open in NetBeans. + +If some files come up in gvim and others (with different file suffixes) come +up in the default NetBeans editor you should verify the MIME type in the +Expert tab MIME Type property. NetBeans is MIME oriented and the External +Editor will only open MIME types specified in this property. + + vim:tw=78:ts=8:ft=help:norl: