Vim_server

Vim has a server. You can start it like this: vim --servername VIM.

Let’s say you want to send log-lines directly into vim.

Start another instance…
vim --servername VIM --remote-send 'Logging my first line'

That won’t work. It won’t work because you wouldn’t do that with vim normally. You would go to insert-mode.

So.. vim --servername VIM --remote-send '<esc>GGoLogging my first line<cr>'

• <esc> go to normal mode.
• GG go to end of file.
• o insert line below and go there in insert-mode.
• <cr> carriage-return

class VimLog
  def initialize(server_name)
    @call = %(vim --servername #{server_name} --remote-send)
  end

  def send(msg) = ( `#{@call} '<esc>GGo#{msg}<cr>'` )
end


vl = VimLog.new(:APA)

# start logging
vl.send 'Detta är rad 1'
vl.send 'Detta är rad 2'

This works with gvim too. Gvim starts a server automatically. You can check the name of the server by typing: :echo v:servername and maybe get the reply: GVIM.

There is also --remote-expr. Try vim --servername VIM --remote_expr 'line(".")' to get the current line-number.