Re: Why is `:f` abbrev of `:file` and not of (much more useful) `:find`?

On 2013-12-26 17:02, Bruno Sutic wrote:
> Now to the question:
> why is the `:f` an abbreviation to `:file`? Why not `:f` -> `:find`?

Historical/backwards compatibility. The :file command (and ":f"
shorthand) has existed for decades, including other vi clones.

> `:file` command does not seem that useful, at least not as useful
> as `:find` in everyday work. And Ctrl-G does the same thing as
> `:file`! I solved this in my vimrc with `cab f find` - but I'm more
> interested in the root cause of this.

That abbreviation would drive me nuts--it might be better to just
make a ":command" to use "F" instead of intercepting every "f" typed
on the command-line. Or at least make it an <expr> mapping

:help :map-<expr>

with some smarts to only expand when at the beginning of a command.
I'd hate to try and type

:%s/foo/bar/g

and and up with

:%s/findoo/bar/g

> Do you think Bram would be open to changing the `:f` vim default?

I'm pretty certain that it wouldn't be entertained, as Vim tends to
be pretty strict about backwards compatibility.

There's a theoretical possibility that one could create some sort of
'cpoption' that would change the meaning of it, but that sort of
thing is usually only done for new functionality, not just changing
default abbreviations.

While I confess that I use ":file newname" more than I use ":find",
it's mostly because :file has my finger memory, and :find doesn't (and
either way, I type out ":file" rather than ":f"). I'll have to work
on bringing ":find" into my muscle memory.

> (although I have a feeling I would not be the first one to ask)

I've been vimming for over a decade and on the mailing list for most
of that, and this is the first I've seen of such a request, so you
may be a lone trail-blazer. :-)

-tim




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