Repeated star movement should move to the next word

[thalesmello]

This pull request:

• Makes the first start keypress immobile
• Makes the second star behave just like a regular star press, moving to the next word.

Even though this changes a core intent of the plugin, which is to change how the star key works, it provides a sane default for people used to the old star behavior.

Let me know what you think.

[junegunn]

Thanks, I like the idea.

• We should probably name the variable with b:slash_ prefix to avoid confusion/name clash.
• Pressing * then # moves the cursor. Do you think it's desirable? Or should we make the user double-tap # to move?
• Pressing * in visual mode leaves us in normal mode. A subsequent * will then select current word instead of the previous selection, but the cursor moves. I believe we can fix that by setting the value of the variable to a:seq[0:2] instead of 1 and compare it against the next a:seq.

[thalesmello]

• I submitted a new commit. Please take a look.
• Regarding pressing * then # I think it makes sense. Sometimes I use * and # to navigate back and forth in a word. Would be a little bit weird to have to double press every time you want to change navigation direction. Plus, with the current behaviour, it looks like it's a "press * to get into search mode, and navigate with * or #. Plus, it's easier to implement.
• I didn't notice it. I think it makes a lot of sense for * and # to keep on moving forward and backward. I've committed a prototype implementation. Works, but it's a little complicated, so I would like your feedback in the code, if possible.

[junegunn]

Sometimes I use * and # to navigate back and forth in a word.

Makes sense, though I always use n and N, so it never occurred to me.

Here's a simpler patch.

diff --git a/plugin/slash.vim b/plugin/slash.vim
index 6b99444..2949564 100644
--- a/plugin/slash.vim
+++ b/plugin/slash.vim
@@ -30,14 +30,19 @@ function! s:wrap(seq)
 endfunction
 
 function! s:immobile(seq)
+  let class = len(a:seq[:2])
+  if get(b:, 'slash_prev_immobile') == class
+    return a:seq
+  endif
   let s:winline = winline()
+  let b:slash_prev_immobile = class
   return a:seq."\<plug>(slash-prev)"
 endfunction
 
 function! s:trailer()
   augroup slash
     autocmd!
-    autocmd CursorMoved,CursorMovedI * set nohlsearch | autocmd! slash
+    autocmd CursorMoved,CursorMovedI * set nohlsearch | unlet! b:slash_prev_immobile | autocmd! slash
   augroup END
 
   let seq = foldclosed('.') != -1 ? 'zo' : ''

[thalesmello]

@junegunn I believe your implementation and my implementation do different things, at least when I tried to test the behavior in my machine.

My intention was to simulate the * to go forward and # to go backward when they are used in visual mode. The way my commit d8974bd implements it, it works like this:

1. Visual select the term you want to search
2. Pressing * or # will take you to normal mode and activate the "star movement" keys
3. In normal mode, pressing * takes the user to the next term, pressing # takes to the previous.
4. When the user moves the cursor, it removes this special behavior, just like it removes the search highlight.

This is achieved by:

• If visual star movement was activated by *, it means a forward search / was used, so * is redirected to n and # is redirected to N.
• If visual star movement was activated by #, it means a backward search ? was used, so * is redirected to N and # is redirected to n.

The goal with this is to make it possible for users go star search using the * key to also use it for navigation.

[junegunn]

Oh, I see, thanks for clarification. I don't think I'm going to need it though, because I always use n and N to move between the matches and I've never tried or wanted to use * and # instead, so I don't want extra code. I suggest that you use your fork if it suits your needs. Thanks.

[thalesmello]

@junegunn Just to let you know, in my fork of vim-slash (which I named vim-slasher), I've included some extra features, such as enhanced cgn substitution.

In case you're interested in taking a look: https://github.com/thalesmello/vim-slasher

[junegunn]

Cool, thanks for sharing. cgn stuff sounds like a nice improvement.