Files
neovim/test/old/testdir
Justin M. Keyes 359459dec6 refactor(exmode): Ex-mode as cmdwin + Lua #40991
Problem:
POSIX-compatible Ex-mode requires special-cases all over the codebase to
match various quirks that don't actually matter to users.
- The main utility of *interactive* Ex-mode is its REPL behavior, and
  that can be achieved with `cmdwin`, which also gains extra UX
  benefits.
- The main utility of *non-interactive* `nvim -es` is for shell
  scripting, where Ex-mode quirks are mostly unhelpful (e.g. the
  "Entering Ex mode" message).

Solution:
- Reimplement *interactive* Ex-mode as a "persistent, insert-mode
  cmdwin" in Lua.
  - "nvim -e/-E" is simply an alias to "gQ".
- Reframe *non-interactive* Ex-mode (`nvim -es`) as "script mode".
  - Drop POSIX Ex-mode quirks.

Improvements:
- "nvim -V1 -es" output ends with a final newline!
- "nvim -V1 -es" no longer shows the "Entering Ex mode" msg. (This was
  pointless noise, unwanted for scripting purposes.)
- stdin is no longer typeahead. Scripts (":lua io.read()") can read
  stdin as data.
- Empty line is a no-op: a stray blank line no longer moves the cursor
  (deviates from POSIX ex "+1"), no longer exits 1 at EOF (E501).

Preserved behavior:
- cursor starts at "$"
- mode()=="cv" (for non-interactive)
- multiline commands (:append/:function/heredoc pull continuation lines)
- bare-range print
- :print=>stdout
- -V1=>stderr
- CRLF input
- continue-after-error and exit codes

Dropped (regressed) POSIX behavior (non-interactive):
- Event loop only ticks while/between commands, not while blocked
  waiting for a stdin line.
- ":g/pat/visual...Q"
- input()/getchar()/":s/x/y/c" no longer consume stdin lines as
  answers: Nvim stops at end-of-input, skipping the rest of the script,
  exit 0. Use ":lua io.read()" instead.
  - If users care about this they should use interactive Ex-mode (`gQ`).
- ":@r" stops at end of the register instead of continuing to read
  cmdline input from stdin.
2026-07-27 06:25:21 -04:00
..
2026-03-29 13:36:56 +02:00
2024-04-23 18:17:04 +02:00
2026-01-07 08:11:42 +08:00
2026-04-01 07:59:51 +08:00
2024-03-28 09:32:32 +08:00

This directory contains tests for various Vim features.
For testing an indent script see runtime/indent/testdir/README.txt.

If it makes sense, add a new test method to an already existing file.  You may
want to separate it from other tests with comment lines.

TO ADD A NEW STYLE TEST:

1) Create a test_<subject>.vim file.
2) Add test_<subject>.res to NEW_TESTS_RES in Make_all.mak in alphabetical
   order.
3) Also add an entry "test_<subject>" to NEW_TESTS in Make_all.mak.
4) Use make test_<subject> to run a single test.

At 2), instead of running the test separately, it can be included in
"test_alot".  Do this for quick tests without side effects.  The test runs a
bit faster, because Vim doesn't have to be started, one Vim instance runs many
tests.

At 4), to run a test in GUI, add "GUI_FLAG=-g" to the make command.


What you can use (see test_assert.vim for an example):

- Call assert_equal(), assert_true(), assert_false(), etc.

- Use assert_fails() to check for expected errors.

- Use try/catch to avoid an exception aborts the test.

- Use test_alloc_fail() to have memory allocation fail.  This makes it possible
  to check memory allocation failures are handled gracefully.  You need to
  change the source code to add an ID to the allocation.  Add a new one to
  alloc_id_T, before aid_last.

- Use test_override() to make Vim behave differently, e.g.  if char_avail()
  must return FALSE for a while.  E.g. to trigger the CursorMovedI autocommand
  event. See test_cursor_func.vim for an example.

- If the bug that is being tested isn't fixed yet, you can throw an exception
  with "Skipped" so that it's clear this still needs work.  E.g.: throw
  "Skipped: Bug with <c-e> and popupmenu not fixed yet"

- The following environment variables are recognized and can be set to
  influence the behavior of the test suite (see runtest.vim for details)

  - $TEST_MAY_FAIL=Test_channel_one    - ignore those failing tests
  - $TEST_FILTER=Test_channel    - only run test that match this pattern
  - $TEST_SKIP_PAT=Test_channel  - skip tests that match this pattern
  - $TEST_NO_RETRY=yes           - do not try to re-run failing tests
  You can also set them in Vim:
    :let $TEST_MAY_FAIL = 'Test_channel_one'
    :let $TEST_FILTER = '_set_mode'
    :let $TEST_SKIP_PAT = 'Test_loop_forever'
    :let $TEST_NO_RETRY = 'yes'
  Use an empty string to revert, e.g.:
    :let $TEST_FILTER = ''

- See the start of runtest.vim for more help.


TO ADD A SCREEN DUMP TEST:

Mostly the same as writing a new style test.  Additionally, see help on
"terminal-dumptest".  Put the reference dump in "dumps/Test_func_name.dump".


OLD STYLE TESTS:

There are a few tests that are used when Vim was built without the +eval
feature.  These cannot use the "assert" functions, therefore they consist of a
.in file that contains Normal mode commands between STARTTEST and ENDTEST.
They modify the file and the result gets written in the test.out file.  This
is then compared with the .ok file.  If they are equal the test passed.  If
they differ the test failed.


RUNNING THE TESTS:

To run a single test from the src directory:

    $ make test_<name>

The below commands should be run from the src/testdir directory.

To run a single test:

    $ make test_<name>.res

The file 'messages' contains the messages generated by the test script.  If a
test fails, then the test.log file contains the error messages.  If all the
tests are successful, then this file will be an empty file.

- To run a single test function from a test script:

    $ ../vim -u NONE -S runtest.vim <test_file>.vim <function_name>

- To execute only specific test functions, add a second argument:

	 $ ../vim -u NONE -S runtest.vim test_channel.vim open_delay


- To run all the tests:

    $ make

- To run the test on MS-Windows using the MSVC nmake:

    > nmake -f Make_dos.mak

- To run the tests with GUI Vim:

    $ make GUI_FLAG=-g

    or

    $ make VIMPROG=../gvim

- To cleanup the temporary files after running the tests:

    $ make clean