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Tip 1299 Printable Monobook Previous Next

created 2006 · complexity basic · author kilgore trout · version n/a


If you like to generate tags for a whole project and keep tags up-to-date, you might want to use this plugin: script#3221.


To automatically update the ctags file when a file is written, add this to your vimrc:

function! DelTagOfFile(file)
  let fullpath = a:file
  let cwd = getcwd()
  let tagfilename = cwd . "/tags"
  let f = substitute(fullpath, cwd . "/", "", "")
  let f = escape(f, './')
  let cmd = 'sed -i "/' . f . '/d" "' . tagfilename . '"'
  let resp = system(cmd)
endfunction

function! UpdateTags()
  let f = expand("%:p")
  let cwd = getcwd()
  let tagfilename = cwd . "/tags"
  let cmd = 'ctags -a -f ' . tagfilename . ' --c++-kinds=+p --fields=+iaS --extra=+q ' . '"' . f . '"'
  call DelTagOfFile(f)
  let resp = system(cmd)
endfunction
autocmd BufWritePost *.cpp,*.h,*.c call UpdateTags()

Comments[]

To run a command in the background you may try script script#1582.


Since I wrote it, I prefer script#1343.

The big advantage, that I see, is that simply running ctags -a on a written file leaves behind in the tags file tags for items you've just deleted before writing the file. Script 1343 removes all entries for the file you've just written and then runs ctags -a.

[meta comment: the script presented here also removes deleted entries before appending new ones.]


I refactored the script as our style is two-space indents. There is no need to "unlet" local variables, and simple names (no tricky underscores) is best. The new function (DelTagOfFile) invokes sed, and that needs explanation (it's only installed on some systems, and why not use Vim). I have just done routine cleanups and haven't thought about what the code is doing (and haven't tested it). JohnBeckett (talk) 11:13, August 26, 2012 (UTC)


You can also achieve this with easytags using this command:

autocmd BufWritePost * exe ":UpdateTags"
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