From now on, we will assume that you know how to use the command-line interface. This means that we will not spell out the commands that you need to use. For example, we will just state that you need to be in a certain directory instead of telling you what to enter, that you need to clone a repo instead of telling you which Git commands to use, etc. You may still feel that you are not comfortable with the command-line interface. As mentioned previously, open a cheat sheet in your browser and keep looking up the commands throughout the semester. You will be very comfortable with the command-line interface by the end of the semester.
Now, one of the most important tools for programming is an editor. There are many editors out there and developers have their particular preferences. As you know already, this course uses Neovim, one of the modern implementations of vi. One reason for the choice of vi/Neovim is the course's goal of providing an immersive terminal-based Linux environment. Vi is available on pretty much all terminal-based, Unix-like systems and if you know how to use it, along with the command-line interface, you will have no trouble using any Unix-like systems out there. Another reason for the choice of vi/Neovim is that it shows a unique editor design based on modes (which you have experienced already in the previous assignment). We believe that this is intellectually stimulating since it shows that it is possible to design software from a very different angle. In fact, the original creator of vi is Bill Joy, a legendary programmer who led the development of Berkeley Unix (BSD), which has many modern descendants including Apple's OSs like macOS and iOS.
Although you had a chance to use Neovim in the previous assignment, you probably still feel that you are not yet very good at it. It will take time to get really comfortable with Neovim. But you will have a lot of opportunities to practice it in this course, including this assignment. We are confident that you will be an expert in vi/Neovim by the end of this semester.
In this assignment, there are four simple tasks that you need to do.
Before you get started, spend a few minutes and read this article. There are many articles that talk about using vi and I believe it is one of the better-written articles. Don't miss the first misconception about the modal editing as it describes the correct way to use vi.
This is something we mentioned earlier a couple of times but we want to mention it again here. Make sure you change your default terminal window width to more than 100 characters, e.g., 110. Also make sure you change the default height to something sufficiently long as well. Also, change the default color scheme of your terminal to "solarized dark".
We highly recommend you to swap your <Caps Lock> key with your <Esc> key. You need to use
<Esc> heavily on vi, and swapping <Caps Lock> with <Esc> makes it easier. In fact, this was
the original keyboard layout at the time of vi's development. You don't typically use <Caps Lock>
anyways, so this won't affect your keyboard usage much.
- Windows: Install PowerToys by Microsoft, go to the Keyboard Manager, and remap the keys.
- MacOS: Go to System Settings --> Keyboard --> Keyboard Shortcuts --> Modifier Keys, and change
the mapping for
<Caps Lock>. - Linux using GNOME: Install
gnome-tweakswith your package manager (e.g.,apt,dnf, etc.), go to Keyboard & Mouse --> Additional Layout Options --> Caps Lock behaviour, and choose the mapping. - Linux using KDE: Go to System Settings --> Input Devices --> Keyboard --> Advanced --> Caps Lock behavior, and choose the mapping.
In this task, use Neovim to follow a tutorial. It is important to read the entire instructions below before you start. In fact, for every assignment, it is important to read the entire assignment document first, before you start doing anything.
- First, make sure you are in the correct directory for this assignment (
a1). - Also make sure that you record your entire work session(s) by entering
record.- As mentioned for A0, when
recordis running, the prompt will display[recording]. Make sure you see it before proceeding.recordrecords everything you do in your terminal and saves it to the files in a directory named.record. - Also as mentioned for A0, while recording, make sure that you do not copy and paste anything.
If you do, you will get a 0. If you happen to do it, you will need to remove the entire
.recorddirectory and start the tutorial all over again from the beginning to avoid getting a 0. - Remember to enter
exitwhen you want to stop.
- As mentioned for A0, when
- Start
nvim. You do not need to open any file. - Once
nvimstarts, enter:Tutor, which will start the built-in tutorial. - The tutorial will ask you to modify the content, and so after finishing the tutorial, save the
content of the tutorial (including your modifications) to a new file named
tutor(if you finish the tutorial, you will know how to save the content you're editing to a new file). - If the tutorial tells you to exit without saving, it is okay to do it.
- For Lesson 7.2, you won't be able to save anything, which is fine.
- The tutorial will tell you that "the ✗ sign at the left will change to ✓." But this is not perfect and sometimes it may not change. This is also fine.
- Remember, as the above linked article describes, your workflow is that "you are always in normal
mode, and only enter insert mode for short bursts of typing text, after which you press
<Esc>to go to normal mode." So develop a habit of hitting the<Esc>key. - One thing to emphasize: the point of using Vim/Neovim is to not use arrow keys to move around. It defeats the whole purpose of using it. So after this assignment, if I catch someone who uses the arrow keys to move around, I'll be very unhappy and call out.
- Once everything is done, make sure you stop recording.
Make sure you use git to push all the files/directories you created, including .nvim/ and
.record/, for grading.
There is a file named a1-checker in the repo. You must execute this at least once before your
submission, which performs minimal basic checks. It is okay to run it multiple times as you go and
you are encouraged to do it. A few things to note about the checker:
- It warns you if you do not have any recording files. Generally, if you do not record your work sessions, you will receive a 0.
- It warns you if it detects that you have not used
nvim. Generally, if you do not usenvimfor your work, you will receive a 0. - It warns you if it detects any copy-and-paste actions. Generally, if you copy and paste anything, you will receive a 0.
- It checks if you have the
tutorfile. - It is important to understand that the checker is not a grader and only performs minimal basic checks for you. We only provide it to make sure that you do not make any silly mistakes that could lead to an unexpected grade, e.g., a 0 or a very low grade. However, if it says that everything is good, and you have faithfully followed the tutorial, you can be assured that you will get the full credit.
- Note that if a check fails, it does not always tell you why. You need to debug it by yourself and find out.
- It is entirely your responsibility to run
a1-checkerbefore submitting your work.
There are many good online webpages that you can use to quickly look up vi commands. We highly recommend you to open one of those in your browser and keep it in the background throughout the semester, so you can easily find the commands that you want to use. For example, this is a good one to use. Since vi has many more useful commands that the tutorial does not mention, you can try out the commands that the above linked cheat sheet describes. There is also an extensive list of resources available at Vim Tips Wiki.
Neovim is extremely customizable with a long list of built-in options. Not only that, it allows us to install third-party plugins. Using these, we have configured Neovim with a few more features and we highly encourage you to try these out and use them.
- The status line at the bottom comes from a plugin called lightline.
<Ctrl>-h(the control key and h) in normal mode opens a file explorer called nvim-tree. Once you open it, typeg?opens a help page. But basically, you can use vim's key navigation (e.g.,jandk) to navigate and<Enter>to open the file you select.qexits nvim-tree.- When you open a new file using nvim-tree, it opens the file in a new buffer, which is roughly similar to a new tab in a web browser. At the top of your terminal window/tab, you will see that Neovim shows your current buffers, which comes from a plugin called lightline-bufferline.
- You can type
:bn(buffer next) to go to the next buffer,:bp(buffer previous) or:bNto go to the previous buffer, and:bd(buffer delete) to delete the current buffer. - We have installed a plugin called vim-sneak, which allows
us to quickly jump to a different location on the screen. To use it, type
sin normal mode followed by two characters of the word that you want to jump to. It will immediately jump to the first match and show other options highlighted with a different color and a shortcut key. Typing one of the shortcut keys allows you to jump to a different option.sis for jumping forward andSis for jumping backward.
For our VM, we do not allow you to install any more plugins. This is first for learning purposes but also because installing too many plugins slows down the performance of Neovim. Many Vim/Neovim users prefer installing a minimal number of plugins that they consider essential and use the native features of Vim/Neovim for the most part.
For all future assignments, you must use nvim. To enforce this, we have configured our nvim so
that, for a few file types that we care about (e.g., .c, .h, .sh, etc.), it occasionally takes
a snapshot of the file you are editing and saves the snapshot to a directory named .nvim. For all
future assignments, you need to push this directory as part of your submission. We will check this
directory, analyze the snapshots to make sure that you are using nvim, and use the analysis
results as part of grading. In addition, we will ask you to use the record tool that you used
already in A0, and analyze the recordings as part of grading.
You need to accept the invite for the next assignment (A2).
- Get the URL for A2. Go to the URL on your browser.
- Accept the invite for Assignment 2 (A2).
- If you are not in
units/02-toolsdirectory, go to that directory. - Clone the assignment repo.