Question

I’m starting to use Linux and Vim at work. I’m started reading vims documentation and creating my own .vimrc file and such.

I’m a web developer working with HTML, XML, CSS, JS, Python, PHP, ZPT, DTML and SQL.

I would like to have an indent feature like this one: for each language/set, a corresponding indent solution.

So, in js, writing function test(){|} would turn in

function test(){
    |
}

If php, writing <?php function test(){|}:

<?php
    function test(){
        |
    }
?>

…and such. Writing a function definition in Python, and then creating a for loop sentece, it would automatically create an indent.

I’m starting with autoindent, smartindent, cindent but I’m a little confused about their differences.

How do the indent in vim works? Am I supposed to download plugins for each language? Is the behavior I described possible with already existing plugins you’re used to or do I have to create it?

I keep seeing people using Vim and I’m trying to do this as well since the machine I’m using is too limited, but I’m afraid I won’t be able to have a decent auto indenting solution in it. And I really think that having to manually indent code all the time (instead of sometimes only) is a waste of time and it’s against vim’s “MOTTO” I’ve seen called “productivity”.

(I have used autoindenting in a little small project in Visual Studio, and really liked their approach. Is there a plugin for that?)

Answer 1

I found the setup for this based on a blog post:

set autoindent
inoremap {<CR> {<CR>}<Esc>O<Tab>

Having this with snipmate.vim and autoclose.vim is working flawlessly.