Question

In VIM (edit MacVim snapshot 64), I am looking for a way to convert these lines of text

can_check_steps = 1
can_edit_work_type = 1
can_edit_vendor = 1
can_edit_place = 1

to

'can_check_steps': can_check_steps,
'can_edit_work_type': can_edit_work_type,
'can_edit_vendor': can_edit_vendor,
'can_edit_place': can_edit_place,

I know how to add the leading single quote and convert the = into : with multi-line character replacement (something I learned from this question) and basic search and replace, respectively.

But I can’t really figure out how to repeat that the variable name per line. I’m also starting to think there should be a way to do this all in one command using like grouped expressions (using ( and ) to “capture” in regular expression).

I know how to do it in Python with lines of code, but I don’t really know how to do it in VIM using the s/search_for_this/replace_that/options format.

---

EDIT:

After reading the answers, why doesn’t this work?

^\s*(\w+) = 1\s*$/'\1': \1,/g

For @Jonathan Leffler, :set all in MacVim produces

--- Options ---
  aleph=224           bufhidden=          cscopequickfix=   noerrorbells          fsync               includeexpr=      nomacmeta             omnifunc=           report=2            showmatch           tabline=          nottimeout          nowildignorecase
  antialias           buflisted         nocscoperelative      esckeys           nofullscreen          incsearch           magic               operatorfunc=     norevins              showmode            tabpagemax=10       ttimeoutlen=-1      wildmenu
noarabic              buftype=          nocscopetag           eventignore=      nogdefault            indentexpr=         makeef=           nopaste             norightleft           showtabline=1       tabstop=4           ttybuiltin          wildmode=full
  arabicshape         cdpath=,,           cscopetagorder=0    expandtab           guifont=          noinfercase           makeprg=make        pastetoggle=        ruler               sidescroll=0        tagbsearch        nottyfast             wildoptions=
noallowrevins         cedit=^F          nocscopeverbose     noexrc                guifontwide=      noinsertmode          matchtime=5         patchexpr=          rulerformat=        sidescrolloff=0     taglength=0         ttymouse=           window=83
noaltkeymap           charconvert=      nocursorbind          fileencoding=       guipty              isprint=@,161-255   maxcombine=2        patchmode=          scroll=41           smartcase           tagrelative         ttyscroll=999       winheight=1
  ambiwidth=single  nocindent           nocursorcolumn        fileformat=unix     guitablabel=%M%t    joinspaces          maxfuncdepth=100  nopreserveindent    noscrollbind          smartindent         tags=./tags,tags    undodir=.         nowinfixheight
  autochdir           cinoptions=         cursorline          filetype=           guitabtooltip=      key=                maxmapdepth=1000    previewheight=12    scrolljump=1        smarttab            tagstack          noundofile          nowinfixwidth
  autoindent          cmdheight=1         debug=            nofkmap               helpheight=20       keymap=             maxmem=751782     nopreviewwindow       scrolloff=0         softtabstop=0       term=builtin_gui    undolevels=1000     winminheight=1
noautoread            cmdwinheight=7    nodelcombine          foldclose=          helplang=en         keymodel=           maxmemtot=751782    printdevice=      nosecure            nospell             notermbidi            undoreload=10000    winminwidth=1
noautowrite           colorcolumn=        dictionary=         foldcolumn=0      nohidden              keywordprg=man -s   menuitems=25        printencoding=      selectmode=         spellfile=        noterse               updatecount=200     winwidth=20
noautowriteall        columns=269       nodiff                foldenable          history=1000        langmap=            modeline            printfont=courier   shell=/bin/bash     spelllang=en        textauto            updatetime=4000     wrap
  background=dark   nocompatible          diffexpr=           foldexpr=0        nohkmap               langmenu=none       modelines=5         printmbcharset=     shellcmdflag=-c     spellsuggest=best notextmode            verbose=0           wrapmargin=0
nobackup              concealcursor=      diffopt=filler      foldignore=#      nohkmapp              laststatus=2        modifiable          printmbfont=        shellquote=       nosplitbelow          textwidth=0         verbosefile=        wrapscan
  backupcopy=auto     conceallevel=0    nodigraph             foldlevel=0         hlsearch          nolazyredraw        nomodified            printoptions=       shelltemp         nosplitright          thesaurus=          virtualedit=        write
  backupext=~         completefunc=       display=            foldlevelstart=-1   icon              nolinebreak           more                prompt              shellxquote=        startofline       notildeop           novisualbell        nowriteany
  balloondelay=600  noconfirm             eadirection=both    foldmethod=manual   iconstring=         lines=84            mouse=a             pumheight=0       noshiftround          suffixesadd=        timeout             warn                writebackup
noballooneval       nocopyindent        noedcompatible        foldminlines=1    noignorecase          linespace=0       nomousefocus          quoteescape=\       shiftwidth=4        swapfile            timeoutlen=1000   noweirdinvert         writedelay=0
  balloonexpr=        cpoptions=aABceFs   encoding=utf-8      foldnestmax=20    noimcmdline         nolisp                mousehide         noreadonly          noshortname           swapsync=fsync      title               whichwrap=b,s
nobinary              cryptmethod=zip     endofline           formatexpr=         imdisable         nolist                mousetime=500       redrawtime=2000     showbreak=          switchbuf=          titlelen=85         wildchar=<Tab>
nobomb                cscopepathcomp=0    equalalways         formatoptions=tcq   iminsert=2          listchars=eol:$     number            norelativenumber      showcmd             synmaxcol=3000      titlestring=        wildcharm=0
  browsedir=last      cscopeprg=cscope    equalprg=           formatprg=          imsearch=2          loadplugins         numberwidth=4       remap             noshowfulltag         syntax=             transparency=0      wildignore=
  backspace=indent,eol,start
  backupdir=.,~/tmp,~/
  backupskip=/tmp/*,/var/folders/70/f8c54mjn4vg_wztz9bd17lp40000gn/T/*
  breakat= ^I!@*-+;:,./?
  casemap=internal,keepascii
  cinkeys=0{,0},0),:,0#,!^F,o,O,e
  cinwords=if,else,while,do,for,switch
  clipboard=autoselect
  comments=s1:/*,mb:*,ex:*/,://,b:#,:%,:XCOMM,n:>,fb:-
  commentstring=/*%s*/
  complete=.,w,b,u,t,i
  completeopt=menu,preview
  define=^\s*#\s*define
  directory=.,~/tmp,/var/tmp,/tmp
  errorfile=errors.err
  errorformat=%*[^"]"%f"%*\D%l: %m,"%f"%*\D%l: %m,%-G%f:%l: (Each undeclared identifier is reported only once,%-G%f:%l: for each function it appears in.),%-GIn file included from %f:%l:%c:,%-GIn file included from %f:%l:%c\,,%-GIn file included from %f:%l:%c,%-GIn file
 included from %f:%l,%-G%*[ ]from %f:%l:%c,%-G%*[ ]from %f:%l:,%-G%*[ ]from %f:%l\,,%-G%*[ ]from %f:%l,%f:%l:%c:%m,%f(%l):%m,%f:%l:%m,"%f"\, line %l%*\D%c%*[^ ] %m,%D%*\a[%*\d]: Entering directory `%f',%X%*\a[%*\d]: Leaving directory `%f',%D%*\a: Entering directory `%f
',%X%*\a: Leaving directory `%f',%DMaking %*\a in %f,%f|%l| %m
  fileencodings=ucs-bom,utf-8,default,latin1
  fileformats=unix,dos
  fillchars=vert:|,fold:-
  foldmarker={{{,}}}
  foldopen=block,hor,mark,percent,quickfix,search,tag,undo
  foldtext=foldtext()
  formatlistpat=^\s*\d\+[\]:.)}\t ]\s*
  fuoptions=maxvert,maxhorz
  grepformat=%f:%l:%m,%f:%l%m,%f  %l%m
  grepprg=grep -n $* /dev/null
  guicursor=n-v-c:block-Cursor/lCursor,ve:ver35-Cursor,o:hor50-Cursor,i-ci:ver25-Cursor/lCursor,r-cr:hor20-Cursor/lCursor,sm:block-Cursor-blinkwait175-blinkoff150-blinkon175
  guioptions=egmrLtT
  helpfile=/Applications/MacVim.app/Contents/Resources/vim/runtime/doc/help.txt
  highlight=8:SpecialKey,@:NonText,d:Directory,e:ErrorMsg,i:IncSearch,l:Search,m:MoreMsg,M:ModeMsg,n:LineNr,r:Question,s:StatusLine,S:StatusLineNC,c:VertSplit,t:Title,v:Visual,V:VisualNOS,w:WarningMsg,W:WildMenu,f:Folded,F:FoldColumn,A:DiffAdd,C:DiffChange,D:DiffDelete
,T:DiffText,>:SignColumn,-:Conceal,B:SpellBad,P:SpellCap,R:SpellRare,L:SpellLocal,+:Pmenu,=:PmenuSel,x:PmenuSbar,X:PmenuThumb,*:TabLine,#:TabLineSel,_:TabLineFill,!:CursorColumn,.:CursorLine,o:ColorColumn
  include=^\s*#\s*include
  indentkeys=0{,0},:,0#,!^F,o,O,e
  isfname=@,48-57,/,.,-,_,+,,,#,$,%,~,=
  isident=@,48-57,_,192-255
  iskeyword=@,48-57,_,192-255
  lispwords=defun,define,defmacro,set!,lambda,if,case,let,flet,let*,letrec,do,do*,define-syntax,let-syntax,letrec-syntax,destructuring-bind,defpackage,defparameter,defstruct,deftype,defvar,do-all-symbols,do-external-symbols,do-symbols,dolist,dotimes,ecase,etypecase,eva
l-when,labels,macrolet,multiple-value-bind,multiple-value-call,multiple-value-prog1,multiple-value-setq,prog1,progv,typecase,unless,unwind-protect,when,with-input-from-string,with-open-file,with-open-stream,with-output-to-string,with-package-iterator,define-condition,h
andler-bind,handler-case,restart-bind,restart-case,with-simple-restart,store-value,use-value,muffle-warning,abort,continue,with-slots,with-slots*,with-accessors,with-accessors*,defclass,defmethod,print-unreadable-object
  matchpairs=(:),{:},[:]
  maxmempattern=1000
  mkspellmem=460000,2000,500
  mousemodel=popup_setpos
  mouseshape=i-r:beam,s:updown,sd:udsizing,vs:leftright,vd:lrsizing,m:no,ml:up-arrow,v:rightup-arrow
  nrformats=octal,hex
  paragraphs=IPLPPPQPP TPHPLIPpLpItpplpipbp
  path=.,/usr/include,,
  printexpr=system('open -a Preview '.v:fname_in) + v:shell_error
  printheader=%<%f%h%m%=Page %N
  rightleftcmd=search
  runtimepath=~/.vim,/Applications/MacVim.app/Contents/Resources/vim/vimfiles,/Applications/MacVim.app/Contents/Resources/vim/runtime,/Applications/MacVim.app/Contents/Resources/vim/vimfiles/after,~/.vim/after
  scrollopt=ver,jump
  sections=SHNHH HUnhsh
  selection=inclusive
  sessionoptions=blank,buffers,curdir,folds,help,options,tabpages,winsize
  shellpipe=2>&1| tee
  shellredir=>%s 2>&1
  shortmess=filnxtToO
  spellcapcheck=[.?!]\_[\])'"^I ]\+
  statusline=%F%m%r%h%w[%L][%{&ff}]%y[%p%%][%04l,%04v]
  suffixes=.bak,~,.o,.h,.info,.swp,.obj
  termencoding=utf-8
  titleold=Thanks for flying Vim
  toolbar=icons,tooltips
  toolbariconsize=small
  ttytype=builtin_gui
  viewdir=~/.vim/view
  viewoptions=folds,options,cursor
  viminfo='100,<50,s10,h  

Answer 1

:s/^\([^ ]*\) .*$/'\1': \1,/

The match part starts at the beginning of the line and captures a sequence of non-blanks, followed by an uncaptured blank and anything else. The replace part starts with a quote, what you remembered, a quote, colon, blank, what you remembered again, and a comma.

---

Divergent behaviours in vim

Weird, backslashing ( and ) doesn’t even match anything in my VIM, which is MacVim snapshot 64 (although it still says it’s 7.3.390 by Bram Moolenar). Using the \v in @Tassos’s answer seems to work.

On Mac OS X 10.7.4, I’m using the vim from /usr/bin which identifies itself as:

VIM - Vi IMproved 7.3 (2010 Aug 15, compiled Jun 24 2011 20:00:09)
Compiled by [e-mail]
Normal version without GUI.  Features included (+) or not (-):
-arabic +autocmd -balloon_eval -browse +builtin_terms +byte_offset +cindent 
-clientserver -clipboard +cmdline_compl +cmdline_hist +cmdline_info +comments 
-conceal +cryptv +cscope +cursorbind +cursorshape +dialog_con +diff +digraphs 
-dnd -ebcdic -emacs_tags +eval +ex_extra +extra_search -farsi +file_in_path 
+find_in_path +float +folding -footer +fork() -gettext -hangul_input +iconv 
+insert_expand +jumplist -keymap -langmap +libcall +linebreak +lispindent 
+listcmds +localmap -lua +menu +mksession +modify_fname +mouse -mouseshape 
-mouse_dec -mouse_gpm -mouse_jsbterm -mouse_netterm -mouse_sysmouse 
+mouse_xterm +multi_byte +multi_lang -mzscheme +netbeans_intg -osfiletype 
+path_extra -perl +persistent_undo +postscript +printer -profile -python 
-python3 +quickfix +reltime -rightleft -ruby +scrollbind +signs +smartindent 
-sniff +startuptime +statusline -sun_workshop +syntax +tag_binary 
+tag_old_static -tag_any_white -tcl +terminfo +termresponse +textobjects +title
 -toolbar +user_commands +vertsplit +virtualedit +visual +visualextra +viminfo 
+vreplace +wildignore +wildmenu +windows +writebackup -X11 -xfontset -xim -xsmp
 -xterm_clipboard -xterm_save 
   system vimrc file: "$VIM/vimrc"
     user vimrc file: "$HOME/.vimrc"
      user exrc file: "$HOME/.exrc"
  fall-back for $VIM: "/usr/share/vim"
Compilation: gcc -c -I. -D_FORTIFY_SOURCE=0 -Iproto -DHAVE_CONFIG_H -arch i386 -arch x86_64 -g -Os -pipe
Linking: gcc -arch i386 -arch x86_64 -o vim -lncurses

I also use vim on Linux machines, and it behaves the same w.r.t regular expressions. One of those versions identifies itself, in part, as:

VIM - Vi IMproved 7.0 (2006 May 7, compiled Nov  5 2008 11:07:46)
Included patches: 1, 3-4, 7-9, 11, 13-17, 19-26, 29-31, 34-44, 47, 50-56, 58-64, 66-73, 75, 77-92, 94-107, 109, 202, 234-235, 237
Modified by <[e-mail]>
Compiled by <[e-mail]>
Huge version without GUI.

I’m not sure if there’s anything worth showing from :set all. This is the output from the Mac version of Vim:

  ambiwidth=single    foldclose=          omnifunc=           syntax=
noautochdir           foldcolumn=0        operatorfunc=       tabline=
  autoindent          foldenable        nopaste               tabpagemax=10
  autoprint           foldexpr=0          pastetoggle=        tabstop=4
noautoread            foldignore=#        patchexpr=          tagbsearch
noautowrite           foldlevel=0         patchmode=          taglength=0
noautowriteall        foldlevelstart=-1 nopreserveindent      tagrelative
  background=light    foldmethod=manual   previewheight=12    tags=./tags,tags
  backspace=2         foldminlines=1    nopreviewwindow       tagstack
nobackup              foldnestmax=20      printdevice=        term=xterm-color
  backupcopy=auto     formatexpr=         printencoding=      termencoding=
  backupext=~         formatoptions=tcq   printfont=courier noterse
nobeautify            formatprg=          printmbcharset=     textauto
nobinary              fsync               printmbfont=      notextmode
nobomb              nogdefault            printoptions=       textwidth=0
  bufhidden=          helpheight=20       prompt              thesaurus=
  buflisted           helplang=en         pumheight=0       notildeop
  buftype=          nohidden              quoteescape=\       timeout
  cedit=^F            history=20        noreadonly            timeoutlen=1000
  charconvert=      nohlsearch            redrawtime=2000   notitle
nocindent           noicon              norelativenumber      titlelen=85
  cinoptions=         iconstring=         remap               titlestring=
  cmdheight=1       noignorecase          report=2          nottimeout
  cmdwinheight=7      iminsert=0        noruler               ttimeoutlen=-1
  colorcolumn=        imsearch=0          rulerformat=        ttybuiltin
  columns=80          includeexpr=        scroll=32           ttyfast
nocompatible        noincsearch         noscrollbind          ttymouse=xterm
  completefunc=       indentexpr=         scrolljump=1        ttyscroll=999
noconfirm           noinfercase           scrolloff=0         undodir=.
nocopyindent        noinsertmode        nosecure            noundofile
  cpoptions=aABceFs   isprint=@,161-255   selectmode=         undolevels=1000
  cryptmethod=zip     joinspaces          shell=/bin/sh       undoreload=10000
  cscopepathcomp=0    key=                shellcmdflag=-c     updatecount=200
  cscopeprg=cscope    keymodel=           shellquote=         updatetime=4000
  cscopequickfix=     keywordprg=man -s   shelltemp           verbose=0
nocscopetag           langmenu=           shellxquote=        verbosefile=
  cscopetagorder=0    laststatus=1      noshiftround          virtualedit=
nocscopeverbose     nolazyredraw          shiftwidth=4      novisualbell
nocursorbind        nolinebreak         noshortname           warn
nocursorcolumn        lines=66            showbreak=        noweirdinvert
nocursorline        nolisp              noshowcmd             whichwrap=b,s
  debug=            nolist              noshowfulltag         wildchar=<Tab>
nodelcombine          listchars=eol:$     showmatch           wildcharm=0
  dictionary=         loadplugins         showmode            wildignore=
nodiff                magic               showtabline=1     nowildmenu
  diffexpr=           makeef=             sidescroll=0        wildmode=full
  diffopt=filler      makeprg=make        sidescrolloff=0     wildoptions=
nodigraph             matchtime=5       nosmartcase           window=0
  directory=/tmp      maxcombine=2      nosmartindent         winheight=1
  display=            maxfuncdepth=100  nosmarttab          nowinfixheight
  eadirection=both    maxmapdepth=1000    softtabstop=0     nowinfixwidth
noedcompatible        maxmem=450298     nospell               winminheight=1
  encoding=utf-8      maxmemtot=450298    spellfile=          winminwidth=1
  endofline           menuitems=25        spelllang=en        winwidth=20
  equalalways         modeline            spellsuggest=best   wrap
  equalprg=           modelines=0       nosplitbelow          wrapmargin=0
noerrorbells          modifiable        nosplitright          wrapscan
  esckeys           nomodified            startofline         write
  eventignore=        more                statusline=       nowriteany
  expandtab           mouse=              suffixesadd=        writebackup
noexrc                mousemodel=extend   swapfile            writedelay=0
  fileencoding=       mousetime=500       swapsync=fsync
  fileformat=unix     number              switchbuf=
  filetype=           numberwidth=4       synmaxcol=3000

The behaviour you’re describing sounds as if there are PCRE (Perl-Compatible Regular Expressions) in use. Maybe the -perl in the configuration is relevant there. I don’t see anything in the settings shown that could alter the regex patterns. Maybe you can run your MacVim and show the output of macvim --version and then the output from : set all. Oh, drat, you don’t have enough privileges to edit them into this message. I found an 80-column window sensible for the :set all information and pasting to SO; I normally use 120 column windows.

Please find my email in my profile and send me the data. I am curious to know what’s different about the MacVim settings (if only so I can set them back to ‘normal’ if I ever get around to using it).