vifn(1)

📦
version 2.9 · 2 versions
, in debian bookworm, debian trixie, ubuntu jammy, ubuntu noble, ubuntu questing, ubuntu resolute, ubuntu stonking

✨ vifn(1) — General Commands Manual ✨

okay bestie, quick vibe check: this is vifn, from the General Commands Manual section 1. it's giving "chaotic little script that somehow changed my whole life" energy. let's get into it 💅

🌸 NAME 🌸

vifn — edit by function name rather than file name, uses vi

like. literally what it says. you name the function, not the file. iconic behavior honestly 🫶

🎀 SYNOPSIS 🎀

vifn [filename/]function-name [...]

that's it. that's the whole entrance. no cap. ✨

💖 DESCRIPTION 💖

okay so vifn is a crude script — her own words, not mine, she's humble — and what she does is she takes the output from pmccabe(1) and uses it to let you edit by function name rather than file name. the way that works?? obsessed. 🔥

here's the tea: when duplicate function names exist in more than one file, vifn just cycles through each one. so you keep hitting it and it keeps serving you the next one. main character energy fr fr.

and if you already know which one you want when multiple files contain identically-named functions? then you use filename/ to point at the exact file. periodt. 💅

💀 BUGS 💀

okay so listen, we gotta talk about the quirks. not me exposing her but like, transparency is hot:

  • vifn uses the file "pmccabe.out" in the current directory, or it creates it if not found by running pmccabe on files in the current directory. so yeah. that's a thing that happens whether you asked for it or not 🙈
the original says: "Maybe this isn't really a bug, but it could be better." and honestly? she's right. it could be better. we love a self-aware queen.
  • vifn does not use the $EDITOR environment variable, and the reason is genuinely so valid: it's only because there are editors which misunderstand vi's +line convention for starting the editor positioned at a specific line. so like, she could respect your $EDITOR, but some editors would fumble the +line and she's not about to let that happen. protective gf behavior tbh 🛡️

👑 AUTHOR 👑

Paul Bame

(thank you for your service king 🫡)

🌈 SEE ALSO 🌈

  • pmccabe(1) — the bestie she gets her intel from, go read it too 🦋

and that's the whole page, bestie!! 💖 this one's sourced from vifn(1) and dated 17Jan2021 — go forth and edit by function name, you absolute icon ✨🎀

📦 where this page comes from