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Function Repository Resource:

 VimGraph

Source Notebook

Construct a graph of simple Vim-style movements in text

Contributed by: Pavel Hajek

 ResourceFunction["VimGraph"][text]

 returns a graph with letters as vertices and Vim-style movements as
 edges.

Details and Options

Vim is a cult-favorite text editor known for its modal editing--In
Normal mode, certain keys are mapped to movements forward or backward
to the nearest pattern, reducing keystroke distance and enabling fast
editing without using the mouse.
The following simple Vim movements are supported:

Shortcut Movement Description
h / l    Move one character left / right on the same line
k / j    Move one character up / down; jumps to end of target line if
         shorter than current horizontal position
w / b    Jump to the beginning of the next / previous word, across
         lines
e        Jump to the end of the next word, across lines
^/$      Move to the beginning/end of the current line

ResourceFunction["VimGraph"] allows the options
"IncludedVimMovements", "StringPattern" and "CustomPatterns", it is
possible to restrict to specific Vim movements or define new
movements, respectively.
Also supported are Graph options.

Examples

Example Notebook

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Basic Examples (2) 

Vim graph for the movements: up, right, and to the beginning of the
next word, respectively:

In    ResourceFunction["VimGraph"]["How do\nI exit Vim?",
[1]:= "IncludedVimMovements" -> {"k", "l", "w"}]

Out[1]= [4c19fa57990e9505]

The same, with nicer formatting:

     ResourceFunction["VimGraph"]["How do\nI exit Vim?",
In   "IncludedVimMovements" -> {"k", "l", "w"}, VertexSize -> Large,
[2]: VertexStyle -> LightYellow, VertexLabelStyle -> Directive[Bold,
=    Large], EdgeLabels -> "EdgeTag", EdgeLabelStyle -> Directive
     [Bold, Orange, Medium]]

Out[2]= [65fa3286d43b120d]

Scope (3) 

Returns a minimal sequence of keystrokes needed to move from one
letter to another:

In   With[{g = ResourceFunction["VimGraph"][ "Chuck Norris\nwrites
[3]: his DNA\n in Vim. In\nNormal mode."]}, HighlightGraph[g,
=    Subgraph[g, FindShortestPath[g, {1, 1}, {4, 10}]], EdgeLabels ->
     "EdgeTag", EdgeLabelStyle -> Directive[Bold, Large]]]

Out[3]= [2c749a0811cbb83c]

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Illustrates the relationship between the maximum keystroke distance
required to navigate between two letters in a text and the number of
randomly inserted newlines:

     BarChart[ Table[Mean[ Table[GraphDiameter[ ResourceFunction
In   ["VimGraph"][ StringInsert[#, "\n", RandomSample[Range
[4]: [StringLength[#]], n]] & @ StringTake[ExampleData[{"Text",
=    "DeclarationOfIndependence"}], 200]]], {m, 1, 10}]], {n, 1,
     20}]]

Out[4]= [609ec5dd57aa542c]

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Use the "CustomPatterns" option to define new movements by passing a
string pattern to "StringPattern", with optional shortcuts for
jumping forward or backward to the nearest match:

     ResourceFunction[ "VimGraph"]["How is your\n mode today?\nNormal
     mode\nInsert mode\nNormal mode\nVisual mode\nInsert mode",
     "IncludedVimMovements" -> {}, "CustomPatterns" -> { <|
In   "StringPattern" -> "Normal", "Forward" -> "n", "Backward" -> "N"
[5]: |>, <|"StringPattern" -> "Insert", "Forward" -> "i"|>, <|
=    "StringPattern" -> "Visual", "Backward" -> "V"|>} , VertexSize
     -> Large, VertexStyle -> LightYellow, VertexLabelStyle ->
     Directive[Bold, Medium], EdgeLabels -> "EdgeTag", EdgeLabelStyle
     -> Directive[Bold, Orange, Medium]]

Out[5]= [54f89788582dd1a7]

Publisher

Pavel Hajek

Requirements

Wolfram Language 13.0 (December 2021) or above

Version History

  * 1.0.0 - 27 October 2025

Related Symbols

  * StringPosition

License Information

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
International License

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