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Anno Siegel
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Vi::QuickFix - Support for vim's QuickFix mode


  use Vi::QuickFix;
  use Vi::QuickFix <errorfile>;
  use Vi::QuickFix <options>;
  use Vi::QuickFix <options> <errorfile>;

where <options> is one or more of silent, sig, tie, and fork.


When Vi::QuickFix is active, Perl logs errors and warnings to an error file named, by default, errors.err. This file is picked up when you type :cf in a running vim editor. Vim will jump to the location of the first error recorded in the error file. :cn takes you to the next error, switching files if necessary. There are more QuickFix commands in vim. Type :help quickfix for a description.

To activate QuickFix support for a Perl source, add

    use Vi::QuickFix;

or, specifying an error file

    use Vi::QuickFix '/my/errorfile';

early in the main program, before other use statements.

To leave the program file unaltered, Vi::QuickFix can be invoked from the command line as

    perl -MVi::QuickFix program
    perl -MVi::QuickFix=/my/errorfile program

Vi::QuickFix is meant to be used as a development tool, not to remain in a distributed product. When the program ends, a warning is issued, indicating that Vi::QuickFix was active. This has the side effect that there is always an entry in the error file which points to the source file where Vi::QuickFix was invoked, normally the main program. :cf will take you there when other error entries don't point it elsewhere. Use the silent option with Vi::QuickFix to suppress this warning.

When the error file cannot be opened, a warning is issued and the program continues running without QuickFix support. If the error file is empty after the run (can only happen with silent), it is removed.


Vi::QuickFix recognizes the environment variable VI_QUICKFIX_SOURCEFILE

When Perl reads its source from STDIN, error messages and warnings will contain the string "-" where the source file name would otherwise appear. The environment variable VI_QUICKFIX_SOURCEFILE can be set to a filename, which will replace "-" in those messages. If no "-" appears as a file name, setting the variable has no effect.

This somewhat peculiar behavior can be useful if you call perl (with Vi::QuickFix) from within a vim run, as in :w !perl -MVi::QickFix. When you set the environment variable VI_QUICKFIX_SOURCEFILE to the name of the file you are editing, this fools vim into doing the right thing when it encounters the modified messages.

This is an experimental feature, the behavior may change in future releases.


The module file .../Vi/QuickFix.pm can also be called as an executable. In that mode, it behaves basically like the cat command, but also monitors the stream and logs Perl warnings and error messages to the error file. The error file can be set through the switches -f or -q. No warning about QuickFix activity is issued in this mode.

Called with -v, it prints the version and exits.


For a debugging tool, an implementation note is in order.

Perl offers three obvious ways to watch and capture its error output. One is through the (pseudo-) signal handlers $SIG{__WARN__} and $SIG{__DIE__}. The other is through tie-ing the STDERR file handle. A third method involves forking a child process for the capturing and redirect STDERR to there.

Vi::QuickFix can use these three methods to create the error file. As it turns out, the ability to tie STDERR is relatively new with Perl, as of version 5.8.1. With Versions 5.8.0 and earlier, a number of internal errors and warnings don't respect tie, so this method cannot be used. With Perl versions ealier than 5.8.1, Vi::QuickFix uses %SIG handlers to catch messages. With newer versions, Vi::Quickfix ties STDERR so that it (additionally) writes to the error file. The forking method can be used with any version of Perl.

A specific method can be requested through the options sig, tie and fork, as in

    use Vi::QuickFix qw(sig);
    use Vi::QuickFix qw(tie);
    use Vi::QuickFix qw(fork);

The forking method appears to work well in practice, but a race condition exists that intermittently leads to failing tests. It is not tested in the standard test suite and must be considered experimental.

Requesting tie with a Perl version that can't handle it is a fatal error, so the only option that does anything useful is sig with a new-ish Perl. It can be useful when tie-ing STDERR conflicts with the surrounding code.


Similar conflicts can occur with the sig method as well, and it can happen in two ways. Either Vi::QuickFix already finds a resource (a %SIG handler or a tie on STDERR) occupied at use time, or the surrounding code commandeers the resource after the fact.

However, if STDERR is already tied when Vi::QuickFix is used, it cannot employ the tie method, and by default reverts to sig. If the tie method is specifically requested, a fatal error results.

If the sig method finds one of the handlers (__WARN__ and __DIE__) already occupied, it chains to the previous handler after doing its thing, so that is not considered an obstacle. "Chaining" file ties is harder, and has not been attempted.

If Vi::QuickFix is already active, the surrounding code may later occupy a resource it is using. There is little that can be done when that happens, except issue a warning which is also logged to the error file. This can help in finding the source of the conflict. In silent mode, no such warning is given.

The warning is triggered when the corresponding resource is overwritten, except when the overwriting program keeps a copy of it. It is then assumed that the program will keep it functioning. Since we're still talking implementation -- it is actually triggered through a DESTROY method when the corresponding object goes out of scope. %SIG handlers are code objects just for this reason.


This document pertains to Vi::Quickfix version 1.134


no Vi::QuickFix has no effect


        Anno Siegel
        CPAN ID: ANNO





perl(1), vim(1).