Vim linked with Embeddable Common Lisp (ECL)

Jim Bailey, Eirik Nygaard, Brad Beveridge, and Larry Clapp have linked Vim (first 6.4, then 7.0) with Embeddable Common Lisp. The Slim-Vim (nee Slimpl) project uses this as their platform to port SLIME to Vim. Jim also added asynchronous event support to Vim, which Slim-Vim also needs.

As a sub-goal of the Slim-Vim project, we want to expand the Lisp support for Vim.

Where to get it

Darcs repositories for Vim+ECL and other Slim-Vim-related projects.

Where to talk about it

The Slim-Vim mailing list includes discussion of Vim+ECL.

Todo list for Vim+ECL, separate from Slim-Vim

General
• Make buffer objects CLOS objects. Currently they're "foreign objects".
• Save a pointer to the CLOS object in the Vim buffer struct.
• Document the interface, both for the user and the developer.
• Optional / requires discussion: build a stream on top of a Lisp buffer, so you can (format *buffer* "...") and use other stream-related functions, like FILE-POSITION to get/set the cursor position.

Lisp<->Vim FFI -- calling Vim operators and functions from Lisp
• Add Lisp functions to call all the Vim-script functions. See the def-vim-function macro.
• Add Lisp functions to call / duplicate all the Vim operators (normal mode commands, command-line commands, etc).
• Optional / requires discussion: Expand the FFI to use the CLOS buffer objects mentioned above
• Currently the FFI builds a string and then hands it to Vim to run via a mechanism similar to

  :exec "some code"

  Upgrade it to call the internal C functions directly. This will speed things up, possibly by a lot, and make the FFI compiled code "all the way down".