VIM search and replace: change string before replace

Question

I need to replace several lines in a PHP file like the following (this is only an example but it represents the real problem):

<?php

$errors = array(
    'error_1',
    'error_2',
    'error_3',
    'error_4',
    'error_5',
);

I want to make them an associative array, no problem with that:

:%s/'\(.\+\)',/'\1' => '\1',/g

And I will get the following output:

<?php

$errors = array(
    'error_1' => 'error_1',
    'error_2' => 'error_2',
    'error_3' => 'error_3',
    'error_4' => 'error_4',
    'error_5' => 'error_5',
);

But the problem is: I want to remove the underscore from the array values (the keys have to contain undescores), is there a way that I can replace underscores for white-spaces before replacing with \1?

That's the output that I want:

<?php

$errors = array(
    'error_1' => 'error 1',
    'error_2' => 'error 2',
    'error_3' => 'error 3',
    'error_4' => 'error 4',
    'error_5' => 'error 5',
);

You could use submatch, as explained by @Marth; but you should first simplify your original regex, e.g., %s/\('.\+'\)\zs,/ => \1,/g — mMontu
– mMontu, Commented Aug 19, 2015 at 18:52

Marth · Accepted Answer · 2015-08-19 19:16:46Z

3

You could use

%s/\v'(.+)'/\="'" . submatch(1) . "' => '" . substitute(submatch(1), "_", " ", "g") . "'"

\= starts a 'sub-replace-expression' (see :h sub-replace-\=) in which you use submatch(1) to access \1, and substitute() (see :h substitute()) to replace "_" by " " in its second occurrence (change "g" to "" if you only want to substitute the first "_" occurrence in \1).

Capturing the surrounding single quotes in \1 makes the replace part a bit easier to read :

:%s/\v('.+')/\=submatch(1) . " => " . substitute(submatch(1), "_", " ", "g")

Of course if the pattern is simple enough, Two-Bit Alchemist's solution is probably faster/easier to use/remember.

edited Aug 19, 2015 at 19:16

answered Aug 19, 2015 at 18:48

Marth

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4 Comments

Jason Hu Over a year ago

wouldn't it be better if you put a g flag?

Marth Over a year ago

@HuStmpHrrr: It doesn't appear to be necessary in OP's question (also the real reason is that I've had gdefault on for so long that I pretty much always forget about it when I answer a question).

user2937998 Over a year ago

I just had to add the 'g' flag and then it worked like a charm. The actual strings are a little more complex than error_, like: "error_cannot_read_file_from_provided_path". Thank you so much!

Marth Over a year ago

@user2937998: I'm guessing you mean the g flag in the substitute() call, which I just realized is probably what @HuStmpHrrr meant too. I'll edit my answer and add it to it.

Two-Bit Alchemist · Accepted Answer · 2015-08-19 18:45:45Z

2

If they all start with error_, just use that:

%s/'error_\(\d\)'/'error_\1' => 'error \1'/g

Otherwise if all you can work with is the underscore, you'll just have to define a pattern for that as well and capture 2 groups:

%s/'\(\w\+\)_\(\d\)'/'\1_\2' => '\1 \2'/g

answered Aug 19, 2015 at 18:45

Two-Bit Alchemist

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