Invoking javac.exe within Vim

Question

I had previously asked a question about using Vim to develop Java, but I ended up realizing JDK works very well and that Ant is wayyy too much complicated for a starter like me. Things got a little bit clearer, and now I have a question again.

When I work with a file such as 'filename.java', I need to be able to use 'javac.exe', which is in the Java Development Kit (JDK), on 'filename.java' (a typical project I could be working on). Normally, to do this outside Vim, I could do

:shell in Vim to access a shell outside Vim

C:\Program Files...\javac C:\home-directory-of-filename.java\filename.java

Which is pretty long, because I must access the javac directory and then write the whole 'filename.java' directory.

Is there anyway to ask Vim to call javac and use it directly on the file that I am working on? I would be pleased if anyone could help. I tried to write a couple of things in my _vimrc file, unsuccessfully. By the way, I am a windows vista user.

Answer 1

You can perform an action against the file open in the current buffer using %. So, if you want to execute javac.exe against your current buffer, you could type:

:!javac %

To make it easier on the fingers, you could create a mapping in your .vimrc like so:

map <LocalLeader>jc :!javac %<CR>

Now simply type \jc (or whatever your local leader is) in your buffer and presto, you've run javac against that file.

Answer 2

Thanks to Drew Olson, I found my answer. But it was not a system path problem, I simply needed to type correctly the path to javac in the mapping. What I have added in my _vimrc was this line :

map jc :!"C:\Program Files\path-leading-to-javac.exe\javac.exe" %

The path written between "s is read correctly by Vim. I don't know if it is written correctly for master-geeks, but I don't care, because it works for me and I know barely nothing right now. =D

P.S. : For geeks who think noobs know everything, please try to be user-friendly. Popping a website with no indications is not user-friendly. It is only a tip, not an offense. I still appreciate the help.