To have Vim-like K in Screen for MySQL - mysql

Question

This question is based on this thread.
Problem: to access MySQL's manual when the cursor is at the beginning of the word by
Ctrl-A Esc Ctrl-m
where m reminds about Mysql.
How can you build a Vim-like K in Screen for MySQL's manuals?

Answer 1

Assuming you've installed the man pages from MySQL's documentation site:
Put the following in /path/to/mysql-help.screen:
# mysql-help.screen
# prevent messages from slowing this down
msgminwait 0
# copy term starting at cursor
copy
stuff " e "
# write term to a file
writebuf /tmp/screen-copied-term
# open that file in man in a new screen window
# (use `read` to pause on error, so user can see error message)
screen /bin/sh -c 'man `cat /tmp/screen-copied-term` || read'
# turn message waiting back on
msgminwait 1
# vi: ft=screen
Then add this to your ~/.screenrc
# Have CTRL-A ESC put you in a mode to accept commands in the 'escaped' class
bind \033 command -c escaped
# add CTRL-M as an 'escaped' class command to run the given screen script
bind -c escaped ^M source /path/to/mysql-help.screen
Then your keybinding should work. If you're using a different program to display
the manual other than man, you'll have to change the script accordingly.
The man pages for mysql that I found at the link above only include documentation
for the following commands:
mysqlbug mysqlhotcopy perror mysqldump resolveip mysqltest_embedded mysql_setpermission mysql_client_test mysql_find_rows mysql_fix_privilege_tables mysql_waitpid mysql_config mysql_client_test_embedded myisampack replace msql2mysql make_win_bin_dist my_print_defaults mysql-stress-test.pl mysqlaccess mysql_secure_installation mysql.server mysql_convert_table_format mysql_zap mysql_fix_extensions myisamlog myisam_ftdump mysqlbinlog mysql_install_db resolve_stack_dump mysqlslap mysql-test-run.pl mysqld_safe mysqladmin mysqlshow mysql_tzinfo_to_sql mysqltest mysqlbackup mysqld_multi mysql mysqldumpslow mysqlcheck mysql_upgrade mysqlimport comp_err mysqld myisamchk innochecksum
You may also want to consider adding
zombie kr
to your .screenrc, so that if you run the manual on a term that it doesn't recognize, screen doesn't automatically close the window (and hide the error message).

Answer 2

While I'm not sure how to start you off creating a wrapper for vim to do exactly what you want, I might make a suggestion on how you can achieve a similar effect with a function built into vim.
:! <command> will allow you to run shell commands with a similar interface to vim's K command. It might not be the cleanest way to do it, but by using :! you should be able to call the MySQL manuals for a given term quickly without completely leaving vim.
If you really need to write your own plugin for vim, this article might be able to give you some pointers and a handhold on where to start.
I hope this helps!

Answer 3

I love to recycle my Man -pages such that I can read easily manuals.
I suggests the following improvement to Rampion's command.
Rampion
screen /bin/sh -c 'man `cat /tmp/screen-copied-term` || read'
Me
screen /bin/sh -c 'man `cat /tmp/screen-copied-term` > /tmp/manual | less /tmp/manual'
My code gives you the percent sign to the bottom of a manual.