What's the difference between `syntax` and `filetype` in Vim?

Posted by TK on Super User See other posts from Super User or by TK
Published on 2010-04-11T12:15:29Z Indexed on 2010/04/11 12:23 UTC
Read the original article Hit count: 281

Filed under:

vim

|

deeper-understanding

What's the difference between syntax and filetype in Vim?

I learned that I can set syntax and filetype, but I can't understand the difference fully.

Is syntax used only for syntax highlighting?

© Super User or respective owner

Related posts about vim

Vim: Use different ~/.vim/plugin/ directories for different versions of vim?

as seen on Super User - Search for 'Super User'
Like many of you, my custom Vim configuration is stored in my ~/.vimrc, with the plugins, colors, etc. stored under ~/.vim/plugins, ~/.vim/colors, etc. I want to share a single Vim configuration among many servers. Some of these servers run Vim 7, some run the older Vim 6. Most Vim plugins are intended… >>> More
Why isn't the scripts in my autoload folder being executed in Vim?

as seen on Super User - Search for 'Super User'
I'm trying to use Pathogen to manage my Vim extensions. My bundle folder looks like this: .../bundle/ +-- vim-pathogen ¦ +-- autoload ¦ +-- pathogen.vim +-- vim-smoothscroll +-- autoload +-- smooth_scroll.vim And my vimrc file includes this: let s:root = fnamemodify(resolve(expand(":p"))… >>> More
Cygwin vim doesn't load files in runtimepath

as seen on Super User - Search for 'Super User'
I created a custom syntax file, and but none of the files in $VIMRUNTIME seem to load. I followed these pieces of the documentation: http://vimdoc.sourceforge.net/htmldoc/filetype.html#new-filetype http://vimdoc.sourceforge.net/htmldoc/syntax.html#mysyntaxfile When I do :echo &runtimepath I… >>> More
Debugging matchit plugin in vim (under Cygwin)

as seen on Stack Overflow - Search for 'Stack Overflow'
The "matchit" plugin for vim is supposed to allow you to use the % key to jump between matching start/end tags when editing HTML, as well as /* and */ comment delimiters when editing other kinds of code. I've followed the exact instructions in ":help matchit", but % still doesn't work for me. It… >>> More
Vim: How to execute commands stored in a textfile opened in Vim

as seen on Super User - Search for 'Super User'
I store, commands found at http://www.commandlinefu.com/commands/browse, in a text file. If I open this text file in Vim and I want to execute the command where the cursor is actually located I do copy the line with Y, switching to command mode with : and !CTRL+r* Is there a more "lazy" possibility ;) >>> More

Related posts about deeper-understanding

What's the difference between `syntax` and `filetype` in Vim?

as seen on Super User - Search for 'Super User'
What's the difference between syntax and filetype in Vim? I learned that I can set syntax and filetype, but I can't understand the difference fully. Is syntax used only for syntax highlighting? >>> More
java immutable object question

as seen on Stack Overflow - Search for 'Stack Overflow'
String abc[]={"abc"}; String def[]={}; def=abc; def[0]=def[0]+"changed"; System.out.println(abc[0]); by changing "def" object, my abc object is changed as well. Beside String[] array has this characteristic what other java object has similar characteristic? can explain more? in order to prevent… >>> More
How are Scala traits compiled into Java bytecode?

as seen on Stack Overflow - Search for 'Stack Overflow'
I have played around with Scala for a while now, and I know that traits can act as the Scala equivalent of both interfaces and abstract classes. Recently I've been wondering how exactly traits are compiled into Java bytecode. I found some short explanations that stated traits are compiled exactly… >>> More
Technically why is processes in Erlang more efficient than OS threads?

as seen on Stack Overflow - Search for 'Stack Overflow'
Spawning processes seam to be much more efficient in Erlang than starting new threads using the OS (i.e. by using Java or C). Erlang spawns thousands and millions of processes in a short period of time. I know that they are different since Erlang do per process GC and processes in Erlang are implemented… >>> More
Examples of "when is good idea implement many-to-many relationships"?

as seen on Stack Overflow - Search for 'Stack Overflow'
I ask this because need to understand/explain better with examples. clasical examples like: an Article can be published in multiple Publication objects, and a Publication has multiple Article objects. (source) I see is usefull for web2.0 for sharing features. >>> More