Overview
ZepMode_Search provides fast file searching and navigation capabilities within a project directory. It offers fuzzy matching and real-time search results, similar to tools like Ctrl+P in VS Code or telescope.nvim in Neovim.
Class Definition
class ZepMode_Search : public ZepMode
Constructor
ZepMode_Search(
ZepEditor& editor,
ZepWindow& previousWindow,
ZepWindow& window,
const fs::path& startPath
)
Reference to the parent ZepEditor instance
The window that was active before entering search mode
The window to display search results in
Root directory to start the file search from
Core Methods
AddKeyPress
virtual void AddKeyPress(uint32_t key, uint32_t modifiers = 0) override
Modifier keys (Ctrl, Alt, Shift)
As you type, the search results update in real-time with fuzzy matching.
Begin
virtual void Begin(ZepWindow* pWindow) override
The window to activate search mode in
Name
virtual const char* Name() const override
static const char* StaticName()
"Search"
DefaultMode
virtual EditorMode DefaultMode() const override
EditorMode::Normal
GetCursorType
virtual CursorType GetCursorType() const override
CursorType for search input
Notify
virtual void Notify(std::shared_ptr<ZepMessage> message) override
message
std::shared_ptr<ZepMessage>
required
The message to process
Search Result Structure
SearchResult
struct SearchResult
{
uint32_t index; // Index in the file list
uint32_t location; // Character position of last match
}
IndexSet
struct IndexSet
{
std::multimap<uint32_t, SearchResult> indices;
}
Opening Files
OpenType
enum class OpenType
{
Replace, // Replace current window content
VSplit, // Open in vertical split
HSplit, // Open in horizontal split
Tab // Open in new tab
}
Different key combinations in search mode can open files in different ways (e.g., Enter for replace, Ctrl+V for vsplit).
Search Algorithm
The search mode uses a hierarchical fuzzy matching algorithm:
- File Indexing: Asynchronously indexes all files in the directory
- Incremental Search: Builds a search tree as you type
- Fuzzy Matching: Matches characters in sequence, not necessarily adjacent
- Scoring: Ranks results by match quality
- Real-time Update: Updates results on every keystroke
Usage Example
Basic Search Setup
#include <zep/mode_search.h>
#include <zep/editor.h>
#include <zep/window.h>
// Create editor and window
auto editor = std::make_unique<ZepEditor>(display);
auto mainWindow = editor->GetActiveWindow();
// Create a dedicated search window
auto searchWindow = editor->AddWindow();
searchWindow->SetWindowFlags(WindowFlags::Modal);
// Initialize search mode
fs::path projectRoot = "/home/user/myproject";
auto searchMode = std::make_shared<ZepMode_Search>(
*editor,
*mainWindow, // Return to this window after selection
*searchWindow, // Display results here
projectRoot // Search in this directory
);
// Activate search mode
searchMode->Begin(searchWindow);
// User types search query
searchMode->AddKeyPress('m'); // m
searchMode->AddKeyPress('a'); // ma
searchMode->AddKeyPress('i'); // mai
// Results update: main.cpp, main.h, email.cpp, etc.
// Navigate results with arrow keys
searchMode->AddKeyPress(ExtKeys::DOWN);
searchMode->AddKeyPress(ExtKeys::DOWN);
// Open selected file with Enter
searchMode->AddKeyPress(ExtKeys::RETURN);
// File opens in mainWindow, search mode exits
Opening Files in Different Ways
// Open in vertical split: Ctrl+V
searchMode->AddKeyPress('v', ModifierKey::Ctrl);
// Open in horizontal split: Ctrl+H
searchMode->AddKeyPress('h', ModifierKey::Ctrl);
// Open in new tab: Ctrl+T
searchMode->AddKeyPress('t', ModifierKey::Ctrl);
Custom Search Configuration
class MySearchMode : public ZepMode_Search
{
public:
MySearchMode(
ZepEditor& editor,
ZepWindow& prevWin,
ZepWindow& win,
const fs::path& path
) : ZepMode_Search(editor, prevWin, win, path)
{
// Configure search
ConfigureIgnorePatterns();
}
private:
void ConfigureIgnorePatterns()
{
// Customize which files to ignore
m_ignorePatterns = {
"*.o",
"*.obj",
".git/*",
"build/*",
"node_modules/*",
".DS_Store"
};
}
std::vector<std::string> m_ignorePatterns;
};
Integration Example
class ProjectNavigator
{
public:
ProjectNavigator(ZepEditor& editor, const fs::path& projectRoot)
: m_editor(editor)
, m_projectRoot(projectRoot)
{
}
void ActivateSearch()
{
// Get current window
auto currentWindow = m_editor.GetActiveWindow();
// Create modal search window
auto searchWindow = CreateSearchWindow();
// Create and activate search mode
m_searchMode = std::make_shared<ZepMode_Search>(
m_editor,
*currentWindow,
*searchWindow,
m_projectRoot
);
m_searchMode->Begin(searchWindow);
// Store previous mode to restore later
m_previousMode = m_editor.GetCurrentMode();
}
void CancelSearch()
{
// Restore previous mode
if (m_previousMode) {
m_editor.SetMode(m_previousMode->Name());
}
}
private:
ZepWindow* CreateSearchWindow()
{
// Create a centered, modal window for search
auto window = m_editor.AddWindow();
// Position at screen center
NVec2f screenSize = m_editor.GetDisplay().GetScreenSize();
NVec2f windowSize(screenSize.x * 0.6f, screenSize.y * 0.4f);
NVec2f windowPos(
(screenSize.x - windowSize.x) / 2,
(screenSize.y - windowSize.y) / 2
);
window->SetWindowRect(NRectf(windowPos, windowSize));
window->SetWindowFlags(WindowFlags::Modal | WindowFlags::Floating);
return window;
}
ZepEditor& m_editor;
fs::path m_projectRoot;
std::shared_ptr<ZepMode_Search> m_searchMode;
std::shared_ptr<ZepMode> m_previousMode;
};
// Usage
ProjectNavigator navigator(editor, "/home/user/project");
// Bind to Ctrl+P
if (key == 'p' && modifiers & ModifierKey::Ctrl) {
navigator.ActivateSearch();
}
// Bind Escape to cancel
if (key == ExtKeys::ESCAPE && editor.GetCurrentMode()->Name() == "Search") {
navigator.CancelSearch();
}
Search Features
Fuzzy Matching
Search supports fuzzy matching where characters don’t need to be adjacent:
- Query:
mah matches:
main.h (exact character sequence)my_app_header.h (characters present in order)manager.h (characters present)
Case Sensitivity
Search can be configured for case-sensitive or case-insensitive matching:
// Case-insensitive by default
m_caseImportant = false;
// Enable case-sensitive search
m_caseImportant = true;
Asynchronous Indexing
File indexing happens asynchronously using std::future:
// Indexing doesn't block the UI
std::future<std::shared_ptr<FileIndexResult>> m_indexResult;
std::future<std::shared_ptr<IndexSet>> m_searchResult;
Large projects with thousands of files remain responsive during indexing thanks to asynchronous processing.
- Initial Indexing: First search in a directory indexes all files
- Incremental Updates: Subsequent searches reuse the index
- Result Limiting: Only top N results are displayed for performance
- Thread Safety: Indexing runs on background threads
See Also
