Open File in MacVim from Terminal

When it comes to Vim, many tutorials still focus on outdated techniques. It's 2018 now, and Vim 8 has been available for two years, shipping with all Linux distributions and Mac OS X. This means we can take advantage of its modern features, such as defining variables like `:let $CXXFLAGS='-std=c++11'` to compile in C++11.

In my solution, you only need to set the compiler variable once using `:let $CXX='clang++'`, and then call `:make %`. This is because every time you switch languages, you'll have to change the compiler command (unless you use `:setlocal`).

It's also important not to set `&makeprg` to g++, gcc, clang, or gfortran. If you want your compilation command to adapt automatically depending on the project type, more wiring is needed, which is what BTW does - it reads various options to know what to do.

In all cases, calling the compiler directly from within or outside Vim using `:!g++ -o % :make %` is the way to go. This requires coupling with a local Vim plugin like BuildToolsWrapper, which integrates the management of CMake, allowing you to choose the build directory and select between debug, release, or other build directories.

In short, no Makefile is required, tweaking `&makeprg` is unnecessary, and yet we can use `:make %` with `debug` and `release` options.

Open file in macvim from terminal