How to execute file I'm editing in Vi(m)

Question

How to execute file that I\'m editing in Vi(m) and get output in split window (like in SciTE)?

Of course I could execute it like that:

:!scriptname
<         


        

Answer 1

Vim has ! ("bang") command which executes shell command directly from VIM window. Moreover it allows launching sequence of commands that are connected with pipe and read stdout.

For example:

! node %

is equivalent to opening command prompt window and launching commands:

cd my_current_directory 
node my_current_file

See "Vim tips: Working with external commands" for details.