~ / search / search-motionlesson 2/7

Search as a motion: d/ c/ d?

Any search can end an operator, even several lines away.

?how it works

A search is a motion, so it works after an operator. d/and<CR> deletes from the cursor up to the next "and", c/)<CR> changes everything up to the next ), and d?, <CR> deletes backwards to the previous ", ".

Search motions are exclusive: the match itself is not included. Going forward, the text stops just before the match. Going backward, the range runs from the match up to the cursor, and the character under the cursor stays.

This is the motion to reach for when the end of your edit is a word or a phrase, or when it is on another line, where t and f can't go. You see the target highlighted before you press <CR>, so there's no counting words.

Want the match deleted too? Add the e offset: d/and/e<CR>. More on offsets later in this module.

⌨keys

`d/{pattern}<CR>`	delete up to (not including) the next match
`c/{pattern}<CR>`	change up to the next match
`d?{pattern}<CR>`	delete back to the previous match (keeps the cursor character)
`y/{pattern}<CR>`	yank up to the next match

3 drills

Delete up to a match: Delete from the cursor up to the target text, across the line break, with d/.
Change up to a match: Replace the text from the cursor up to the target with the new text, using c/.
Delete backwards with d?: Delete from the target back to the cursor with d?. The character under the cursor stays.

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