A New Approach to Vim's Checksum Plugin Using VLang

The V programming language includes a robust cryptographic module that provides developers with access to a variety of cryptographic algorithms, making it a valuable resource for implementing cryptographic features in applications. A key function of this module is the ability to calculate the SHA hash of a file, which serves as a unique checksum for that file. This checksum allows developers to easily verify whether a file has been altered or corrupted; if the checksum matches a previously recorded value, the file is confirmed to be unchanged.

This approach also offers an efficient method for identifying duplicate files. Instead of comparing entire files, developers can simply compare their checksums, streamlining the process significantly, as shown in the video below.

Furthermore, the existing Vim plugin for cryptographic file checksumming, checksum.vim, has not been updated for quite a while. This plugin has also several limitations to be useful within my workflow, including its restriction to POSIX systems and the requirement for pre-installed utilities such as md5sum or openssl.

In the video above, we showcase a new Vim plugin that leverages modern Vim9 features, like Vim9Script. By creating a cross-platform solution, we hope to reach a wider audience of Vim users who may not have access to the traditional Unix tools that the existing plugins relies on. Moreover, this implementation does not require preinstalled binaries apart the Vlang compiler, making it easier for users to get started without the hassle of managing external dependencies.

This new Vim extension introduces two commands: one displays the checksum of the current buffer, while the other saves this checksum to a text file in the same directory. As demonstrated in the video, you can easily generate a checksum file for all your intended files and subsequently verify their integrity using Core-Utils command-line applications.

Command Line vchecksum.v

The vchecksum.v program, included in the plugin, is a command-line tool designed to compute and verify checksums for files. Below, you will find instructions on how to download, compile, and use the vchecksum.v program.

To get started, you need to download the source code for vchecksum.v. You can easily do this using the wget command. Open your terminal and run the following command:

   wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/sevehub/vchecksum.vim/refs/heads/main/src/vchecksum.v

This command will fetch the vchecksum.v file from the repository and save it in your current working directory.Once you have downloaded the source code, the next step is to compile it into an executable binary. You can do this using the V programming language compiler. If you have the V compiler installed, run the following command in your terminal:

   v run vchecksum.v

Alternatively, if you want to create a standalone executable, you can compile it with the following command:

   v build vchecksum.v

This will generate an executable file named vchecksum.exe in your working directory.

After compiling the program, you can use vchecksum.exe to compute and verify checksums. The basic syntax for using the program is as follows:

   vchecksum.exe -a sha256 filename

The vchecksum.v command-line tool provides a simple, unified, cross-platform utility for managing file integrity through checksum verification. By following the steps outlined above, you can easily download, compile, and use this program to ensure your files remain intact and unaltered.