How to match and replace the pattern [35+1] in vim version 7.4.160?

Question

I have the file with below content:

char  abc[35+1];
char  abc[35+1];
[123];
char a_wo_011[35+1];

I want to replace the [35+1] with say ABC But its not working. I am able to search the pattern with below command:

/[35+1\]

But if I try to replace it , it is not working:

:%s/[35+1\]/ABC/

I even tried tripple \\ from other post. Can you please advise what am I doing wrong and how to fix it? Thanks.

statox · Accepted Answer · 2018-12-04 16:29:13Z

1

You need to escape [ instead of ] to indicate to Vim that you are not matching a collection of atoms but a litteral [

This should do the job:

%s/\[35+1]/ABC

answered Dec 4, 2018 at 16:29

statox

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1

I tried everything but that. Thanks a lot for helping me. Will accept the answer after 5 minute limit. :) and thanks for explanation too
– Forever Learner
Dec 4, 2018 at 16:32
@ForeverLearner you should read :h magic, this will make it easier to avoid explicitly escaping characters with special meaning. For example /\V[35+1]/ would work
– AnonymousLurker
Dec 4, 2018 at 18:38

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