docs: add code-overview from wiki to src/nvim/README.md

1 files changed, 62 insertions, 0 deletions

diff --git a/src/nvim/README.md b/src/nvim/README.md
index b484d59cb3..b264c918b6 100644
--- a/src/nvim/README.md
+++ b/src/nvim/README.md
@@ -392,6 +392,68 @@ modes managed by the `state_enter` loop:
 - insert mode: `insert_{enter,check,execute}()`(`edit.c`)
 - terminal mode: `terminal_{enter,execute}()`(`terminal.c`)
 
+## Important variables
+
+The current mode is stored in `State`.  The values it can have are `MODE_NORMAL`,
+`MODE_INSERT`, `MODE_CMDLINE`, and a few others.
+
+The current window is `curwin`.  The current buffer is `curbuf`.  These point
+to structures with the cursor position in the window, option values, the file
+name, etc.
+
+All the global variables are declared in `globals.h`.
+
+### The main loop
+
+The main loop is implemented in state_enter. The basic idea is that Vim waits
+for the user to type a character and processes it until another character is
+needed.  Thus there are several places where Vim waits for a character to be
+typed.  The `vgetc()` function is used for this.  It also handles mapping.
+
+Updating the screen is mostly postponed until a command or a sequence of
+commands has finished.  The work is done by `update_screen()`, which calls
+`win_update()` for every window, which calls `win_line()` for every line.
+See the start of [drawscreen.c](drawscreen.c) for more explanations.
+
+### Command-line mode
+
+When typing a `:`, `normal_cmd()` will call `getcmdline()` to obtain a line with
+an Ex command.  `getcmdline()` calls a loop that will handle each typed
+character.  It returns when hitting `<CR>` or `<Esc>` or some other character that
+ends the command line mode.
+
+### Ex commands
+
+Ex commands are handled by the function `do_cmdline()`.  It does the generic
+parsing of the `:` command line and calls `do_one_cmd()` for each separate
+command.  It also takes care of while loops.
+
+`do_one_cmd()` parses the range and generic arguments and puts them in the
+exarg_t and passes it to the function that handles the command.
+
+The `:` commands are listed in [ex_cmds.lua](ex_cmds.lua).
+
+### Normal mode commands
+
+The Normal mode commands are handled by the `normal_cmd()` function.  It also
+handles the optional count and an extra character for some commands.  These
+are passed in a `cmdarg_T` to the function that handles the command.
+
+There is a table `nv_cmds` in [normal.c](normal.c) which
+lists the first character of every
+command.  The second entry of each item is the name of the function that
+handles the command.
+
+### Insert mode commands
+
+When doing an `i` or `a` command, `normal_cmd()` will call the `edit()` function.
+It contains a loop that waits for the next character and handles it.  It
+returns when leaving Insert mode.
+
+### Options
+
+There is a list with all option names in [options.lua](options.lua).
+
 Async event support
 -------------------