source: postlfs/config/vimrc.xml@ f8d632a

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1"?>
<!DOCTYPE part PUBLIC "-//OASIS//DTD DocBook XML V4.3//EN"
   "http://www.oasis-open.org/docbook/xml/4.3/docbookx.dtd" [
  <!ENTITY % general-entities SYSTEM "../../general.ent">
  %general-entities;
]>

<sect1 id="postlfs-config-vimrc" xreflabel="/etc/vimrc, ~/.vimrc">
<?dbhtml filename="vimrc.html"?>
<title>/etc/vimrc, ~/.vimrc</title>

<para>The <acronym>LFS</acronym> book installs <application>vim</application>
as its text editor.  At this point we should state that there are a
<emphasis>lot</emphasis> of different editing applications out there including
<application>emacs</application>, <application>nano</application>,
<application>joe</application> and many more.  Anyone who has been around the
Internet (especially usenet) for a short time will certainly have observed at
least one flame war, usually involving <application>vim</application> and
<application>emacs</application> users!</para>

<para>The <acronym>LFS</acronym> book gives a basic <filename>vimrc
</filename> file.  Here, we attempt to enhance this file.  At startup,
<command>vim</command> reads <filename>/etc/vimrc</filename> and 
<filename>~/.vimrc</filename> (i.e., the global
<filename>vimrc</filename> and the user-specific one.).  Note that this is
only true if you compiled <application>vim</application> using
<acronym>LFS</acronym>-3.1 onwards.  Prior to this,
the global <filename>vimrc</filename> was <filename>/usr/share/vim/vimrc
</filename>.</para>

<para>Here is a slightly expanded <filename>vimrc</filename> that you can 
put in <filename>/etc/vimrc</filename> to provide global effect. Of course, if
you put it into <filename>/etc/skel/.vimrc</filename> instead, it will
be made available to users you add to the system later. You can also copy
the file from <filename>/etc/skel/.vimrc</filename> to
<filename>/etc/vimrc</filename> and the home directory of users already
on the system, like root. Be sure to set permissions, owner, and group if
you do copy anything directly from <filename>/etc/skel</filename>.</para>

<screen>" Begin .vimrc

set nocompatible
set bs=2
set columns=80
set background=dark
set wrapmargin=8
syntax on
set ruler

" End .vimrc</screen>

<para>A <acronym>FAQ</acronym> on the lfs mailing lists regards the 
comment tags in <filename>vimrc</filename>.  Note that they are " instead 
of the more usual # or //.  This is correct, the syntax for <filename>vimrc
</filename> is slightly unusual.</para>

<para>We'll run through a quick explanation of what each of the
options in this example file means here:</para>
<itemizedlist>

<listitem><para><option>set nocompatible</option> : This option
stops <command>vim</command> from behaving in a strongly <command>vi
</command>-compatible way. It should be at the start of any <filename>vimrc
</filename> file as it can affect lots of other options which you may want to
override.</para></listitem>

<listitem><para><option>set bs=2</option>: This influences the behavior 
of the backspace option.  It is fairly complex so see <command>:help 'bs'
</command> for more details.</para></listitem>

<listitem><para><option>set columns=80</option>: This simply sets the 
number of columns used on the screen.</para></listitem>

<listitem><para><option>set background=dark</option>: This tells
<command>vim</command> to use colors which look good on a dark 
background.</para></listitem>

<listitem><para><option>set wrapmargin=8</option>: This is the number of 
characters from the right window  border where wrapping starts.</para>
</listitem>

<listitem><para><option>syntax on</option>: Enables
<command>vim</command>'s syntax highlighting.</para></listitem>

<listitem><para><option>set ruler</option>: This makes <command>vim
</command> show the current row and column at the bottom right of
the screen.</para></listitem>


</itemizedlist>

<para>More information on the <emphasis>many</emphasis> <command>vim</command> 
options can be found by reading the help inside <command>vim</command> itself.  
Do this by typing <command>:</command><option>help</option> in 
<command>vim</command> to get the general help, or by typing <command>:
</command><option>help usr_toc.txt</option> to view 
the User Manual Table of Contents.</para>

</sect1>