source: postlfs/config/vimrc.xml@ 64d97b7c

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

<para>The LFS book installs vim as its editor.  At this point we should
state that there are a <emphasis>lot</emphasis> of different editors out
there including emacs, nano, joe 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 vim and emacs
users!</para>

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

<para>Here is an example of a slightly expanded vimrc:</para>

<para><screen>" Begin .vimrc

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

" End .vimrc</screen></para>

<para>A FAQ on the lfs lists regards the comment tags in vimrc.  Note
that they are " instead of the more usual # or //.  This is correct, the
syntax for vimrc 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><userinput>set nocompatible :</userinput>
This option stops vim from behaving in a strongly vi-compatible way.  It
should be at the start of any vimrc file as it can affect lots of other
options which you may want to override.</para></listitem>

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

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

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

<listitem><para><userinput>set tabstop=8 :</userinput>
The number of spaces which a tabstop takes.</para></listitem>

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

<listitem><para><userinput>set nobk :</userinput>
This stops vim from creating a backup before 
overwriting a file.</para></listitem>

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

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

<listitem><para><userinput>set noexpandtab :</userinput>
This makes vim insert tabs as tab characters instead of as a set of
spaces.</para></listitem>

</itemizedlist>

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

</sect1>