What are the reasons and alternatives to the removal of Vim from a default Ubuntu installation since Oneiric 11.10?
3 Answers
Usually, packages are removed from the default installation due to space constraint. CDs are limited ( and so does DVD ), and there is pressure to add more translations, to support more hardware ( especially with big binary blobs like the Nvidia driver ), etc.
So usually, packagers take a look at what can be safely removed ( ie, without removing important use case of a default distribution ). In the case of vim, there is already gedit and nano to fill the position and I would say that people who use vim are able to install it from the archive without much problem.
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I think this should no longer be the issue since the default installation of Ubuntu no longer fits on a single CD. This applies for all versions after (and including) 12.04 LTS. In fact I find the new size pretty annoying due to the fact that it does not fit a CD yet it does no require a full DVD. In this regard Debian and many other distributions are smart enough to offer a relatively small default installation that fits on a single CD and then provide all the extras on other CDs or even DVDs. Aug 7, 2014 at 19:47
I think most desktop user use nano
or gedit
... if you install Ubuntu Server vim
is still installed by default.
If you type vim
on a 12.04 desktop you get:
The program 'vim' can be found in the following packages: * vim * vim-gnome * vim-tiny * vim-athena * vim-gtk * vim-nox
Try installing any of these with sudo apt-get install <selected package>
You can install the vim editor simply by typing sudo apt-get install vim
in terminal.
Good alternatives for vim are nano,the vi editor or if you prefer a GUI experience rather than terminal you can use gedit which is installed by default or a more simple editor like leafpad,or the GTK+ version of vim which you get with sudo apt-get install vim-gtk
vim
isn't installed by default (unless you commonly use Ubuntu systems on which you're unable to install packages).vi
). It lacks some of the advanced features of the full-fledged vim, but will at least allow you to edit files using your command set of choice.