Red Hat Bugzilla – Bug 16666
VIM named VI, breaks VIMTUTOR
Last modified: 2008-05-01 11:37:58 EDT
VIMTUTOR, a script listed in /bin/ after a Red Hat Linux 6.2 installation, fails to run because it makes use of VIM rather than VI to do its work. This results in the errors: /bin/vimtutor: vim: command not found /bin/vimtutor: vim: command not found rm: cannot remove `/tmp/tutor2333': No such file or directory Users can resolve the problem with the following command while logged in as root: $ cp /bin/vi /bin/vim The result of this is two copies of the exact same duplicate file: 'vi' and 'vim'.
vim is included in the vim-enhanced package. The actual problem is with vimtutor, which should check which versions of vi are there. This is fixed in rawhide.
"vi" in the full installation of RedHat 6.2 (a standard installation of the RedHat server) is actually vim. Indeed, it would be nice if vimtutor detected vi/vim, but when one types "vi" (not "vim") he does not expect to see a big "VIM - Vi IMproved" screen, hence a possible flaw with the RedHat installation package. Additionally, what is vimtutor doing included in an installation that doesn't install vim as "vim"? vimtutor can be corrected by changing the script to use "vi" rather than "vim", but this is an incorrect solution because vi is not vim, and the vim tutor is specifically intended for vim; but then, the "vi" in RedHat is vim, so the real solution is for RedHat to rename vi to vim and to include the original vi.
Yes, on a Red HAt System vi == vim. /bin/vi == vim-minimal == vim in vi-compatible, featureless mode /usr/bin/vim == vim-enhanced == not-fully-vi-compatible version with numerous features. vimtutor can handle both, so the fix in rawhide (checking whether /usr/bin/vim is there, and if it isn't, falling back to /bin/vi) is the right one.
Sorry, but why the hell isn't there any "vim" on RedHat? I work a lot with different flavours of UNIX and I am used to type "vim" because I don't want to use the old vi e.g. on Solaris systems. So everytime I am logged onto a RedHat box i get annoyed by "bash: vim: command not found" Is it so hard to have a symlink from /usr/bin/vim -> /bin/vi ? Most times I add this by hand, but it would be good to have it in the rpm.
> Sorry, but why the hell isn't there any "vim" on RedHat? There is. Install the vim-enhanced package as Bero explained.