What are the differences between vim.basic and vim.tiny?

Question

My favorite editor is Vim, so I decided to change the default editor of my ubuntu installation with the following command:

sudo update-alternatives --config editor

A prompt (with listed options) came up asking for an editor, but I noticed that it listed two flavors of Vim:

• /usr/bin/vim.basic
• /usr/bin/vim.tiny

What is the difference between the basic and tiny options?

Solution

So, vim.basic is just plain vanilla Vim (as you can check with apt-file vim.basic or dpkg -S /usr/bin/vim.basic).

While vim.tiny, as the name implies, is a trimmed-down version of Vim (this question explains it further).

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Kudos for @terdon at comments for sorting that out.

Comments

[Mitch]

Check out this comment about the differences: askubuntu.com/a/104202/284690

[M Rahi]

@terdon not really

[terdon]

@talles the linked question explains that vim.tiny is just a trimmed-down version of vim, presumably designed as a lightweight alternative and the accepted answer lists the vim features that are present in vim.tiny. Combined, they seem to answer your question perfectly. Don't they?

[M Rahi]

@terdon What about vim.basic? My question is precisely the difference between these two options. I'm sorry but a question that might have some information that helps it's definitely not an answer, it's just a helpful link. I don't want to start a debate here, but it's definitely *not* a duplicate IMO.

[terdon]

No debate, it's your question so if the other doesn't answer it then it's not a dupe by definition. I'm just trying to understand what else you need that is not explained there. Could you edit the question and clarify? vim.basic is just vim, and vim.tiny is a limited version of vim. You want to use vim.basic (or vim.gnome if that is installed and you want the GUI version). What else do you need to know?

[M Rahi]

@terdon So vim.basic it's just plain vanilla Vim? Didn't know that (man page doesn't state anything about it). Thank you. Next time try to answer it as an answer (rather than as a comment) ;)

[terdon]

Yes, vim.basic is just vim and is installed when you install the vim package (check with apt-file vim.basic or dpkg -S /usr/bin/vim.basic). I did not answer because I considered it a duplicate and answering a duplicate is a waste of effort for everyone involved. Glad you sorted it out.

[Don Hatch]

When you say "plain vanilla Vim", there's a connotation that it's as opposed to some kind of "fancy spumoni Vim". Could you explain what you mean?

[krubo]

@DonHatch vim.basic can be called "plain vanilla vim" because it's what you get by default when you run vim from the command line. That is, /usr/bin/vim is a symlink to /etc/alternatives/vim, which by default is a symlink to /usr/bin/vim.basic.