Why is Vim no longer installed in 12.04 desktops and is there a better alternative?

Question

What are the reasons and alternatives to the removal of Vim from a default Ubuntu installation since Oneiric 11.10?

Solution 1

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.

Solution 2

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>

Solution 3

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

Comments

[InuYaksa]

vim is not even in 10.04

[Kris Harper]

@daithib8 As far as I know, I always have to install it on the desktop version. I don't think it was installed by default in 11.10.

[myles]

Yes, the better alternative is called emacs....

[Keith Thompson]

Don't feel you need to find an alternative just because vim isn't installed by default (unless you commonly use Ubuntu systems on which you're unable to install packages).

[BlitZz]

Ubuntu includes by default a vi-compatible editor, vim-tiny (invoke it just with 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.

[a1an]

@KeithThompson emacs is also missing in the default setup of ubuntu desktop, I was looking for a command line alternative readily available on a default setup

[rbaleksandar]

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.