Vim 8.1 is released!

[Bram Moolenaar]

Hello Vim users!

Announcing: Vim (Vi IMproved) version 8.1


This is a minor release with many small improvements and lots of bug
fixes. The main new feature is the terminal window. I have put up a
few screenshots on the Vim website:
https://www.vim.org/vim-8.1-released.php

Once you have installed Vim 8.1 you can find details about the changes
since Vim 8.1 with:
:help version8.1
Or view it online:
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/vim/vim/master/runtime/doc/version8.txt


Gratitude
---------

If you like Vim, please consider helping poor children in the south of
Uganda: http://iccf-holland.org


Where to get it
---------------

The best way to obtain the latest Vim is using Git. Summary:
git clone https://github.com/vim/vim.git
More information here: https://www.vim.org/git.php

For MS-Windows most of you will want the self-installing executable:
https://ftp.nluug.nl/pub/vim/pc/gvim81.exe

Information about which files to download for what system:
https://www.vim.org/download.php

A list of mirror sites can be found here:
https://www.vim.org/mirrors.php


The files available for download:

UNIX:
sources + runtime files, bzip2 compressed:
https://ftp.nluug.nl/pub/vim/unix/vim-8.1.tar.bz2

VARIOUS:
help files converted to HTML:
https://ftp.nluug.nl/pub/vim/doc/vim81html.zip

MS-WINDOWS one-size-fits-all:
Self-installing, includes all runtime files, loads libraries dynamically:
https://ftp.nluug.nl/pub/vim/pc/gvim81.exe

MS-WINDOWS separate files:
Runtime files:
https://ftp.nluug.nl/pub/vim/pc/vim81rt.zip
GUI binary for Windows 95/98/NT/2000/XP/7:
https://ftp.nluug.nl/pub/vim/pc/gvim81.zip
GUI binary with OLE support:
https://ftp.nluug.nl/pub/vim/pc/gvim81ole.zip
Console version for Windows NT/2000/XP/7:
https://ftp.nluug.nl/pub/vim/pc/vim81w32.zip
Sources for PC (with CR-LF):
https://ftp.nluug.nl/pub/vim/pc/vim81src.zip

For debugging:
https://ftp.nluug.nl/pub/vim/pc/gvim81.pdb
https://ftp.nluug.nl/pub/vim/pc/gvim81ole.pdb
https://ftp.nluug.nl/pub/vim/pc/vim81w32.pdb

AMIGA:
Only runtime and sources are provided, no binary:
https://ftp.nluug.nl/pub/vim/amiga/vim81rt.tgz
https://ftp.nluug.nl/pub/vim/amiga/vim81src.tgz


Omitted in this version are:
- The 16-bit DOS, OS/2 and Amiga versions, these are obsolete.
- The 32-bit console version for MS-DOS/Windows 95/98
- The 16 bit MS-Windows version


Mailing lists
-------------

For user questions you can turn to the Vim mailing list. There are a
lot of tips, scripts and solutions. You can ask your Vim questions, but
only if you subscribe. See https://www.vim.org/maillist.php#vim

If you want to help Vim development, discuss new features or get the
latest patches, subscribe to the vim-dev mailing list. See
https://www.vim.org/maillist.php#vim-dev

Subject specific lists:
Macintosh issues: https://www.vim.org/maillist.php#vim-mac

Before you ask a question you should search the archives, someone may
already have given the answer.


Reporting bugs
--------------

Send them to <vim...@vim.org>. Please describe the problem precisely.
All the time spent on answering mail is subtracted from the time that is
spent on improving Vim! Always give a reproducible example and try to
find out which settings or other things influence the appearance of the
bug. Try starting without your own vimrc file: "vim -u NONE". Try
different machines if possible. See ":help bugs" in Vim.

Alternatively, create an issue at github and/or a pull request.
Please try to write a test that reproduces the problem and will pass
once it is fixed. See https://github.com/vim/vim


Happy Vimming!


--
INSPECTOR END OF FILM: Move along. There's nothing to see! Keep moving!
[Suddenly he notices the cameras.]
INSPECTOR END OF FILM: (to Camera) All right, put that away sonny.
[He walks over to it and puts his hand over the lens.]
"Monty Python and the Holy Grail" PYTHON (MONTY) PICTURES LTD

/// Bram Moolenaar -- Br...@Moolenaar.net -- http://www.Moolenaar.net \\\
/// sponsor Vim, vote for features -- http://www.Vim.org/sponsor/ \\\
\\\ an exciting new programming language -- http://www.Zimbu.org ///
\\\ help me help AIDS victims -- http://ICCF-Holland.org ///

[L. A. Walsh]

Bram Moolenaar wrote:
> Hello Vim users!
>
> Announcing: Vim (Vi IMproved) version 8.1
>
>
> This is a minor release with many small improvements and lots of bug
> fixes. The main new feature is the terminal window. I have put up a
> few screenshots on the Vim website:
> https://www.vim.org/vim-8.1-released.php
>

----
It's not clear if this that binary is a 64-bit version ...
32-bit runs between 10-15% slower on 64-bit machines.

Thanks!
-l

[Bram Moolenaar]

It is 32 bit. Previous comparisons show that the 32 bit version is a
bit faster. Where do you get the information that it would be slower?

There was a 64 bit version somehwere, but it isn't very popular.

--
JOHN CLEESE PLAYED: SECOND SOLDIER WITH A KEEN INTEREST IN BIRDS, LARGE MAN
WITH DEAD BODY, BLACK KNIGHT, MR NEWT (A VILLAGE
BLACKSMITH INTERESTED IN BURNING WITCHES), A QUITE
EXTRAORDINARILY RUDE FRENCHMAN, TIM THE WIZARD, SIR
LAUNCELOT

[Shlomi Fish]

Hi Bram,

On Thu, 17 May 2018 20:18:26 +0200
Bram Moolenaar <Br...@moolenaar.net> wrote:

> Hello Vim users!
>
> Announcing: Vim (Vi IMproved) version 8.1
>
>
> This is a minor release with many small improvements and lots of bug
> fixes. The main new feature is the terminal window. I have put up a
> few screenshots on the Vim website:
> https://www.vim.org/vim-8.1-released.php
>
> Once you have installed Vim 8.1 you can find details about the changes
> since Vim 8.1 with:
> :help version8.1
> Or view it online:
> https://raw.githubusercontent.com/vim/vim/master/runtime/doc/version8.txt
>

many thanks! The third digit of vim 8.0.x has become quite unmanagable.

--
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Shlomi Fish http://www.shlomifish.org/
Optimising Code for Speed - http://shlom.in/optimise

Chuck Norris once solved 100 million deals of Freecell in a minute. By hand.
— http://www.shlomifish.org/humour/bits/facts/Chuck-Norris/

Please reply to list if it's a mailing list post - http://shlom.in/reply .

[L A Walsh]

Bram Moolenaar wrote:
>> Bram Moolenaar wrote:
>>
>>> Hello Vim users!
>>>
>>> Announcing: Vim (Vi IMproved) version 8.1
>>>
>>>
>>> This is a minor release with many small improvements and lots of bug
>>> fixes. The main new feature is the terminal window. I have put up a
>>> few screenshots on the Vim website:
>>> https://www.vim.org/vim-8.1-released.php
>>>
>>>
>> ----
>> It's not clear if this that binary is a 64-bit version ...
>> 32-bit runs between 10-15% slower on 64-bit machines.
>>
>
> It is 32 bit. Previous comparisons show that the 32 bit version is a
> bit faster. Where do you get the information that it would be slower?
>

---
Various places and own benchmark. It depends on which operations
you are doing and if the program can use more data. If you take
a 32-bit prog and keep all the data at 32-bit sizes, then you have alot
of masking and shifting. In those cases 64-bit can run 1-7% slower,
but I tend to work with larger files and being able to edit those
with out using a swap or cache file noticeably speeds things up. Less
so today with SSD's, but unless you are using the PCI-based SSD's, that
are really non-volatile ram-disks attached to the system-bus -- those
operate on a similar order as SSD's.

Going back to 2005, some numbers:
(https://www.passmark.com/forum/performancetest/283)

Intel:
*TEST: CPU - Integer Math*
PT6 64bit, Win2003 64bit, Result = 193.3
PT6 32bit, Win2003 64bit, Result = 92.9
PT6 32bit, WinXP 32bit, Result = 92.9

*TEST: CPU - Find Prime Numbers*
PT6 64bit, Win2003 64bit, Result = 217.7
PT6 32bit, Win2003 64bit, Result = 158.2
PT6 32bit, WinXP 32bit, Result = 157.9

*TEST: CPU - Data compression*
PT6 64bit, Win2003 64bit, Result = 2584.6
PT6 32bit, Win2003 64bit, Result = 2578.6
PT6 32bit, WinXP 32bit, Result = 2582.77

AMD:
*TEST: CPU - Integer Math*
PT6 64bit, Win2003 64bit, Result = 210.0
PT6 32bit, Win2003 64bit, Result = 111.6
PT6 32bit, WinXP 32bit, Result = 112.7

*TEST: CPU - Find Prime Numbers*
PT6 64bit, Win2003 64bit, Result = 254.7
PT6 32bit, Win2003 64bit, Result = 192.4
PT6 32bit, WinXP 32bit, Result = 191.8

*TEST: CPU - Data compression*
PT6 64bit, Win2003 64bit, Result = 4846.1
PT6 32bit, Win2003 64bit, Result = 3244.5
PT6 32bit, WinXP 32bit, Result = 3125.6

----
Apple tends to distort their test results though -- it turns out when they
went with x86, they had wait loops in x86 drivers so the Windows versions
of the same program would run 15-20% slower. People found out when they
loaded 3rd party drivers and the same programs were now 10-15% faster.
Created a minor squawk at the time, but Apple customers tended to see
what they wanted to see.

Another: (5 yrs ago)
https://www.viva64.com/en/k/0003/
... in general you may expect a 2-20% performance gain from mere
recompilation of a program - this is explained by architectural changes
in 64-bit processors [1]. (on the referenced page:)
Adobe Company claims that new 64-bit "Photoshop CS4" is 12% faster than
its 32-bit version.

This site:
http://www.iinuu.eu/en/it-guru/windows-7-32-vs-64-bit-performance-benchmark
shows a mix, but they show slowdowns even on math functions, so I wonder
if they
were using single-precisions or 32-bit integers rather than larger numbers.

The areas where 32-bit was faster -- had 64-bit being 1-7% slower in
some tests,
but where 64-bit was faster -- multimedia by 30-50%, SSL connections/crypto
were an average of 15-20% faster.

In many cases, 32-bit SW running on 64-bit ran slower due to all the
translation overhead.

Look at a 32-bit programs stack sometime -- nearly every stack level
requires
another level just to align the data.

If you have low-memory (<=4GB), which was true even for many 3-5 years ago,
32-bit may have an edge, but if your system has >=16G, it's likely to have
notably better perf on 64-bit. There's where your perf can really shine --

If you have a large amound of memory -- more things can be kept in
memory even when the app is not running -- linux is real good about this
-- it will use all of free memory for filesystem caching. Windows --
not quite as much, but most
of window's cache memory is hidden on the "free list" -- and will show up as
"free memory" -- even though cache memory on linux is also effectively free
as well -- they just count it as being used -- but both can be reallocated
to program nearly instantaneously (nothing is written to disk -- the
memory just
has to be zeroed, at most and sometimes not even that).

Another factor -- is how much of the application can be done
asynchronously --
in the background so the user doesn't have to wait. Adobe went to
background saves in PS6 -- so the save dialogue came back immediately.
In PS5, it could take 20-40 seconds for a 4GB file.

In the firefox family, they hurt possibilities for faster I/O by using
small
I/O sizes. They use a 4k read/write size for everything (disk and net),
whereas
optimal is closer to 16M for fast links. So there 64-bit won't help due to
the small I/O sizes.

So there are MANY places on the web that show 64bit as faster for most
ops -- and that the gap is increasing due to wider bus transfer sizes
and higher
multipliers (DDR) for those widths.


All that said -- everyone see evidence to support their own point of view --
can you really find as much in the way of recent benchmarks that would
support
32-bits being faster -- especially on systems with >16G of memory.

[Christian Brabandt]

On Do, 17 Mai 2018, L. A. Walsh wrote:

> It's not clear if this that binary is a 64-bit version ...
> 32-bit runs between 10-15% slower on 64-bit machines.

There are nightly 64 bit builds available at
https://github.com/vim/vim-win32-installer/releases

However, I doubt you'll notice a difference when running those versions.
After all it is an editor and not a bitcoin miner.

Best,
Christian
--
Fang jetzt zu leben an, und zähle jeden Tag als ein Leben für sich.
-- Lucius Annaeus Seneca (4-65 n.Chr.)

[Christian Brabandt]

On Do, 17 Mai 2018, Bram Moolenaar wrote:

> Announcing: Vim (Vi IMproved) version 8.1

Congratulation.

Best,
Christian
--
Das Leben ist bezaubernd, man muß es nur durch die richtige Brille
sehen.
Frauen inspirieren uns zu großen Dingen - und hinden uns dann, sie
auszuführen.
-- Alexandre Dumas d.J.

[Tony Mechelynck]

On Fri, May 18, 2018 at 8:51 AM, Christian Brabandt <cbl...@256bit.org> wrote:
>
> On Do, 17 Mai 2018, Bram Moolenaar wrote:
>
>> Announcing: Vim (Vi IMproved) version 8.1
>
> Congratulation.
>
> Best,
> Christian

After moving, my phone & Internet line had been kept for a few days at
my old address. When getting back online (for Internet at least, and
AFAICT for incoming but not outgoing phone calls) I find Vim is now at
version/patchlevel 8.1.1. This is the best surprise (so far) I've had
to celebrate the move. Thanks Bram, congratulations, and long live to
Vim!

Best regards,
Tony.