[VIM] Upgrading 6.3 to 7.3
Stan Brown
Through inertia, I've failed to upgrade since 6.3, but now I'm ready
to bring myself up to date.
Are there any possible pitfalls? In particular, I have some pretty
complex abbreviations, scripts, and functions built up over the
years? Are any of them likely to have a problem because of any
changes in Vim?
--
Stan Brown, Oak Road Systems, Tompkins County, New York, USA
http://OakRoadSystems.com
Shikata ga nai...
Gary Johnson
> Greetings, fellow Vimmers!
>
> Through inertia, I've failed to upgrade since 6.3, but now I'm ready
> to bring myself up to date.
>
> Are there any possible pitfalls? In particular, I have some pretty
> complex abbreviations, scripts, and functions built up over the
> years? Are any of them likely to have a problem because of any
> changes in Vim?
I can't think of any problems you would run into. Bram is pretty
careful about the backwards compatibility of any changes he makes. I
haven't had any problems myself from upgrading.
How are you planning to upgrade? If you build the new version yourself,
you can go as far as "make" and test the new version with your .vimrc
and scripts while it's still in just the src directory adn before you
overwrite your 6.3 installation.
--
Gary Johnson
Stan Brown
Thanks, Gary.
I've got Windoze, so I'll just download a pre-built Vim.
(I'm planning to switch to Linux, as my present Win XP laptop is now
five years old, but I've had no luck finding a laptop without Windows
pre-installed.)
Gary Johnson
I don't know how you feel about Dell--I like them myself and have a Mini
9 running Ubuntu--but I found this in a Google search of "linux laptop
site:dell.com":
http://www.dell.com/content/topics/segtopic.aspx/linux_3x?c=us&l=en&cs=19
I also found this survey
http://mcelrath.org/laptops.html
I don't have Linux running on a full laptop any more, though. Good luck.
--
Gary Johnson
Kenny McCormack
Gary Johnson <gary...@eskimo.com> wrote:
...
>I don't know how you feel about Dell--I like them myself and have a Mini
>9 running Ubuntu--but I found this in a Google search of "linux laptop
>site:dell.com":
>
> http://www.dell.com/content/topics/segtopic.aspx/linux_3x?c=us&l=en&cs=19
I'm just curious - what is the point of this?
I mean, it boils down to two things:
1) In the dark and distant past, the issue was that if you purchased
a PC with Windows installed (i.e., any PC), then Microsoft got a
piece of the sale. This fact annoyed people who don't like the
Evil Empire, so a big deal was made out the desire to get Linux
(only) installed. But of course, MS has it fixed now so that
they get their cut regardless of whether Windows is on the
machine or not. So, I think this concern is now moot (i.e.,
you're screwed whether you like it or not).
2) If you want Linux, you can always install it yourself.
Gary Johnson
In my experience--and this is just my experience from a few years ago
with a limited set of Linux distributions on a limited set of
hardware--installing Linux always involves something unexpected and
something that doesn't work quite right, especially on laptops.
Sometimes I just want a Linux system that "just works" from the start,
and has already been configured and tested on the target hardware. I'm
personally more concerned about that than I am about funding Microsoft.
If I can find Linux pre-installed by a reputable manufacturer, at least
I know that drivers exist and work with all the hardware.
If my concerns are no longer valid with current hardware and current
distributions, that would be great.
--
Gary Johnson
Stan Brown
> I don't know how you feel about Dell--I like them myself and have a Mini
> 9 running Ubuntu--but I found this in a Google search of "linux laptop
> site:dell.com":
>
> http://www.dell.com/content/topics/segtopic.aspx/linux_3x?c=us&l=en&cs=19
>
> I also found this survey
>
> http://mcelrath.org/laptops.html
>
> I don't have Linux running on a full laptop any more, though. Good luck.
Thanks, Gary. I've started following those links.
Kenny McCormack
>with a limited set of Linux distributions on a limited set of
>hardware--installing Linux always involves something unexpected and
>something that doesn't work quite right, especially on laptops.
>Sometimes I just want a Linux system that "just works" from the start,
>and has already been configured and tested on the target hardware. I'm
>personally more concerned about that than I am about funding Microsoft.
>If I can find Linux pre-installed by a reputable manufacturer, at least
>I know that drivers exist and work with all the hardware.
>
>If my concerns are no longer valid with current hardware and current
>distributions, that would be great.
Your points are well taken, and, quite seriously, I wasn't trying to
pick any kind of fight here. I was genuinely curious as to which side
of the issue you were on (some Usenetters have been seriously fanatical
about the "I don't want MS getting any of my money" thing).
It is still true that if you buy a PC (especially a laptop) and install
Linux on it yourself, that some features won't work quite as well as
they do under Windows (i.e., in the pre-installed OS). I think this
might be true even if the vendor pre-installs it - as some of the
hardware features (I'm thinking things like the really advanced
power-management stuff) just don't have non-Windows counterparts. But
at least in that case (where the vendor has installed it), the
deficiencies will be, at least in theory, known/documented/standardized.
However, IMELE, I've found that the machines with Linux installed are
significantly more expensive than the Windows ones (*), so I'm usually
willing to buy the Windows box and take my chances. But that's because
I'm a) cheap and b) willing to hack and c) willing to accept some
limitations.
(*) Nitpickers may find nits to pick with this statement, but I think
you know what I mean. The point is that the selection of models with
Linux-preloads is limited, so you can't pick the cheapest one on the
page.
Kenneth Marcy
> If I can find Linux pre-installed by a reputable manufacturer, at least
> I know that drivers exist and work with all the hardware.
Though I have not done business with EmperorLinux.com, I am writing this via
Mandriva Linux on what would be an older version of their Rhino model. I
suggest investigating this company only because I have noticed their
longevity and consistency of product offerings, so they may be satisfying
some customers.
> If my concerns are no longer valid with current hardware and current
> distributions, that would be great.
I suspect that with current technologies many of your concerns have been
allayed. However, new hardware technologies will arrive on the market, and
software must be redeveloped to control and use them to advantage.
I am referring, specifically, to the about-to-be-released USB version 3.0
technologies that will affect everything from system boards to peripherals
to the cables that connect them. The advantage will be 10x bi-directional
data transfer, thus, faster operations, too. Backward compatibility with
USB 2.0 will exist, but negates these advantages, and suggests 2.0
replacement.
KM
Jerry Peters
AFAIK recent kernels like 2.6.3[12] include preliminary support for
the new USB standard.
The real problems are Nvidia & Broadcom which refuse to cooperate with
open source.
Jerry
Stan Brown
null.drain>:
> Though I have not done business with EmperorLinux.com, I am writing
> this via Mandriva Linux on what would be an older version of their
> Rhino model. I suggest investigating this company only because I
> have noticed their longevity and consistency of product offerings,
> so they may be satisfying some customers.
Thanks for the pointer. I checked them out, but their prices seem
sky-high.