Ben Schmidt wrote:
>> To override settings set by vimrc_example.vim, don't modify the file
>> itself, because any Vim upgrade might silently remove your changes.
>
> I prefer the approach that is suggested in the Vim tutor: copy the contents of
> vimrc_example.vim into your own .vimrc rather than sourcing it. That way
> things
> aren't silently changed...they aren't changed at all. Mostly.
>
> Essentially the same advice is at
>
> :help not-compatible
>
> There are pros and cons to each approach, of course.
>
> Ben.
Yes, I know that copying the vimrc_example.vim into your vimrc around
the first time you start using Vim is Bram's recommendation. I beg to
differ, however. Several times, I have seen new lines added to the
vimrc_example.vim, and most of the time they made Vim's behaviour better
(IMO, of course). If I had copied the 6.0 vimrc_example.vim when I
started using Vim, not only would my own vimrc have become much harder
to understand for the beginner I was then, in addition, and maybe more
important, I would since then not have benefited by these new
enhancements -- and I'm a relatively recent user of Vim.
The rare times that changes in the vimrc_example.vim introduced
behaviours which I didn't like, I found it out and added the appropriate
counteracting line where appropriate, so, on the whole, I prefer
invoking whichever vimrc_example.vim is latest at any given moment. As
you said, YMMV.
As for the complexity of the part "copied" into one's own vimrc being an
incitement to learn, it is (IIUC) an argument of Bram's, but one I don't
buy. ":sview $VIMRUNTIME/vimrc_example.vim", or, since I'm lazy, ":sv
$VIMR<Tab>/v<Tab><Enter>, isn't hard to do, and in fact I do it
regularly, though not as often than ":new ~/.vimrc".
Best regards,
Tony.
--
Speaking of Godzilla and other things that convey horror:
With a purposeful grimace and a Mongo-like flair
He throws the spinning disk drives in the air!
And he picks up a Vax and he throws it back down
As he wades through the lab making terrible sounds!
Helpless users with projects due
Scream "My God!" as he stomps on the tape drives, too!
Oh, no! He says Unix runs too slow! Go, go, DECzilla!
Oh, yes! He's gonna bring up VMS! Go, go, DECzilla!"
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-- Curtis Jackson
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