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From:	Rick Patterson <rick DOT patterson AT hotmail DOT com>
To:	"cygwin AT cygwin DOT com" <cygwin AT cygwin DOT com>
Subject:	RE: Installing VIM installs lots of other stuff
Date:	Fri, 10 May 2013 20:49:54 -0400
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Hi.

So, the issue seems to be the "vim-common" common component includes Perl, and Perl is bringing in all that other stuff. I see there was some discussion on the forums years ago about making this change.

It appears that VIM can be built to interface to certain languages like Perl. This is a good feature, but I don't think Cygwin itself should tailor a general purpose component like VIM to the desires of a particular group of users, especially if this specific configuration comes at the cost of dragging along such a huge dependency list that the default size of a Cygwin install increases by 60%. The default install of Cygwin should just include a basic general purpose editor that meets simple text editing requirements. If advanced users such as Perl programmers want a more specific editor, then that choice should be available to that groups of users through a custom install option of some sort.

I don't use Perl, but even if I did, I don't want my Cygwin bloated with stuff I didn't ask for. I just wanted Vi, and I got a Perl programming environment instead that came with a "free" vi editor. Vi is a standard part of all the UNIXes I've ever worked with, yet its turned off by default in Cygwin, perhaps because its so big due to all of these dependencies? Every operating system comes with a basic text editor that can be counted on to be there. Windows has Notepad, and UNIX has vi. Sure there may be better editors than these, but if you work with many different machines every day, like test machines, or use shared build machines and the like, you need to be able to count on a default system editor to be installed, and you cannot expect in these environments that your personal favorite editor will be there. The Cygwin install doesn't have Vi turned on by default, but it should, and it should be just the minimal vi, and not a Perl programming environment in disguise.


Rick 		 	   		  
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