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Subject: Re: Blocking a base package from installing
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Date: Fri, 7 Oct 2016 13:02:57 +0200
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Am 07.10.2016 um 02:07 schrieb Linda Walsh:
> Achim Gratz wrote:
>> Now, that last question of yours: No, the package manager should never
>> allow you to not install a base package.  These are in category "Base"
>> precisely so the rest of the system can rely on the functionality
>> provided.
> ---
>     And what other programs will stop functioning if vim is not installed?

Vi is, for better or for worse, the default/fall-back system editor.  It 
is assumed to be there by every useful definition of what "Unix" is. 
The possibilities for things breaking if it's not there are therefore 
almost endless.

>     If I compile and install a version of vim on my system, why would I
> want to put it in a location like /usr/local where
> it might not be used -- all the time?

Because /usr/local is the designated location for software that's not 
part of the organized software distribution.  If you want to build your 
own, /usr/local is where it's supposed to go --- or $HOME if you don't 
have admin privileges.

Unix does have a very different approach to installing programs compared 
to Windows, in that it collects files from various packages in a few 
central places: /usr/bin, /usr/etc, /etc, and so on.  That approach 
requires consistent organization to avoid complete chaos.  Distributions 
like Cygwin provide that organization.  You mess with that at your own 
peril.  That's why non-distribution software gets its own area to work 
in: /usr/local.

>     I'm the only user on my system -- whether I run as a user
> or as root, or whatever, I'm not doing this for someone else.

Did it occur to you that the system really has to support much more 
varied use cases than your own particular corner case?

> If I try to edit a file using 'vim' from the explorer menu, will it
> invoke my vim in /usr/local -- of course not.

If you do set up such an explorer menu entry, it'll do whatever you tell 
it to.  It'll only end up "of course not" working if you "of course" 
configure things differently than you actually wanted to.  But why would 
anyone do that?

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