Re: vi vs. nvi

[Thor Lancelot Simon <tls%rek.tjls.com@localhost>]

On Wed, Jul 23, 2008 at 09:22:53PM -0400, Jim Wise wrote:
> 
> Most embedded applications don't need to include vi.  As for those which 
> provide enough of a `unix-like' environment for vi to be relevant, I 
> can't think of a current embedded platform for which 160K is a lot of 
> space.

Many wireless routers have 8MB of flash, or even less.  I actually imported
FreeBSD's "ee" to my local source tree (though I find it fairly repulsive)
because it was so much smaller than the old vi -- I have a platform which
is in fact very similar to many of the smaller wireless routers, I need an
editor (we've repeatedly tried to remove it.  customers have howled.) and
100K is a make-or-break difference.

I'd much rather have vi, but I haven't figured out what to squeeze out
elsewhere to make it fit.  The current state of nvi makes it ~impossible,
and for, as far as I can tell, functionality that very few people use.  I
think its build should be slimmed down by default, or it should just be
removed.

Thor