Interactive Python programming in ... vi [was: Tab wars revisited]

[G. S. Hayes]

Jacek Generowicz <jacek.generowicz at cern.ch> wrote in message news:<tyfsmboqy0h.fsf at pcepsft001.cern.ch>...
> Just one thing (and please remember that I do not use vim, so much of
> this is alien to me) ... I heard it mentioned a number of times that
> Python must be compiled into vim, and in the link you posted the words
> "for python enabled [g]vim" appear. Is vim typically Python-enabled
> out of the box, or does the user have to compile it in?

Typically?  I don't know.  Red Hat Linux (including Fedora and
Enterprise Server) includes Python support in Vim by default in the
regular vim package which installs as /usr/bin/vim (but not in the
vim-minimal package which installs as /bin/vi).

To check on your machines, fire up vim and try:

:python print "test"

and see if you see the word "test" or an error message.  Or do
:version and look for either +python or -python (you want +python).

Sumner