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From: mechanicjay@sol.smbfc.net (Mechanicjay)
Newsgroups: comp.os.linux.misc,alt.folklore.computers
Subject: Re: Recent history of vi
Date: Sun, 16 Nov 2025 15:47:30 -0000 (UTC)
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On 16 Nov 2025 09:35:17 -0500, Chris Ahlstrom <OFeem1987@teleworm.us> wrote:
>Eli the Bearded wrote this post by blinking in Morse code:
>
>> In comp.os.linux.misc, rbowman  <bowman@montana.com> wrote:
>>> 
>>> <brevsnip>
>>>
>>> The Arch vi is the real thing. I've no idea what version it is because 
>>> real vi doesn't do --version or much of anything useful. 
>>
>> In vi, the standard way to get the version is with ":version". It looks
>> like arch is using Heirloom Vi:
>>
>> https://ex-vi.sourceforge.net/
>
>In nvi, :version yields
>
>Version nvi-1.81.6 (2007-11-18) The CSRG, University of California, Berkeley.
>
>> That is a port of old code with many multibyte (eg UTF-8) fixes. It
>> should work with hardcopy terminals, which a lot of other vi
>> implementations (including vim) will not do. Those others expect you
>> to use ex mode on hardcopy terminals.
>>
>> I learned vi on Digital Unix, A/UX, HP-UX, SunOS 4, and Solaris
>> 2.(various), but I dabbled in vi clones for a long time, and was using
>> vim back in the 2.x versions. Elvis is still the default vi in
>> Slackware, and I've used recent versions of elvis for that reason. nvi
>> is default on NetBSD, and probably that FreeBSD one mentioned above. I
>> use NetBSD regularly and other BSDs very rarely.
>>

On this Ultrix 4.5 box, :version yeilds:
Version 3.7, 18-Oct-85 

I was missing some nice features, like the ruler at the bottom and the ability
to set an autowrap at 80 cols, which makes posting a message like this much
easier, so I built me a newer vim:
VIM - Vi IMproved 6.3 (2004 June 7, compiled Nov 11 2025 00:38:15)

--
Sent from my Personal DECstation 5000/25