vim manual install - PC-BSD Forums

bgalakazam · #1 01-27-2011, 10:09 PM

Hello everyone,

I am liking the PC-BSD distribution so far over my previous FreeBSD setup for a few reasons. However, it's kind of bloated and I am having trouble removing content.

Specifically, the vim that is preinstalled is buggy on my machine. I want to remove it an install vim from the ports. pkg_delete does not find vim. How can I remove it? Also, how can I remove other preinstalled applications.

The bloatware is the only thing I dislike about PC-BSD.

Ole Juul · #2 01-28-2011, 04:05 AM

It seems to me that the reason for using PC-BSD is to get a whole bunch of packages and have them work. I can't see having that without it being "bloat" to some people. FreeBSD fixes that problem. IMHO, we can't have it both ways.

I can't advise you on the wisdom of uninstalling specific packages, but the handbook tells you what you need. Here is how to uninstall a pkg:

You need to type the whole name with version number when you uninstall. That is because there could be multiple versions of some programs. That situation is obviously no problem when installing. So, to find the version number you type:

Code:

$ pkg_info | grep vim

The output will give you the whole name. It will look something like this:

Code:

vim-7.2.411         Vi "workalike", with many additional features

You can then do:

Code:

$ pkg_delete  vim-7.2.411

PS: I suggest you bookmark The Handbook. It has most of what we all need to know.

bgalakazam · #3 01-28-2011, 06:20 AM

RTFM, I know. I just dislike long boring bricks (fat textbooks). FreeBSD needs to take the wiki approach to documentation.

Also, I never used pkg_add etc, always did everything from ports and I wasn't sure how exactly PC-BSD handled the programs that came with install.

On the bloat topic, it wouldn't be that hard to have a selection of which packages are installed in a "advanced installation" option (unless I missed it, I don't think there was one).

In any case, thank you for answer, I got what I needed with vim.

Ole Juul · #4 01-28-2011, 07:19 AM

Yeah, I cheated and just looked it up.

I don't know all that much about BSD yet.

You're right it wouldn't be that hard to start with a minimal system and then have a selection of additional packages to install. However, that's exactly what FreeBSD does. I strongly recommend it. You can easily put together just the parts you want. I've done that and it works. PC-BSD is just somebody's idea of how that would look. However KDE4 is a HUGE system and takes a lot of work to get all that stuff to run smoothly. Seriously, try FreeBSD, you'll like it.

Ole Juul · #5 01-28-2011, 08:32 AM

Originally Posted by bgalakazam

. . . Also, I never used pkg_add etc, always did everything from ports and I wasn't sure how exactly PC-BSD handled the programs that came with install. . . .

I just realized what you were really saying there.

I guess you are familiar with FreeBSD then. I agree that there is good reason to wonder about how to deal with the pre-installed programs. I haven't been able to get any clarity on that. It sounds like one can use the ports and the packages in the same way as FreeBSD, but no one talks about it.

kmoore134 · #6 01-28-2011, 01:36 PM

Don't forget that in 9, you'll be given the choice of which "meta-pkgs"
to install, so if you want a super-slimmed down system you can do that

bgalakazam · #7 01-28-2011, 08:48 PM

Nice! I will try out 9 on a virtual machine on my desktop and give it a try.

Meanwhile I'll go back to FreeBSD on my notebook since I have some slowdown issues with the video and some wireless problems which I can't solve on PC-BSD.

Once a beta of 9 comes out, I will set it up. Right now it's in alpha state from what I understand.

Cheers.