Monday, June 18, 2012

Compiling MacVim


I posted this earlier on vim_mac, but it's not very active at the moment. I thought I'd give it a try here. 

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I've encountered a problem with a plugin that the developer has determined is due to a vim bug. He recommended that I get a more up to date version of vim. Currently I have MacVim 73 (53). I gather that to get the most up to date version it is necessary to compile it. 

First question is should I even attempt this? [Maybe I have no option?] I'm a naive nonprogrammer, with about a year's experience fiddling around with a variety of linux packages on a barely adequate machine before switching to the Mac environment about three years ago. To the best of my recollection, I've never compiled anything. 

I've read the instruction on github. <https://github.com/b4winckler/macvim/wiki/Building> They're pretty straightforward, except about which options to set and whether to install the MacVim document icons. My thought regarding the first is to go with the options used in the instructions on github. 

I'm unclear about the last two items under "enabling extra features," i.e., "universal binary" and "Mac OS X SDK version." Do I need to even bother about them?

I'm unfamiliar with the document icons. I don't know whether I have them with my current version or not. Should they be included? 

Any cautions about things not made explicit in the instructions, taking into consideration my relative naiveté, would be appreciated.

Thanks, 
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Eric Weir
Decatur, GA  USA

"Imagining the other is a powerful antidote to fanaticism and hatred." 

- Amos Oz

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