How do I test the capabilities of VIM?
The functions visible with the ": version" command piqued my interest.
I'm especially interested in features like Ruby, Python, and Emacs tags. I cannot find instructions in the manuals. I found the command "--with-features = huge" after some googling but doesn't show how to actually install the features. I have been using Vim for over a year, so I am rather overwhelmed by these features. I installed things like Taglist. What is their main difference?
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I'm not sure what exactly you are asking. "Vim's features, maybe everything" is a term that can be taken in a very broad context.
If you are interested in scripting, either in vimscript or Python, Ruby ... download the standalone vim installer - it comes with precompiled support for them. Of course, you still need to install Python, Ruby ...
If you're interested in general vim features like text editing, macros, plugins, support for this and that ... that is, vim in general, I could only suggest a tutorial from the net or a book . I have given several links for the tutorials below:
Wim Wikia
Vim Tutorial
Vi and Vim Editor
Best vim Tips
Quick link. map
Learning vim
... anyway, a network full of them
What do you mean by compilation? I'm not going to guess, but try:
:help make
:help makeprg
Please clarify your question.
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The "functions" you mean are Vim build-time functions. Think about these features that you can get when you buy a car. For example, many cars come in a 4-door or 2-door version. You need to indicate in front which one you want and you cannot change your mind later if you do not want to get a new car. Likewise, you cannot change compile-time options in Vim without creating a new binary.
Many of these features are also mutually exclusive. For example, you cannot enable both motives and gnomes at the same time. (just like you can't have a car that's both 4-door and 2-door)
In addition, some features are specific to the OS. For example, you won't get the "amiga" function if you don't use Vim on the Amiga.
However, most of the pre-built Vim binaries you come across will have most of the cool features. You can use :version
to find out what features are included in your vim build. Once you've done that, take a look at :help feature-list
(scroll down a bit) for a list of functions along with links to the related documentation for each function.
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Personally, if you are new to vim I would just install the binary.
Usually additional vim functions are added by custom scripts and plugins and then compiled. Just install vim and then use the excellent Vim tips wiki to find and add additional features you would like to have.
Good luck :)
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