OT: colors for vi on Linux (Debian - ubuntu)

[John Esak]

Okay, I  know I'll take the flack for using this great forum to ask a
question that seems non-filePro related.... I'll ask uit at the end of the
next couple paragraphs.... let me try and attach some filePro basis for the
question though... :-)  it will be lame, but hopefully informative??

Okay, so OT:, and just in case anyone cares.  We have just put a great
filePro app on "ubuntu"  Linux. This is a Debian derivative.  Everyone knows
I have felt Linux to be not ready for prime time for a long time now...
Well, releases like this latest ubuntu will change not only my mind, but the
minds of lots of folks who think like me.  I mean for the Linux crowd to
have been working for so many years and still have not come up with a decent
"color" setup a la "setcolor" from SCO...  it is just crazy.  

Okay, the ubuntu, you download a file, burn it to a CD, use the CD on just
about any P"C (server, etc.)... it asks you about 4 questions like "do you
want to use the whole disk for Linux?"  even if it is a multi-disk FAID5
that you want, and so forth.... the simple questions done in seconds, the
thing loads itself completely on your box and it's ready to go.  From this
point you can get or (unget) any package you want with a simple command
like:

Sudo apt-get install package-name

And

Sudo apt-get remove package-name

It's just too easy... and the way it should be ... finally...  no more
worries about dependencies, "making" programs, libraries, etc., etc.  It
just deals with all that goop for you.  Can you tell I like this Linux?  :-)

The bottom line is that filePro works dead easy on this box. (you really
just need to copy over the "ansi" terminfo from your working SCO box... and
the ansi termcap defs from it as well.  And if you use FacetWin, make sure
that "inetd" is working properly. (an apt-get package thing only.)  If you
use Bob's anzio product to get to the Linux server, I don't think much of
anything would be required.  Printing just works out of the box... even
local printing (PFPT=ON).  You can even use the "useradd" command to
duplicate your old Unix users, ID, directory and all.

Just a point of info for all you folks who don't have any other easy means
of hearing stuff like this.  You can load a server version of ubuntu, or
just load the desktop version and add the server things you need, same
difference...  there are other versions of Linux that people like, Redhat,
suse, etc.  I may scope some of these out at some time, sure, but this was
an easy, really easy way to migrate a SCO/filePro system... and months from
now you will be hearing about ubuntu working well in many installations,
just like you heard the same about suse for while and others.  Funny, but I
learned that my PDA (which is the coolest Linux based thing in the world) is
a Debian system... when I get to the console on this device through ssh, all
the same commands as used on ubuntu work here.  Very cool.



Now for my question.

The ls command does a lot of color changing for lots of different
reasons.... directories, executable files, etc.  It is beyond annoying... If
you have a black background like me... it is IMPOSSIBLE.  

I have gotten the great help from various folks and made the "ls" command to
work like the "l" command I know and love (skipping the color thing) by
doing this in my .profile....

type ls | grep -q alias && { unalias ls; echo unalias ls; }
l ()  { ls -al $*; }
lf () { ls -aCF $*; }

It stops the program from doing any color shifting.... great.  Now, I have
to stop "vi" from doing it as well.  On this Linux, "vim" is the choice for
vi... it is an improved vi and great for editing any kind of file including
binary files and things with unprintable characters like pcl files.  So,
anyway, I start off by doing this in the .profile.

alias vi="vim -T ansi $* -u /root/.vimrc"

This gets me using vim and pointing to an initialization file for it
".vimrc".  so what do I put in this .vimrc to STOP the damn color shifting
in vi?????  I have read the info about "syntax"  and tried 

Syntax off
Set syntax=off
Set syntax off

And every other variation... I won't bore you with the extent I've gone to
trying to get color shifting to not happen.  There is a setting 
Se
 background=dark

Which promised to be good for my situation... no deal.. You still get the
whackiest, craziest changes of colors while in vi or entering or leaving
it.... usually ending up in blue on red....  blue on red!!!  This is like
Navy eye tests.... impossible.  

I have looked all through the "dircolors" command... but this doesn't seem
to apply, and/or doesn't work.... Damn, I have waded through the hundreds of
locations for vimrc... .../share/Debian/blah/blah... etc., etc. and made
changes everywhre nothing obtains.  I have spent probably 4 to 6 hours of
what I would humbly call valuable time on this stupidly simple thing.... I
just want to turn a "feature" off.

I don't want color in "vi"....

Ultimately, I would LOVE to be able to govern the color of my screen so I
could do what I so easily do on SCO, change my foreground and background
based on my PFDIR... live, or dev, etc.   

Can anyone help.  I'll even pay. :-)  Seriously, I will pay your consulting
fee to educate me about this stuff.  I know, and have this nagging belief
that someone is going to write... you idiot, just type:


Color off
A
T the prompt or something incredibly stupid like that.... I don't care.
Send me the pain.  I simply have to solve this... since I am doing lots of
work on Linux these days, and particularly this Debian version  "ubuntu".

Thanks in advance.

John










John Esak
21st Century Appraisals, Inc
1801 Oberlin Rd, Middletown, PA 17057
717-985-0200 x 1141
john.esak at 21appr.com