vi-vim-link

Intended to resolve a package dependency between sudo and vim-minimal by 'providing' a symlink to /usr/bin/vim at /usr/bin/vi.

Purpose

Removing vim-minimal (e.g. after installing vim-enhanced) will take sudo with it, if you are not careful. You can remove vim-minimal, but then the package database will complain about the missing dependency. Since sudo only needs vi because of visudo, and vim is a suitable replacement for vi, we can rpm -e --nodeps vim-minimal; ln -s /usr/bin/vim /usr/bin/vi and still be in a working state.

However, the package manager still complains about the missing /usr/bin/vi, because the package spec for sudo (incorrectly?) requires a package called /usr/bin/vi and only vim-minimal provides it.

root@localhost ~# yum remove vim-minimal
  Loaded plugins: fastestmirror
  Resolving Dependencies
  --> Running transaction check
  ---> Package vim-minimal.x86_64 2:7.4.160-5.el7 will be erased
  --> Processing Dependency: /usr/bin/vi for package: sudo-1.8.23-3.el7.x86_64
  --> Restarting Dependency Resolution with new changes.
  --> Running transaction check
  ---> Package sudo.x86_64 0:1.8.23-3.el7 will be erased
  --> Finished Dependency Resolution
  
  Dependencies Resolved
  ==============================================================================================================
   Package                        Arch                 Version                   Repository                Size
  ==============================================================================================================
  Removing:
   vim-minimal                    x86_64               2:7.4.160-5.el7           @base                    896 k
  Removing for dependencies:
   sudo                           x86_64               1.8.23-3.el7              @base                    3.0 M
   
  Transaction Summary
  ==============================================================================================================
  Remove  1 Package (+1 Dependent package)
   
  Installed size: 3.9 M
  Is this ok [y/N]: n

root@localhost ~# rpm -e --nodeps vim-minimal

root@localhost ~# yum install vim-enhanced
  Loaded plugins: fastestmirror
  Resolving Dependencies
  --> Running transaction check
  ---> Package vim-enhanced.x86_64 2:7.4.160-5.el7 will be installed
  --> Finished Dependency Resolution

  Dependencies Resolved

  ==============================================================================================================
   Package                         Arch                Version                   Repository                Size
  ==============================================================================================================
  Installing:
   vim-enhanced                          x86_64              2:7.4.160-5.el7           base               1.0 M

  Transaction Summary
  ==============================================================================================================
  Install  1 Package

  Total download size: 1.0 M
  Installed size: 2.2 M
  Is this ok [y/d/N]: y

root@localhost ~# package-cleanup --problems
  Loaded plugins: fastestmirror
  Package sudo-1.8.23-3.el7.x86_64 has missing requires of /usr/bin/vi

Caveat

This is much a chance for me to learn a bit about RPM packaging as it is to resolve the dependency issue. Use it at your own risk. I'll happily take advisement on how to better package the workaround, or even better workarounds, but I'm not supporting this. :-)

I fully-expect this has been fixed properly (by experienced package maintainers) in more-recent RHEL-based distros, but it hasn't made it to CentOS 7 yet, so I've knocked this up.

Installation

rpm -e --nodeps vim-minimal
yum install "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jimbobmcgee/vi-vim-link/master/vi-vim-link-0.0.1-1.el7.noarch.rpm"
package-cleanup --problems
ls -l /usr/bin/vi*

Uninstall/Reversion

rpm -e --nodeps vi-vim-link
yum install vim-minimal
package-cleanup --problems
ls -l /usr/bin/vi*