vim Error detected while processing

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Environment

SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP4
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP3
SUSE Linux Enterprise Public Cloud Images

Situation

When editing files with vim the fiollowing error is seen:

vim /tmp/somefile

Error detected while processing /usr/share/vim/vim82/suse.vimrc[10]../usr/share/vim/vim82/syntax/syntax.vim[43]..BufRead Autocommands for "*"..script /usr/share/vim/vim82/scripts.vim:
line   30:
E117: Unknown function: dist#script#DetectFiletype
Press ENTER or type command to continue

Resolution

The vim-data package is missing. Install the package.

zypper in vim-data

Cause

The vim-data package is missing due to a packaging issue with the RPM spec file. vim 8.2.x requires the vim-data package where 8.0.x required only requires vim-data-common. The vim-data package contains supporting files that provide the missing function that causes the error.

Additional Information

On some public cloud images, the version of vim available in the repositories is older than what is installed in the image. When installing the vim-data package on these images, zypper will ask you to downgrade the vim and vim-data-common packages.

This only impacts cloud images built with vim 8.2.x or installations created before vim 9.x was released to update channels. Existing installations correctly pull in vim-data package when upgrading vim from 8.0.x to 8.2.x or newer.

Disclaimer

This Support Knowledgebase provides a valuable tool for SUSE customers and parties interested in our products and solutions to acquire information, ideas and learn from one another. Materials are provided for informational, personal or non-commercial use within your organization and are presented "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND.