Error detected message while using Vim editor - vim

Question

When I try to open a file for editing using vim I get this following message and error detected message.
Jashs-MacBook-Pro:hello jashjacob$ vim hello.rb
--- Auto-Commands ---
filetypedetect BufRead
*if !did_filetype() && expand("<amatch>") !~ g:ft_ignore_pat | runtime! scripts.vim | endif
*if !did_filetype() && expand("<amatch>") !~ g:ft_ignore_pat && (getline(1) =~ '^#' || getline(2) =~ '^#' || getline(3) =~ '^#'^I|| getline(4) =~ '^#' || getline(5) =~ '^#') | setf conf | endif
Error detected while processing /usr/share/vim/vimrc:
line 18:
E116: Invalid arguments for function line("'"") > 0 && line ("'"") <= line("$") |
E15: Invalid expression: line("'"") > 0 && line ("'"") <= line("$") |
Press ENTER or type command to continue
Have my vim editor files been damaged/modified ? How can i fix the error detected while processing /usr/share/vim/vimrc ?
/usr/share/vim/vimrc config file contains the following
" Configuration file for vim
set modelines=0 " CVE-2007-2438
" Normally we use vim-extensions. If you want true vi-compatibility
" remove change the following statements
set nocompatible " Use Vim defaults instead of 100% vi compatibility
set backspace=2 " more powerful backspacing
set ai " auto indenting
set history=100 " keep 100 lines of history
set ruler " show the cursor position
syntax on " syntax highlighting
set hlsearch " highlight the last searched term
filetype plugin on " use the file type plugins
" When editing a file, always jump to the last cursor position
autocmd BufReadPost *
if ! exists("g:leave_my_cursor_position_alone") |
if line("'"") > 0 && line ("'"") <= line("$") |
exe "normal g'"" |
endif |
endif
" Don't write backup file if vim is being called by "crontab -e"
au BufWrite /private/tmp/crontab.* set nowritebackup
" Don't write backup file if vim is being called by "chpass"
au BufWrite /private/etc/pw.* set nowritebackup

Answer 1

I'm not a vimscript guru, so perhaps someone will be able to offer more of a fix, but I can suggest that if you just want to get vim working again you could comment out the function that's causing the trouble. Precede each line with a double-quote symbol (") and you should be able to get on with things.
Like so:
" When editing a file, always jump to the last cursor position
"autocmd BufReadPost *
" if ! exists("g:leave_my_cursor_position_alone") |
" if line("'"") > 0 && line ("'"") <= line("$") |
" exe "normal g'"" |
" endif |
" endif
If you want to preserve this functionality, you might have to learn a little vimscript. :)

Answer 2

I think these error messages could also come from the fact that you missed or miss-placed "set nocompatible" in your .vimrc. That will cause your Vim misunderstood the backslashes used to continue long lines in it's scripting files. It's better to put "set nocompatible" at the very beginning of your .vimrc file.
If you see "if !did_filetype() ..." in the error message and compared it with the code in /usr/share/vim/vim{yourversion}/filetype.vim you can tell that there should be a "\" in between "" and "if".
see this entry for more details

Answer 3

YOU ARE NOT SUPPOSED TO DO ANYTHING IN /usr/share/vim/.
That file you have edited is not yours and should not be changed at all. These are the files and places where you can do whatever you want:
~/.vim/ <-- put your plugins and colorschemes in this directory
~/.vimrc <-- add your options and mappings to this file
As for your question:
Those lines were not added by a plugin, they were added by you or someone else who has access to your machine.
They throw an error because the dumbass who pasted them somehow thought it was a good idea to remove the line-continuation backslashes that are in the "original" (or this "original", or that one, or the older link in the post that leads to a 404, or the simpler version that is in $VIMRUNTIME/vimrc_example.vim).
Never run a command you find on the internet unless you are sure it won't cause troubles.