## 12.4. Initialization

vile and xvile perform the following initializations:

1. (xvile only) Use the value of the `XVILE_MENU` environment variable for the name of the menu description file, if provided. Otherwise, it uses .vilemenu. The purpose of this file is to set the default menus for the X11 interface. You can then add to or override any of these menus in the other startup files.

2. Execute the file named on the command line with `@``cmdfile`, if any. Bypass any other initialization steps that would otherwise be done.

3. If the `VILEINIT` environment variable exists, execute its value. Otherwise, look for an initialization file.

4. If the `VILE_STARTUP_FILE` environment variable exists, use that as the name of the startup file. If not, on UNIX use .vilerc, on other systems use vile.rc.

5. Look for the startup file in the current directory, and then in the user's home directory. Use whichever one is found first.

As for nvi and vim, you can place common initialization actions into your .exrc file (i.e., options and commands for UNIX vi, and/or the other clones), and have your .vilerc file execute `:source .exrc` before or after the vile-specific initializations.

Copyright © 2003 O'Reilly & Associates. All rights reserved.