Windows – How to install gfortran (via cygwin and etexteditor) and enable ifort under Windows XP

gVim.exe looks for a HOME variable when it is run. In your case, the Cygwin environment has its own HOME var set, so it is using that.

You could change the HOME value in your environment, but that could affect other applications. Then again, you might want that. In case you don't want that and assuming your Cygwin shell is using the Bash shell, since you've already suggested in your question that you're looking to create an alias or function, I would recommend setting the var only for that command instance, which Bash allows you to do by just setting it right before the command separated by a space...

VAR=abc command

The above runs command as if VAR was set to abc, regardless of what it might actually be. Thus...

alias gvim='HOME=/cygdrive/c/Users/Sundar /path/to/gvim.exe'

... or...

gvim() { HOME=/cygdrive/c/Users/Sundar /path/to/gvim.exe $1; }

...would allow you to run the gVim executable with the HOME var set to your preferred path, without otherwise disturbing your Cygwin environment.

Cygwin packages come in two versions, a 64-bit version and a 32-bit version. As the 64-bit library is newer than the 32-bit library, there are some missing libraries and programs.

You can have BOTH the 32-bit and the 64-bit Cygwin installed concurrently without any problems. Thus if you wanted to compile and go on using 32-bit mode, install the 32-bit cygwin and invoke its bash shell.

Cygwin 32-bit is usually installed in c:\cygwin and the 64-bit cygwin is installed in c:\cygwin64.

So in summary, if you need 32-bit capabilities install the 32-bit cygwin and all the necessary packages you need to complete your task.

NOTE: 32-bit programs WILL run on 64-bit windows platforms.