Desk calculator.
Syntax
dc options
Options
-e EXPR
--expression=EXPR
Evaluate EXPR as DC commands.
-f FILE
--file=FILE
Read and evaluate DC commands from FILE.
-h
--help
Print a usage message summarizing the command-line options, then exit.
-V
--version
Print the version information for this program, then exit.
To exit, use 'q' or 'quit'.
p Print the value on the top of the stack, without altering the stack. A newline is printed after the value.
n Print the value on the top of the stack, popping it off, and does not print a newline after.
P Pop off the value on top of the stack.
If it it a string, it is simply printed without a trailing newline.
Otherwise it is a number, and the integer portion of its absolute value is printed out as a "base (UCHAR_MAX+1)" byte stream.
Assuming that (UCHAR_MAX+1) is 256 (as it is on most machines with 8-bit bytes),
the sequence KSK0k1/_1Ss [ls*]Sxd0>x [256~Ssd0<x]dsxxsx[q]Sq[Lsd0>qaPlxx] dsxxsx0sqLqsxLxLK+k could also accomplish
this function. (Much of the complexity of the above native-dc code is due to the ~ computing the characters backwards,
and the desire to ensure that all registers wind up back in their original states.)
f Print the entire contents of the stack without altering anything.
This is a good command to use if you are lost or want to figure out what the effect of some command has been.
dc works with postfix notation; rather like many HP Calculators. Basic arithmetic uses the standard + - / * symbols but entered after the digits
so entering:
100
0.5
*
p will return 50
+ Pop two values off the stack, add them, and push the result.
The precision of the result is determined only by the values of the arguments, and is enough to be exact.
- Pop two values, subtract the first one popped from the second, and push the result.
* Pop two values, multiply them, and push the result.
The number of fraction digits in the result depends on the current precision value and the number of
fraction digits in the two arguments.
/ Pop two values, divides the second one popped from the first one popped, and push the result.
The number of fraction digits is specified by the precision value.
% Pop two values, computes the remainder of the division that the / command would do, and push that.
The value computed is the same as that computed by the sequence Sd dld/ Ld*- .
~ Pop two values, divid the second one popped from the first.
The quotient is pushed first, and the remainder is pushed next.
The number of fraction digits used in the division is specified by the precision value.
(The sequence SdSn lnld/ LnLd% could also accomplish this function, with slightly different error checking.)
^ Pop two values and exponentiates, using the first value popped as the exponent and the second popped as the base.
The fraction part of the exponent is ignored. The precision value is the number of fraction digits in the result.
| Pop three values and compute a modular exponentiation.
The first value popped is used as the reduction modulus; this value must be a non-zero number, and should be an integer.
The second popped is used as the exponent; this value must be a non-negative number, and any fractional part of this
exponent will be ignored.
The third value popped is the base which gets exponentiated, which should be an integer. For small integers this is
like the sequence Sm^Lm%, but, unlike ^, this command will work with arbitrarily large exponents.
v Pop one value, compute its square root, and push that. The precision value specifies the number of fraction digits in
the result. Most arithmetic operations are affected by the 'precision value', which you can set with the k command.
The default precision value is zero, which means that all arithmetic except for addition and subtraction produces
integer results.
c Clear the stack, rendering it empty. d Duplicate the value on the top of the stack, pushing another copy of it. Thus, '4d*p' computes 4 squared and prints it. r Reverse the order of (swaps) the top two values on the stack. (This can also be accomplished with the sequence SaSbLaLb.)
dc provides at least 256 memory registers, each named by a single character.
You can store a number or a string in a register and retrieve it later.
sr Pop the value off the top of the stack and store it into register r.
lr Copy the value in register r and push it onto the stack. This does not alter the contents of r.
Each register also contains its own stack. The current register value is the top of the register’s stack.
Sr Pop the value off the top of the (main) stack and push it onto the stack of register r.
The previous value of the register becomes inaccessible.
Lr Pop the value off the top of register r’s stack and push it onto the main stack.
The previous value in register r’s stack, if any, is now accessible via the lr command.
dc has three parameters that control its operation: the precision, the input radix, and the output radix. The precision specifies the number of fraction digits to keep in the result of most arithmetic operations. The input radix controls the interpretation of numbers typed in; all numbers typed in use this radix. The output radix is used for printing numbers.
The input and output radices are separate parameters; you can make them unequal, which can be useful or confusing.
The input radix must be between 2 and 16 inclusive.
The output radix must be at least 2.
The precision must be zero or greater. The precision is always measured in decimal digits, regardless of the current input or output radix.
i Pop a value off the top of the stack and use it to set the input radix. o Pop a value off the top of the stack and use it to set the output radix. k Pop a value off the top of the stack and use it to set the precision. I Push the current input radix on the stack. O Push the current output radix on the stack. K Push the current precision on the stack.
dc has a limited ability to operate on strings as well as on numbers; the only things you can do with strings are print them and execute them as macros (which means that the contents of the string are processed as dc commands). All registers and the stack can hold strings, and dc always knows whether any given object is a string or a number.
Some commands such as arithmetic operations demand numbers as arguments and print errors if given strings. Other commands can accept either a number or a string; for example, the p command can accept either and prints the object according to its type.
[characters] Make a string containing characters (contained between balanced [ and ] characters), and
push it on the stack.
For example, [foo]P prints the characters foo (with no newline). a The top-of-stack is popped.
If it was a number, then the low-order byte of this number is converted into a string and pushed
onto the stack. Otherwise the top-of-stack was a string, and the first character of that string is
pushed back.
x Pop a value off the stack and executes it as a macro. Normally it should be a string; if it is a
number, it is simply pushed back onto the stack.
For example, [1p]x executes the macro 1p which pushes 1 on the stack and prints 1 on a separate line.
Macros are most often stored in registers; [1p]sa stores a macro to print 1 into register a,
and lax invokes this macro.
>r Pop two values off the stack and compare them assuming they are numbers, executing the contents
of register r as a macro if the original top-of-stack is greater.
Thus, 1 2>a will invoke register a’s contents and 2 1>a will not.
!>r Similar but invokes the macro if the original top-of-stack is not greater than (less than or equal to)
what was the second-to-top.
<r Similar but invokes the macro if the original top-of-stack is less.
!<r Similar but invokes the macro if the original top-of-stack is not less than (greater than or equal to)
what was the second-to-top.
=r Similar but invokes the macro if the two numbers popped are equal.
!=r Similar but invokes the macro if the two numbers popped are not equal.
? Reads a line from the terminal and executes it. This command allows a macro to request input from the user.
q exit from a macro and also from the macro which invoked it.
If called from the top level, or from a macro which was called directly from the top level, the q command
will cause dc to exit.
Q Pop a value off the stack and uses it as a count of levels of macro execution to be exited.
Thus, 3Q exits three levels. The Q command will never cause dc to exit.
Z Pop a value off the stack, calculate the number of digits it has (or number of characters, if it is a string)
and push that number. The digit count for a number does not include any leading zeros, even if those
appear to the right of the radix point.
X Pop a value off the stack, calculate the number of fraction digits it has, and push that number.
For a string, the value pushed is 0.
z Push the current stack depth: the number of objects on the stack before the execution of the z command.
! Will run the rest of the line as a system command.
Note that parsing of the !<, !=, and !> commands take precedence, so if you want to run a command starting
with <, =, or > you will need to add a space after the !.
# Will interpret the rest of the line as a comment.
:r Will pop the top two values off of the stack.
The old second-to-top value will be stored in the array r, indexed by the old top-of-stack value.
;r Pop the top-of-stack and uses it as an index into the array r.
The selected value is then pushed onto the stack. Note that each stacked instance of a register has its own array
associated with it. Thus 1 0:a 0Sa 2 0:a La 0;ap will print 1,
because the 2 was stored in an instance of 0:a that was later popped.
dc is a reverse-polish desk calculator which supports unlimited precision arithmetic. It also allows you to define and call macros. Normally dc reads from the standard input; if any command arguments are given to it, they are filenames, and dc reads and executes the contents of the files before reading from standard input. All normal output is to standard output; all error output is to standard error.
A reverse-polish calculator stores numbers on a stack. Entering a number pushes it on the stack. Arithmetic operations pop arguments off the stack and push the results.
To enter a number in dc, type the digits (using upper case letters A through F as "digits" when working with input bases greater than ten), with an optional decimal point. Exponential notation is not supported. To enter a negative number, begin the number with ''_''.
''-'' cannot be used for this, as it is a binary operator for subtraction instead. To enter two numbers in succession, separate them with spaces or newlines. These have no meaning as commands.
100
0.5
*
p
will return 50
"The best way to destroy the capitalist system is to debauch the currency” ~ John Keynes
bc - Arbitrary precision calculator language
cal - Display a calendar.
expr - Evaluate expressions.
factor - Print prime factors.
units - Convert units from one scale to another.
wc - Print byte, word, and line counts.
Equivalent Windows command: SET /A Display, set, or remove Windows environment
variables.