4 ms·

I use bc. There's only so much you can add to it. I also think programmers should try to finish the software they write. https://gavinhoward.com/2019/11/finish

I use bc. There's only so much you can add to it. I also think programmers should try to finish the software they write. https://gavinhoward.com/2019/11/finishing-software/ https://gavinhoward.com/2019/11/finishing-software/

iso1631 6y ago
square root, or indeed all non-integer powers, would be handy > Runtime warning (func=(main), adr=9): non-zero scale in exponent
- ogogmad 6y ago
  define p(x, y) { return e(y*l(x)) } You can also use #! to load libraries.
  - iso1631 6y ago
    Runtime error (func=pow, adr=6): Function l not defined.
    - JadeNB 6y ago
      Use `bc -l`. `sqrt` is also included.
- ghoward 6y ago
  My bc does have those by default; I don't use GNU bc.
skocznymroczny 6y ago
I assume bc doesn't stand for Borland C?
- ghoward 6y ago
  No. :) It is a POSIX utility. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bc_(programming_language) https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bc_(programming_language)
- redis_mlc 6y ago
  The Unix bc utility is a basic calculator. $ man bc bc - An arbitrary precision calculator language
ogogmad 6y ago
What do you use it for? I've used it to estimate the limit of the following sequence of functions, because I wasn't sure there was enough precision in machine floating point to do it properly: ⎡ ___________________________⎤ ⎢ _________________ ╱ _________________ ⎥ ⎢ ________ ╱ ________ ╱ ╱ ________ ⎥ ⎢ ╱ 2 ╱ ╱ 4 ╱ ╱ ╱ 8 ⎥ ⎣x, ╲╱ x + 1 , ╲╱ ╲╱ x + 1 + 1 , ╲╱ ╲╱ ╲╱ x + 1 + 1 + 1 ⎦
- ghoward 6y ago
  Nice! Can you post the bc script you used? I use bc as my desktop calculator instead of a graphical calculator. I use one with more extensions than GNU bc, so it is useful for me when programming.
  - deleted 6y ago
    [deleted]

iso1631 6y ago

square root, or indeed all non-integer powers, would be handy > Runtime warning (func=(main), adr=9): non-zero scale in exponent

ogogmad 6y ago
define p(x, y) { return e(y*l(x)) } You can also use #! to load libraries.
- iso1631 6y ago
  Runtime error (func=pow, adr=6): Function l not defined.
  - JadeNB 6y ago
    Use `bc -l`. `sqrt` is also included.
ghoward 6y ago
My bc does have those by default; I don't use GNU bc.

skocznymroczny 6y ago

I assume bc doesn't stand for Borland C?

ghoward 6y ago
No. :) It is a POSIX utility. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bc_(programming_language) https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bc_(programming_language)
redis_mlc 6y ago
The Unix bc utility is a basic calculator. $ man bc bc - An arbitrary precision calculator language

ogogmad 6y ago

What do you use it for? I've used it to estimate the limit of the following sequence of functions, because I wasn't sure there was enough precision in machine floating point to do it properly: ⎡ ___________________________⎤ ⎢ _________________ ╱ _________________ ⎥ ⎢ ________ ╱ ________ ╱ ╱ ________ ⎥ ⎢ ╱ 2 ╱ ╱ 4 ╱ ╱ ╱ 8 ⎥ ⎣x, ╲╱ x + 1 , ╲╱ ╲╱ x + 1 + 1 , ╲╱ ╲╱ ╲╱ x + 1 + 1 + 1 ⎦

ghoward 6y ago
Nice! Can you post the bc script you used? I use bc as my desktop calculator instead of a graphical calculator. I use one with more extensions than GNU bc, so it is useful for me when programming.
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]