dc - an arbitrary precision calculator


SYNOPSIS

       dc [-V] [--version] [-h] [--help]
          [-e scriptexpression] [--expression=scriptexpression]
          [-f scriptfile] [--file=scriptfile]
          [file ...]


DESCRIPTION

       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 stan­
       dard 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 stan­
       dard 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 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 succes­
       sion, separate them with spaces or newlines.   These  have
       no meaning as commands.


OPTIONS

       Dc may be invoked with the following command-line options:

       -V

       --version
              Print out the version of dc that is being run and a
              copyright notice, then exit.

       -h

       --help Print  a  usage  message  briefly summarizing these
              command-line options and the bug-reporting address,
              then exit.

       -e script

       --expression=script
              Add  the  commands in script to the set of commands
              to be run while processing the input.


       --file=script-file
              Add the commands contained in the file  script-file
              to  the  set of commands to be run while processing
              the input.

       If any command-line parameters remain after processing the
       above,  these  parameters  are interpreted as the names of
       input files to be processed.  A file name of -  refers  to
       the  standard  input stream.  The standard input will pro­
       cessed if no file names are specified.


Printing Commands

       p      Prints the value on the top of the  stack,  without
              altering the stack.  A newline is printed after the
              value.

       n      Prints the value on the top of the  stack,  popping
              it off, and does not print a newline after.

       P      Pops 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 KSK 0k1/ [_1*]sx
              d0>x [256~aPd0<x]dsxx sxLKk could  also  accomplish
              this  function, except for the side-effect of clob­
              bering the x register.

       f      Prints 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.


Arithmetic

       +      Pops  two  values  off  the  stack,  adds them, and
              pushes the result.  The precision of the result  is
              determined only by the values of the arguments, and
              is enough to be exact.

       -      Pops two values, subtracts  the  first  one  popped
              from  the second one popped, and pushes the result.

       *      Pops two values, multiplies them,  and  pushes  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.

       /      Pops two values, divides the second one popped from
              the  first  one popped, and pushes the result.  The
              number of  fraction  digits  is  specified  by  the


       %      Pops  two  values,  computes  the  remainder of the
              division that the / command would  do,  and  pushes
              that.   The value computed is the same as that com­
              puted by the sequence Sd dld/ Ld*- .

       ~      Pops two values, divides the second one popped from
              the  first  one  popped.   The  quotient  is pushed
              first, and the remainder is pushed next.  The  num­
              ber  of  fraction  digits  used  in the division is
              specified by the precision  value.   (The  sequence
              SdSn  lnld/  LnLd% could also accomplish this func­
              tion, with slightly different error checking.)

       ^      Pops 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 specifies the number
              of fraction digits in the result.

       |      Pops three values and computes a modular exponenti­
              ation.   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 com­
              mand will work with arbitrarily large exponents.

       v      Pops one  value,  computes  its  square  root,  and
              pushes  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.


Stack Control

       c      Clears the stack, rendering it empty.

       d      Duplicates the value on the top of the stack, push­
              ing  another copy of it.  Thus, ``4d*p'' computes 4
              squared and prints it.

       r      Reverses the order of (swaps) the top two values on
              the stack.

       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.


Parameters

       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 dec­
       imal digits, regardless of the  current  input  or  output
       radix.

       i      Pops the value off the top of the stack and uses it
              to set the input radix.

       o      Pops the value off the top of the stack and uses it
              to set the output radix.

       k      Pops the value off the top of the stack and uses it
              to set the precision.

       I      Pushes the current input radix on the stack.

       O      Pushes the current output radix on the stack.

       K      Pushes the current precision on the stack.

       Dc can 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]
              Makes a  string  containing  characters  (contained
              between balanced [ and ] characters), and pushes it
              on the stack.  For example, [foo]P prints the char­
              acters 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  char­
              acter of that string is pushed back.

       x      Pops  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     Pops two values off the  stack  and  compares  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


       !=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      exits  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      Pops 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.


Status Inquiry

       Z      Pops  a  value off the stack, calculates the number
              of digits it has (or number of characters, if it is
              a string) and pushes that number.

       X      Pops  a  value off the stack, calculates the number
              of fraction digits it has, and pushes that  number.
              For a string, the value pushed is 0.

       z      Pushes  the  current  stack  depth:  the  number of
              objects on the stack before the execution of the  z
              command.


Miscellaneous

       !      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     Pops  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.

       Email bug reports to bug-dc@gnu.org.


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