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NAME

       calc - arbitrary precision calculator

SYNOPSIS

       calc [-c] [-C] [-d]
            [-D calc_debug[:resource_debug[:user_debug]]]
            [-e] [-h] [-i] [-m mode] [-O]
            [-p] [-q] [-s] [-u] [-v] [[--] calc_cmd ...]

       #!/usr/bin/calc [other_flags ...] -f

DESCRIPTION


       CALC OPTIONS

       -c     Continue reading command lines even after a scan/parse error has
              caused the abandonment of a line.  Note that  this  option  only
              deals  with  scanning and parsing of the calc language.  It does
              not deal with execution or run-time errors.

              For example:

                   calc read many_errors.cal

              will cause calc to abort on the first syntax error, whereas:

                   calc -c read many_errors.cal

              will cause calc to try to process each line being  read  despite
              the scan/parse errors that it encounters.

              By  default, calc startup resource files are silently ignored if
              not found.  This flag will report missing startup resource files
              unless -d is also given.

       -C     Permit  the execution of custom builtin functions.  Without this
              flag, calling the custom() builtin function will simply generate
              an error.

              Use  of  this  flag may cause calc to execute functions that are
              non-standard  and  that  are  not  portable.    Custom   builtin
              functions are disabled by default for this reason.

       -d     Disable  the  printing  of  the  opening title.  The printing of
              resource file debug and informational messages is also  disabled
              as if config("resource_debug", 0) had been executed.

              For example:

                   calc "read qtime; qtime(2)"

              will output something like:

                   qtime(utc_hr_offset) defined
                   It’s nearly ten past six.

              whereas:

                   calc -d "read qtime; qtime(2)"

              will just say:

                   It’s nearly ten past six.

              This  flag  disables  the  reporting  of  missing  calc  startup
              resource files.

       -D calc_debug[:resource_debug[:user_debug]]
              Force    the    initial    value    of     config("calc_debug"),
              config("resource_debug") and config("user_debug").

              The  :  separated  strings  are  interpreted  as  signed  32 bit
              integers.   After  an  optional  leading  sign  a  leading  zero
              indicates  octal  conversion,  and  a  leading  ‘‘0x’’ or ‘‘0X’’
              hexadecimal  conversion.   Otherwise,  decimal   conversion   is
              assumed.

              By  default, calc_debug is 0, resource_debug is 3 and user_debug
              is 0.

              For more information use the following calc command:

                   help config

       -e     Ignore any  environment  variables  on  startup.   The  getenv()
              builtin will still return values, however.

       -f     This  flag is required when using calc in shell script mode.  It
              must be at the end of the initial #!  line of the script.

              This flag is normally only at the end of a  calc  shell  script.
              If  the  first line of an executable file begins #!  followed by
              the absolute pathname of the calc program and the flag -f as in:

                   #!/usr/bin/calc [other_flags ...] -f

              the  rest  of  the  file will be processed in shell script mode.
              See SHELL SCRIPT  MODE  section  of  this  man  page  below  for
              details.

              The actual form of this flag is:

                   -f filename

              On  systems  that  treat an executable that begins with #!  as a
              script, the path of the executable is appended by the kernel  as
              the  final  argument to the exec() system call.  This is why the
              -f flag at the very end of the #!  line.

              It is possible use -f filename on the command line:

                   calc [other_flags ...] -f filename

              This will cause calc to  process  lines  in  filename  in  shell
              script mode.

              Use  of -f implies -s.  In addition, -d and -p are implied if -i
              is not given.

       -h     Print  a  help  message.   This  option  implies  -q.   This  is
              equivalent  to the calc command help help.  The help facility is
              disabled unless the mode is 5 or 7.  See -m.

       -i     Become interactive if possible.  This flag will  cause  calc  to
              drop  into  interactive mode after the calc_cmd arguments on the
              command line are evaluated.  Without this flag, calc  will  exit
              after they are evaluated.

              For example:

                   calc 2+5

              will print the value 7 and exit whereas:

                   calc -i 2+5

              will  print  the  value  7  and  prompt  the  user for more calc
              commands.

       -m mode
              This flag sets the permission mode of  calc.   It  controls  the
              ability  for  calc to open files and execute programs.  Mode may
              be a number from 0 to 7.

              The mode value is interpreted in a way similar to  that  of  the
              chmod(1) octal mode:

                   0  do not open any file, do not execute progs
                   1  do not open any file
                   2  do not open files for reading, do not execute progs
                   3  do not open files for reading
                   4  do not open files for writing, do not execute progs
                   5  do not open files for writing
                   6  do not execute any program
                   7  allow everything (default mode)

              If one wished to run calc from a privileged user, one might want
              to use -m 0 in an effort to make calc somewhat more secure.

              Mode bits for reading and writing apply only on an open.   Files
              already open are not effected.  Thus if one wanted to use the -m
              0 in an effort to make calc  somewhat  more  secure,  but  still
              wanted  to  read and write a specific file, one might want to do
              in sh(1), ksh(1), bash(1)-like shells:

                   calc -m 0 3<a.file

              Files presented to calc in this way are  opened  in  an  unknown
              mode.  Calc will attempt to read or write them if directed.

              If  the  mode  disables  opening  of files for reading, then the
              startup resource files are disabled as if  -q  was  given.   The
              reading  of key bindings is also disabled when the mode disables
              opening of files for reading.

       -O     Use  the  old  classic   defaults   instead   of   the   default
              configuration.   This  flag  as  the  same  effect  as executing
              config("all", "oldcfg") at startup time.

              NOTE: Older versions of calc used -n to setup a modified form of
              the  default  calc  configuration.   The  -n flag currently does
              nothing.  Use of the -n flag is now deprecated and may  be  used
              for something else in the future.

       -p     Pipe processing is enabled by use of -p.  For example:

                   calc -p "2^21701-1" | fizzbin

              In  pipe mode, calc does not prompt, does not print leading tabs
              and does not print the initial header.  The  -p  flag  overrides
              -i.

       -q     Disable the reading of the startup scripts.

       -s     By  default, all calc_cmd args are evaluated and executed.  This
              flag  will  disable  their  evaluation  and  instead  make  them
              available as strings for the argv() builtin function.

       -u     Disable buffering of stdin and stdout.

       -v     Print the calc version number and exit.

       --     The  double  dash  indicates to calc that no more option follow.
              Thus calc will ignore a later argument on the command line  even
              if it starts with a dash.  This is useful when entering negative
              values on the command line as in:

                   calc -p -- -1 - -7

       CALC COMMAND LINE

       With no calc_cmd arguments, calc operates  interactively.   If  one  or
       more  arguments are given on the command line and -s is NOT given, then
       calc will read and execute them and either attempt  to  go  interactive
       according as the -i flag was present or absent.

       If  -s  is  given,  calc  will  not evaluate any calc_cmd arguments but
       instead make them available as strings to the argv() builtin  function.

       Sufficiently  simple  commands  with no no characters like parentheses,
       brackets, semicolons, ’*’, which have special interpretations  in  UNIX
       shells  may  be  entered,  possibly  with spaces, until the terminating
       newline.  For example:

            calc 23 + 47

       will print 70.  However, command lines will have problems:

            calc 23 * 47

            calc -23 + 47

       The first example above fails because the shell interprets the ’*’ as a
       file  glob.  The second example fails because ’-23’ is viewed as a calc
       option (which it is not) and do calc objects to that it thinks of as an
       unknown option.  These cases can usually be made to work as expected by
       enclosing the command between quotes:

            calc ’23 * 47’

            calc "print sqrt(2), exp(1)"

       or in parentheses and quotes to avoid leading -’s as in:

            calc ’(-23 + 47)’

       One may also use a double dash to denote that calc options  have  ended
       as in:

            calc -- -23 + 47

            calc -q -- -23 + 47

       If  ’!’  is  to  be used to indicate the factorial function, for shells
       like csh(1) for which ’!’ followed by a non-space character is used for
       history  substitution,  it may be necessary to include a space or use a
       backslash to escape the special  meaning  of  ’!’.   For  example,  the
       command:

            print 27!^2

       may have to be replaced by:

            print 27! ^2   or   print 27^2

       CALC STARTUP FILES

       Normally  on  startup, if the environment variable $CALCRC is undefined
       and calc is invoked without the -q flag, or if $CALCRC is  defined  and
       calc  is  invoked  with -e, calc looks for a file "startup" in the calc
       resource directory .calcrc in the user’s home directory, and  .calcinit
       in  the current directory.  If one or more of these are found, they are
       read in succession as calc scripts and their commands  executed.   When
       defined,  $CALCRC is to contain a ’:’ separated list of names of files,
       and if calc is then invoked without either the -q or  -e  flags,  these
       files  are  read  in  succession and their commands executed.  No error
       condition is produced if a listed file is not found.

       If the mode specified by -m disables opening of files for reading, then
       the reading of startup files is also disabled as if -q was given.

       CALC FILE SEARCH PATH

       If the environment variable $CALCPATH is undefined, or if it is defined
       and calc is invoked with the -e flag, when a file  name  not  beginning
       with /, ~ or ./, is specified as in:

            calc read myfile

       calc searches in succession:

            ./myfile
            ./myfile.cal
            /usr/lib/myfile
            /usr/lib/myfile.cal
            /usr/share/calc/custom/myfile
            /usr/share/calc/custom/myfile.cal

       If the file is found, the search stops and the commands in the file are
       executed.  It is an error if no readable file with the  specified  name
       is  found.   An  alternative  search  path can be specified by defining
       $CALCPATH in the same way as PATH is defined, as a ’:’  separated  list
       of directories, and then invoking calc without the -e flag.

       Calc  treats  all  open  files,  other than stdin, stdout and stderr as
       files available for reading and writing.  One may present calc with  an
       already open file using sh(1), ksh(1), bash(1)-like shells is to:

            calc 3<open_file 4<open_file2

       For more information use the following calc commands:

            help help
            help overview
            help usage
            help environment
            help config

       SHELL SCRIPT MODE

       If  the  first  line  of  an executable file begins #!  followed by the
       absolute pathname of the calc program and the flag -f as in:

            #!/usr/bin/calc [other_flags ...] -f

       the rest of the file will be processed in shell script mode.  Note that
       -f  must  be at the end of the initial ‘‘#!’’ line.  Any other optional
       other_flags must come before the -f.

       In shell script mode the contents of the file are read and executed  as
       if they were in a file being processed by a read command, except that a
       "command" beginning with ’#’ followed by whitespace and ending  at  the
       next newline is treated as a comment.  Any optional other_flags will be
       parsed first followed by the later lines within the script itself.

       In shell script mode, -s is always assumed.  In addition, -d and -p are
       automatically set if -i is not given.

       For example, if the file /tmp/mersenne:

            #!/usr/bin/calc -q -f
            #
            # mersenne - an example of a calc shell script file

            /* parse args */
            if (argv() != 1) {
                fprintf(files(2), "usage: %s exp\n", config("program"));
                abort "must give one exponent arg";
            }

            /* print the mersenne number */
            print "2^": argv(0) : "-1 =", 2^eval(argv(0))-1;

       is made an executable file by:

            chmod +x /tmp/mersenne

       then the command line:

            /tmp/mersenne 127

       will print:

            2^127-1 = 170141183460469231731687303715884105727

       Note  that  because  -s  is assumed in shell script mode and non-dashed
       args are made available as strings via  the  argv()  builtin  function.
       Therefore:

            2^eval(argv(0))-1

       will print the decimal value of 2^n-1 but

            2^argv(0)-1

       will not.

       DATA TYPES

       Fundamental builtin data types include integers, real numbers, rational
       numbers, complex numbers and strings.

       By use of an object, one may define an arbitrarily complex data  types.
       One  may define how such objects behave a wide range of operations such
       as addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, negation, squaring,
       modulus,  rounding,  exponentiation, equality, comparison, printing and
       so on.

       For more information use the following calc commands:

          help types
          help obj
          show objfuncs

       VARIABLES

       Variables in calc are typeless.  In other words, the  fundamental  type
       of  a  variable  is  determined  by  its content.  Before a variable is
       assigned a value it has the value of zero.

       The scope of a variable may be global, local to a file, or local  to  a
       procedure.   Values  may  be  grouped together in a matrix, or into a a
       list that permits stack and queue style operations.

       For more information use the following calc commands:

          help variable
          help mat
          help list
          show globals

       INPUT/OUTPUT

       A leading ‘‘0x’’ implies a hexadecimal value, a leading ‘‘0b’’  implies
       a binary value, and a ‘‘0’’ followed by a digit implies an octal value.
       Complex numbers are indicated by a trailing ‘‘i’’ such as in  ‘‘3+4i’’.
       Strings  may  be delimited by either a pair of single or double quotes.
       By default, calc prints values as if they were floating point  numbers.
       One  may  change  the  default  to  print  values  in a number of modes
       including fractions, integers and exponentials.

       A number of stdio-like file I/O operations are provided.  One may open,
       read,  write,  seek  and  close  files.  Filenames are subject to ‘‘ ’’
       expansion to home directories in a way similar to that of the  Korn  or
       C-Shell.

       For example:

          ~/.calcrc
          ~chongo/lib/fft_multiply.cal

       For more information use the following calc command:

          help file

       CALC LANGUAGE

       The calc language is a C-like language.  The language includes commands
       such as variable declarations, expressions, tests, labels, loops,  file
       operations,  function  calls.  These commands are very similar to their
       counterparts in C.

       The language also include a  number  of  commands  particular  to  calc
       itself.   These  include  commands  such  as function definition, help,
       reading in resource files, dump files to a  file,  error  notification,
       configuration control and status.

       For more information use the following calc command:

          help command
          help statement
          help expression
          help operator
          help config

FILES


       /usr/bin/calc
            calc binary

       /usr/share/doc/apcalc/examples/*
            calc shell scripts

       /usr/lib/*.cal
            calc standard resource files

       /usr/lib/help/*
            help files

       /usr/lib/bindings
            non-GNU-readline command line editor bindings

       /usr/include/calc/*.h
            include files for C interface use

       /usr/lib/libcalc.a
            calc binary link library

       /usr/lib/libcustcalc.a
            custom binary link library

       /usr/share/calc/custom/*.cal
            custom resource files

       /usr/share/calc/custhelp/*
            custom help files

ENVIRONMENT


       CALCPATH
            A :-separated list of directories used to search for calc resource
            filenames that do not begin with /, ./ or ~.

            Default        value:        .:./cal:~/.cal:/usr/local/share/calc:
            /usr/share/calc:/usr/share/calc/custom

       CALCRC
            On  startup  (unless -h or -q was given on the command line), calc
            searches for files along this :-separated environment variable.

            Default              value:               /usr/share/calc/startup:
            /usr/local/share/calc/startup:~/.calcrc:./.calcinit

       CALCBINDINGS
            On  startup  (unless -h or -q was given on the command line, or -m
            disallows opening files for reading), calc reads key bindings from
            the  filename  specified  by  this  environment variable.  The key
            binding  file  is  searched  for  along  the  $CALCPATH  list   of
            directories.

            Default value: binding

            This  variable  is not used if calc was compiled with GNU-readline
            support.  In that case,  the  standard  readline  mechanisms  (see
            readline(3)) are used.

CREDIT


       The main chunk of calc was written by David I. Bell.

       The  calc  primary  mirror,  calc  mailing  list  and  calc  bug report
       processing is performed by Landon Curt Noll.

       Landon Curt  Noll  maintains  the  master  reference  source,  performs
       release  control functions as well as other calc maintenance functions.

       Thanks for  suggestions  and  encouragement  from  Peter  Miller,  Neil
       Justusson, and Landon Noll.

       Thanks  to  Stephen Rothwell for writing the original version of hist.c
       which is used to do the command line editing.

       Thanks to Ernest W. Bowen for supplying many improvements  in  accuracy
       and  generality  for some numeric functions.  Much of this was in terms
       of actual code which I gratefully accepted.  Ernest also  supplied  the
       original text for many of the help files.

       Portions  of  this  program  are  derived from an earlier set of public
       domain arbitrarily precision routines  which  was  posted  to  the  net
       around  1984.   By  now, there is almost no recognizable code left from
       that original source.

COPYING / CALC GNU LESSER GENERAL PUBLIC LICENSE


       Calc is open software, and is covered under  version  2.1  of  the  GNU
       Lesser  General  Public  License.   You are welcome to change it and/or
       distribute copies of it under certain conditions.  The calc commands:

            help copyright
            help copying
            help copying-lgpl

       should display the contents of  the  COPYING  and  COPYING-LGPL  files.
       Those  files  contain  information  about the calc’s GNU Lesser General
       Public License, and in particular the conditions under  which  you  are
       allowed to change it and/or distribute copies of it.

       You  should  have  received a copy of the version 2.1 of the GNU Lesser
       General Public License.  If you do not have these files, write to:

            Free Software Foundation, Inc.
            51 Franklin Street
            Fifth Floor
            Boston, MA  02110-1301
            USA

       Calc is copyrighted in several different ways.  These ways include:

            Copyright (C) year  David I. Bell
            Copyright (C) year  David I. Bell and Landon Curt Noll
            Copyright (C) year  David I. Bell and Ernest Bowen
            Copyright (C) year  David I. Bell, Landon Curt Noll and Ernest Bowen
            Copyright (C) year  Landon Curt Noll
            Copyright (C) year  Ernest Bowen and Landon Curt Noll
            Copyright (C) year  Ernest Bowen

       This man page is:

            Copyright (C) 1999  Landon Curt Noll

       and is covered under version 2.1 GNU Lesser General Public License.

CALC MAILING LIST / CALC UPDATES / ENHANCEMENTS


       To contribute comments, suggestions, enhancements and interesting  calc
       resource  files,  and  shell  scripts  please  join the low volume calc
       mailing list.

       To join the low volume calc mailing list, send EMail to:

            calc-tester-request at asthe dot com

       Your subject must contain the words:

            calc mailing list subscription

       You may have additional words in your subject line.

       Your message body must contain:

            subscribe calc-tester address
            end
            name your_full_name

       where address s your EMail address  and  your_full_name  is  your  full
       name.   Feel free to follow the name line with additional EMail text as
       desired.

BUG REPORTS / BUG FIXES


       Send bug reports and bug fixes to:

            calc-bugs at asthe dot com

            [[ NOTE: Replace ’at’ with @, ’dot’ is with . and remove the spaces ]]
            [[ NOTE: The EMail address uses ’asthe’ and the web site URL uses ’isthe’ ]]

       Your subject must contain the words:

            calc bug report

       You may have additional words in your subject line.

       See the BUGS source file or use the calc command:

            help bugs

       for more information about bug reporting.

CALC WEB SITE


       Landon Noll maintains the the calc web site is located at:

            www.isthe.com/chongo/tech/comp/calc/

       Share and Enjoy! :-)