BC(1)

📦 version 7.1.0, in alpine 3.24

🌈 BC(1) — General Commands Manual: arbitrary-precision decimal arithmetic language and calculator 🌈

okay bestie, welcome to the bc(1) page. This is the General Commands Manual entry for the arbitrary-precision decimal arithmetic language and calculator, and we are going to get through it together. No skipping, no skimming, no “I’ll come back to the flags later” energy. 💅

🌸 NAME 🌸

bc — arbitrary-precision decimal arithmetic language and calculator. That’s the whole gorgeous thing. It’s a calculator, it’s a language, and it does not put a cap on your decimal precision. Iconic behavior, honestly.

✨ SYNOPSIS ✨

bc [-cCghilPqRsvVw] [--digit-clamp] [--no-digit-clamp] [--global-stacks]
[--help] [--interactive] [--mathlib] [--no-prompt] [--no-read-prompt]
[--quiet] [--standard] [--warn] [--version] [-e expr]
[--expression=expr...]  [-f file...]  [--file=file...]  [file...]  [-I
ibase] [--ibase=ibase] [-O obase] [--obase=obase] [-S scale]
[--scale=scale] [-E seed] [--seed=seed]

💖 DESCRIPTION 💖

bc(1) is an interactive processor for a language first standardized in 1991 by POSIX. (See the STANDARDS section.) The language provides unlimited precision decimal arithmetic and is somewhat C-like, but there are differences. Such differences will be noted in this document.

After parsing and handling options, this bc(1) reads any files given on the command line and executes them before reading from stdin. So yes: files first, then stdin, in that order. 🫶

This bc(1) is a drop-in replacement for any bc(1), including (and especially) the GNU bc(1). It also has many extensions and extra features beyond other implementations. She’s not just compatible — she’s got extras. ✨

Note: If running this bc(1) on any script meant for another bc(1) gives a parse error, it is probably because a word this bc(1) reserves as a keyword is used as the name of a function, variable, or array. To fix that, use the command-line option -r keyword, where keyword is the keyword that is used as a name in the script. For more information, see the OPTIONS section.

If parsing scripts meant for other bc(1) implementations still does not work, that is a bug and should be reported. See the BUGS section. Not “oopsie, guess it’s broken” — actual bug report time. 🐛

🎀 OPTIONS 🎀

The following are the options that bc(1) accepts. We’re doing every single one, bestie. Grab a snack. 🍓

-C, --no-digit-clamp — Disables clamping of digits greater than or equal to the current ibase when parsing numbers.

This means that the value added to a number from a digit is always that digit’s value multiplied by the value of ibase raised to the power of the digit’s position, which starts from 0 at the least significant digit.

If this and/or the -c or --digit-clamp options are given multiple times, the last one given is used.

This option overrides the BC_DIGIT_CLAMP environment variable (see the ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES section) and the default, which can be queried with the -h or --help options.

This is a non-portable extension. 💅

-c, --digit-clamp — Enables clamping of digits greater than or equal to the current ibase when parsing numbers.

In other words, when a digit is greater than or equal to ibase, the value added to the number from that digit is ibase - 1, all multiplied by the value of ibase raised to the power of the digit’s position, which starts from 0 at the least significant digit.

If this and/or the -C or --no-digit-clamp options are given multiple times, the last one given is used.

This option overrides the BC_DIGIT_CLAMP environment variable (see the ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES section) and the default, which can be queried with the -h or --help options.

This is a non-portable extension. 💅

-E seed, --seed=seed — Sets the builtin variable seed to the value seed, assuming that seed is in base 10. It is a fatal error if seed is not a valid number.

If multiple instances of this option are given, the last is used.

This is a non-portable extension. 🎲

-e expr, --expression=expr — Evaluates expr. If multiple expressions are given, they are evaluated in order. If files are given as well (see the -f and --file options), the expressions and files are evaluated in the order given. This means that if a file is given before an expression, the file is read in and evaluated first.

If this option is given on the command-line (i.e., not in BC_ENV_ARGS, see the ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES section), then after processing all expressions and files, bc(1) will exit, unless - (stdin) was given as an argument at least once to -f or --file, whether on the command-line or in BC_ENV_ARGS. However, if any other -e, --expression, -f, or --file arguments are given after -f- or equivalent is given, bc(1) will give a fatal error and exit.

This is a non-portable extension. 🧚

-f file, --file=file — Reads in file and evaluates it, line by line, as though it were read through stdin. If expressions are also given (see the -e and --expression options), the expressions are evaluated in the order given.

If this option is given on the command-line (i.e., not in BC_ENV_ARGS, see the ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES section), then after processing all expressions and files, bc(1) will exit, unless - (stdin) was given as an argument at least once to -f or --file. However, if any other -e, --expression, -f, or --file arguments are given after -f- or equivalent is given, bc(1) will give a fatal error and exit.

This is a non-portable extension. 🦋

-g, --global-stacks — Turns the globals ibase, obase, scale, and seed into stacks.

This has the effect that a copy of the current value of all four are pushed onto a stack for every function call, as well as popped when every function returns. This means that functions can assign to any and all of those globals without worrying that the change will affect other functions. Thus, a hypothetical function named output(x,b) that simply printed x in base b could be written like this:

define void output(x, b) {
    obase=b
    x
}

instead of like this:

define void output(x, b) {
    auto c
    c=obase
    obase=b
    x
    obase=c
}

This makes writing functions much easier.

(Note: the function output(x,b) exists in the extended math library. See the LIBRARY section.)

However, since using this flag means that functions cannot set ibase, obase, scale, or seed globally, functions that are made to do so cannot work anymore. There are two possible use cases for that, and each has a solution.

First, if a function is called on startup to turn bc(1) into a number converter, it is possible to replace that capability with various shell aliases. Examples:

alias d2o="bc -e ibase=A -e obase=8"
alias h2b="bc -e ibase=G -e obase=2"

Second, if the purpose of a function is to set ibase, obase, scale, or seed globally for any other purpose, it could be split into one to four functions (based on how many globals it sets) and each of those functions could return the desired value for a global.

For functions that set seed, the value assigned to seed is not propagated to parent functions. This means that the sequence of pseudo-random numbers that they see will not be the same sequence of pseudo-random numbers that any parent sees. This is only the case once seed has been set.

If a function desires to not affect the sequence of pseudo-random numbers of its parents, but wants to use the same seed, it can use the following line:

seed = seed

If the behavior of this option is desired for every run of bc(1), then users could make sure to define BC_ENV_ARGS and include this option (see the ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES section for more details).

If -s, -w, or any equivalents are used, this option is ignored.

This is a non-portable extension. 👑

-h, --help — Prints a usage message and exits. Short, sweet, and helpful. 🫶
-I ibase, --ibase=ibase — Sets the builtin variable ibase to the value ibase, assuming that ibase is in base 10. It is a fatal error if ibase is not a valid number.

If multiple instances of this option are given, the last is used.

This is a non-portable extension. 🔢

-i, --interactive — Forces interactive mode. (See the INTERACTIVE MODE section.)

This is a non-portable extension. 💬

-L, --no-line-length — Disables line length checking and prints numbers without backslashes and newlines. In other words, this option sets BC_LINE_LENGTH to 0 (see the ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES section).

This is a non-portable extension. 📏

-l, --mathlib — Sets scale (see the SYNTAX section) to 20 and loads the included math library and the extended math library before running any code, including any expressions or files specified on the command line.

To learn what is in the libraries, see the LIBRARY section. 📚

-O obase, --obase=obase — Sets the builtin variable obase to the value obase, assuming that obase is in base 10. It is a fatal error if obase is not a valid number.

If multiple instances of this option are given, the last is used.

This is a non-portable extension. 🔢

-P, --no-prompt — Disables the prompt in TTY mode. (The prompt is only enabled in TTY mode. See the TTY MODE section.) This is mostly for those users that do not want a prompt or are not used to having them in bc(1). Most of those users would want to put this option in BC_ENV_ARGS (see the ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES section).

These options override the BC_PROMPT and BC_TTY_MODE environment variables (see the ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES section).

This is a non-portable extension. 🙈

-q, --quiet — This option is for compatibility with the GNU bc(1) at https://www.gnu.org/software/bc/; it is a no-op. Without this option, GNU bc(1) prints a copyright header. This bc(1) only prints the copyright header if one or more of the -v, -V, or --version options are given unless the BC_BANNER environment variable is set and contains a non-zero integer or if this bc(1) was built with the header displayed by default. If any of that is the case, then this option does prevent bc(1) from printing the header.

This is a non-portable extension. 💀

-R, --no-read-prompt — turns off the read prompt in TTY mode 💅 (heads up: the read prompt only even exists in TTY mode — peep the TTY MODE section). This one's lowkey for the girlies who don't want a read prompt or just aren't used to seeing one in bc(1). And like, most of those people would wanna drop this option straight into BC_ENV_ARGS (see ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES). It also eats in hash bang lines of bc(1) scripts that prompt for user input — iconic for that, ngl.

Okay so this does not kill the regular prompt, because the read prompt is literally only used when the read() built-in function gets called. Periodt.

These options do override the BC_PROMPT and BC_TTY_MODE environment variables (see ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES), but only for the read prompt. Just the read prompt bestie, don't get it twisted.

This is a non-portable extension.

-r keyword, --redefine=*keyword* — redefines keyword so you can use it as a function, variable, or array name 🎀. Super useful when this bc(1) starts throwing parse errors at scripts meant for other bc(1) implementations — like, not its fault, it's just built different.

The keywords this bc(1) actually lets you redefine are:

abs
asciify
continue
divmod
else
halt
irand
last
limits
maxibase
maxobase
maxrand
maxscale
modexp
print
rand
read
seed
stream

If any of those show up as a function, variable, or array name in a script, hit this option with the keyword as the argument. Multiple of them? Use this option for all of them — it can be used multiple times, no cap.

Keywords are not redefined when parsing the builtin math library (see the LIBRARY section).

It is a fatal error to redefine keywords mandated by the POSIX standard (see the STANDARDS section). It is also a fatal error to attempt to redefine words that this bc(1) does not reserve as keywords. So like, don't.

-S scale, --scale=*scale* — sets the builtin variable scale to the value scale, assuming scale is in base 10 ✨. If scale isn't a valid number, that's a fatal error, sorry babe.

Give it multiple instances and the last one wins. Classic.

This is a non-portable extension.

-s, --standard — processes exactly the language defined by the standard (see the STANDARDS section) and errors out if any extensions get used 🚨. Strict queen behaviour.

This is a non-portable extension.

-v, -V, --version — prints the version information (that's the copyright header) and exits 👑.

This is a non-portable extension.

-w, --warn — like -s and --standard, except it prints warnings (not errors) for non-standard extensions and just keeps going like nothing happened 🙈.

This is a non-portable extension.

-z, --leading-zeroes — makes bc(1) print all numbers greater than -1 and less than 1, and not equal to 0, with a leading zero 🦋.

You can also set this per-number with the plz(x), plznl(x), pnlz(x), and pnlznl(x) functions in the extended math library (see the LIBRARY section).

This is a non-portable extension.

All long options are non-portable extensions. Every single one. 💀

🌸 STDIN 🌸

If no files or expressions are given by the -f, --file, -e, or --expression options, then bc(1) reads from stdin. Simple enough, right?

However — and there are a few caveats to this, so buckle up 🎀

First, stdin is evaluated a line at a time. The only exception to this is if the parse cannot complete. Which means: starting a string without ending it, or starting a function, if statement, or loop without ending it, will also cause bc(1) to not execute. It's just sitting there waiting for you to finish your thought, bestie 😭

Second, after an if statement, bc(1) doesn't know if an else statement is gonna follow, so it will not execute until it knows there will not be an else statement. It's giving "waiting to see if the group chat replies."

💖 STDOUT 💖

Any non-error output is written to stdout. Plus, if history (see the HISTORY section) and the prompt (see the TTY MODE section) are enabled, both of those get output to stdout too.

Note: Unlike other bc(1) implementations, this bc(1) will issue a fatal error (see the EXIT STATUS section) if it cannot write to stdout, so if stdout is closed, as in bc >&-, it will quit with an error. Why? So that bc(1) can report problems when stdout is redirected to a file. It's called being responsible 💅

If there are scripts that depend on the behavior of other bc(1) implementations, it is recommended that those scripts be changed to redirect stdout to /dev/null.

🦋 STDERR 🦋

Any error output is written to stderr.

Note: Unlike other bc(1) implementations, this bc(1) will issue a fatal error (see the EXIT STATUS section) if it cannot write to stderr, so if stderr is closed, as in bc 2>&-, it will quit with an error. This is done so that bc(1) can exit with an error code when stderr is redirected to a file.

If there are scripts that depend on the behavior of other bc(1) implementations, it is recommended that those scripts be changed to redirect stderr to /dev/null.

✨ SYNTAX ✨

The syntax for bc(1) programs is mostly C-like, with some differences. This bc(1) follows the POSIX standard (see the STANDARDS section), which is honestly a much more thorough resource for the language this bc(1) accepts. This section is meant to be a summary and a listing of all the extensions to the standard — the sparknotes version, iykyk 📚

In the sections below, E means expression, S means statement, and I means identifier.

Identifiers (I) start with a lowercase letter and can be followed by any number (up to BC_NAME_MAX-1) of lowercase letters (a-z), digits (0-9), and underscores (_). The regex is [a-z][a-z0-9_]*. Identifiers with more than one character (letter) are a non-portable extension.

ibase is a global variable determining how to interpret constant numbers. It's the "input" base, AKA the number base used for interpreting input numbers. ibase is initially 10. If the -s (--standard) and -w (--warn) flags were not given on the command line, the max allowable value for ibase is 36. Otherwise, it's 16. The min allowable value for ibase is 2. You can query the max allowable value for ibase in bc(1) programs with the maxibase() built-in function 👑

obase is a global variable determining how to output results. It's the "output" base, or the number base used for outputting numbers. obase is initially 10. The max allowable value for obase is BC_BASE_MAX and can be queried in bc(1) programs with the maxobase() built-in function. The min allowable value for obase is 0. If obase is 0, values are output in scientific notation, and if obase is 1, values are output in engineering notation. Otherwise, values are output in the specified base. Fancy, right? 💅

Outputting in scientific and engineering notations are non-portable extensions.

The scale of an expression is the number of digits in the result of the expression right of the decimal point, and scale is a global variable that sets the precision of any operations, with exceptions. scale is initially 0. scale cannot be negative — it said what it said. The max allowable value for scale is BC_SCALE_MAX and can be queried in bc(1) programs with the maxscale() built-in function.

bc(1) has both global variables and local variables. All local variables are local to the function; they're parameters or are introduced in the auto list of a function (see the FUNCTIONS section). If a variable is accessed which is not a parameter or in the auto list, it's assumed to be global. And here's the spicy bit 🌶️ — if a parent function has a local variable version of a variable that a child function considers global, the value of that global variable in the child function is the value of the variable in the parent function, not the value of the actual global variable. Yeah. Sit with that one.

All of the above applies to arrays as well.

The value of a statement that is an expression (i.e., any of the named expressions or operands) is printed unless the lowest precedence operator is an assignment operator and the expression is not surrounded by parentheses.

The value that is printed is also assigned to the special variable last. A single dot (.) may also be used as a synonym for last. These are non-portable extensions.

Either semicolons or newlines may separate statements. Your choice, main character 🫶

🎀 Comments 🎀

There are two kinds of comments:

Block comments are enclosed in /* and */.
Line comments go from # until, and not including, the next newline. This is a non-portable extension.

💜 Named Expressions 💜

The following are named expressions in bc(1):

Variables: I
Array Elements: I[E]
ibase
obase
scale
seed
last or a single dot (.)

Numbers 6 and 7 are non-portable extensions.

The meaning of seed is dependent on the current pseudo-random number generator but is guaranteed to not change except for new major versions.

The scale and sign of the value may be significant.

If a previously used seed value is assigned to seed and used again, the pseudo-random number generator is guaranteed to produce the same sequence of pseudo-random numbers as it did when the seed value was previously used. Reproducible queen ✨

The exact value assigned to seed is not guaranteed to be returned if seed is queried again immediately. However, if seed does return a different value, both values, when assigned to seed, are guaranteed to produce the same sequence of pseudo-random numbers. This means that certain values assigned to seed will not produce unique sequences of pseudo-random numbers. The value of seed will change after any use of the rand() and irand(E) operands (see the Operands subsection below), except if the parameter passed to irand(E) is 0, 1, or negative.

There is no limit to the length (number of significant decimal digits) or scale of the value that can be assigned to seed. No limit. Go off 💀

Variables and arrays do not interfere; users can have arrays named the same as variables. This also applies to functions (see the FUNCTIONS section), so a user can have a variable, array, and function that all have the same name, and they will not shadow each other, whether inside of functions or not. They're all just living their own lives 🦋

Named expressions are required as the operand of increment/decrement operators and as the left side of assignment operators (see the Operators subsection).

🌈 Operands 🌈

The following are valid operands in bc(1):

Numbers (see the Numbers subsection below).
Array indices (I[E]).
(E): The value of E (used to change precedence).
sqrt(E): The square root of E. E must be non-negative.
length(E) — bestie, this gives you the number of significant decimal digits in E. It returns 1 for 0 with no decimal places. If you hand it a string, the length of the string is returned. Passing a string to length(E) is a non-portable extension — so like, don't count on it everywhere, iykyk. 💅
length(I[]) — the number of elements in the array I. This is a non-portable extension. ✨
scale(E) — the scale of E. That's the whole vibe. 🎀
abs(E) — the absolute value of E. This is a non-portable extension. 🦋
is_number(E) — returns 1 if the given argument is a number, 0 if it is a string. This is a non-portable extension. 🔥
is_string(E) — returns 1 if the given argument is a string, 0 if it is a number. This is a non-portable extension. (Yep, it's giving the inverse of is_number, and we love that for us.) 🌸
modexp(E, E, E) — modular exponentiation, where the first expression is the base, the second is the exponent, and the third is the modulus. All three values must be integers. The second argument must be non-negative. The third argument must be non-zero. This is a non-portable extension. 👑
divmod(E, E, I[]) — division and modulus in one operation. It's for optimization, bestie. The first expression is the dividend, and the second is the divisor, which must be non-zero. The return value is the quotient, and the modulus is stored in index 0 of the provided array (the last argument). This is a non-portable extension. 🫶
asciify(E) — if E is a string, returns a string that is the first letter of its argument. If it is a number, calculates the number mod 256 and returns that number as a one-character string. This is a non-portable extension. 💖
asciify(I[]) — a string that is made up of the characters that would result from running asciify(E) on each element of the array identified by the argument. This allows creating multi-character strings and storing them. This is a non-portable extension. 🌈
I(), I(E), I(E, E), and so on — where I is an identifier for a non-void function (see the Void Functions subsection of the FUNCTIONS section). The E argument(s) may also be arrays of the form I[], which will automatically be turned into array references (see the Array References subsection of the FUNCTIONS section) if the corresponding parameter in the function definition is an array reference. Slay, function calls. ⭐
read() — reads a line from stdin and uses that as an expression. The result of that expression is the result of the read() operand. This is a non-portable extension. 🧚
maxibase() — the max allowable ibase. This is a non-portable extension. 💜
maxobase() — the max allowable obase. This is a non-portable extension. 🔥
maxscale() — the max allowable scale. This is a non-portable extension. ✨
line_length() — the line length set with BC_LINE_LENGTH (see the ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES section). This is a non-portable extension. 🎀
global_stacks() — 0 if global stacks are not enabled with the -g or --global-stacks options, non-zero otherwise. See the OPTIONS section. This is a non-portable extension. 🦋
leading_zero() — 0 if leading zeroes are not enabled with the -z or --leading-zeroes options, non-zero otherwise. See the OPTIONS section. This is a non-portable extension. 🌸
rand() — a pseudo-random integer between 0 (inclusive) and BC_RAND_MAX (inclusive). Using this operand will change the value of seed. This is a non-portable extension. 🎲
irand(E) — a pseudo-random integer between 0 (inclusive) and the value of E (exclusive). If E is negative or is a non-integer (E's scale is not 0), an error is raised, and bc(1) resets (see the RESET section) while seed remains unchanged. If E is larger than BC_RAND_MAX, the higher bound is honored by generating several pseudo-random integers, multiplying them by appropriate powers of BC_RAND_MAX+1, and adding them together. Thus, the size of integer that can be generated with this operand is unbounded. Using this operand will change the value of seed, unless the value of E is 0 or 1. In that case, 0 is returned, and seed is not changed. This is a non-portable extension. 🌟
maxrand() — the max integer returned by rand(). This is a non-portable extension. 💅

The integers generated by rand() and irand(E) are guaranteed to be as unbiased as possible, subject to the limitations of the pseudo-random number generator. No cap, they're doing their best. 🫶

Note: The values returned by the pseudo-random number generator with rand() and irand(E) are guaranteed to NOT be cryptographically secure. This is a consequence of using a seeded pseudo-random number generator. However, they are guaranteed to be reproducible with identical seed values. This means that the pseudo-random values from bc(1) should only be used where a reproducible stream of pseudo-random numbers is ESSENTIAL. In any other case, use a non-seeded pseudo-random number generator. 🔐😭

🔢 Numbers 🔢

Numbers are strings made up of digits, uppercase letters, and at most 1 period for a radix. Numbers can have up to BC_NUM_MAX digits. Uppercase letters are equal to 9 plus their position in the alphabet, starting from 1 (i.e., A equals 10, or 9+1). Cute, right? 🎀

If a digit or letter makes no sense with the current value of ibase (i.e., they are greater than or equal to the current value of ibase), then the behavior depends on the existence of the -c/--digit-clamp or -C/--no-digit-clamp options (see the OPTIONS section), the existence and setting of the BC_DIGIT_CLAMP environment variable (see the ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES section), or the default, which can be queried with the -h/--help option. So many layers, bestie. 🦋

If clamping is off, then digits or letters that are greater than or equal to the current value of ibase are not changed. Instead, their given value is multiplied by the appropriate power of ibase and added into the number. This means that, with an ibase of 3, the number AB is equal to 3^1*A+3^0*B, which is 3 times 10 plus 11, or 41. Math ate. 💅

If clamping is on, then digits or letters that are greater than or equal to the current value of ibase are set to the value of the highest valid digit in ibase before being multiplied by the appropriate power of ibase and added into the number. This means that, with an ibase of 3, the number AB is equal to 3^1*2+3^0*2, which is 3 times 2 plus 2, or 8. Iconic behavior. 🌟

There is one exception to clamping: single-character numbers (i.e., A alone). Such numbers are never clamped and always take the value they would have in the highest possible ibase. This means that A alone always equals decimal 10 and Z alone always equals decimal 35. This behavior is mandated by the standard (see the STANDARDS section) and is meant to provide an easy way to set the current ibase (with the i command) regardless of the current value of ibase. Periodt, that's the rule. 👑

If clamping is on, and the clamped value of a character is needed, use a leading zero, i.e., for A, use 0A. Little hack, love that. 🎀

In addition, bc(1) accepts numbers in scientific notation. These have the form <number>e<integer>. The exponent (the portion after the e) must be an integer. An example is 1.89237e9, which is equal to 1892370000. Negative exponents are also allowed, so 4.2890e-3 is equal to 0.0042890. Science slay. 🔬✨

Using scientific notation is an error or warning if the -s or -w, respectively, command-line options (or equivalents) are given.

WARNING: Both the number and the exponent in scientific notation are interpreted according to the current ibase, but the number is still multiplied by 10^exponent regardless of the current ibase. For example, if ibase is 16 and bc(1) is given the number string FFeA, the resulting decimal number will be 2550000000000, and if bc(1) is given the number string 10e-4, the resulting decimal number will be 0.0016. Read that twice, bestie — it's giving plot twist. 😭

Accepting input as scientific notation is a non-portable extension.

🧮 Operators 🧮

The following arithmetic and logical operators can be used. They are listed in order of decreasing precedence. Operators in the same group have the same precedence. Group chat hierarchy, basically. 💅

++ -- — Type: Prefix and Postfix; Associativity: None; Description: increment, decrement
- ! — Type: Prefix; Associativity: None; Description: negation, boolean not
$ — Type: Postfix; Associativity: None; Description: truncation
@ — Type: Binary; Associativity: Right; Description: set precision
^ — Type: Binary; Associativity: Right; Description: power
* / % — Type: Binary; Associativity: Left; Description: multiply, divide, modulus
+ - — Type: Binary; Associativity: Left; Description: add, subtract
<< >> — Type: Binary; Associativity: Left; Description: shift left, shift right
= <<= >>= += -= *= /= %= ^= @= — Type: Binary; Associativity: Right; Description: assignment
== <= >= != < > — Type: Binary; Associativity: Left; Description: relational
&& — Type: Binary; Associativity: Left; Description: boolean and
|| — Type: Binary; Associativity: Left; Description: boolean or

The operators will be described in more detail below. Buckle up, bestie. 🎢

++ -- — The prefix and postfix increment and decrement operators behave exactly like they would in C. They require a named expression (see the Named Expressions subsection) as an operand. The prefix versions of these operators are more efficient; use them where possible. Efficiency is sexy, ngl. 🔥

- — The negation operator returns 0 if a user attempts to negate any expression with the value 0. Otherwise, a copy of the expression with its sign flipped is returned. Flip era. 💅

! — The boolean not operator returns 1 if the expression is 0, or 0 otherwise.

Warning: This operator has a different precedence than the equivalent operator in GNU bc(1) and other bc(1) implementations! 🚨

This is a non-portable extension.

$ — The truncation operator returns a copy of the given expression with all of its scale removed. This is a non-portable extension. Bye bye, decimals. ✨

@ — The set precision operator takes two expressions and returns a copy of the first with its scale equal to the value of the second expression. That could either mean that the number is returned without change (if the scale of the first expression matches the value of the second expression), extended (if it is less), or truncated (if it is more). The second expression must be an integer (no scale) and non-negative. This is a non-portable extension. Precision makeover, honestly. 🎀

^ — the power operator (and no, bestie, it is not the exclusive-or operator like it would be in C 😌). It takes two expressions and raises the first to the power of the value of the second. The scale of the result is equal to scale.

The second expression must be an integer (no scale), and if it is negative, the first value must be non-zero.

* — the multiply operator. Takes two expressions, multiplies them, and returns the product. If a is the scale of the first expression and b is the scale of the second expression, the scale of the result is equal to min(a+b,max(scale,a,b)) where min() and max() return the obvious values.
/ — the divide operator. Takes two expressions, divides them, and returns the quotient. The scale of the result shall be the value of scale.

The second expression must be non-zero.

% — the modulus operator. Takes two expressions, a and b, and evaluates them by 1) computing a/b to current scale and 2) using the result of step 1 to calculate a-(a/b)*b to scale max(scale+scale(b),scale(a)).

The second expression must be non-zero.

+ — the add operator. Takes two expressions, a and b, and returns the sum, with a scale equal to the max of the scales of a and b.
- — the subtract operator. Takes two expressions, a and b, and returns the difference, with a scale equal to the max of the scales of a and b.
<< — the left shift operator. Takes two expressions, a and b, and returns a copy of the value of a with its decimal point moved b places to the right.

The second expression must be an integer (no scale) and non-negative.

This is a non-portable extension.

>> — the right shift operator. Takes two expressions, a and b, and returns a copy of the value of a with its decimal point moved b places to the left.

The second expression must be an integer (no scale) and non-negative.

This is a non-portable extension.

=, <<=, >>=, +=, -=, *=, /=, %=, ^=, @= — the assignment operators. They take two expressions, a and b, where a is a named expression (see the Named Expressions subsection).

For =, b is copied and the result is assigned to a. For all others, a and b are applied as operands to the corresponding arithmetic operator and the result is assigned to a.

The assignment operators that correspond to operators that are extensions are themselves non-portable extensions.

==, <=, >=, !=, <, > — the relational operators. They compare two expressions, a and b, and if the relation holds, according to C language semantics, the result is 1. Otherwise, it is 0.

Note that unlike in C, these operators have a lower precedence than the assignment operators, which means that a=b>c is interpreted as (a=b)>c.

Also, unlike the standard (see the STANDARDS section) requires, these operators can appear anywhere any other expressions can be used. This allowance is a non-portable extension.

&& — the boolean and operator. Takes two expressions and returns 1 if both expressions are non-zero, 0 otherwise.

This is not a short-circuit operator.

This is a non-portable extension.

|| — the boolean or operator. Takes two expressions and returns 1 if one of the expressions is non-zero, 0 otherwise.

This is not a short-circuit operator.

This is a non-portable extension.

🎀 Statements 🎀

The following items are statements, bestie:

E
{ S ; ... ; S }
if ( E ) S
if ( E ) S else S
while ( E ) S
for ( E ; E ; E ) S
An empty statement
break
continue
quit
halt
limits
A string of characters, enclosed in double quotes
print E , ... , E
stream E , ... , E
I(), I(E), I(E, E), and so on, where I is an identifier for a void function (see the Void Functions subsection of the FUNCTIONS section). The E argument(s) may also be arrays of the form I[], which will automatically be turned into array references (see the Array References subsection of the FUNCTIONS section) if the corresponding parameter in the function definition is an array reference.

Numbers 4, 9, 11, 12, 14, 15, and 16 are non-portable extensions.

Also, as a non-portable extension, any or all of the expressions in the header of a for loop may be omitted. If the condition (second expression) is omitted, it is assumed to be a constant 1.

The break statement causes a loop to stop iterating and resume execution immediately following a loop. This is only allowed in loops.

The continue statement causes a loop iteration to stop early and returns to the start of the loop, including testing the loop condition. This is only allowed in loops.

The if else statement does the same thing as in C.

The quit statement causes bc(1) to quit, even if it is on a branch that will not be executed (it is a compile-time command).

⚠️ Warning: The behavior of this bc(1) on quit is slightly different from other bc(1) implementations. Other bc(1) implementations will exit as soon as they finish parsing the line that a quit command is on. This bc(1) will execute any completed and executable statements that occur before the quit statement before exiting.

In other words, for the bc(1) code below:

for (i = 0; i < 3; ++i) i; quit

Other bc(1) implementations will print nothing, and this bc(1) will print 0, 1, and 2 on successive lines before exiting. 💅

The halt statement causes bc(1) to quit, if it is executed. (Unlike quit, if it is on a branch of an if statement that is not executed, bc(1) does not quit.)

The limits statement prints the limits that this bc(1) is subject to. This is like the quit statement in that it is a compile-time command.

An expression by itself is evaluated and printed, followed by a newline.

Both scientific notation and engineering notation are available for printing the results of expressions. Scientific notation is activated by assigning 0 to obase, and engineering notation is activated by assigning 1 to obase. To deactivate them, just assign a different value to obase.

Scientific notation and engineering notation are disabled if bc(1) is run with either the -s or -w command-line options (or equivalents).

Printing numbers in scientific notation and/or engineering notation is a non-portable extension.

🌸 Strings 🌸

If strings appear as a statement by themselves, they are printed without a trailing newline.

In addition to appearing as a lone statement by themselves, strings can be assigned to variables and array elements. They can also be passed to functions in variable parameters.

If any statement that expects a string is given a variable that had a string assigned to it, the statement acts as though it had received a string.

If any math operation is attempted on a string or a variable or array element that has been assigned a string, an error is raised, and bc(1) resets (see the RESET section). 😭

Assigning strings to variables and array elements and passing them to functions are non-portable extensions.

🖨️ Print Statement 🖨️

The “expressions” in a print statement may also be strings. If they are, there are backslash escape sequences that are interpreted specially. What those sequences are, and what they cause to be printed, are shown below:

\a: \a
\b: \b
\\: \
\e: \
\f: \f
\n: \n
\q: “
\r: \r
\t: \t

Any other character following a backslash causes the backslash and character to be printed as-is.

Any non-string expression in a print statement shall be assigned to last, like any other expression that is printed.

🌈 Stream Statement 🌈

The expressions in a stream statement may also be strings.

If a stream statement is given a string, it prints the string as though the string had appeared as its own statement. In other words, the stream statement prints strings normally, without a newline.

If a stream statement is given a number, a copy of it is truncated and its absolute value is calculated. The result is then printed as though obase is 256 and each digit is interpreted as an 8-bit ASCII character, making it a byte stream. 🫶

⭐ Order of Evaluation ⭐

All expressions in a statement are evaluated left to right, except as necessary to maintain order of operations. This means, for example, assuming that i is equal to 0, in the expression

a[i++] = i++

the first (or 0th) element of a is set to 1, and i is equal to 2 at the end of the expression.

This includes function arguments. Thus, assuming i is equal to 0, this means that in the expression

x(i++, i++)

the first argument passed to x() is 0, and the second argument is 1, while i is equal to 2 before the function starts executing. iconic behavior, honestly ✨

✨ FUNCTIONS ✨

okay so this is where bc gets actually fun — you can define your own functions, and the syntax looks like this:

define I(I,...,I){
    auto I,...,I
    S;...;S
    return(E)
}

any I in the parameter list or the auto list can be swapped out for I[] and boom, that param or auto var becomes an array. and any I in the parameter list can be *I[] instead, which makes it an array reference. 🫶

heads up bestie: if you're calling a function that takes array references, do not put an asterisk in the call. you call it with just I[] like any normal array parameter, and it gets automatically converted into a reference. the asterisk is a definition-time thing only, iykyk.

as a non-portable extension, the opening brace of a define statement is allowed to chill on the next line. very lenient of it honestly.

also as a non-portable extension, the return statement can show up in one of these forms:

return
return ( )
return E

the first two — or just straight-up not writing a return statement at all — are equivalent to return (0), unless the function is a void function (scroll to the Void Functions bit below, it's right there 💜).

🌸 Void Functions

functions can also be void functions, and they're defined like this:

define void I(I,...,I){
    auto I,...,I
    S;...;S
    return
}

they can only be used as standalone expressions, where such an expression would be printed alone — the one exception being inside a print statement.

void functions can only use the first two return statements from the list above. they can also just omit the return entirely, no stress.

fun fact: the word void is not treated as a keyword. you can absolutely still have variables, arrays, and functions named void. the word void only gets treated specially right after the define keyword. iconic loophole.

this is a non-portable extension.

🦋 Array References

for any array in the parameter list, if the array is declared in the form

*I[]

then it's a reference. any changes you make to the array inside the function get reflected back to the array that was passed in, once the function returns. main character mutability energy ✨

other than that one exception, all function arguments are passed by value.

this is a non-portable extension.

📚 LIBRARY 📚

all of the functions below — including the ones in the extended math library (see Extended Library below) — are available when the -l or --mathlib command-line flags are given. exception: the extended math library is not available when the -s option, the -w option, or equivalents are given.

⭐ Standard Library

the standard (see the STANDARDS section) defines the following functions for the math library:

s(x) — returns the sine of x, which is assumed to be in radians. this is a transcendental function (see the Transcendental Functions subsection below).
c(x) — returns the cosine of x, which is assumed to be in radians. this is a transcendental function (see the Transcendental Functions subsection below).
a(x) — returns the arctangent of x, in radians. this is a transcendental function (see the Transcendental Functions subsection below).
l(x) — returns the natural logarithm of x. this is a transcendental function (see the Transcendental Functions subsection below).
e(x) — returns the mathematical constant e raised to the power of x. this is a transcendental function (see the Transcendental Functions subsection below).
j(x, n) — returns the bessel integer order n (truncated) of x. this is a transcendental function (see the Transcendental Functions subsection below).

🧚 Extended Library

the extended library is not loaded when the -s/--standard or -w/--warn options are given, since they are not part of the library defined by the standard (see the STANDARDS section). rude but fair.

the extended library is a non-portable extension.

p(x, y) — calculates x to the power of y, even if y is not an integer, and returns the result to the current scale. it is an error if y is negative and x is 0. this is a transcendental function (see the Transcendental Functions subsection below).
r(x, p) — returns x rounded to p decimal places according to the rounding mode round half away from 0 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rounding#Round_half_away_from_zero).
ceil(x, p) — returns x rounded to p decimal places according to the rounding mode round away from 0 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rounding#Rounding_away_from_zero).
f(x) — returns the factorial of the truncated absolute value of x.
max(a, b) — returns a if a is greater than b; otherwise, returns b.
min(a, b) — returns a if a is less than b; otherwise, returns b.
perm(n, k) — returns the permutation of the truncated absolute value of n of the truncated absolute value of k, if k <= n. if not, it returns 0.
comb(n, k) — returns the combination of the truncated absolute value of n of the truncated absolute value of k, if k <= n. if not, it returns 0.
fib(n) — returns the Fibonacci number of the truncated absolute value of n.
l2(x) — returns the logarithm base 2 of x. this is a transcendental function (see the Transcendental Functions subsection below).
l10(x) — returns the logarithm base 10 of x. this is a transcendental function (see the Transcendental Functions subsection below).
log(x, b) — returns the logarithm base b of x. this is a transcendental function (see the Transcendental Functions subsection below).
cbrt(x) — returns the cube root of x.
root(x, n) — calculates the truncated value of n, r, and returns the rth root of x to the current scale. if r is 0 or negative, this raises an error and causes bc(1) to reset (see the RESET section). it also raises an error and causes bc(1) to reset if r is even and x is negative. 😭
gcd(a, b) — returns the greatest common divisor (factor) of the truncated absolute value of a and the truncated absolute value of b.
lcm(a, b) — returns the least common multiple of the truncated absolute value of a and the truncated absolute value of b.
pi(p) — returns pi to p decimal places. this is a transcendental function (see the Transcendental Functions subsection below).
t(x) — returns the tangent of x, which is assumed to be in radians. this is a transcendental function (see the Transcendental Functions subsection below).
a2(y, x) — returns the arctangent of y/x, in radians. if both y and x are equal to 0, it raises an error and causes bc(1) to reset (see the RESET section). otherwise, if x is greater than 0, it returns a(y/x). if x is less than 0, and y is greater than or equal to 0, it returns a(y/x)+pi. if x is less than 0, and y is less than 0, it returns a(y/x)-pi. if x is equal to 0, and y is greater than 0, it returns pi/2. if x is equal to 0, and y is less than 0, it returns -pi/2. this function is the same as the atan2() function in many programming languages. this is a transcendental function (see the Transcendental Functions subsection below).
sin(x) — returns the sine of x, which is assumed to be in radians. this is an alias of s(x). this is a transcendental function (see the Transcendental Functions subsection below).
cos(x) — returns the cosine of x, which is assumed to be in radians. this is an alias of c(x). this is a transcendental function (see the Transcendental Functions subsection below).
tan(x) — returns the tangent of x, which is assumed to be in radians. if x is equal to 1 or -1, this raises an error and causes bc(1) to reset (see the RESET section). this is an alias of t(x). this is a transcendental function (see the Transcendental Functions subsection below).
atan(x) — returns the arctangent of x, in radians. this is an alias of a(x). this is a transcendental function (see the Transcendental Functions subsection below).
atan2(y, x) — returns the arctangent of y/x, in radians. if both y and x are equal to 0, it raises an error and causes bc(1) to reset (see the RESET section). otherwise, if x is greater than 0, it returns a(y/x). if x is less than 0, and y is greater than or equal to 0, it returns a(y/x)+pi. if x is less than 0, and y is less than 0, it returns a(y/x)-pi. if x is equal to 0, and y is greater than 0, it returns pi/2. if x is equal to 0, and y is less than 0, it returns -pi/2. this function is the same as the atan2() function in many programming languages. this is an alias of a2(y, x). this is a transcendental function (see the Transcendental Functions subsection below).
r2d(x) — converts x from radians to degrees and returns the result. this is a transcendental function (see the Transcendental Functions subsection below).
d2r(x) — converts x from degrees to radians and returns the result. this is a transcendental function (see the Transcendental Functions subsection below).
frand(p) — generates a pseudo-random number between 0 (inclusive) and 1 (exclusive) with the number of decimal digits after the decimal point equal to the truncated absolute value of p. if p is not 0, then calling this function will change the value of seed. if p is 0, then 0 is returned, and seed is not changed.
ifrand(i, p) — generates a pseudo-random number that is between 0 (inclusive) and the truncated absolute value of i (exclusive) with the number of decimal digits after the decimal point equal to the truncated absolute value of p. if the absolute value of i is greater than or equal to 2, and p is not 0, then calling this function will change the value of seed; otherwise, 0 is returned, and seed is not changed.
i2rand(a, b) — takes the truncated value of a and b and uses them as inclusive bounds to generate a pseudo-random integer. if the difference of the truncated values of a and b is 0, then the truncated value is returned, and seed is not changed. otherwise, this function will change the value of seed.
srand(x) — returns x with its sign flipped with probability 0.5. in other words, it randomizes the sign of x. chaos mode activated 💅
brand() — returns a random boolean value (either 0 or 1).

okay besties, we're deep in the bitwise wing of the library now 💅 and there's ONE (1) thing every single function down here has in common: they all start by taking the truncated absolute value of what you feed them. also, if you're out here living that signed two's complement life, you gotta run s2u(x) to convert first. that's the vibe check for this whole section, iykyk 🫶

heads up: unless it says otherwise, every function here takes the truncated absolute value of its argument(s) and wants s2u(x) for signed two's complement input. i'm not gonna let you forget it, and neither will bc fr fr 💀

band(a, b) — grabs the truncated absolute value of both a and b, then does the bitwise and on them and returns the result. signed two's complement args? convert with s2u(x) first ✨
bor(a, b) — truncated-absolute-values both a and b, does the bitwise or, returns it. again: s2u(x) to convert if you're on signed two's complement 🦋
bxor(a, b) — same deal, but bitwise xor. truncated absolute value of a and b, xor, boom, result. and yeah — s2u(x) for the signed two's complement girlies 💜
bshl(a, b) — truncated absolute value of both, then a gets bit-shifted left by b places. that's the whole thing. s2u(x) if signed two's complement, you know the drill 🌸
bshr(a, b) — truncated absolute value of both, then a gets bit-shifted right by b places, and you get the truncated result back. s2u(x) to convert 💫
bnotn(x, n) — takes the truncated absolute value of x and does a bitwise not on it, acting like it's got the same number of bytes as the truncated absolute value of n. signed two's complement? s2u(x), bestie 🎀
bnot8(x) — bitwise not of the truncated absolute value of x, treating it as having 8 binary digits (1 unsigned byte). s2u(x) to convert 🙈
bnot16(x) — bitwise not of the truncated absolute value of x, as if it had 16 binary digits (2 unsigned bytes). s2u(x) for the conversion 🧚
bnot32(x) — bitwise not of the truncated absolute value of x, as if it had 32 binary digits (4 unsigned bytes). s2u(x) if you need it 💖
bnot64(x) — bitwise not of the truncated absolute value of x, as if it had 64 binary digits (8 unsigned bytes). s2u(x) to convert, always 🍓
bnot(x) — bitwise not of the truncated absolute value of x, acting like it's got the minimum number of power of two unsigned bytes. s2u(x) for signed two's complement, no cap ⭐
brevn(x, n) — runs a bit reversal on the truncated absolute value of x, as though it has the same number of 8-bit bytes as the truncated absolute value of n. s2u(x) to convert, queen 👑
brev8(x) — bit reversal on the truncated absolute value of x, as though it has 8 binary digits (1 unsigned byte). s2u(x) first for signed two's complement 🌈
brev16(x) — bit reversal of the truncated absolute value of x, as though it has 16 binary digits (2 unsigned bytes). s2u(x) to convert 💅
brev32(x) — bit reversal of the truncated absolute value of x, as though it has 32 binary digits (4 unsigned bytes). s2u(x) if you're on signed two's complement 🔥
brev64(x) — bit reversal of the truncated absolute value of x, as though it has 64 binary digits (8 unsigned bytes). s2u(x), convert, go 💀
brev(x) — bit reversal of the truncated absolute value of x, as though it has the minimum number of power of two unsigned bytes. s2u(x) for the signed two's complement crowd 😭
broln(x, p, n) — does a left bitwise rotation of the truncated absolute value of x, as though it has the same number of unsigned 8-bit bytes as the truncated absolute value of n, by the number of places equal to the truncated absolute value of p modded by the 2 to the power of the number of binary digits in n 8-bit bytes. big brain math, i know. s2u(x) to convert 🧠✨
brol8(x, p) — left bitwise rotation of the truncated absolute value of x, as though it has 8 binary digits (1 unsigned byte), by the number of places equal to the truncated absolute value of p modded by 2 to the power of 8. s2u(x) for signed two's complement 🌸
brol16(x, p) — left bitwise rotation of the truncated absolute value of x, as though it has 16 binary digits (2 unsigned bytes), by the number of places equal to the truncated absolute value of p modded by 2 to the power of 16. s2u(x) to convert 🦋
brol32(x, p) — left bitwise rotation of the truncated absolute value of x, as though it has 32 binary digits (4 unsigned bytes), by the number of places equal to the truncated absolute value of p modded by 2 to the power of 32. s2u(x) if needed 💜
brol64(x, p) — left bitwise rotation of the truncated absolute value of x, as though it has 64 binary digits (8 unsigned bytes), by the number of places equal to the truncated absolute value of p modded by 2 to the power of 64. s2u(x) to convert 🎀
brol(x, p) — left bitwise rotation of the truncated absolute value of x, as though it has the minimum number of power of two unsigned 8-bit bytes, by the number of places equal to the truncated absolute value of p modded by 2 to the power of the number of binary digits in the minimum number of 8-bit bytes. yes it's a mouthful. s2u(x) for signed two's complement 🙈
brorn(x, p, n) — the mirror image: a right bitwise rotation of the truncated absolute value of x, as though it has the same number of unsigned 8-bit bytes as the truncated absolute value of n, by the number of places equal to the truncated absolute value of p modded by the 2 to the power of the number of binary digits in n 8-bit bytes. s2u(x) to convert 💫
bror8(x, p) — right bitwise rotation of the truncated absolute value of x, as though it has 8 binary digits (1 unsigned byte), by the number of places equal to the truncated absolute value of p modded by 2 to the power of 8. s2u(x) first 🍓
bror16(x, p) — right bitwise rotation of the truncated absolute value of x, as though it has 16 binary digits (2 unsigned bytes), by the number of places equal to the truncated absolute value of p modded by 2 to the power of 16. s2u(x) to convert 🧚
bror32(x, p) — right bitwise rotation of the truncated absolute value of x, as though it has 32 binary digits (2 unsigned bytes), by the number of places equal to the truncated absolute value of p modded by 2 to the power of 32. s2u(x) if you're on signed two's complement 💖
bror64(x, p) — right bitwise rotation of the truncated absolute value of x, as though it has 64 binary digits (2 unsigned bytes), by the number of places equal to the truncated absolute value of p modded by 2 to the power of 64. s2u(x) to convert ⭐
bror(x, p) — right bitwise rotation of the truncated absolute value of x, as though it has the minimum number of power of two unsigned 8-bit bytes, by the number of places equal to the truncated absolute value of p modded by 2 to the power of the number of binary digits in the minimum number of 8-bit bytes. s2u(x) for the signed two's complement girlies 🌈
bmodn(x, n) — returns the modulus of the truncated absolute value of x by 2 to the power of the multiplication of the truncated absolute value of n and 8. signed two's complement? s2u(x) to convert 👑
bmod8(x, n) — returns the modulus of the truncated absolute value of x by 2 to the power of 8. s2u(x) to convert 💅
bmod16(x, n) — returns the modulus of the truncated absolute value of x by 2 to the power of 16. s2u(x) if signed two's complement 🔥
bmod32(x, n) — returns the modulus of the truncated absolute value of x by 2 to the power of 32. s2u(x) to convert 💀
bmod64(x, n) — returns the modulus of the truncated absolute value of x by 2 to the power of 64. s2u(x), always convert 😭

okay now for the two little print girlies, and they're lowkey the most extra ones here because they care about LEADING ZEROS and NEWLINES 🎀

plz(x) — if x is not equal to 0 and greater that -1 and less than 1, it gets printed with a leading zero, regardless of whether you used the -z option (see the OPTIONS section), and with no trailing newline. otherwise, x is just printed normally, also with no trailing newline ✨
plznl(x) — same rule: if x is not equal to 0 and greater that -1 and less than 1, print it with a leading zero, regardless of the -z option (again, see the OPTIONS section) and with a trailing newline. otherwise it's printed normally, with a trailing newline 🫶
pnlz(x) — okay so if x is not equal to 0 and is greater than -1 and less than 1, it gets printed without a leading zero, regardless of whether the -z option was used (peek the OPTIONS section), and with no trailing newline. Otherwise, x is printed normally, without a trailing newline. 💅
pnlznl(x) — same little glow-up: if x is not equal to 0 and greater than -1 and less than 1, it is printed without a leading zero, regardless of the use of the -z option (see the OPTIONS section), and with a trailing newline. Otherwise, x is printed normally, with a trailing newline. ✨
ubytes(x) — returns the number of unsigned integer bytes required to hold the truncated absolute value of x. 🧮
sbytes(x) — returns the number of signed, two’s-complement integer bytes required to hold the truncated value of x. 📏
s2u(x) — returns x if it is non-negative. If it is negative, then it calculates what x would be as a 2’s-complement signed integer and returns the non-negative integer that would have the same representation in binary. 🔁
s2un(x,n) — returns x if it is non-negative. If it is negative, then it calculates what x would be as a 2’s-complement signed integer with n bytes and returns the non-negative integer that would have the same representation in binary. If x cannot fit into n 2’s-complement signed bytes, it is truncated to fit. ✂️
hex(x) — outputs the hexadecimal (base 16) representation of x. This is a void function (see the Void Functions subsection of the FUNCTIONS section). 🧡
binary(x) — outputs the binary (base 2) representation of x. This is a void function (see the Void Functions subsection of the FUNCTIONS section). 🩵
output(x, b) — outputs the base b representation of x. This is a void function (see the Void Functions subsection of the FUNCTIONS section). 🌈
uint(x) — outputs the representation, in binary and hexadecimal, of x as an unsigned integer in as few power of two bytes as possible. Both outputs are split into bytes separated by spaces. If x is not an integer or is negative, an error message is printed instead, but bc(1) is not reset (see the RESET section). This is a void function (see the Void Functions subsection of the FUNCTIONS section). 🔥
int(x) — outputs the representation, in binary and hexadecimal, of x as a signed, two’s-complement integer in as few power of two bytes as possible. Both outputs are split into bytes separated by spaces. If x is not an integer, an error message is printed instead, but bc(1) is not reset (see the RESET section). This is a void function (see the Void Functions subsection of the FUNCTIONS section). 🔥
uintn(x, n) — outputs the representation, in binary and hexadecimal, of x as an unsigned integer in n bytes. Both outputs are split into bytes separated by spaces. If x is not an integer, is negative, or cannot fit into n bytes, an error message is printed instead, but bc(1) is not reset (see the RESET section). This is a void function (see the Void Functions subsection of the FUNCTIONS section). 🫶
intn(x, n) — outputs the representation, in binary and hexadecimal, of x as a signed, two’s-complement integer in n bytes. Both outputs are split into bytes separated by spaces. If x is not an integer or cannot fit into n bytes, an error message is printed instead, but bc(1) is not reset (see the RESET section). This is a void function (see the Void Functions subsection of the FUNCTIONS section). 🫶
uint8(x) — outputs the representation, in binary and hexadecimal, of x as an unsigned integer in 1 byte. Both outputs are split into bytes separated by spaces. If x is not an integer, is negative, or cannot fit into 1 byte, an error message is printed instead, but bc(1) is not reset (see the RESET section). This is a void function (see the Void Functions subsection of the FUNCTIONS section). 🍓
int8(x) — outputs the representation, in binary and hexadecimal, of x as a signed, two’s-complement integer in 1 byte. Both outputs are split into bytes separated by spaces. If x is not an integer or cannot fit into 1 byte, an error message is printed instead, but bc(1) is not reset (see the RESET section). This is a void function (see the Void Functions subsection of the FUNCTIONS section). 🍓
uint16(x) — outputs the representation, in binary and hexadecimal, of x as an unsigned integer in 2 bytes. Both outputs are split into bytes separated by spaces. If x is not an integer, is negative, or cannot fit into 2 bytes, an error message is printed instead, but bc(1) is not reset (see the RESET section). This is a void function (see the Void Functions subsection of the FUNCTIONS section). 🧚
int16(x) — outputs the representation, in binary and hexadecimal, of x as a signed, two’s-complement integer in 2 bytes. Both outputs are split into bytes separated by spaces. If x is not an integer or cannot fit into 2 bytes, an error message is printed instead, but bc(1) is not reset (see the RESET section). This is a void function (see the Void Functions subsection of the FUNCTIONS section). 🧚
uint32(x) — outputs the representation, in binary and hexadecimal, of x as an unsigned integer in 4 bytes. Both outputs are split into bytes separated by spaces. If x is not an integer, is negative, or cannot fit into 4 bytes, an error message is printed instead, but bc(1) is not reset (see the RESET section). This is a void function (see the Void Functions subsection of the FUNCTIONS section). 🦋
int32(x) — outputs the representation, in binary and hexadecimal, of x as a signed, two’s-complement integer in 4 bytes. Both outputs are split into bytes separated by spaces. If x is not an integer or cannot fit into 4 bytes, an error message is printed instead, but bc(1) is not reset (see the RESET section). This is a void function (see the Void Functions subsection of the FUNCTIONS section). 🦋
uint64(x) — outputs the representation, in binary and hexadecimal, of x as an unsigned integer in 8 bytes. Both outputs are split into bytes separated by spaces. If x is not an integer, is negative, or cannot fit into 8 bytes, an error message is printed instead, but bc(1) is not reset (see the RESET section). This is a void function (see the Void Functions subsection of the FUNCTIONS section). 👑
int64(x) — outputs the representation, in binary and hexadecimal, of x as a signed, two’s-complement integer in 8 bytes. Both outputs are split into bytes separated by spaces. If x is not an integer or cannot fit into 8 bytes, an error message is printed instead, but bc(1) is not reset (see the RESET section). This is a void function (see the Void Functions subsection of the FUNCTIONS section). 👑
hex_uint(x, n) — outputs the representation of the truncated absolute value of x as an unsigned integer in hexadecimal using n bytes. Not all of the value will be output if n is too small. This is a void function (see the Void Functions subsection of the FUNCTIONS section). 🌸
binary_uint(x, n) — outputs the representation of the truncated absolute value of x as an unsigned integer in binary using n bytes. Not all of the value will be output if n is too small. This is a void function (see the Void Functions subsection of the FUNCTIONS section). 🌸
output_uint(x, n) — outputs the representation of the truncated absolute value of x as an unsigned integer in the current obase (see the SYNTAX section) using n bytes. Not all of the value will be output if n is too small. This is a void function (see the Void Functions subsection of the FUNCTIONS section). 💜
output_byte(x, i) — outputs byte i of the truncated absolute value of x, where 0 is the least significant byte and number_of_bytes - 1 is the most significant byte. This is a void function (see the Void Functions subsection of the FUNCTIONS section). 🎀

🌟 Transcendental Functions 🌟

All transcendental functions can return slightly inaccurate results, up to 1 ULP (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unit_in_the_last_place). This is unavoidable, and the article at https://people.eecs.berkeley.edu/~wkahan/LOG10HAF.TXT explains why it is impossible and unnecessary to calculate exact results for the transcendental functions. 😭

Because of the possible inaccuracy, I recommend that users call those functions with the precision (scale) set to at least 1 higher than is necessary. If exact results are absolutely required, users can double the precision (scale) and then truncate. 🫡

The transcendental functions in the standard math library are:

s(x)
c(x)
a(x)
l(x)
e(x)
j(x, n)

The transcendental functions in the extended math library are:

l2(x)
l10(x)
log(x, b)
pi(p)
t(x)
a2(y, x)
sin(x)
cos(x)
tan(x)
atan(x)
atan2(y, x)
r2d(x)
d2r(x)

🔄 RESET 🔄

When bc(1) encounters an error or a signal that it has a non-default handler for, it resets. This means that several things happen. 🚨

First, any functions that are executing are stopped and popped off the stack. The behavior is not unlike that of exceptions in programming languages. Then the execution point is set so that any code waiting to execute (after all functions returned) is skipped. 💀

Thus, when bc(1) resets, it skips any remaining code waiting to be executed. Then, if it is interactive mode, and the error was not a fatal error (see the EXIT STATUS section), it asks for more input; otherwise, it exits with the appropriate return code. 🫶

Note that this reset behavior is different from the GNU bc(1), which attempts to start executing the statement right after the one that caused an error. 👀

⚡ PERFORMANCE ⚡

okay so bestie, most bc(1) implementations use char types to calculate the value of 1 decimal digit at a time, but that can be slow. This bc(1) does something different. 💅

It uses large integers to calculate more than 1 decimal digit at a time. If built in an environment where BC_LONG_BIT (see the LIMITS section) is 64, then each integer has 9 decimal digits. If built in an environment where BC_LONG_BIT is 32 then each integer has 4 decimal digits. This value (the number of decimal digits per large integer) is called BC_BASE_DIGS.

The actual values of BC_LONG_BIT and BC_BASE_DIGS can be queried with the limits statement.

In addition, this bc(1) uses an even larger integer for overflow checking. This integer type depends on the value of BC_LONG_BIT, but is always at least twice as large as the integer type used to store digits. 👑

📏 LIMITS 📏

The following are the limits on bc(1):

BC_LONG_BIT — the number of bits in the long type in the environment where bc(1) was built. This determines how many decimal digits can be stored in a single large integer (see the PERFORMANCE section).
BC_BASE_DIGS — the number of decimal digits per large integer (see the PERFORMANCE section). Depends on BC_LONG_BIT.
BC_BASE_POW — the max decimal number that each large integer can store (see BC_BASE_DIGS) plus 1. Depends on BC_BASE_DIGS.
BC_OVERFLOW_MAX — the max number that the overflow type (see the PERFORMANCE section) can hold. Depends on BC_LONG_BIT.
BC_BASE_MAX — the maximum output base. Set at BC_BASE_POW.
BC_DIM_MAX — the maximum size of arrays. Set at SIZE_MAX-1.
BC_SCALE_MAX — the maximum scale. Set at BC_OVERFLOW_MAX-1.
BC_STRING_MAX — the maximum length of strings. Set at BC_OVERFLOW_MAX-1.
BC_NAME_MAX — the maximum length of identifiers. Set at BC_OVERFLOW_MAX-1.
BC_NUM_MAX — the maximum length of a number (in decimal digits), which includes digits after the decimal point. Set at BC_OVERFLOW_MAX-1.
BC_RAND_MAX — the maximum integer (inclusive) returned by the rand() operand. Set at 2^BC_LONG_BIT-1.
Exponent — the maximum allowable exponent (positive or negative). Set at BC_OVERFLOW_MAX.
Number of vars — the maximum number of vars/arrays. Set at SIZE_MAX-1.

The actual values can be queried with the limits statement.

These limits are meant to be effectively non-existent; the limits are so large (at least on 64-bit machines) that there should not be any point at which they become a problem. In fact, memory should be exhausted before these limits should be hit. 😭💖

🌱 ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES 🌱

As non-portable extensions, bc(1) recognizes the following environment variables:

POSIXLY_CORRECT — If this variable exists (no matter the contents), bc(1) behaves as if the -s option was given.
BC_ENV_ARGS — This is another way to give command-line arguments to bc(1). They should be in the same format as all other command-line arguments. These are always processed first, so any files given in BC_ENV_ARGS will be processed before arguments and files given on the command-line. This gives the user the ability to set up “standard” options and files to be used at every invocation. The most useful thing for such files to contain would be useful functions that the user might want every time bc(1) runs.
- The code that parses BC_ENV_ARGS will correctly handle quoted arguments, but it does not understand escape sequences. For example, the string "/home/gavin/some bc file.bc" will be correctly parsed, but the string "/home/gavin/some "bc" file.bc" will include the backslashes.
- The quote parsing will handle either kind of quotes, ’ or “. Thus, if you have a file with any number of single quotes in the name, you can use double quotes as the outside quotes, as in “some `bc' file.bc”, and vice versa if you have a file with double quotes. However, handling a file with both kinds of quotes in BC_ENV_ARGS is not supported due to the complexity of the parsing, though such files are still supported on the command-line where the parsing is done by the shell.
BC_LINE_LENGTH — If this environment variable exists and contains an integer that is greater than 1 and is less than UINT16_MAX (2^16-1), bc(1) will output lines to that length, including the backslash (\). The default line length is 70. The special value of 0 will disable line length checking and print numbers without regard to line length and without backslashes and newlines. 🧚
BC_BANNER — If this environment variable exists and contains an integer, then a non-zero value activates the copyright banner when bc(1) is in interactive mode, while zero deactivates it. If bc(1) is not in interactive mode (see the INTERACTIVE MODE section), then this environment variable has no effect because bc(1) does not print the banner when not in interactive mode. This environment variable overrides the default, which can be queried with the -h or --help options.
BC_SIGINT_RESET — If bc(1) is not in interactive mode (see the INTERACTIVE MODE section), then this environment variable has no effect because bc(1) exits on SIGINT when not in interactive mode. However, when bc(1) is in interactive mode, then if this environment variable exists and contains an integer, a non-zero value makes bc(1) reset on SIGINT, rather than exit, and zero makes bc(1) exit. If this environment variable exists and is not an integer, then bc(1) will exit on SIGINT. This environment variable overrides the default, which can be queried with the -h or --help options. 💀
BC_TTY_MODE — If TTY mode is not available (see the TTY MODE section), then this environment variable has no effect. However, when TTY mode is available, then if this environment variable exists and contains an integer, then a non-zero value makes bc(1) use TTY mode, and zero makes bc(1) not use TTY mode. This environment variable overrides the default, which can be queried with the -h or --help options.
BC_PROMPT — If TTY mode is not available (see the TTY MODE section), then this environment variable has no effect. However, when TTY mode is available, then if this environment variable exists and contains an integer, a non-zero value makes bc(1) use a prompt, and zero or a non-integer makes bc(1) not use a prompt. If this environment variable does not exist and BC_TTY_MODE does, then the value of the BC_TTY_MODE environment variable is used. This environment variable and the BC_TTY_MODE environment variable override the default, which can be queried with the -h or --help options. 🎀
BC_EXPR_EXIT — If any expressions or expression files are given on the command-line with -e, --expression, -f, or --file, then if this environment variable exists and contains an integer, a non-zero value makes bc(1) exit after executing the expressions and expression files, and a zero value makes bc(1) not exit. This environment variable overrides the default, which can be queried with the -h or --help options.
BC_DIGIT_CLAMP — When parsing numbers and if this environment variable exists and contains an integer, a non-zero value makes bc(1) clamp digits that are greater than or equal to the current ibase so that all such digits are considered equal to the ibase minus 1, and a zero value disables such clamping so that those digits are always equal to their value, which is multiplied by the power of the ibase. This never applies to single-digit numbers, as per the standard (see the STANDARDS section). This environment variable overrides the default, which can be queried with the -h or --help options. ✨🦋

💥 EXIT STATUS 💥

okay so bc(1) hands back these exit statuses, and they're literally your error-checking besties:

0 — no error, we ate and left no crumbs ✨
1 — a math error happened. this follows the standard practice of using 1 for expected errors, since math errors will happen during normal execution. math errors include divide by 0, taking the square root of a negative number, using a negative number as a bound for the pseudo-random number generator, attempting to convert a negative number to a hardware integer, overflow when converting a number to a hardware integer, overflow when calculating the size of a number, and attempting to use a non-integer where an integer is required. converting to a hardware integer happens for the second operand of the power (^), places (@), left shift (<<), and right shift (>>) operators and their corresponding assignment operators.
2 — a parse error happened. parse errors include unexpected EOF, using an invalid character, failing to find the end of a string or comment, using a token where it is invalid, giving an invalid expression, giving an invalid print statement, giving an invalid function definition, attempting to assign to an expression that is not a named expression (see the Named Expressions subsection of the SYNTAX section), giving an invalid auto list, having a duplicate auto/function parameter, failing to find the end of a code block, attempting to return a value from a void function, attempting to use a variable as a reference, and using any extensions when the option -s or any equivalents were given.
3 — a runtime error happened. runtime errors include assigning an invalid number to any global (ibase, obase, or scale), giving a bad expression to a read() call, calling read() inside of a read() call, type errors, passing the wrong number of arguments to functions, attempting to call an undefined function, and attempting to use a void function call as a value in an expression.
4 — a fatal error happened 😭 fatal errors include memory allocation errors, I/O errors, failing to open files, attempting to use files that do not have only ASCII characters (bc(1) only accepts ASCII characters), attempting to open a directory as a file, and giving invalid command-line options.

the exit status 4 is special; when a fatal error occurs, bc(1) always exits and returns 4, no matter what mode bc(1) is in. periodt.

the other statuses will only be returned when bc(1) is not in interactive mode (see the INTERACTIVE MODE section), since bc(1) resets its state (see the RESET section) and accepts more input when one of those errors occurs in interactive mode. this is also the case when interactive mode is forced by the -i flag or --interactive option.

these exit statuses allow bc(1) to be used in shell scripting with error checking, and its normal behavior can be forced by using the -i flag or --interactive option. iykyk 🫶

🌀 INTERACTIVE MODE 🌀

per the standard (see the STANDARDS section), bc(1) has an interactive mode and a non-interactive mode. interactive mode is turned on automatically when both stdin and stdout are hooked to a terminal, but the -i flag and --interactive option can turn it on in other situations.

in interactive mode, bc(1) attempts to recover from errors (see the RESET section), and in normal execution, flushes stdout as soon as execution is done for the current input. bc(1) may also reset on SIGINT instead of exit, depending on the contents of, or default for, the BC_SIGINT_RESET environment variable (see the ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES section).

🖥️ TTY MODE 🖥️

if stdin, stdout, and stderr are all connected to a TTY, then “TTY mode” is considered to be available, and thus, bc(1) can turn on TTY mode, subject to some settings.

if there is the environment variable BC_TTY_MODE in the environment (see the ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES section), then if that environment variable contains a non-zero integer, bc(1) will turn on TTY mode when stdin, stdout, and stderr are all connected to a TTY. if the BC_TTY_MODE environment variable exists but is not a non-zero integer, then bc(1) will not turn TTY mode on.

if the environment variable BC_TTY_MODE does not exist, the default setting is used. the default setting can be queried with the -h or --help options.

TTY mode is different from interactive mode because interactive mode is required in the bc(1) standard (see the STANDARDS section), and interactive mode requires only stdin and stdout to be connected to a terminal.

🕹️ Command-Line History 🕹️

command-line history is only enabled if TTY mode is, i.e., that stdin, stdout, and stderr are connected to a TTY and the BC_TTY_MODE environment variable (see the ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES section) and its default do not disable TTY mode. see the COMMAND LINE HISTORY section for more information.

💬 Prompt 💬

if TTY mode is available, then a prompt can be enabled. like TTY mode itself, it can be turned on or off with an environment variable: BC_PROMPT (see the ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES section).

if the environment variable BC_PROMPT exists and is a non-zero integer, then the prompt is turned on when stdin, stdout, and stderr are connected to a TTY and the -P and --no-prompt options were not used. the read prompt will be turned on under the same conditions, except that the -R and --no-read-prompt options must also not be used.

however, if BC_PROMPT does not exist, the prompt can be enabled or disabled with the BC_TTY_MODE environment variable, the -P and --no-prompt options, and the -R and --no-read-prompt options. see the ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES and OPTIONS sections for more details.

🚨 SIGNAL HANDLING 🚨

sending a SIGINT will cause bc(1) to do one of two things.

if bc(1) is not in interactive mode (see the INTERACTIVE MODE section), or the BC_SIGINT_RESET environment variable (see the ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES section), or its default, is either not an integer or it is zero, bc(1) will exit.

however, if bc(1) is in interactive mode, and the BC_SIGINT_RESET or its default is an integer and non-zero, then bc(1) will stop executing the current input and reset (see the RESET section) upon receiving a SIGINT.

note that “current input” can mean one of two things. if bc(1) is processing input from stdin in interactive mode, it will ask for more input. if bc(1) is processing input from a file in interactive mode, it will stop processing the file and start processing the next file, if one exists, or ask for input from stdin if no other file exists.

this means that if a SIGINT is sent to bc(1) as it is executing a file, it can seem as though bc(1) did not respond to the signal since it will immediately start executing the next file. this is by design; most files that users execute when interacting with bc(1) have function definitions, which are quick to parse. if a file takes a long time to execute, there may be a bug in that file. the rest of the files could still be executed without problem, allowing the user to continue. bestie, it's giving "working as intended" 💅

SIGTERM and SIGQUIT cause bc(1) to clean up and exit, and it uses the default handler for all other signals. the one exception is SIGHUP; in that case, and only when bc(1) is in TTY mode (see the TTY MODE section), a SIGHUP will cause bc(1) to clean up and exit.

📜 COMMAND LINE HISTORY 📜

bc(1) supports interactive command-line editing.

if bc(1) can be in TTY mode (see the TTY MODE section), history can be enabled. this means that command-line history can only be enabled when stdin, stdout, and stderr are all connected to a TTY.

like TTY mode itself, it can be turned on or off with the environment variable BC_TTY_MODE (see the ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES section).

if history is enabled, previous lines can be recalled and edited with the arrow keys.

note: tabs are converted to 8 spaces.

👀 SEE ALSO 👀

dc(1)

📏 STANDARDS 📏

bc(1) is compliant with the IEEE Std 1003.1-2017 (“POSIX.1-2017”) specification at https://pubs.opengroup.org/onlinepubs/9699919799/utilities/bc.html . the flags -efghiqsvVw, all long options, and the extensions noted above are extensions to that specification.

in addition, the behavior of the quit implements an interpretation of that specification that is different from all known implementations. for more information see the Statements subsection of the SYNTAX section.

note that the specification explicitly says that bc(1) only accepts numbers that use a period (.) as a radix point, regardless of the value of LC_NUMERIC.

🐛 BUGS 🐛

before version 6.1.0, this bc(1) had incorrect behavior for the quit statement.

no other bugs are known. report bugs at https://github.com/gavinhoward/bc .

👑 AUTHORS 👑

Gavin D. Howard gavin@gavinhoward.com and contributors.

stay slay, bestie 💖 — this page is from Gavin D. Howard, dated August 2024, and it's the BC(1) manual, periodt. 🎀

📦 where this page comes from

alpine 3.24: howard-bc-doc 7.1.0-r1 · BSD-2-Clause
📜 the page's license: BSD-2-Clause
💖 girlified by deepseek-ai/DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash-1017 on 2026-11-04: a language model's rewrite of the original, under its terms