
GNU bc ends 11-year beta test, releases 1.7 - bandrami
https://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/bc/
======
seanp2k2
To commemorate this momentous achievement, they're changing the name to `ad`

------
exhilaration
For those unfamiliar with bc, here's the man page:
[https://www.gnu.org/software/bc/manual/html_mono/bc.html](https://www.gnu.org/software/bc/manual/html_mono/bc.html)

~~~
amirouche
> an arbitrary precision calculator language

Everybody use GNU Guile already :)

------
sussjsiisiwk
Here's a handy bc wrapper I picked up somewhere.

    
    
        cat /usr/local/bin/solve                                                               
        #!/bin/sh
        bc << EOF
        scale=4
        $@
        quit
        EOF
    
    

$ solve "4*49+732"

------
barelyusable
Come on guys. Everyone knows real h4ck3rs are using apcalc:
[http://www.isthe.com/chongo/tech/comp/calc/calc-
mirror.html](http://www.isthe.com/chongo/tech/comp/calc/calc-mirror.html)

~~~
paxcoder
What reference am I missing here?

~~~
darpa_escapee
My high school had Calc AB, Calc BC and AP Calc.

------
ufo
What changed from 1.06 to 1.07?

~~~
EddieRingle
Unsure, but it broke compilation of the Linux kernel for me. (linux-mainline
on Arch)

~~~
pmiller2
Why is bc even needed for a kernel compile?!?

~~~
avar
It replaced a Perl script used to create time constants at compile time:
[http://www.spinics.net/lists/linux-
kbuild/msg07241.html](http://www.spinics.net/lists/linux-kbuild/msg07241.html)

------
bfu
There are very few console programs which thinks they know better than me what
I want when I press Ctrl+C and bc is one of them.

------
Johnny_Brahms
As someone that has done most my maths using perl during the 90s and lately
scheme, I have managed to miss BC completely.

Since some people here seem to use it daily, are there any other reasons to
use it than "i am used to it" or that you actually need arbitrary precision?

------
paxcoder
Does anyone know why the default scale is 0 (meaning division rounds down by
default)?

~~~
rsync
No idea but initial system setup on every system I touch is to alias bc to 'bc
-l'.

I use bc tens of times per day ...

~~~
xorcist
I use bc all the time, yet I still managed to miss that option. Thanks!

------
dgquintas
1.07, actually. Title is wrong.

~~~
bandrami
Gah, sorry. Touch-typing failed me again.

~~~
juliangoldsmith
I believe it should also be a 17-year beta test, since 1.06 was released in
2000.

~~~
bandrami
The last beta "release" (which AFAIK everybody has been using) was 1.06.95, in
2006

~~~
faho
macOS hasn't been. Which isn't surprising, since 1.06.95 switched to GPLv3
(like most GNU projects).

------
OneOneOneOne
In bc 10 / 3 => 3

It yields integer values unless started with -l option. What's up with that?

~~~
yrro
bc has a scale variable, which determines the precision of calculations. By
default it is 0, but running with -l sets it to 20 (among other things).

------
tmaly
Finally! I have been waiting for them forever

~~~
bandrami
No announcement on info-gnu or on the bc web page; I only noticed because I
was about to download the ancient version to check something.

