<div dir="ltr">Just run bc -l <br>Also python is pretty nice for basic math.<br><br>Ely<br><br><div class="gmail_quote">2010/5/20 Orna Agmon Ben-Yehuda <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:ladypine@gmail.com">ladypine@gmail.com</a>></span><br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding-left: 1ex;"><div dir="ltr"><br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Thu, May 20, 2010 at 2:55 PM, Nadav Har'El <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:nyh@math.technion.ac.il" target="_blank">nyh@math.technion.ac.il</a>></span> wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding-left: 1ex;">
For years, I've been wondering: How do other Unix or Linux users do simple<br>
calculations?<br>
<br>
Do you take out an actual physical calculator (which is of course ridiculous)?<br>
Do you use software that looks like a physical calculator (xcalc, kcalc, etc.)?<br>
<br>
Or do you use bc? Does anyone actually use bc, which returns "0" as a result<br>
for the calculation "2/3"? :-) Of course, you can use "scale=10" (or the -l<br>
option to bc) to fix that, but how many first-time users would know that?<br>
What posessed the person who decided to make scale=0 the default? :-)<br></blockquote><div><br></div><div>Indeed this is why I rarely use bc (and I am sorry when I do). For most purposes (that is, if I do not need a math function, which is not loaded when no executable is loaded), I use gdb.</div>
<div><br></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding-left: 1ex;">
<br>
What I have been using myself, is my own version of Kernighan & Pike's "Hoc"<br>
(see <a href="http://nadav.harel.org.il/homepage/hoc/" target="_blank">http://nadav.harel.org.il/homepage/hoc/</a>). But since this didn't catch on,<br>
as didn't the original Hoc (which was available in Research Unix and Plan 9,<br>
but not anywhere else), unfortunately I'm one of the few who do. All of the<br>
rest are missing on the convenience of Hoc ;-)<br>
<br>
So I was wondering - how come there isn't more pressure on the Linux<br>
distributions to include a decent and convenient calculator language?<br>
Or do people consider what is available decent enough already?<br>
<br>
Nadav.<br>
<br>
--<br>
Nadav Har'El | Thursday, May 20 2010, 7 Sivan 5770<br>
<a href="mailto:nyh@math.technion.ac.il" target="_blank">nyh@math.technion.ac.il</a> |-----------------------------------------<br>
Phone +972-523-790466, ICQ 13349191 |Despite the cost of living, have you<br>
<a href="http://nadav.harel.org.il" target="_blank">http://nadav.harel.org.il</a> |noticed how it remains so popular?<br>
<br>
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</blockquote></div><br><br clear="all"><br>-- <br>Orna Agmon Ben-Yehuda.<br><a href="http://ladypine.org" target="_blank">http://ladypine.org</a><br>
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