calc/calc.man

.\"
.\" Copyright (C) 1999	Landon Curt Noll
.\"
.\" Calc is open software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under
.\" the terms of the version 2.1 of the GNU Lesser General Public License
.\" as published by the Free Software Foundation.
.\"
.\" Calc is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT
.\" ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY
.\" or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU Lesser General
.\" Public License for more details.
.\"
.\" A copy of version 2.1 of the GNU Lesser General Public License is
.\" distributed with calc under the filename COPYING-LGPL.  You should have
.\" received a copy with calc; if not, write to Free Software Foundation, Inc.
.\" 59 Temple Place, Suite 330, Boston, MA  02111-1307, USA.
.\"
.\" @(#) $Revision: 29.12 $
.\" @(#) $Id: calc.man,v 29.12 2004/02/23 05:21:24 chongo Exp $
.\" @(#) $Source: /usr/local/src/cmd/calc/RCS/calc.man,v $
.\"
.\" Under source code control:	    1991/07/23 05:48:26
.\" File existed as early as:	    1991
.\"
.\" chongo <was here> /\oo/\	http://www.isthe.com/chongo/
.\" Share and enjoy!  :-)	http://www.isthe.com/chongo/tech/comp/calc/
.\"
.\" calculator by David I. Bell
.\" man page by Landon Noll
.\"
.TH calc 1 "^..^" "1999-11-30"
.SH NAME
calc \- arbitrary precision calculator
.SH SYNOPSIS
\fIcalc\fP
.RB [ \-c ]
.RB [ \-C ]
.RB [ \-d ]
.br
.in +5n
.RB [ -D\ \&calc_debug[:resource_debug[:user_debug]] ]
.br
.RB [ \-e ]
.RB [ \-h ]
.RB [ \-i ]
.RB [ \-m\ \&mode ]
.RB [ \-O ]
.br
.RB [ \-p ]
.RB [ \-q ]
.RB [ \-s ]
.RB [ \-u ]
.RB [ \-v ]
.RB [ calc_cmd\ \&.\|.\|. ]
.in -5n
.sp
\fI#!${BINDIR}/calc\fP\ [other_flags\ \&...] \fB\-f\fP\
.SH DESCRIPTION
\&
.br
CALC OPTIONS
.PP

.TP
.B \-c
Continue reading command lines even after an execution
error has caused the abandonment of a line.
.sp 1
For example:
.sp 1
.in +5n
.nf
calc read many_errors.cal
.fi
.in -5n
.sp 1
will cause
.B calc
to abort on the first error, whereas:
.sp 1
.in +5n
.nf
calc -c read many_errors.cal
.fi
.in -5n
.sp 1
will
cause
.B calc
to try to process each line being read
despite the errors that it encounters.
.sp 1
By default, calc startup resource files are silently
ignored if not found.
This flag will report missing
startup resource files unless
.B \-d
is also given.

.TP
.B \-C
Permit the execution of custom builtin functions.
Without
this flag, calling the custom() builtin function will
simply generate an error.
.sp 1
Use of this flag may cause
.B calc
to execute functions
that are non-standard and that are not portable.  Custom builtin
functions are disabled by default for this reason.

.TP
.B \-d
Disable the printing of the opening title.  The printing
of resource file debug and informational messages is also disabled
as if \fBconfig("resource_debug", 0)\fP had been executed.
.sp 1
For example:
.sp 1
.in +5n
calc 'read qtime; qtime(2)'
.in -5n
.sp 1
will output something like:
.sp 1
.in +5n
.nf
qtime(utc_hr_offset) defined
It's nearly ten past six.
.fi
.in -5n
.sp 1
whereas:
.sp 1
.in +5n
.nf
calc -d 'read qtime; qtime(2)'
.fi
.in -5n
.sp 1
will just say:
.sp 1
.in +5n
.nf
It's nearly ten past six.
.fi
.in -5n
.sp 1
This flag disables the reporting of missing calc
startup resource files.

.TP
.BR -D " calc_debug[:resource_debug[:user_debug]]"
Force the initial value of config("calc_debug"),
config("resource_debug") and config("user_debug").
.sp 1
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.
.sp 1
By default,
.I calc_debug
is 0,
.I resource_debug
is 3 and
.I user_debug
is 0.
.sp 1
For more information use the following
.B calc
command:
.sp 1
.in +5n
.nf
help config
.fi
.in -5n

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

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

.TP
.B \-i
Become interactive if possible.
If
.I calc_cmd
args are given,
.B calc
by default, calc will execute them and exit.
This flag causes
.B calc
to drop into interactive mode after the commands are executed.
This flag will cause
.B calc
to drop into interactive mode after the
commands are executed.
.sp 1
For example:
.sp 1
.in +5n
.nf
calc 2+5
.fi
.in -5n
.sp 1
will print the value 7 and exit whereas:
.sp 1
.in +5n
.nf
calc -i 2+5
.fi
.in -5n
.sp 1
will print the value 7 and prompt the user for more
.B calc
commands.

.TP
.BR \-m " mode"
This flag sets the permission mode of
.BR calc .
It controls the ability for
.B calc
to open files and execute programs.
.I Mode
may be a number from 0 to 7.
.sp 1
The mode value is interpreted in a way similar to that
of the
.BR chmod (1)
octal mode:
.sp 1
.in +5n
.nf
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)
.fi
.in -5n
.sp 1
If one wished to run
.B calc
from a privileged user, one might want to use
.BR \-m " 0"
in an effort to make
.B calc
somewhat more secure.
.sp 1
Mode bits for reading and writing apply only on an
open.
Files already open are not effected.
Thus if one wanted to use the
.BR \-m " 0"
in an effort to make
.B calc
somewhat more secure, but still wanted to read and write a specific
file, one might want to do in
.BR sh (1),
.BR ksh (1),
.BR bash (1)-like
shells:
.sp 1
.in +5n
.nf
calc -m 0 3<a.file
.fi
.in -5n
.sp 1
Files presented to
.B calc
in this way are opened in an
unknown mode.
.B Calc
will attempt to read or write them if directed.
.sp 1
If the mode disables opening of files for reading, then
the startup resource files are disabled as if
.B \-q
was given.
The reading of key bindings is also disabled
when the mode disables opening of files for reading.

.TP
.B \-O
Use the old classic defaults instead of the
default configuration.
This flag as the same effect
as executing \fBconfig("all", "oldcfg")\fP at startup time.
.sp 1
NOTE: Older versions of calc used
.B \-n
to setup a modified form of the default calc configuration.
The
.B \-n
flag currently does nothing.
Use of the
.B \-n
flag is now deprecated and may be used for
something else in the future.

.TP
.B \-p
Pipe processing is enabled by use of
.BR \-p .
For example:
.sp 1
.in +5n
.nf
calc -p '2^21701-1' | fizzbin
.fi
.in -5n
.sp 1
In pipe mode,
.B calc
does not prompt, does not print leading
tabs and does not print the initial header.
The
.B \-p
flag overrides
.BR \-i .

.TP
.B \-q
Disable the reading of the startup scripts.

.TP
.B \-s
By default, all
.I 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.

.TP
.B \-u
Disable buffering of stdin and stdout.

.TP
.B \-v
Print the
.B calc
version number and exit.
.PP

\&
.br
CALC COMMAND LINE
.PP
With no
.I calc_cmd
arguments,
.B calc
operates interactively.
If one or more
arguments are given on the command line and
.B \-s
is NOT given, then
.B calc
will read and execute them and either attempt
to go interactive according as the
.B \-i
flag was present or absent.
.sp
If
.B \-s
is given,
.B calc
will not evaluate any
.I 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:
.sp 1
.in +5n
.nf
calc 23 + 47
.fi
.in -5n
.sp 1
should respond with display of 70, but
.sp 1
.in +5n
.nf
calc 23 * 47
.fi
.in -5n
.sp 1
may fail.
Such cases can usually be made to work as expected by
enclosing the command between single marks as in:
.sp 1
.in +5n
.nf
calc '23 * 47'
.fi
.in -5n
.sp 1
and
.sp 1
.in +5n
.nf
calc 'print sqrt(2), exp(1)'
.fi
.in -5n
.sp
If '!' is to be used to indicate the factorial function, for
shells like
.BI 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:
.sp 1
.in +5n
.nf
print 27!^2
.fi
.in -5n
.sp 1
may have to be replaced by:
.sp 1
.in +5n
.nf
print 27! ^2	or	print 27\!^2
.fi
.in -5n

\&
.br
CALC STARTUP FILES
.PP
Normally on startup,
if the environment variable
.B $CALCRC
is undefined and
.B calc
is invoked without the
.B \-q
flag, or if
.B $CALCRC
is defined and calc is invoked with
.BR \-e ,
.B calc
looks for a file "startup" in the calc resource directory
.B .calcrc
in the user's home directory, and
.B .calcinit in the current directory.
If one or more of these are found, they are read in succession as
.B calc
scripts and their commands executed.
When defined,
.B $CALCRC
is to contain a ':' separated list of names of files,
and if calc is then invoked without either the
.B \-q
or
.B \-e
flags, these files are read in succession and their commands executed.
No error condition is produced if a listed file is not found.
.sp
If the mode specified by
.B \-m
disables opening of files for reading, then the reading of startup
files is also disabled as if
.B \-q
was given.

\&
.br
CALC FILE SEARCH PATH
.PP
If the environment variable
.B $CALCPATH
is undefined, or if it
is defined and
.B calc
is invoked with the
.B \-e
flag, when a file name not beginning with
.BR / ,
.B ~
or
.BR ./ ,
is specified as in:
.sp 1
.in +5n
.nf
calc read myfile
.fi
.in -5n
.sp 1
.B calc
searches in succession:
.sp 1
.in +5n
.nf
./myfile
./myfile.cal
${LIBDIR}/myfile
${LIBDIR}/myfile.cal
${CUSTOMCALDIR}/myfile
${CUSTOMCALDIR}/myfile.cal
.fi
.in -5n
.sp 1
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
.B $CALCPATH
in the same way as PATH is defined, as a ':' separated
list of directories, and then invoking
.B calc
without the
.B \-e
flag.
.PP
.B Calc
treats all open files, other than stdin, stdout and
stderr as files available for reading and writing.
One may
present
.B calc
with an already open file using
.BR sh (1),
.BR ksh (1),
.BR bash (1)-like
shells is to:
.sp 1
.in +5n
calc 3<open_file 4<open_file2
.in -5n
.sp 1
For more information use the following
.B calc
commands:
.sp 1
.in +5n
.nf
help help
help overview
help usage
help environment
help config
.fi
.in -5n
.sp 1
.PP

\&
.br
SHELL SCRIPT MODE
.PP
If first line of an executable file begins
.B #!
followed by the absolute pathname of the
.B calc
program and the flag
.B \-f
as in:
.sp 1
.in +5n
.nf
\fI#!${BINDIR}/calc\fP\ [other_flags\ \&...] \fB\-f\fP\
.fi
.in -5n
.sp 1
the rest of the file will be processed in
.BR "shell script mode" .
Note that
.B \-f
must be the first \-flag on the ``#!'' line.
Any other optional
.B "other_flags"
must come after
the
.BR \-f .
.sp 1
In
.B "shell script mode"
the contents of the file are read and
executed as if they were in a file being processed by a read
command, except that a "command" beginning with '#' followed by
whitespace and ending at the next newline is treated as a comment.
Any optional
.B "other_flags"
will be parsed first followed by
the later lines within the script itself.
.sp 1
In
.BR "shell script mode" ,
.B \-s
(lower case
.BR \-s )
is always assumed.
In addition,
.B \-d
and
.B \-p
are automatically set if
.B \-i
is not given.
.sp 1
For example, if
the file
.BR /tmp/mersenne :
.sp 1
.in +5n
.nf
\fI#!${BINDIR}/calc\fP\ \&\fB\-q\fP \fB\-f\fP\
#
# mersenne - an example of a calc \fBshell script file\fP

/* 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;
.fi
.in -5n
.sp 1
is made an executable file by:
.sp 1
.in +5n
.nf
chmod +x /tmp/mersenne
.fi
.in -5n
.sp 1
then the command line:
.sp 1
.in +5n
.nf
/tmp/mersenne 127
.fi
.in -5n
.sp 1
will print:
.sp 1
.in +5n
.nf
2^127-1 = 170141183460469231731687303715884105727
.fi
.in -5n
.sp 1
Note that because
.B \-s
is assumed in
.B "shell script mode"
and non-dashed args are made available as
strings via the
.BR argv ()
builtin function.
Therefore:
.sp 1
.in +5n
.nf
2^eval(argv(0))-1
.fi
.in -5n
.sp 1
will print the decimal value of 2^n-1
but
.sp 1
.in +5n
.nf
2^argv(0)-1
.fi
.in -5n
.sp 1
will not.
.PP

\&
.br
DATA TYPES
.PP
Fundamental builtin data types include integers, real numbers,
rational numbers, complex numbers and strings.
.PP
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.
.PP
For more information use the following
.B calc
commands:
.PP
.in 1.0i
help types
.br
help obj
.br
show objfuncs
.in -1.0i
.PP

\&
.br
VARIABLES
.PP
Variables in \fIcalc\fP 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.
.PP
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.
.PP
For more information use the following
.B calc
commands:
.PP
.in 1.0i
help variable
.br
help mat
.br
help list
.br
show globals
.in -1.0i
.PP

\&
.br
INPUT/OUTPUT
.PP
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, \fIcalc\fP 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.
.PP
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.
.PP
For example:
.PP
.in 1.0i
~/.calcrc
.br
~chongo/lib/fft_multiply.cal
.in -1.0i
.PP
For more information use the following
.B calc
command:
.PP
.in 1.0i
help file
.in -1.0i
.PP

\&
.br
CALC LANGUAGE
.PP
The \fIcalc\fP 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.
.PP
The language also include a number of commands particular
to \fIcalc\fP itself.
These include commands such as function definition, help,
reading in resource files, dump files to a file, error notification,
configuration control and status.
.PP
For more information use the following
.B calc
command:
.PP
.in 1.0i
help command
.br
help statement
.br
help expression
.br
help operator
.br
help config
.in -1.0i
.PP
.SH FILES
\&
.br
.PD 0
.TP 5
${BINDIR}/calc
calc binary
.sp 1
.TP 5
${SCRIPTDIR}/*
calc shell scripts
.sp 1
.TP 5
${LIBDIR}/*.cal
calc standard resource files
.sp 1
.TP 5
${LIBDIR}/help/*
help files
.sp 1
.TP 5
${LIBDIR}/bindings
non-GNU-readline command line editor bindings
.sp 1
.TP 5
${CALC_INCDIR}/*.h
include files for C interface use
.sp 1
.TP 5
${LIBDIR}/libcalc.a
calc binary link library
.sp 1
.TP 5
${LIBDIR}/libcustcalc.a
custom binary link library
.sp 1
.TP 5
${CUSTOMCALDIR}/*.cal
custom resource files
.sp 1
.TP 5
${CUSTOMHELPDIR}/*
custom help files
.sp 1
.SH ENVIRONMENT
\&
.br
.PD 0
.TP 5
CALCPATH
A :-separated list of directories used to search for calc
resource filenames that do not begin with /, ./ or ~.
.br
.sp
Default value: ${CALCPATH}
.br
.sp
.TP 5
CALCRC
On startup (unless \-h or \-q was given on the command
line),
.B calc
searches for files along this :-separated
environment variable.
.br
.sp
Default value: ${CALCRC}
.br
.sp
.TP 5
CALCBINDINGS
On startup (unless \fI\-h\fP or \fI\-q\fP was given on the command
line, or \fI\-m\fP disallows opening files for reading),
.B 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.
.sp
Default value: binding
.sp
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.
.sp
.SH CREDIT
\&
.br
The main chunk of
.B calc
was written by David I. Bell.
.sp
The
.B calc
primary mirror, calc mailing list and calc bug report
processing is performed by Landon Curt Noll.
.sp
Landon Curt Noll maintains the master reference source, performs
release control functions as well as other calc maintenance functions.
.sp
Thanks for suggestions and encouragement from Peter Miller,
Neil Justusson, and Landon Noll.
.sp
Thanks to Stephen Rothwell for writing the original version of
hist.c which is used to do the command line editing.
.sp
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.
.sp
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.
.sp
.SH "COPYING / CALC GNU LESSER GENERAL PUBLIC LICENSE"
\&
.sp
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:
.sp
.in +0.5i
.nf
help copyright
help copying
help copying-lgpl
.fi
.in -0.5i
.sp
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.
.sp
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:
.sp
.in +0.5i
.nf
Free Software Foundation, Inc.
59 Temple Place
Suite 330
Boston, MA  02111-1307
USA
.fi
.in -0.5i
.sp
Calc is copyrighted in several different ways.
These ways include:
.sp
.in +0.5i
.nf
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
.fi
.in -0.5i
.sp
This man page is:
.sp
.in +0.5i
.nf
Copyright (C) 1999  Landon Curt Noll
.fi
.in -0.5i
.sp
and is covered under version 2.1 GNU Lesser General
Public License.
.sp
.SH "CALC MAILING LIST / CALC UPDATES / ENHANCEMENTS"
\&
.br
.sp
To contribute comments, suggestions, enhancements
and interesting
.B calc
resource files, and
shell scripts please join the low volume calc mailing list.
.sp
To join the low volume calc mailing list, send EMail to:
.sp
.in +0.5i
.nf
calc-tester-request at asthe dot com
.fi
.in -0.5i
.sp
Your subject must contain the words:
.sp
.in +0.5i
.nf
calc mailing list subscription
.fi
.in -0.5i
.sp
You may have additional words in your subject line.
.sp
Your message body must contain:
.sp
.in +0.5i
.nf
subscribe calc-tester address
end
name your_full_name
.fi
.in -0.5i
.sp
where
.B address
s your EMail address and
.B your_full_name
is your full name.
Feel free to follow the
.B name
line with additional EMail text as desired.
.sp
.SH "BUG REPORTS / BUG FIXES"
\&
.br
.sp
Send bug reports and bug fixes to:
.sp
.in +0.5i
.nf
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' ]]
.fi
.in -0.5i
.sp
Your subject must contain the words:
.sp
.in +0.5i
.nf
calc bug report
.fi
.in -0.5i
.sp
You may have additional words in your subject line.
.sp
See the
.I BUGS
source file or use the
.I calc
command:
.sp
.in +0.5i
.nf
help bugs
.fi
.in -0.5i
.sp
for more information about bug reporting.
.sp
.SH "CALC WEB SITE"
\&
.br
Landon Noll maintains the the
.B calc
web site is located at:
.sp
.in +0.5i
www.isthe.com/chongo/tech/comp/calc/
.in -0.5i
.sp
Share and Enjoy! :\-)