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dc

arbitrary-precision reverse Polish notation calculator

TLDR

Start interactive calculator
$ dc
Evaluate expression directly
$ echo "[5 3 + p]" | dc
Multiply two numbers
$ echo "[4 7 * p]" | dc
Calculate with decimal precision
$ echo "[10 k 22 7 / p]" | dc
Execute from file
$ dc [script.dc]
Store and recall values
$ echo "[5 sa la 3 + p]" | dc
Calculate factorial of 5
$ echo "[5 [d 1 - d 1 <f *] d sf x p]" | dc

SYNOPSIS

dc [options] [file...]

DESCRIPTION

dc is an arbitrary precision desk calculator using reverse Polish notation (RPN). Numbers and operators are entered sequentially, with operators acting on values in a stack. It supports arithmetic, comparisons, and programmable macros.Basic operations push numbers onto the stack and apply operators: 5 3 + pushes 5 and 3, then adds them. The p command prints the top of stack. The k command sets decimal precision for division and other operations.dc provides registers (a-z) for storing values, conditional execution, loops through macros, and string manipulation. Despite its terse syntax, it can implement complex algorithms including recursion.

PARAMETERS

FILE

File containing dc commands to execute.
-e EXPR, --expression EXPR
Evaluate expression from command line.
-f FILE, --file FILE
Read commands from file.
-h, --help
Display help information.
-V, --version
Display version information.

INSTALL

sudo apt install dc
sudo dnf install bc
sudo pacman -S bc
sudo apk add bc
sudo zypper install bc
brew install bc
nix profile install nixpkgs#bc

CAVEATS

RPN syntax can be unintuitive for users accustomed to infix notation. Error messages are minimal. Complex programs are difficult to read and debug. Some extended features vary between implementations.

HISTORY

dc is one of the oldest Unix utilities, written by Lorinda Cherry and Robert Morris at Bell Labs around 1969-1971. It predates the C programming language and was originally implemented in B. The bc calculator was later written as a preprocessor for dc.

SEE ALSO

bc(1), calc(1), expr(1)