xref: /freebsd/contrib/bc/gen/bc_help.txt (revision 924226fba12cc9a228c73b956e1b7fa24c60b055)
1/*
2 * *****************************************************************************
3 *
4 * SPDX-License-Identifier: BSD-2-Clause
5 *
6 * Copyright (c) 2018-2021 Gavin D. Howard and contributors.
7 *
8 * Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without
9 * modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions are met:
10 *
11 * * Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright notice, this
12 *   list of conditions and the following disclaimer.
13 *
14 * * Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright notice,
15 *   this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the documentation
16 *   and/or other materials provided with the distribution.
17 *
18 * THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND CONTRIBUTORS "AS IS"
19 * AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE
20 * IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE
21 * ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE COPYRIGHT HOLDER OR CONTRIBUTORS BE
22 * LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR
23 * CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF
24 * SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS
25 * INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN
26 * CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE)
27 * ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE
28 * POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.
29 *
30 * *****************************************************************************
31 *
32 * The bc help text.
33 *
34 */
35
36usage: %s [options] [file...]
37
38bc is a command-line, arbitrary-precision calculator with a Turing-complete
39language. For details, use `man %s` or see the online documentation at
40https://git.yzena.com/gavin/bc/src/tag/%s/manuals/bc/%s.1.md.
41
42This bc is compatible with both the GNU bc and the POSIX bc spec. See the GNU bc
43manual (https://www.gnu.org/software/bc/manual/bc.html) and bc spec
44(http://pubs.opengroup.org/onlinepubs/9699919799/utilities/bc.html)
45for details.
46
47This bc has three differences to the GNU bc:
48
49  1) Arrays can be passed to the builtin "length" function to get the number of
50     elements currently in the array. The following example prints "1":
51
52       a[0] = 0
53       length(a[])
54
55  2) The precedence of the boolean "not" operator (!) is equal to that of the
56     unary minus (-), or negation, operator. This still allows POSIX-compliant
57     scripts to work while somewhat preserving expected behavior (versus C) and
58     making parsing easier.
59  3) This bc has many more extensions than the GNU bc does. For details, see the
60     man page or online documentation.
61
62This bc also implements the dot (.) extension of the BSD bc.
63
64Options:
65{{ A H N HN }}
66
67  -E  seed  --seed=seed
68
69      Sets the builtin variable seed to the given value assuming that the given
70      value is in base 10. It is a fatal error if the given value is not a valid
71      number.
72{{ end }}
73
74  -e  expr  --expression=expr
75
76      Run "expr" and quit. If multiple expressions or files (see below) are
77      given, they are all run before executing from stdin.
78
79  -f  file  --file=file
80
81      Run the bc code in "file" and exit. See above as well.
82
83  -g  --global-stacks
84
85      Turn scale, ibase, and obase into stacks. This makes the value of each be
86      be restored on returning from functions. See the man page or online
87      documentation for more details.
88
89  -h  --help
90
91      Print this usage message and exit.
92
93  -I  ibase  --ibase=ibase
94
95      Sets the builtin variable ibase to the given value assuming that the given
96      value is in base 10. It is a fatal error if the given value is not a valid
97      number.
98
99  -i  --interactive
100
101      Force interactive mode.
102
103  -L  --no-line-length
104
105      Disable line length checking.
106
107  -l  --mathlib
108
109      Use predefined math routines:
110
111          s(expr)  =  sine of expr in radians
112          c(expr)  =  cosine of expr in radians
113          a(expr)  =  arctangent of expr, returning radians
114          l(expr)  =  natural log of expr
115          e(expr)  =  raises e to the power of expr
116          j(n, x)  =  Bessel function of integer order n of x
117
118      This bc may load more functions with these options. See the manpage or
119      online documentation for details.
120
121  -O  obase  --obase=obase
122
123      Sets the builtin variable obase to the given value assuming that the given
124      value is in base 10. It is a fatal error if the given value is not a valid
125      number.
126
127  -P  --no-prompt
128
129      Disable the prompts in interactive mode.
130
131  -R  --no-read-prompt
132
133      Disable the read prompt in interactive mode.
134
135  -r  keyword  --redefine=keyword
136
137      Redefines "keyword" and allows it to be used as a function, variable, and
138      array name. This is useful when this bc gives parse errors on scripts
139      meant for other bc implementations.
140
141      Only keywords that are not in the POSIX bc spec may be redefined.
142
143      It is a fatal error to attempt to redefine a keyword that cannot be
144      redefined or does not exist.
145
146  -q  --quiet
147
148      Don't print version and copyright.
149
150  -S  scale  --scale=scale
151
152      Sets the builtin variable scale to the given value assuming that the given
153      value is in base 10. It is a fatal error if the given value is not a valid
154      number.
155
156  -s  --standard
157
158      Error if any non-POSIX extensions are used.
159
160  -w  --warn
161
162      Warn if any non-POSIX extensions are used.
163
164  -v  --version
165
166      Print version information and copyright and exit.
167
168  -z  --leading-zeroes
169
170      Enable leading zeroes on numbers greater than -1 and less than 1.
171
172Environment variables:
173
174  POSIXLY_CORRECT
175
176      Error if any non-POSIX extensions are used.
177
178  BC_ENV_ARGS
179
180      Command-line arguments to use on every run.
181
182  BC_LINE_LENGTH
183
184      If an integer, the number of characters to print on a line before
185      wrapping. Using 0 will disable line length checking.
186
187  BC_BANNER
188
189      If an integer and non-zero, display the copyright banner in interactive
190      mode.
191
192      Overrides the default, which is %s print the banner.
193
194  BC_SIGINT_RESET
195
196      If an integer and non-zero, reset on SIGINT, rather than exit, when in
197      interactive mode.
198
199      Overrides the default, which is %s.
200
201  BC_TTY_MODE
202
203      If an integer and non-zero, enable TTY mode when it is available.
204
205      Overrides the default, which is TTY mode %s.
206
207  BC_PROMPT
208
209      If an integer and non-zero, enable prompt when TTY mode is possible.
210
211      Overrides the default, which is prompt %s.
212
213  BC_EXPR_EXIT
214
215      If an integer and non-zero, exit when expressions or expression files are
216      given on the command-line, and does not exit when an integer and zero.
217
218      Overrides the default, which is %s.
219