Dc (computer program)

dc
Original author(s)Lorinda Cherry, Robert Morris
(AT&T Bell Laboratories)
Developer(s)Various open-source and commercial developers
Written inB
Operating systemUnix, Unix-like, Plan 9
PlatformCross-platform
TypeCommand

dc (desk calculator) is a cross-platform reverse-Polish calculator which supports arbitrary-precision arithmetic.[1] It was written by Lorinda Cherry and Robert Morris at Bell Labs.[2] It is one of the oldest Unix utilities, preceding even the invention of the C programming language. Like other utilities of that vintage, it has a powerful set of features but terse syntax.[3][4] Traditionally, the bc calculator program (with infix notation) was implemented on top of dc.

This article provides some examples in an attempt to give a general flavour of the language; for a complete list of commands and syntax, one should consult the man page for one's specific implementation.

  1. ^ dc(1): an arbitrary precision calculator – Linux User Commands Manual
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference reader was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ "The sources for the manual page for 7th Edition Unix dc". Archived from the original on 2004-08-23. Retrieved 2004-06-23.
  4. ^ Ritchie, Dennis M. (Sep 1979). "The Evolution of the Unix Timesharing System". Archived from the original on 2010-05-06.