calc

Calculate expression

$ calc ["2 + 2"]

$ calc

$ calc ["x = 5; y = 3; x * y"]

$ calc ["sqrt(16)"]

calc [options] [expression]

calc is an arbitrary precision calculator. It provides interactive calculation and scripting with support for complex arithmetic, trigonometry, statistics, and user-defined functions.
The tool offers more features than bc while maintaining ease of use.

-c

Continue after errors

Disable readline editing

Pipe mode (no prompts)

Quiet mode (no startup message)

Enforce strict mode

- Arbitrary precision arithmetic
- Complex numbers
- Trigonometric functions
- Statistical functions
- User-defined functions
- Variable assignment
- Matrix operations
- Fractions and rationals

Arithmetic:
- sqrt(x) - Square root
- abs(x) - Absolute value
- gcd(a,b) - Greatest common divisor
Trigonometry:
- sin(x), cos(x), tan(x)
- asin(x), acos(x), atan(x)
Other:
- ln(x) - Natural log
- exp(x) - Exponential
- rand() - Random number

Different syntax than bc. Less commonly installed. Some functions require understanding of calc's type system. Error messages can be cryptic. Large computations use memory.

calc was originally developed around 1984 and has been maintained as a feature-rich alternative to bc.

bc(1), dc(1), qalc(1)