pc(1): integer-only entry

pc(1): integer-only entry

[Ethan Grammatikidis]

pc's man page says "Pc is an arbitrary precision calculator", but it responds to my attempts to enter non-integers by reporting 'syntax error', truncating them, or outright ignoring them. if there was a way to set the precision (as in dc and bc) then at least truncation would make sense, but there's nothing on the subject in the man page. it's also inconsistent on whether it ignores or reports a syntax error.

; 1. / 3.
syntax error
; 1.0 / 3.0
syntax error
; 1.0
1
; 1.5
1
; .6
; 
; @
1
; 3.2
3
; @
3
; .6
syntax error
; 

-- 
Linux? I used ext4 for a few years. In proportion to the time spent using it, I lost as much data to it as I lost to the very worst released version of reiserfs.

Re: [9front] pc(1): integer-only entry

[Ethan Grammatikidis]

On Sat, Jul 1, 2017, at 01:28 PM, Ethan Grammatikidis wrote:
> pc's man page says "Pc is an arbitrary precision calculator", but it responds to my attempts to enter non-integers by reporting 'syntax error', truncating them, or outright ignoring them. if there was a way to set the precision (as in dc and bc) then at least truncation would make sense, but there's nothing on the subject in the man page. it's also inconsistent on whether it ignores or reports a syntax error.

i was confused for two reasons. pc's man page says nothing about it being integer-only, and the primary meaning of precision (and the only one in online cambridge dictionary, lol,) is "exactness" where integers imply rather coarse measurement. there is another meaning of 'precision' which is somewhat appropriate to integers. i suggest adding a word to /sys/man/1/pc, to correspond with mp(2):

- is an arbitrary precision calculator with a special emphasis on supporting two's complement bit operations and working with different number bases.
+ is an arbitrary precision integer calculator with a special emphasis on supporting two's complement bit operations and working with different number bases.


-- 
Linux? I used ext4 for a few years. In proportion to the time spent using it, I lost as much data to it as I lost to the very worst released version of reiserfs.