6.36. Bc-1.06.95

The Bc package contains an arbitrary precision numeric processing language.

Approximate build time: 0.1 SBU
Required disk space: 3.6 MB

6.36.1. Installation of Bc

First, fix some minor memory leaks in the code:

patch -Np1 -i ../bc-1.06.95-memory_leak-1.patch

Prepare Bc for compilation:

./configure --prefix=/usr           \
            --with-readline         \
            --mandir=/usr/share/man \
            --infodir=/usr/share/info

The meaning of the configure options:

--with-readline

This option tells Bc to use the readline library that is already installed on the system rather than using its own readline version.

Compile the package:

make

To test bc, run the commands below. There is quite a bit of output, so you may want to redirect it to a file. There are a very small percentage of tests (10 of 12,144) that will indicate a round off error at the last digit.

echo "quit" | ./bc/bc -l Test/checklib.b

Install the package:

make install

6.36.2. Contents of Bc

Installed programs: bc and dc

Short Descriptions

bc

is a command line calculator

dc

is a reverse-polish command line calculator