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bc:tldr:e5fc5
bc: Calculate an expression with the specified scale.
$ bc --expression='scale = ${10}; ${5 - 3}'
try on your machine
The bc
command is a command-line calculator in Unix-like operating systems. It stands for "Basic Calculator" and is used to perform arithmetic operations.
In the given command, bc
is followed by the --expression
option which allows you to specify an expression or equation to be evaluated.
The expression scale = ${10}; ${5 - 3}
consists of two parts separated by a semicolon:
-
scale = ${10};
:scale
is a special variable inbc
that determines the number of digits after the decimal point in the result.${10}
is a parameter representing the value 10 which is assigned toscale
.
-
${5 - 3}
:${5 - 3}
is the arithmetic expression5 - 3
, which subtracts 3 from 5.
Putting it all together, running the command bc --expression='scale = ${10}; ${5 - 3}'
will execute the bc
calculator with the expression. The value of scale
will be set to 10, and the result of 5 - 3
will be displayed based on the specified scale.
This explanation was created by an AI. In most cases those are correct. But please always be careful and
never run a command you are not sure if it is safe.